Weekend trip to Sydney – New South Wales – Australia – December 2021

Tags

Barrangaroo, Darling Harbour, Hamilton the musical, New South Wales, Otto Restaurant, Sydney, travelling with friends, Walsh Bay, Wooloomooloo

Yay…a couple of weeks ago I went on my first plane trip in nearly over a year…I bought tickets to see Hamilton the musical at Darling Harbour. I went with a friend I met about two years ago and who I immediately formed a bond. I booked a two bedroom apartment within walking distance of Darling Harbour, which is a harbour and pedestrian area adjacent to the city of Sydney.

When we arrived in Sydney, we took a taxi to our accomodation then went for a walk around the city and did a touch of shopping. It clearly has been some time since I have been to Sydney as now there is a fully functioning tram running throughout the city. I actually don’t mind the tram running through the city as there are no longer cars, trucks etc in the town centre.

We walked back to Darling Harbour and enjoyed a meal and glass of wine at one of the restaurants where we had a view over the harbour which is particularly lovely at night. We also had great views of the new Crown Casino owned by Crown Resorts who have other casinos in Melbourne and Perth and also throughout other parts of the world.

Our next morning we woke early and went for a lovely walk through Darling Harbour, Barrangaroo and Walsh Bay. Barrangaroo is a former container terminal and now is another waterfront precinct with high-rise apartments, commercial office space, shops, cafes and restaurants. We walked along the waterfront with views of our Harbour Bridge which I think is particularly beautiful and a structure I never tire of seeing.

We walked for about an hour or so to Walsh Bay, historically a working port but now regarded as a major arts precinct with its theatre, restaurants, hotel and at the time we visited, a public sculpture exhibition. And at this time of the year a huge Christmas tree with the Harbour Bridge as its backdrop.

We walked along the boardwalk for a little while checking out the sculptures then did a u-turn to return to Barrangaroo to find somewhere to have a late breakfast.

At Walsh Bay, I do love the old but refurbished coloured timber clad cargo sheds along the waterfront.

We found a lovely cafe at Barrangaroo (Wild Sage) and sat inside as by this time it had gotten a little windy and the high-rise buildings blocked out the sun so it was definitely too cold to sit outside. Barrangarro has lovely small streets, painted windows and painted flower boxes; all adding to the ambience of the place.

At the Wild Sage cafe I ordered sourdough toast, mushrooms and a hash brown along with a pot of peppermint tea. My friend Rosi ordered sourdough toast with Haloumi cheese, mushrooms and a side of salmon along with a cup of coffee.

Everywhere in Sydney we were required to wear our face masks, sign into venues using the QR code and show our vaccination certificates. I don’t have a problem with this really for short periods but my face got very warm wearing it for three hours during the musical..it was worth it though as Hamilton was a fantastic musical; so energetic, funny and definitely worth seeing.

Our dinner that evening was at a fabulous restaurant at the Woolloomooloo harbour front precinct. I had booked a very early sitting at Otto Ristorante, again with lovely views of the harbour and apartments and boats of people who have much more money than me! One of our famous movie stars, Russell Crowe, has an apartment here (probably one of the penthouses) said to be worth many millions of dollars.

The restaurant is one where you can ‘people watch’ as there are many restaurants along the boardwalk and people are forever walking up and down; just a lovely place to relax and wish you owned one of the fabulous moored boats.

Otto has a separate vegan menu which is quite extensive. I started with the zucchini flowers filled with cashew nut cheese with a tomato and pine nut pesto. Rosi ordered the raw Abrolhos Island scallops, Sturgeon Black River caviar with cream and lemon oil. Service and presentation at this restaurant is top notch! Our sommelier suggested an Australian Riesling which was very good. House made bread arrives as soon as you are seated with olive oil and balsamic. I could eat this all night as the bread is just so fresh and crusty.

For our main course I ordered the risotto with spinach and garlic whilst Rosi ordered the saffron linguine, Goolwa pipis, southern calamari, bottarga with dill and basil leaves. We also ordered a dish or heirloom tomatoes and basil. I love the food at this restaurant, it’s always beautifully presented and tastes so good. No dessert on this occasion as both of us were just too full.

Time to return to the apartment, watch a little television and return to Canberra the next morning. What a truly great weekend!!

Sage Dining Rooms (another visit) – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – October 2021

Tags

ACT, canberra, dining with friends, Sage Dining Rooms, vegan dishes

Sage Dining Rooms is a local Canberra restaurant I have been to many times and have always loved the food, wine and service. The last time I visited this restaurant was before Covid-19 struck and it was for a friend’s birthday – I really love the Mint Garden Bar where you can enjoy a glass of wine at any time or of course a cup of coffee. It was raining on the day we arrived so I went straight into the restaurant – this really is so lovely inside; cosy with beautifully presented tables.

Well this time it was for a post Lockdown catch-up with three of my good friends who I had not seen for quite some time so each of us was looking forward to a good catch up. Sage has a fully stocked bar and the bar area is gorgeous and am sure any drink is available but we decided on a bottle of Aussie riesling…good choice I think.

The meal options include a five course degustation and a three course degustation. On my previous visit I ordered the five courses and boy it was way too filling. It’s funny the portions don’t look that big on the plate but after bread/amuse bouche and little delights in between courses…five courses is just too much for me.

My friends ordered the shucked signature oysters as an entree which arrived beautifully presented and whilst my entree didn’t look that great it was actually quite nice..it was kohlrabi (after an internet search I now this to be a German turnip), peas, grapes, summer squash and a sorrel (again after an internet search I now know this to be a herb).

Our second courses arrived and my friends had ordered the barramundi fillet with scollops, tomato and lemon myrtle. This also arrived with a salad and a serving of crispy baked potatoes that my friends said were delicious…but unfortunately I could not eat as they were not vegan.

My dish was a barbecued sugar loaf cabbage with green tomato and a chilli crunch. I must say I have always loved the food at Sage but really didn’t love the cabbage dish …it tasted a little bland unfortunately, maybe just not to my liking. I guess I thought it was also just some cabbage on a plate – probably expected more!

Our desserts arrived and it was the cheese platter for my friends which came with a house made condiment, crisp bread and also a creme brûlée. Mine was a fruit compote with a coconut cream…quite nice; a really nice crunch in the fruit – like a granola – I really liked it!

We stayed for more drinks and then we had to leave, unfortunately. Service here is exceptional and we all enjoyed such a lovely catch up. So many laughs and just a great couple of hours.