Not Quite NigellaThe cooking, eating and travel blog of a hungry blogger from Sydney, Australia featuring original recipes, interviews and articles on all things food @

Table 4 Ten & Dining At A Bank Vault!

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:00:45 +0000

When most people go to a bank, it’s not for anything particularly exciting. It’s usually something rather mundane such as depositing or withdrawing money and usually involves waiting in a queue for ages only to have your hard earned cash whisked away from you. So when I alight on Elizabeth Street outside the ornate marble [...]

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The Silent Dinner Party

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 19:00:21 +0000

“I’m not allowed to speak for two hours” I tell Mr NQN. “I’d pay money to see that” he says laughing. The Silent Dinner Party is an event that I heard about first on Amy’s Cupcakes and Cornrows blog. Part of Sydney’s Fringe Festival it is run by Australian performance artist Honi Ryan who has [...]

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Chew Chew Dog Restaurant, Wollstonecraft

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:00:16 +0000

Oh hai! It’s a Dog Day Afternoon. Literally. The sun is shining, there is a cool nip in the air and Mr NQN and I look to our left and right and we’re surrounded by a happy jumble of dogs. Where am I? Outside the Chew Chew Dog restaurant in Wollstonecraft where dogs can dine [...]

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NQN’s Frightening Halloween Feast!

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:00:49 +0000

Hello my pretties! Take my (severed) hand and let me give you a peek into my annual Halloween party. It’s an event that gets me going throughout the year. This month was particularly busy with the Sydney International Food Festival and before I knew it, it was the 20th of October and I hadn’t even [...]

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At Perry Lane, Paddington (The Secret Weekend Cafe!)

Not Quite Nigella — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:00:28 +0000

**This cafe is now closed** “Morning Lorraine! Have you been to …at Perry Lane in Paddington? I grabbed coffee there on Sat & it was packed-wld love to hear your take!” said the lovely MsUnreliable from That Unreliable Girl in her twitter message to me. Upon further reading I find out that it’s bit of [...]

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Mui Huong Goat Meat Restaurant, Marrickville

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:00:42 +0000

Trust me when I tell you that I am not a satanist. Nor that I am judging being a satanist, but as I am queasy at the sight of blood a future as a Satanist is not in my cards, nor is being a doctor (aversion to bodily fluids also cancels this out). But when [...]

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Chocolate Kkomz, Eastwood

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:00:16 +0000

“Chocolate Whaaat?” my sister asks when I tell her the name of the restaurant we are going to. This will be a familiar phrase repeated also when I tell M, her boys and my husband the restaurant name. This is our second attempt at dining at Chocolate Kkomz. Last week a staff member had taken [...]

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A Dinky Di, Bloody Good, Australian “Chook”

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:00:38 +0000

There are a few things that are said to be “typically Australian”. Beer is one thing and BBQs are another. A man clutching a tinnie of beer wearing a “kiss the cook” or boobie apron turning steak over and over again until it’s thoroughly charred is a combination of these two things. I could go [...]

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The Lock-Up Prison restaurant at Shibuya

Not Quite Nigella — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:00:26 +0000

What would you say if I invited you to come along to a Haunted Prison themed restaurant, in one of the busiest hubs of Tokyo and told you that you may indeed be scared senseless entering the restaurant and that you’ll be led to a jail cell in handcuffs and then locked up in it [...]

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Christon Cafe at Shinjuku, Tokyo

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:00:11 +0000

A knowledgable friend of mine, Kathy from Brisbane recommended that I try Christon Cafe after I canvassed friends for unique Tokyo experiences. Started in Osaka in 2000, there are now 8 Christon cafes around Japan, each boasting incredibly detailed interiors decorated in a religious gothic theme. It speaks to the strong Lolita goth culture that [...]

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