I remember coming to twenty one espresso about 15 years ago and I swear the decor, the menu - everything! has not changed one bit.

It’s a simple cafe in Double Bay and they’re famous with the local Jewish community for their matzo ball soup. We both weren’t too hungry after having a late lunch so we both ordered a soup. The prices for the soups were reasonable at $10.90 each and we were given complimentary rye bread with butter as a starter and to dunk into our soup.

The main meals ranged from around $20 and crept up to $30 or more. They serve a lot of traditional European food here such as Stroganoff, cabbage rolls and schnitzel so this cafe is popular with Eastern Europeans.

The service was prompt and friendly and the meals came out within about 10 minutes of ordering. The only downside is that they cram so many tables in there that you’re only inches away from the table next to you.

Twenty One Espresso
21 Knox Street
Double Bay, NSW
02 9327 2616  

The Cafe 21 Menu - I swear this hasn’t changed since I was last here about 15 years ago!

Matzo dumpling soup $10.90

We both ordered a soup for $10.90 each but most of the other meals were affordable. Some of the mains creeped up to $30 or more.

The chicken noodle soup was also $10.90

Technorati Tags: matzo ball soup, matzah ball soup, cafe review, double bay, chicken noodle soup, rye bread, sydney

I came down to Sydney for a long weekend a few weeks ago with my mum and we decided to treat ourselves by staying in Double Bay.

Double Bay is notoriously exclusive and snooty and is known as ‘Double Pay’ by Sydneysiders. We ate lunch at this casual open air cafe called Bar Indigo which had seating both inside the cafe and also on the traffic island in the middle of the road. It’s a quiet road in the middle of Double Bay so the (expensive) cars are only slowly driving by. It was really nice to sit out in the sunshine under the trees.

The staff here were really friendly and the service was very fast. The meals were also very well priced and averaged around $15 for most meals.

Most of the other diners were 50+ and we were surprised that the area was so quiet given that it was a Saturday. Walking around Double Bay it seems like it’s lost some of it’s lustre over the years - the famous star spotting cafe with the green and gold chairs under the Stamford hotel has gone and is undergoing renovations. Overall there were few people around and a lot of the boutiques seemed a bit drab and dull.

Bar Indigo
6, 15 Cross Street
Double Bay NSW
02 9363 5966

Bar Indigo

The falafal vegetarian wrap was $13.90

The seating in the middle of the road

Spaghetti and meatballs was $19.90

Technorati Tags: cafe review, double bay, sydney, bar indigo, spaghetti and meatballs, falafel

I was in Sydney yesterday doing some shopping in the CBD and I was checking out the TGV building (The Galleries Victoria) and noticed that they had a Wagamama upstairs.

I’ve been to Wagamama one other time in Sydney near Oxford street. The soups were all around $15 but they are large servings. I ordered the miso ramen with grilled chicken, vegetables and noodles.

My only gripe was that the air conditioning was way too cold and it was hard to get a waiter’s attention. The dining room was long communal tables and it’s kid friendly although they were having some drama’s setting up a high chair which grips onto the table. Another gripe was that I used my points card which I picked up last time and registered online last night but my points from yesterday and the time before weren’t recorded. It’s a bit stupid that you have to register first before you get your points so I’ve emailed them and I’ll see what the outcome is.

I know some people aren’t that impressed with Wagamama and think it’s overrated but if you’re in the city and want a fast lunch, it’s a nicer alternative to the food courts. The TGV building also had a Japanese noodle restaurant upstairs near the Kinokuniya bookshop which was hugely popular with students and the ramen noodle soups were about half the price so maybe I’ll check that out next time.

Inside wagamama at the TGV.

Miso Ramen soup - each bowl comes with chopsticks, a wooden spoon and a foil wrapped wash cloth.

Technorati Tags: wagamama, ramen soup, the galeries victoria, sydney

I was down in Sydney yesterday and was given a mission by my dad to buy two Wilkin & Sons Tiptree Christmas puddings as he couldn’t get hold of any in the Brisbane or Gold Coast David Jones.

It was completely packed in the David Jones food hall and they had a massive range of Christmas foods including hams at about $18 a kilo - one leg of ham alone was around $220. They had full size free range turkeys for about $190 and heaps of puddings, Sienna cakes, panforte and candied fruits.

I bought two of the Wilkin & Sons 2lb puddings which were approx $55 each. You can also buy the smaller 1lb puddings which come in a red box.

The larger puddings come in a blue cardboard box and each come in a stoneware bowl so they were very heavy! I also picked up two packets of Ortiz anchovies which were about $15 each. These are the best anchovies in the world and they come from Spain. They’re only available at very good food stores and deli’s adn they’re imported by Simon Johnson.

I can’t wait to taste these puddings! especially after I had to lug them all around Sydney…

Technorati Tags: wilkin & sons, tiptree christmas pudding, christmas pudding, tiptree, England, ortiz anchovies, spanish anchovies 

The Sydney Morning Herald 2008 Good Food Guide Awards were announced today and the restaurant of the year award went to Tetsuya’s (ranked the fifth best restaurant in the world in April by Restaurant Magazine.) I was reading an article about Tetsuya in The Australian on the weekend about how he’s struck a close, family-like bond with his Queensland spanner crab supplier who he apparently visits most weekends (his spanner crab supplier was originally his ocean trout supplier in Tasmania - Tetsuya’s signature dish is confit of ocean trout.)

Two restaurants gained a hat (Forty One and Restaurant Balzac), Three restaurants dropped a hat (Guillaume at Bennelong, Pello and Pier Tasting Room), and there were 16 new entries! (Azuma, Bistro Ortolan, Four in Hand Dining Room, Foveaux Restaurant + Bar, glass, Glebe Point Diner, Oscillate Wildly, Perama, Salon Banc, Three Clicks West, Artespresso, Bacchus, 55 on Collins, The Old George & Dragon, Restaurant Como and Rock.)

By the way, has anyone else noticed that the SMH title for their article is ‘2007 Good Food Guide Awards’? It’s the 2008 good food guide awards! - I’m sure they’ll change it soon.

…Anyway the winners are:

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
Tetsuya’s

IN SYDNEY:

THREE HATS
Bilson’s, Claude’s, est, Marque, Pier, Quay, Tetsuya’s

TWO HATS
Aria, Becasse, Bentley Restaurant & Bar, Bisto Moncur, Buon Ricordo, Forty One, Guillaume at Bennelong, Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Lucio’s, Pilu at Freshwater, Restaurant Balzac, Rockpool, Sean’s Panaroma, Yoshii

ONE HAT
Assiette, Astral, Azuma, Billy Kwong, Bird Cow Fish, Bistro CBD, Bistro Ortolan, Bistrode, The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, buzo, Catalina, Fish Face, Flying Fish, Forbes & Burton, Four in Hand Dining Room, Foveaux Restaurant + Bar, Galileo, glass, Glebe Point Diner, Grand National, il piave, Longrain, Lotus, Milsons, Oscillate Wildly, Otto, Pello, Perama, Pier Tasting Room, Restaurant Atelier, Salon Banc, Restuarant Soujourn, Sailors Thai Restaurant, The Wharf, Three Clicks West, Yings

NSW REGIONAL:

ONE HAT
Artespresso (Canberra), ashcrofts (Blackheath), Bacchus (Newcastle), Caveau (Wollongong), Courgette (Canberra), Darley’s (Katoomba), dish (Byron Bay), Eschalot (Berrima), 55 on Collins (Kiama), The Journeyman (Berrima), Lolli Redini (Orange), Lochiel House (Kurrajong Heights), Neila (Cowara), No. 2 Oak St (Bellingen), The Old George & Dragon (East Maitland), Ottoman Cuisine (Canberra), Restaurant Como (Blaxland), Restaurant II (Newcastle), The River (Moruya), Rock (Pokolbin), Tonic (Millthorpe), Vulcans (Blackheath), Zest (Nelson Bay)

Image from the SMH online shop.

Technorati Tags: sydney morning herald, good food guide 2008, restaurant, awards, tetsuya’s