Jap's Table - Darlington, Sydney

After hearing about Jap's Table and it having the best yakitori in Sydney, I had to pay a visit. Located in Darlington, it's a little out of the way, but well worth it to be greeted by a bustling shopfront and a menu bursting with all the regular Japanese delights, in particular yakitori and ramen. 

Hand written menu

Specials of the day

The menu is filled with lots of smaller sized dishes, which I love the idea of, as it means we can order and try more things. 

Complimentary starter of chicken skin

This is an interesting way to start the meal, with a small bowl of chicken skin. Not quite the crispy variety, I'm afraid, it has more of a rubbery texture which takes some getting used to. 

Wagyu beef yakitori

The wagyu beef yakitori, on the other hand, is a pleasure to eat with a wonderfully smoky flavour.

Jap's Table zensai

which is basically an entree with a bit of everything include sliced pork, egg and some vegetables

Mushroom lover

The aptly named mushroom lover is a lovely mixture of oyster, button, chinese and enoki mushrooms in a clear broth.

Beef tendon

Half serve Yokohama ramen

The ramen broth was quite light in flavour with the noodles a tad too soft. I like how you can order half serves of the ramen dishes as I can't usually finish a whole one.

Celery and chicken thigh skewer 

So tender and with a deliciously smoky flavour from the charcoal. Definitely one of the best yakitori I've had in Sydney!

Bundeena to Marley Beach hike & update

On a food unrelated note, I just wanted to share these beautiful shots from my recent Bundeena to Marley Beach hike. 

It was actually supposed to be to Little Marley beach, but the boy did not share my enthusiastic approach and I figured I had pushed my luck already ;)

Marley Beach

The views were absolutely stunning with the sweeping cliff face and coastal views. 

I have pretty much recovered 95% from the Bell's Palsy after a lot of physio and seeing the neurologist. So happy with the progress! My eye is still not there with fully closing and I can feel weakness in my right side, but overall it is not noticeable at all.

Right now, I'm trying to get fit by starting running (hoping to do the City2Surf) and getting into yoga, as well as the usual dance classes and rock climbing. Hopefully I can keep this up through winter!

Fouratefive - Surry Hills, Sydney

It's become somewhat of a  weekend tradition for the boy and I to go out for breakfast on a Saturday- what better way to celebrate the start of the weekend? 

On this particularly rainy day, it's off to Fouratefive for a hearty brekky before heading off to the Art Gallery to check out the Archibald prize portraits. 

A latte to kick start the day

French toast

Stuffed with banana, served with maple syrup, mascarpone and rhubarb. I love the arrangement of fruit on this place, a sure fire way to brighten up the day! 

Homemade creamed corn

Topped with two perfectly cooked poached eggs, crispy bacon and organic sourdough toast.

This was perfect for the cold and rainy morning, so hearty and delicious. The eggs were just right, with the yolks oozing out. A very generous serving and I struggled to finish it.

Super tempted by the baked goods out the front, but sadly had no more room for them!

As I need more suggestions for places to go - Sydneysiders, what is your favourite place for breakfast?

Blackflower Patisserie - Haymarket, Sydney

Always on the lookout for new dessert places, I was pretty keen to check out Blackflower Patisserie in Haymarket when it opened.

With an asian twist to the flavours, the tempting cakes have cute names like 'Sex Bomb' and 'Pac-Man'. Unfortunately, they are only until 6pm, so it's more of an afternoon tea spot rather than an after dinner dessert joint.

The dessert cabinet

Envy

Green tea and black sesame with white chocolate cake

Pac-Man

This one was mango mousse inside, decorated with some mini macaron shells

Hamburger macaron

An adorable hamburger macaron filled with chocolate ganache. Almost too cute to eat.

Though I didn't think the cakes were spectacular, Blackflower is still a nice little spot for some asian inspired cakes and macarons - they even have a durian flavoured cake for the durian lovers out there!

Sparrow Gelato & Espresso - Crows Nest, Sydney

Sparrow is one of my favourite dessert spots in Sydney, luckily a stroll away whenever any sweet cravings hit! Located right in the heart of Crows Nest, it's always the default option for a post dinner visit for the great selection of gelato and even better cakes. 

Gelato selection

They have a pretty good selection on offer, with some unique specials that change frequently. On one visit we get the mojito sorbet which is so refreshing and surprisingly tastes close to the real thing.

Italian nougat gelato

Pandan & coconut lychee

 Cake selection

Banoffee pie

Strawberry custard cake

Love the cakes here, especially the strawberry custard cake - absolutely delicious! 

Lemon myrtle macaroon

Continuing my lemon myrtle obsession, I couldn't resist this lemon myrtle macaroon, though I wasn't able to fit it in and had to takeaway. It was fabulous, the right combination of chewy, crumbly and sweet. Wish I had bought a few more!

Black Star Pastry - Newtown, Sydney

Black Star Pastry is definitely one of my favourite places in the whole of Sydney. Located on Australia street in Newtown, it is home to the famous strawberry, watermelon and rose cake.

Every time I set foot in the store, it's indecisiveness gone wild. Surely living so far away and not visiting often enough justifies almost uttering the words 'one-of-everything-please'

Beef brisket pie

One of the best pies I've ever had with perfect flaky pastry and a hearty and flavoursome filling with big chunks of tender beef brisket. Absolutely delicious!

Sausage roll

We manage to grab a seat at the front of the store during one rainy day visit, so coffees were a very warm and welcome sustenance. 

It was a tough choice to make, but I decided to grab the pavlova and the salted caramel pannacotta to have here. My selection method was quite strategic, as I picked out all the items I wanted, or more like narrow it down to the ones I could miss out on, and based on this, chose the most delicate out of the selection to have there.

I'm so glad that this was one of my choices. From the perfect crunch of the delicate meringue to the creamy centre and the topping bursting with mango and lychee. This is easily the best tasting and prettiest pavlova I've ever had

Salted caramel pannacotta

Rich and creamy and almost too nice to eat with the glorious sheen and gold leaf. 

My take home haul

Persian fig, quince and orange cake

Love the vibrant pink from the rose, and the cake is deliciously dense. They say good things come in small packages, and that's definitely true in this case!

Pastries are awesome too. They can do no wrong.

And because I have a slight (ok, major) obsession with anything containing lemon myrtle (as K can attest to haha) I couldn't go past this beautifully light lemon myrtle chiffon cake. So good! 

Please find any excuse to visit Black Star Pastry. I know I do! Every time I visit anywhere further than the city, I always find myself wondering if it's a possibility to stop past here. (What do you mean it's nowhere near our destination? Detour!)

ETA: I made another trip over the Anzac Day holiday period (since I had the Friday off!) and picked up some more goodies:

 Pear & frangipane tart

Raspberry brulee tart

Just the sugar hit I needed to get through my assignments!