A Place A Day

Albert Street Food and Wine

2012-01-28T17:29:00.000+11:00

Albert Street Food and Wine, sited in an old bank and with the vault to prove it, is a fairly new addition to Sydney Road's mixed bag of restaurants. The decor is clean-cut and utilitarian, with glimpses of the original steel ceiling joists, and there's a little fine food shop annexed to the main restaurant, which on a Saturday at lunchtime was full to capacity. The food was uniformly excellent: from starters of beautifully grilled, perfectly squeaky halloumi with yellow zucchini pickle and juicy wagyu skewers with plump white anchovies, via main courses of tender pork cutlet accompanied by bittersweet red cabbage and lamb on wonderfully creamy polenta, to cool, trembling, pistachio panna cotta with fresh cherries and blueberries and a Meyer lemon tart which was satisfyingly lemony. The wait staff were on the ball despite the crowds.

Tre Espresso

2011-12-04T21:31:00.001+11:00

Tre Espresso is tucked away at the end of a nice little street (in the Hardwick Building strip, off Sydney Road, Brunswick, very close to Melody Nelson). It's a great location, with plenty of room for outside tables; the decor is cool, eclectic and comfortable in a quasi-1970s style with a palette of orange and brown and wood, and old records on the walls. The staff were friendly and accommodating and the coffee was excellent: one of the best lattes I've had in Melbourne. Sadly, the food was the only letdown: my baked eggs with spinach and beans was pretty tasteless, and D's eggs benedict suffered from the same problem. Such a pity, because it really has everything else you'd want.

Melody Nelson

2011-11-26T20:07:00.009+11:00

Melody Nelson is a quirky little shop in Sparta Place, Brunswick. A bag graced with a baleful cat caught my eye a few weeks ago and I resolved to go back; inside there's an eclectic selection of interesting homewares and gifts. I came away with some presents for my sister's Christmas parcel, beautifully wrapped by the delightful Amelia.

Lux Foundry

2011-10-16T16:36:00.003+11:00

Lux Foundry sits beside the light railway line at 21 Hope Street, Brunswick. A formerly cavernous industrial space (the premises, built in 1891, of the Brunswick Gas and Coke Company, and later home to the manufacturer of Lux stoves, two handsome examples of which are still on site), it's been intelligently transformed into a café that mixes original features and vintage hardware with quirky modern touches and has a generous outside space. After greedily imbibing my vanilla milkshake (served in a steel cup reminiscent of a 1950s diner) I hardly had room for my scrambled egg with cavalo nero and grated asagio on sourdough; my companion's pork schnitzel with apple and celeriac coleslaw tasted as good as it looked. At lunchtime we sat outside in quixotic Melbourne weather rapidly changing from almost too sunny to Arctic breezes; many others had had the same idea and Lux clearly welcomes people of all ages plus dogs and babies.

Almost French

2011-10-09T19:12:00.001+11:00

Almost French (is that a good or a bad thing)? is at 138 Swan Street, Richmond. Owned by a Vietnamese baker, it's a treasure trove of excellent cakes; sitting at a table outside, on a semi-sunny day, we ordered creamy, delicately vanilla-flavoured mille feuilles, "delicious" lemon creme brulée and coffee, all of which vanished pretty quickly. I always ask before taking photographs and our friendly, efficient waitress said yes straight away; when I went inside, however, I got the most hostile reaction I've had since I started this blog: a girl behind the counter snapped at me "Why are you taking photographs?", before asking someone who was clearly her boss (and who graciously waved her assent) if she minded. One deeply unpleasant staff member aside, this is a lovely café and provided the coast is clear, I'll be back to try the cheesecake, which comes recommended.

Public House

2011-10-08T17:50:00.001+11:00

Apparently the steaks are good at Public House (435 Church Street, Richmond), because the owners have an abattoir (which has a definite flavour of urban myth about it), but we didn't try the steaks; instead we had three sharing plates with goujons of monkfish, calamari salad, and spatchcock quail, accompanied by French fries with creamy aioli. The food was enjoyable: adequate, but not spectacular; the really interesting thing was the decor, which had a neo-brutalist feel with much concrete, leavened by flashes of humour (the retro pub carpet, little pieces of art deco lighting, colours and shapes). There's a pleasant terrace upstairs where we sat for lunch, and the bar staff were friendly and attentive, but at lunchtime on a sunny Saturday, in a busy street, it was completely empty.

A1 Lebanese Bakery

2011-09-10T18:41:00.000+10:00

The A1 Lebanese Bakery is on a busy stretch of Sydney Road (kitchen, cheap tat and wedding shops jostling for attention). The decor is perfunctory: all the attention goes on the food which is plentiful, fresh and inexpensive. I had a spinach and cheese pie: a perfectly (ie lightly) baked mix of spinach and feta in a crisp pastry parcel, so good I had to eat some before I even took a photograph, as the evidence below reveals. I also had two pieces of my companion's A1 Special Pizza, which at first sight looked undercooked, but which was in fact perfectly done, fresh and packed with juicy peppers and olives. Finish that off with a ladyfinger baklava and you have a perfect brunch - all at the astonishing price of $12. A1 is deservedly popular and thronging with students, families and old folk alike; the constant stream of orders explains the freshness of the food which emanates from a busy kitchen at the back of the store.

Miss Marmalade

2011-08-21T15:52:00.002+10:00

Miss Marmalade is at 126 Union Street, Brunswick, in a row of terraces. Busy even early on a Sunday (it has the reputation of being child-friendly), it has a welcoming atmosphere and is simply, warmly decorated. My herby scrambled eggs had some lovely flavours although it was a little bit too much of a "frying pan", omelette-style scramble for my taste (Gordon Ramsay's scrambled eggs are essentially what I'm after); my companion's eggs benedict on cornbread with mashed potato hash brown looked amazing. Service was quick and staff were friendly: what more could you want on a sunny Sunday coming out of winter?

Queen Victoria Market II

2011-08-20T19:24:00.001+10:00

I confess that I was distinctly unimpressed on my first visit to the Queen Victoria Market: having been told it was a wonderful place, I was disappointed to find Tat4Tourists instead. A little further exploration, however, and the scales have fallen from my eyes: inside one of the cavernous structures making up the market is a magical kingdom, an array of deli shops selling incredible food of all kinds: salami, arancini, white anchovies, macarons, mozzarella, fresh butter, yogurt, bread, honey, wine, olives, bacalhau, cheeses, antipasti, tea, pesto... There's a delightfully old-fashioned aesthetic to the design of each store and everything seems highly coloured, fresh and interesting. We came away with four plump, crisp salted caramel macarons (my favourite); a pot of mixed berry yogurt; the juiciest white anchovies; and an array of fruit and vegetables from the fruit market section.

Movida Aqui

2011-08-19T19:40:00.003+10:00

Movida is an enormous enterprise, comprising four restaurants in all (although one, the Terrazza, is closed for the winter), and Movida Aqui takes up an imposing space on the first floor at 500 Bourke Street, close to the Supreme Court. The decor is nicely done, with quirky touches (clay lampshades, bright milk crates, wooden panels) and the food is spot on: beautifully presented and deftly arranged, with touches of humour, but best of all, delicious to the last mouthful. The waiter serving us was both enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The only thing that distinguishes Movida from one of those excellent little tapas bars in Granada, Madrid or Barcelona is the price: lunch for two, hardly in excessive quantities and shown in its entirety below, was $66. Double click on any of the photos of food below and then tell me you're not hungry.

Gamba Con Sobrasada $8.50 each
Smoked prawn with sobrasada cigarillo

Grilled prawn


Anchoa - white anchovies with toast

Bocadillo de calamares $6.50 each
Calamari sandwich with Basque guindilla and mayonnaise

Bomba $4.50 each
Catalan Potato bomb filled with chorizo

Sardina $4.50 each
Imported Spanish Artisan ‘Cuca’ sardine with tomato on toast

"Airbagette" roll filled with air and wrapped in jamon iberico

Brunswick Flour Mill

2011-08-13T15:54:00.001+10:00

The Brunswick Flour Mill is at 341 Sydney Road, Brunswick, and is a warm and welcoming place, reassuringly busy, with unfussy decor giving a hint of the building's 100-year history. They sell a range of wonderful artisan breads and amazing looking cakes - much to my preference, macarons instead of over-rated cupcakes. The options for breakfast and lunch are varied and interesting. Seen below: the "breakfast pita" with scrambled egg, bacon and tasty cheese, with baby spinach and grilled tomato; and from the lunch menu, lemon-salted calamari with a rocket salad and chips.

Little B

2011-07-06T22:23:00.002+10:00

Little B is a little café in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, just round the corner from my office. My eye was caught by the blackboard outside which advertised hot chocolate from Ghana. That happened to be what I felt like at that exact moment (though I might not have been thinking it had to be from Ghana), so I went inside, to find a cute little place with simple, stylish decor (all of which is about to be changed, so hurry). It seemed like the sort of place where if you didn't have to go back to the office, you could spend a happy afternoon watching the world go by, eating a variety of tasty-looking sandwiches, followed by baklava (pictured) and the aforementioned hot chocolate. Which I had to take away, and it was deliciously creamy and sweet.

Book Kitchen

2011-05-01T15:38:00.000+10:00

The Book Kitchen, true to its description, is an organic and biodynamic café which also sells cookbooks. It's at 255 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, just across the road from its more famous neighbour, the Bourke Street Bakery, but by no means in its shadow. On a sunny Sunday morning, the queues outside both places were huge, but after no more than 10 minutes of people watching in the sunshine we got a table for four inside. The service was friendly and on the ball; despite the crowds, the food was served fairly quickly and was fresh and incredibly tasty. Below, our diverse breakfast choices: poached egg on sourdough bread with avocado and fetta; scrambled egg with ham hock, fetta and asparagus;cook's muesli with yoghurt and fruit; and self-saucing chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. I made my way through an enormous bowl of crisp, cinnamony, toasted muesli. My coffee never arrived, but it was pretty much a perfect breakfast otherwise.

Rozelle Markets

2011-04-24T17:30:00.000+10:00

Rozelle Markets bills itself as "Sydney's favourite second hand market"; without wanting to sound disparaging, and perhaps I was there on an off day, it's neither as well-stocked and high-quality as Glebe Markets nor as interesting as Marrickville Markets. There was nothing I wanted to buy, but there was a quite astonishing assortment of items on display, much of which was probably never going to sell. The stallholders were nice, though, and if I'd been hungry I might have been tempted by har gow, my favourite dim sum, pictured below.

Clipper Café

2011-04-02T17:50:00.000+11:00

The Clipper Café is at 16 Glebe Point Road (in an increasingly popular strip that includes La Banette Pâtisserie). It has a faintly nautical feel to its decor and long shared tables inside. On a half-sunny Saturday morning, it was incredibly busy, but we were lucky enough to find a free table outside. Just inside, my eye was caught by someone else's plate: an indulgent-loooking concoction of pancake, ricotta, banana, strawberry and caramel which apparently tasted as good as it looks (below). I had perfectly cooked poached eggs on a bed of home-made baked beans with haloumi; D had baked eggs and lamb sausages with a spinach and tomato sauce. The coffee was excellent, the service snappy, and the sun shone: what could be better?

Ambar

2011-04-02T02:32:00.002+11:00

Ambar is at 19 Martin Place in the Sydney CBD. A lunchtime venue for people in suits (including me), it's situated in a bright, spacious, 1960s-influenced location with other restaurants and bars: swooping lines and curves are everywhere, seating is in the open air, early afternoon sunshine brightens the tables, and the food is fast and tasty. Below: linguini with tuna and peas, and my choice, king prawns with garlic pasta. I stirred in some bright red chilli sauce as an optional extra; thus enlivened, with fresh prawns curled up just begging to be eaten, it really was a very nice dish.

Sydney Mint Café

2011-03-27T18:17:00.004+11:00

The Sydney Mint Café is at 10 Macquarie Street in the CBD - right opposite my office, as it happens, so it's pretty handy for lunch, although unfortunately the service is somewhat slow. I met a paddling friend there, Geoff, on Friday at lunchtime. There was no time to take pictures of the place, so this post is all about the food, with the best part first: wonderful crème brulée, with just the right amount of sharpness in the topping to contrast with the rich, creamy filling; chicken with lentils, which was apparently very good; and a slightly odd combination of orecchiette ("little ears") with chunks of raw tuna (a kind of marriage of pasta and sushi), which worked, just. My question about the provenance of the tuna (ie whether it was sustainably caught) was met with bafflement, but someone in the kitchen answered in the affirmative. If the service had been faster (and comments on Urbanspoon suggest that this was not a one-off experience), I would have been able to take some photos of the beautiful old Mint building and its gracefully redecorated café.

The Shortlist

2011-03-19T13:37:00.002+11:00

The Shortlist is at 258 Abercrombie Street, Darlington (not far from Café Ella). I'd tried their coffee before, but had never eaten there, having been slightly discouraged by how busy it always is; but today was a little bit rainy, and there were seats out the back (although we rapidly had to move when it started to pour), and the staff were extremely friendly and the breakfast very, very good, not least the coffee. Shown below: juicy egg and bacon in a soft bap with onion jam (I'm feling hungry again just looking at the picture) and a BLT with avocado.

Bar Mattino

2011-02-27T18:39:00.005+11:00

Bar Mattino is situated on the corner of Abercrombie Street and Meagher Street (opposite Café Giulia). It's a small, neat, unassuming place with friendly service and excellent food: below, spaghettini with chilli chicken and olives, and pan-fried fish on a bed of lentils, roasted tomato and spinach, accompanied by (on the left) a fruit frappé and an apple and ginger juice postively bursting with ginger. Bar Mattino may be overshadowed by its trendy neighbour, but every time I've been there the food has been wonderful.

American Rag

2011-02-20T15:25:00.005+11:00

American Rag is a vintage clothes shop at QV Terrace, Melbourne. Set in a slightly unprepossessing concrete shopping centre, it's a cornucopia of vintage shoes, cowboy boots, dresses and shirts, with men, women and kids all catered for, and presided over by the lovely Belinda.

Queen Victoria Market

2011-02-16T20:17:00.007+11:00

The Queen Victoria Market is at the end of Queen Street, Melbourne; it's a large undercover market full of a vast jumble of stuff for sale, and was apparently "once known as a thriving underground pirated goods centre". I managed not to find the fruit and vegetable market, which apparently is very good, and instead wandered in a somewhat bemused fashion around the stands piled high with a huge range of mainly touristy items, from kangaroo skins and Ugg boots to "hot corn" and lurid vodka shots. Wanting, for sheer novelty value, to photograph a pile of ugly slippers, I asked politely, but was knocked back by the stall-owner, who suggested that she wouldn't come around to my house taking pictures. I responded, reasonably I thought, that while that might be true, I wasn't offering my house for sale. This got me nowhere, and the slippers shall remain unpublicised.

Aspro Ble

2011-02-10T20:24:00.007+11:00

Aspro Ble is at 389 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne (part of the Hardware Lane strip). To get there, walking along Hardware Lane you have to run the gauntlet of "spruikers"; Aspro Ble was the first restaurant that didn't have someone outside practically clasping at my sleeve to get me to eat there, which seemed like as good a reason as any to try it, although the crisp, clean blue and white decor and delicious-sounding menu were also high on the list. The food was wonderful: an amuse bouche of a creamy vanilla and fig yoghurt ball, with a fascinating texture and interesting flavours and accompanied by a shot glass full of chilled vegetable gazpacho, was followed by a starter of Greek pork and leek sausage with smoked beef and kefalograviera cheese, which was an interesting mix of flavours crowned by juicy sausage slices; the main course of slow roasted lamb with a roasted garlic dressing was soft, mouthwatering and rich in flavour, and the roast potatoes were slightly lemon scented and lightly cooked to perfection in olive oil and oregano. The owner came out to explain the menu and serve, and was diffident, friendly and clearly very excited about the food being served. An excellent experience.

Glebe Markets

2011-01-30T19:10:00.007+11:00

Glebe Markets is on every Saturday from 10am to 4pm on Glebe Point Road, in the playground of Glebe School (hence assorted glimpses of grass, bark, and yellow-lined tarmac). It's an enjoyable hotch-potch of local designers and artists, new and vintage items ("it's mainly for girls", I overheard one passing hipster say disparagingly to another), hats, bags, frames, sunglasses, plants, and designers like Bree Pash and Gingham and Heels. There's also some food stands (Mexican, shown below, and interesting hollowed-out bread rolls with hundreds and thousands, which I think were Hungarian). I came away with a robot necklace.

Little Marionette

2011-01-29T17:21:00.005+11:00

Little Marionette on the Dale is tucked away on Trafalgar Street, Annandale, with large windows opening out onto the street and quirky decor, including a trompe l'oeil door masquerading as a bookshelf and a little elephant guarding the flowerpots. They sell pastries and pies from the delectable Black Star Pastry. The staff are friendly and they made an incredible bowl of muesli, fruit and yogurt for me (at 2.30pm on a Saturday afternoon, all the pies and quiches were gone).

Fish On Fire

2011-01-21T19:41:00.008+11:00

On my last day before returning to work full time, a beautiful sunny day, we went to one of my favourite places in Glebe, Fish on Fire. it's an unassuming place, but the food is excellent: my idea of heaven is to buy the grilled fish (served in its own handy little box with moist, buttery rice and salad) and a bottle of ginger beer, and sit in Foley Park directly opposite, eating it on the grass. There's evidence below of exactly that, but also a photograph of someone else's fish burger, and the simple, classic dish of fish and chips. The chips are superlative: crisp on the outside, salty and flavoursome, and light and fluffy on the inside. As a bonus, there's a bit of history in the park: the Wireless House (shown below), which has been sonically re-activated and plays vintage music whenever someone approaches it.

Clarence Street Cyclery

2011-01-20T22:15:00.009+11:00

The Clarence Street Cyclery women's store is at 118 Clarence Street in the CBD. I must confess I feared it would be just like the main shop (the men's shop?) except everything would be pink; but sensibly enough, it has bicycles designed for women, including racing bikes, cycle clothes for women in pleasingly gender-neutral colours, various accessories aimed at women, a lovely selection of wicker baskets, and, most importantly, non-patronising staff.

Moo

2011-01-19T18:42:00.005+11:00

Moo Gourmet Burgers is at 232 King Street, Newtown. One wall is dominated by a giant multicoloured painting of a cow and there's a sunny courtyard with seating out the back. The burger menu is extensive: I had the piri piri chicken burger ($15) accompanied by delicious chunky chips. We also tried the Moo-teaser milkshake ($6.50), an incredibly rich, gooey concoction of maltesers, ice cream, chocolate syrup and malt. The star of the show, though, was the Big Moo burger ($16): a mind-boggling tower of angus beef, cheese, beetroot, pineapple, bacon, lettuce, tomato, egg, mayo and tomato relish. The only way to eat the burgers is to hold on with both hands.

Munky Bizness

2011-01-18T16:31:00.006+11:00

Munky Bizness (an unfortunate name to labour under) is at 313 King Street, Newtown. Presided over by Gill from Brazil, the shop stocks both men's and women's clothes and shoes and has a quirky aesthetic which sets it apart from the mainly vintage and women's fashion stores nearby.

Marrickville Market

2011-01-16T19:14:00.010+11:00

Marrickville Market runs every Sunday from 8am to 3pm at Addison Road, Marrickville (right next to Reverse Garbage). On a sunny day like today, it's the perfect place to wander indolently amongst the eclectic mix of stalls. It's essential to start off with a huge, freshly cooked and juicy bacon, egg and mushroom roll from the bacon and egg man; but there's also a huge selection of other food options, from gozleme to tofu burgers, dim sum, Mexican wraps and char kway teow. There are also clothes, bric-a-brac and jewellery stalls (as well as a couple of stalls which I confess I didn't really understand) and, if the mood takes you, a place to get your hair cut (the Young Master below looks as though he'd rather be on the bouncy castle). While there, I ate the aforementioned "BEM" roll and drank a sugarcane and lime juice as well as a freshly made lemonade, and I came away with the following into the bargain: a packet of henna (dark red); a packet of saffron spaghetti and a sachet of roasted capsicum sauce; a bottle of hot chilli wine from Disaster Bay Chillies; a jar of "Lemon Stinger" chilli marmalade; and two muffins (spotted dick, with a rich, unexpected lode of vanilla custard right in the centre, and apple and cinnamon) from a stall which bakes them by steam – how moist, how delicious!

Black Star Pastry

2011-01-15T12:33:00.008+11:00

Black Star Pastry is at 277 Australia Street, Newtown (a few doors away from Living Room). I've written elsewhere about their incredible cakes, which are beautifully and idiosyncratically decorated (figs, pistachios and tiny flowers feature heavily), but this time I also tried a lamb shank and red wine pie ($7.50, pictured below on its rapid route to destruction), which was, without hyperbole, heavenly: tender, moist lamb in a fragrant sauce encased in warm, crisp, perfectly flaky pastry. The space inside is tiny and the shop is always packed inside and out with the relaxed, urban-cool denizens of Newtown. For my next visit, I have earmarked the chocolate éclairs, which have a very good reputation (and looked wonderful).

359 King

2011-01-14T17:10:00.006+11:00

The vintage shop at 359 King Street is a Red Cross charity shop ("op shop", or "opportunity shop" in Australia) quite like any other charity shop I've ever been in. The displays are arranged with precision and forethought; there's a clear aesthetic at work and the decor, most of which is not for sale, has been used to create the atmosphere of a cool vintage shop. Staffed by Pippa, it's a treasure trove of interesting objects and clothes.

The Flower Room

2011-01-13T13:10:00.010+11:00

The Flower Room is at 282 King Street, Newtown. Wayne, whose family took over the flower shop recently, made me a beautiful bouquet of lisianthus, peonies and bruneii (shown below still in its brown paper wrapping). There are flowers, bouquets, plants and glass vases for sale and, for some reason, a piano in the corner.

Pretty Dog

2011-01-12T18:31:00.008+11:00

Pretty Dog is located in a beautiful old terraced house at 5 Brown Street, Newtown. It's a major showcase for Australian designers: soft jersey dresses in ice cream colours from Gary Bigeni, cool black and taupe trousersuits from Therese Rawsthorne, and beautiful draped kimono-style dresses in pale grey and polka dots, from Future Classics. There are also selected international labels such as Paul & Joe. The atmosphere is relaxed – it almost feels like going round to someone's house to admire their clothes – but the design aesthetic is sharp, and presided over by the lovely Maggie (pictured below).

Spilling the Beans

2011-01-10T16:59:00.008+11:00

Spilling the Beans is at 215-217 Clarence Street in the CBD. As soon as you step inside you can tell by the enticing aromas that the food is good. There's an open kitchen at the back where they bake all of their bread, cakes and muffins; communal and individual dining tables; and comfortable leather chairs. I had a Moroccan shakshuka: it came in its own little pan, with moist fresh bread, and consisted of tasty eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce. My companion, Liz, had a delicious-looking halloumi salad. After eating at the communal table, we moved to the leather chairs to drink tea; about 20 minutes after I left, one of their lovely staff called me to say I'd left behind my lens-cap.

Taronga Zoo

2011-01-04T15:11:00.008+11:00

Coastal bearded dragon

Tree kangaroo

Red kangaroo

Tasmanian devil

Orginal elephant house (1911)

Elephant ball and chain

Elephant house, interior

Gung, male elephant

Muller's gibbon

Female gorilla

Silverback gorilla

Impostor bird (not officially part of the zoo but making a very loud noise)

Tawny crevice dragons

Rhinoceros iguana

Green iguana

Green python

Long-necked turtle

Sailfin lizard

Reticulated python

Komodo dragon's foot

Patonga

2011-01-03T12:43:00.009+11:00

We spent Christmas in Patonga, north of Sydney, in a house by the creek that could only be reached by rowing boat (I can row, so that was my job). It's peaceful, beautiful, and full of local wildlife (kookaburras and bush turkeys on the deck, an 8-foot long diamond python in the undergrowth, ducks on the creek, crabs at the waterline, pelicans at the beach and possums in the trees). There's a local pub and a fish and chip shop staffed by a grim-faced woman who likes nothing more than to tell people the place is closed at dinnertime. The fish and chips were great, though.

Bondi to Bronte

2010-12-29T16:43:00.012+11:00

Just before Christmas, I walked from Bondi Beach to Bronte with my mother and her partner. It was the first Christmas outside the UK for all three of us and it was an act of almost deliberate incongruity for us to walk along the beach, squint in the sunshine, swim in the surf, walk along the coastline with other tourists, stop to look at the flowers and the incredible natural rock formations, envy the beachfront houses, marvel at the blue skies, and finish up with fish and chips from Fishy Bite in Bronte - an unpromising outlet, and a longish wait, for really only moderately good fast food. Still, it was a beautiful day, and food always tastes better in the fresh air.

Icebergs outdoor pool at Bondi Beach

View of Bondi Beach from the coastal walk

On Tamarama Beach

Tamarama Beach with lifesavers' pavilion

Tamarama beach

Fish & chips from Fishy Bite

Assorted grilled fish

Surfer at Bronte Beach

On Bronte Beach

Cafés on Bronte Road

Solitary Restaurant

2010-12-23T23:54:00.005+11:00

The Solitary Restaurant sits, naturally enough, in splendid isolation at the top of a hill near Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, with spectacular views. It's decorated in muted shades ("hot chocolate" or "mushroom" according to your preference) in a strangely old-fashioned but contemporary style. A group of us arrived seeking shelter on an unseasonally cold and windy day, and enjoyed, variously, tasty smoked fish soup, rich and fragrant banana bread with honey butter, and a moist chocolate brownie with vanilla bean ice cream. In case you wondered what might have been on offer at the Solitary for New Year's Eve in 1975, the menu is reproduced for your edification.

Ebenezer Church

2010-12-22T18:58:00.010+11:00

Ebenezer Church sits alongside the Hawkesbury River at Ebenezer and is the oldest surviving church in Australia (built in 1809 by 15 pioneer families who arrived on the Coromandel) as well as the oldest extant school building. Nearby grows the shattered remainder of a huge tree under which the pioneers first worshipped. There's a tiny museum in the former schoolmaster's house, with the steepest stairs in the land leading to attic rooms occupied by original furniture, such as an ancient single bed complete with patchwork quilt and chamber pot.

The Sustainable House

2010-12-21T16:19:00.013+11:00

Michael Mobbs has lived in the Sustainable House since 1978 and began the process of making it sustainable in 1996. The house is on Myrtle Street (Michael is one of the prime movers behind the community garden) and there are regular tours where Michael talks candidly about what worked and what didn't work. Unlike the Smart Home, which is a high-end showcase for expensive technology, Michael and his experiences in the Sustainable House (he has also published an excellent book) show how each individual family can make steps towards living sustainably, starting with something as simple as a change to a water-efficient shower head.

Exterior view

Heath Robinson bell pull

Rustic stairs

Back garden

Nasturtium flowers for salad

Michael Mobbs

Ordinary livingroom

Interior decor

Curious chook

Chook run at the side of the house

Solar panels

Sunken pond to collect stormwater

Plants fed by "wicks" in pipes

Passion fruit flower

House from the rear

Grapes in the back yard

Beehive

Stingless bees (ideal for urban neighbourhoods)

Self-cleaning gutter

The back of the house

Kitchen - designed to maximise light

Kitchen windows

Inverter (converts output from solar panels into 240-volt AC power)

Tizzana Winery

2010-12-19T19:34:00.034+11:00

The Tizzana Winery is in a valley near the Hawkesbury River, about 70 km north-west of Sydney. It was established as a winery in 1887. There's a little bed and breakfast cottage tucked away behind it, which looks like a lovely place to stay. Walking towards the dark of the open cellar door, with cicadas singing, bees buzzing and the sun beating on the ancient stone, it could have been the south of France. The rosé and the white wine are both excellent and they also make jam, honey and chutney.

Opera House

2010-12-17T16:56:00.006+11:00

It's almost with a sense of embarrassment at the obvious that I took today's pictures: there can't possibly be an original angle left. The steps of the Opera House were thronging with tourists, but it was less busy than it would have been on a bright sunny day; and the grey skies gave the building a slightly forbidding feel, so that even the Chinese couple having their wedding photos done had a rather forlorn air about them. Danish architect Jørn Utzon, following controversy over the design and escalating costs, left the project in 1966, long before its completion (in 1973, having cost $102m, 14 times its original budget). There are 1,056,006 Swedish tiles cladding the roof.

Yuga Café and Gallery

2010-12-16T16:10:00.008+11:00

Yuga is a café, art gallery and flower shop all rolled into one, at 172 St John's Road, Glebe. It's currently featuring an exhibition of one-flower vases by Chippendale ceramicist Keiko Matsui. The food was simply prepared and nicely presented; my prosciutto, asparagus and fetta quiche had perfectly buttery pastry and I also had a delicious fresh apple juice (the raspberry, cranberry and lemon frappé was also excellent). The poached chicken salad was a little bit dull, but the steak sandwich looked attractive and got good reviews.

Three Beans Café

2010-12-14T21:59:00.010+11:00

The Three Beans Café ("coffee, vanilla, mung") is in the hugely unpromising surroundings of the Broadway Shopping Centre. Despite the location, it's actually a pretty decent organic café serving excellent coffee, iced tea, attractive cakes, and lovely fresh sandwiches (mine was a generously stuffed brown roll with smoked salmon and red onion). Illuminated by a quite spectacular light fitting, the centrepiece is a large communal wooden table, where you can sit enjoying a coffee or some homemade soup and watching seasonal santas frantically climbing wooden poles while you brace yourself to return to the mall.