Swine & Co, Wynyard

I have a question for you, my dear readers. What is your favourite type of meat? I, myself, am such a huge fan of pork. There are not only so many different cuts of meat you can get from the pig, but also so many different ways to cook it. And it is with this promise of lots of pork that we end up at Swine & Co after Chef Meathead's graduation (congratulations!).

Specials cocktail / Charlie Chaplin, $18.00 each

Who doesn't like starting the meal with a girly cocktail? I got lured in by the specials cocktail which  tasted like whizz fizz that I had as a child! I can't remember the exact mix but there was brandy and cherry liquer in it. McMini ordered the Charlie Chaplin which was equally as drinkable with gin, apricot brandy, lime juice and rhubarb bitters.

Complimentary bread

 Those sticks were very addictive because of how airy, crunchy and light they were.

Charcuterie, $30.00

I think we all have a slight obsession with cured meats but Chef Meathead wins on how much he loves his cured meats. I tried some of the chicken liver pate which was very rich and creamy and was coated with a thin layer of fruity jelly to add an undertone of sweetness to the salty pate.

King salmon, $30.00

Look at how perfectly the salmon is cooked! Who knew that salmon would be great with fennel? The olive soil scattered was a very clever way to add seasoning to the dish by allowing us to choose how much we wanted to eat with our salmon. But what I found super addictive were those seaweed pieces and am curious how they managed to get that crispiness to them.

Pork belly, $34.00

You really can't go wrong with pork belly if you have tender soft meat topped with a wonderful slab of crunchy crackling. And with a little croquette on the side? I'm won over! I'm used to eating pork with apple, so the introduction of a super smooth pumpkin puree and peppercorn jus was something new to which I'm glad to say I tried and liked.

Suckling pig, $40.00

Now this was a large chunk of meat I'm telling you. I was expecting something smaller, more delicate and have to say, the meat wasn't as tender as the pork belly when I had been expecting the suckling pig to be more so. I think we were all starting to get the meat sweats at this stage... There was a lot of pork happening. But no matter, we had veggie side dishes!

Brussel sprouts, $12.00

Not everyone is a fan of brussel sprouts but surprisingly, I actually like them (does that make me strange?). This version has been cooked with lentils, fermented chilli and speck. I do find that brussel sprouts needs to be cooked with a meat to soak in flavour so I was happy to see the addition of speck.

Dutch heirloom carrots, $12.00

Sweet roasted carrots with caraway butter! The addition of the crumbs on top made me feel like I was eating a dessert as they were quite sweet and reminiscent of cookie crumble.

Hand cut chips, $12.00

Aioli makes everything alright when eaten with all kinds of chips. I guess this doesn't really count as healthy veggies to help break down all the meat we were consuming :P

Located in the heart of Wynyard, the bar upstairs was very busy and packed out with business men and women when we entered on a Friday night so I have to say that booking is a must if you want to try out all the swine available for consumption here!

Swine & Co.
16 O'Connell St  
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 9:00am - late

Ash St Cellar, Wynyard

As we get older, I've realised it' becomes harder and harder to fit meet ups into everyone's busy schedules which is always a shame. But that just makes catch ups (when possible) even more special! Miss LB Slaya and I always try to squeeze in time together to do what we enjoy doing best - eating food! We definitely took advantage of Merivale's $33 meal deals through the month of March and early April and that is how we ended up at Ash St Cellar that night.

L to R: 2010 Villa Maria 'Cellar Selection' Pinot Noir, 2012 Villa Maria 'Cellar Selection' Pinot Gris

This particular deal came with wine! $33 gave you a glass of wine and a main course. Wine is definitely a welcome sight after a long day at work :P Red wine, as always, tastes much better after you let it rest for a while to let the flavours develop.

Complimentary bread

 

Shellfish and chorizo paella

We cooed over how cute the paella was when it arrived - it was the smallest single serving pan! The shellfish gave the paella such a wonderful depth of flavour and finding a piece of chorizo was like finding a little nugget of gold but I was just sad that there wasn't a crispy bottom which is the part I always look forward to most.

Half roast duck, salad of witlof, orange, olives & walnuts

Duck is one of my favourite game meats so I was a tad disappointed that this roast version was quite dry. The rub on the skin gave it a crispiness that really would've gone well together with tender duck meat.

I suppose Ash St's Cellar's specialty wouldn't be their food but their large selections of house wines on offer. Most customers there seemed to be having after works drinks with a few nibbles on the side - that seems like the way to go!

Ash St. Cellar
1 Ash St
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:30am - 11:00pm

Felix Bistro & Bar, Wynyard

Merivale currently has meal deals for $33 as part of their March into Merivale celebration so yes to cheaper meal deals :D McMini, M and I were seated outside for our girls date so thank goodness there weren't big gushes of wind that night! We ended up ordering from the normal menu and not the meal deal menu.

Complimentary bread and butter

Slather on that butter! Choice of sourdough, multigrain or rye with butter - how can you go wrong? The pick of the three had to be the sourdough with the lovely crust.

Twice baked Gruyere soufflé with onion puree, rocket and walnut, $20.00

Souffle is not something I've had before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was so fluffy! The souffle by itself was nice, but it was lacking a little something which I found the onion puree made up for. The two together really gave us a delicious start.

Slow cooked, herb crusted lamb shoulder with  slow roast tomatoes and rosemary jus, $33.00 (for one)

The flavour that was encrusted in just the herb crust itself was delicious. The lamb shoulder itself was beautifully soft and tender as all soft-cooked lamb should be. Just a tad underseasoned but overall, incredibly tasty.

Confit duck leg, frisee, lentil and green bean salad, lyonnaise sauce, $33.00

How can I ever say no to confit duck? M offered us both to try some of her confit duck and it was divine. Just as good as the one I had at Le Pub :) I loved the subtle sweetness from the lyonnaise sauce.

Roast cauliflower, spring onion, mint and marinated goat's cheese, $10.00

We also got a side of roast cauliflower because you know, veggies! I do love cauliflower though - the insides were so soft. And with pomegranates and marinated goat's cheese, it's hard to dislike the sweet, tangy, salty and herby flavours. Always a fan of the addition of spring onion.

Looking back, we ordered some solid winter comfort food in the dead midst of summer... Didn't regret ordering any of those, because they were all delicious! Who says you have to eat according to the weather? :P

Felix Bistro and Bar
2 Ash St
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours 
Lunch
Monday to Friday: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Dinner
Monday to Saturday: 5:30pm – 10:30pm
Sunday: 5:30pm - 9.30pm

Le Pub, Wynyard

Despite all the restaurants that I've been to on my adventures in finding delicious food, a cuisine that I hadn't tried yet was French. Ooh la la! Definitely excited to eat some snails. My friends and I were meeting for dinner to say goodbye to Ms Dentist-In-Training for 6 months as she flies back to Queensland for her teeth studies. I had just come back to Sydney from a road trip on the Central Coast, so it was a big blurring rush of dumping my luggage, showering, and running out of the house! Somehow, I still managed to get there first :P

Escargots de Bourgogne, $15.00

Snails!! I remember when I was younger and we were in China, it was the first time I had ever seen snails eaten as food. I looked at him with wide eyes and shook my head adamantly when my dad asked me whether I wanted to try it. Ten years later, I'd like to think I've matured and am generally open to trying new things. So here's to escargot! It really reminded me of mushrooms in terms of taste actually. The sauce was really good especially when dipped with the crusty bread. Could've gone for a more intense garlic hit, but I really love love love my garlic strong :P

Collet D'Agneau, $26.00

Ms Dentist-In-Training went for the lamb neck with a quinoa and herb crumb, cauliflower puree, shaved cauliflower and pea salad. The lamb was cooked to a perfectly medium rare and everything worked wonderfully together. And despite hating cauliflower, Ms Dentist-In-Training really loved the cauliflower puree to her surprise! Those peas have been freeze-dried I think.

Confit de Canard, $26.00

I couldn't go past the confit duck! I'm a sucker for roasted beetroot and I love carrots so this definitely caught my eye as soon as I saw it on the menu. The duck was incredibly soft from the confit process and fell off the bone with just a soft prod of my fork. Paired with the carrot puree, it gave the game meat that subtle sweetness and I was one happy duck eating this indeed.

Say hello to my friends who happily ate their coq au vin and steaks! Le Pub also gives fancy water with a slice of lemon in it :)

I found the meal to be extremely good value for the quality of food that we received and would happily go back to sample more items from their menu! Very happy first French dining experience :)

Le Pub
Basement, 66 King St
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Stair entrances from both King St & York St
www.lepub.com.au

Opening Hours
Monday - Wednesday: 10:00am - 12:00am
Thursday - Saturday: 10:00am - 3:00am

Stitch Bar, Wynyard

The concept of Stitch Bar is one that is quite interesting. This small bar is barely discernable from the street, and the only way of telling that there is a bar downstairs is the bouncer that guards the tiny entrance. The theme of sewing really ends at the entrance, but doesn't mean that the area downstairs isn't cool. We managed to snag a booth that night after a booking was made (which I highly recommend you doing if you want seats without waiting!). I already knew what I was ordering after a quick glance over the concise menu and was pretty excited. It sounded pretty awesome!

Mack Ducky Dog, $19.00

Apparently the sausage was supposed to be duck, orange and pistachio but alas I didn't discern any three of those flavours. The foie gras and truffle sauce were also not that distinguishable in taste and instead left only an oily feel in the mouth. I was looking forward to a big hit of truffle :( However, the curly fries were the saving grace of the plate. Crunchy and tossed in a spice mix, these were very addictive!

We didn't have anything to drink at Stitch that night, but I have heard good things about the cocktails there. Next time I visit, I'll probably just go for some drinks and give the food a miss. But a bowl of curly fries on the side whilst you're sipping on your drink sounds like a good idea!

Stitch Bar
61 York Street
Sydney, NSW, 2000
http://www.stitchbar.com

Opening Hours
Monday - Wednesday: 4:00pm - 12:00am
Thursday - Friday: 12:00pm - 2:00am
Saturday: 4:00pm - 2:00am

El Loco at Slip Inn, Sydney CBD

I'm not sure when or how this trend happened, but there seems to be little Mexican restaurants popping up everywhere in Sydney! Everyone's getting on board the train for Mexican fiestas! One that has been around for a while already is El Loco. Hearing good things about Dan Hong's restaurants, I decided to visit the newly opened one at Slip Inn for a late birthday dinner with my friends. I've yet to visit the one in Surry Hills which has been there for a while, but one step at a time right guys? I'll try the hot dogs and tacos there next time!

BBQ chicken, $19.00

I stole some of my friend's BBQ chicken which had such a lovely charred exterior. The chicken with the chipotle mayo and salsa roja on the side definitely hit the spot. Chipotle mayo makes everything right with the world! I must emphasise how big this dish actually was. Just look at it!! My friend was incredibly happy with it as he exclaimed "The portion is perfect!" Well, as a dude, I suppose half a chook would be a perfect portion size... I can't say the same for us ladies!

Roasted pork belly, $19.00

As soon as I saw the pork belly on the menu, I knew I just had to order it. Look at all that fatty goodness! (This cannot be good for my cardio health). The crackling was so crunchy that I had difficulty cutting through it with the very sharp, pointy knife. It was succulent and juicy and eaten together with the much needed pineapple salsa, it was very good indeed. I loved the Mexican rice which had been spiced (though I'm not sure what they use) and the salad cleansed the mouth of any lingering fattiness so that you could pretend you're really not eating something that bad ;)

I also managed to try a few of the cocktails on the menu (courtesy of my lovely friends). You all must get the Pink Cuco - you won't regret it! It was like a grapefruit slushie! Because it was so refreshing, it was very easy to continue drinking :)

The staff were very friendly. Word of warning, if you do want to order the pork belly, get in quick and get in early! A friend of mine was disappointed that they ran out of pork belly, but they offered to replace his order with anything he wanted and didn't beat an eyelash when he asked if it was alright to order the pork torta and hot dog. The only downside was how cramped the table was, but we all didn't mind having our friends close by :D

I'm sure we'll be visiting more Mexican restaurants in the future - ole!

El Loco at Slip Inn
111 Sussex St
Sydney, 2000
http://merivale.com.au/el-loco-at-slip-inn/

Opening Hours
Monday to Saturday – 12:00pm til' late