La Disfida Haberfield: authentic Italian at Home #ladisfida

Thanks to our friend David who suggested, organised, ordered, picked up and delivered our delicious and old school, authentic Italian dinner from Haberfield to Centennial Park tonight.

These are the real friends we all need when life is at risk of slipping into the mundane, but is surprised back into delight by people like him! The delivery was back door, dark lane, personal and special….we almost felt illegal! 😂

Special delivery..back door, back lane from Haberfield to Centennial Park!

Of course we thought we had over ordered but then we ended up devouring the delicious 😋 food with little hesitation. The potato croquettes went first, while we gave the pizza and polenta chips a quick reheat in the oven.

Next up was the divine thin, crispy pizza with delicious oven roasted beetroot salad and our polenta Chips with Gorgonzola sauce. Might need to do an extra lap of the Park to work these goodies off!

An appropriately Italian made dinner setting from Positano for our Italian dinner!
Polenta chips with Gorgonzola sauce.

Pizza, salad and cheeky chillies provide by La Disfida on the side!

Thanks again David! Your kindness and La Disfida’s commitment to old school Italian flavours made for a very special dinner!

Here’s the link to their menu if you are want to enjoy a similar great experience https://ladisfida.com.au

Lucky Lucio’s dinner

A few weeks ago we had gone to Oxford St in Paddington to try a new Italian place but found it doesn’t open for a while so thought we would try our luck to get a table for two at legendary Lucio’s on the spur of the moment.

Not only were we lucky to get a table, we were greeted by the lovely Lucio himself and welcomed warmly by everyone on a very busy Saturday night.

We were given delicious complimentary canapés and warm crusty bread to start as we contemplated the wine list and menu.

We chose a Vino Rosso from Umbria and settled on the Duck liver parfait with poached yabbies and the famous green noodles with crab for entrees and slow cooked lamb shoulder and duck for our mains with a side of Brussel sprouts.

As always, each dish was superbly executed and delicious with creative sauces and gels adding to the fine dining experience, all in the warm, welcoming and happy atmosphere of Lucio’s.

Make sure you reserve a table if going as you might not be as lucky as we were to get into the spur of the moment as we were.

Thanks Lucio, Michaela and the team for another great dining experience.

Legendary lunch at Lucio’s

Lucio’s Italian restaurant in Paddington, Sydney is legendary for authentic Italian dining featuring the freshest seasonal produce and is one of Australia’s most awarded restaurants.

On a wintry Sydney day, we had a divine family lunch, warmed by Lucio’s renowned hospitality. Here are some of the photos of the delicious dishes we enjoyed. Thanks Lucio!

Stuffed tempura zuchinni flowers

Snapper carpaccio

Prosciutto with melon gel and pesto

King Prawns on raw artichoke salad

Roast duck with kale and plum “sauce”

Roast suckling pork with red cabbage and lightly pickled onions

Rolled garfish with Brussel sprouts and watermelon radish

Chocolate bomb on bed of salted caramel beads.

Indian #Thali and Sweets at #Maya Indian Sweets, #Sydney

Indian vegetarian Thali at Maya Indian Sweets on Cleveland St, Surry Hills has been a favourite comfort food spot for our family for years. As well as the famous Indian Sweets on offer, Maya offers dhosas and Thalis.

A few weeks ago on an unseasonably chilly day, when the “kids” were visiting us from Canberra, we went for Sunday lunch.

Thali means “chain” and refer to the chain of small dishes served on a tray with rice, bread, pickle and papadums. The restaurant is primarily an Indian take-away sweet shop but eating in is cheap and cheerful.

They also have traditional Indian street food snacks such as samosas, aloo boonda, chaat and vhada as starters.

At Maya Sweets you can choose from a number of Thali versions including either a South Indian or Punjabi version…the first comes with Rasam (South Indian tamarinds and pepper water soup) and Poori bread and the second with a bean dhal and naan bread.

Both are just as satisfying the variety of vegetable curries and dhals that are on offer depends on the season. They are consistently good and very filling.

This visit we also shared the Vhada which are fluffy Urad Dhal fritters served with coconut chutney and a tangy sambar on the side which were delicious.

Finishing the meal with an Indian sweet is always tempting and there is a very wide range to choose from….but we managed to resist.

Consistently good food. Doesn’t open until midday so brunch is sadly not an option. There a number of other more formal Maya restaurants including a vegetarian restaurant next door and a non-veg across the road. So make sure you fo to the right one if you are looking for the street food and Thalis.

Maya Indian Sweets

468-472 Cleveland St

#Barbetta Italiano #breakfast, #sydney

A delicious taste of Italy for breakfast yesterday morning at Barbetta, Elizabeth St in Paddington, Sydney. Retro style Italian Diner and coffee shop.

COLAZIONE CONTADINO

2 soft boiled eggs, prosciutto, baked ricotta, fresh tomatoes, artisan “charcoal” bread

FRITTELLE DI ZUCCHINE

Grilled fritters – zucchini, ricotta, buckwheat, corn & parmesan, with smashed peas, pea sprouts & mint (GF) + poached egg (except I had it without the egg)

French Classics at St Claude’s Sydney

Delicious dining and attentive service at St Claude’s in cosy surrounds in Oxford St, Woollahra. Lucky to have such top notch French menu on our doorstep now and bound to become a regular haunt. Scallop filled Zuchinni flowers, delicious soufflé, steak tartare, steak frites, and perfectLy cooked duck….we skipped dessert! Plus a great wine list and a daily Prix Fixe 3 course menu, St Claude’s is open 7 nights a week for dinner.

Here’s Foodie Terry Durack’s review from the Sydney Good Food Guide https://www.goodfood.com.au/st-claudes-woollahra/st-claudes-20160125-49ix6

And here’s a link to their website http://stclaudes.com.au