The Rag Land Cafe, Redfern

I was first lured to The Rag Land Cafe in Redfern by a pop-up that BBQ aficionado and pop-up master Smokey O was doing at the cafe a few months ago.

I must REALLY love Smokey O's BBQ and smokey meats as I got up EXTRA early to be at the cafe before work...that's like SUPER early considering I have to be in the office around 9am!

You never know what you're going to get with a Smokey O pop-up and that's why it's wise to go to as many of his events as you can...to try everything on offer. I opted for the apple-smoked maple bacon with fried eggs on "texas toast" (which I think means BIG toast, which makes sense seeing as everything in Texas is BIG). That's my breakfast there on the left.  My friend choose the field mushrooms (also giant so maybe also from Texas) with melted cheddar, char grilled capsicum on Texas toast.

I really like the vibe of this cafe - it feels very homely and comfortable with lots of pre-loved furniture and eclectic nick-nacks on the shelves. It sort of feels like my lounge room actually and I knew I wanted to come back....soon.

 ...and, it's not long before I'm back for a big brunch party to meet the newly-born daughter of one of my fellow food bloggers. We toast the new arrival with coffees expertly brewed by cafe owner, and barista, Dave. An iced coffee for me and a flat white for The Boy. The Rag Land also offers "suspended coffees" which I think are great - customers can donate the cost of a cup of a coffee which then goes to providing a cuppa for someone who's not cashed up enough to afford their own fine brew. Nice, isn't it?

I was pretty hungry on this visit and wanted something substantial and the pea fritters + poached egg with rocket and tomato chutney came highly recommended to me by Dave (the cafe owner slash barista, not Dave my husband).  He also suggested I add a side of pork belly which I did and it was DELICIOUS - sweet and savoury with a hint of Asian flavours! As you can see they know how to poach an egg here and it was a really good breakfast that totally hit the spot.

If you guessed that The Boy would order a Big Breakfast then you'd be right. He liked the "build your own" concept and went for toast, mushrooms, tomato, pork belly and poached eggs.

Because this was a celebration brunch we needed to order some cake. The cafe has the cakes, cupcakes and slices baked for them by budding bakers and the snickers cupcake there on the right is baked by our very own blogger friend, Love Swah. Her baked goods are at The Rag Land each weekend and they are GOOD! The cupcake looked kinda lonely on its own so The Boy grabbed a slice of the very large lamington cake.

The Rag Land Cafe is at 129 Ragland Street, Redfern/Waterloo.

Love Food, Hate Waste pop-up, Parramatta

Miss Piggy and The Boy dinned as guests of Parramatta City Council. Thanks to Parramatta City Council and photographer Alex Wisser for allowing me to feature some of their professional photos on my blog (basically the good ones are by Alex Wisser and the terrible ones are by moi - natch).

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to what I'm pretty sure was Parramatta's very first pop-up dinner as part of Good Food Month. It's great to see more foodie events coming to the neighbourhood.  With this pop-up and Parramatta Lanes both happening during October I have to say...Parramatta was the place to be for me.

The theme of the pop-up dinner was "Love Food, Hate Waste" and the message to not waste food was an important one...one that we heard more about during the night from guest speaker (and flute-playing lady), Jane Rutter.

Whilst The Boy and I don't waste too much food in our household (we prefer to eat it...ALL) we could do things better - like checking the fridge/cupboards for items before we grocery shop to save on doubling up on ingredients. Often I go on memory and my memory ain't that great I have to confess. It was also be helpful to take my weekly menu plan plus shopping list to the supermarket as it may help me stay on track and not buy things I don't need. Of course I'm still trying to figure out how to make a compost bin or worm farm work in our flat so that I can get rid of food scraps that way...one day.

Parramatta's Connection Arcade was transformed in a dreamy dining space by Geraldine Mills - owner of my favourite shop in Parramatta, Prospector Store. Geraldine used upcycled and recycled items to create a space that was both inviting and warm. I was stunned at how great this arcade looked on the night.

Parramatta's very own Leanne Beck, of Sweet Street Bakery fame pulled together what can only be described as an incredible feast. Leanne is well known for her amazing pastry skills, but I had no idea that she is such a great, all round chef.  Leanne prepared a "family style banquet" which saw our waitstaff visiting our tables with trays of tempting dishes.  The menu featured lots of hearty fare, some with a Middle Eastern twist.

 

 

We had wonderful white-sangria ciders to help the food along and I loved that the one of the chieftain's from Batlow Cider was behind the bar. I was told that Batlow Cider is a cooperative between the apple growers of the region...a pretty smart business idea really to keep demand up for their product -- and to stop so many surplus applies going to waste.

To help us keep the memory alive of our great meal each guest was able to take home their dinner plate from the event. The "flatware" was all made by a local clay artist who imprinted herbs + veggies from their garden into the clay. Really lovely stuff!

This was a great event, with a great message. I cannot wait to see what Parramatta pops-ups with at next years Good Food Month.

BaoTown pop-up @VellaNero Cafe, Sydney

On Sunday I was lucky enough to be invited to the media preview of the soon-to-be-launched BaoTown pop-up that is being put together by fellow food blogger T (aka Theresa), from the blog, The Gook.

Until a few years ago I had no idea what a Bao even was (an infliction not uncommon to most Aussie kids growing up in Aussie country towns), but in the space of a few short years I've grown to know them...and love them. A LOT. Unlike me, T grew up eating Bao -- they were practically a daily after-school treat made for her by her nan...hence the source of her Bao passion and the inspiration behind BaoTown.

The lovely T, chief Bao-ologist and mastermind behind BaoTown

So what is a Bao? You know those Pork Buns that we all know and love at Yum Cha? That's a Bao. Bao (pronounced "bow") simple means "bun"...a doughy casing for whatever inventive filling the bao-maker wishes to stuff them with.  Like all good food, it's meant to be eaten with your hands...so put those knives + forks down people and tuck in.

At the media launch we got to try all four of the savoury Bao's that will be appearing and the pop-up PLUS the two incredible sweet baos on offer. I may have snuck an extra Bao when noone was looking and just so you know eating seven Bao may be one too many. Maybe...

Miso Eggplant Bao - sweet eggplant slow roasted with shiro miso, sake, mirin, sesame seeds and ginger. Topped with a coriander salsa.

Coconut Pork Belly Bao - pork belly slow cooked for 4 hours in young coconut juice, soy and fish sauce + star anise (I may or may not have had two of these. Don't judge)!

Yellow Chicken Curry Bao - fragrant chicken curry made with turmeric, curry leaves, fish sauce and coconut cream (sadly I could not fit in two of these - my stomach let me down).

Beef Bo Kho Bao - traditional beef stew slow cooked in soy sauce, tomato, lemongrass and cinnamon.

From my limited Bao knowledge sweet fillings in Bao isn't uncommon, but T took her sweet fillings to a whole other level. Behold the Molten Chocolate Bao (you can put in a drum roll there if you like cause I think it's kinda worth it).

On first glance it looks innocent enough - some pastry wrapped around some chocolate. No big deal. But then you bite into it and a river of glossy, oozy, molten Marou chocolate runs out like a river of sweet silk.  This baby sh!ts all over those Nutella crepes I was scoffing in Paris a few weeks ago.

 

The Lemon Polenta Bao is also pretty dang great, especially for those people (like me) who love the tart zinginess of a bit of lemon in their food.

As the pop-up is being hosted by CBD cafe + coffee roasters Vella Nero we also get to indulge in some fine Vietnamese Iced Coffee (which I REALLY appreciated as I'm still feeling a tad jet lagged and still on London time).

So what are you waiting for? It all sounds delish, right?

The first BaoTown pop-up is being held on 12th October at Vella Nero, 259 Clarence Street in the city between 10.00am - 5.00pm.

There is also a November + December pop-up on the cards.

 

Parramatta for Foodies this October

It seems that Parramatta is getting a bit of a reputation as a burgeoning foodie destination. Whilst I was off gallivanting around Europe (and eating all of their food) the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food supplement ran a blurb on Parramatta. Of course anyone who's alive, living in Sydney and a cafe lover has heard of Circa, but the article also mentioned other foodie gems like the newly (re)lauched Farmer's Markets (each Friday in Church Street Mall).

I'm going to let you in on a little secret food lovers...October is going to be a good food month for Parramatta. There's Pop Up dinner scheduled in one of our many arcades and another year of the Parramatta Lanes festival!

I absolutely LOVED the relaxed vibe of last years Parramatta Lanes and cannot wait to check out all the great food stands, and pop up venues at this years gig. CANNOT.WAIT! I also have it on good authority that my BBQ BFF, Smoky O, is going to be BBQ'ing up a storm at Parramatta Lanes. Like I said....CANNOT WAIT!  Parramatta Lanes is on 17 +18 and 24 + 25 October from 4.30pm - 9.30pm each night. There's more info here.

I'm also pretty chuffed that I've invited by Pop Up Parramatta to attend the pop up dinner that's happening in Connection Arcade on October 23rd.  The three-course dinner has a focus on sustainably and minimizing food waste featuring local farmers and growers with matched wines and Batlow Cider.  The arcade will be transformed by local Pop Up Parramatta artists.  I cannot wait to see how these guys transform the arcade...Geraldine from the local Prospector Store is in charge of styling and she is one stylish lady!


There's still tickets left if you're interested.

I'm not wanting to wish my life away but HURRY UP OCTOBER, I'M HUNGRY.