I Don't Eat, I Devour

From the excellent folks who also brought you Yellow , Cirrus (a delightful seafood-focused restaurant) and Bentley (stayed tuned for an upcoming review), Monopole is a darkly cosy eatery with a lightly art deco feel. The open kitchen allows you to look at the hustling and bustling, yet the space still feels quiet and intimate somehow. House Cured Meat Every review I have read about Monopole raves about the house cured meat. A platter consists of Ranger's Valley brisket pastrami, smoked pork belly, Berkshire pork neck and Cape Grim beef tongue - all of which are delicious, but the smoked pork belly is a rich, fatty stand out. Kobe Beef Shoulder Lip The real star, however, is this wonderful plate of delicious morsels. Monopole is one of the very few places in Australia where you can find this top grade meat - and the way it disintegrates upon contact with one's tonngue, leaving a salty, satisfying, oily residue, is pure magic. I would go back just for this dish alo...

I have wanted to visit Hubert since it held the top spot on Sydney's culinary scene a couple of years ago - and it's only taken me until now to finally do it. One reason it has taken me so long is that for a long time, Hubert didn't take bookings - so you could push open its door, wind down the gorgeous, dark staircase admiring its collection of vintage alcohol bottles behind cabinets, only to be told that it is at least another two hour wait to be seated. One reason for Hubert's enduring popularity, I suspect, is the fact that the minute you step through its doors, it is as though you are transported to a different world, far away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney's legal quarters, a safe haven for all these who want to comfort their weary souls with some fine French dining. The world presented by Hubert is dark, intimate, lit by candlelight - thus you will have to forgive the photo quality here (not that my photos were ever very good). Hubert baguette a...

Aeroplane food - they get a terrible rep, and so they should - at least that is still the case when it comes to economy class. Whilst the standard of food served onboard for business class and above have improved leaps and bounds (especially when certain airlines start to engage Michellin-starred chefs to design their menus and use that as a point of differentiation), economy class food remains the necessary evil one must endure in order to get from A to B. Qantas Airways - Sydney to Shanghai  Let's start with the foccacia - great flavour, salty and fragrant, but unfortunately soggy. Nobody wants bread  with napkin stuck to it, Qantas. The main is a piece of pork in a tomato-based sauce, along with carrots and string beans. The pork had a strange artificial texture - it was almost melt in the mouth; but instead of enjoying the lack of need for vigorous chewing, I just felt slightly suspicious. The carbohydrate came in the form of Israeli cous cous with raisins toss...

When it comes to Modern Greek food in Sydney, The Apollo is one of the most beloved - not least because it has one of the best value degustation menu around. Though degustation is my usual choice when it comes to a restaurant I haven't tried before, there is some joy in picking out exactly what you want to try, especially when the menu sounds as interesting as the one at The Apollo.  Taramosalata, $12, extra pita bread (not pictured) $4 Taramosalata, made from cured fish roe, is usually alarmingly pink when sold in a tub. The taramosalata at The Apollo is, of course, home made, and is a delicate shade of blush that is way more gentle-looking than the flavour it packs. There is a generous serving of the taramosalata, so I would highly recommend that you buy some extra pita bread - especially when any leftover pita bread can be used to soak up the deliciousness soon to come.  Saganaki Cheese, $17 And by that I am of course referring to the Apollo's most f...

I challenge you to scour all of Sydney and find such a good value meal in such a prime location. It cannot be done. The buffet at Don't Tell Aunty is incredible: for $25, you can eat a selection of curries to your heart's content - having said that, Don't Tell Aunty has such a variety of other goodies  that the existence of the Sunday buffet doesn't erase the reason to visit this bustling Surry Hills Indian restaurant on other days of the week. While the Sunday buffet is quite traditional, other items on the menu appear a lot more innovative - not to mention a killer cocktail menu. I am already planning a non-buffet return! Hot Sauce, Mix Pickle, Salad The curries weren't very spicy (to cater for those of us with a low spice tolerance, no doubt), but you can always remedy that with the addition of hot sauce (which I was not brave enough to try). I really enjoyed the mix pickles - these are a little spicy, very tart, and went well with pretty much every curry...