I Don't Eat, I Devour

Tucked away under pedestrian level near Angel place in the heart of the city, INDU's space is fun and convenient, perfect for a Friday night catch-up with friends. It offers two feasts, designed to be shared as a way of tasting some of the best Southern Indian food INDU has to offer. I have reviewed INDU once before, where a friend and I picked out a few a la carte items and I decided that while the food is good, it is overpriced. I thought, perhaps, the feast would give me the value I was looking for and allow me to taste a wider variety of what INDU has to offer. There is a $65 version (the topic of this post) and a $80 version. I think the difference is that the $80 version includes the lamb raan, which is a rack of lamb roasted for 48 hours - but I haven't been able to find information on the INDU website to confirm this. Tumeric & onion bread, masala butter & coconut sambol ($9 a la carte) Is it weird to say that the bread is the highlight of the meal? For...

The Grounds of Alexandria has been, for years, one of the most instagrammable locations in Sydney - as well as being home to the famous Kevin Bacon. With its rustic decor and multitude of food options, it was something of an indie child's dreamland. Then, the Grounds moved into the heart of Sydney's CBD, and has since then been one of the most popular locations on Sydney's ever expanding food scene. With its old-timey, cosy, dim-lit interior and charming quaintness (a dessert trolley, anyone?), I am immediately attracted to it like a moth to a flame; but another part of me suspected that  it might be over-hyped. I couldn't risk the disappointment, so I never went - until the suggestion was made my friend today, and I finally succumbed. Coffee, $4 One of the things that made me turn up my nose at The Grounds of the City is their claim of having a "coffee sommelier". That's far too quaint, even for my taste. What is undeniable, however, is that the c...

If you want to go to one place and find all the most instagrammable drinks, Kusuka Cafe is the place for you. It boasts a large menu of some of the trendiest drinks out there: coffee in an ice-cream cone, colour changing drinks, galaxy drinks, fairy-floss drinks, virgin frose - though for the record, I prefer my rose not frozen and not virgin. Food-wise, Kusuka is best known for their fancy mi goreng. The West, $15  Mi goreng is god's gift to earth. There's something so delicious about these wonderfully cheap yet flavourful packets of two-minute noodles. The internet will teach you a bunch of mi goreng hacks - you could make them into an omlette, use them as burger buns or even pizza base - or you could simply pimp them up like Kusuka does. The West adds smoked beef, sausage, cucumber, corn, mushroom and a poached egg to a very slightly spicy mi goreng. The egg yolk is beautifully runny, and the best way to enjoy this dish (or any mi goreng with an egg) is to let the ...

A veritable North Shore institution of Thai food, Khao Pla is widely recognised as one of the most delicious, authentic Thai eateries in Sydney. Every menu item is an instant hit, being so full of flavours and ooomph. Crying Tiger Crying tiger is a classic Thai grilled beef dish. I used to think it was named thus because of how spicy it is, but turns out that was just my pathetic spice-tolerance talking. In the scheme of Thai cuisine, crying tiger is quite low on the spice-scale. I have since heard that the name is due to the fact that in the past, the dish was made of the lowest quality beef, so tough that even a tiger couldn't chew and enjoy it, which made them sad and cry. Rest assured, the crying tiger at Khao Pla is made of high quality, marbled, melty beef. It has a slight, pleasantly charred flavour which does not distract from the tender meat itself, and is paired with a delightfully tart tamarind sauce. Grilled corn Gently caramalised, refreshingly sweet, but...

When Longrain came onto the Sydney dining scene, it really changed the game for South-East Asian food: Longrain is one of the first restaurants to elevate Asian food to a hip and sophisticated meal in an industrial-chic setting.  The dishes are designed to be shared, and the cleverly-curated wine list includes a few sneaky cocktails with a South-East Asian spin. A word of warning though: Longrain makes you sit with strangers on long, communal tables as though you were at second-rate Hogwarts, even if you book. I have seen some private tables, so if you are planning for a celebration or a date, make sure you let the venue know at the time of booking so you won't have to rub shoulders with randoms. Acapulco Gold, $19; Siamese Spritz, $16 The cocktails at Longrain are incredibly creative, all with an Asian flair. The Acapulco Gold is a refreshing, tart, tequila-based hit of lemon with a kick of chili, while the Siamese Spritz is light, bright, with a plum twist. I will say, ho...

Purveyor of the decadent soft serve with hot chips, Devon has been on my list of 'must try' for quite some time now. I never got round to visiting their original Surry Hills joint, so I decided to give the Barangaroo cafe a visit. But first, coffee. Cappuccino, $4 The drinks at Devon arrive at the table at lightning speed. Hats off to them, they are nothing if not highly efficient on the beverage delivery front. They are also excellent at following instructions - my friend ordered her coffee "weak and extra hot", and that's just the way the coffee came - more impressively still, despite the tailoring, Devon managed to produce a coffee which was robust and of high quality. Matcha white chocolate, $5 I have a matcha latte addiction problem. I love it above all else, even coffee. However, you won't see me ordering matcha lattes very often, because the usual overly-sweet powder most cafes use is simply too frightful. I was on the brink of ordering a ...

2018 marks Machiavelli's 30th birthday - and by Machiavelli, I don't mean the Renaissance diplomat and political genius; I mean the Italian restaurant on Clarence street frequented by Australian politicians and business heavy-weights. Some call Machiavelli a veritable " Sydney institution" - and I would 100% agree. Upon entering the dungeon that is Machiavelli, one is immediately drawn to the portraits lining its walls. On this occasion, we were seated underneath a portrait of our current PM, Malcolm Turnbull. At the centre of the restaurant is a large table groaning under the weight of San Daniele proscuitto, antipasti and fruit. The restaurant gave a strange feeling of being half rustic-family-joint and half place-where-deals-are-done. We weren't there to make deals. We were there for Machiavelli's famous pasta, which has long been a favourite of the family. INSALATA CAPRESE, $29 The Caprese salad at Machiavelli makes a statement - none of that thi...