District Dining - Surry Hills, Sydney

After hearing so many great things about District Dining, I was so excited to try out this Sunday afternoon and it definitely lived up to my expectations. As a small eater and generally wanting to order one of everything on any menu I see, I love the concept of sharing a couple of small dishes, and really like the flexibility that they have here - as in you can mix and match tapas sized dishes, entrees and mains to your heart's desire depending on your appetite.

Was so keen we got there just before they opened... love the colourful 'street map' painted outside the doors!

So many of the cocktails sounded delicious, I had a hard time picking one!! I ended up choosing this kiwi one, and it was amazing - jam packed with kiwi fruit and just the right amount of alcohol

As for the food, we chose 2 tapas sized plates, 2 entrees and 2 desserts to share:

Prawn toast with soy mayonnaise and District chicken wings with chilli caramel

These chicken wings were SO GOOD! Crispy on the outside and that chilli caramel sauce *drool* 

Prawn toast were good too - they reminded me of thai fish cakes... but better (anything with mayo is bound to be good!)

Seared scallops, jerusalem artichoke, crispy pancetta, prune

Can't go wrong with big fat juicy scallops...

Crispy courgette flower, Kervella goats curd, truffled honey - I really enjoyed this one too, the flavours worked really well together - I wish it was bigger though because it was so good!

Dark chocolate brownie, macadamia brownie and white chocolate ice cream - this was warm, decadent and perfect for this cold weather. I loved the crunch of the macadamia brittle!

I had food envy seeing all the other delicious dishes that came out for the other tables (hello, crispy school prawns and steak tartare!!) I will DEFINITELY be back to try them all!

District Dining

17 Randle Street

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Ph: (02) 9211 7798

OPI Swatch - Mermaid's Tears

I was so keen to get my hands on this pretty pale sea foam green - I have a similar coloured polish from KIT that I've had a lot of wear out of, so it was great to find a back up.

Mermaid's Tears is from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection

I think it looks very pretty on and it will definitely be in my rotation of 'regular' polishes that I reach for when painting my nails!

Shoe haul - Tony Bianco, Sambag and Zara

I've been a bit slack with the blog updates lately, as I've been a bit busy and also a bit lazy *shifty look* I've just started salsa classes last night, and they are so much fun!

So I've also been on a little bit of a shoe rampage lately...

Tony Bianco boots - these are super comfy, I can seriously walk around all day in them and they don't hurt at all.  The only thing is that the suede makes it not suitable for wearing them out in all this terrible weather we've been having lately.

Sambag Tina flats - as soon as I saw the new Sambag collection with all the gorgeous pastel and bright colours, I knew this lilac pair had to be mine!!

<3 the colour!! and Sambag flats are super comfy too

And of course, Zara had a sale and I picked these ankle boots up yesterday

Urban Pantry - Manuka, Canberra

Urban Pantry is my new favourite cafe spot when I go down to Canberra.  It's always packed with people, and even during weekdays it's hard to get a table during the lunch time peak.

We are in luck this Monday afternoon though, we were able to get a table after a 10 minute wait. Must remember to book next time!

Me try to be healthy - watermelon, pineapple and celery juice, so refreshing!

Vegetarian risotto from the specials board - sweet potato, spinach, raisins and goats cheese, this was so more-ish and perfect for the freezing weather

Corn fed chicken breast set on a mushroom suppli cake with asparagus spears and truffle butter

A much needed coffee to cure Monday-itis (even though I had the day off!)

And I couldn't resist having a bit of dessert too - Rose Delight cake

Urban Pantry

5 Bougainville Street

Manuka ACT 2603

Ph: (02) 6162 3556

Winter warmers

Oh hai! How freezing has it been lately? Bring on spring and summer PLEASE!

Though I guess the upside of winter is that you can stuff your face with all kinds of comfort food, and it all be miraculously covered by winter coats until summer rolls around and it's panic time haha

I was in Canberra last weekend, which meant visiting all my favourite (food) places! I went to the Southside farmer's markets and had this egg and bacon brioche from the Dream Cuisine stall as well as picking up many macarons to take home. They didn't have my favourite honey & lavender ones though (boo!)

Koko Black hazelnut hot chocolate

Winter spoil 

With chocolate cake, salted caramel and dulce de leche chocolates, poached quince

Chocolate mousse and pecan ice cream (amazing!)

And of course more ice cream - IMO ice cream is even better in winter!

A bite to eat - Chifley, Canberra

Nothing cures a chilly winter morning better than a yummy breakfast, and on this weekend morning down in Canberra, I was keen to try A Bite to Eat at the Chifley shops after hearing numerous raves about it.

An eclectic cafe with retro furniture makes it feel very homely and like you've stepped back in time...

Cute reserved sign on the table - 'Doe-a-Dear, Oh dear! I'm Reserved'

Retro vibe - the service is friendly and orders are made at the counter and paid for before sitting down and waiting for your meal

Mandatory morning latte

and a mixed berry smoothie

This was my dish - the 'Fishy' with a extra side of venison chorizo for good measure - this included corn and coriander fritters with house cured ocean trout, poached egg and herb salsa

A Bite to Eat

8 Eggleston Crescent

Chifley ACT 2606

Ph: (02) 6260 3703

Fondue time! JPB Restaurant - Swissotel, Sydney

What better way to warm up this winter weather than with a pot of delicious, melted cheese with various goodies to dip in.  A couple of weeks ago I attended a food blogger's dinner at the Swissotel's JPB Restaurant for their cheese fondue.

Mini 'pitchfork' - ready to stab and devour all the delicious bits and pieces to come...

Waiting for our cheese!

It smelt divine - the cheese was a mixture of Gruyere, Emmental and Racelette

Crunchy pieces of bread - the consensus was that you had to dip the bread long enough for it to soak in all the cheesy goodness

Gherkins and onions - this remained untouched

This sausage on the other hand was polished off and refilled... yes, free refills!

Potato was nice too, but it did get a bit filling after a while with all the bread, cheese and sausage consumed!

But of course we always have room for dessert:

Chocolate souffle

Chocolate and vanilla sponge

Apple creme brulee - I love how it comes in a little jar!

JPB Restaurant - Level 8

Swissotel 

68 Market Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Ph: el: +61 2 9238 7088

Email: jpb.sydney@swissotel.com