Paris: Cafe de la Nouvelle Mairie

By the time we arrived in Paris I'd just spent three days eating like crazy in Tel Aviv and really couldn't face the prospect of sitting down to a big dinner straight away.  We stayed in a cute hotel in the Latin Quarter called Hotel Petit Paris with the most exceptional reception staff who were the perfect mix of attentive and relaxed and, very importantly, made some great food and drink recommendations. Laetitia, who was our favourite, mentioned this small cafe bar about two minutes walk from the hotel called Cafe de la Nouvelle Mairie.

So we decided to give it a go and walked along Rue des Fosses Saint Jacques until saw people sitting outside a cafe, all looking a bit chic and Parisian, and headed inside.  We ended up ordering some excellent red wine in a 'pot' which was pretty cheap by Paris standards, a big plate of cheese that was absolutely phenomenal and a hefty slab of rabbit terrine (that I spotted someone else tucking into and was sold) containing about 1000 calories - obviously all with a non-stop supply of amazing crusty baguette. 

So, this little feast ended up being by far our best food experience in Paris. The bar staff were fantastic, the owner was really great and patiently taught me the pronunciation of 'brobis', which was this amazing goat-ish cheese,  and gave us some recommendations for food markets in the area. And really importantly it didn't feel pretentious or frosty - just an interesting crowd out for a quick drink and bite to eat on a Friday night. In fact we wished that we'd had the chance to eat there again but the owner closes on Saturday and Sunday! Totally my number one recommendation for Paris - in fact if I lived in London it would be worth a Eurostar day trip.

Singapore: Long Zhong Zhai Roti

Its been a while since the last post mainly because we've been keeping a low profile to save some money for our overseas trip and haven't been out and about enough to have many eatshoplive moments to report. On our travels we had some great food experiences, and even though this blog is meant to be focused on Sydney, it seems like a shame not to include a few places from the trip to add to the mix.

On the way to London we stopped in Singapore for a few nights and even though we weren't really overwhelmed with the city the food courts were really impressive. We had some great laksas, curries, steamed buns and lots of the strong and sweet condensed milk coffees, but one of the best (and cheapest) food court finds was a roti stand in Little India called Long Zhong Zhai.  

We were there pretty early ,just as the place was coming to life, and had two beautiful, light and slightly crispy roti with a spicy little bowl of curry for about 90c. I've paid at least $7 for something not as good (and with a huge queue) in Sydney. 

It was actually the first place we walked past when we started looking for somewhere to eat breakfast and when we carried on walking to see what else was on offer the owner told us we'd be back - he obviously knew the roti rocked!

Sydney Rock Oysters

I was fortunate last week to be on a work-related trip to Sydney Fish Markets, carefully scheduled around lunchtime, where I had a great polystyrene tray of fish and chips for $7.  I've never actually been to the Fish Markets before, mainly because it always seems like a bit too much of a hike to get there, but co-incidentally I'd been cooking quite a bit of fish over the last few weeks and so was a bit more enthusiastic about the trip.

It also happened to be my husband's birthday and so I picked up a dozen A Grade Sydney Rock Oysters to have as an appetiser at home before we went out for dinner.  They were beautiful, fresh, creamy and about half the price than you'd pay any bar in the city. We ate them raw with a bit of lemon juice and white-wine vinegar and a bottle of sparkling wine.  I'm actually a huge fan of oysters and think that Sydney Rock Oysters might even be my favourite because of that wonderful rich and velvety texture.  

And the Fish Markets is probably my new favourite place to get them.  My second favourite oyster experience in Australia , and again a perk on a work trip, was fresh from a shack on the edge Pambula Lake down near Merimbula...its a hard life!    

Sour Cocktails

My sister came to visit recently and we went for dinner at Danks Street Depot. The food was alright but the main highlight of the evening was our discovery of the classic Amaretto Sour.  We were so taken with the whole sour thing that we went on that evening to have another sour, this time a rhubarb and cinnamon one at The Passage in Darlinghurst.  Since then I've had a few more at various locations, The Winery did a particularly good one, but that first taste at Danks Street was still the best.  

I'm not quite sure what it is about the sour taste that's so appealing - I love lemons but egg white isn't something that I've ever really been partial to. Still they've definitely been a big feature over the winter months and a bit of a classy way to kick off a night out.

Provensen Desert Boots

I hardly ever see things in fashion magazines that I want any more. I've been finding most trends, from haute couture to high-street, really genuinely uninspiring and pretty boring. On top of this has been the issue of moving to Sydney and realising that Australian clothes are crazily over-priced and terribly samey and also that the Vinnies scene is a lot more likely to throw up some interesting pieces at rock bottom prices. So, by my standards, I've done hardly any clothes-shopping over the last 18 months.

Consequently, I was caught off-guard by these great winter boots that jumped off the page in a glossy recently.  They're reasonably priced and not synthetic (which are two major achievements in the local footwear market) and I can see something a bit grungy in them which is bang-on for my own personal grunge-trend revival. The white ropey laces really stand out against the tobacco suede and the interesting eyelets. Beautiful.

But they aren't available in any Sydney stores - Melbourne and Brisbane only! Faye from Provensen has advised that a website will be up and running soon and they can be ordered online, but I'm always wary of ordering shoes online, especially expensive ones because of the multitude of things that can end up being not-quite-right rendering them unwearable. Might be a good excuse for a much overdue shopping trip!  

Butter Dish

On Sunday I finally managed to find the elusive church hall op shop that operates a few days a week near Seven Ways.  My good friend Rachel discovered this real hidden gem many months ago, but even though I kept an eye out, I could never manage to find it.

Anyway, I was originally looking for a lampshade to go with a quirky Middle-Eastern style lamp base that I had found by the side of the road on Friday evening (and will probably be the subject of a later post when its looking a bit less shabby) but had no luck.  

It was not a wasted trip, however, as this vintage butter dish caught my eye and after originally budgeting at $5 was pleasantly surprised when the lady manning the cash box asked for $2.  I was tempted to give her the full $5 as for me that was still a bargain, but given the significant portion of my salary that goes to op-shops anyway, I decided to make the most of my good fortune. 

Its made by Kokura Ware Japan and the lid's resemblance to a soft block of butter is something I find quite amusing although I'm sure its not intentional.  After doing a quick Google search and confirming that its not highly rare or valuable, it has been put to use and complements the cute Japanese coffee cups that are still my breakfast table favourites and our funky new (old) table cloth that was a souvenir from our Easter trip to Lorne.   

I've recently re-discovered the fantastic organic bakery on the corner of Warners and Glenayr in North Bondi - I think its called Organic Republic but we usually refer to it as 'that nice organic bakery down at Bondi'.

Weekend mornings are always pretty congested but the afternoons are a bit more leisurely and the best time to grab a sunny spot out the front.

Its quite unique for Bondi as, although it doesn't completely escape, its less affected by the self-obsessed, pretentious crowd that frequent most cafes in Bondi anywhere near the beach. The staff are also friendly, down-to-earth and don't try to make you feel privileged for being served a coffee.

The almond croissants are the current favourite and we were lucky enough to devour them warm, straight from the oven, this morning. Beautiful buttery pastry, sweet ground almond filling and toasted slivers of almond on top. Gorgeous.