Faheem Fast Food, Enmore, Sydney

Mixed katta kat $12.00Beef liver and kidney cooked with exotic spicesand traditional Pakistani hot curryI have a theory...Offal is the fat kid in school.All the pretty things - lobster, salmon, scallops, rib eye and rack of lamb - get the instant double-take and the whistle of appreciation. They're the cool kids. Like the tall, blonde and beautiful, they could be wearing a paper bag and still

Mamak, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney

Usually it's just me.After a dinner out with friends, as we file out the door, I'll casually say "soooooo... does anyone feel like dessert?"I'm already thinking of options and looking forward to sweet closure when someone, the self-nominated Voice Of Reason will say "Omigod, you're joking aren't you? I'm sooooooo full. I totally couldn't eat another thing."To which I will smile and laugh, "Oh of

Teppanyaki, The Ivy, Sydney - Merivale Winter Feast

The diner looks around, confused. "Oh when you said we were going to Teppanyaki, I was expecting a chef doing tricks at our table".I overhear this comment from our dining neighbour. We're all seated at the huge wooden communal table which runs the length of this dim and moody Asian-themed eatery in the Ivy complex. I can only smile wryly at the confusion.Whilst we can see the chefs at work in the

Bankstown Bites Food Festival 2009: Discovery Food Tours

The Bankstown Bites Festival is always a calendar highlight. This year the Festival was set-up further down South Terrace, enabling better traffic flow and crowd management. "Fast Ed" Ed Halmagyi was the feature chef this year and stalls sold a range of foods from Korean to Peruvian, and German to Lebanese.Traditional Korean drummingChicken skewersChurrosMy favourite aspect of the festival is, of

Gumshara Ramen, Eating World, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney

Sometimes you find gems in the most unlikely of places.

Tucked down one end of the Eating World food court in Chinatown, is a small stall decorated only with a hanging red curtain and a menu printed on a huge cardboard sign. Gumshara serves traditional Japanese ramen, and in the short time since opening, has gathered a legion of devoted followers.


Traditional Japanese ramen

One of its

Footy franks (and my first night at the footy)

I grew up in a family that never really valued sport as a worthy pursuit. The closest I got to appreciating rugby league in primary school was collecting and swapping footy cards by playing "tips", "tops" and "faar-ies".Hence it's with some bemusement I confess I attended my first ever rugby league match recently. As a spectator with little emotional involvement with either team playing, I found

Nepenthe wine celebrations at Aria Restaurant, Sydney

I admit it. The main reason I was excited about celebrating Nepenthe's recent wins in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2009, was the fact they were celebrating it at Aria.The undoubted star of the evening was the Nepenthe Sauvignon Blanc 2008, winner of the Best Australian Sauvignon Blanc under £10 Trophy. The Decanter World Wine Awards, which were launched in 2003, attracted more entries in 2009

The pressure test: Beef and Guinness Stew

I'll never be a MasterChef.I know this because not only am I quite positive I would draw a complete and utter mind blank when faced with a mystery box or invention test (in front of cameras, and the threat of a national TV audience no less!), but I also know I am terrible at plating. And food styling.When I cook for guests, I'm usually more worried about whether the room is too hot or cold, if

Fondue at JPB Restaurant, Swissotel, Sydney

Fondue. Give them food on a stick. And let them dip.A last-minute dinner suggestion by Billy sees a flurry of emails, a hungry surf of the web and finally a booking at JPB Restaurant at the Swissôtel for a night of fondue.Simon and Yas are also grabbing their fondue fork, and Mr and Mrs Pig Flyin--who happen to be in town idling for dinner--also join our fooding crew. I'm bemused when, as I make

Sydney food blog list (includes regional NSW)

Can you imagine a world without food blogs? Oh what a cruel cruel world it would be.

If I'm missing your blog, or I have your commencement date incorrectly labelled, leave a comment and let me know. All blogs listed should be active, ie have posted in the past six months.

And if you're thinking of starting a food blog of your own, what are you waiting for? Come join us now!


Sydney and

High tea at The Loft, King Street Wharf, Sydney

Is high tea just for the gals?This thought crossed my mind as seven female food bloggers assembled at The Loft on King Street Wharf for their Christmas in July high tea. Whilst a sweet tooth seems to strike more women than men, I've known more than a few blokes who secretly wanted to join a baby shower or hen's day just so they could partake in high tea and indulge.On Saturday it was women only,

The pressure test: Sweet Corn and Basil Soup

It's only in winter that I hanker for the warming qualities of a piping hot bowl of thick, nourishing belly-satisfying soup.Ever since Minh posted her adapted recipe for the Sweet Corn and Basil Veloute by Justin North, I'd bookmarked it for future reference. It sounded rich and sweet and I loved the idea of making a soup using a stock simply by boiling corn cobs.Following an off-hand remark

MasterChef Finale: Who Will Win?

All good things must come to an end, and this Sunday it's the MasterChef Australia finale.What better way to send off this television hit--one that has struck a chord throughout Australian living rooms, kitchens and soon-to-be-growing pantries--than your very own MasterChef party?Need some help? Read on!How to host your own MasterChef finale partyAll guests must wear dress in costume, either by

Food festivals and markets: What's on this weekend

Saturday July 18, 2009Markets:Eveleigh Farmers' Market, 8am-1pm, 243 Wilson Street DarlingtonNorthside Produce Market - 8am-12pm, Miller Street North Sydney~~~Sunday July 19, 2009The Rocks Aroma FestivalGet your caffeine fix at the biggest coffee festival in Australia. There'll also be plenty of tea, hot chocolate and sweets as well. Check out my pics from the Aroma Festival in 2007.10am-5pmFrom

Mamak, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney

The boys are back in town.After three long and painful weeks of renovations, Mamak is open again for business.I don't often head to Mamak these days, turned off by the huge queues every evening (is Mamak the new old Spice I Am?) but it's funny how a little bit of reverse psychology works its magic. Closed and unavailable? I want it now.We headed to Mamak last Friday, its third day of business

MUMU Grill, Crows Nest, Sydney

In our fast-paced lives in the rushrushrush of the City, sometimes it's nice to sit back and Take It Slow.Taking things slow is one of the key philosophies behind the Slow Food movement, one that embraces food that is good, clean and fair, and urges us to no longer be "enslaved by speed". Keen to share and spread the philosphies of this movement is Craig Macindoe, chef and owner of MUMU Grill in

Super Meal Chinese Restaurant, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney

Looking for a late night dinner in Sydney? Most of the time we end up heading toward Chinatown.

I'm not quite sure when Super Bowl on Goulburn turned into a Super Meal. The frontage and signage is exactly the same, the only difference is the blue cursive neon lighting switched from Bowl to Meal. And again, inside, everything remains pretty much as I remembered.


Rice bowls waiting for goodies

Russell James Pop-Up Gallery, Customs House Forecourt, Sydney

Photography? I'd always considered it one of the easiest creative arts to master - a case of frame your shot and hit the shutter button. It doesn't take long to realise that amazing photography is harder than it looks - an understanding of composition, of design, of seeing the beauty in the everyday that most of us miss, and combining this with the technical expertise to produce an image that is

Good Food & Wine Show Sydney 2009

Oh Manu... oh yes I do!Yes, I do love good food which is why I can never resist attending the Good Food & Wine Show every year it hits town (I've missed it once in the past 6 years and only because I was overseas at the time).Even more exciting this year was the receipt of one media pass from Johanna at Stellar*, which not only got me into the Show for free, but also included access to the media

Grill'd - Grilled Healthy Burgers, Crows Nest, Sydney

When did burgers get so popular?Suddenly, it seems, Sydney can't get enough of them. These aren't the greasy takeaway shop kind, with pre-made patties cooked on the grill by a sad and resigned owner who sighs with each order.I remember those hamburgers of youth with fondness, a behemoth of beauty piled high with the greasy fried egg, rasher of bacon, juilenne of wilted lettuce, discs of soggy

La Disfida Pizzeria, Haberfield, Sydney

There's only one thing you come to La Disfida for, and that's the pizza.We're talking thin crust pizzas dressed with only a smattering of topping, and baked in a traditional wood-fired oven.A firm favourite with locals, La Disfida is the family-run pizzeria well-suited for families as well as BYO wine-toting couples. Timber floorboards and bare wooden tables cluster around the open-style kitchen,