As I move through my mid 20′s, life seems to pass by so much quicker. I remember when I first started playing soccer during the second year of Uni, I kept saying to myself that I still had 10-15 years to learn how to play the game properly and improve as a player before my [...]

There’s a distinctly Asian vibe to the Neutral Bay scene, more often than not I’ll find myself at yet another Thai or Japanese restaurant for dinner. As friend P actually works in the area I decided to let her decide and we ended up wandering inside Papaya Thai, a rather lush looking Thai restaurant.

I caught up with my colleague soon after our Waqu dinner and we concluded that the Winter menu seemed a lot better than the hit-and-miss Spring menu. He slightly admonished me with an “I told you so!”, as he did say the Winter menu was really good. Oh well, next time!

Enter Japaz, a fusion of Japanese and Spanish inspired dishes by a man with credentials oozing with class. Hiro has worked for Joel Robuchon and plied his trade in Michelen Starred and Hatted restaurants such as Tetsuya’s. Having done his time at some of the most highly regarded restaurants in the world, Japaz is his brainchild of two cuisines which have been been embraced with open arms by Australia palettes, Japanese and Spanish.

I’m not sure what it is about this winter, but nearly every weekend for the past three months has been gorgeous and blue. With the sun shining down it was the perfect opportunity for a day trip to the Hunter Valley to visit a few of my favourite wineries and check out the annual Chocolate Festival, held at the Hunter Valley Gardens.

V informed me of a great Japanese place in Neutral Bay. Yes, there are loads of Japanese restaurants in Neutral Bay, however this one was slightly different and more impressive. I should inform you all that I am a HUGE fan of NOODLES. I LOVEEE noodles, any type, any style, any dish. I’d pick noodles over any other carbohydrate. So when V informed me Jugemu & Shimbashi hand made their soba, I was sold!

So you think I’d be sick of Japanese food after a 3 weeks holidaying in Japan, but I was far from being turned off bowls of ramen, sushi or skewers. In fact, I came back and craved each of these foods nearly every day.

So when you’re stuck on dinner ideas, feeling a little Japan-esy, don’t feel like cooking and TREMENDOUSLY hungry… what better idea than to order a sushi platter from your local japanese/sushi store! Makoto, in Chatswood, is known for its fresh, tasty and authentic Japanese food (mainly sushi and sashimi).

Darling Street, Balmain – the hussle and bussle street and main thoroughfare of Balmain, is filled with boutique shops, quality restaurants and cafes and bakeries (as well as a great pastry/dessert joint *wink wink*). So as you take a stroll down this street, “which place should I try?” you ask.
Ciao Thyme is a small corner cafe a little further down Darling St, towards the water and away from the central area of Balmain.

I remember in my younger years, Istana was a regular restaurant joint for my family… delicious chicken rice is all I can recall of this place. Even now, Istana is STILL known for it’s hainan chicken + rice. Strangely, just before my trip to Hong Kong and Singapore, I had a craving for CRAB (I think it was from all the food research I was doing…) My last visit to Istana was a few months back and I had an absolute FEAST!!