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Tag Archives: Sydney Harbour Bridge

Aria Restaurant & La Boheme opera – Sydney Harbour – Sydney – New South Wales – Australia – March 2018

25 Friday May 2018

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Sightseeing and eating around Canberra/Sydney

≈ 26 Comments

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Aria Restaurant, Australia, La Boheme opera, New South Wales, Sydney, Sydney Harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House

An opera on Sydney Harbour and a restaurant with a Harbour view

fullsizeoutput_205(Firstly apologies but this post is a little longer than my usual posts)

I love going to the opera; it really is one of my favourite things to do and I really enjoy going up to Sydney to the Sydney Opera House which means I regularly check to see what’s on.  When I saw that Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme was playing on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour I knew I had to go.  He probably is my favourite composer!

I asked a few friends if they wanted to come away for the weekend and in the end friends Ray and Natalie drove up to Sydney whilst I flew and we met for lunch at Aria restaurant.  The choice was Nat’s as they had been there before so I was looking forward to the experience.

But firstly I booked into the Soffitel Hotel and had the loveliest surprise…an upgrade to a larger room, a complimentary breakfast and late checkout – all because I was the chosen guest of the day – what a nice surprise. Oh and two little boxes of chocolates on the bed.fullsizeoutput_201And a nice view of the city from my window…fullsizeoutput_202We then walked to Aria.  The entrance is not what I expected; it’s a little unassuming but once you are inside it’s a completely different story – the walls are full of original art, the atmosphere is fabulous and the views….wow!!fullsizeoutput_1fcImage 21The restaurant is located down near the Opera House with those magnificent views I just mentioned and as its web page says Aria is one of Australia’s finest restaurants. fullsizeoutput_211Our table was not right next to a window but we still had good views of the Bridge, Harbour and a docked cruise ship.fullsizeoutput_20dfullsizeoutput_20cfullsizeoutput_20bWe decided on three courses; entree, main and dessert and started off with a bottle of French champagne before selecting our dishes.  Some of the vegetarian options contained non-animal rennet cheese and all desserts contained gelatine so the waiter kindly brought me a vegan menu.fullsizeoutput_1edI was rather disappointed with my first course which although arrived beautifully presented, was cold.  But…it was supposed to be cold but I didn’t know that and unless the dish is a salad I am not a fan of cold food…perhaps I should have checked before I ordered!!fullsizeoutput_1eeRay ordered a seafood bowl which was very nicely presented and Nat had the blue-eye trevalla with almonds, capers and  razorback prawns.  That was presented so beautifully.fullsizeoutput_1f0fullsizeoutput_1f1Service was top quality; our waiter was so friendly and our Sommelier was extremely knowledgeable.  We ordered a glass of wine each for our main course and a different wine for our desserts.  My next course was a sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke and nasturtium – this was lovely.fullsizeoutput_1f2Ray ordered a duck dish with treviso, sausage and sweet potato mash and Nat ordered another fish dish; the Murray cod with an angasi oyster, white radish, miso and celeriac…they loved all their dishes.fullsizeoutput_1f3fullsizeoutput_1f4Our sides which I think were complimentary, were a mashed royal blue potato (absolutely delicious) and a beautiful leaf salad with a delicious dressing which Nat kindly displayed with serving utensils for my photo.fullsizeoutput_1f5My dessert was pineapple, coconut and almond (forgot to photograph this) and we were also given complimentary cones with a raspberry sorbet which was a very nice way to finish our mains and wait for dessert.fullsizeoutput_1f6Nat and Ray ordered some nice desserts but I think Ray’s was the winner. Nat’s is the pie and Ray’s is the chocolate ball with a chestnut, cognac and cocoa crumble which once broken there flowed an amazing caramel like thick sauce.  How good does this look!!fullsizeoutput_1f7fullsizeoutput_1f9fullsizeoutput_1faNat also chose a selection of Australian and international cheeses to share with Ray which came with quince paste, grapes, fruit and lavash bread…fullsizeoutput_1f8And then more complimentary dishes; some dark chocolate and small treats.  I could only eat the nougat on the small treat platter as the lemon sweets contained gelatine.  But lucky I had very willing friends who managed to eat them.  It was a lovely few hours and I am glad I have been; it’s not a cheap restaurant but the service, food and views were all part of the wonderful experience.fullsizeoutput_1ecfullsizeoutput_1fbAfter our long lunch we went back to our respective hotels and I met Nat a little later to walk to the Harbour.  I did pop into Ray and Nat’s room at the Intercontinental Hotel to see fabulous views of the harbour.fullsizeoutput_208

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On our way to the opera we were lucky enough to see a rainbow and even more fortunate that it didn’t rain during the evening as the opera was outside.fullsizeoutput_203We had good seats and both Nat and I loved the opera (Ray is not an opera fan so he didn’t come).  fullsizeoutput_1fefullsizeoutput_1ffThe usual merchandise could be purchased of course…fullsizeoutput_204And wonderful sunset views over the Opera House and Harbour Bridge…fullsizeoutput_20eWhen I bought our opera tickets on-line I also bought two drink tickets for intermission as there was a pop up bar which was beautifully decked out with tables, stools and lovely fresh flowers.  It was a nice way to spend thirty-minutes so Nat and I enjoyed a white wine each.Image 39A great opera after which we walked back to our hotels for a comfortable sleep. And the next morning, I went to the restaurant for my complimentary breakfast from the huge buffet [I don’t usually have this much tomato sauce; it poured out way too quickly].
fullsizeoutput_206I love going away for short breaks and this was such a lovely weekend away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner at Cafe Sydney Restaurant – Sydney – NSW – Australia – September 2015

20 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Sightseeing and eating around Canberra/Sydney

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Cafe Sydney, NSW, Opera House, Restarurant, Sydney Harbour Bridge

Wonderful views of Sydney Harbour from Restaurant ‘Cafe Sydney’

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When I used to live in Sydney, friends and I would go to Cafe Sydney on top of the old Customs House at Circular Quay for special events.  One of my best friends and I even took my family there for christmas day one year. The food has always been fabulous and the views spectacular.  I just love it there.  One year I organised for a few friends to take a very sick friend there, picking her up in a limousine and having a wonderful meal on the evening of ‘Earth Hour’ when (the majority of) lights are turned off to conserve energy.

This month, I had a visiting delegation from China and my bosses wanted to take them to a fabulous restaurant in Sydney and Cafe Sydney was chosen.  We arranged for a private room which had exceptional views of the Harbour Bridge.

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We had pre-arranged the menu as our group comprised seven Chinese and six Aussie..so we thought it might be too long for us all to select off the larger menu.  Our chosen menu had a couple of options for entree/main and dessert.  I had the vegan option (as I don’t eat cheese) so had my own separate menu (thank you Cafe Sydney for having a vegan menu). But for my meat and fish eating colleagues, the menu looked wonderful.

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We all started off with naan bread which was delicious and then went onto our separate entrees etc apart from we all shared fries (staple diet of mine no matter where I go – which I know is very bad but I just love them) and a lovely fresh salad.  My entree was a pea risotto which was delicious and I forgot to take a photo until I had mixed it around a little, then I had a dosa wrap with vegetables inside – I had tasted dosa before but I did not know it was made of lentils.  The chef did a great job of the dosa and whilst it was delicious, I was rather full from two pieces of naan bread and the risotto but ate about half (with fries of course)

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There is an excellent selection of wines at this restaurant and we chose a sauvignon glance and merlot to cater for both red and white wine drinkers.  We also had sparkling mineral water which is from NZ (Antipodes) and not only is is refreshing but I just love the bottle.  Then it was time for dessert and I really believe I chose the best…’salted caramel, chocolate peanut tart, banana fritter with chocolate ice cream’….it’s funny I was too full to eat the dosa but when my dessert arrived I seemed to find room to fit it in…IMG_1373

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My Chinese colleagues took lots of photos outside of the Bridge and Opera House and my only complaint of the evening was, that because we were in a private room, it seems the waitresses forgot us during the evening and I had to chase them several times to serve more drinks (but must say that is definitely my only ‘minor’ complaint), apart from that, the service was great and meals fabulous.  Definitely a place to visit for lunch or dinner.  If you can dine on the balcony it’s even more special.

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