Best Pastries and more- Sydney

in Cafes | 1 Comment

sydneycool went in search for Sydney’s best breakfast pastries and more. What a great task it was – eating many different pastries from all over Sydney – and all in the name of research. I’m, sure some of you might be jealous! … and can you imagine, all without guilt because it was in the name of research – wish my waistline would understand that!!!

Now I know we may have left some out, as I can hear you scream what about ….. ….. but two things to think about, sydneycool did it and not you and everyone thinks they know best. And talking of best, these are the best pastries we found in Sydney.

You know that feeling – when a buttery croissant sticks to your fingers and the flakes gently fall down and settle on your lap as you take another lustful bite. You can hear that quiet moan as it crunches and snaps – but without care, you tear another bit and smother it with your favourite jam as your eyes close and you contemplate – wow that was good. Or when you put a knife through a loaf of bread and the first sound, as it breaks the crust – a sound that you almost can’t explain but you know you’re on a good thing so you try to prolong that moment before you put it in your mouth. And then there’s that wonderful smell of fresh baked pastries and breads.

Our benchmark was set very high – our favourite boulangeries in Paris - Du Pain et des Idees, 34 Rue Yves Toudic in the 10th arrondisement and Boulangerie au petit Versailles du Marais, cnr Rue Tiron and Rue Francois Miron in the 4th arrondisement.

We were looking for pastries and bread that had a feel of homemade – something than doesn’t necessarily have to stand the test of time looking good 12 hours later or where the filling is what it is about. In other words, we were not interested in mass produced.

Organic Bread Bar

356 South Dowling Street Paddington NSW 2021

Organic Bread Bar – L'Anicenne bread

pastries sydney - organic bread bar - sydney bakeries - paddo

Organic Bread Bar – Lemon tart

Organic Bread Bar – Croissant

Organic Bread Bar is hot when it comes to bakeries - traditional bread styles like l’ancienne. The croissant was one of the best – the flavour is the factor that’s hard to even get close to and this one does it.

Fratelli Paradiso

12-16 Challis Ave Potts Point NSW 2011

Cherry Danish – Fratelli Paradiso

Pain au Raisin – Fratelli Paradiso

Cherry Danish with Ricotta filling – Fratelli Paradiso

Fratelli Paradiso continues to deliver some of Sydney’s best pastries – the cherry danish is well balanced with perfect flaky pastry, the sweet cherries resting on a ricotta filling.

Brickfields

206 Cleveland St Chippendale Sydney 2008

Pain au chocolat – Brickfields

Ham and cheese croissant – Brickfields

pastries sydney - brickfields - best sydney cafes

Cakes and pastries at Brickfields

Brickfields is a new bakery that’s setting a high standard – their pain au chocolat is light and the chocolate soft with a bitter sweet end.

The Little French Patisserie

840 Military Rd, Mosman Sydney 2088

Danish – The Little French Patisserie

Sugared Brioche – The Little French Patisserie

Danish - The Little French Patisserie Mosman

Croissant with Jam – The Little French Patisserie

Snail - The Little French Patisserie Mosman

L'Escargot – The Little French Patisserie

A Parisian friend who lives in Sydney told us about the Little French Patisserie in Mosman on the North Shore – very traditional and great quality.

Flour and Stone

53 Riley St Woolloomooloo Sydney 2011

Almond croissant – Flour and Stone

One of the best almond croissants we’ve ever had – just a sliver of almond paste, topped with toasted almonds with a light dusting of icing sugar. Also check out our post on Flour and Stone.

Croissant d’Or

117 Macleay St Potts Point Sydney 2011

Croissant – Croissant d'Or

Cream cheese pocket – Croissant d'Or

pastries sydney- croissant d'or - sydney bakeries

Croissant d'Or – the wonderful array of pastries and handmade chocolates

pastries sydney- croissant d'or - sydney bakeries - potts point

Croissant d'Or – pastries and cakes

Croissant d’Or is a great little patisserie that sets a high standard. At the moment, it is really doing wonderful things from the perfect croissant to handmade chocolates.

Bourke St Bakery

corner Bourke and Devonshire Streets Surry Hills Sydney 2011

Bourke St Bakery – pear danish

Adriana Zumbo – The Lab

114 Terry St Rozelle Sydney 2039

pastries sydney - adriana zumbo - sydney bakeries

Brioche – Adriana Zumbo

pastries sydney - adriana zumbo - sydney bakeries the lab

The Lab – Adriana Zumbo

Adriana Zumbo

There’s not much to be said about Adriana Zumbo that hasn’t been said. Except to say, you should check out the Lab in Rozelle and the brioche (not the traditional) with berries, almond and custard. Very nice.

Organic Bread Bar

356 South Dowling Street Paddington NSW 2021

Fratelli Paradiso

12-16 Challis Ave Potts Point NSW 2011

Brickfields

206 Cleveland St Chippendale Sydney 2008

The Little French Patisserie

840 Military Rd, Mosman Sydney 2088

Flour and Stone

53 Riley St Woolloomooloo Sydney 2011

Croissant d’Or

117 Macleay St Potts Point Sydney 2011

Bourke St Bakery

corner Bourke and Devonshire Sts Surry Hills Sydney 2011

Adriana Zumbo – The Lab

114 Terry St Rozelle Sydney 2039

Keith Haring- Anish Kapoor- Paris- Berlin

in Global Art | Leave a comment

2013 so far has been a big year in global contemporary art – earlier this year, the Roy Lichteinstein retrospective at Tate Modern in London and Anish Kapoor at MCA Australia in Sydney and now a Keith Haring retrospective in Paris and another Kapoor exhibition in Berlin which started in May and will run until November. At the top of all this the Venice Biennale is on now until November and sydneycool is en route to check them all out.

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Untitled – Keith Haring

In Paris, at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and Le CENTQUATRE, is a wide-ranging retrospective of American artist Keith Haring’s work. This exhibition is one of the largest collections ever of Haring’s work and highlights how important his work is in the development of contemporary art and the highly political content, apparent throughout Haring’s career. So we are pleased to be able to see such a comprehensive collection.

keith-haring-paris the political line-global-contemporary-art

The Artist

Haring started using the street and other public spaces to reach as wide an audeince as possible – in 1985 he used New York subways for his work. He fought against injustice and racism, vioence and apartheid , the possibility of nuclear war, degradation of the environment, homophobia and the AIDS epidemic.

Keith Haring- Musee d'Art Moderne Paris - sydney-contemporary-art

Untitled – Keith Haring

There are over 250 pictures in this retrospective – on canvas and tarpaulins and from subway walls – as well there are twenty monumental works – exhibited at Le CENTQUATRE in the 19th arrondisement. These ‘Grand Formats’ works include one of his most important series: The Ten Commandments, dating from 1985. This work is massive in scale – ten panels, each seven meters high and show Haring’s radical interpretation of the commandments.

Untitled 1982

Keith Haring was one of the most well-known artists of his time, and even today his distinctive and prolific work is still highly recognisable with strong, graphic line and repertoire of emblematic signs, which remains familiar to all. He exhibited alongside some of his contemporaries – Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Jenny Holzer and Daniel Buren at Documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany in 1982.

Keith Haring – The Political Line

19 April – 18 August 2013

Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

11 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris

Le CENTQUATRE

5 Rue Curial, 75019 Paris

The latest Anish Kapoor exhibition, Symphony for a Beloved Sun’ – his first in Berlin is the most comprehensive exhibition of this important contemporary artist. Curated as part of the Berliner Festspiele, it’s on until 24 November at the Martin-Gropius-Bau museum in Berlin.

Following the exhibition at MCA Australia in Sydney which finished in April this year, this show of over 70 works spanning from 1982 to present – which covers more than 3,000 sq metres in the grand neo-classical style 19th-century building, and with 50% of new works.

One of the works, ‘Death of a Leviathan’ – a deflated PVC whale sags its way across three rooms. It continues where Kapoor left off with ‘Leviathan‘, a gigantic balloon that filled Paris’ Grand Palais in 2011.

Sydneycool was in Paris for this and it was such a monumental work from Kapoor it really left you breathless, as you see from the photo below.

Levathian – Anish Kapoor – Grand Palais 2011

Anish Kapoor – Symphony for a Beloved Sun

18 May to 24 November 2013

at Martin-Gropius-Bau

Niederkirchnerstraße 7 | Corner Stresemannstr. 110, 10963 Berlin

Chinatown Sydney- cool sunday

in chatter | 1 Comment

Chinatown Sydney is a wonderful place to spend a Sunday on a cold winter’s weekend and really emmerse yourself in its culture. You can fit in a whole lot of things that will feel like you had a mini break from the city and yet you are just down the street from Sydney CBD. Go early – you can get off your train from Town Hall, which is just a few minutes walk down George Street or Central Station that might take 5 or 10 min.

Sydney Chinatown - Little Hay St - must do Sydney - sydneycool

Doong Nam A & Co – speciality Asian ingredients

Sydney Chinatown - market city - must do sydneycool

the many cultures that make up the diversity of Sydney

sydney-chinatown - market city - chinatown sydneycool

Paddy's Market – Market City – Chinatown

When you arrive in Chinatown Sydney, find a tea house or cafe and get into the mood with a hot cup of Chinese tea then head straight to the Paddy’s Markets under Sydney’s Market City. Here you will find stalls that sell all need for your kitchen – from knives, chopping boards to that perfect wok. Also my personal fav – to check out the amazing vegetables, herbs and spices, fresh fish and meat. Of course there are stalls and stalls to cater for all the needs that you can imagine.

Sydney Chinatown - Paddy's Market - must do Sydney - sydneycool

An abundance of seasonal greens of all description – Chinatown

Sydney Chinatown - Paddys Market - must do sydneycool

fruit and vegetables – Paddys Market

Asian herbs and spices – Paddy's Market

Or simply absorb the wonderful atmosphere and history that makes Chinatown in Sydney so special and for us brings back a memories of living in New York City and the iconic Chinatown area of Manhattan. This is a Sydney must do for a visitor but also the place for locals to enjoy some of Sydney’s best Asian foods. After all of that foodie stuff, go up stairs to Market City or cross the street into some of the many shops and arcades. Take a look at some of the fashions, which of recent times have really become quite international – really worth the hunt to find some great things.

And there are still a lot more great foods to try – Peking Duck – BBQ King (Goulburn St) – probably the best in Sydney – you can takeaway or eat in. For ingredients that you don’t find in many shops – try Doong Nam A and Co (Cnr Hay St and Ultimo Rd).

sydney-chinatown restaurants---bbq-king---sydneycool

BBQ King – Chinatown

Cakes and bakery – lots to choose from here – and if you love Emperors Puffs (this is a must) – try these golden, fluffy puffs filled with sweet egg custard via the ’through the window’ service at Emperor’s Garden Cake and Bakery in Dixon Street Mall. The wait in line can be quite testing on a Sunday, but worth every mouthful when you get them. Also there’s the Japanese bakery ‘Fuji Pan’ at 605 George Street (entrance from Goulburn St) – really worth a look.

Sydney chinatown restaurants - Emperors Garden - sydney cool

Emperors Garden – Chinatown

Then there’s the restaurants – and not just Chinese – there’s Malaysian, Japanese, Thai and more – some of our picks are Mamak in Goulburn St – the queue outside tells you how good the Malaysian food is. One of the specialities here is the roti – try the roti bawang – filled with finely sliced cooked red onions and the true flavours of Malaysia.

Mamak - fish curry - cool Sydney Asian restaurant - Chinatown

Fish Curry – Mamak

Mamak Malaysian Restaurant

15 Goulburn St Chinatown Sydney NSW 2000

Mamak Website

For Cantonese food and a trip to 1960‘s Hong Kong, Try this old fav of ours Golden Century in Sussex St. One of their specialities is pippies in XO sauce. Golden Century is consistently the haunt of Sydney chefs like Tetsuya Wakuda from Tetsuya’s and David Chang from Momofuku and Neil Perry from Rockpool and Spice Temple.

Golden Century Seafood Restaurant

393 Sussex St, Chinatown, Sydney NSW 2000

Golden Century Website

But for something different, try Shanghainese food – there’s now restaurants featuring food of Shanghai. A friend of ours who lived in Shanghai for many years directed us to Taste of Shanghai in World Square. We made our way through the 40 plus page menu including dumplings (Xao Long Bao – a speciality, rice and noodle dishes, mud crab, salt and pepper prawns and vegetable dishes.

sydney-chinatown restaurants --taste of shanghai - sydneycool

Super crispy Peking Duck skin on prawn crackers – Taste of Shanghai

sydney-chinatown restaurant --taste of shanghai - sydneycool

Peking Duck Pancakes – Taste of Shanghai

In the end, we went for the Peking Duck – served in two courses and Choy Sim in Garlic sauce. The first duck course was the crispiest duck skin cut into squares, with a sliver of duck breast attached – served with pancake wrappers, cucumber batons and hoisin sauce to assemble your own duck pancakes The second course – a choice of san choy bow or stir fried noodle – we went for the classic mince and fresh lettuce cups.

Choy Sim – Taste of Shanghai

Now duck pancakes are a favourite of ours – and these were perfect – crispy skin, crunchy coolness of cucumber with the sweet sauce – magnificent. The san choy bow also excelled and perfectly complemented by the choy sim and the garlicky sauce. If you haven’t sampled the difference between Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisine, it’s worth a try and we agree with our friend.

Taste of Shanghai

World Square, 644 George St Sydney NSW 2000

Sydney Chinatown - Sussex St - must do Sydney - sydneycool

Sussex St – Chinatown

After lunch and as the afternoon races on – if you have room left for more wonderful food, head to N 2 Gelato Lab and try some of the interesting flavours of gelato like Black Salted Caramel, Earl Grey Tea, or Buttered Popcorn to list a few from N 2 Gelato Lab.

n2 gelato - chinatown sydney - must do sydney

gelato science at N2 with brilliant flavours

You can spend the whole day in Chinatown Sydney and still have much more to try -like an easy walk around the Chinese Gardens, this is a real must, so beautiful all year. And at the end of your Sunday, catch a movie around the corner in George Street - on the way home you know you are living the city and everything in it. That’s inner city life.

Dixon St Mall – Chinatown

Here’s where to find some of the places to visit in Chinatown Sydney;

N2 Gelato – Shop 43/1 Dixon St Chinatown
Chef’s Gallery – Shop 12 (facing Bathurst Street),Ground Level Regent Place Shopping Centre, 501 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Golden Century Seafood Restaurant, 393 Sussex St, Chinatown, Sydney NSW 2000
Mamak Malaysian Restaurant, 15 Goulburn St Chinatown Sydney NSW 2000
BBQ King, 18 Goulburn St Chinatown Sydney NSW 2000
Taste of Shanghai, World Square, 644 George St Sydney NSW 2000
Chinese Gardens – southern end Darling Harbour
Din Tai Fung – World Square, 644 George St Sydney NSW 2000
The Eight Restaurant – Market City

Try Sunday in Chinatown Sydney – particularly if you haven’t been there for a while.

Make Chinatown a Sydney must do.

Flour and Stone- Bakery Cafe

in Cafes | 1 Comment

As you orchestrate your way through life, sometimes you come across bits of real magic. Flour and Stone bakery is that bit of magic. This small space dedicated to beautiful food is no magic at all – really, because instead a brilliant team of professional people who really know about baking and the art in delivering a hand made product.

Looking north up Riley St – Flour and Stone

Flour and Stone changes daily and seasonally (although they keep on some of the favourites) – cakes and slabs, gluten free cookies, vegan cookies, tarts, muffins, hand iced gingerbread, beautiful savoury pies and salads to name a few of the things in their repertoire. There’s coffee by Coffee Alchemy and the freshest homemade lemonade.

Ratatouille and fetta pie – Flour and Stone

There are individual pies – today ratatouille and feta – pastry that was light flaky with rich,buttery texture and taste – tomato, eggplant, red pepper ++. All fighting to be the star with every mouthful and at last melding into a deep vegetable sonata with high notes from the fetta.

Toasted cauliflower salad – Flour and Stone

Toasted cauliflower salad, spinach, almond and carmelised onion with pomegranate and pomegranate molasses dressing.

Vanilla sponge with macerated raspberries and mascarpone cream

And of course, we couldn’t go past a classic reworked - a three level vanilla sponge with macerated raspberries and mascarpone cream. The sponge just floated above, as light as air and the sharpness from the jewel coloured berries, slight sweetness of the mascarpone brought this all down to earth again – this was such old fashioned pleasure.

The purest Valrhona chocolate tart – an opening note of bitter cocoa, from the dusting of cocoa powder and then the lustful, rich darkness of quality chocolate – that deliberately sticks to your teeth to give you a lasting pleasure, I’m sure! Just the hint of deep, velvety sweetness as good chocolate should be – delivered in a light airy slice, not the dense and heavy sickly slices that you get so often. This was a bit of real chocoate heaven!

The inspiration behind Flour and Stone, is Nadine Ingram – for her ‘Flour and Stone is a compilation of baked goodness that I learned in houses such as Le Gavroche, MG Garage, Bourke Street Bakery and The Ivy in London’. Nadine has made a name for herself delivering classics, often re-invented like Pannacotta lamingtons as well as combinations like zucchini, chilli and gruyere buns. You can drool over the daily specials by taking a look at ‘What We’re Baking Today‘ on their website.

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Rhubarb brulee

Flour and Stone have a loyal following that they’ve built since their opening in 2011 – their store in Riley St is always packed but you can also try their magic at the Gardeners Road Market on Saturday morning. Nadine Ingram quoted in a recent AFR article about Artisan bakeries says

Bakeries are becoming serious places to go and eat. The benchmark has been raised. Bakeries are now bringing in designers. Bakers are also being more creative.

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Fresh lemonade – Flour and Stone

And Flour and Stone bakery has raised the benchmark – and we’re all the winners.

PS. we also like the homemade lemmonade and their coffee is always very good.

Flour and Stone

53 Riley St Woolloomooloo Sydney 2011

Flour and Stone Website

Marys- Bar- Newtown

in Cool Bars | Leave a comment

Mary’s is a cool Sydney bar - you enter through a small dimly lit hall from the street and you are in Mary’s in very cool Newtown. This bar comes with expertise to boot from Gardels and Bodega. Mary’s can deliver sermons to other bars on how to get that mix right, just add :

+ 1 part great location

+ 1 part the coolest staff this side Brooklyn, NY

+ 1 part good mix of beers, wine & cocktails and food by ex Tetsuya’s head chef Luke Powell

+ 1 part of worshippers that look as if they come from a Fleet Foxes concert or a Rick Owens Paris runway show.

and then turn it all up loud with the best music sliding between folk and hard rock- ‘Andrew Bird’ for reference.

The above recipe is easy as- try it sometime!

View from street - Marys - cool sydney bars - newtown

Looking straight at Marys

Mary Street in Newtown was as boring as a church mouse, but now it’s got good stuff going on with Mary’s, and a following of worshippers that like the fact that this is not for boys in pink polo shirts and girls who listen to Mr J Bieber, and the favourite word is “AWESOME”.

Luschia Porter mural

The four walls looks like it started life as a Greek church or Mosanic Hall, but there’s not much left of the Masons here, apart from the wooden floors and soaring ceiling. Hallelujah for scale in “Houses of Worship”.

Marys Bar - cool sydney bars - newtown - sydneycool

Downstairs – Marys Bar

Downstairs is a long bar with some stools, standing room and a kitchen beyond that. The middle area has a couple of low tables and space for standing and chatting when it fills up later in the night and this place does – there are more high stools and small tables along the wall. At the end of the room, there are stairs that take you up to the mezzanine floor which is more geared for some nice food, sexy cocktails and telling the one you love what you got planned for later! or just a good old gossip session with friends. The murals on the walls by Luschia Porter – including a slayer logo.

Mezzanine floor at Marys

There’s a whole range of beers, on tap and bottled. On tap there’s Young Henry’s Newtowner from the local Newtown micro brewery, Resch’s and Carlton red and black. We went for the Young Henry’s – a bitter style draught that went down well with the help of a whisky chaser of Laphroaig. In the bottled beers, the picks are Peroni Red and Budweiser.

Young Henrys - Marys Bar - cool sydney bars - Mary St newtown - sydneycool

Young Henrys on tap – Marys Bar

The wines – more like you’d see in a modern Sydney restaurant – white and reds from US, France, Italy and Argentina and sparklings – blanc de blancs and cremant including a Clotilde cremant and Perriier Jouet. And then there are exciting cocktails to temp you to sip and sway to some folk rock.

Ex Tetsuya‘s head chef Luke Powell is the chef behind the food, the offerings on the menu are small and tight but this is easy bar food – and very good. We tried the ‘Mary burger’ – perfect and comes with great fries and chilli sauce if you want to turn up the heat. We didn’t but try the Southern inspired deep fried chicken but be assured with Luke at the helm you are in to win.

Luschia Porter Slayer mural

This bar is so cool – in a great space, best music, drinks and food that work together, the right staff that make it all look easy. Love Mary’s bar Newtown Sydney !

Mary’s

6 Mary St, Newtown, Sydney 2042

Judy Millar Artist Auckland Berlin

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Judy Millar`s second solo Australian exhibition I Give You The End of A Golden Thread opens at Sullivan and Strumpf in Alexandria on 7 May 2013. This exhibition reinforces the significant place that Judy Miller holds in global contemporary art.

Judy Millar - I Give You the end of a Golden Thread exhibition- sydney contemporary art

Snake Gate I – Judy Millar current exhibition

A hallmark in Millar’s work is the contemporary way she erases, wipes off and scrapes the paint off the surface of the work. The results are often very large sweeping lines, shapes with transparent yet intensities in one or two colours – different tools, like squeegees, create rapid and wirling movements on the canvas.

Snake Gate IV (right) from current exhibition – Judy Millar

In her I Give You The End of A Golden Thread exhibition, she has moved away from the academic and conceptual to create a highly personal exhibition. Judy says that she seems to have been surrounded by death and wanted something life affirming, death denying and splendid.

Judy Millar lives in Berlin and also the dramatic west coast of New Zealand, outside of Auckland city. Her work is very evocative of the landscape of New Zealand’s west coast – rugged howling beaches, flaxes and black sands. She represented New Zealand at the Venice Biennale in 2009 with a significant work - Giraffe-Bottle-Gun at Santa Maria Maddalena.

Judy Millar is represented by Hamish Morrison Gallerie in Berlin, Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland, Sullivan and Strumpf in Sydney and Galerie Mark Muller, Zurich. Her work is found in the collections of global art galleries including Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen and CAP Art, Dublin.

Judy Millar - Split Ferryman - Sullivan and Strumpf - sydney contemporary art

Split Ferryman from Judy Millar 2012 exhibition

Judy Millar’s exhibition I Give You The End of A Golden Thread is showing at Sullivan and Strumpf at 799 Elizabeth St Zetland, Sydney from 7 May until 8 June 2013. Exhibition at IMA in Brisbane to follow.

Birds with Skymirrors- Carriageworks

in Global Art | Leave a comment

The Australian premiere of Birds with Skymirrors is on at Carriageworks from 1 to 4 May – this contemporary dance work from internationally renowned New Zealand group MAU incorporates dance, ceremony, poetry and chant. For us at Sydneycool this is a signifcant large scale work of art that happens to be in the form of movement, sometimes abstract but with strong cultural tones as you would expect from MAU!

Birds with Skymirrors comes from distinguished Samoan choreographer Lemi Ponifasio, a Samoan High Chief, and his company Mau. Ponifasio and MAU have received global acclaim and he’s now regarded as one of the most innovative and controversial theatre artists today.

Birds with Skymirrors reflects in dance our relationship with the earth and the impact of climate change, particularly on the low lying islands of the Pacific. The title comes from Ponifasio’s time on the Pacific island of Tarawa, where he saw migrating birds carrying strips of deadly black magnetic tape in their mouths. This inspired the vision in the work of liquid mirrors reflecting the sky. The bird motif is integral to this work – the dancers move fluidly across and around the stage to represent the flight and movement of birds – the video images and sound projected on the back screen emphasise the illustration of the impact on man’s presence on earth.

Ponifasio says that Birds with Skymirrors is ‘not an environmental lecture but as a karanga, a genealogical prayer, a ceremony, a poetic space; a life reflection as a member of the human species sharing Earth’s process with all sentient beings.’

Birds with Skymirrors challenges the traditional ideas of theatre and contemporary dance and themes of nature and the destructive power of the human race, without resorting to Western aesthetics or South Pacific clichés and stereotypes. A simple, strong stage set with evocative lighting and video projections create an austere and mystical world, as the performers convey an the message that radical climate change is not an apocalypse about to happen; it is already here.

MAU has performed Birds with Skymirrors in major global arts festivals and venues since 2010 including the Theater der Welt 2010 Ruhr, Germany, Theatre de la Ville, Paris and the Edinburgh Festival.

Be inspired and astonded – this is not predictable contemporary dance. See the brillance of Lemi Ponifasio and Mau in Birds with Skymirrors at Carriageworks from 1 to 4 May 2013.

Chef Alessandro Pavoni-Ormeggio Sydney

in Cool Restaurants | Leave a comment

Ormeggio at the Spit is in one of those Sydney locations where a restaurant in the wrong hands could easily have ended up ordinary, overpriced and trading on its perfect location. Ormeggio restaurant is neither – it’s a cool Sydney restaurant with contemporary Northern Italian food in an iconic location. Ormeggio reaffirms why we’re lucky to have top chefs with vision and who have brought their expertise to make Sydney one of the worlds top food destination.

Alessandro Pavoni

Alessandro Pavoni was born and trained in Brescia in Lombardy in northern Italy. He moved to Sydney in 2003 and became Executive Chef at the famous Park Hyatt Hotel in the heritage area of the Rocks in Sydney CBD in 2005, and later went on to open Ormeggio at the Spit in 2009 (Ormeggio in Italian is mooring). Before that, Alessandro worked at La Rotonde in France and two Michelin-starred Villa Fiordaliso on Lake Garda, Italy and as well as Restaurant Lido in Bermuda.

Wallaby battuta - Ormeggio restaurant - cool sydney restaurants - spit bridge

Wallaby battuta – watermelon rind amaranth chorizo powder fennel pollen

Omeggio restaurant has received Two Hats in SMH Good Food Guide, Two Glasses from Gourmet Traveller for the wine list, and is listed in the Top 100 Australian restaurants from Gourmet Traveller. Alessandro recently opened his second restaurant Spiedo – a Westfield Sydney restaurant.

Interior – Ormeggio restaurant

Ormeggio takes advantage of the location on Middle Harbour – it wraps its big arms around you with natural beauty, the space dappled in summer light – we sat by the edge of the water watching the yachts coming through Spit Bridge. The inside space is nothing interesting (quite boring really) but with such a beautiful position you need nothing else, You just let the blue, diamond studded waters – and your food (that’s if it’s good enough ?) do the work.

We indulged in the Ormeggio Sapori experience and went for the five course menu at lunch ($69). We ate a journey through Australian influenced contemporary North Italian food, starting with Flinders Island wallaby battuta – watermelon rind – amaranth – chorizo powder. Finely chopped carpaccio of wallaby tender and just a slightly sweet minerally taste of blood, with the watery crunch from the cubes of watermelon rind, eschallots and spice of chorizo powder all combining to deliver a satisfying warm meatiness on the palate.

Risotto buffalo mozzarella

Carnaroli risotto, buffalo mozzarella, tomato, capers, olives, basil. The Italian waiter talked to us about the firm bite of the carnaroli, and being cooked in tomato water. This was a simple tasting risotto with a few classic flavours. But the sunny smell of summer tomatos lingering in our thoughts from the tomato cooking water, our tongues covered in creamy sexy saltiness, from the mozzarella and olives – firmness of the grains between our teeth and the smooth lasting finish of the butter and olive oil. This was one of those risottos that shut us up on the first mouthfull and that takes some doing, now the main objective was to simply succumb to this risotto – and we were not even in Milan!

Wagyu beef flank - Ormeggio restaurant - cool sydney restaurants - spit bridge

Charcoal wagyu beef flank – watercress – baby beetroot – sesame seeds

Charcoal wagyu beef flank – watercress – baby beetroot -sesame seeds. Tender, encrusted wagyu long cooked at 55 degrees – the wagyu surrendered in our mouths with a soft texture full of big meat and some smoky flavours. The fresh green taste of the watercress puree was like a hot first date and the Moorish ground sesame seeds with the crunch of the dark ruby baby beets – an exciting climax of flavours that left you needing more.

Ormeggio restaurant - cool sydney restaurants - spit bridge

View from Ormeggio

Pomegranate - Ormeggio restaurant - cool sydney restaurants - spit bridge

Pomegranate yoghurt rye biscuits

Next the first of two dolci or more like a palate cleanser. Pomegranate, yoghurt, rye biscuit – a pomegranate jelly and then pomegranate jelly with cream – alongside a natural yoghurt and crisp rye biscuits crumbs. This delivered a sudden lift from the sharp pomegranate jelly and then all collapsing with the smooth cream and yogurt in the end. More balance and lightness than your usual sugar packed desserts with the natural taste/texture from the biscuit crumbs. Serious sugar lovers might be temped to say this is more like what your first meal of the day should be.

Amedei black chocolate - Ormeggio restaurant - cool sydney restaurants - spit bridge

Amedei black chocolate olive oil sourdough raspberry

Amedei tuscan black chocolate – olive oil -sourdough – raspberry. We loved this dessert – few chocolate makers can deliver what is necessary to make the chocolate in this type of dessert – where the flavour has to be pure and to the point. The French chocolate maker Valhrona is one of our favourites – the other is Amedei from Tuscany, which is what Ormeggio used here. Fresh tangy raspberry – the lustful dark forbidden, almost bitter flavour from this chocolate – the soothing but hidden herbaceousness of olive oil, natural balance of the dried sourdough crumbs – this tasted so much better than it looked.

Ormeggio restaurant at the Spit is very sexy and it doesn’t try to be, it just is, and the food of chef Alessandro Pavoni is very good!

The wine list is naturally Italian influenced – but also includes a strong regional Australian contingent which is why Ormeggio’s wine list was awarded two Glasses by Gourmet Traveller Wine Awards of 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Beauty Point - ormeggio restaurant - cool sydney restaurants - spit bridge

View from Ormeggio – Beauty Point

Ormeggio is open for lunch - Friday to Sunday 12pm-3pm and dinner – Wed to Sat 6pm-11pm, Sun 6pm-10pm. There’s an a la carte menu for dinner or you can choose degustation options – 2 course ($49), 3 courses ($59) – inc. a glass of wine – or 5 course degustation ($69). With the combination of very good food, informative service and the best location Ormeggio delivers a cool Sydney restaurant.

Food: 8/10

Presentation: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Wine list: 8/10

Ormeggio at the Spit

D’Albora Marinas, The Spit, Mosman, Sydney 2088

Ormeggio Website

La Biennale di Venezia 2013- artist Simryn Gill

in Global Art | Leave a comment

The 55th Venice Biennale opens on 1 June 2013 – and this year, 88 countries are taking part. The Venice Biennale is the oldest and most important global contemporary arts event with Australia being consistently represented for more than three decades. Each Biennale, a contemporary artist is selected to represent Australia – it’s exciting to have Simryn Gill, the Sydney-based artist, who works across multiple media, exhibit at the Australian Pavilion.

Simryn Gill

Simryn Gill was born in Singapore and now lives and works in Sydney and Malaysia. Her work has been exhibited in some of the top global contemporary art galleries , including MCA Australia in Sydney; Tate Modern in London and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington DC. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions and at the Sharjah and Istanbul Biennials and most recently for Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany. You can find her work in the collections of some of the most prestigious global galleries like, MOMA and Guggenheim in New York, Getty Museum in LA and the Art Gallery of NSW and the Queensland Art Gallery.

Half Moon Shine 2012 – Simryn Gill

The two venues for the Venice Biennale are the Giardini (the gardens where most national pavilions are located) and the Arsenale (the old shipyards and armories) where the individual artists tend to be presented. The Australian Pavilion in the Giardini, is the perfect location to host Simryn’s site-specific work, a few months before the existing pavilion is to be replaced by a new pavilion.

Simryn Gill - Venice Biennale 2013 - sydney contemporary arts

Untitled 2004 – Still from Super 8mm film – Simryn Gill

The existing Australian pavilion, which is amongst the trees at the Giardini gardens, reminds you of a modular Aussie beach house – also like the tree-lined, beach-front house from Gill’s youth in Port Dickson, Malaysia.

Simryn Gill - Naught - Venice Biennale 2013 - sydney contemporary arts

Naught 2012 – Simryn Gill

Simryn’s multi-media work, Here art grows on trees is a broad representation of her work – there’s a series of large collaged drawings, a series of photographs. There’s everyday objects – like the collection of books from which Gill has drawn her paperwork. Also a work made from organic and synthetic materials, plastic created from petrochemicals and metal from iron ore. Then, amidst the trees, Here art grows on trees, presents paper works as being of vegetation.

Simryn Gills joins some of Australian most significant contemporary artists to exhibit at the Biennale like Rosalie Gascoigne, Imants Tiller, Shaun Gladwell, Hany Armanious and Emily Kane Kngwarreye.

Sydneycool will be in Venice for the Biennale and will keep you posted during that time, The Venice Biennale runs from 1 June until 24 November – it’s closed Mondays. Check in again with sydneycool when we review the 55th Venice Biennale and tell you all about Simryn Gill and the Australian Pavilion.

Sixpenny modern fine dining- in Stanmore

in Cool Restaurants | 3 Comments

Sixpenny Fine Dining in inner western suburb of Stanmore has been open for over a year and is one of a new breed of cool Sydney restaurants that creates dishes with a natural food approach – fresh homegrown produce, much of it from ‘the patch’ in the Southern Highlands. At Sixpenny, there is no jaw-dropping view, no metres of white marble and brushed steel or lighting that might be works of art. Instead you are aware that this is all about the food, service and your dining pleasure.

James Parry (right) and Daniel Puskas - the Sixpenny Patch

James Parry (right) and Daniel Puskas at the Sixpenny Patch

James Parry and Daniel Puskas from Sixpenny might have taken some influences from modern Euro food that you see at Noma in Copenhagen where James worked. Daniel Puskas and James Parry both have solid food heritage – Daniel having worked at Tetsuyas in Sydney, then in the USA before returning to becoming Head Chef at Oscillate Wildly and earning his first hat. He then moved on to Sepia before opening Sixpenny. James who worked at Billy Kwong, Bird Cow Fish then joining Daniel at Oscillate Wildly before leaving and working at Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Pocantico Hills, New York) and Noma restaurant in Copenhagen also Mugraitz in Spain. He returned to Sydney and work at Manly Pavilion and Rockpool before starting Sixpenny with Daniel.

phew, guys!

Interior – Sixpenny

Sixpenny is not a large restaurant – only 50 seats and a small private room – a modern simple comfortable space, with touches of Scandinavia. The centre of the restaurant is a free standing service bar which breaks up the square dining area. At the back of the restaurant, there’s a small kitchen garden where they grow the more delicate herbs. Take a walk around as a part of your dining experience.

Interior – Sixpenny Restaurant Stanmore

We went for the eight course tasting menu ($135) – a selection of small dishes featuring fresh produce skillfully cooked and presented. Each course is brought to the table and introduced by one of the chefs – we like this connection between the chefs and the guests – similar in spirit to that of David Chang’s Momofuku Sydney city.

Salt and vinegar crisps and herbed yoghurt

Starting the eight plus courses, homemade salt and vinegar potato crisps and herbed yoghurt. Salt is here as the hero with coolness of the herbed yoghurt – it sharpens your palate for all that is to follow.

Chilled carrot soup

Chilled carrot soup, new olive oil – finest carrot essence, just chilled with herbaceous puddles of new season olive oil – important here as the carrot.

Cucumbers, Tomato and Buttermilk Whey- sixpenny restaurant -stanmore

Cucumbers, tomato, edible flowers

Cucumbers, tomato, edible flowers. This course demonstrates the essence of Sixpenny – fresh, crunch, sharp tastes where the produce speaks for itself with little interference.

Crab macadamia camomille

Crab, Silky Macadamia and Camomile. This dish is not only visually spectacular – it demonstrates the skill and foresight of the chefs. A sumptuous macadamia milk coating the shreads of crab and macadamias – a dream to eat.

heirloom-carrots - Sixpenny Restaurant Stanmore - Daniel Puskas - cool Sydney restaurants

Heirloom carrots hazelnuts mascarpone

Carrot, Marscarpone, Toasted Cheese Curds and Bitter Leaves. James Parry introduced this course – garden grown, heirloom carrots with hazelnuts and toasted mascarpone, contrasted with the bitter leaves – bitter and sweet some traces of nutty smoke.

Pastrami - Sixpenny Restaurant Stanmore - Daniel Puskas - cool Sydney restaurants

Pastrami macadamias

Succulent pork with the finest crust against macadamias and baby leaves. The snap of the skin and dissolving sweet pork flesh counterbalanced with green freshness.

Coorong mullet, lardons

Coorong Mullet and Native Ginger Leaf – a rectangle of mullet wrapped in the finest lardon. This silky estaurine fish encased with the richness of the lardons, green earthiness, dreamy fishy creaminess in our mouth.

Roast mutton spinach leaves

Leg of Mutton, Sweet Onion, Sprouts and Wild Spinach. The mutton was gentle in its flavour - the fibrous, crunchy earthiness of the sprouts – all carried along nicely with the sweet onion.

Poached mandarins

Mandarins poached in mandarin juice with a wafer of frozen cream -everything that’s sumptuous about tangy mandarins and sweet cream!

Strawberries and cream

Sour Cream, Strawberries and Fennel Seed – classic reworked. Granules of frozen strawberry juice hiding soft cream and a blink of fennel – perfect – left you wanting to lick the plate. And so with a random thought like that, we should leave and say – Vi ses! But no – there were still one or two more pleasures left.

rhubarb-and-potato-scallops-Sixpenny Restaurant Stanmore - Daniel Puskas - cool Sydney restaurants

Rhubarb and potato scallops – a surreal end

Rhubarb and potato scallops. A surreal end – the licorice-like texture of the twigs of rhubarb pushing violently against the savoury of the potato scallops, atlas in the end all succumbing to the dusting of sweetness, Heaven.

Herb garden-Sixpenny Restaurant Stanmore - Daniel Puskas - cool Sydney restaurants

Herb garden at Sixpenny

We asked the sommelier, Sebastian Crowther for a sample of the Sixpenny wine list to match our food. He chose to start a Diebolt Vallois ‘Blanc de Blanc’ Brut Cramant from Champagne - perfectly crisp and a clean introduction. Next up the Muller Catoir ‘Gutswein’ Riesling Blend Pfalz, Germany – light and little sweeteness. A glass of 2011 L’imposteur blanc- a Grenache Gris, Rousanne and Rolle (aka Vermentino) blend – refreshing acidity and a favourite in Vermentino. Then a taste of 2011 Dom. la Grange Tiphaine ‘Clef de Sol’ Cab Franc finishing with a sparkling 2011 Philippe Balivet Gamay Bugey Cerdon, Savoie in France. We like the wine list here – old world wines with a balance of Antipodean wines.

Sixpenny is open for lunch – Saturday and Sunday from 12pm and dinner – Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm. Sixpenny is flawless and friendly, we love the chefs bringing each dish to the table and explaining them.

We sat in quiet contemplation on the train back to the city and thinking of what a perfect meal we had at Sixpenny fine dining restaurant in Stanmore – knowing there was nothing left to be said about Sixpenny!

Food: 9/10

Presentation: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Wine list: 8/10