Byron Bay - blissful one moment, bogans the next!

Byron Bay, NSW

I was so looking forward to this long-awaited break in one of those few times in life where you're inbetween jobs. This holiday was to mark the end of one era and to prepare myself for the next. Think of it as an interlude track in a cd or a the break inbetween the two sides of the old cassette tape. It's a welcome and arguably necessary break.

I have previously been to Byron twice. Both times were during crowded, peak season, once around Christmas and the other during Splendour in the Grass. I remembered Byron as having a beautiful beach, some great vegetarian food and a festive, if not raucous atmosphere. Hence, I vowed that if I was to return it would be during a non-peak and preferably mid-week time, which brings me to my recent vacation.

Yes, Byron did have a beautiful beach, in fact several. However, the great vegetarian food became harder to look for amongst shops like Witchery, Sportsgirl and even Subway! The festive atmosphere was not in full swing but it remained quite busy especially during the evenings when early 20-somethings got out and about in their thongs, shorts and mini-skirts. I felt overdressed in a summer frock and flats!



We found some great and some not-so-great places to eat, but mostly, we indulged in delightfully fresh seafood and crisp white wines. Here is a quick review of the places we visited:

Fishmongers - Bay Lane, Byron Bay - I had the tenderest BBQ octopus salad here ever. Not your average fish and chips shop. Quick service and good prices for this sort of quality ($10 - $20). Apparently there is a branch in Bondi. I have to find it ASAP to get my fix!

Pacific Dining Room - I didn't realise this had One Hat in the SMH Good Food Guide. Modern, tasteful beachside decor. Even the staff wear shorts! Food was nothing short of amazing, imaginative and creative. My 'tuna nicoise' had all the essential ingredients: tuna, black olives, beans, etc, but was done in a completely different way. The Reef Fish Curry even made J drop his cutlery in dazzlement! Mention must be made of the kingfish carpaccio flavoured with pastrami spices. Service was as good as the food.

Succulent Cafe - Another modern and funky space decorated to suit the beachy vibe and not overdone like some of the boring Sydney places that have been stripped of all character. This has a modern Turkish vibe with its mosaic tables and cute lights. The breakfast menu contained the usual suspects but delivered in taste and flavour. The poached eggs with smoked salmon and hollandaise had a nicely tangy sauce, whilst the toasted muesli with yogurt and fresh fruit looked like a piece of art. Though shalt not eat the fanned mango and sprinkle of berries. Great coffee.

Balcony Bar & Restaurant - This prime spot on the corner of Lawson and Jonston Street has great people-watching inside and outside the place. Request a table on the balcony when you book for the space inside is less atmospheric. We had 5 tapas dishes to share and were so full. We had and enjoyed the potted flaked salmon with a sweet fennel salad,crispy finely-battered salt and pepper squid, mussels in tomato and chilli sauce (not recommended unless you like midget mussels and big bits of chilli), bruschetta with cherry tomato and white anchovies and the most clever dish of the night...thin and long slices of haloumi dusted with dukkah and served on a tabouleh salad with cumin-scented yogurt. Clever yes, but a little bit too many flavours going on here. The cocktails and wine are delicious as they should be.





Fresh - This wannabe cafe/restaurant is also in a prime spot on Jonston St right near the beach but don't let its modern decor and groovy music suck you in. The only reason we ate or attempted to eat at this place was because I came here years ago and had a nice lunch here. This time it was a different story. Upon being seated at our table, we placed our coffee orders straight away and then ordered our mains when the coffee arrived. Coffee was fantastic I must say but the service was not. We were happily chatting away till we realised that it had been over half an hour since we ordered. We asked a lady who looked like the managed to check on our order and she replied,'sure'. She never came back but a more junior waitress came over and told us that the kitchen had misplaced the order before asking what we ordered. We decided to leave since we had already wasted enough time there and it was apparent that the waitress never wrote our order down. Funnily enough, they still required that we pay for our coffees but they graciously 'discounted' them for us. Do NOT eat here unless you well, don't actually want to eat.



Bayleaf Cafe - Gourmet Traveller recommended this little hotspot which we went to starving-hungry, post-Fresh. The friendly service and casual, order and pay at the counter approach was re-Fresh-ing (haha!). We enjoyed amazing breakfasts. I had the best Bircher muesli I have possibly ever eaten. These luscious soaked oats were smooth and velvety and served with some freshly cut fruit and extra dollop of yogurt. J's pancakes with apple and mascarpone were cinnamon and sugar crusted and looked straight out of a cookbook. Bill who? Eat your heart out Bill Granger, you're not the only one who nails breakfast. I will dream about this place.

Utopia - According to Gourmet Traveller, people fight for tables at this spot in Bangalow. You can't miss it on the main drag. It is a long and thin room. You tortuously have to walk past the glass display of sweets on your way to a table at the back. I was planning on having a light lunch since we planned to go swimming shortly afterwards but I couldn't resist the 'Pulled pork sandwich with cheddar cheese, aioli, rocket and salsa verde'. This was the best sandwich I think I've ever had. It's up there with those amazing sandwiches at Danks Street Depot. The meat is not just average sandwich meat but meat cooked with as much love and respect as meat that would feature in a main dish of its own. The pork just about melted in my mouth (cliche time! woo hoo!), offset by a chunky salsa verde made with gherkin and fresh herbs. The handcut chips filled me right up. J's pasta is one that even I would have ordered. It was linguini with ricotta, diced tomato, rocked and preserved lemon. Yum! Beam me up flavour!




Dish - I wasn't feeling like eating a whole main, after 3 days of eating out and indulging, so we went to Dish Restaurant and ate at the adjoining 'Marvell Bar'. This was a bit like Longrain, a long room, split into two with a bar in the middle. Unfortunately the service was not like Longrain. The room looks awesome and the accompanying rock and pop tunes complementary to the atmosphere. Our drink orders were promptly taken and just as promptly forgotten. A second waiter came over to inform us of this and take our orders again. We relented this time, in due partly the the very attractive looking bar menu. We again ordered and were rewarded since the lychee and mint mojito was delicious. We ordered 4 tapas dishes (not 5 ever again!) which all turned out to be deep-fried. Delicious but artery-clogging! The arancini stuffed with mozzarella, panko squid (another way of saying salt and pepper squid), salted cod and potato fritters, fish turnovers were all top notch. This was not just bar food to fill your belly. It was five star and each dish came with its own, specially-created sauce to bring it out.



Byron Beach Cafe - This Cafe reminded me of the Bathers' Pavillion or Nielsen Park Kiosk. It is built to look like a beach kiosk nestled amongst the scrubs just before the sand on the main beach. The food and service were amazing too. My Brookfarm toasted muesli with yogurt and fruit have convinced me to buy some of this macadamia muesli. It's too good. J's pancakes with honeycomb, butter and maple syrup were light and fluffy but the clump of butter on top got all a bit too much. Best coffee in Byron here of al the places I went to.



I'm getting hungry again writing about all the great food we had. I should mention a few other activities, otherwise you'll think that we just ate. Well, we did but we also swam every day (to work off what we ate and then make room for more!) in beautiful, clear waters on main beach, Belongil Beach and 'Cosy Corner'. We hired a car and drove to Brunswick Heads (very still inlet for swimming), Mullumbimby (lots of retirees), Bangalow (cute shops) and Broken Head (all the way down a 4km dirt track to the beach). It was a great trip and I'm still adjusting to being back in hectic Sydney. Am going to stay in and cook something from the Ottolenghi cookbook I think. I'm not quite ready to face the real world!

The Best of Pyrmont, Sydney

I recently completed a one and a half year stint working in Pyrmont. (Hurrah!)

When I first considered working out there, I thought I was going to be banished to the arse-end of the Sydney culinary scene but that proved to be wrong after my first visit to Flying Fish and a second visit to Sugaroom. The recent openings of the acclaimed Sean's Kitchen and Pyrama are further evidence that this westerly precinct is a booming gastro suburb.

Work day lunchtimes are a different kind of meal though. My requirements include: quick food, relatively cheap (esp when you end up eating out everyday) and healthy. So what did Pyrmont have to offer? It's incomparable to the city in terms of options for variety of cuisine and lack of places. However, if you look hard enough, there are a number of establishments that fit the bill and fed me well for the last year a half.

Here is a quick look at some of the hits and misses:

PEN CAFE - This large, cavernous room looks like a hole carved out of the corner of a building. I mean this in the nicest possible way though. It actually adds to the ambience and together with the polished concrete floors, equals a funky and grungy place. Their usual menu consists of unusual sandwiches and salads which are famous for being huge. The 'vege delight' came with a massive battered chickpea patty that is buried under a mountain of mixed leaves, mustardy roasted beets, asparagus spears, blanched green beans, roasted tomato, a side of avocado, ricotta and lentils. Full yet? A little bland except for the pattie. Coffee is adequate.

SUSHI SAMURAI - This place rocks. Book ahead if you can because it's small and gets very busy around peak lunch time. They have lunchtime specials such as a variety of 'rice bowls' (teriyaki fish, chicken, beef or tofu) that come with salad, rice, miso and agedashi tofu for $9.90. They also have other specials such as eel, grilled wagyu, etc that come with all the sides. I've never left this place hungry, nor have I ever finished everything. Their inside out rolls (salmon and avocado especially!) are great value too - 8 big pieces for less than $10 too. Great miso soup!

MERCURY - This little, unassuming, casual hole in the wall was recommended by a colleague from work. I was expecting it to be good as a result but my simple order of a 'salad sandwich' was bitterly disappointing. It came with iceberg lettuce - need I say more? When a 'sandwich' bar only offers 2 varieties of bread - white or brown - you know that it's gonna suck. One now needs rye, sourdough and maybe even soy and linseed. Do not go to this so-called sandwich shop unless you are about to eat your own hand.

PULSE - This place is amazing. It can't even describe where it is but here goes. It's in some little semi-underground tunnel just off Union Street, right behind Oscars Pub near Coles. They serve an interesting array of salads, sandwiches, burgers, smoothies and frappes that are made to order. The 'moroccan salad' of cous cous, roasted pumpkin, rocket, dates, pinenuts and artichoke will set you back around $10 whilst the 'smoked salmon salad' with snow peas, lettuce, cucumber and a tangy lemon dressing is a little more. All salads are served with a warm bread roll. Yum!

CAFE XXII - This place has the best decor. It is on a corner of Union Street and is set in an old sandstone brick house. The food lives up to these grand surrounds. It is equally special. I only ate here once, when I started work. It's a little more pricey with mains around $18-29. I had the pumpkin and goat's cheese salad that I remember to be tasty. The other mains were a bit heavier and include steak and lamb rump. Good for a special occasion or dining with someone for a sit down meal.

SUGAROOM - This place is underrated. It opened to much critical acclaim but now receives little attention. I only dined here once and was impressed with their food, service and ambience. I recall having roasted jewfish or John Dory and that it was melt in your mouth. The view of the water and coffee were both superb. Dine here on a warmer day for a special occasion.

IGA - I didn't so much dine here but rather shopped here for lunch supplies from time to time. This place is a treasure trove of gourmet produce. They stock Simon Johnson, Jamie Oliver and many other gourmet products. They also have daily specials on perishables that are ridiculously cheap. I regularly found King Island Dairy Double Brie marked down from $5 to 49c! Of course, it had to be eaten in the next 2 days but hey, that didn't stop me. Sonoma rye bread was also a common purchase.

Of course, there is also Simon Johnson and the Fish Markets, both of which I frequented regularly. So that concludes a year and a half of exploring the culinary delights of Pyrmont or actually, working in Pyrmont! It was fun whilst it lasted but I'm looking forward to being back in the city and discovering some new lunchtime spots there. Let me know your favourites and if you have any suggestions. Have legs, will travel!