Guillaume at Bennelong...
…or, a Farewell to Sydney (with apologies to Hemmingway).
In preparation for a few years living the life of the gourmet nomad, we thought we’d finally (belatedly) try dinner at Guillaume’s at Bennelong. For those who don’t know it, Guillaume’s has perhaps the most envied restaurant location in the world, being inside one of the “sails” at the Sydney Opera House.
The view to Circular Quay from Guillaume Now, I’ll be the first to admit that location can be a blessing and a curse - we’ve usually been lucky to avoid the “place over plate” pitfalls.
Hot In The City
Every city in the world worth its salt has a China Town - that quintessential part of the city to which countless generations have flocked from the Middle Kingdom, enriching us all with foods, fashion, enterprise and a certain spice of life.
Melbourne is particularly blessed with a vibrant and funky China Town that stretches several blocks of Little Bourke Street, offering every conceivable style of Chinese food from Szechuan, to Yum Cha (Dim Sum to most of the rest of the world) and more.
An Old Favourite
Alternatively titled "Un Grand Classique"
For the many years we’ve visited or lived in Sydney, we’ve had a few trusty favourites where one can always rely on a great meal, relaxed atmosphere and memories of years gone by.
La Guillotine is almost an institution in the city, having survived buildings being demolished and rebuilt around it, and the many waves of culinary fads that sweep the city. But it’s always great for simple French classics done extremely well (we could even say, très, très bien!
Amazing food under the Harbour Bridge
Can location improve an already good meal? Or can it save a disappointing one? Normally I don’t concern myself with weighty contemplation like this, but circumstances drew me back to one of the greatest dining locations on the planet - Cafe Sydney. Sitting in one of the most spectacular locations in which to eat tends to make the mind dizzy (or perhaps it was just the champagne?)
Cafe Sydney is location on the 5th floor - effectively the roof-top - of the Customs House building in Circular Quay.
Troika Bar - Melbourne
Troika Bar Troika is a great little bar in Melbourne, which as a city has pretty much perfected the “Great Little Bar” realm. Troika has a funky late Soviet Union vibe, with one-time fashionable Cyrillic lettering scattered throughout its signs and menus.
We had an awesome selection of drinks, I just wish I could remember their names. Many borrowed their “appellations” from famous characters and figures of the Russian and Soviet world.
Flavour Avalanche
The Terrace Restaurant employs a novel technique to attract its clientele. By situating itself at the bottom of an insane alpine decent (OK, snow and ice covered stairs), people literally avalanche the place when they lose their footing. OK, the stairs are entirely the responsibility of the local council, but The Terrace does a wonderful public service by having a huge picture window situated just there, so that as you climb to your feet and brush the snow and ice from yourself, your view is drawn inexorably to the warm golden glow of the dinning room, the laughing dry people, and the distinct lack of snow indoors.
Sea-side speciality at Boardwalk
Thanks to a long distance drive, we had the chance to try Boardwalk twice in the space of a few days, and the constrasts were interesting.
First, the food. Boardwalk describes its offerings as Tapas, and they have several dishes that meet exactly that description - various prawn, chorizo and other dishes that all had firm grounding in the Spanish style. I’d say they were more tapas-style, as many of the dishes are asian influenced, and in the Spanish tradition, their servings are generous enough to qualify as “ración” :-).