Tomislav, Darlinghurst

My fave

Tomislav is one of my favorite restaurants in Sydney for a few reasons. The two that stand out are: 1. it introduced me to Blackstar Pastry last October's Just Dessert and 2. because of it's amazing steak. So when I saw a deal on Spreets a while back for 2 entrees, 2 mains and a bottle of wine for $69 for 2 people - I jumped on it.

Rice crackers with vinegar spray at the top, and 'roo tartare with basil, mint and crackers

Sourdough bread with butter sprinkled with brown onion

So there I was cashing in my deal. First up we have the rice crackers with sea salt and vinegar. Crispy, light and crunchy - just nice to whet our appetite. Then we had the kangaroo tartare. I had this earlier in the year and was dying to have it again. Fresh, juicy with no smelliness of a gamey meat. It was served with crackers. At 50gr a dish, I could have eaten it all to myself and more. Love it.

Scotch fillet with bone marrow - goodness

Then the mains - my favorite Scotch roast fillet with bone marrow, smoked potato cream and beetroot cranberry sauce. FYI: the sauce changes every 2 weeks or so (the nice host told me). Tender, succulent and juicy the steak did not disappoint. Well, maybe the fact that I had to share made me sad a little.

Basmatti risotto with grilled Yamba prawns, chives, lemon zest and nori

The second main is the basmati rice risotto with grilled Yamba prawns, tons of chives and lemon zest. I noticed some nori (dried seaweed) on it as well. Its different than other risotto as this one used basmati rice - more commonly used for Indian food - but the chef definitely deliver on the taste. I was a happy camper. The downside? I had to share...

Aerial view

Close ups

After successfully saving some room for dessert, we ordered milk chocolate cream cake with toasted macadamia and smoked banana ice cream. I don't normally eat milk chocolate, but this one was to die for. The sweetness was just right, the cream so smooth and silky. The highlight? Has to be the smoked banana ice cream. I could have a tub. Oh fyi: the dessert was not included in the deal.

Happy J with her wine

At the end, as the host bid us adieu, he said to me "see you soon" because he found out that I still have another voucher. (Hurrah for another round of these goodness). So I told him I need to find someone to go with. His suggestion was quite cheeky and probably hard to deliver: "find a cute boy on the street and ask him to come with you". So yea, I'll be on the lookout but if one of you knows Cory Monteith, could you ask him if he'd like to fly to Sydney to have dinner with me?

Tomislav

2/23 Kirketon Rd

Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

+61 2 9356 4535

Brunch at Toast, Surry Hills

It's been a long time, I know. So let me tell you about my latest brunch discovery. I walked passed Toast a when I was having dinner around the area. Finally, I made it a couple of weeks back with my friends from high school. I love how very close by it is from where I live and technically I could have breakfast here everyday if I want to. I also love how the whole street is lined with many different cafes beckoning my name. Sorry guys, there's a list but fear not I shall make it there sometime ;)

One of the tea pots and my soy cappuccino

My friends ordered tea which came in this cute pot which came in different shapes and forms. We have another one that looked like a box, but yeah, I forgot to take a picture (and that includes their meals as well... ugh...). I also love how the tea just never ended. They really wanna make sure that their patrons are hydrated, I suppose.

Sweet corn and kaffir fritters

I ordered their specialty which is sweet corn and kaffir fritters with poached egg, grilled halloumi, salsa, avocado and chilli jam, which is glutten free. I was torn between ordering this and the risotto, but I did want some eggs so this dish won. It reminds me of Bill's sweet corn fritters, but this one is different. I love the grilled halloumi on it. The poached egg was runny and gave creaminess to the fritters. The chili jam contrasted with the buttery-ness of the avocado. I definitely made the right choice.

....bidding my time to come back to try their other stuff and just hang out....

Toast Cafe

45 Reservoir St

Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Sydney

+61 2 9280 2615

Click here for website and opening hours

"Let's do brunch" at Cafe Ish

Karaage Soft Shell Crab Omelette

A few days ago I came across a tweet by @atablefortwo via RTs about Cafe Ish and Shoot The Chef competition that is part of the Sydney International Food Festival (SIFF) [click here for official website]. When I opened the link and saw the photo of Cafe Ish's take on eggs benedict with soft shell crab... I got really curious. Then by chance when I was checking out the SIFF website, I found the "Let's Do Brunch" promo (weekend only) at Cafe Ish: A$25 for karaage soft shell crab omelette (their specialty), breakfast triffle - yoghurt with native berry compote and muesli, and a cup of wattle macca-cino (another specialty of theirs). Not a bad deal I'd say. Talking to a friend, it turned out that she was planning a trip for this promo on Sunday and so I tagged along.

I set up my alarm for 8am as my friend as sent me an email reminding me of the time and that daylight saving started Sunday 3rd October. Morning came way too quickly as I had a real long day on Oct 2nd doing a charity fundraising for Youth Off The Streets - check out Race For The Youth on facebook if you're interested. Anyway, we got there early and it was raining. I really couldn't wait for the coffee, alas we were waiting for some people.

As we waited, I took out my camera and my friend told me to be careful and ask permission first before taking any picture as the owners are reputedly quite particular about people taking pictures in their cafe. Hmmm... okay.... Anyway, the next time the waitress was there we asked her if it's ok to take picture and she said yes. So that's done, but still I couldn't shake the weird feeling off. Another friend told me at the table that there has been some arguments between the owners and some Sydney bloggers regarding what the bloggers write on their reviews. Another weirdness..., but then the coffee arrived then the food started to arrive and we were busy taking pictures and stuffing our face.

Wattle Macca-cino with tiny cookie

I loved the wattle macca-cino, I drank it just as is with no sugar added. It tasted just right, balanced - just enough sweetness that compliments the solid coffee taste. I loved the cute cookie too. The waitress informed us that the cafe does all you can eat ribs every Wednesday for A$35 and I have a feeling that I will go back. Oh and maybe another visit to try the crab benedict.

The breakfast triffle - yoghurt, muesli and native berries compote

The native berry that was really sour if you eat it as is... interesting experience though

The breakfast triffle was interesting as well, it came with all these weird shaped dried berries that puzzled me at first. That is till my friend told me that the menu said "native berries". I tried eating one of the interesting looking native berries as is and it was really sours. So word of the wise, if you don't like sourness mix it well.

Salt: pink salt, green tea salt and chilli salt

Tasmanian pepper berries - didn't add any as the sauce delivered interesting flavour as is

Close up of the crab omelette - yum

After that, came the most anticipated dish - crab omelette. I couldn't wait to eat it and see if the raves were true. The chilli sauce on top was interesting. When the waitress told us at first that the omelette comes with a special sauce I was thinking Japanese-ish sauce. However, the chilli sauce tasted like Malaysian sambal belacan - chilli with ebi (dried small shrimps) base and then fried to take off the heat. I like the avocado, soft shell crab and shallots combination inside the omelette. It was like eating sushi but have the rice and seaweed replaced with omelette. The sweet and spiciness of the sambal belacan-like sauce went well with the sushi-like omelette. Halfway through the dish, however I started to feel that it was getting too salty. Overall though, I thought it was really creative to use soft shell crab on a breakfast dish.

Cafe Ish

82 Campbell St

Surry Hills, NSW

+61 2 9281 1688

Opening times varies so please contact the cafe directly

Brunch at Boomerang

Boomerang at Robertson Quay

It's the weekend! Yippee.... Seriously, I live for the weekend: sleeping in, rolling of the bed at 10 or 11, getting ready for brunch and waking up together with friends over brunch. What better way to spend your Saturday morning?

Last week I met this girl, H, who just recently got transferred out of New York, so having experienced moving countries myself I know how nice it is to have a kind stranger to lend you a hand and show you the ropes of this new strange place. Not that I'm saying I'm a kind stranger... that is for her to decide hehe...

Menu is filled with Aussie words and places

Where we were seating, outdoor but protected from the sun and heat

I decided to take her to Boomerang for brunch, I never went before but I passed by before and it seemed quite nice. It took me a while to decide what to order as I wasn't hungry, I have no idea why as I am normally always hungry! I was almost disappointed when I read that the breakfast menu is only served till 11.30am and was sooooooo glad and relieved when H pointed that that it is served all day on Saturday and Sunday! Saved! So I opted against the traditional aussie burger with beet root and went with Coolangatta, with eggs, sausages, bacon, toast and... drumroll please..... HASH BROWN!

Coolangatta: hmmm... a plateful of delish!

The hash brown was the first one I tried when the meal came. It was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, tasted great with ketchup but it would have been better for my health and conscience if it was a little less oily. The bacon was yum, lots of meat and not that much fat what value for my money. The sausages were tasty, but I found these chunks of fat as I was chewing that detracted from their tastiness. The toast slices were crispy and soft, oh, and the waitress gave me strawberry jam upon request so that I can slapped the jam on top of the buttered toast. Simply delicious.

The "After" shot....

H ordered 3 eggs omelette with capsicum, mushroom and cheddar cheese that came with slices of toast. She has this funny observation that people here serves a lot of mushrooms. I have not noticed that before but I suppose now that I think about it, it is true. Chinese cuisine serves lots of mushroom as well as Japanese... I didn't try her omelette, but seeing her devouring her eggs made me confident that it was good, or maybe she was hungry.

3 Eggs omelette with capsicum, mushroom and cheddar cheese

with toast and butter

It was a sunny day in Singapore and fortunately it wasn't that humid that day, so H and I were able to sit outside, under the awning of course and enjoy the day. I do have to mention however, that we did sit under the AC and next to a fan. It was just nice to be able to wake up slowly on a Saturday, munching delicious food while enjoying the sun (without getting scorched or melted!) in good company. H and I will come back to try other stuff, such as the aussie burger (I really want beetroot in my burger) and the chocolate filled french toast. Sinful.

Boomerang Bistro & Bar
#01-15, 60 Robertson Quay
The Quayside, Robertson Quay
+65 6738 1077