AUSTRALIA: Where to eat in Sydney, Blue Mountains and Noosa

My third visit to the land down under, Australia. This time, for three weeks, soaking up Sydney for Mr S’ birthday bashes in his home city – as well as a road trip to the Blue Mountains, and a flight up to Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Australia’s a continent that knows how to celebrate its own cuisine, whilst always showcasing nature’s bounty of local, sustainably sourced produce. It’s rare to see imported ingredients on a menu, with pretty much everything sourced within the country. With the exception of one establishment that a non-foodie picked, every meal was impeccable. I continue to claim that if you do your research before travelling, you will always eat well, anywhere. If you’re tight for time, I’ll happily research on your behalf 😉

With Aussie restaurants brimming to capacity, advance online reservations are mandatory. I booked two to three months prior. Some demand full payment on booking, others part-payment, and if not, a credit card confirmation with strict cancellation policies. Dubai restaurants would do well to take note of this strategy to help manage no-shows. Oh and ALL restaurants charge for bread. One way to go low-carb.

On the drinks front, I adore Australia for encouraging BYO. Bar some outstanding, well priced Champagne, I only drank Aussie wines, tasting my way through orange skin-contact wines, Pét-Nat natural fizz, and my favourite Shiraz grape of jammy, full-bodied tipples. With a little bit of craft cider thrown in.

So here’s a FooDiva culinary travel guide with restaurant recommendations for Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Noosa. For sightseeing tips, check out the FooDiva Instagram stories saved in highlights – #AussieDiva 1 and 2.

Any more dining tips, please feel free to share. Our next visit will likely take in Perth for Margaret River, and Adelaide for Barossa Valley!

SYDNEY

Restaurants with a difference…and where reservations are mandatory

• Cafe Sydney: Let’s kick off with Mr S’ choice of venue for his big birthday bash, a restaurant he religiously dines at on every visit. And where, on this trip, we returned for a second meal. Both style AND substance are on offer with striking harbour bridge views and delicious modern Australian plates brimming with native produce. One of the few restaurants and bars these days to make a Classic Champagne Cocktail. And if you’re in need of a PDR (private dining room) with a view, this one seats 16. Top dish: pork belly with a crackin’ crackling, bacon and pork scratching.

• Ho Jiak – Town Hall branch: A Malaysian chef’s playground elevating street food into huge portions with bold, rich flavours. Aussie ingredients. Brilliant 1980s playlist. Top dish: bone marrow rendang with roti.

• Saint Peter: Paddington is my favourite Sydney district. For the funky vibe thanks to quirky boutiques and diverse restaurants. One of which is Saint Peter – my top restaurant pick of this trip. If you’re a seafood lover, add it to your dining bucket list. Dinner is a daily-changing, seven-course sustainable seafood tasting menu by chef Josh Niland in a 20-cover restaurant with kitchen pass seating. Or for a little more privacy, nab the only two counter seats by the window overlooking the main Oxford Road, like we did. Mind you, they are due to move to larger premises nearby, with the current restaurant taking on a new concept by the same team. Lunch is à la carte. Full payment required on booking. Top dish: a twist on pissaladière with sardines atop caramelised onions and olives. And the Meyer lemon tart.

• Porcine: A hop and a skip down the same road, perched on the second floor, is a bijou Frenchie bistro that mimicks a retro living room, complete with open fire. With a natural wine store, P&V Bottle Shop, on the ground level, wines can be purchased for consumption in the restaurant for a small corkage fee. A daily-changing blackboard menu of French cooking with intriguing flavour combinations. Top dish: wild boar pate with duck fat toast.

• Chiswick: Australia’s popular chef Matt Moran’s produce-driven restaurant that is celebrating its tenth birthday. I first dined here on my last visit, and it’s still going strong. A chic conservatory-style abode with a gorgeous garden lawn in Woollahra, Sydney’s leafy embassy district. Top dish: anchovies on toast with tomato relish.

• Chaco Bar: My all-time favourite cuisine – Japanese. An izakaya-style restaurant in Pott’s Point specialising, as the website claims, in yakitori, however, the menu boasts more of the all-encompassing kushiyaki skewers. An unusual u-shaped layout with an open-plan kitchen and full view of the chefs grilling on the robata makes for a cosy, vibrant vibe. Top dish: spanner crab with shellfish butter in an egg custard ‘dashi’.

• Sang by Mabasa: Inventive Korean magic in a tiny Surry Hills spot. Korean is the one cuisine where my knowledge is a tad limited, so we opted for the very affordable AUS$80 (AED203) seven-course ‘feed me’ tasting menu. Top dish: build-your-own pork belly wraps.

I am sneaking in a Palm Beach establishment. If you’re venturing to New South Wales’ posh riviera for Sydneysiders, an hour’s drive north, then head to Jonah’s. For a breathtaking clifftop setting overlooking Whale Beach, and a three-course lunch. And Bolly bubbles on the terrace.

Casual, impromptu dining – with each of these restaurants in different districts

• The Morrison Bar & Oyster Room: A gastro pub haunt of ours in the CBD, Sydney’s central business district. Previously helmed by chef Sean Connolly, and, thankfully, the high standards remain. Well known for its oyster happy hour (and oyster martinis!). Top dish: bivalve molluscs aside, the steak and frites in Café de Paris butter sauce.

• The Paddington: Aptly named after its namesake location. On this particular trip, we dined at this gastro pub-cum-bistro a staggering four times over three weeks. Owned by Merivale, the largest restaurant operator in New South Wales, and perhaps even Australia. If you’re here on a Saturday, pop across the road to the artisan fashion market. Top dish: the signature rotisserie platters – chicken in particular, complete with shoestring fries and cos lettuce salad.

• The Boathouse Balmoral Beach: A picturesque pier setting at Balmoral Bay, Mr S’ childhood beach. Smack bang on the water. Only open for breakfast or lunch. Top dish: tuna tartare on seed crackers…and triple-fried chunky chips.

• The Pantry Manly: A charming cabin on Manly’s beach-fronted corniche with modern Aussie tapas fare. Top dish: beer-battered zucchini flowers with pesto and romesco sauce.

• Beach Club at Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel: A fancy name for a no-frills al fresco pub overlooking Watson’s Bay. Go here for the vistas more than the food, which is good, but lacks wow factor – unlike the delicious cocktails. Elderflower limoncello spritz, am looking at you. Top dish: shellfish platter.

• Sydney Fish Market: Stroll through this seafood paradise for a lunchtime feast of freshly caught Australian species, like we did. Twice. Start with Pacific or rock oyster no 1s, and uni, followed by slivers of buttery otoro and salmon sashimi, before indulging in lobster rolls from the ‘aburi’ flame-seared stall. Pop into the deli for artisan condiments to take home.

Bars with a bite to eat

• Bondi Icebergs Club: Home of the most photographed swimming pool in the world, allegedly. Overlooking telly-famous Bondi beach. This bar-cum-bistro could certainly do with a makeover, but the terrace makes for a stunning sundowner, whilst nibbling on oysters Kilpatrick, or tempura fried with wasabi mayo.

• Reign at the QVB: A Champagne bar for a first-rate pitstop whilst shopping in the QVB (gorgeous historical Queen Victoria Building). Another venue with multiple visits. Naturally, a prolific wine list that includes many a fizz by the glass, or a flight. The food is top notch too from the caviar on toast, to the steak tartare, and the brioche buttie filled with bacon, egg, cheese and potato.

BLUE MOUNTAINS

• Tempus Katoomba: Don’t let the non-descript high street location put you off this wonderful no-waste bistro celebrating Australia’s sustainable bounty. An extraordinary meal from start to finish. Top dish: duck breast in XO sauce with endive and sour cream. Oh and those fried potatoes.

• Darley’s: The fine dining restaurant of Lilianfels Hotel, our home for a couple of nights. Roaring fires, an Agatha Christie-esque dining room, and a bijou bar. Three course menu only. Top dish: venison tartare.

• Wintergarden at Hydro Majestic: The sole reason to head to this garish Fawlty-esque hotel that is long past its sell by date (i.e. urgent refurb required), is for the commendable afternoon high tea experience. Oh and the surprisingly well priced gift shop. Staggering views down to the Megalong Valley. A meal in itself, book at lunchtime to give you enough digestion time before dinner.

• Mountain High Pies: As the name suggests, this café is dedicated to #PiePorn – both savoury and sweet – a bit of an Aussie tradition.

• Bilpin Cider: Cider fans are spoilt for choice in Aussie-land with many a craft selection. Head to Bilpin for a flight tasting, and home-made apple pie. The Pink Lady cider is my top pick.

NOOSA, QUEENSLAND

• Boardwalk Bistro: Casual beachfront dining for brekkie or lunch. Top dish: oysters Kilpatrick and Mornay.

• Bistro C: Right next door to Boardwalk for a plusher dinner spot with the same coastal view. Top dish: barramundi fish with green pea skordalia, cherry tomatoes, potatoes and nut-buttered fennel.

• Sails: A few minutes stroll from Bistro C, also overlooking Laguna Bay is a 28-year old Noosa institution and white tablecloth gem. Over 600 wines across three working cellars. Top dish: butter-poached Moreton Bay bug, a flathead lobster.

• Rickys: Swop the sea view for tranquil river views with this smart European brasserie using local ingredients. Top dish: Brisbane Valley quail with baby corn and shishito peppers. And the passion fruit soufflé.

• Flo’s Crêperie: A French-owned savoury and sweet crepe café that we stumbled upon in Noosa Junction. I adore traditional Brittany galettes, which are always made from buckwheat, a gluten-free grain-like seed, something not many people are aware of. Top dish: the ham, cheese and egg galette.

A bientôt.

FooDiva.