Buffalo Dining Club, Darlinghurst

If the idea of a mozzarella bar doesn't tempt you, then I don' know what will. It was the promise of pasta being spun in a giant cheese wheel that tempted a group of us hungry food bloggers to venture to the Cross on Halloween. Pasta, cheese and ghouls, could there be a better combination?

Upstairs dining

The Buffalo Dining Club is a tiny restaurant. And when I say tiny, I mean tiny. They don't take reservations nor will they seat you until your entire group is present, so going there early would be your best bet. By the time we entered at around 6:30/7, the restaurant was pretty much packed out and we managed to snag one of the last few free seats.

The menu

Short and concise, the menu gets straight to the good stuff - the cheese, the cured meat, the pastas and some salads for those of you who need some veggies on the side of the mighty load of carbs you are about to consume! For groups 6 or larger, the restaurant orders for you and we were happy to be taken under the wings of the staff at Buffalo Dining Club. Show us the food :D

A little bit of an issue where there was too much to fit on the table :P

Fresh burrata (100g) with marinated olives and tempura cauliflower, $20

I don't know what constitutes as a good burrata as this was my first time eating it but this was damned good. A bouncy outer shell of solid mozzarella gives way to the mozarrella and cream filled centre that flows out. It was very light to eat because of its freshness, and had a wonderful creaminess that lingers on the palette. The tempura cauliflower were also a win. Super crunchy and well seasoned.

Caprino with artichoke hearts and honey baby carrots, $20.00

This goats cheese was also another winner. Salty and tangy, it was wonderful lathered on the bread. The carrots are quite ordinary but sides are sides. Would've preferred an extra serving of the cauliflower though :P

Buffalo Mozzarella (125g) with grilled baby broccolini and cherry tomatoes, $20.00

The delicate flavour of fresh  milk that the buffalo mozzarella another great cheese to eat, although I think we were all a little bit more enamoured by the fancier burrata in comparison. Soft and moist, I could definitely easily eat this and the tomatoes and still be one happy camper.

Pumpkin and potato croquettes, $8.00

And who doesn't love a good croquette that's deep-fried to a wonderful crisp? The innards for both were deliciously creamy and smooth and loved that dip that it came with! Not quite sure what it was but definitely quite tart.

Bresaola, $16.00

Onto the good old cured meats! Look at those glorious ribbons of fat running through the bresaola. The beef flavour is strong due to the aging process but that's exactly what we were looking for.

Prosciutto San Dan, $10.00 for 60g

And of course prosciutto, the perfect accompaniment to all those cheeses we had on the table.

Chilli accompaniment

If you're a chilli fanatic, this will be THE sauce for you. Let me tell you, it's hella spicy. We each tried a tiny bit and the level of spicy is PHUOR spicy. And it just gets spicier in your mouth after the initial kick. So be warned before spooning this baby on top of all your pasta! Unless of course, it is your intention.

Buffalo ricotta gnocchi, $20.00

Gnocchi is one of those things that could go terribly wrong and stodgy a lot of the time but these were soft pillowy, cheesy balls of goodness. Tossed in that gloriously rich tomato sauce, I have nothing but good things to say about this dish.

Lamb ragu, $20.00

The ragu was a tad lacklustre after the gnocchi. Whilst not bad, it really could've wowed with an extra hit of seasoning.

Food bloggers frantically trying to capture the action

And for the dish that Buffalo Dining Club is infamous for. It probably doesn't need to be tossed at the table, but for theatrics and for us to see the giant wheel, I sure as hell ain't complaining :P We get to feel involved with our food!

Caccio e Pepe, $20.00

If you're after that huge pepper kick like I am all the time, you will definitely be pleased with this one. Lots of parsley, pepper and of course, pecorino is distributed evenly through the pasta because of the wheel tossing for pieces of cheesy goodness in each bite.

Full to the brim, this feast was very reasonable and the bill was under $30 each. Considering all the food that was brought to us, it was more than good value. And a good visit to make for all of you who are mozzarella lovers! It is a mozzarella bar after all :P And a big thanks to Charn for organising this dinner :)

Buffalo Dining Club
116 Surrey St
Darlinghurts, NSW, 2010

Opening Hours
Wednesday - Saturday: 12:00 noon - 11:00pm

Jazz City BBQ, Darlinghurst

I think it has all been a while since the anticipated opening of Jazz City BBQ with the promise of lots and lots of barbeque meat! LB Slaya, Cassanova, KC and I arrived early this Thursday night just a little before 6, perhaps a little too early as they hadn't even opened their doors yet (we were just a tad too keen). But once inside, we instantly felt like we were in one of those cute American diners with the red booths lining the walls of the small restaurant.

Menu

The menu is short and concise, offering five items with the promise of Southern American smokey char. It's simple really, you just let Chef Dan McGuirt exactly how much of each meat you want and he'll cut and weigh it for you!.

Dan slicing up the beef ribs

Are you guys digging his shirt or what? When he was about to cut us our beef brisket, he asked us, "Would you like the fattier or leaner cut? I would recommend the fattier cut, it's much more tender and juicy." How could we disagree with the man?

Housemade sauces

There are plenty of sauces for you sauce junkies to choose from. And if you're anything like us, you're just going to go for the whole shebang and may as well try everything!

Clockwise from top: cornbread / complimentary sliced white bread / pork ribs / beef ribs / beef brisket / coleslaw / complimentary raw onion and pickles / pulled pork (centre)

While I did love the flavour of the pork rib, it was a tad on the dry side, as was the pulled pork. But with all the sauces on offer, may as well drench it with that, hey? And let me give you a little tip - ride the sauce rainbow. You may be asking, what the heck is that? Mixing all of them together of course! The beef brisket was indeed awesomely fatty as promised and fat is flavour when it comes to barbequed meats. I was pleasantly surprised by the beef rib as I normally prefer pork ribs over beef ones but this was beautifully smokey with every bite. The meat slid of the bone real easy as we bit it straight off the bone - gotta get those fingers dirty when eating ribs! But what I really fell in love with were those pickles. Sweet with a little punch of sour, I couldn't help going back for more. And that cornbread. Soft, fluffy like a good muffin, and slightly sweet, our only regret was ordering one to share. Next time, one for each person!

I forgot to take a picture of the pecan pie we had. Though tiny, it was a pretty sweet end to the meal. Unfortunately they didn't have key lime pie on the menu tonight which was not a problem for us. We ventured down to Jazz City Milk Bar for dessert!

Banana cream pie, $10.00

I have nothing to say but this.

Oh. My God.

THIS WAS AMAZING. SO AMAZING. Well worth the trek here. A crispy base, layers of vanilla custard chocked full of banana pieces in between, along with whipped cream on top, made this dessert so delicious. The ripe banana really made this pie - it felt like I was eating banana custard!

Satisfied with the ending to our Southern style meal of comfort foods, we slowly walked back towards the city. But not before making a pit stop at Hungry Jacks because Cassnova and KC have black holes for stomachs. Next time, that key lime pie will be eaten :D

Jazz City BBQ
200 Goulburn St
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

Opening Hours 
Lunch Wednesday - Friday: 12:00noon to 2:00pm
Dinner Wednesday - Saturday: 6:00pm to 10:00pm (or until Sold Out)
Closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 





Jazz City Milk Bar
Republic 2 Building Courtyard
Palmer Street (between Liverpool and Burton Street)
Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

Opening Hours
Lunch  Thursday-Saturday: 12:00-2:00pm
Dinner  Tuesday-Saturday: 6:00-10:00pm
Closed Sunday & Monday

The Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst

The entrance

If there's one thing I haven't quite seemed to have the time for lately is kicking back for some nice relaxing drinks. Hipster bars are all what Sydney is about and I love finding these hidden gems scattered throughout the city. It's kind of like going on a crazy little treasure hunt trying to find the entrances to these bars. The Cliff Dive bar was not easy to find! The only sign that there is a bar is the bouncer standing outside this door with a giant pineapple on it. When I say giant, I mean huuuge. Look for the giant pineapple pictured above!

Going down the stairs, we were greeted with a giant sculpture, hinting of the things to come. The deco was incredibly inspired by that of Papua New Guinea and Timor.

Prawn crackers

 An insanely cute bowl of colourful prawn crackers were placed before us once we were seated and began pursuing the drinks menu (because who doesn't drink on a Thursday night?).

Pimento and Falernum

Michael (ex Sokyo, Black by Ezard and Bulletin Place), the drinks director, was super helpful and gave us heaps of info about the different cocktails they had on their menu and also about how they make them. They have two housemade bases that they use in all their drinks just to make their drinks that little bit more special. The first being Pimento - an overproof rum with a dash of black rum infused with allspice berries. Falernum is the second one and is also overproof rum based except this one has notes of almonds, clove and ginger - all of which you can taste just sipping on the little shot.

Luau Especial, $17.00

The Luau Especial was quite strong of tequila and everything else if you don't mind your drinks that way. The orange bitters, rhubarb, star anise and lime made this drink quite the refreshing one.

Pina colada, $21.00

Me being me, I definitely could not go past the pina colada. It said it was served in a pineapple! The Cliff Dive Bar only cores out a certain number of pineapples every day for the pina coladas so the servings are limited. Coconut juice is also a necessary ingredient for this coconut and young coconuts are also cracked fresh every day to obtain the juice. Michael whisked this up with ice to make it nice and frothy so it tasted almost creamy despite the fact that zero cream was used. I was definitely blown away at the first sip of this pina colada. My favourite rendition of pina colada to date. Especially with that lovely spicy undertone from their housemade bases!

The Hungry Honky, $16.00

Throughout our cocktail sipping, the aromas from the kitchen were wafting over to the bar and the skewer platter looked pretty damned amazing when it hit the table. You could really taste the South East Asian influence behind these skewers: wild ginger beef, turmeric and lemongrass pork, lemongrass chicken , chill and ginger octopus and chilli and tamarind tofu. My favourite one had to be the confit octopus. It was so tender and soft and the chilli and ginger really made it super delicious. House-made pickled vegetables were the perfect balance of sour and sweet to team up with the skewers. The pandan coconut rice was also something special all on its own - so fragrant it was almost dessert-like. Yum.

The fun and friendly Michael Chiem!

It was a lovely night kicking back to celebrate the end of my uni week and it was wonderful chatting to the boys of The Cliff Dive Bar. Thanks for a super fun night!

Crystal Noir dined as a guest of Yurripi at The Cliff Dive thanks to Olivia Dowd of HK Strategies. Opinions however, are entirely her own.

The Cliff Dive
16-18 Oxford Square, Oxford St
Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010

Opening Hours
Wednesday - Saturday: 6:00pm - 3:00am

Eats lately via iPhone #3

Hello fellow readers! Sorry for the lack of posts as of late - this last semester of my bachelor's degree is proving to be very hard with a lot of work :( But I haven't forgotten about this little blog nor have I disappeared and as proof, here's a little round up of all the things I've eaten recently! Whee, lots of food incoming.

Banh mi, $3.95

Pork rolls always hit the spot for me. There's something so comforting about the combination of pickled carrots (they must be pickled!!), cucumber, onions, coriander and pork. This one is from my favourite store in Ashfield. It's a chain of the original which started in Marrickville!

Ashfield Vietnamese Rolls
224 Liverpool Rd
Ashfield, NSW, 2131

Banh mi ga xa (lemongrass chicken), $6.95

Whilst I do love pork rolls, this lemongrass chicken roll stole my attention and I was feeling like something different. This store is just down the road from my work place so it's perfect if I want to grab a quick lunch. What's great about this place is they offer a variety of different breads (I chose multigrain) and offer to toast it for you which makes it so much more awesome. This roll was very tasty and especially refreshing from the addition of mint leaves. Their pork rolls are also cheap at $3.95 - a great price for lunch in the heart of the city!

Bank Mi K
G2/730-742 George Street 
Haymarket, NSW , 2000

Broadway roll - part of a set

The sushi definitely satisfied my sushi cravings at the time. Loved the spicy sauce that came with it. We got this as part of the meal set which also came with noodle so it was very cheap at $10.

Takoyaki

Because it's a standard order when eating Japanese, yay!

Maki Maki
169 Broadway Sydney
Ultimo, Sydney, 2008 

Special beef noodle soup, $12.50

I walked past a new Vietnamese in Burwood and made a mental note to visit soon. And that was exactly what I did and ordered a big bowl of steaming pho. Because pho is so comforting. The waitress came with the bowl of pho and I was wowed by the sheer size of it. The soup was flavoursome and clean tasting. I felt like I barely made a dent in the noodles! Definitely will try the rest of their menu. Business seems to be going well for them - it's always packed during lunch times!

Mint Vietnamese Pho and Cuisine
226 Burwood Rd  
Burwood, NSW , 2134

Smoked salmon and fennel salad, $16.00

Perfect combination of smoked salmon, fennel and spinach. There were currants to add sweetness and capers that burst in the mouth. The creamy dressing really tied everything together.

Le Monde
83 Foveaux St 
Surry Hills, NSW , 2010

Cocktails, $15.00

Caught up with one of my girlfriends at Fratelli Fresh over excellent truffle risotto. We also ordered cocktails because we're girly like that. Mine was a wonderful concoction of grapefruit and cucumber while my friend chose the peach and champagne combination.

Cafe Sopra at Fratelli Fresh
11 Bridge Street 
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Underground

Peanut butter milkshake, $8.00

Jazz City Diner was still closed, so we ended up again at the Milk Bar to which I proceeded to order this amazing peanut butter milkshake. I took one sip and felt giddy with happiness because it was THAT good. The peanut butter flavour is different from the peanut butter we have in Australia. It has a distinct American peanut butter flavour that I love - especially in Reese's peanut butter cups!

Coconut cream pie, $8.00

Soft, fluffy cloud of meringue on top of a smooth custard and flaky pastry. I think I went to pie heaven. It wasn't too sweet so I felt like I could continue eating it with no problem at all! Don't worry all you coconut haters out there - the dominant flavour is not coconut! It's just a sprinkling of flakes on top of the pie :)

Jazz City Milk Bar
Republic 2 Courtyard Palmer St  
Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010

Chocolate & churros tapas

A tasting plate of mini churros, chocolate, deep fried chocolate truffles, choc brownie and strawberries. Love the churros at San Churros - perfect for dipping in melted chocolate!

San Churros
47 Glebe Point Rd 
Sydney, NSW, 2037
 

Mr Crackles, Darlinghurst

"Crackling you say? That you can buy in cups? I am so there!!"

That was my reaction upon first hearing about Mr Crackles a few months prior. After all this time, I finally found myself there, eager to try their pork crackling.

The stop itself is merely a storefront with a few stools inside. We managed to get in right before a massive line started, with most getting takeaway. There are only eight seats in total after all.

Because of the small store, you'll probably have to run off elsewhere to eat your purchases :)

My friends and I got pretty excited by just looking at the crackling on display. Look at the huge curls of it just sitting there!

Crackles classic - pork & salad, $10.00 for a small

After meandering off to a nearby area to eat our goodies, we dug into our pork salad with gusto, savouring the satisfying crunch of the crackling. The pork meat hidden underneath was also deliciously tender. I was glad that the salad was pickled, really giving that extra zing and balancing out the meat which was surprisingly not that fatty.

Crackles classic roll, $10.00

My friends who ordered the roll were also extremely happy at the fresh bread and generous fillings!

Sweet potato wedges, $7.00

The sweet potato wedges were very addictive and moreish. I believe the sweetness makes these wedges easier to eat more of and the fact that sweet potato isn't as starchy as potato is, I found myself munching on these quite easily. It also came with a delicious spicy aioli on the side that offset the sweetness!

Chilli cheese fries, $8.50

Like nachos, but with fries instead of corn chips! I find this combination better, as I tend to become quite sad when the corn chips get soggy underneath the beef mince and cheese. Potato is soft already, so I don't mind it becoming softer while soaking in all the flavours from the sauce in the beef mince. The melted cheese on top was like the icing of a cupcake - it just makes things that much better!

The man-servings did get to us in the end, though we managed to finish everything despite it all! It was too yummy not to. So are you all fans of pork crackling? And do you prefer sweet potato or potato wedges?

Mr Crackles
155 Oxford St
Darlinghurst, Sydney, 2010
80682832
www.mrcrackles.com.au

Opening Hours
Monday - Wednesday: 11:00am - 8:00pm
Thursday: 11:00am - 9:00pm
Friday: 11:00 - 3:00am
Saturday: 12:00noon - 3:00am
Sunday: 12:00noon - 9:00pm