The Clarendon Hotel

156 Devonshire St, Surry Hills
Rating: Ambience 4, Price 3, Food 4, Service 2.5

As you sip a glass of cabernet-shiraz house wine and sit on a balcony,
you’re peering over an open-air view of the roofs of terrace houses.
The Clarendon offers much more than a cheap-eat, pokies-cranking pub
night. It has an old historic feel, originally established in 1876
competing well with the Balmain pub culture. Unlike most old pubs, it
has a spacious interior, a revamped balcony and a mini beer garden on
the lower floor. Behind the Clarendon’s sleek modern veneer is an
Australian familiarity that makes you feel instantly at home. The
crowd consists of a mix of indie arts folk, uni students and young
professionals ready for a slightly higher-market meal. It is perfect
for a post-Belvoir Street Play feed, a casual tête-à-tête over a beer
or a bottle of wine for birthday celebrations.

The menu at The Clarendon draws its strength from its gourmet
sensibilities. Their meals tweak traditional pub food with a hint of
Middle Eastern, Italian, and Greek cuisines. They offer pastas,
gourmet pizzas, hearty steaks, and a cheaper menu for the frugal, and
less food-fanatic. The only let down about this place is the service,
and most of the options on the menu are slightly overpriced. Certain
members of the staff may treat you with the regard of a wall fly or
act as if you should be serving them.

Regardless of this, Belvoir St Theatre’s Cheap Tuesdays offered just
around the corner would be well matched with their delicious lamb
souvlaki, which is doused in Tzatziki and accompanied by a Greek salad
and freshly fried chips. If you want to stumble home it’s only 200
metres from Central Station. The only thing to keep in mind is that my
student pocket would be empty if I ate there every night.


Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Mamak

Mamak




15 Goulburn St, Haymarket, Sydney
Ratings /5 – Ambience 4 Food 4.5 Price 4 Service 4

I have never arrived at Mamak when there isn’t a queue. As a favourite of mine in China Town, it offers a bounty of Hokka-style Street food; a fusion of Indian and Malaysian cuisines. Starting as a street market business, Mamak has become a familiar name for the Malaysian community in Sydney. They legitimately claim that their food is “exactly what you would find in the streets of Kuala Lumpur.”

Mamak has gained a reputation due to its on-site production of the unique style of Malaysian roti. The sweet smell wafts from the open roti grill at the shop front, showcasing many pastry chefs artfully flattening, kneading, and stretching dough into sheet-thin slabs. These are then folded into rectangles, cooked with oil, and scrunched into a parcel. The product is flakey and light. They can be filled with onion (bawang), egg (telur), or meat (murtabak), served with curry sauce or made into a delicious dessert with custard (bom) or banana (pisang) filling. The chefs show off with their roti tisu, which is fried, and assembled into a crispy cone served tall and pointing upwards.

Mamak also offers Goreng, a great alternative to the tried and tired Pad Thai. Goreng is made with an extra hint of chilli, and lacks the stodgy consistency of Pad Thai. Another option is the Nasi Lemak, Malaysia’s national dish – a platter of fragrant coconut rice, sambal (mild chilli sauce), peanuts, cucumber, fried anchovies and a hard-boiled egg. This works well as a supplement to their delicious curries or stir-fries. The mouth-watering satay is also a must.

For the adventurous palate, the street food-lover, and those with tight pockets who are accustomed to Asian cuisines, Mamak is a diamond in the rough.

Overall rating: 4.5

City Sushi

Source: Sushi House Central Station (near tunnel)
Rating: Sacrilegious
Average Roll price: $2.45

There’s nothing that aggravates me more than a shitty sushi roll. For the lazy and health (waist)-conscious student sushi is a staple that is holy and sacred. Wrapped in its green seaweed mesh, holding the lean meats of a dieters dream, you suddenly have the terrible realization that most of it is rice; one of those simple carbohydrates we’ve all been made to fear. But worse, it’s grainy, and hard. It’s as if it’s been left too long in the open air. Perhaps the fish within has become a welcoming nest for whatever microbe or insect so desires it. You’re filled with a sort of rage. Yes, you’ve got a case of shitty sushi.

What you realise as you explore other sushi restaurants in the central-station district is that they’re cheaper, with rice that’s just right, and meats which seem freshly cooked or cut. I pray one day soon that Sushi House Central Station will lower its prices and use the fresh rice that will restore the sacred staple. For now I recommend Harbourside Sushi.

Verdict: A high price for really hard rice.

Chinese Noodle Restaurant

Where: 8 Quay Street (entrance off Thomas Street)
Overall Rating 4 Price 4.5 Food 3.5 Ambience 3 Service 3.5

This little nook in the wall is a gastronomic gem for both the penniless student and those lovers of authentic Chinese cuisine. It has the fast economy of a restaurant with a secret to success, sometimes conferring a feeling upon its customer of being a money-bag ripe for the reaping. But there is no “Australian Chinese” touch here, no ruinous ‘assimilation’ of flavour or culture that plagues the lazy palette of parochial Australia. It is a walk into a backstreet in global Shanghai showcasing a clientel of Sydney’s cultural diversity.

The dumplings and hand-made noodles are, as I peer into the kitchen, home-made. The noodles are glutinously slippery with the perfect thickness for soaking up their Xinjiang sauce complimented nicely by various meat, and vegetable combinations. The dumplings come in very generous servings of 14, round and plump, both steamed and fried. They are stuffed with different mixes of green vegetable, meat, and egg and have a crunchy underbelly. There is no desire for sweet and sour sauce; you instead desire the acerbic taste of vinegar and soy to counter-balance their starchy delectability.

These two dishes are only a peep into the new flavors that await you - try their braised eggplant with its sapid hint of caramel. A dish equally as good for the spice-lover is their chili and tofu compote, a hearty and warming meal for a winter’s day.

Verdict: a very satisfying eat for cheap.

Spaghetti alla Checce

I will repeat the traditional truth of all italian cooking. More pasta to less sauce. The pasta is the principal ingredient. Flavours should always be simple, with the best of ingredients, and a sauce that suits its design. This is the pasta dish that takes me on a tour around the south of italy with its fragrant tomato base, tarte but refreshing basil aroma contrasting the clean cheese taste of baby bococcini. This is thoroughly delicious if you're looking for that quick-fix pasta.


Ingredients

1 large bunch of basil
4 cloves of garlic
100ml good quality extra virgin olive oil
400 grams of cherry tomatoes
250 grams of baby Bococcini
2/3 of a packet of pasta
75 grams of Parmesan Cheese

Sweat chopped garlic in olive oil on a low heat for 10 minutes, do not allow any of it to turn brown. Chop half the bunch of basil finely and add to the oil and garlic and incorporate until a pesto-like sauce is produced on the bottom. Prevent the basil from burning also. Turn the heat up to full and add cherry tomatoes and a touch of the pasta cooking sauce. Cook for a minute or so and turn back to medium and cook for a further 4-5 minutes, or until the skins of the tomatoes peel back. Add the rest of the basil roughly chopped, and cooked pasta. Add the baby Bococcini balls and mix through till all the pasta is coated. Grate parmesan over to provide a slightly salty contrast. Season to taste.
Perfecto.

Crêpes au Grand Marnier - Sunday Mornings with those you consider family

These crêpes were what i woke up to nearly everly morning when staying with a lyonnais family in France, with of course, a slather of nutella not far away. I never seem to be able to repeat the recipe with the same delicate perfection my mère d'accueil did. This is where my initiation into the lyonnaise tradition of cooking really started. These crêpes are one of those grand symbols of my stay and remind me everytime i cook them of the freedom i felt there, and that docked on sense of cultural hybridism i have for Australia and France.

Orange, sweet citrus flavours hide in the delicately light consistency. The secret to their lightness is a balance between butter, oil and sugar, and the chemical processes that join them amongst the alcohol and orange rind. They steal me away from the fond memory of pancakes with their cakey, glutinous taste. Only half of an indulgence until you have more than one. Serve amongst loved ones, with jam reserves, and orange juice (if you're feeling especially indulgent melt a few pieces of chocolate between one straight off the stove).

Ingredients
250 grams of flour
80 grams of a neutral oil e.g vegetable
60 grams of caster sugar
80 grams of butter
Six eggs (do not be afraid)
3/4 litre of milk
1 tbsp of grand marnier
1 tbsp of old rum
1 orange for rind.
extra oil or butter for the pan

Melt the butter in a pot till it gives off a nutty odor. Scrape the white fat off the top if you want to reduce the cholestrol content.

Mix the flower, oil, sugar, eggs, alcohol, orange zest and the melted butter. Once joined as a smooth paste slowly add the milk until incorporated and to achieve a silky and consistent batter. Reserve 200mls of the milk to add to the mixture As with all things that contain flour the amount of milk can alter slightly so just go by intuition. Rest the mixture for an hour or so in a warm place, and add the remaining milk to the batter. (optional)

Warm a pan and add a dob of butter or spoon of oil (preferably a crepe pan, but it's possible in a normal sauce pan). Wait till it heats to the point of sizzling the butter. Take a large Chef's spoon place 1 1/2 spoonfools in the pan and circle the mixture so it creates a circle in the pan. Cook crêpe for around one minute on each side, or until the alcohol starts to brown and create a pattern. You should have a few bubbles coming up, but not too many, this is a sign of a good batter consistency.

Place each crepe on top of one another to stop them drying out. Garnish as soon as possible once cooked.
Ready to serve. Much more of an experience than the pancake, and so much more delecious.

Winter's Day Comfort

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup

This is a culinary reflex of mine as soon as the cold weather hits. It is a soup cliché for a reason. The yellow-orange sheen met by the sweet nostalgia of autumnal vegetables staves off the groggy grey of winter. The soup is thicker than the classic pumpkin soup and the earthy texture of sweet potato is a marriage of sympathico with the smoothness of pumpkin. The gloppy texture goes wonderfully against the crunch of buttered toast. It is a soothing comfort that settles my stomach warding off the icicles. It has balanced aromas and is sumptuously delicious.

Ingredients

1 large half pumpkin (roasted if you can be bothered)
1 large sweet potato (roasted if you can be bothered)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion diced
2 large garlic cloves crushed and chopped
250 mls of chicken or vegetable stock (optional if you want it lighter)
Salt, Pepper
Chives or basil (optional touch)
1 tbsp of sour cream

Peel and chop the pumpkin and sweet potato into pieces so that you have a ratio of 1:1. If you're making this for a dinner party or want to infuse a more honey-nutt flavour, roast the pumpkin and sweet potato in an oven for 25-30 minutes at 180C with a few crushed cloves of garlic, pinch of salt/pepper and olive oil. I don't find it is worth the effort on an early winter's afternoon.

Dice onion and smash garlic to a pulp like consitency and chop it finely. Add them both to a pot and sweat with a mixture of butter and olive oil. Leave on a low heat for 10 minutes to infuse, do not allow it to brown, only turn to yellow translucency.

Add pumpkin and sweet potato pieces to the pot and fill with chicken stock and a little additional water until all pieces are submerged. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil and then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until soft and cooked through. Blend it all till smooth and gloppy. Curl a blob of sour cream on top and accompany with toast to serve. Simple is best. Miam Miam!