Jamie's Italian, Sydney CBD

I think any parents out there reading this will understand completely when I say that making it to your child's first birthday is a very significant milestone. It's one of those times in your life when you breathe a huge sigh of relief and say "Phew... We made it!" I'll be posting soon about little Roman's birthday picnic, but this post is about our parental celebration :)

To celebrate making it through our first year of parenthood, Mr Ladybird and I headed to Jamie's Italian on Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD last week for lunch (by ourselves - wahooo!) Sure, having lunch with Roman is nice and all... but so is just the two of us. No stress over high chairs; cutlery being jabbed in the eye, or glasses being sent flying from the table... just the two of us, like "the old days"!

I really enjoyed this meal. The vibe at Jamie's Italian is stylish and unpretentious. And the food is much the same - simple, delicious, and nothing over-the-top. Just good honest Italian food. Service was prompt and friendly too, which can often make or break a dining experience! We started with complimentary bread and lovely olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

For entrees, we both had the zucchini flower special ($14.50)... a scrumptious stuffed and deep-fried zucchini flower with a rich tomato sauce and rocket pesto. I'm not usually one for anything deep-fried, but I can never say no to a good zucchini flower. The crumbed exterior was wonderfully crisp and crunchy, a nice contrast to the creamy interior of the flower.

For mains, Mr Ladybird enjoyed the pasta special - ravioli with asparagus, peas, mint, lemon zest and watercress $18.50. I enjoyed a small Pumpkin pasta ($12.50) which was wonderful.

Oh yes, and a cheeky side of Polenta Chips ($8.50).

And for dessert, Mr Ladybird and I shared a portion of rich Special Tiramisu ($9) coffee flavoured trifle with orange mascarpone and chocolate. Heaven!

All in all a lovely treat to ourselves on our son's first birthday. Thumbs up, Mr O!

I'll post again soon with some snaps from our little one's birthday celebration (and the cake of course!) Till next time...

Ladybird x

Jamie's Italian
107 Pitt St, Sydney
(02) 8240 9000
http://www.jamieoliver.com/au/italian/

Café Zoe, Surry Hills

Now that baby Roman is nearing 6 months of age, he is able to stay awake for a few hours rather happily, making outings such as going out for brunch a lot easier. It's no secret that Mr Ladybird and I do love going out for breakfasts on the weekend, and we are absolutely loving being able to do this once again!

It might not be the leisurely sips on coffee and leafing through newspapers and magazines like it used to be.. nowadays it's sips of coffee and intermittent mouthfuls of food between Mr L bouncing Roman on his knee, and me keeping an eye on what he's trying to ram into his mouth next and managing the now constant flow of drool from his little mouth! He is a very good baby though, and having a little cutie like him in tow does have some unexpected benefits. For example, I have visited the same fruit and veg store for years, and never once received a smile from the cashier until I came shopping with Roman in the pram, smiling up at her like a little angel. Suddenly her face lit up - magic! Oh yes, he's very charming with the ladies... quite the lil' Casanova! In cafes, he always manages to charm the ladies at neighbouring tables. When visiting Café Zoe recently, in fact, he was so charming that the lady at the table next to us couldn't resist the force of Roman's cuteness and asked for a little cuddle. I was happy to oblige, and Roman proceeded to chat her up while Mr L and I enjoyed a few minutes to ourselves.

Café Zoe is one of my favourite spots for breakfast. There is ample seating and you don't have to book, service is friendly, and the food and coffee are good. It is open Saturday and Sundays, and there is a separate Sunday brunch menu.. so technically you could go there two days in a row and enjoy two different menus ;) Plus parking in the area isn't too bad (for Surry Hills I mean!) Mr L and I headed there recently for a nice weekend brekky where we started with coffees of course...

I enjoyed the corn fritters with toast, salsa, scrambled eggs and a side of wilted spinach. The eggs were delicious, as was the spinach. The corn fritters were nice, but a little more corn in them would have been good.

Mr L enjoyed eggs on toast with two sides - sautéed mushrooms, as well as some seriously tasty spicy beans - I'd give a limb for that recipe... sooo good!

Now, in all my juggling of baby, nappy bag, camera and goodness knows what else I lost the receipt for our meal at Café Zoe so I can't tell you the exact prices of our meals. However, I can say that you can expect to pay around $15 - $20 for breakfasts here. Sides are $3 each, so any extras can make it a little more expensive. But all in all, pretty good value as the quality of their food and coffee is consistently high.


Til next time! xxx


Café Zoe
688 Bourke St, Surry Hills
(02) 8399 0940

Kazbah, Balmain

If there's one thing I absolutely love about Sydney, it's the absolute variety of brunch spots across the Sydney. No matter what you like for breakfast, you're bound to find a place that takes your fancy. Kazbah in Balmain does just that, but with a Middle Eastern flavour.

Trawling through (and finally cleaning up), my camera's memory card of some 1000 photos, I stumbled across pictures of our breakfast there in September of last year. Just a couple of weeks shy of Roman's arrival, I couldn't resist taking Mr Ladybird out to celebrate his first Father's Day... it seems like so long ago, how time flies!

Kazbah has a number of locations in Sydney, but has been open in Balmain since 1998. I love the atmosphere there - the colours, the flowers, the lanterns.. it all gets you in the Moroccan mood, even early in the morning. They are open for breakfast from 8am and offer their breakfast menu until 3pm! Their breakfast menu is extensive (you can check it for yourself here) with dishes ranging in price from around $15 - $20.

We started off with some drinks, of course. A coffee for Mr Ladybird ($4) and a juice of the day for me, in this case, a watermelon juice (a bit steep, I felt, at a hefty $6.50!)

And for the most important meal of the day, Mr Ladybird happily tucked into his brilliant Breakfast Tagine ($19.50) -  Roast Pumpkin, spinach, roast capsicum, roast tomato, caramelised onion, feta and eggs, all served with turkish toast.

At 8 months pregnant, I was feeling like I was just about as big as humanly possible, so I threw my usual dietary caution to the wind and indulged in the French Toast (usually comes with bacon, I ordered mine sans swine), glazed baby figs, double cream and apple cinnamon syrup ($18). Looking at this photo has me drooling all over again!

All in all a most enjoyable breakfast with prompt, friendly service. So next time you're looking for a place for breakfast and you're a bit tired of the stock standard breakfast menu options, Kazbah is well worth checking out. Be sure to book though, they get very very busy on weekends!

Til next time, dear readers...
Ladybird xxx

Kazbah
379 Darling St, Balmain
(02) 9555 7067

Afternoon Tea at The Observatory Hotel, The Rocks

I have often been asked by friends and followers of my little blog where I think is the best high tea in Sydney and (humbled to even be asked!) I have always responded with sentences that have usually been prefaced by the phrase "Well it depends.." However, after a recent high tea experience at The Observatory Hotel in Sydney's historic Rocks area, I now feel confident in recommending to others what I believe to be the creme de la creme of Sydney high teas.

It was at The Observatory that I caught with a friend I hadn't seen in many many months - what better way to catch up with a girlfriend than over high tea in such opulent and relaxing surroundings! So where do I start? Well, how about the hotel's grand foyer to set the scene? I think the photos above speak for themselves.. this is one fine establishment!
 
I make my way into the Globe Brasserie & Bar where afternoon tea is held daily - a sweeping room with polished wooden floors and complete with soft lighting, rich drapes and plush armchairs and sofas. Oh, and there's a grand piano thrown in for good measure too...

I join my girlfriend at our table, neat as a pin and adorned with crisp white linen, glistening crockery and silverware. With 20 unique tea blends to choose from we take our time perusing the menu - I opt for a jasmine tea and my friend chooses another one of the lovely herbal blends.

Shortly after our high tea stand arrives - three tiers of afternoon scrumptiousness! It all looks so perfect we sit looking at it for a while, taking it all in and not wanting to spoil the pretty picture. But it looks so good we quickly succumb to our appetites and make a start with the savoury items.

Now when it comes to sandwiches at high teas, I (as a vegetarian) am normally accustomed to one type of sandwich which can be rather tasteless - plain cucumber... It's not ideal, and I certainly don't complain about it - rather, I simply adjust my expectations when going to a high tea. On this occasion, however, I am spoiled for choice with four little sandwiches each with a different and delicious filling, plus a vegetarian tart - hurray!

After our savouries we move onto the gem-like scones - not the monstrous floury types so common elsewhere that can be difficult to finish, but rather, these fresh, ladylike and fluffy scones that you can finish in a couple of mouthfuls. They really were the perfect size and a lovely texture... The strawberry jam served alongside them was superb - quite syrupy in consistency (which I prefer to very jelly-like jam), and most likely house-made which is always a good thing. The cream was like a double cream though, which I found a bit too heavy.

And last but not least we make our way to the impeccably presented plate of miniature sweets, all a good size for a high tea stand - enough to get a taste, but not too much so as to make you feel horrendously full. There's a fruit tartlet, lemon and poppyseed cupcake, cheesecake, chocolate opera slice, crème brûlée and chocolate mousse for each of us... they're all so good, but the crème brûlée and opera slice are my favourites.

And just when we thought we couldn't possibly eat another crumb, an unexpected and complimentary surprise arrives at our table - a congratulatory platter to celebrate my now somewhat big 'bun in the oven'!

All in all, a 5 star experience and a lovely way to catch up with a friend. Tell me, dear readers, where have you had your best high tea experience? I'd love to hear about it!

Ladybird x

The Observatory Hotel

89-113 Kent Street

The Rocks, NSW

Ph: (02) 8248 5252

http://www.observatoryhotel.com.au/web/osyd/afternoon_tea.jsp

Classic afternoon tea $49 per person on weekdays, $59 per person on weekends & public holidays

Monday to Friday 2:30 - 5pm

Saturdays 12:30 - 2:30pm, and 3 - 5pm

Sundays & public holidays 1 - 3 and 4 - 6pm

Café Morso, Pyrmont

With a baby now only weeks away in the Ladybird household, I increasingly find myself contemplating my soon-to-be life as a mother. I find myself thinking about activities and favourite past times that will soon be a little more difficult to fit in whilst juggling life with a newborn bundle of joy.. One of these things would have to be the pleasure found in spontaneously going out for brunch on weekends after a lovely sleep-in. Of course, I am immensely looking forward to the changes my life will soon bring, and I simply cannot wait to meet our little one.. But as my belly grows and my due date comes closer and closer, I am keen to enjoy squeeze in as much of these simple pleasures as I can!

With this in mind, Mr Ladybird recently took me out for a lovely surprise breakfast at Café Morso in Pyrmont. The cafe is located at the beautiful Jones Bay Wharf overlooking the harbour, close by to iconic Sydney restaurants such as The Flying Fish and Doltone House. Cafe Morso also happens to be quite the high achiever, with swagful of awards to its name, including Best Breakfast Restaurant in 2009 and 2010.

And when you see the menu, you start to get an idea of what the fuss is about.. I am tempted by the french toast with pear compote, mascarpone and chocolate ganache, but with baby's nutrition in mind I opt for the sautéed wild mushrooms with truffled scrambled eggs and Sonoma sourdough ($16) and an orange juice ($5).

My Ladybird opts for the beautiful soft scrambled eggs with gruyere cheese, semi dried cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs on Sonoma sourdough  ($16), a side of baked beans with onion jam and relish ($2.50) and a latte ($3.80).

A great spot for breakfast, particularly with the weather warming up. Worth checking out!

Cafe Morso
Lower deck (west side), Jones Bay Wharf
Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW
Ph: (02) 9692 0111
http://www.cafemorso.com.au/

Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am - 2pm

A Floral Themed High Tea at Patisse

I recently had the pleasure of attending a lovely high tea at Patisse in Sydney.. not just any high tea, but one created by Vincent Gadan and the hardworking team at Patisse in Waterloo. Does the name ring a bell? It may for all those Masterchef fans out there. Vincent Gadan is the talented, French-born pastry chef who faced up to (and won) a roast challenge against Hayden. He also appeared again on the series for a masterclass with some of the contestants. Recognise those score cards in the frame on the table?

When I learnt that Patisse was starting monthly themed high teas I jumped at the chance, and I attended their high tea debut on July 31st. The theme? Floral: Rose, lavender and violet. But no scones and clotted cream in sight here - this was a french take on high tea.

The selection of sweets and savouries for guests was as follows:

Savoury

Wagyu Pie – cocktail size

Spinach and Feta Quiche – Cocktail size

Chicken Sandwich finger

Roast vegetable sandwich finger

Sweet

Lavender Madeline

Pistachio and rose cake

Violet Tropeziennes

Verrine of Lavender

Some pictures of the food for you to drool over. First, our roasted vegetable finger sandwiches...

Spinach and feta quiches fresh out of the oven, the pastry buttery and flaky... mmmm!

The beautiful sweets plate... a bouquet of flavours and textures!

Check out this thing of beauty - the verrine of lavender... I gave this one a miss as I don't eat gelatine, but it was certainly pretty to look at.

And lastly, the sweet highlight from the high tea for me.. the Pistachio and Rose Cake - a beautifully moist cake coated with pistachios and topped with orange blossom yoghurt and rose petals... absolutely lovely.

We also enjoyed a tea tasting as part of the high tea, something I have never experienced before. We sampled beautiful teas by a new Australian company called The Rabbit Hole. Their organic teas were selected to accompany the floral theme of the high tea, and they were beautiful! In fact, you'll actually be hearing more about them on my blog soon.. so stay tuned tea lovers!

Towards the end of the high tea we were all introduced to Vincent who welcomed us and spoke about the menu he created for the day.

All in all an enjoyable high tea, and definitely something a little different from many high tea offerings in Sydney. Check out the Patisse website for information about upcoming high tea events.

Ladybird and guest attended high tea as guests of Patisse

Patisse
Shop G01, PYD Building
197 Young St
Waterloo NSW
Ph: (02) 9690 0665

http://www.patisse.com.au/
Monday to Saturday, 8:30am to 4pm