new found love

Renowned for its artisan baked goods and incredible coffee, Luxe started in 2003 with a whole in the wall cafe in Westfield Bondi Junction. Fast forward 11 years and they now have a wholesale business, as well as five cafes - the most recent being Miranda Westfield which launched two weeks ago.

Perfectly situated in the affulent setction of the mall (its neighbours include Zimmermann, Willow and Sass & Bide!), Luxe is al fresco style dining with a private and/or share-table environment. Fun. Luxurious. Flavoursome. Just what this area needed...

Luxe cafe is a large, open space, and has a certain buzz about it that one can't help but stop and order something... anything... The menu has a cheeky personality with its choice of words, and the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful - only too happy to answer your questions or provide recommendations on food choice.

My husband and I ordered the obligatory strong piccolo and skim latte, and opted to share the Lobster Fettuccine with fennel, peas and saffron butter. I'm not quite sure how anyone could go past that dish on the menu... WOW. It was delicious! Lobster cooked to perfection, and the right amount of the flavour and remaining ingredients so as not to overpower. The coffees exceeded expectations - creamy and full-bodied. Quite possibly our new favourite coffee.

The meal and experience was absolutely divine, and 100% lived up to their values - "perfect coffee, fresh food, fine wine, and artisan baked goods, all made with love". Well done Luxe. We'll definitely be frequenting this area much more because of you... Next time, though, I'll definitely be trying the Lemon Meringue Tart!

Cafe: Luxe, Miranda
Total price: Approx $40 (1 x lunch, 2 x coffees)
Hours: Mon-Fri 9.30am-6pm; Sat 9am-6pm; Sun 10am-6pm
Must order: Lobster Fettuccine
Coffee: Luxe

summing up sydney's lower north shore in one cafe

If I could sum up Sydney's Lower North Shore in a cafe, this would be it. The Incinerator has old world art deco charm infused with modern interiors, style and standards. A heritage listed building, the cafe occupies the ground floor of the 1930's Walter Burley Griffin designed Willoughby Incinerator building.

Owner/manager Jonathan Slingo has done an incredible job in preserving the integrity of the building, its history and surrounds. Opening early 2014, The Incinerator draws upon the skills of Acme Design Studio (those clever people who designed the award winning The Grounds of Alexandria) and prides itself on the seasonal and sustainable menu.

The cafe is constantly buzzing, with people coming to dine in as well as ordering take-away. There's seating both inside and out (perfect for a summers day), however I was slightly confused as to whether we should wait to be seated - and it appeared the confusion was shared amongst their staff. Some told us to sit whilst others told us to wait. After a couple of minutes, we were soon asked to be seated...

Some staff were friendly whilst others appeared stressed. Regardless of their manner, the service was prompt and orders taken swiftly. We ordered  the bircher museli, "have it your way" eggs with avocado, and the tapioca with coconut yoghurt and fresh fruit. Special mention goes to The Grounds Roasters being used for their coffee. One of my faves! The tapioca was so simple yet so delicious, eggs were cooked to perfection, and unfortunately the bircher muesli (normally one of my favourite dishes) was just... bland. I actually didn't know where the muesli was - all I could taste was yoghurt, toasted nuts and blood orange juices. Not a fan.

Chef Adrian Borg has done a great job with the varied ingredients, presentation and textures, although one of the stand out features which doesn't happen often these days, is that Jonathan makes a point to personally go to each table and ask whether everything is OK. He's happy to take some time out to chat, about anything, and is extremely personable. He also talked us into a cronut and a red velvet lamington as a 'birthday cake'!

Cafe: The Incinerator
Total price: Approx. $60 (for 3ppl)
Hours: 7am-4pm
Must order: Tapioca, coconut yoghurt, strawberries, lychees and chia seeds
Coffee: The Grounds Roasters

middle eastern show-stopper

To me Middle Eastern means big and bold, yet intricate and detailed. For some reason I absolutely love love love their traditional interiors (lights, lanterns, use of bright colours) but I'm just not a huge fan of their food. Whether it's the intense flavours or the amount of oil that is used, the food just doesn't agree with my tastebuds. Never-the-less my girlfriends and I went to the highly acclaimed (accordingly to my friends and work colleagues) Kazbah in Balmain for dinner.

The restaurant is either child-friendly or encourages you to bring out your inner-child, with crayons provided (regardless of whether you're with children) for the paper table covers. The interiors and service are as expected - intricate, colourful and exotic with some show-stopping performances. Pouring the water was an art in itself. I wish I got a photo of it, but I'll just point you to another photo online so you can see what I mean. It's incredible and let me tell you, I was in awe.

For starters we ordered the dips and mixed bread (of course) and the grilled haloumi cheese (of course). You can never go wrong with these two dishes, right? And they didn't disappoint. We also ordered the clams with chilli, garlic and tomato sauce (yum!), and the ham and cheese grilled black truffle sandwich, which to be honest seemed a little odd to be sitting on a dinner menu!? Not quite sure why we ordered this - could have been the mention of 'truffle' - but needless to say, I wouldn't order that again.


We chose the lemon baharat chicken and lamb kafta shish kebabs, as well as the slow-cooked lamb shoulder for our mains. They were nice, nothing to write home about though. Especially for the price that we paid. Our sides included the fattoush salad and the Mediterranean potatoes twice-cooked with rosemary, capsicum and onion.

The Kazbah Bomb, which has it's own separate line and is bold on the menu, is one of the reasons why people come here. It is THE show-stopping dish, and one must order it (even if one doesn't like Turkish Delight). Not only does this dessert come with Turkish Delight ice-cream, sponge, soft meringue and blueberries; but it is doused with currant vodka and on flames when presented to your table. It's pretty incredible! We also ordered the scrumptious banana split with banana and chocolate macaroons, Chantilly cream, vanilla bean ice-cream and a salted toffee sauce.

Although my friends love it and I do recommend coming here for the experience itself, I personally won't be going back there in a hurry (unless it's for breakfast, which I'm willing to give it another try). It's just unfortunately not my cup of tea... Oh and on that note, if you like tea, finish the evening with 'Kasbah Love' - Carcade (Egyptian hibiscus), rose buds & cinnamon.

Restaurant: Kazbah Balmain
Total price: Approx. $300 (for 5ppl, including wine)
Hours: 8am-3pm;11.30am-3pm; 5.30pm-9.30pm; closed Mondays
Must order: Kazbah Bomb

raising the bar

Situated at the bottom of Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre, Jean Louis Joseph is the perfect breakfast or lunch spot, especially if you need a 'pick me up' after a day of shopping. The interiors are vast and open, fashionably simple with a stunning vertical garden. Orders are made at the till, and the staff are warm, fast and flawless with their service. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed (this is however, dependent on whether you have screaming kids seated near you!) - they even have a live jazz singer selling his CD's for $10 a pop.

 

Chef/owner Nick Whitehouse (whom also featured in MasterChef) focuses on combining rustic, simple dishes with classic, modern techniques. Completely raising the bar for its competitors, this is a grocer come cafe come deli, and has everything you ever need and more.

We ordered the poached eggs cooked at 65 degrees with smashed avo, and corn fritters. I've never had eggs cooked in this way before - they almost tasted too perfect. It was like it was a soft boiled egg with the texture of jelly. Incredible! The corn fritters are the best we've had to date.

So apart from the screaming kids... this is pretty much a 10 out of 10!

Cafe: Jean Louis Joseph
Total price: Approx. $40 (for 2ppl)
Hours: 7am-7pm
Must order: Poached eggs cooked at 65 degrees
Coffee: Allpress Carmelo

weekend escape with seafood to match

If you're looking for a luxury weekend getting away with meals to match, look no further than Rick Stein at Bannisters. Located in the sleepy town of Mollymook (approx 3.5hrs drive from Sydney), Bannisters is located on south coast with incredible panoramic views over the Pacific Ocean.

The interiors and staff exude a sophisticated, yet relaxed atmosphere, with a friendly, small-coastal-town approach to their suited table service. We sat right next to the window, and marveled at the menu in front of us, both al a carte and the wine list.

For my entree I ordered the seared scallops with serrano ham, sherry vinegar and parsley, and we also shared the various types of oysters for the table - Broadwateer Oysters from Pembula and Merimbula; Ewan McAsh's Clyde River Rock Oysters, and Tuross Rock Oysters; freshly shucked served with eschallot vinegar. Both dishes were delectable.

The main was a hard choice for all - so many choices! However I opted for their signature dish, the Bannisters Fish Pie (salmon, blue-eye trevalla, barramundi, scallops, mushrooms and prawns in a creamy fish veloute sauce with truffle, gratinated with breadcrumbs and parmesan). I must admit, when all the other dishes came out I have huge food envy. The very flat and small looking pie was was competing with the Bouillabaisse, Indonesian Seafood Curry and the Crispy Skin Barramundi...

The Fish Pie was the best I have tasted, and certainly didn't fill me like a main meal normally would. Lucky the other mains were quite large, and I my favourite meal of the day. The Seafood curry (with flake, squid and king prawns, served with green bean, fresh coconut salad and steamed rice was mouth-wateringly incredible. The flavours, the seafood, the presentation - I think I fell in love.

On to my other favourite meal - dessert. Another tricky choice, but I opted for the Valrhona Chocolate Mousse with chantily cream and salted caramel. I think it was the meer mention of 'salted caramel', seems to get me every time! It didn't disappoint, but my eye was all over the chocolate fondant as well, and I still wonder whether I should have ordered that (my other weakness is coconut ice cream)...

So much confusion over the food on offer, but this can only be a good thing. It's a breath-taking location, with a very friendly atmosphere, and teamed with incredible local and fresh seafood. The price is great for the calibre and experience. So if you're looking for a weekend away, make sure you check out Mollymook, Bannisters and of course Rick Stein's seafood restaurant.

Restaurant: Rick Stein at Bannisters
Total price: Approx $500 (for 4ppl)
Hours: Lunch Wed-Sun 12.30pm-2pm; Dinner Wed-Thu &Sun 6pm-8.30pm, Fr-Sat 6pm-9.15pm
Must order: Indonesian seafood curry