Mosaic, Westin Hotel (Sydney CBD)

By St

Hello again blog world. With the mad rush and gluttony of Christmas beginning to subside, it’s time to stretch my fingers and jump back on the bibbity bopping blog wagon. (You know how it is, so hard to break away from all the delectable festive food. And let’s be honest, how many chocolate boxes did you receive this Christmas? Ans: Too many to count!)

A few months back, Filoman Mong invited a few of us to dine at The Westin Hotel’s Mosaic restaurant. Describing their cuisine as Mediterranean on the website, I was expecting punches of flavours and fresh seafood (I was disappointed). We were going to have the 3 course dinner selection which is usually $68 pp, but Filoman had some specials up his sleeves so it was only going to cost us $35 each. Can’t say no to that! (Keep it coming Filoman.)

I clearly remember it being a stormy, howling night, the clouds were marching in, rain was upon us and King Lear was calling out for his Cordelia... Actually on second thoughts, it was just an average Wednesday night and the restaurant was pretty empty- one or two couples and the odd business people. 

Straight off the bat (definitely not the Aussi cricketers’ bat this Boxing day test), the starters were the best dishes of the night. Cyndi and I being clever (or greedy?) shared the duck ravioli and king crab tian. The pea puree complemented the ravioli and although I enjoyed it, the duck may have been slightly over processed (duck twice cooked). The crab meat tian was my favorite. This was the first time having gazpacho and it reminded me of salsas and mixing it in with the chunks of king crab meat really lifted the freshness of the dish without overpowering the crab. If you prefer lighter entrees, than this may not be your best pick especially with the heaviness of the gazpacho. Comparing us to the boys, we were probably greedy as they went for quality and ordered the Harvey Bay scallops instead.

Complimentary bread

Duck ravioli with pea puree

King crab meat tian with gazpacho, avocado, baby herbs

Harvey Bay scallops with soft polenta, truffle tapenade, farmer speck

You couldn’t split Cyndi and I at the mains and we both ordered the Mosaic seafood trilogy: kingfish, battered yamba prawns and scallops. The kingfish with baby veges and scallops were well cooked and surprisingly flavoursome. The battered prawns and aioli sauce was mediocre, the non-fuss batter masking very dull prawns. 

Mosaic seafood trilogy: Kingfish, battered yamba prawns, scallops

Black angus beef tenderloin, lemon pepper crust, artichokes, cherry tomatoes

Keeping the trilogy theme alive, a few of us ordered the Mosaic dessert trilogy: Crème brulee, strawberry waffle, white pepper ice cream. The crème brulee was like any other crème brulee- good but nothing to rave about. The waffle was atrocious. I don’t use such strong words to label food but this waffle was as hard as a rock, most likely reheated from the freezer. Besides the hard fact that you will have trouble swallowing it, the strawberries and sauce tasted like it came from a supermarket tin. Fortunately we weren’t like the Filoman who ordered just the strawberry waffle. Another first time was the white pepper ice cream which was very interesting. It wasn’t sweet and tasted a bit plain Jane but then came the unexpected spicy after taste. A friend didn’t like the “dryness” of it and a few coughs later the ice cream was left unfinished on many plates. I think the lesson this night was not to be greedy. Barry ordered the warm chocolate pudding and indicated it was worth the stated 15 minute wait.

Mosaic trilogy: crème brulee, strawberry waffle, white pepper ice cream

Strawberry waffle

Warm chocolate pudding, white pepper ice cream, raspberries, honeycomb

My rating is based on the quality of the food in conjunction with the special deal we had courtesy of Filoman. Had it been the usual price ($68pp), the rating will be half a wok less. 

Wok rating /5:

Mosaic, The Westin Hotel

1 Martin Place, 

Sydney  

02 8223 1110

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Luxe bakery (Newtown)

By St

Just like Keeping up with the Kardashians, I'm keeping up with Boo_e's breakfast piece. So after a big night celebrating a friend's bday, Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, along with their b-boys James-Z and T-Unit needed to grab a bite at somewhere chic before heading out to the Glebe festival.

What better place than Newtown where these sisters learnt to walk down the jagged street of the King to find good food lacking at Sydney Uni. While we love Thai-La-Ong and Newtown Thai, they just didn't fit the bill for a hot and filling big breakfast. T-Unit had read all about it and driven past many times so it was time to indulge at Luxe bakery.

It's a small bakery and cafe with seating for about 30, including big communal tables. The natural light beaming from the the bakery's shop front, back door and the high ceilings add to the fuzzy-warm-sunday-morning-brekkie feeling.

Don't know what happened to James-Z. Did he not put a ring on it and was now in the dog house because I can't explain his lack of appetite this particular morning: one ham and cheese croissant. The croissant he says was fo-sizzlely good but the filling was average.

Leg ham and cheese croissant $6

We know how Beyonce got her bootylicious body so we followed suit and ordered the organic, free-range scrambled/poached eggs with choice of white, rye and soy linseed sourdough with sides of hash browns, sausage, ricotta, salsa verde (extra $3 each) and ocean trout (extra $5). Fans of smoked salmon won't be disappointed with the cured ocean trout. Beware those who have nut allergies because the sausage contains pinenuts. The hash browns got me crazy in love- crunchy and crispy with loads of yummy soft potato inside. 10x better than MaccyDs.

Poached eggs with soy linseed sourdough and salsa verde $13.50

Scrambled eggs with soy linseed sourdough, potato hash, sausage and ricotta $19.50

Scrambled eggs with soy linseed sourdough, potato hash and cured ocean trout $18.50

Breakfast is served from 8am-2pm and lunch from 11am-3pm. Being breakfast, of course someone had to order coffee but it felt a bit criminal seeing as Campos was just next door. T-Unit was happy with his flat white but Campos is still his number one. Us girls chose from their big range of fruit drinks in the fridge but were kicking ourselves after seeing another table get freshly squeezed juice.

You don't have to sit down and eat here. Many customers come here for the freshly baked goodies. We would have bought soemthing to take home as well but there would be plenty of food awaiting in Glebe.

Luxe bakery is a very trendy and friendly eatery where I have to come back and choose from their baked selections.

Backs adorned with fashion from the pages of Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Someone get me that shirt!

Wok rating /5:

Luxe bakery

195 Missenden Rd

Newtown

02 4677 3739

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Cafe Morso (Pyrmont)

By Boo_e

Daniel took me to Café Morso for my birthday breakfast. What a terrific way to start my favourite day of the year! Morsos breakfast menu offers a wide range of brekky dishes. They have some of your more traditional dishes like eggs benedict and toasted muesli with yogurt, but it’s the unique breakfast dishes they have on their menu that’s the draw card for me. Dishes like the Potato and Dill pancakes served with Gravalax smoked salmon a poached egg, watercress and lemon crème fraiche and the bacon and egg Gnocchi with truffle oil and micro herbs are what sets Café Morso apart from your other cafés. Not to mention their exceptional coffee. Now I do confess to be a little bit of a coffee snob so when I say Morsos is ranked as one of my top 3 coffee joints it means that their Macchiato (my drink of choice) is made with just the right amount of frothed milk and is at just the right temperature so that it goes down smoothly and leaves an aromatic aftertaste to be savoured down to the last drop.

The potato pancakes were light and fluffy and slightly crispy on the surface, the dill in the pancakes meld particularly well with the smoked salmon and the lemon crème fraiche is perfect for cutting through the richness of the poached egg.

I've also had the bacon and egg gnocchi here previously as well although not pictured here I can tell you that incorporating bacon bits into the potato gnocchi was a genius move. The gnocchi was surprisingly light and the poached egg on top with oozing yolk was decadent but not overly rich. The best part of this dish for me is the lightly drizzled truffle oil and the micro herbs, these ingredients turned this dish into something even more special for me.

Potato & dill pancake with Gravalax salmon and lemon creme fraiche

The toasted muesli with mixedfruit and yogurt was also very well done in terms of the balance between fruit, yogurt and muesli. Watermelon and rockmelon carefully chopped into tiny cubes are place on top of the honey drizzled yogurt brings a refreshing taste to this traditional dish.

Toasted muesli with fresh fruit and yoghurt

Morso is definitely a place worth visiting even if it’s just for the coffee. Suggestion: Ask for a seat outside as the view is great and you get a lot of sun on the deck area. Also Morsos is pooch friendly, so if you can’t bear to leave you bestie at home then take him/her with you and Morso will supply a water bowl for you there.

Gorgeous view from open dining deck

Wok rating /5:


Cafe Morso
Suite 108 Jones Bay Wharf
19-21 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont
02 9692 0111


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Charlie & Co. (Sydney CBD)

By St 

Have you gone shopping for Christmas pressies at the new Westfields yet? After all that tiring walking trying to find a gift for that difficult relative (and trying to navigate the new retail landscape), you just want to sit down and grab a bite and feel accomplished as you tick "end-rumbling-tummy" off your list. 

One of my good girlfriends, Jo, has been raving about the parmesan and truffle fries, "the best" she claims so Timmy and I had to test it out. 

We stopped and admired the new eateries in the small food court (the level is not fully complete) and came to an end and there was Charlie & Co. It's not easy to miss when it is the only place with a queue system in place. Are you for real? It's just fast food after all... right? So at 7pm on a Thursday night we joined the queue which slowly moved up and I stalked out the burgers which we will try another time (this was Mission: Parmesan and Truffles Fries after all).

Like lining up at the bank ...

... but with better views!

The moment I've been waiting for, drum roll *brum*brum*brum*brum*. Ok the truth. Yes they were good, fat and crispy. The parmesan was a nice touch but I wouldn't have known there were truffles unless you told me. It was very oily and ultimately I found it too salty due to the abundance of sea salt (this comes from a girl who sometimes dips her strawberries in salt- it's a Vietnamese thing).  

Parmesan and truffle fries $8

So the fries were a bit disappointing and it didn't help that we had to queue for them, that just added to my great expectations. The Mission was over but Timmy had already put it in jeopardy when he ordered The Charlie Chilli Dog. And, we were having proper dinner afterwards. Containing pork sausage, green chilli, fried onions, mustard and sweet tomato relish on a baguette, the hotdog was something Uncle Charlie would be proud of, plus extra spicy from the chilli and mustard.

The Charlie Chilli Dog $12

I bet you're wondering, who is Charlie? I surely was. According to the pamphlet staff were handing out, "In 1885, 15 yo Charlie was selling meatballs at the annual Seymour Fair in Wisconsin... sales were slow, so Charlie decided to smash a meatball and some onions between two slices of bread so folks could eat and walk around the fair at the same time. Charlie called his sandwich a "hamburger"- and the rest, as they say, is history!". It might just be folklore but an creative concept, if not a bit Americanised, from Justin North.

Did someone just say "Justin North"? You might recall that I called him the Johnny Depp of cooking (http://wokyoutalkingabout.blogspot.com/2010/10/siff-becasse-sydney-cbd.html) so no wonder people were queuing up to eat at his new venture which has only been opened for 3 weeks. Eating burgers and fries from a 2 chefs hat chef is like watching a special screening of Pirates of the Caribbean in an empty cinema with only Captain Jack Sparrow besides you :p

In summary, the chips are good but not the best. I would love to come back and try the burgers. Here are some tempting choices:

- The hand-crafted chilli crab burger: infused crab cake with Asian salad, lime mayonniase and sweet chilli jam. ($15 takeaway/ $17 in)

- The maiden Marrakesh burger: premium lamb flavoured with parsley, mint and cumin served with harissa, tzatziki and preserved lemon. ($13 takeaway/ $15 in) 

- The rustic chorizo classic: pork burger with smoked paprika, chorizo, fennel, with soft peppers and fried egg. 

Charlie & Co. is trying to separate itself from fast food with its premium meats and fresh produce. You can also dine in (the decor is quite classy) instead of having take-away but sadly, there was a queue for this too.

Like Arnie said, "I will be back".

Wokking rating /5:

Charlie & Co.

Westfield Sydney, Pitt Street

Sydney 

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Hannibal (Surry Hills)

By St

Invite: Lyly and Karen’s joint 25th birthday at Hannibal, 7pm. I had to google the restaurant because the name was freaky. What are we eating? Humans? I know vampires are all the craze atm and I like Tru Blood but… Oh Lebanese food! I can stomach that.

So at 7pm, Jo and I were led downstairs to the special red cushion room. Since we were on time it was easy for us to step over the empty Persian cushions to sit against the wall. This later becomes a pain because you cannot escape to the bathroom unless you inconvenience your neighbours to get out, or you could step across the table but not recommended for the skirts and dresses. 

Red cushion room

We were finally placing our orders at 8 with the majority opting for the Hannibal Feast ($38 pp). Twenty minutes later out came baskets of Lebanese bread and dips: hommos, baba ganouj and tatziki. The hommus was of the rough, nutty kind; tatziki had a lot of garlic and slightly sour but the favourite of the night was the smoky baba ganouj.  

Lebanese bread

Hommos

Baba ganouj

Tatziki

The tabouly came out next but we were waiting for a replenishment of bread so just ate the tabouly on its own- fresh but wanting more juice and lime. 

Tabouly

The shish kebabs had big chunks of delicious soft lamb. Cyndi’s grilled shish tawook was fine but I found the chicken to be on the dry side and perhaps slightly burnt as the skewer kept on breaking when trying to slide the chicken off.  

Lamb shish kebab

Chicken shish tawook

The falafels were crispy and soft on the inside. I didn’t try the fried kebbe but with nobody being Lebanese at the party, the consensus was that they tasted similar to the falafel.

Falafels

Fried kebbe

Finally some sweets! I was telling everyone how nice lady fingers are as many were starting to get full and weren’t as willing to try things. First cut of the fingers made a liar of me. They were savory and contained mince, similar to spring rolls but not as crispy

Lady fingers

Rounding up to 10pm, the poor cabbage rolls kafta remained largely untouched. Cyndi and I braved the satiety and digged into the rice and spinach fillings- good with strange tangy saltiness, but definitely too heavy at this stage of the banquet. 

Cabbage rolls kafta

We didn’t care to notice on the night but we didn’t get the majadra as part of the feast. Instead listed as an extra $3 dessert, we were given baklava. Very sweet and I love my sweets so I had two pieces even though we were going to have some black forest birthday cake.

Baklava

A big low for the night were the uncomfortable seated cushions. I lost life in my left bum and had to resuscitate it with constant shifting. This was tricky as we had ~30 ppl packed shoulder to shoulder or legs over legs under low tables without much free room. Because people sat opposite to you across the table, you had to be conscious of your legs (footsies) and you couldn’t straighten them to stretch it. Pins and needles were the order of the night. 

Many thought the service was poor as we had to ask a few times for more bread and water to several different waiters. Having said that, there were 30 people and I couldn’t fault the delivery of the food- when they food came out. It was constant and quick and finding empty plates to discharge was no mean feat. It was usually 1 dish to share between 5-8 people, but they do bring second rounds for most dishes.  

The night would be incomplete without a 20 minute performance from a belly dancer. I warn you, if you choose to sit on the outside of the tables, you have a high chance (1 in 3) of being picked (in some cases pushed) to dance and of course suffer from pals who video record it :)

Birthday girls doing some belly dancing

A very festive and entertaining night with plenty to eat. The food was average-good. I have had better Lebanese food. You come here for the atmosphere and entertainment, making Hannibal a great venue for celebrations. Hooray, it’s BYO. 

Wokking rating /5:

Hannibal's Lebanese

557 Elizabeth St

Surry Hills

02 9698 8288

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