Sydney is in the midst of one of its busiest festival seasons, so there’s plenty going on already. add to that some of the stuff we’ve been up to this week and the pace this year’s setting describes how we’re halfway through January without even breaking stride.
In this weekly Edition, we’re checking out an old much-loved in the St George open Air Cinema at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, we’ve got a birthday bash with an excellent cheese board we need to show you, and we’ve got friends in from Adelaide that sparks a massive day out on the tiles.
We hope you take pleasure in this Edition.
Cheers – Jim & Christina xx
But first things first, I’ve done something that’s been on my mind for ages: I’ve adapted my shortbread cookie recipe… in that I’ve added chocolate!
Here’s the original recipe for these gluten-free macadamia nut shortbread cookies, which are already spectacular, but adding in a quarter of a cup of dark chocolate chips creates quite a different creature.
These are so tasty, the only danger is you’ll eat them all at once and no one will know what magic you’ve created!
This afternoon, we’re at our friends’ place to celebrate a birthday. The party’s great and it’s awesome to catch up with everyone and all that… but we’re a little distracted by this dairy masterpiece!
Our friends have generally covered their table in a literal mountain of food. Our brother-in-law recently climbed to Everest Basecamp – an excellent achievement. but this is really the only kind of mountain I’m in any way interested in conquering!
On the south face of mount delicious is fresh bread, fruit, crudités and cured meats.
And there’s a western spur of beautiful olive bread, bocconcini and watermelon. delighted birthday, mate. We’re pleased we could come and celebrate with you!
Today, we’ve driven up to the northern beaches of Sydney to catch our friend Tori before she heads back to the UK. We saw her last week at the Art Gallery of NSW, but her partner was still away. now he’s here too, so we’re all enjoying the sudden Sydney sun at one of the most popular beaches in the country.
Palm beach – aka summer Bay from TV soap home and Away – is so beautiful. We haven’t been up here in ages, and how things have changed.
The beach is just as sensational as ever, but the parking prices seem to have gone up a touch. I understand prices for things are always destined to go up, but $38 an hour seems a little steeper than the last time we were here.
It’s always quite odd to see things like this in real life. They use this beach-side hut in the TV show – it’s Alf’s bait shop apparently, and it’s full of odd merch for home and Away.
This evening, we’ve crossed Sydney’s Botanic gardens to get to one of the best activations of the city. The St George open Air Cinema has been going for quite some time now, and annually it’s got a little bit bigger.
Tonight – thanks to an invitation from Croser, the official sparkling of the open Air Cinema – we’re here to take pleasure in the drinks, the view and of course the film with one of the most extraordinary backdrops for a movie. It’s often hard to concentrate on the plot with scenery like this in the background.
I love that there’s something like this making the most of what really is one of the prettiest cities in the world. I remember the first time I ever saw the Opera house and what a thrill that was. It’s still such a great building to look at, and the location of this cinema really shows it off.
I remember coming here on one of the first years the open Air Cinema was running. There was one little spot you could get pre-packed snacks and a beer. Now, hatted restaurant Aria has its own fine-dining experience you can take pleasure in here. It’s amazing.
This Croser is going down a treat. It would be better if it weren’t raining, but that’s the risk of enjoying a motion picture under the stars… of clouds anyway!
The screen starts to rise out of the water and people scurry for their seats. The movie’s about to begin just after the sun sets. and in the background the Opera house and Harbour Bridge start to light up their beauty.
It’s like they’re in competition with the film for our attention.
It’s pretty wet tonight, and nearly in mockery of the rain, the screen shows a best sunny day around the Botanic gardens behind us.
At least we’ve got a drop of Croser left to help us neglect the raindrops!
The St George open Air Cinema is open every night until 16 February. Doors normally open at about 6.00 and films start at about 8.30.
Pop! That’s a bit a lot more like it. much warmer and drier. Our mates Chris and Sonia are in town – up from Adelaide for a little bit of work and a little bit of fun.
The best way to get the ball rolling is with a drop of bubbly.
For lunch, we’re in Glebe at the recently opened Charleston. It’s a charming spot. The food and decoration have a kind of Caribbean/Mexican/Miami vibe.
Christina and Sonia are getting stuck into the cocktail menu, while the rest of us are enjoying a surprisingly good American Chardonnay.
The food starts to come out. There are six of us, so we’ve made a decision to choose the banquet style menu. It saves trying to choose what to have and everyone seems happy, and the $35pp feast has so much to it.
These fish tacos are exceptional and before them were some pulled pork tacos, which were also amazing.
The salad is great, but these southern fried chicken pieces are superb. Tender meat, crispy batter and a spiced mayo. Heaven.
I’m never too sure about macaroni cheese and whether it’s worth ordering. but this is so good. I think I might have to rethink my opinions on this dish. It’s so good.
And as an extra dish, we’ve bought the beef short rib, which comes with a roasted corn cob and a salsa verde. The meat is succulent and tender, but we’re so full it’s nearly too much for us. Almost!
The Charleston is a charming light restaurant in the heart of Glebe. It’s best for noisy groups like ours or for a fun romantic meal for two. The set menu is only available to tables of 4 or a lot more though.
After lunch, we stroll up to The Toxteth hotel for a couple a lot more beers and a game of pool or two.
Christina and Sonia may look like they’re about to hustle you out of your pay cheque, don’t they? but as it turns out, we’re all so bad the only thing we’re good at here is getting our money’s worth out of each game. If the idea of pool was to keep as lots of balls out of the pockets for as long as possible, we’d be champions!
After a quick freshen up back home, Chris, Sonia, Christina and I have hopped on a ferry to Barangaroo, Sydney’s newest precinct for restaurants and bars.
We’ve popped in to Banksii Vermouth Bar and Bistro to say hey there to our mate Mikey, and he’s up-sold us on a bite to eat and some vermouth. The vermouth he chooses for us – each of us gets a different one – is pretty special: Dolin Blanc, Regal Rogue, Mancino Bianco and a Belsazar White Vermouth.
Each one has such a different flavour profile and tastes good neat on the rocks. I thought it was just for martinis. I stand corrected.
The food here is fun and light – though there are heartier options available, Prosciutto and figs, a macadamia dip and some delicious bread get us started and help allay the hunger pangs while we wait for our table next door at Zushi.
It’s worth the wait though.
Zushi always does such good food, and tonight’s no exception. This selection of sashimi is perfect, though it does end with Chris and me doing a wasabi dare. always fun and never advisable.
Beautiful long roll of sushi – though it breaks up a bit as we pick it up.
Another highlight is this dish of slow-cooked pork ribs. Amazing. We also buy prawns that are glazed in a sweet coating and slightly crispy.
After dinner, we pop back into Banksii and Mikey brings us a selection of negronis, each slightly (and often significantly) different. Spicy, savoury, sweet or floral, it’s remarkable the difference the choice of gin and vermouth make to this drink.
If you haven’t tried a negroni before, do it now. Unless you’re reading this at work, in which case you need to wait till later!
It’s so good having these people in town. hopefully we’ll be down in Radelaide again soon – in time for their festivals over Feb perhaps. enjoy this space.
We hope you’ve took pleasure in reading this weekly edition as much as we clearly have making it.
Cheers – Jim, Christina, Chris and Sonia xx