District Dining, Surry Hills [CLOSED]

Around this time, I just got back from my six week trip overseas and already there are more changes to the restaurant scene within that short time than over the last few years. By now, a growing number of fine dining restaurants including Manly Pavilion, Bilson, Montpellier Public House, Berowra Waters Inn and North's Becasse empire (to name a few...) have closed its doors due to finances being the main reason. And this really sucks for someone who has been away from Sydney the entire time.


If there's any restaurant that I must try and hopefully save before it disappears, District Dining is up there as the menu has mostly changed since my last visit. While it may not be as fine dining as its sister restaurant 'Assiette', its bistro-style layout outshines itself through its methods, presentation, tapas-style shared plates and unique flavours delivered by chef Warren Turnbull. With an ever changing seasonal menu inspired by a multitude of different cuisines, there's always something new to try along with some old favourites.

Crispy pig ears, szechuan salt

One thing that is making me keep coming back for more is the crispy pig ears. I know one of my mates is obsessed with them when we tried it the first time hehe. While it was a bit salty, it was also slightly sweet. It is sooo much crunchy goodness!

Crispy quail eggs, tarragon mayonnaise

Crispy quail eggs is another favourite of mine. How can you resist the oozing and runny egg yolk from such a small egg? The breadcrumbs covering the egg makes it all even better. The tarragon mayonnaise made the egg yolk even creamier when I scooped it all up.

Pork canitas tacos, pineapple salsa, chipotle mayo

Pork canitas tacos is a recent addition to the constantly changing menu. When it was presented to the table, it was layered out so you can create your own tacos. Despite being included on the 'Something to Snack On' menu, it was actually pretty filling even on 1 taco alone. Definitely enjoyed it with the chipotle mayo.

Veal tongue, truffle celeriac remoulade, salsa verde

I was instantly attracted to the veal tongue dish the moment I saw the words truffle and salsa verde (green salsa). This may not be the one dish that will immediately attract the usual diner but the tongue was cooked perfectly and its softness melts in your mouth with each bite while savouring its slightly crispy, chargrilled edge. You can immediately sense the truffle aroma with the remoulade that gives the dish a rather creamy texture. Like the quail eggs, it was enjoyable scooping up the salsa verde and the remoulade with pieces of the tongue.

Banana brûlée with peanut brittle and chocolate gelato

I was incredibly full by the end thanks to those tacos but the desserts look amazing and I needed something to balance my tastebuds from the savoury stuff. Upon looking at the desserts menu I fell in love with the sight of the Banana brulee and I knew I had to try it. The brulee was irresistably smooth and nourishing, and the gelato placed on top of a small bed of finely crushed peanuts tasted so good when mixed together. Sadly this is no longer available on the current menu but hopefully a creme brulee of any other flavour will be available soon.

Antler-like coat hangers

When dining, I found that the service was impeccable with friendly and attentive staff attending to your need almost immediately. The prices are fairly reasonable and the food is simply amazing that you should come by at least once. It will be a huge loss if restaurants like this close down anytime soon. Bring your friends, family, or partner so you can order as many dishes as you can.

District Dining
17 Randle Street, Surry Hills 2010
(02) 9211 7798
http://districtdining.com.au/

Eating My Way Through Europe Part 3

In this final part, we've checked out some of the more unusual dishes that you don't see as much around Sydney (Czech cuisine) or have just gotten recent exposure (Pintxos in Spain) which has all been a mad journey for the taste buds.

Czech Republic

From this time onwards, I was pretty much hungover every night so I did not do as much sightseeing as before. However I did make the time to try several of their sweet and savoury delicacies that is hard to find elsewhere (possibly because of its hard-to-pronounce names). The food here was definitely one of the more unusual and fascinating cuisines as it isn't something you would normally see as much as Asian, Italian, German, French or American 'dude food' to name a few. While there are restaurants, it is the street food that won the hearts of locals and tourists.

Eating My Way Through Europe Part 2

Still so much to tell but it's already been over a month and a half since I got back. Around this point, my camera got damaged. Thankfuly I brought a spare one along (sorry about the photo quality). For a country like Italy, there is so much to try and not much time left to try them all. Then there is Greece and Austria where you educate yourself on what the local cuisine really is and there were a few surprises.

Florence, Italy


Italian cuisine is one of my favourites in Europe. I go weak at carbs and the 5 nights spent in Florence, Rome and Venice was packed with pizza slices, pasta dishes and so much gelato. It is no surprise that food plays a major role in the Italian lifestyle. Like France, the cities in Italy (Florence, Rome and Venice) are packed with restaurants on every corner. The locals told us to try and avoid the pricey restaurants aimed at tourists but with so little time, we just went for the most convenient (and less pricey) one when we were starving after all the walking. Notably, restaurants in Italy often adds a service fee on top of the food which can be pretty annoying if the restaurant service was not enjoyable.

Eating My Way Through Europe (and Singapore) Part 1

11 countries in 6 weeks...impossible? Of course not! A bit rushed though but the experience was still there. If SBS Food Safari has taught us anything, it is that food in Europe is diverse not only between each country but even within certain regions of the country itself. For example, Italy and Spain have their own unique food cuisine based in the North, South and the coastal regions. For six weeks, I have travelled across Western Europe, Great Britain and Singapore with my friend AC and 49 other travellers who are hungry for adventure. As I was travelling with Contiki for most of it, there was sightseeing, eating and lots of drinking and partying! Some of the food we had was incredibly amazing and there were others that were pretty average and somewhat repetitive. Did I mention there was a lot of drinking?

Robocog Cafe, Surry Hills

About a week before my Eurotrip, CC and I decided to catch up for an afternoon outing exploring Surry Hills. However we ended up meeting each other pretty late and most of the places were closed by then. Luckily Robocog is still opened until 4pm and it has been on my wishlist for a very long time. Even though this is one of those cafes that you are more likely to check out if you want to meet from brekkie or brunch but we were so hungry that we didn't care about the time.

Breakfast burrito

It has brunch favourites like eggs benedict along with a bit of Mexican flavour to the menu. that includes quesadillas and burritos. One of their staples is the breakfast burrito consisting ofsautéed chorizo, scrambled eggs, salsa and shredded cheese wrapped in a tortilla. While it got a bit messy by the end, it was certainly very delicious especially with the toasted tortilla and the chorizo. A must try for those who want their Mexican feed in the morning.

French pancakes

Upon seeing the menu, CC was set on trying out the French pancakes which includes mixed berries, ricotta, fresh fruit salad, banana and honey. The layout was pretty clustered with these fillings. Had a bit of the pancakes and it did taste pretty sweet and nicely matched with the berries. I am pretty sure she loved it because she ordered the same item again at a recent visit.

I already had coffee at Single Origin Roasters nearby before meeting up so my friend tried out the one the drinks that Robocog Cafe stocks. She seemed to enjoy it as well.

A great place to relax and chill out with friends within one of the less busy roads in Surry Hills. Will try out more from their menu next time for lunch or brunch as there seems to be so much to check out especially with their Bacon Lover's menu. And it would be very interesting to see how their Eggs Benedict compare against the other cafes in a place like Surry Hills which thrives on cafe culture . Needless to say, it already stands out of the pack based on the menu alone and the toy robots chilling out on the shelves. Prepare for queues at peak times as the cafe can only sit a maximum for 20 people.

Robocog Cafe

249 Riley Street, Surry Hills 2010

(02) 9281 2880

Update so far

At the moment I will be very busy away from blogging as I am currently in Europe and I left my cable back in Australia for uploading awesomely delicious food pictures. I will be back in Sydney on 30th June but knowing how jet lagged I will be, I will try to post something around the first week of July. So far I have tried food from Singapore, UK, France, Italy and Greece; and will also be heading to Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. However I have been missing some Sydney food action particularly the Sydney Food Trucks which have finally arrived.

See you all in July!

Spanish Terrazas, Sydney CBD

Garden salad

A friend from high school is having her hen's night at this restaurant in the heart of the Spanish Quarter. I have been here about a couple of times or more previously and have raved on how awesome the paella really is. Seriously in my opinion, this place has the best paella in Sydney! However we all got a set menu of tapas so there will be no paella action tonight. I remember trying a couple of these dishes a while before, and they were pretty good as well so hopefully this time, it's still just as good.

Complimentary bread

I am guessing because this was booked in advance, the food was delivered very quickly. In fact, every single tapas dish came out all at once. It was pretty overwhelming trying to decide which dish to have first. We were also given a side of bread roll, green salad and 2 jugs of sangria.

Garlic mushrooms

I really enjoyed the garlicky taste that the mushrooms offer. It did have a slight spicy kick which is not overbearing for the chilli-noob.

Can't remember the name of this dish...maybe Russian salad or potato salad?

First time trying this dish. Was ok to try but nothing significant compared to the other dishes.

Potatoes aioli

This was heavily covered with a special creamy aioli sauce. Several people on my end of the table said that it tasted a bit cheesy too but I could not detect this. The potatoes were fairly crispy to our liking and is one of the stand out dishes.

Fried Calamari

While it looked like your usual fried calimari from the local shops, it was still very crispy and crunchy throughout our meal - even when we were all too full to finish it off. Best eaten with a dose of lemon.

Garlic Prawns

This was possibly the favourite tapas dish of the night. I remember veryone was raving about this all night. It was presented to us sizzling hot in garlic oil and parsley in a terra cotta dish. Made good use of the bread to clean up the plate. Yummm!

BBQ Spanish Chorizo

When there's Spanish tapas, there's gotta be chorizos. Another dish I enjoyed mainly for the chargilled texture and its tangy flavour.

Albondigas (Meatballs)

Again made good use of the bread for the thick sauce. By this point, everyone was stuffed and struggling to try and polish everything off. But OMG, the meat is seriously juicy that I ignored how full I was getting and tried to stomach as much as I can from this dish. It was deliciously good stuff.

The other end of the table also got a platter with olives, artichokes and the like, I did not manage to get the name for this and cannot find a simlarily matched combo plate on the website. But it did look very delicious.

While we were eating, there was a Spanish band playing some nice tunes. Several diners got up and go crazy on the dance floor. Even a couple of staff members joined in for the fun! Meanwhile, we were finishing up our sangria and getting tequila shots for the bride to be. A night of fun, entertainment and so much food. While the prices are more expensive compared to the other Spanish restaurants in the area, some of the food they deliver here are pretty brilliant in quality and taste. I still wish we had the chance to try the paella though as they did a really good job with the crust in the past...even though if it's very pricey compared to other restaurants.

SHOTS EVERYBODY!

Spanish Terrazas
541 Kent Street Sydney NSW 2000
Contact no: (02) 9283 3046
http://www.spanishterrazas.com.au/