I Don't Eat, I Devour

The chef is Finnish, the old location is Darlinghurst, the menu is short and sweet, the taste is fusion. Welcome to Cafe Paci 2.0 - this time, located along the bustling main strip of Newtown and conveniently only a couple doors down from Mapo, my favourite gelato place in Sydney. I had heard s much about its molasses and potato bread that this accompaniment to a meal is what I had looked forward to the most. Potato molasses bread, $4 each These are heavy - that's the first thing I noticed about them. Heavy, however, doesn't mean stodgy. It is a style of bread that is different to my favourite, being the sourdough at Kitchen By Mike, yet it is neither dry nor overly chewy. It is comforting, with a slight sweet stickiness that isn't intrusive. Chicken liver paris-brest w’ onion jam, $16 This is my favourite item on the menu. Shaped like a desssert - the pastry usually reserved for  sweet cream and jam is revolutionised to hold liver pate and onion jam. The slig

Ultra-minimalist and ultra-chic, Kuro is a Japanese restaurant that is not very Japanese. The techniques are modern, the ingredients are non-traditional, and really there are only little hints of Japanese elements in their delicious dishes. Kuro Chiffon, $5 A tiny morsel that turns the expectation up-side-down: a savoury chiffon cake? Topped with nori-flavoured creme fraiche and salmon roe, I think I will have all future chiffon cakes salty, please.  Tomato, $14 One of my favourite dishes of the evening: refreshing tomatoes on a bed of stracciatella (the burrata-like cheese, not the choc-chip ice-cream) and topped with a savoury, umami jelly film, this is one refreshing and moreish dish.  King Prawn, $14 each Deep fried so every element is edible (including the head and tail, we were told - though I'm not so sure about that), the king prawn is served with a prawn butter and encased in arare (Japanese rice cracker crumbs). I found the dish somewhat bland and

The original Totti's is in Bondi - an area of Sydney I do not frequent, but I had heard great things about it. When I noticed the renovation sign coming up next door to Bar Topa in the Ivy precinct in CBD, I was pretty excited to try its CBD sister, Bar Totti's. The CBD location is surprisingly big - unlike the hole-in-the-wall, intimate Bar Topa, Totti's CBD is divided into two sections: a casual bar area and a sit-down restaurant area.  We made a last-minute decision to have a look on Friday night - the place, as one would expect, was bustling, but we were lucky enough to go at the right time and were able to nab a seat in the bar area.  We ordered a couple of dishes to accompany our drinks, and unexpectedly walked out with full stomachs.  I am already planning a second visit so that I can try a couple more things from its bar menu, and a third visit where I can have a sit-down meal.  Wood fired bread, $11 Served impressively puffed, you'd think this i

I have been to Kazbah a couple of times - once in Potts Point  for breakfast, once in Darling Harbour . I much, much, much prefer the Potts Point location, though I think it had since closed down. There is still another location, however - the Balmain location, to which I have not been. The tourist-friendly Darling Harbour precinct simply does not gel with my aesthetics, and eating, for me, is partially about aesthetics. Often, when we eat out (and particularly when we're eating at anything other than the cheap-eats price-point), we're not simply eating food, we're eating a lifestyle, an aspiration. One somewhat charming aspect of the Darling Harbour location is that there are a row of tables on the deck where shisha is smoked - the fragrant smoke giving an impression of a particularly buzy Middle Eastern local hang. There is also belly dancing performance on a weekly basis - fun fact, I have once studied under one of their regular performers, Rachel - and she is the re

The Westin is no longer the Westin - it is now the Fullerton. Despite the name change, what remains comfortingly steadfast is the quality of its afternoon tea. I have previously reviewed it and proclaimed it to be the best afternoon tea in Sydney - and I stand by my proclamation. Before we discuss the food, I think one delightful thing about the Fullerton is the location in which you can enjoy the afternoon tea - beneath a glass ceiling, in an heritage-listed building, allowing the natural light to fall gently upon you and your food as you eat, drink and be merry with your loved ones. Even simply thinking about it filled me with joy.  Apart from its heritage afternoon tea, The Bar has limited-edition afternoon teas from time to time where the sweet layer get a themed innovation. For example, I have tried an Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea before; and on this occasion, we were lucky enough to catch the last of the Chinese New Year afternoon tea, with distinctly Chinese-insp

Yellow is the best vegetarian restaurant in Sydney, hands down. Yes yes, I know I should be more circumspect - "one of the best", "top three"... but I'm going to throw caution to the wind and say that Yellow is the best. Part of the Bentley group, you know you are in safe hands. Oh and what a feast we had - so delicious and satisfying that I'm pretty sure if all vegetarian meals were like this one, I would never miss meat again. Charred sourdough, $3 each  The first thing on the menu immediately is a surprise - when I ordered bread, this was not what I had expected - but I am so very happy with this oiled, charred and steaming hot morsel. This immediately sets the tone for our meal: expect the unexpected. Fig + chipotle + coriander + buckwheat, $22 This is a flavour bomb. The sweetness of the fig (which is in season right now, praise be) is perfectly set off by the slight tartness of cherry tomatoes, earthy buckwheat and smokey chipotle - this is