Author Archives: Amanda

Liquid Indulgences

The 1982 Dom Pérignon still had a lovely array of bubbles gently sparkling through the crystal flute. A beautiful golden color dressed with nice honey scents on the nose. The flavors are just bursting with a great chardonnay fruit, fresh, lightly creamy and incredibly toasty with some sweet nutty fruit and butter. Balanced and beautiful like a ballet dancer tip toeing gracefully on our tastebuds.

Butternut Penne

Butternut, also known as Butternut pumpkin is a wonderful winter squash with a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. The ripe flesh is a beautiful deep orange with a good sweetness to it and always in its prime during the winter months. I thought that instead of using the usual pasta sauce, I would create a recipe that used only butternut, which makes it very quick and simple to prepare.

Lazy Bolognese

There are many recipes out there for Bolognese sauce, and we all have our own favorite. There are master combinations of pork/veal/beef mince, blend of vegetables to make a killer sofritto, cooking time that goes on for hours and hours… which produces divine results. But for all those times where we just want to prepare a [...]

Small Bar Culture

My colleague Megan and I were interviewed on our views about small bars, and how we have shifted our drinking culture from glamorous venues that hold 500+ to the new intimate locations that fit no more than 50 that are now popping up all over in Sydney. There is something very alluring and comforting about small [...]

Rotolo of Spinach and Ricotta

This particular recipe that Ashley has chosen to share with us was actually taught to him by Rose Gray of the River Café. Ashley added his own personal touch of chestnuts to the finish of the dish, and makes this a magnificent vegetarian course.

Stiller’s Restaurant, Shanghai

 
At the rear of the newly developed “Cool Docks” area of the bund, Stiller’s restaurant is elevated five levels up in a long, spacious room with leather chairs and pristine white tablecloths made all the more beautiful by the skyline of the pearl of the orient. It is a dramatically gorgeous mix of tranquil elegance [...]

Winter special at Monkey Magic

As the weather in Sydney takes a chilly turn, we start to crave warm spaces and comforting food, and what more perfect way to treat yourself than taking advantage of Monkey Magic’s mid-week winter special?
You’ll find the subtle glass door leading upstairs to the converted warehouse space on Crown street, refurbished beautifully into a warm [...]

Momofuku Ssäm Bar

David Chang, a Korean-American born in Washington DC is the chef and owner of a string of successful restaurants that has local New Yorkers addictively queueing up outside every door and fighting over every online booking.

The Bazaar by José Andrés

Step into the doors of the SLS hotel and enter an alluring modern space where every square inch is infected with a touch of Phillip Stark, you will arrive at their hip and happening restaurant, The Bazaar. The Bazaar is an assortment of dining rooms that include a cocktail bar, a tapas dining room, a [...]

Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi

‘Gnudi’ meaning ‘nude’ in Italian, are what the Florentines call tender little dumplings that are very similar to gnocchi, except that they are made with ricotta rather than potato, which gives them a far more delicate texture. They’re lightly scented with nutmeg, and refreshingly light and doughless compared to your usual pasta dish.