Chester White Cured Diner, Potts Point

Truffled cacio e pepe mixed in a pecorino cheese wheel

When I think of diners, the first thing that comes to mind are burgers, milkshakes, and pancakes. But in a hipster-like diner tucked away in Orwell Street Potts Point, it's a different story.

Chester White Cured Diner is all about charcuterie, outstanding pastas and more. The interior has a diner and vintage look with high seats and tables, counter seatings, and seatings by the porch. It's unpretentious and the vibe is very chill. I like that they also do their own pickles.

Truffled cacio e pepe

We started with their big gun from the get go. The Truffled Cacio e Pepe ($21) is the most ordered dish here. I totally understand now why it is popular. A genius method of serving al dente spaghetti mixed with black truffle, parsley, salt & pepper in a heated truffled pecorino cheese wheel. Whilst the spaghetti is mixed in the cheese wheel, it also scrapes the soft bits of pecorino and it also captures all the glorious truffle flavour and aroma.

Not Chesta Carbonora

Then there's the amazing Not Chesta Carbonara ($21) that was freshly prepared at our table. It's a team up of beautiful organic porcini mushrooms, speck, egg, pecorino and fusilli pasta. The pasta was the perfect vessel to capture the sauce made up of egg and smoky sharp pecorino cheese. I couldn't help but be in awe with every bite of the crispy speck.

Lamb shoulder

The lamb shoulder cooked for 8 hours with roasted baby potatoes ($16) was another winner. The lamb was tender, fatty, buttery and flavoursome. The paprika added smoky goodness to the meat. The classic roasted baby potatoes were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Try it with their insane chilli sauce!

Chester White Cured Diner

3 Orwell Street

Potts Point NSW

http://www.chesterwhitediner.com.au

Opening Hours

Wed & Thurs 5pm - 11pm

Fri & Sta 12pm - 11pm

Sun 11am - 5pm

Wok & Noodle Bar, Potts Point

I'm totally missing Japan and its amazing ramen. Don't get me wrong; we have great offerings here in Sydney too. But it's the variety that I miss. Japan has opened my eyes and tastebuds to the styles like niboshi ramen, burnt miso ramen, and even green curry ramen! Variety is the spice of life afterall.

Chef Kazuteru Oh (the man behind Osan Ramen in Chinatown, Haymarket) is on a mission to help widen the ramen range here in Sydney. Chef Oh-san has opened Wok and Noodle Bar on Llankelly Place in Potts Point. It's a casual noodle bar where you can enjoy home-style Japanese dishes and of course Ramen! I went and tried their ramen.

Sydney black ramen

First up was a chef's special ramen called Sydney Black ($15). It was reminiscent of what I've had in Gogyo back in Kyoto where hot caramelised lard is incorporated into the broth. Here, Chef Oh used hot caramelised black garlic oil that is incorporated into a triple soup blend of pork, chicken and seafood. The broth was also spicy with a light to medium density. The noodles were just a tiny bit soft than what I would prefer but still good. The toppings consists of menma (pickled bamboo shoots), yam, broccoli, onion, leek, shallots, chilli, mushrooms and parmesan cheese with crispy bits. Overall, it was a really good bowl of ramen and pretty innovative too! With a few adjustments and probably some meat, this ramen can be even more awesome.

Tonkotsu gyokai ramen

Next up, we tried a special ramen that won't be available until winter, which is their tonkotsu gyokai. It's ramen with pork bone and fish double soup broth that is quite popular in Tokyo at the moment. I really looked forward to this ramen as Chef Oh makes one of the best tonkotsu broths in Sydney. It did not disappoint! It was pretty damn amazing! I could taste the perfect balance of pork and smoky fish full of umami goodness. The broth had a medium level density that slightly holds on to the noodles with each slurp. The noodles were slightly firm just the way I like it! Toppings included are chashu, soft boiled tamago, menma, onion and leek. The marinated chashu as expected was nicely caramelised, fatty and super tender.

I admire Chef Oh's pursuit of innovation and to give Sydney more ramen offerings. I can't wait to go back and try the other ramen and homestyle dishes that they have! Word is that their fire wok miso ramen ($16) and black tonkotsu ($13) are pretty delicious too!

Ramen Raff was invited by Wok and Noodle Bar as a guest

Wok and Noodle Bar

Corner Llankelly Place and Springfield Avenue

Potts Point NSW

Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 12pm to 8:00pm

The Fish Shop, Potts Point

A few weeks ago, my tastebuds were treated to what I would rate as "the best cheeseburger in Sydney" to date. I don't consider myself as a burger connoisseur but rather, as someone who is passionate about burgers. I don't go for the monster-size burgers much. I prefer burgers with buns that handles well, balanced flavours, a tasty beef patty and ingredients with the right portions.

I found this said cheeseburger at Merivale's The Fish Shop located in Potts Point. After Chocolatesuze gave their cheeseburger her approval , we planned a lunch catch up.

Bloody Caesar

We had a Bloody Caesar ($16) to get the party started. It consisted of clamato juice which is clam and tomato fused juice. It had vodka to fire things up and also some hot chilli pepper kick that took this cocktail to a much higher level of happy drinking!

Dan's famous cheeseburger

In the end, it was all about their glorious Dan's famous cheeseburger ($17), named after its creator, Chef Dan Hong. It came with thick cut chips.  One of the things that Dan does best is putting his own twist on classic American dude food with quality ingredients. After my first bite, my mind was instantly blown away! This burger had a very flavoursome and juicy medium rare beef patty that was complimented by a sexy melted American cheese. It also had pickles, ketchup, mayo, crispy bacon and a caramelised onion that added a nice sweet finishing touch to the burger. Most importantly, it had a soft sweet bun that held all the ingredients very well.

I see myself coming back to this joint numerous times in the near future. There are also other seafood dishes that I definitely want to hit up next time. All-hail Dan's famous cheeseburger!

The Fish Shop

22 Challis Ave,

Potts Point NSW

Operating Hours:

Sunday    12:00-10:00 pm

Monday to Saturday 12:00-11:00pm