It was Mr NQN’s weekend. It was something that I thought we ought to do as every other weekend seems to revolve around my activities. Being Mr NQN’s weekend we went shopping for pants for him-he’s a fusspot with those and as he is rather disorganised, the dinner plans never did eventuate. When he expressed a preference to eating near home, we called Lebanon and Beyond in nearby Randwick only to find that it was of course fully booked this Saturday evening. Not a huge shock so it was Spanish Omelette at home in front of the tv on a Saturday night. A nice change but a touch dull. Although we got to watch lots of episodes of Modern Family and The InBetweeners which we both love.
Like all good spouses, I think he sensed my boredom so we decided to try for Lebanon and Beyond the next evening. I booked earlier that day and lucky we did for as we turn up, a woman with a party of friends is eager for a table but as it’s fully booked she is politely let down. Undeterred she promises to be back in an hour for a table (and she is).
Housed in an art deco building it has a certain retro feel to it. Service is friendly and we are allowed to have one vegetarian banquet and one regular chef’s banquet, each with four courses including dessert. Most banquets these days are over $30 so we’re pleasantly surprised to see a banquet for $28 and a vegetarian one for $25. They give us a plate with spiced peanuts, salty green olives and pickles and I particularly like the peanuts and the pickles together. Mr NQN gets his homemade lemonade which is a flat lemonade with the distinct flavour of fragrant orange blossom-it’s a bit more orange blossom than lemon though.
Orange blossom lemonade
Peeking through we see that the kitchen is small and I pass through to use the ladies room where it seems I’ve entered a different world. The bathroom is seems is shared with a private hotel and inside the bathroom looks to be like a hospital bathroom with a shower. One wonders whether there is any overlap with the hotel residents and restaurant patrons.
Hommous
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| August 30th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
Last year towards the end of Winter I rang Corner 75 to make a booking. Being that it was on a Saturday night, they were fully booked and it was with a sense of sadness that I realised that it would be another year until I could make another booking. You see I love the idea of eating these hearty Eastern European cuisines in Winter but come Summer, I’m all about salad.
I’m with my usual partners in crime, Miss America, Queen Viv and Mr NQN. We arrive on this chilly Winter’s evening and find a brightly lit and full restaurant. The clientele mostly appears to be Hungarian and it is decorated with lots of pretty Hungarian touches from embroidered aprons to whips. A candle holder that also holds salt, white pepper and paprika sits on the table. Pictures of the Hungarian Presidents line the walls to the bathrooms upstairs. Service from our waitress is sweet, friendly and knowledgeable.
Langos with sour cream $6.50
The entrees come out very quickly. I know Miss America will love this as he adores pastry. I recall having this at Manly markets a year or so ago and this deep fried dough is frightfully addictive. You know it’s deep fried dough after all and not exactly going to get you ready for swimsuit season but you just cannot help eating more. We dip it in the strong raw garlic sauce and then spread sour cream over it for a crunchy, oily, garlicky and creamy sensation. Bliss.
Cold Cherry Soup $9.50
Queen Viv tries the cold cherry soup. “Oh it’s wonderful” she says “Just the right balance of flavours”. I try some and she’s right. It’s a sweet, milky soup made creamy with sour cream and given aromatics with cinnamon. There are also whole sour cherries at the bottom and it’s delightfully good.
Hortobágyi Crepe $9.50
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| July 26th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
It was cold this Wintry Monday evening. The rain poured down, thunder struck the sky with mild grumbles and my stomach echoed with a loud protesting growl. I was waiting for Mr NQN to come home so that we could make our way to some comforting Italian fare at Buzo Trattoria in the upmarket suburb of Woollahra with David Tsirekas (chef and owner of Perama restaurant) and his lovely wife Belinda (mum to adorable girls Mia and Ruby). I walk in first while Mr NQN finds a park (don’t you just love husbands that drop you off in the front when you’re wearing impossible to walk in heels?). David tells me “Don’t worry I’ve already tweeted ‘Can someone get an electrician to @buzo_trattoria. There is a problem with the lighting’!” and starts laughing.
David has already established joking relationship with Traci from Buzo., Only a few weeks earlier he had called to book with her using a false voice complete with dodgy indiscernible accent saying that he had read about Buzo on “Not Quite Nutella”. And we learn that joking back and forth is the order of the evening. Housed in an elegant charcoal grey two storey terrace it’s busy for a Monday night.
Warm Sicilian Green Olives, Fennel & Lemon $8
These are a fantastic start. The warm olives (and I do love it when olives are served warm) are heady not so much in the fennel and lemon but rosemary which gives it added warmth.
Pillas dio Anna Baked Semolina Gnocchi $20
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| July 14th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
There’s a brutal change in seasons around this time of the year. For us Sydney-siders it happened this past two weeks. Rain poured down relentlessly, laundry went unwashed for some, dryers spun for others, shoes got soaked and umbrellas bore the brunt of most of the pluvious assault. Then it became sunny but cruelly the temperature dipped to the low teens. So what does a good eater do in times of these? Ok your first reaction might be to seek the sunny Summertime shores of the Northern hemisphere (and I’m coming in your bag) or embrace the Wintry cold by indulging in my favourite Winter past time. Stuffing oneself with dumplings.
Wang Wang Silver Star is a newish place on busy Anzac Parade in Kingsford. Serving Shanghai style dumplings it was a closer version than busy Ashfield’s Liverpool Road. The dumplings were said to be good although the general consensus is that they were no Shanghai Night. We were a motley crew that night, my parents wanted to have dinner with Mr NQN and I and my mum asked us to invite along the Assman (Mr NQN’s brother). Ahem…yes the Assman has this effect on many women.
At 7pm, it’s busy and there’s queue outside. My parents seem to know the place so they tell us that there’s an upstairs where we head towards winding past the boxes of tissues, plastic spoons as the stairwell is used for storage. Despite it being fairly new, the double sided laminated picture menu already shows signs of being pored over again and again. Some dumplings are priced per dumpling (these are the larger fluffy white baos) whilst most are grouped together in lots of 4 or 6. Prices are higher than Ashfield but they would never qualify as expensive under anyone’s definition.
Kelp salad $3
Alas this is nothing like the moreishly fabulous Japanese seaweed salad but it’s not bad. Slightly slimy as seaweed is, it’s flavoured with garlic and soy sauce and is served cold.
BBQ Pork buns $1.20
Nicely fluffy and enormous, the filling is filled with the distinct aroma of cinnamon which is odd. I’m not sure if this was a strange batch and whether these are meant to taste like cinnamon.
Shanghai Steamed Mini Pork Buns $4.80
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| June 13th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
My parents always taught me that when looking for good food from a particular country, ask the people native to the country. Better still, when you walk into the restaurant and it’s filled with these people, you know you’ve chosen the right place. When Mr NQN and I went to Myriam’s place for dinner we asked her, her fiance and her French friends where they thought had good French food in Sydney. The answer was unanimous: La Brasserie in Darlinghurst.
Down the William Street end of Crown Street which is more Woolloomooloo than Darlinghurst really, La Brasserie is a French style Bistro that has been open for 3 years. The bread is a great start, fresh and soft inside with a spiky crunch on the outside it’s paired with some delicious French butter. And French butter has got to be my weakness, how much do I love thee…
Entrecôte Steak $36
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| June 4th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
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