Sushi Bay, Parramatta

To say I was excited when I discovered Parramatta's answer to Sushi Train, Sushi Bay is an understatement. And to say that I LOVE a good Sushi merry-go-round would be an understatement of monumental proportions.

Case in point: when I was moving out to Broken Hill in 2005 it wasn't so much the isoloation of living in this outback town that had me worried - it was my proxmity (or lack of it) to sushi of any kind.

It is a five hour drive from Broken Hill to the nearest sushi restaurant.  Yes, you read correctly, a five hour drive, isn't that terrible?  In a pre-move panic I ate Sushi EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for two months hoping that I'd make myself so sick of it I wouldn't give my true food love a second thought.  It didn't work of course - I pined for little plates of sushi on a conveyor belt for three years.  Everytime I came back to "The Big Smoke" I overdosed as much as could, but my cravings never went away.

So, I think it is totally understandable that I'm very excited to have a Sushi train within a 20 minute walk of my house.  It's bliss.  Especially when I hop off the train on a night when The Boy isn't going to be home and I can duck into Sushi Bay for a quick and tasty dinner.  It's not the most gourmet sushi in the world and it won't win any food awards, but I love having this place so close to my home.

Sushi Bay has all of the usual suspects and they are all very tasty as well as being reasonably priced.  If you don't see something you want on the conveyor belt they are more than happy to make it for you fresh.

First up is a Tuna Ship, a bargain at $3.00 a plate.  The tuna salad is lovely and fresh, not dry at all and not with too much mayonnaise.

Next up is one of my all time favourites, Soft Shell Crab Roll ($4.00).  Can you believe I'd never had (let alone heard) of Soft Shell Crab until I moved back to Sydney in 2008.  I love this dish so much I had two plates.

I'm also very fond of another relatively new discovery, Dragon Roll ($3.50).  Sushi Bay's version of the Dragon Roll comes adorned with a beautiful pickled radish, and some cream cheese innards.  I love the cream cheese and the way the soft creamy texture coats the inside of the mouth. It works so well with the sweet sticky sauce coating the eel. 

Last dish is a Tuna and Avocado Roll ($4.00).  This is a simple dish that works so well and I love it as it means I can indulge in more tuna salad.

Sushi Bay is at Shop 2183 Westfield Shopping Center Parramatta (at the bus interchange).  They have a number of other restaurants around the Western Suburbs which you can find on their website.

Parramatta Park Cafe, Parramatta

Not too far from our flat is the lovely green expanse of Parramatta Park.

As well as family picnics and sitting under shady trees, people go there to run, ride their bikes or walk laps around the park.  Basically we go there to eat brunch at the Parramatta Park Cafe and watch crazy people exercise in extreme heat.   

The cafe has a lovely outdoor section over looking the beginnings of Parramatta River, a huge air-conditioned indoor area and more outdoor seating overlooking the jogging/cycling path.

The Boy and I choose a seat overlooking the exercise path...and then order burgers!  Surely eating burgers whilst watching people exercise has some calorific benefit to us, right?

The Boy orders a Hamburger ($15.00) which turns out to be a monster.

The plump meat patty is deliciously juicy and is adorned with cheese and a generous dollop of smokey BBQ sauce.  All the necessary salad elements are present and accounted for: tomato, lettuce, onion and of course beetroot which is a necessity for all good Aussie burgers

I'm not feeling in the burger mood, but the Steak Sandwich ($17.50) takes me eye.

The bread is splattered with a generous amount of savoury garlic aioli and the steak is cooked perfectly, not chewy at all.  This is no small accomplishment considering just how well done I like my steak (which is super-dooper well done...I don't mind a bit of charcoal, but if I see blood I might just faint). The sandwich also comes with a beetroot relish (the posh version of beetroot on a burger), rocket and a big fat juicy mushroom. The chips are super crispy and perfect with a shake of salt added.  

After brunch/lunch we decide to follow the lead of the fitness fanatics in the park and take our swollen burger-bellies for a bit of a walk stroll.  I'm so glad we did as we discover a Flying Fox Camp and can see the little guys all wrapped up in their wings taking their midday nap.  We often see Flying Foxes flying over our flat at dusk and it's lovely to know that they basically live next door to us.

Parramatta Park Cafe is located in....Parramatta Park.  If driving you almost have to do a full lap before you come across the cafe, which is located in the Old Visitors Center.  It's pretty much just behind Parramatta Stadium. 

Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst

When the tweet went around last Friday that Gelato Messina were donating $1 from every scoop sold on Saturday to the flood victims The Boy and I knew that it was only right that we do our bit for the country.

We figured that as we were in the area, well we were in Balmain then Marrickville, it would be silly not to go along and make a donation to the floods.

Gelato Messina usually has a kooky flavour lurking in amongst the 40 gelatos on offer.

At the moment they’re spruiking Elvis The Fat Years, an ultra sweet concoction that would have even Elvis begging for mercy.   Seeing as I’m having a “Mel the Fat Year” myself I go for broke and order a scoop of this, along with my all time favourite Coconut Pandan and a scoop of Peanut Butter.   

Hey, it’s for a good cause, OK? And, I’m sharing with The Boy, so it’s not as bad as it sounds. 

Elivs The Fat Years is a googy, sweet mix of Peanut Butter Gelato with Fried Brioche and Banana Jam.  Did you just put on 2kgs reading that, cos I know I did?  

Elvis is good (he's The King after all) and The Boy enjoys every artery clogging mouthful of this crazy flavour.  For me however, I don’t think it is as good as the simple delights of the plain Peanut Butter gelato.  Of course both of these pale in comparison to the beautifully smooth and creamy Coconut Pandan that has me coming back to Gelato Messina every chance I get. 

Three scoops of gelato at Gelato Messina will set you back $6.90.  And it’s worth every single cent. 

Gelato Messina is at Shop 1/241 Victoria St, Darlinghurst.

Misschu @ Opera Kitchen, Circular Quay

The stinking hot Sydney weather thwarted last night's plans to stop by Misschu’s Tuckshop in Darlinghurst and have a quick bite to eat after work.  I just couldn’t face the thought of schlepping from Redfern to Darlinghurst and then sitting on a little stool on the sidewalk to eat my fare.  I was desperate to give Misschu’s a try, but not desperate enough to risk heatstroke.  

As I trudged through the heat to the train station to head home I remembered that Misschu’s had recently opened up at the Opera Kitchen, along with a small selection of the who’s who of Australian eateries.   It’s a far cry from the street vendor inspired Darlinghurst location where you order through a hole-in-the-wall window complete with bamboo awning, but it means I could give Misschu’s a try at least (and hopefully there would be a breeze - there wasn't, just for the record).

The Opera Kitchen is a bit like a (very) fancy food court...with a million dollar view.  Along with Misschu, you can choose to sample the delights from Bécasse Bakery, Charlie & Co Burgers, Cloudy Bay Fish Co and Kenji  Sushi all whilst enjoying drink from the bar and gazing out over the harbour. 

On a day when it’s not pushing 40 degrees I think the Opera Kitchen would be a wonderful place to eat...last night however was another story.  Even hiding under the umbrella’s lining the Opera House’s concourse I felt like I was melting. Grown men were walking by clutching ice-cream cones like they're life bouy’s.  Tourists sat like stunned mullets in the heat and the staff at the Opera Kitchen all look wilted and exhausted from the day’s heatwave.

I decided to stay and give Misschu’s a try however, as my alternative was to go home and cook dinner in my stinking hot kitchen. No thanks. 

All of the eateries share a menu and you simply place your order at the shared cash registered.  When your food is ready the wait staff bring it over to you (they'll even guard your food from lurking seagulls if you're off taking photos like I was).  If you like you could sample something from each of the restaurants (asides from Kenji, who have their own sushi bar space and tables reserved for their customers).

I've perused the online menu for Misschu’s Tuckshop in Darlinghurst more times than I can to remember in preparation for my first visit. The first thing I notice is that the Misschu's with a View offerings at Opera Kitchen are more expensive, but I guess you're paying for the view.  There's also less opportunity to order single items, which is a bit of a bummer if you're eating on your own like I am.

In the end I settled on an order of Peking Duck Pancakes, and two steamed buns that I could order singularly. My total bill comes to $19.00.

I'm not sure what is in the Steamed Vegetarian Bun ($3.50), but I 'think' there is some eggplant lurking about.  The innards are nice, but I think both of the buns have been in the steamer for awhile as the waiters bring these over to me in under a minute of me placing my order. The bottoms of the buns are little gluggy, but in this heat I can excuse a steamed bun with a gluggy bottom.

The BBQ Pork Char Sui Bun ($3.50) is my favourite of the two steamed buns. The BBQ Pork is sweet and sticky and the dough soft and pillow-like. The taste is slightly different from similar buns I've had a yum cha, more sweet and the meat is far less pink in colour. 

And last, but not least, are the Traditional Peking Duck Pancakes ($12.00 for four pieces).  I love love love Peking Duck Pancakes, so this plate was always going to be the winner for me.  The pancakes are a bit more petite that I've had before, but the flavour is lovely.  A sprig of garlic chive lifts the flavour of the pancake and cuts through the sweetness of the sauce. YUM!

Opera Kitchen is located on the Opera House's lower concourse, next to the Opera Bar.

Doy Tao, Glebe

A work errand in Glebe fortuitously sees me over near one of my favourite lunchtime Thai restaurants, Doytao.

And as luck would have it I'm in the neighborhood where my old work buddies Miss Chicken and The Vegetarian work so it's not hard to convince them to join me for a quick bite to eat.

I probably don't eat Thai food as much as I used to, but that's only because I'm now aware of all of the other amazing cuisines that Sydney has to offer.  When I do get around to eating Thai food for a quick lunch I want it to be good and I know that I won't be disappointed with our quick lunch at Doytao in Glebe.

Glebe's Doytao a tiny hole in the wall place, so not at all like the cavernous space you'll find at their Newtown restaurant.  There are five tables that hold setting for about 20 people in total.  Get in earlier or be prepared to take away!

The lunchtime menu is not extensive - just covers all the basics really. I already know what I want so don't waste much time looking at the menu anyway.

I opt for one of their lunch specialties, Pad See Eew with Chicken ($11.90). The prices are not as cheap as they used to be when I first started going here about three years ago, but the servings are HUGE so I don't feel ripped off.

The thing I love most about Pad See Eew is the gorgeously plump, thick rice noodles.  They are so tasty as the soy sauce sticks to them like glistening glue.  A squeeze of fresh lime just enhances the flavour tenfold.

The chicken is thinly sliced and wonderfully tender. I love the sprigs of shallots and Chinese broccoli which give the dish a crunchy texture. 

This dish is probably big enough to share between two people who have a modest appetite between them. I manage to polish mine off all by myself. As I get up to waddle back to work I realise that I've probably eaten just a little bit too much.

 

Doytao Glebe is at 35C Ross Street, Glebe.  They have a number of other restaurants through Sydney.