Food tour of The Rocks

If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time you’re probably aware that I LOVE a tour…especially a tour where food is involved.

When the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) invited me on a media “food and beverage” tour of The Rocks I quickly submitted an annual leave day from work and RSVPd YES YES YES!

Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority owns and manages some of the State's most significant assets, including The Rocks. The SHFA website tells us that their “vision is to make extraordinary places the world talks about by preserving and enhancing the inter-generational value of the State, heritage and cultural assets it manages”.

I think it must be a tricky balance to preserve the heritage of The Rocks precinct whilst at the same time making the area relevant and modern through food, beverage, shopping and events in order to attract locals and visitors alike. The SHFA are the brainchild behind the ever popular Vivid Festival which was designed to bring visitors to the area in the normally quiet (for them) month of May. I’d say that idea worked pretty well, huh?

So where did the tour take us? Read on to find out. All of these places were new to me and I’m super excited to get back to some of them to revist.

Le Pain Quotidien

Firstly, massive props to the Le Pain Quotidien website which tries to help us pronounce the name of the place. They say it sounds like “luh paN koh-ti-dyaN”. Yep…still cannot pronounce it but in English that translates to “the daily bread”.

The first stop on our food tour of The Rocks is Le Pain Quotidien...a bakery hailing from Belgium that is located in a (very) old police station on George Sreet. I cannot count the number of times I’ve walked past this building and not given it a second glance. This is a lesson in why it pays to look up from the pavement and take in the beauty surrounding us!

At the back of the café is where you’ll find the old gaol cells. The "cells" have been done up as little dining spaces and it is really really cool. If you don't like your dining buddies you could just get up from you cell and lock them in the cell behind you! If you cannot get yourself locked in a cell never fear! There is loads of seating in the front of the building and also out on George Street where you’ll have a stellar view of the MCA.

On this first pit stop we get to try a few items from the Patisserie menu and I go for the almond and cheese croissant which is delicious. The cheese is almost undetectable so don’t let that put you off.  It provides a subtle sweet and and creamy note to the pasty.  This is not like eating a slice of Kraft cheese on your sweet croissant I promise. I also sink my teeth in to the fruit bread with a good sized schmear of the creamy, luscious hazelnut spread. All of this is washed down with some tart, refreshing Homemade Lemonade.

I really like this space. I think it’s fantastic that the café is making use of one of the most interesting features of the buildings (the cells for those not keeping up with my love of THE CELLS). I’m keen to come back on the weekend to have brunch or lunch with Dave and enjoy some French goodies. And YAY for somewhere that is open for brunch in the city ALL weekend (they also open for dinner FYI).

127 George Street, The Rocks
Phone them on: 9252 3840
Trading hours: Monday - Sunday 8.00am - 9.00 pm



ChocolArts

Next stop on our tour of the rocks is one for the lovers of handmade, artisan chocolate. Behold the wonder that is ChocolArts.

This place smells INCREDIBLE - rich and luscious. At ChocolArt you’ll find a HUGE range of beautiful handcrafted chocolates make from premium Belgian and French couverture chocolate. There's also some couverture on hand from North Queensland (it's grown on a banana farm)! Fantastic!  What's more is that there’s no artificial ingredients or preservatives in the ChocolArt choccies so this place is basically a health food shop if you think about it!

ChoocolArts has a range of traditional chocolates but I also like the addition of a few Australian flavours such as Lemon Myrtle (which is super yum FYI) and also the Leatherwood Honey. Whilst in store I also tried the Fleur de Sel. One word = YUM!

75 George Street, The Rocks
Trading Hours: Monday - Sunday: 10.00am - 6.00pm



Ananas Bar and Brasserie

Moving right along to the third stop on our food tour. We pop into the beautiful Ananas for some wine and a light lunch.

I figured out pretty quickly that Ananas is French for pineapple as there are pineapple "things" all over the joint. Pineapple lights of different shapes and sizes adorn various parts of the bar and brasserie and it REALLY is gorgeous. How have I not been here before?   Now, if you're wondering about the link between France and pineapples we are told that "way back in The Day, pineapples were a sign of wealth and great hospitality in France".  You learn something new everyday.

The bar area takes up a huge chunk of the building and is light and bright with a touch of “old world France about it”. It positively shimmers from the glow of the pineapple chandeliers. LOVE!

We move through to the brasserie, which is dark and lux, and settle at the tables for some tasty treats. First up is a glass (or two) of a smooth 2012 Château Darzac Sémillon Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux, France (naturally). I think I can now add another wine to my list of wines that I like…welcome to the club Sémillon Sauvignon Blanc!

On to the food… King Crab Salad with avocado and fresh green apple (from the restaurant lunch menu); Chef's celection of house charcuterie with brioche (from the bar menu); Ananas seared yellow fin tuna salade niçoise (from the restaurant menu). The dishes we are presented with are all beautiful with delicate flavours and textures that all blend perfectly together. I adored the charcuterie as it just screams Paris to me...

We finish off our light lunch with a trio of Ananas eclairs – the Chef's selection as Chef knows best after all. We had an African chocolate éclair, an Earl Grey Tea éclair (oh boy this was GOOD) and a salted caramel éclair. We cut each éclair into five pieces so we could each have “just a taste”. The perfect, guilt free way to have dessert I think.

18 Argyle Street, The Rocks
Phone them on 9259 5668 or email reservations@ananas.com.au
Trading Hours:
Lunch = Mon - Fri 12.00pm – 3.00pm
Dinner = Mon - Thu 6.00pm – 10.00pm | Fri - Sat 5:30pm – 11.00pm
Bar = Mon- Fri 12.00pm – 1.00am | Sat 4.00pm – 1.00am



Wine Odyssey Australia

Moving right along on our food tour of The Rocks to Wine Odyssey. This is another venue with a historical past – built in 1886 it initially operated as a hotel run by one of Australia’s first female publicans. 

The resident archaeologist from the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, who attended the tour with us, tells us that this building also served as a morgue (pubs with cellars = cool, dry place to store the bodies) as well as a “house of ill repute”!

I've never seen a DIY "wine tasting machine" before...and now I have. This month the machine is loaded up with NSW wines...you put credit on your Wine Odyssey card...stick it in the machine and taste away. More fun than an iPad people.

As well as the DIY "wine tasting machine" Wine Odyssey also has a wine bar, wine store, wine club and can host a variety of events. On the second floor of their venue is a “theatre” which is where we head to try both a red and white wine, and to sample a few of the delectable cheeses on offer.

39/43 Argyle Street, The Rocks
Phone them on 8114 0256
Trading hours:
Monday - Closed
Tuesday to Saturday – 12.00pm to late
Sunday - 12.00pm to 10.00pm



The Push

Next stop on our food tour of The Rocks is The Push. It's the first pub you'll meet as you enter The Rocks ...a really cozy space for a cocktail (or two) and something to eat. The Push sits on the ground floor of the lovely (and again, historic) Russell Hotel building.

The Push is a bit of a funny name isn’t it? It comes from a Blues and Jazz Club that operated in the Rocks in the 70’s, known as “The Rocks Push”. The club took its name go back to the early 1800s when a group of ye olde worlde gang-bangers (also referred to as “larrikins” back in the day) formed a gang called “The Rocks Push”. They terrorized the area and sailors frequenting the Rocks.

During our brief stop at The Push we get to sample a few of the bar snacks on offer and a few cocktails. I LOVE LOVE LOVED the crumbed calamari strips that are dusted with sichuan pepper and kaffir lime. I ignored the accompanying soy dipping sauce and dunked the calamari in the aioli that accompanied the cheesy little arancini balls. Good stuff. The nachos bites were piled high with spiced beef flank, beans, rocket, cheese and avocado – not so pretty to eat (more of a shove-it-in-your-gob) but really tasty! I also loved the slider I tired - pulled lamb with mashed peas (there’s also pork rib and vegetarian sausage sliders on offer if you prefer).

We try a few cocktails here, include their signature cocktail ‘Push Over’. The drinks menu tells us this drink is “inspired by the well-dressed ladies who were dazzled by the charisma of the members of The Push in the 1800′s. This cocktail is a fruity, refreshing mix of raspberries, lime, Chambord and vodka”. I’m not sure I’m classified as a “well-dressed lady” (I err more on the casual side of things) and I don’t go ga-ga for gang members BUT I did love this cocktail. Yum.

143 George Street, The Rocks.
Phone them on 9241 2999
Trading Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 12.00pm - 11.00pm
Friday – Saturday: 12.00pm – 12.00am (nice one lock-out laws...not)!
Sunday: 12.00pm – 10.00pm



The Glenmore Hotel

The rooftop of The Glenmore Hotel is a SPECTACULAR place to end our food tour of The Rocks. Stunning views...especially in the glorious weather we’ve been experiencing lately. The rooftop has received a face lift and is the proud owner of a a retractable roof. This means the rooftop will be open rain, hail or shine. Woot.

I take a seat at the table that overlooks the Opera House...and that overlooks three giant jugs of cocktails. I’m not sure what any of there are I’m sorry (I heard mutterings of Pimms and of rum {not in the same jug of course}) – but I had a VERY good sample from each one and can confirm that they are all delish. Coupled with the stunning, warm spring weather and the million dollar view I’d say these cocktails are darn near perfect!

Quite a few plates of food came out but I didn’t get to sample (or snap) them all. I'm keen to come back and try the chicken wings which we are told are devilishly spicy and messy.

The Salt and Pepper Squid was dusted in chilli and came with a coriander and lime mayonnaise – yum. I loved the BBQ corn salsa and tartare sauce that accompanied the Fish Cakes (which reminded me of a prettier version of the tuna patties I used to try and make at home, but they would never stick together).   After a few fried dishes the Tuna Salad was fresh and refreshing. Seared Albacore Tuna is plated under a medley of avocado, cucumber ribbon, heirloom cherry tomato, crispy panache salad with spicy sesame soy dressing.

I absolutely LOVED spending time on the rooftop of the Glenmore Hotel.  It just felt like the quintessential Sydney experience - big blue skies, warm weather, sunshine and a dazzling view of the sparkling water and Opera House.

96 Cumberland Street, The Rocks.
Phone them on: 9247 4794
Trading Hours:
Mon – Thurs: 11.00am to 12.00am
Fri -- Sat: 11.00am to 1.00am
Sun: 11.00am to 12.00am

Parlour Burger, The Rocks

Miss Piggy received a $50 voucher from Parlour Burger to enjoy their food + drink.

$10 burgers? Yes please!

It's nice to see more and more restaurants and cafes opening up in the CBD, giving hungry Sydney-siders (and tourists) more city-eating options. I remember when I first started visiting Sydney (back in the 80s) and the only place to sit down and eat up towards Circular Quay was City Extra, a few dodgy pubs...or McDonalds. Blergh.

You can find Parlour Burger nestled behind the recently revamped (and very swish looking)  Morrison Hotel on the top end of George Street.

Whilst the menu (and decor) at The Morrison are a little fancy, Parlour Burger is all about the burger in a traditional looking pub setting. And, the $10 burger at that!

There are five burgers on offer here, including a fish burger, chicken burger and a vegetarian burger. The BFF and I decide to try both the beef burgers on offer, and opt for our pattie to be well cooked rather than the recommended "pink" Parlour Burger suggest.

We start with the Orignal Morrison Burger that comes with Chipotle Mayo, Lettuce, Tomato and gherkins (yay)! I really liked this burger - it had a good, classic flavour with just a tang of heat from the chipotle mayo. The bun was neither soft nor hard, and lacked the overly sweet afternote that the currently popular buttermilk buns seem to have.

The Black Widow certainly packs a visual punch with its bun coloured black by charcoal. Yes, charcoal! The charcoal doesn't change the flavour of the bun (that I could detect) so fear not traditional bun-lovers!  The guts of this bun are basically the same as The Original Morrison asides from the inclusion of fresh jalepenos that certainly pack more of a punch than their pickled counterparts.

Where there are burgers there must be chips, duck fat chips ($6.00) to be precise!  These weren't as crunchy as I thought they would be, but were still very tasty.

I had REALLY wanted to try the deep fried pickles that are on the menu, but they'd run out by the time we arrived, so we opted for the cabbage salad with parmesan slaw ($5.00).

Parlour Burger is at 225 George Street, The Rocks. Phone them on 9247 6744.

Baroque Bistro, The Rocks

I am firmly of the belief that birthdays should be celebrated for at least a week, which is how we end up at a pre-birthday lunch for The Boy in The Rocks. I'd stumbled across a meal deal voucher for Baroque Bistro, a somewhat fancy French bistro and patisserie – which seems like a fitting place for a pre-birthday celebration. I'm taking The Boy to Canberra for his actually birthday, so perhaps this semi-fancy lunch is an apology of sorts (ha ha)!

The added bonus of lunching at Baroque Bistro is that we would have a chance to wander around The Rocks and look at the markets and marvel at some of the fabulous old buildings that dominate this area. If we are in the city we may as will make a day it.

Although The Rocks markets are geared towards tourists there are a number of stalls selling lovely handmade items and I did happen to pick up a lovely brooch made out of broken tiles… So pretty!

After the horrendously rainy week Sydney had experienced I was thrilled to see a bit of sunshine, which thankfully stayed about for the entire day. We spent about an hour wandering around before lunch, and working up an appetite! 

Our meal at Baroque Bistro starts with a seemingly bottomless bowl of warm white bread served with a lovely, smooth olive oil for dipping. It's amazing how lovely an expensive olive oil can taste – maybe we should stop burying the cheap, homebrand stuff for use at home. I also like to sprinkle a little Pink Murray River salt on the bread and oil – lovely.

After we polished off nearly 2 bowls of bread the entrees arrive. The boy has selected a fricassee of calamari with saffron crackers and crab cream. This is probably one of the most fancy dishes either The Boy is or I have ever eaten – it has a foam on it, fancy! I adore the way the calamari is diced into tiny cubes, giving it a whole new texture in the mouth.

The waitress helps me out with my entree decision as everything sounded so delightful I didn't know what to choose. With her help I end up selecting grilled scallops, shitake confiture, fried pine nuts, with Jerusalem artichokes and butternut pumpkin. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and incredibly tender. This is the first time I've ever had Jerusalem artichokes and I loved the woody texture and the taste that I would say is similar to a Swede.

There is a bit of breathing space between the entrees and the main, which is welcome as were starting to fill up – too much bread!  We get a chance to admire the beautiful setting of the restaurant - the Harbour Bridge and Opera House are just outside the windows. The interior of the restaurant is both swish and rustic all at the same time. I particularly love the bronze light fittings that adorn one of the dining rooms.

For mains The Boy was quite taken by the ten-hour slow roasted Bangalow pork that was on the specials board. He promised to share some of the crackling with me and it was really nice - crispy and salty and I suspect deep-fried to give it that extra crunch.  I was keen to try one of the Brussel Sprouts that came with his meal. My previous ventures into the world of Brussel Sprouts has been HORRIFIC - over boiled, soggy little balls of YUK!  I'm pleased to say I quite enjoy the Brussel Sprouts at Baroque, though I still found them a little bitter tasting.

I chose grilled Angus flank steak, triple cooked chips with an eschalotte and watercress salad and béarnaise sauce for my main. As soon as I saw triple cooked fries on the menu I knew I had to have them – especially after seeing them being cooked on Masterchef earlier this year. The fries were TOTALLY AMAZING and I would say the star of the dish. They were super crunchy on the outside yet the potato on the inside was still soft and fluffy. 

I probably didn't need to dip these tripled cooked fries into the creamy béarnaise sauce as they were naughty enough as it was, but oh my it was good! I really appreciated the token watercress salad on the side to give my arteries a bit of relief from all the fatty goodness.

When I told the boy that we were to share a dessert I have to say he was a bit miffed – after all if this is his pre-birthday lunch why has he got to share a dessert? Good point, but as there is only one dessert on offer with our voucher I certainly wasn't going to miss out.

Before dessert arrived we are offered tea or coffee. The boy opts for a cappuccino and I choose a Peppermint Tea (I have a no coffee after midday rule as I have enough trouble sleeping as it is)!

Our lovely French waitress kept explaining to me what dessert was in her sexy French accent, but I just could not understand what she was saying as she was saying the name of the dessert in French. I later asked one of the Australian waitresses what the dessert was.  When she explained it was a sampling of the pastries of the day plus a selection of macarons I knew that sharing would be no problem.

When the dessert platter arrived at our table I’m sure our jaws nearly hit the floor. Although each petit four was relatively small in size the combination of all the elements on the plate made for an incredibly large dessert. We had a little of everything on our plate, from chocolate twirls, berry cheesecake, tiramsu, truffles, dots of berry jus, almond clusters, a berry sponge concoction, chocolate mousse, macarons and a biscuit crumble. 

Everything tasted amazingly delicious and decedant. I've never eaten anything like this before in my life as it just seems so over the top!  Needless to say I was very sad when my dessert stomached totally failed me and we had to box up the macrons and take them home.

After lunch we strolled across the Harbour Bridge, admired the fabulous views of the city and the Opera House and jumped on the train at Milsons Point to head home. 

The walk probably took as an hour as we stopped every few seconds to admire the view and try and snap the perfect picture to capture the day.

Baroque Bistro and Patisserie is at 88 George Street (corner of Hickson Road) The Rocks, Sydney. I’d recommend making a booking as they were incredibly busy on the day we visited and were turning people away.

A note on my photos: this was another outing with the D3000. I was hesitant to take the camera with me after the last two epic failures, but I thought "why not"? I reset all the settings which seem to have fixed the issue with the light meter not balancing...mostly.  In a silly move though I sat facing the window at the restaurant, so the photos are all a bit "off" in terms of their colour (too bright perhaps - who knows, not me). I've since been told that next time I need to sit with my back to the light.  I think on a few of the outdoor photos in particular I had the shutter speed too slow (so they are over exposed). This hasn't been helped by my fiddling around in Picasa to try and fix up the light and colour.  I also increased the f/stop from f/1.8 to f/2.5 so the photos have less blur, but I could probably up this even a bit more to make sure the whole plate of food is focus -- looks a bit more appetising that way, right?