adventures down under (sydney, australia)

Hello, friends! It's been a while since I've updated my blog, but I hope you haven't given up on me because I have a lot of excellent summer shoes dying to make their appearance now that summer has arrived. But before any of that can happen, I want to share a bit from my recent work trip to Sydney, Australia. As you might expect, I also squeezed in a good amount of touring and tasting. Thanks to my wonderful colleagues for indulging me in a few hhf adventures down under.

View of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Winter at Bondi Beach -- it was almost 70 degrees and sunny. 

Jamie's Italian (Central Business District): Celebrity chef restaurants have a way of being disappointingly mediocre (after all, the chef himself is typically in another state, or in this case, another country), so I was a bit wary of selecting Jamie's Italian for dinner. But the restaurant was near our tourist destinations of the day and local reviews seemed positive, so we decided to stop in for an early dinner. By early, I mean 4:30 pm, and there was already a 10-15 minute wait for a table (remember: celebrity chef appeal). While waiting, we grabbed a seat near the bar and took in all the Jamie paraphernalia -- shopping totes, kitchen linens, and cookbooks (sans autographs, I would like to point out).

Jamie's Italian: 107 Pitt Street, Sydney

Once seated, service was prompt and friendly. We began with a few "nibbles": parmesan chunks drizzled with balsamic vinegar (good, but you could make this at home by literally drizzling some balsamic on parmesan), Italian nachos-- fried four-cheese ravioli with "angry" arrabiata sauce -- (the "nachos" were under-seasoned, and there was nothing angry about the sauce), and green olives on ice with a black olive tapenade (these came highly recommended by our server, and the olives were plump, fruity and ice-cold). For dinner, I ordered the osso bucco milanese, a wonderfully fragrant dish consisting of tender Aussie lamb shank, tomatoes, saffron, wine and herbs, served atop a creamy (but lukewarm) polenta. Minus the temperature issue, I would highly recommend this dish. The prawn linguine was also tasty, with a lot of bold garlic and chili flavors, but the truffle tagliatelle was my favorite -- a simple but luxuriously rich pasta composed of shaved black truffles, butter, parmesan, and a bit of nutmeg. We were all pretty full by this point in the meal, but I couldn't turn down a good panna cotta, especially one that is described as "lovely" and "wobbly." It was served with a mixed berry compote, and dutifully lived up to its promised wobbly-ness.

Green olives on ice.

Osso bucco milanese.

Truffle tagliatelle.

Lovely, wobbly panna cotta.

Malaya (King Street Wharf): If Malaysian food is always this good, I'm its newest fan. Malaya sits along the water overlooking Darling Harbour and has a covered, but open air dining room. Our server was a little strange and at times downright obnoxious (he didn't really recommend items as much as tell us what we needed to have.. and if we didn't take his advice, he could have cared less about what we ordered). Complaints aside, he did encourage us to try the coconut beef rendang, a spicy Indonesian curry, and it ended up being one of the best dishes of the night. Another favorite was the otak otak, white fish mixed with chiles and other spices and steamed in a banana leaf wrapper. It was not at all what any of us had imagined, and the sheer novelty of unfolding the perfectly wrapped banana leaf and taking the first bite made the dish even more exciting. The fish was very finely minced and then pressed back together with the spice mixture -- and it was somehow spicy, savory, and sweet all at once.

Coconut beef rendang.

Otak otak: Neatly wrapped and gorgeously presented.

Otak otak: The delicious white fish mixture inside.

Zumbo (Pyrmont): Upon first glance, Zumbo looks like a display of fake candy -- everything is tidy, petite, and oh-so-colorful! Once we learned that the brightly hued assortment of goods was edible pastry and the creation of Adriano Zumbo, an Australian and French trainer patissier, we immediately changed course and headed across the Pyrmont Bridge to get a taste of his "zumbarons" (Zumbo's take on French macarons). It was almost closing time and the selection was limited, but this didn't stop us from each ordering two zumbarons which were neatly packed in pristine white, cube-shaped boxes. The flavors were all amazing, but the late hour had definitely taken a toll on what would have been the light-as-air meringue cookie sandwich. To avoid chewy (but still delectable) meringues, visit Zumbo early in the day!

Zumbo at The Star.

Playful, cartoon-like wall display of zumbarons.

Late night zumbaron selection.

Pyramid of Zumbo boxes! Hours (or at least several minutes) of entertainment.

Sticky (The Rocks): Another recommendation led us to The Rocks in search of Sticky, a little confectionery making and selling "traditional hand made yummy." I can't disagree with that! We arrived just in time to witness the rolling, stretching, and breaking of the candy pieces, a process I can only compare to glassblowing. They passed samples of the finished product around to all the onlookers, and the flavor was so fresh and fruity that I left with 9 bags of this yumminess to take home.

Roll it...

Stretch it...

Break it!

Yummy.
(Photo from Sticky.)

Tetsuya's (City Centre): The culinary highlight of the trip coincidentally took place on July 4, an otherwise uneventful day of our trip (no fireworks display for the visiting Americans?!). A good friend and I embarked on an impressive culinary journey -- 4+ hours of Japanese-French-inspired food paired with bubbles, sake, and wine at Tetsuya's. We received only verbal explanations from the servers of the 10-course dégustation menu, and combined with the language barrier (you know, Australian English vs. American English) and the constant flow of alcohol, it turned into quite an entertaining night complete with giggles galore. Here are a few photos of the delightfully fresh and creative dishes I can only explain thanks to the printed menu provided as a keepsake at the end of our meal. (As you will see, I got bolder with my use of flash as I consumed more alcohol.)

Savory custard with avruga (herring roe).

Tuna -- I mean, "tchuuna," according to the Aussies.

Petuna ocean trout with a fennel-seaweed crust.

Steamed tian of Queensland Ceas spanner crab with curd, foie gras, and junsai. 

Roasted breast of quail with jamón ibérico and onion jus.

Seared filet of Cape Grim beef with wasabi and braised mustard seeds.

Shoes: Pretty much the best thing that happened on this trip was coming across a Christian Louboutin boutique and finding myself amidst shoes on sale. In my size. Needless to say, I came home with two extra pairs of heels that will be making their debut soon.