Laotian, Burmese and an ice cream sandwich in Darlo

Sitting waiting with a Bia 333, I had to check a few times that I was indeed sitting in a restaurant and not a nightclub. Yep, I was sitting near the front window at Pink Peppercorn on Oxford Street, not at a club across the road.

Yet another voucher needed using, although this was a restaurant I'd been meaning to visit for ages especially since there really aren't too many Laotian and Burmese retaurants around.

Steamed long grain jasmine and wild rice at Pink Peppercorn, Oxford Street, Darlinghurst

The yaw jeun spring rolls didn't last long enough for a picture, but I’ve always preferred more south-east Asian spring rolls to Chinese ones as they just seem to pop with more flavour and texture. These sublime “golden rolls” were filled with a bouncy mixture of chicken, crab and vermicelli noodles, seasoned with lots of garlic and dipped into sweet chilli sauce.

Rice servings at $5 each is a little on the pricey side of town, but I appreciated the effort that they put into pimping it up. The upturned cup shape held jasmine rice and long grains of black wild rice, which are firmer than normal white rice.

Ping gae – char grilled marinated lamb tenderloin on green vegetables,
mint and tamarind sauce

There was a sameness about the mains menu that made it difficult to choose among the many chicken, lamb, beef and seafood dishes. Mint, lemongrass and chilli were abundant menu ingredients, and it was tough trying to differentiate the dishes without the aid of images (OK, I sound like a child now).

We opted for three mains – the first a main of lamb tenderloin, which even could have been beef. Either way, it was cooked to medium and incredibly tender, soaking up the sweet juices of the tamarind sauce. The mint added an addictive zing to the green beans and Chinese cabbage, while the overall sweetness of the dish was a little unexpected.

Laab gai – pan fried chicken with lemongrass tossed with fresh herbs, red onion,
mild chilli, lime, roasted rice

I’m not sure we ordered the chicken laab, but it arrived at the table and we didn’t kick up a fuss as we weren’t sure which chicken dish we did order – there are several on the menu, and as mentioned, served with rather similar ingredients.

Juicy nuggets of chicken thigh featured with loads of mint and lemongrass, slivers of large red chilli which was still pretty spicy and Spanish onion. It was again on the sweet side and while decent, overall not a standout dish.

Khua goong pakthiam – Stir fried tiger prawns, pink peppercorns, garlic and green vegetables

That honour went to the stir fried prawn dish, featuring what I would have thought to be signature pink peppercorns. Peppery and garlicky, the tail-on prawns were cooked to a firm bounce; and were scattered among broccoli and snow peas, plenty of cracked black pepper and smashed pink peppercorns.

The latter were eye-openingly fragrant after their initial kick of heat, and added a great deal of character to the dish. Why they’re not used more extensively on the Pink Peppercorn menu is a mystery to me.

The loud atmosphere and pumping music at Pink Peppercorn was a lot to take after a hayfever-affected afternoon, so we thought we'd end without dessert. Little did I expect to be walking past Darlie Laundromatic on the way, let alone the sweet surprise to be found within.

Raspberry and ginger cordial with gin and soda (back) and mulberry cordial with vodka
and soda (front) from Darlie Laundromatic, Palmer Street, Darlinghurst

It was pretty busy for a weeknight, filled with local hipsters that looked like they were in for the long haul and didn't need to think about work tomorrow morning (I'm clearly just jealous).

It's impossible to bypass the home made cordials on the drinks menu - I mean, they're home made cordials. In delightful flavours like raspberry and ginger (and quite gingery too) and the special of the day, mulberry, which also featured vanilla quite heavily. Top it off with booze, soda and a novelty stirrer and what's not to love and order multiples of.

The long communal table in the front converted laundry room was pretty inviting and cosy, but we picked a seat under the clothesline, beneath tea towels that look like my aunty's souvenir collection.

Peanut butter and choc chip cookie ice cream sandwich

When I was at the bar getting my drink, it probably took me all of two seconds to notice the ice cream sandwich on the dessert menu. To my further delight, there's also a choice of cookie with which to sandwich some good ol' Streets Blue Ribbon vanilla ice cream.

I was pretty happy with my choice of peanut butter and choc chip, with discernable pockets of peanut butter amid the slightly chewy cookie and ice cream oozing out at every bite. It's by no means a neat dessert but one where you should be finished before the ice cream even starts to melt.

So there you have just a regular night in Darlinghurst, where the night takes you from clubbing to southeast Asia then into a laundry for cordial and an ice cream sandwich.

Whisky drinkers, get in to The Baxter Inn

I hate to spoil surprises so I won't. But good luck finding The Baxter Inn; the new, keenly awaited CBD venture from the guys behind heart- and award-winning Darlinghurst bar, Shady Pines Saloon.

If and when you do find the security guard that gives you some vague hope that you're in the right place, and once you get past the confusion of descending fire stairs into a basement; take a breath and push back that door.

The wall of some whisky options at The Baxter Inn, Clarence Street, Sydney

You won't get the raucous liveliness of Shady Pines, but layout is very similar though substantially larger, with a long bar up one side lined with bar stools, a bit of standing space and then a fair number of round tables with chairs.

The poison of choice at The Baxter Inn is most definitely whisky, and the gold lettered board featuring approximately 200 varieties of whisky is only two-thirds of what's available. That's right, they have 300 whiskies on offer.

Complimentary pretzels

Having just opened this week, seats at the long bar were filled on Tuesday night with a post work crowd munching on complimentary pretzels rather than peanuts as per Shady Pines.

The hipster quotient is toned down in this suit-and-shirt-heavy area and rather than the laughably fun decor at the first venture, The Baxter Inn has a more refined look with walls decked out in vintage sports memorabilia and clippings, while blues music still plays over the clearly appreciative crowd.

And as per Shady Pines (last comparison, I promise), the service is second to none with iced water dispensed from gorgeous vessels from another era as soon as we're seated. I doubt you'll find more friendly and knowledgeable guys behind a bar than these; for whisky in particular.

South Side cocktail

Apart from the whisky menu board, The Baxter Inn alternate menu features a handful of classic cocktails, several pages of wines and I think just four beers on tap (including Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout - you can barely get the stuff by the bottle let alone on tap!). They've also got their whizz-bang juicers to offer the popular fresh juice and spirit mixes.

My South Side cocktail is served in an enamel mug filled to the rim with crushed ice, and is just the thing for sticky evenings and non-whisky drinkers. Gin, lime, sugar syrup and mint - simple, effective and not whisky.

Ardbeg Alligator on the rocks

For the whisky inclined, I'm not sure how you would pick from 300 choices, but the board is helpfully split by region with most labels offering a few ages - the priciest I spotted was some Laphroaig bottle at $40 a hit.

It blows the mind to think that anyone knows about the finer details of each and every whisky, but at a pick, we're casually informed that the Ardbeg Alligator variety of Islay scotch whisky is particularly peaty and smoky.

The Alligator refers to the state of the heavily charred white oak cask that the booze is aged within. Customers can have their whisky served however they please; in this case, with a hand-chipped block of ice.

Just some of the back shelf at The Baxter Inn

Sipping drinks at the bar lends itself well to staring at the unbelievably awe-inspiring back bar where two ladders are positioned to access those top shelves. The back bar itself is a featured talking point, but The Baxter Inn is definitely a conversational bar and not really designed for a quiet drink - you'll be chatting with the friendly faces behind the bar at the very least.

With their all booze and no food formula down pat, The Baxter Inn is noisily welcoming, warm and friendly, and pretty much heaven for whisky drinkers - now where was that entrance again?

Bistro Avoca: Randwick gets a little fresh

While I was more familiar with the suburb of Randwick a decade ago, it’s nice to see it from fresh eyes today – though not a great deal seems to have changed. Good old Ritz is still there with all manner of restaurants lining The Spot crossroads, while the balls still roll at the ten pin bowling alley on the main road.

Bistro Avoca, Avoca Street, Randwick

Bistro Avoca is a relatively new addition to the strip of small restaurants on Avoca Street just past Randwick Junction. Moving into the suburban location in June this year, husband and wife team Barry Baker and Erin Fitzgerald are bringing fresh, modern Australian cuisine to the strip dominated by cheerful ethnic eats.

Inside Bistro Avoca

The cosy, intimate dining room oozes understated class; the wood on white look matches well with the seemingly posh, mature locals – families, groups and ladies who look like they socialise a lot.

It's more sophisticated than your average suburban restaurant, which is an intriguing niche that Randwick appears to have been dying for (I’m told Friday and Saturday nights get completely booked out).

The clever food menu begins with starters to share followed by entrées and mains, but it’s the wine menu that astonishes me. Wines by the glass are all under $8 while no bottle of wine exceeds $40 – prices quite unheard of. Plus the restaurant allows BYO wine from Tuesdays through to Thursdays.

Thai oyster shots with, fresh herbs and ginger, garlic, chilli, lemongrass & lime nam jim

Impressed with drinks – I have a flute of Barossa Valley Carrington Vintage Brut ($6.50) – we move straight on to oyster shots to start. In a shot glass with a tomato liquid, the plump oysters are topped with mint, coriander, fried shallots and the tops of celery sticks.

It wasn't a one throwback shooter, but the melee of flavours in the mildly spiced, Thai inspired shot reached a peak with the release of briney juices from the oyster. It wasn’t easy stopping at just one, especially those deliciously fresh oysters.

Salt & pepper squid with spring onions, chilli and lime

The salt and pepper squid is a crowd pleaser and could easily be shared among five as a starter. Gorgeously tender squid strips are coated in a golden, subtly spiced batter with fresh mild chilli and lime adding pizazz.

A heavier hand in seasoning could have made this the best S&P squid ever, but it still stands as the best value squid dish I’ve seen in a while ($8.50).

Blinis served warm with sliced smoked salmon, pickled Spanish onion and dill sour cream

I started to get more of an inkling of the very generous portions at Bistro Avoca when the first entrée of smoked salmon blinis arrived.

The long, rectangular plate was virtually covered in the bright orange smoked salmon, twisted over pikelet-sized blinis with cucumber slices, pickled Spanish onion in a fine dice and dill-spiked sour cream splodges.

Crisp fried pork belly, sweet chilli glaze, shoestring potatoes, watercress salad

And the size trend continued with the deep fried pork belly dish with perky watercress piled high over golden chunks of meat. The pork belly was crazy crunchy but also deliciously flavoured beneath the texture.

The raw vegetables alleviated some of the guilt in such a decadent entrée; though not so much the deep fried potato straws.

Twice cooked crisp duck leg with apple, radish and celery salad, candied walnuts

The duck entrée easily could have passed as a well-sized main meal. The golden brown whole leg had a delectable layer of crisp skin; presumably from a deep fry after an initial cooking.

The rich, moist flesh matched insanely well with the salad nest of Waldorf-esque sweet and tart green apple, radish, thinly cut celery and candied walnuts. Just all round lovely washed down with a most affordable glass of 2008 Vasse Felix Shiraz Cabernet ($7.50).

Seared sea scallops, cauliflower puree, bacon crumble and pesto oil

With the scallop entrée, it wasn’t so much a gigantic serving but monster-sized scallops with smears of cauliflower puree dabbed with bright green pesto oil.

The bacon crumble was a great textural addition atop each huge, bouncy mollusc and added flavour to the scallops which, while impressive in size, seemed to lack their usual natural sea-sweetness.

Medallions of beef, roast potato, sweet pumpkin puree, asparagus and
cracked pepper hollandaise

My main meal featured two rounds of beef sitting atop two same sized rounds of roast potato, further topped with rather breakfast-y asparagus and hollandaise sauce, ringed with jus and nubbins of asparagus stalks.

The pumpkin puree added sweetness to the overall dish while the tenderness of the beef was a real highlight, even though the stomach seemed to be reaching a capacity of sorts after just one of the medallions.

Lamb rump with colcannon, deep fried zucchini flowers and sugar snap peas

The lamb main almost looked like an entrée and main together on one plate, with a side too. The three stuffed and battered zucchini flowers could well have been an entrée at many other establishments, but here they garnished three thick slices of medium rare lamb.

And beneath, colcannon – mashed potato with bacon, cabbage and other bits – added more sustenance for the man-sized meal. I’m glad we decided to forgo orders of sides but we had to make room for dessert.

Dessert special: Lemon meringue with ice cream

The 'crazy prices' wine list returned to bring two ridiculously reasonably priced dessert wine options by the glass. It was getting way too easy to eat too much and drink too much, but with a dessert special of classic lemon meringue pie looking so good, it didn’t feel quite as bad.

Bistro Avoca tasting plate: coconut pannacotta, raspberry jelly and
dark chocolate mousse

Dessert tasting plates are generally good for hedging bets as there’s usually enough variety among the choices to please anyone. So I was a little surprised at the almost traffic light set of glasses that was the dessert tasting plate.

The chocolate mousse was by far the best: a big chocolate hit, airy as a cloud texture and a bit of crunch with the praline crumbs on top. The raspberry jelly was pleasant with the mousse, with real bits of raspberry heightening the experience.

(Clockwise from left) Coconut panna cotta, dessert wine and raspberry jelly

The coconut panna cotta, whichI had considered ordering singularly, was most decent except for the eye-wateringly sour layer of lime jelly across the top while the coconut biscotti was also a little confusing.

Vanilla and raspberry Bombe Alaska with rhubarb confit and praline

The winner of the dessert round had to be the Bombe Alaska. Glistening with torched peaks of shiny meringue similar to the lemon meringue, inside there was a thin base of cake and a duo of ice cream, including a pink raspberry one that tasted like happiness and jam.

The cooked rhubarb and praline bits added colour and interest to the overall plating, but ultimately were unneccessary. Just more of that raspberry ice cream would have kept me happy for days.

The restaurant was surprisingly not empty at a fairly late weeknight hour, with plenty of happy faces still dining on the, let's admit it, large servings of modern Australian food. And with such good value and interesting dishes to be had, Bistro Avoca is a welcome breath of freshness for Randwick.

Food, booze and shoes dined as a guest of Bistro Avoca with thanks to Charlotte Foot Public Relations.