time for a date...

we were very fortunate to secure a babysitter at the last minute to head out for an impromptu date last saturday night. 

Our plan was simple - dinner was courtesy of M's work - awesome! So we were going to head into town early for dinner at Jamie's Italian.

But even with the best laid plans get in early beat the queues - we got there to miss out on the first seating (we got there about 5.40pm). The wait for a table of 2 would be approx 45-60mins and we had the option of staying or going for a walk.

We opted for the latter - and found ourselves at the top of the Summit Restaurant for a drink.
Whilst both our drinks here were nice - they were pricey and small.  We probably should have headed elsewhere, but the view was good.

Finally at just before 7pm we got the call, our table was ready!!
It's always a nice feeling when you get priority access to anything albeit that we had been in the queue an hour earlier.

For entree we had the special beetroot cured salmon salad, and crispy squid. The special was good, but the squid wasn't really crispy, and was a bit of a disappointment.

However our disappointment was quickly resolved on the arrival of our mains. I had ummed and ahhed through the menu to eventually decide on the veal saltimbocca.  What a great decision i made. It was the a dish packed with so much flavour! Just as you'd expect of a Jamie Oliver dish!!
M had chosen the whole baby snapper - lovely but no comparison to the veal.

I highly recommend this dish if you ever visit the restaurant. Check it out next time you're in the area and do get there early.

We had a good night out - the rule was that we weren't allowed to talk about the renovations.. and that turned out to be a good rule. Will have to work out where to go for next date night...

a brief interlude

we had  a brief interlude without the  little man last weekend. A date for M and I - whilst some dear friends came over to babysit. Little man had a great time turning on the penguin toy our friends gave him. 

Have to say it was a lovely day over sydney harbour and we had reservations at Sails on Lavender Bay. 

What an awesome location or a restaurant, right by the harbour with a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and yachts moored just in the bay.

Lunch itself - the food was lovely. We had a travelzoo special 3 course lunch for 2. The meal started with amuse bouche of lemon zucchini arrancini. It was really delicious. 

M and i had the same courses for entree and main. Duck salad and king salmon. The duck was so very tasty.. that i  wished that there was more. the King salmon was good, but not my favorite course.

For dessert M had the cheese plate, and i had an amazing panna cotta..

Am inspired to try making this once we have our new kitchen.

The service was nice, though the kitchen was slow. It would be a lovely spot to linger for abit. 

Dinner for 2

travelling with family, meant that DH and I were able to get away for dates. So on the second night of our vacation, we headed out to the very swish 21degrees at Turtle Bay resort. We were running late for our reservation but the maitre d was very obliging. We were led to a table right along the front window and could see the waves of the pacific ocean on the beach. Very beautiful!

I had the entree of Pipikaula Risotto, Green Vegetable Medley, Pea & Mint Puree - the fish was lovely but the risotto not so much. It was somewhat grainy, not what I expected..

For dessert I had the warm apple galette, DH had the trio of creme brulee - Vanilla Bean, Kona Coffee and Pistachio. I am usually quite good with picking my choice of meal, however this time  -DH's meal was much better than mine.

We had a lovely time, but  if we were locals we'd probably choose something that had better value for money.

Sydney Theatre Co

This year my girlfriend K and I decided that we'd be theatre partners together. It's been a while since i've had a subscription to the Sydney Theatre Co , so it is a real treat.

We had dinner before the play at the Hickson Rd Bistro. I had Crisp Skin Ocean Trout, Crushed Potatoes, Seared Scallop, Basil & Ramesco Sauce - very enjoyable - particularly the ramesco sauce , but i would have like the skin to be more crisp.

K had the Pumpkin & Ricotta Ravioli, Baby Peas, Lemon, Almond, Parmesan & Sage Butter - which she said was quite nice. Nice restaurant that i'd go back to.

We finish dinner about 15 mins before the play starts and this is when the fun begins - we discover that the play - in the Next room - was not on where we were - we were down on Hickson rd and the play was at the Opera House. Panic sets in and we head down the street - i suggest to K that we should catch a cab, it would have taken us 25-30 mins to get there on foot. Fortunately for us - we make it down to the Drama theatre with a minute(literally) to spare.

I have to admit that i don't recall reading the blurb about the play - though parts of it would definitely make one blush. I really enjoyed the story line - but felt that there were overplayed too many times. Not a bad start to the theatre year!

If you read this K - i had a memorable night - and very funny! :)

Land of the Rising Sun - Part 1

2010 was a year of lots of travel - such a contrast to this year so far.

In July, i had the opportunity to travel to Japan again for work.

I must say that i really do like Japan - it's mostly quite easy to get around. I usually stay in Shinjuku.

One of the things i love to do when i travel as I love food is that i usually try to find some good restaurants to frequent. Tokyo did not disappoint.

One of my favourite meals was a at a tonkatsu restaurant where the crispy crumbed pork fillet melts in your mouth. The fillet just so tender that little effort is required to consume it. It was served with fresh cold crisp cabbage - a perfect marriage of textures! It's a restaurant chain - well worth a visit.

In Singapore

it seems to be a recurring theme. i am sure you have heard it before - time flies, so where did it go.
honestly i don't know, every weekend seems to come and go quicker than the one before..
life is busy, work is busy with travelling involved. I do have to admit that I like travelling for work, but eating alone can sometimes be fun. I get to choose what i like and have it all. some would call this gluttony. I decided while in Singapore  to head to a  restaurant  that I had been before with my colleagues. The restaurant is smack bang in orchard rd at the paragon ... named

Choosing for one does have  it's limitations you can really only have one or two dishes max in a chinese restaurant.  First up on the menu was bbq honeyed pork belly - if m had been dining with me i would have had to fight him for every piece. The flavours were perfectly balanced - not to sickly sweet and overpowering of honey and had just the right amount of charred crust. As i have been watching my carb intake - i didn't order any rice, but the sauce with hot steaming rice would have been a treat!

My next course arrived shortly and was a dish of  plump fresh scallops, stir fried with broccoli.  It was a simple dish that was perfectly cooked.

The restaurant is worth a visit if you are ever in this neck of the woods.