Cafe Paci, Newtown

Cafe Paci has been on my wishlist. I was so stoked that I finally got to visit it along with my good friend and fellow Sydney Food Blogger, Chocolatesuze. It’s located in Newtown and is easily accessible by public transport with lots of street parking in the area as well.

Click on thumbnail above or here for my Youtube video

Scallops, togarashi & sour cream

Tuna tartare

Sourdough pasta with pear and pecorino

Potato dumplings (gnocchi) with XO trout sauce

Fairy bread ice cream with brown butter custard

Chef Pasi Petanen has work at a lot of renowned restaurants in Sydney past such as Automata and ACME. He did a pop a few years back and has now found a permanent location on King Street, Newtown. The cuisine is bit of Finnish and Mexican with touches of Italian, Japanese and a lot more. The food is both innovative and delicious. They also have a wide range of wines to match with their signature dishes.

Click here for my video and more information about the dishes.

Cafe Paci

Poly, Surry Hills

What is up everyone?! I apologise for the long hiatus in this blog. It’s been a really busy few months. Also, if you don’t know yet, I have started a Youtube channel (link here) and have concentrated on posting vlogs to get it started. If you haven’t yet, please support your boy Raff and subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell to stay up to date with all my up coming videos. Also, the blog just turned 9 years old!

Now, let’s go to the main subject of this blog post. We’re here to talk about a restaurant that I have visited a few weeks ago and has become one of my new favourite restaurants in Sydney. Poly is a modern Australian restaurant and is located on Commonwealth Street (next to Paramount Coffee Project) in Surry Hills. It’s also by the same team behind another favourite restaurant of mine Ester. The space has the same elegant industrial vibe that Ester has. I also love the fact that when you put the two names together, it reads out as “PolyEster” (very witty).

First dish that we had was straight off the bat, AMAZING! I could eat their scarlet prawns, harissa and lardo on toast ($16 per piece) everyday! The combination of the umami packed prawns that had hints of sweetness, the complex spices of harissa and creamy lardo on toast was one of the most delicious things I’ve had.

The most premium way I’ve ever eaten potato chips is at Poly when we had their raw scallop, salted kombu and potato chips ($18). These were plump perfectly cooked scallops sandwiched in housemade potato crisps with salted kombu.

I can see why the fried potato and salted egg sauce ($15) is popular. It was like the most perfect golden hash browns shaped in cubes and elevated with umami from the salted egg sauce. I love the contrast of the textures of being fluffy soft inside and crisped outer layers.

I love the combination of cheese and mushrooms so we ordered the oyster mushrooms, stracciatella with beer and yeast sauce ($26). The oyster mushrooms just went so well with the stretchy stracciatella.

The koji marinated pork chop with corn sauce and smoked onion cream ($58) was easily my highlight of the night. The pork was fatty and tender with smokey notes and was packed with a lot of umami. The sweet and tangy notes from the corn sauce and smoked onion cream went so well with the pork meat. The meat was seasoned well and it came with a nice airy crackling.

The food and service is on par with their sister restaurant Ester. We were too full to try their desserts so we will definitely go back for that!

Poly

Address: 74-76 Commonwealth Street,

Surry Hills, NSW

02 8860 0808

polysurryhills.com.au

Opening hours:

Mon-Fri 5pm-late; Sat & Sun noon-late

Bush Sydney, Redfern

You know that feeling of joy from finally experiencing something that you’ve been wanting for so long? That happened to me recently at the new Bush Sydney. I’ve been following them on instagram for a long time hoping to go to one of their burger pop-ups. 

Thankfully, Grant and team Bush have recently opened their very own shop on George Street in Redfern. The space has an Aussie outback/bush themed vibe with a mixture of communal tables, a counter seating and some tables for 2. There’s also a courtyard at the back. They have a minimal menu that consists of some great feeds.

It’s a big call but in my honest opinion, they make the best cheeseburger ($12) in Sydney. It consists of a perfect smash beef patty, American cheese, a house special creamy savoury sauce, onions and pickles in a soft milk bun. That’s my ideal cheeseburger! Their patty reminds me of Shake Shack’s patty. It had an umami packed caramelised crust and a fatty juicy coarse mince. You can also ask to add another patty for an extra $2. The crinkled chips is $6.

They also do classic curry kangaroo pies for $6. This is an oldie but a damn goodie!

Another nostalgic option on the menu is the fairy bread and butter with ice cream ($10). A simple buttery soft dessert but so damn delicious.

Bush is a great example of perfection in simplicity. Nothing pretentious but just full of good vibes, excellent service and super delicious food.

Bush Sydney

55 George St

Redfern NSW

Hours:

Tuesday-Saturday 12pm to 10pm

Quay Restaurant, Sydney

This place does not need any introduction. Quay has made it to the World’s Top 50 Best Restaurants at No. 26 in 2011. For 9 years running, they have been within the top 100. Various reviews and tv shows have continuously vouched for this prestige institution.

Quay is situated at the Overseas Passenger terminal area between Circular Quay area and The Rocks. One cannot deny that this iconic culinary instution stands out amongst its peers in Sydney. They are not just another fine dining restaurant. Chef Peter Gilmore and his team tries and succeeds at harnessing local produce and fusing styles and techniques from different parts of the globe. The breathtaking backdrop of the Harbour Bridge on one side and the Sydney Opera house on another adds to the elegant charm of this place.

My homie Brian of Ramen Adventures and I visited Quay back in December. Here are the dishes from our 8 course tasting menu degustation:

The raw smoked Blackmore Wagyu, fermented chilli miso, shaved fungi, Kombu, cultured cream, dory roe was all about showing the different facets of umami. The cultured cream gave balance to the dish.

Congee of hand dived scallops, heart of palm, black vinegar laver.

Slow cooked quail, fermented mushroom custard, walnuts, brioche porridge, seed crackling.

I have never had a pork dish quite like the fan shell razor clam, shaved shiitake, smoked pig jowl, sea cucumber crackling. The pig jowl meat was buttery and it almost melts in your mouth. Replacing the pork crackling with a sea cucumber crackling was a genius way to add extra umami and texture to the dish.

The steamed coral trout, Southern squid, green almonds, sake is one of the best fish dishes I’ve had. The trout was perfectly cooked and I really appreciated the extra layers of flavours and textures from the squid, almonds and sake broth.

Arkady lamb, barletta onions, ice plant, oca, lemon puree, roasted hemp seed.

Oloroso caram, muscovado, dulce muscatel, walnut.

The last and star dish of the night is Sydney’s most famous dessert, the Snow Egg. It is legendary and amazing as everyone says it is. Everything from the granita to the delicate meringue shell to the custardy core is pure bliss. It is indeed my favourite dessert in the world and I’m quite sad that it’s leaving Quay after the 1st of April this year.

The dining experience at Quay was nothing short of spectacular. Everything from the service, to the iconic views and the food. I now see what the hype surrounding this place is all about. My dear readers, if you haven’t had the Snow Egg, I suggest you get there ASAP!

Quay Restaurant

Overseas Passenger Terminal,

Hickson Rd,

The Rocks NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 9251 5600

Opening hours:

Lunch

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Bookings from 12pm – 1.30pm

Dinner

Daily: Bookings from 6pm – 9.30pm

The reservations office is open from 9am – 7pm, Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday.