We all know eating a wide palette of colours where food is concerned is good for you but naturally green food (I'm talking plant food and maybe the odd bit of mouldy cheese rather than artifically coloured over-processed food) is essential to providing your body with the nutrients it needs to thrive.  Yaya has a friend, Andrea, a lovely friend whose garden grows beautifully bountiful fresh greens and we were the thankful recipients of an abundant quantity. Fresher than what could be bought through a supermarket, we decided we had to put it to good use as soon as we could. There was rosem ..read more

July 2013 is now known as the month of sugar overload as I join many other Australian bloggers in this years Sweet Swap.  For this event I found myself battling for kitchen real estate with my general partner in crime Mrs Shanks who had decided to join in on the fun via her own new blog What's Mummy Up To. The Sweet Swap is an online event where you are randomly assigned three bloggers to make and send a treat to.   In return you receive treats from three other bloggers and post about your experience and recipe.  The great thing is that the small admission fee goes tow ..read more

Mrs Shanks and I were lucky enough to be invited to try out Kobe Jones new Winter Romance menu which was just perfect as we missed out on a date for our wedding anniversary back in April.  It was a much need distraction from the everyday business plus being cooped in the house the past few weekends due to the excess rain we've been having in Sydney. Kobe Jones is located in the heart of the dining district of King Street Wharf.  A stylish restaurant with modern Japanese influenced decor and I've noticed the glass bi-fold doors that open up the dining area to panoramic waterfront ..read more

There's Japanese and there's Japanese, the former being almost everyday for lunch, the latter being Saké. We chose to dine at Saké recently to celebrate a milestone birthday, the birthday girl being a lover of Japanese food.  The restaurant itself is a "land" of contrasts with a welcoming bar area, long narrow intimate dining room, individual dining rooms (which seemed almost cell-like!) and a larger, buzzier dining room. We chose the last of these as we were keen to experience the sunken tables (this area offers both the traditional Japanese seating as well as western-style regular sea ..read more

You know that Ice Cream advertisement tag line "No boring bits"? Precisely the same thing can be said for these little Ragamuffins. Having lived in Leichhardt for the past few years, I've been meaning to blog about these guys for some time. Selfishly, I've been keeping them all to myself but am now ready to share with the rest of the Sydney.  Steamed and then baked, these muffins a quite different to the ones you're used to. Not overly cakey, the steaming gives the slightest skin which the baking then crisps up. The steaming helps to keep the muffins nice and moist without having to ..read more

The buzzy ambience of a new restaurant in Sydney may not be quite there as yet (the tail end of the GFC and the nippy Thursday night weather seems to be scaring diners away from this normally busy end of town) as the restaurants on the "high" side of the Wharf suffer from their relative isolation from the water side, but the owner of The Hudson has certainly delivered on the decor.  Right from the entrance, you can only describe The Hudson as sumptuous. Entering the restaurant feels like walking into a 1950s Madison Avenue bar, we half expect to see Don Draper from the Mad Men (HBO) ser ..read more

For those lucky enough to have spent some time in Japan, they will have undoubtedly come across Izakayas (casual watering holes that also serve food). Now nestled deep in between two office blocks in Bond Street, is Sushia Izakaya and Bar. Already popular in North Sydney and other locations, Sushia is a hit with the lunch time crowd. With this new premises, Sushia also takes aim at evening diners and drinkers alike. A narrow entrance reveals a sleek interior with a sushi train leading to additional tables and bar seats. Thirsty? Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo too mainstream for you ..read more

I know it's all about the photos but even though I don't have any photos I'd like to give accolade to a place which serves the best vegetarian thing I have ever eaten. Although I'd heard of it, not being a vegetarian myself I hadn't made the effort to venture to this particular place. We happened to be in the neighbourhood and after eating at Green Gourmet, King Street, Newtown, if I lived a little closer, I reckon it would become a regular. They sell the buffet meals by weight (ingenious isn't it?!). You take a plate (or plastic container if you prefer to take it away) and fill it with what ..read more

Mum's New Year Chinese Doughnuts - Step by Step Instructions   Depending on your outlook, this blog is either a few days too late as the Lunar or Chinese New Year heralding the Year of the Snake has just passed or, from my perspective, I'm giving you a headstart on making these for next year! And once you take a look at the recipe, you'll understand why you may need it!   New Year is a time of traditions, incense burning, the New Year's Eve feast, the vegetarian breakfast to kick off the New Year, tea sweetened with sugar-preserved sweet meats (such as coconut, ginger, lotus root, wa ..read more

RivaReno Gelato, Darlinghurst RivaReno Gelato is the latest gourmet import to hit our shores. Established in Bologna in 2004, RivaReno has had a rapid climb to the top of the Italian gelato establishment. Touted as a 'must visit' culinary stop in Milan, it's now Sydney's turn for the authentic Italian gelato experience. Walk into their Darlinghurst store and you'll notice that this doesn't appear like a regular gelato store. You won't see a glass freezer with mounds of brightly coloured gelato on display. Instead, the gelato is kept in a pozzetti counter. Those of you that have visited San C ..read more