Opposite the Manly Ferry wharves is a restaurant that we’ve passed many times but never noticed. It’s only when A books a table here for her birthday that we discover this restaurant, a Spanish Moorish restaurant and tapas bar.

The staff are patient, and for us they need to be as half of the party is more than half an hour late, some 45 minutes late which can send a restaurateur round the bend with precious table space being wasted. When three quarters of the people arrive at the table, the owner recommends that we order some tapas to start and then our mains before the rest of the table arrive as the wait for our mains might be long as we’ve hit the 8-8.30pm crowd. We’re rushed into choosing a little but we assume it’s all in the name of making sure that our orders are served in a timely manner. Vegetarian dishes are plentiful and clearly marked which makes ordering easier.

Bissara broadbean dip $13

We order a mix of tapas which comes out within 5-10 minutes. The first to arrive is the Bissara Dip $13.00 described as “A rich puree of baby broad beans cooked gently in olive oil, garlic and cumin served with flat bread”. I scoop some up on the bread and it’s not particularly flavoursome and appears very watery if anything. Not a promising start I must admit.

Potato Aioli $9

The second tapas dish to arrive is the Potato Alioli $9.00, described as “Crispy fried potatoes with homemade garlic and parsley mayonnaise”. The small potato chunks look delectable and holding back on eating them while taking photos is an exercise in patience. We are rewarded with crispy, delicious potato chunks with an aromatic garlic aioli which makes us for the Bissara Dip nicely. This gets much contented murmuring from the table. In the middle of eating these, curiously my main arrives. The owner apologises for this and removes it and tells me that it is for the wrong table and that a fresh one will be made for me once I finish my entree.

Moorish Meat Balls $11.00

Our third tapas dish is the Moorish Meat Balls $11.00, “Minced beef balls simmered in a spicy tomato, red wine and coriander sauce”. There are 4 1/2 small sizzling balls to this plate and they are made of very finely ground beef, if anything the texture is much like that of a felafel without being bright green. They’re something that I wanted to try as I haven’t experienced Moorish cuisine before but I don’t think I’d order these again. My husband comments that the four-and-a-bit small balls hardly represent good value. It seems the only thing I can recall about the Moors is of course a Seinfeld reference of the Bubble Boy episode where George calls them “The Moops”. See, Seinfeld is really relevant to everything.

Cheese & Spinach Balls $13.00

We next try the Cheese & Spinach Balls $13.00, described as “Homemade deep fried, crispy cheese and spinach balls with a spicy dressing”. These are very green and spinachey inside with just enough cheese to bind and give it taste. They’re much more preferable to the Moorish meatballs and I find myself really enjoying the crispy outside and spinach and cheese inner.

Couscous $6

We’re expecting to wait a while as the owner had warned us that the kitchen would need time to prepare our 8 mains but it scarcely 15 minutes later before our mains arrive. I had visions of being in a “The Chopping Block” or “Kitchen Nightmares” episode, you know where the food critic/customer waits for an hour for their main. Thankfully not tonight.

The first B’stilla served $28

My B’Stilla $28.00 gets the most attention. Indeed with the sprinkling of cinnamon and powdered sugar and strawberry on top it looks like a dessert. Everyone wonders if I’ve accidentally ordered myself a dessert and for a second I do too. It is described on the menu as “One of the truly great medieval dishes of the Moors, it is richly spiced, highly flavoured mixture of chicken, almonds and orange blossom water, sparked with cinnamon and saffron, sweetened with pounded sugar and encased in layers of thin crispy warka pastry”.

The second B’stilla served $28

Thankfully I can tell that it is a different one from the one that landed on the table before (phew) and it certainly resembles a strudel pastry with an orange syrup and flaked almonds surrounding it. Cutting into the pie and tasting it is an almost surreal experience. My taste buds and brain fights with itself, one saying “Yes!” and the other saying “No!”. One part of me thinks that I am having a sweet cinnamon strudel and then I am delivered a taste of savoury curry spiced chicken and almonds. Everyone else that tries it likes it but I have to admit, it confused my tastebuds a little too much.

Zarzuila Marinara (serves 2 $50.00)

I try Snugglepot & Cuddlepie’s Zarzuila Marinara (serves 2 $50.00) served in a paella pan. Described as “Mussels, crabs, prawns, ling, baby clams and calamari in a white wine, tomato, garlic and herb sauce” it resembles paella without the rice. It’s filled with crab, fish, mussels and prawns and the seafood is juicy, fresh and tender whilst the sauce is richly flavoured and glistening. Perfect to have with the saffron rice. They’ve ordered couscous to go with it which is nice but the saffron rice gives the bountiful seafood catch a more paella like feel to it.

Saffron rice $5

Vegetarian Couscous $24.00

Sisko and Tuulikki both have the Vegetarian Couscous $24.00 which are beautifully presented on gorgeous Moroccan themed plates which I am coveting for my kitchen. It’s described as “A mound of fluffy moist couscous topped with chickpeas, sliced eggplant, caramelised onion and sultanas. Rounded with chunks of four different vegetables” and it is indeed tasty with the eggplant, caramelised onion and sultanas sitting atop the mound of couscous flanked by the simmered chunks of potato, pumpkin, carrot and zucchini. The eggplant, caramelised onion and sultanas are the most flavoursome part of the dish whilst the thick chunks of vegetables are tender and lightly flavoured.

Vegetarian Tajine $23.00

I try A’s Vegetarian Tajine $23.00 after they lift off the Tagine lid to reveal an assortment of vegetables. It is described as “A casserole of zucchini, carrots, sweet peas, and artichokes in a fresh herb and tomato concasse”. Whilst a vegetarian would probably think this is wonderful, it’s just not as flavoursome as the B’Stilla or Zarzuila Marinara and I have meat dishes to attend to so I try a bit and move on.

Lamb M’choui $28.00

I then try Figaro’s Lamb M’choui $28.00. Described as “Flame grilled marinated lamb fillets over moist fluffy couscous tossed with fresh herbs, almonds and raisins topped with a dollop of minted yoghurt”,the lamb is delicious and perfectly cooked. Slightly crispy on the outside and lovely and tender inside and great alongside the couscous which is doused in a tomato concasse and minted yogurt.

Chicken and Preserved Lemon Tajine $27.00

Lastly I try my husband’s Chicken and Preserved Lemon Tajine $27.00, “Marinated chicken pieces smothered with confits of preserved lemon, tomato, saffron, and onions. Garnished with potatoes and olives”. I have this with the saffron rice ($5 extra) and it’s very good, the chicken on the bone falls away easily and the salty preserved lemons lend an extra element to the dish. I do a lemon pucker face when I do eat some of the preserved lemon as I find it too salty.

After dinner the music starts and a trio of Flamenco dancers start dancing. It’s a great show full of skirt swirling and foot stamping and Snugglepot being a huge fan of dance is urged to dance onstage by one of the dancers.

Alhambra Tapas bar & Moorish Cuisine

1/54 West Esplanade Manly
Tel: (02) 9976 2975
Website

Winter hours
Lunch
Wed-Sun: 12.00pm - 3.00pm
Dinner
Tue-Sun: 6.00pm - 10.30pm
Cash, Bankcard, Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Diners Club
BYO (bottled wine only) $3.00 per person 10% surcharge on public holidays

I don’t get any late night cravings for Sourdough but should you be struck with insatiable Sourdough lust later in the night, take note of this bakery: St Honore on Miller Street in  North Sydney is open until 8pm every night. I’m visiting at lunch time so that I can try some of their filled sourdough rolls as well as various pastries and of course, cakes.

It’s a small but well stocked bakery with many varieties of bread, filled baguettes (smoked salmon, chicken and vegetarian) pies, pastries and a displayful of cakes with plenty of the old favourites such as sour cherry tarts, apple tarts, french pudding and creme brulee as well as more stunning “couture looking” options such as a white and dark chocolate mousse. After much umming and aahhing, particularly over the cakes, I purchase my selection and bring them home.

Smoked Salmon baguette $5

The pastries aren’t warm so I need to heat them up before eating them so I start with the smoked salmon baguette ($5). It is spread with cream cheese, a thin slice of smoked salmon, alfalfa and dotted with capers. Although the smoked salmon at first does not look like enough, it’s quite perfectly proportioned. The crunchy sourdough goes well with the ingredients and I find myself craving this after it’s long gone.

Sourdough pizza $2.50

I try the slice of sourdough pizza ($2.50) next - unfortunately the pizza dough doesn’t seem to be particularly sourdough-ish at all, it looks and tastes just like regular pizza dough. The topping is alright but nothing particularly blissful. If I can be blunt the topping is similar to what you’d find at Coles in the bakery section. For $2.50 for a 10×10cms slice it’s not bad value though.

Quiche Lorraine $3.80

I’m hoping for better when I try my namesake Quiche - Quiche Lorraine ($3.80). It’s smallish and very eggy and the bacon/ham flavour is very strong throughout with some thinly sliced mushrooms. The ham is very finely diced throughout it and the crust is good.

Sourdough dinner roll $1.20 each

I have also bought 2 small sourdough dinner rolls ($1.20 each). They’re good and crunchy although not as “sour” as I like it. They would be great alongside a soup although I confess that I think they’re a touch on the pricey side given their size. The Luneburger 90c Champion roll is much better value and a lot bigger.

Ham & Cheese croissant $3.50

The last of the savouries that I try (and I shared these with my husband so I didn’t just eat 4 of them hehe) is the Ham and Cheese croissant $3.50). This croissant is buttery and flakey, just the way I like it and if it were freshly warmed and baked, it would be superb. With some judicious reheating it’s very good, juicy, crunchy, crispy and creamy (the creamy being the cheese spread inside).

White and dark chocolate mousse $4.80

We’re onto the cakes last. The first cake, I had tried before and enjoyed it a great deal. It’s the white and dark chocolate mousse ($4.80). It’s a chicly presented chocolate globe which is lightly dusted in cocoa then given the white chocolate stripe treatment. Inside, the mystery is unveiled. It’s a thin disc of chocolate sponge, a layer of sweet white chocolate mousse and on top of that, a layer of bittersweet dark chocolate. It’s then enrobed in a thin layer of dark chocolate with white chocolate zigzag lines. The sweet white and bitter dark chocolate work beautifully together and are as light as air or the fluffiest cloud.

Opera cake $4.20

The Opera ($4.20), one of the more difficult cakes to make due to the ultra thin layers seems like a fitting conclusion to the gastronomy-fest. Its lovely with the almond sponge alternating with ganache, coffee and cream (although the texture of the whipped cream is almond mock creamish) with a splash of alcohol.

In a weird way I feel comforted knowing that if I have any late night pastry or bread cravings, a delicious solution is close at hand.

St Honore Sourdough bakery

50 Miller Street North Sydney (opposite Greenwood Plaza)
Tel: +61 (02) 9929-4388
Open 7 days

Ahhh my favourite market, it seems like a long time since I last saw you. Indeed it really was as mid December was the last time this markets came about as January’s fell on Australia Day and they canceled them. Thankfully a friend is a stall holder and told me about the cancellation or I would’ve been rather annoyed at turning up!

I go for the clothes but I also go for the food. I could wax lyrical about the gozleme (ok I have already) but as this is a new year, I am determined to try new food.

For lunch we stop by Shepherd’s Bakehouse which is apparently home to the largest selection of sourdough in Australia. From looking at their brochure, there are 12 varieties ranging from white and wholemeal to more interesting flavours like Lemon Myrtle, Bush Tomato and Spelt ($6 each). I make a mental note to buy a loaf next time. I pick up a Russian Farmer’s sausage roll ($3) as it sounds like the Russian Farmer’s sausage that I bought from Eumundi Smokehouse as well as a Scottish Shepherd’s Lamb pastie ($4).

Taking them to eat on the grassy area, we open up the sausage roll first. Its pastry is a little thinner than most and there isn’t a great deal of filling inside. The filling is lovely and flavoursome though, with the caraway seeds, parsley and dill coming through.

The Scottish Shepherd’s Lamb pastie has the same thin puff pastry whereas Pasties are usually made with a thicker pastie dough. The filling is good, with thin slices of carrot and potato with an aromatic lamb mince. A nicer alternative to a meat and vegetable pie.

The Biscuit Tree’s selection $7 each or 3 for $20

The Biscuit Tree, a stall and company run by the lovely food blogger ChocolateSuze has set up. I stop by there and she proffers up samples of her homemade biscotti and shortbread. Did I mention how much I like samples? And since she’s a fellow food blogger I feel like she won’t mind it I literally try a bit of all of them and indeed I did. My favourite of the shortbreads is the cranberry and pistachio which I buy for my mum who adores shortbread and of the biscotti, the overwhelming favourite is the coffee stem ginger and almond. She tells me that it is one of the hardest to make as cutting it is difficult with the ginger sticking to the knife. Its packed with stem ginger which we really like, there’s nothing worse than getting a flavour and seeing it stingily distributed throughout the product.

And of course since I can’t resist, I get a passionfruit cupcake! Unfortunately I have been told that The Biscuit Tree are no longer doing Kirribilli markets but their market roster can be found here.

Kirribilli Markets

Fourth Saturday each month January-November and first and third Saturday of December
Time: 7.00am - 3.00pm (some stalls on the green pack up earlier than this)
Location: Bradfield Park - Corner of Alfred and Burton Streets, Milsons Point. Just under Milsons Point train station.
Information: +61 (02) 9922-4428; markets@kncsydney.org
The next market is on the 22nd of March 2008

I just had to get this off my chest. Its almost 2am on a Saturday night (or should I say Sunday morning) and I am dead tired and wanting to fall into bed. But what is keeping me up is the need to tell you about cakes. Cakes of course are my weakness, I love the smell of them, the taste of them and unveiling them from the box but most of all, I love the look of them. The best thing about birthdays is that they involve cake (sometimes more than one if you’re lucky). This afternoon I ventured out to my neighbourhood Mosman shopping street Military Road, something I don’t often do as I am not a Prue or Trude, and bought some pastries from a delectable patisserie that I had walked past for years but never ventured into.

Confiseur & Co has a sunflower hued interior and very well mannered and lovely staff and a display cupboard full of postcards from around the world. Although it is fairly late in the day when I visit, the individual cake supply is fairly small with 4 to choose from and some croissants, pies and breads.

Both staffers recommend the orange cake and because I love lemon curd, I choose the lemon meringue pie with its fat squiggly caterpillar like meringue topping and a chocolate pecan brownie as it looks luscious and packed with pecans. I am also given a complimentary almond croissant which makes me happy to no end (yes I am a freebie slut, I blame my previous job for that). It may have been the way that I was looking at them salaciously. With advice to eat the orange cake at room temperature and to keep the lemon meringue pie in the fridge, I stash these away as instructed for later consumption.

Lemon Meringue pie $4

The lemon meringue pie is gorgeously lemon curdey, perfect for those who love their lemon curd. Those that are lemon curd ambivalent need not apply. You’ll only say “Its too lemoney” whilst your lemon curd loving dining companion will roll their eyes at the wasted portion you’ve consumed. The meringue is voluptuously soft and creamy - like when you were little and saw clouds and felt that you could reach up and touch them. Its how I always imagined a cloud would taste - exactly.

Orange syrup cake $4

The orange cake is delicate and moist with syrup, like an incredibly moist friand with a touch of almond meal. Its superb and taste of orange rind and would be perfect with coffee or tea. I imagine serving a whole plate of these delicate cakes to friends and then amend my fantasy to remove said friends and have the entire plate to my wicked self.

Chocolate brownie $4

The chocolate brownie is incredibly rich, with the top half of the brownie made of rich chocolate ganache. Its deliciously good and would satisfy the most hardcore of the chocoholics (including me). The pecans provide an interesting, and preferable alternative to walnuts. I can only eat two small segments of this as it is indeed so rich but oh so good.

Almond croissant $3.60

The revelation to me however is the item that I didn’t order, the complimentary almond croissant. Its coated in toasted flaked almonds, and slathered inside with that fabulous almond croissant filling made up of almond meal, eggs, butter and sugar. The croissant itself is incredibly layered, flakey but not too greasy buttery as some can be and the bottom is beautifully caramelised due to the syrup dip. Apparently almond croissants were devised as a way to use less fresh croissants and by dipping them into the syrup, filling them with almond paste and rebaking you somehow manage to improve on the original. And who am I to argue with frugality when I am so clearly enjoying this?

I’ve been told that their breads are heavenly, particularly their sourdough. I am not a big bread eater but I do love a crispy, crunchy sourdough. Sounds like a good excuse for a revisit…

Confiseur & Co

840 Military Road Mosman NSW 2088
Tel: +61 (02) 9969-4599
Fax: +61 (02) 9969-4799
Tuesday-Saturday 7:00-18:00
Sunday 7:00-17:00

Housed in one of Manly Corso’s little arcades, this little Japanese noodle house does a steady trade of well fed Northern Beachers. When we lived in Manly, we used to walk past this eatery, always curious but never quite getting the chance to eat there instead partaking of Manly’s many other restaurants. Not tonight though, we’re here, we’re hungry and we’re ready to eat Ramen!

There are two waitresses hurrying and flurrying about tonight so we seat ourselves in the arcade section and peruse the menus laid out on the table. I immediately gravitate towards the Mabou tofu ramen ($11.50), remembering, very fondly, the delicious mapo tofu from Iron Chef Chen Kenichi. Of course I know it won’t be anywhere near as good as his but a girl can reminisce can’t she? We take the easy route here and order the Bento box ($16) which consists of your choice of two of the following: Tonkatsu (deep fried pork), Shoga-yaki (sliced pork ginger sauce), Ebi-fry (deep fried prawn), Yakiniku (pan fried sliced beef), Teriyaki chicken or Fish or Karaage (deep fried chicken); with salad, rice, miso soup and gyoza. I select the pork with ginger and the chicken karaage. We opt to try their takoyaki ($6.50) and their Jipang Epi prawn roll ($4).

Takoyaki Octopus balls ($6.50)

Oddly Jipang has no bathroom so I’m off to the nearby Ivanhoe to avail myself of their facilities and by the time I am back minutes later, all of our food is arriving at once. The waitress thanks us for waiting and places our food on the table. The takoyaki is tried first, sprinkled with thinly sliced matchsticks of dried seaweed. They’re smaller in size than at Ramen Kan but more in number with 7 on our plate. They’re slightly crispy on the outside and softish on the inside but as they’re quite small, they’re not as beautifully squishy inside as others we’ve tried. They’re also needing a bit more okonomiyaki and mayo sauce. Not bad by any means, but not as good as Ramen Kan’s.

Jipang Epi prawn roll ($4)

The ebi prawn roll is next, its very fresh and crispily good if a little homemade looking with the rice being packed loosely in parts. Still the taste is there and I manage to cajole my husband into give me his extra pieces.

Mabou tofu ramen $11.50

He’s too busy contending with his mabou tofu ramen which is blisteringly hot. Even though it has sat there while we ate our entrees it remains mouth burningly hot and my husband tries to fan it furiously enticed by its delicious aroma. After a good 5 minutes of blowing and using a smaller bowl, he manages to get some of an edible temperature. He’s enjoying the chili broth enormously so I try some. The noodles are thicker, much like Ryo’s ramen which we both like but they’re softer than Ryo’s and I like my noodles to have a bit of a bite to it. The chili soup is heartwarmingly good with the smooth soft tofu and the pork mince providing texture and flavour. My husband doesn’t like the mince as much finding that the texture interferes with his enjoyment but I disagree, I like all of the components. Although as expected, it isn’t a patch on Iron Chef Chen Kenichi’s Mapo tofu!

Bento box with Shoga yaki (sliced pork with ginger sauce) and Karaage (deep fried chicken) $16

My bento box’s meat offering of pork slices with ginger is very, very flavoursome and I am enjoying it so much I could easily order this in a dish by itself. The Chicken karaage is hot and freshly cooked but it could do with some mayo or sauce. As it is, I drag each piece over what little okonomiyaki sauce there is left over from the takoyaki and this gives it the much needed moisture. The salad, dressed with lemon and olive oil, is a tad disappointing (lettuce, cucumber and tomato without any seaweed) but the gyoza are very good though, with just the right amount of meat to cabbage, without being bitter from overuse of cabbage.

Feeling warm from the ramen and stomach expanding meal, we exit stage left, to the cool breeze of Manly beach now that the sun has set and the ocean breeze beckons with its cool hand.

Jipang Japanese Noodle House

37-39 The Corso Manly 2095
Tel: +61 (02) 9977 4436
Open Tuesday-Sunday 11:30am-9pm