Coco Chanel once said “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”. Whilst I appreciate Coco’s sentiment, it’s something I’ve never been able to do. You’ll catch me leaving the house lit up with jewellery looking like a Christmas tree. It’s this lack of self control and discipline that I think led to me almost leaving the house looking like a pirate the other night and it’s one where I am attracted to sparkly things like a magpie.
Walking in on the converted brick house turned bakery on this unseasonably warm Autumn day the first thing we notice is the buzz. You know the buzz that every shop owner wants? Sprightly waitresses in shorts and t-shirts abound fetching plates to hungry hordes. At one table there’s a couple with their baby ensconced in a high chair and they’re feeding him little cubes of a sourdough roll dipped in oil and he’s reaching his chubby arms out for more.
The next thing I notice is that we’re needing to play a game of musical chairs this Sunday. There are small tables that seat two to four as well as large communal tables so we perch quietly on seats at a communal table before spying two diners getting up and pounce for their table (well not literally, let’s not embarrass ourselves). Service comes with a smile here and I’m thankful to my friend @carmr for recommending it. I do a quick reconnaissance of the front pastry display cabinet and I spy a Schulz sandwich with wagyu, pickles, cheese, mayo and cos lettuce and my mind is made up. After all as it is a bakery I’m here to try the bread. Mr NQN goes for breakfast, the two poached eggs served with baked beans and bread and opts for a pork and fennel sausage to go with it.
Coffee
A coffee miraculously appears within minutes and Mr NQN sips it and gives a smile. It’s good he confirms.
Schulz Sandwich $11
I prefer this view though…
Some recipes are just begging to be made. Be it either by name or by look, Monkey bread is a double whammy – not only does it sound cute (and trust me, no monkeys were harmed in the process of making these) but it also looks heart stoppingly good. Like the kind of thing you just stare at open mouthed for a good few minutes contemplating. Or perhaps maybe that was just me. I have a soft spot for monkeys and apes-my favourite simian is the mountain gorilla-a rather large looking but gentle creature. Chimps are all very cute until they start throwing their poo at the crowds whereas gorillas have a peaceful dignity to them.
My friend Kathy sent me a link to a Monkey bread recipe but sadly it required the use of biscuits in a can, a concept that was foreign to me as we don’t have biscuits in cans here so I kept it in the back of my mind until I saw a from scratch recipe by Deb on Smitten Kitchen. I was elated that monkey bread would finally be a reality. I wanted to change it slightly as I thought that the little dough balls could be filled with the Hershey’s cinnamon chips that we can finally get here (albeit at extortionate prices but hey I’m just grateful that we can get these).
When I worked in advertising I was offered a job in a research firm by a former client. I had apparently impressed him in being the only person in the ad team that could give him a straight answer (advertising is of course well known for giving the fluffy answer and people that can bulls**t do very well). It was at a very prestigious marketing firm doing the TV ratings etc but another client of mine scoffed at the idea “Look you like making the deals, you don’t want to be stuck behind a desk doing research”. It was true, I loved the wheeling and dealing and the research job was rejected.
I still love doing research though but nowadays it’s more to do with food research and this evening when Mr NQN and I are off on a romantic date to Tomislav in Darlinghurst I’ve come armed with a list of must eats gleaned from Joey’s review here. This evening ex Fat Duck’s of the U.K. and Koi of Sydney, Tomislav Martinovic appears at the helm surveying those around him at the open kitchen. There is a large balcony area which tonight seems to be reserved for large groups and the iconic Coca Cola sign blinks down at us and seems only metres away. The maitre’d is very friendly and welcoming to all.
The saying goes “When in Rome do as the Romans do“. Mr NQN gives the phrase a special twist for the Nepalese restaurant we are in. “When in Nepal, eat goat” he sagely advises when we’re dithering over the menu at Sherpa Kitchen. It’s Good Friday and the dining choices are limited and we’re taking The AssMan (a vegetarian) out for dinner and we want to make sure that he has enough choice. We chose here as there is a whole section for vegetarian (and plenty of choices for vegan or gluten free). From our experience it’s similar to Indian food but less creamy which may be why there are so many vegan options.
Complimentary pappadums
We busy ourselves with the menu and the basket of complimentary pappadums which have a spicy yogurt dipping sauce. Our waiter suggests the banquet and from doing the calculations it’s a pretty good idea but as the AssMan is a vegetarian and we wanted to try the goat so we weren’t able to do that option.
Mohi Strawberry and Mango $5.50 each
we start with drinks-Mohis to be exact which are similar to a lassi. The pick of the two is the mango one whilst the strawberry one tastes like it is flavoured with strawberry jam.
Momocha $8.50
There are four dumplings per serve and we had opted for the vegetarian version. They’re similar to Chinese dumplings but with a chive and garlic filling. They’re not bad although we could easily devour more than four. It comes with a spicy, creamy yogurt sauce.
Sherpa Surprise $8.50
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