Right at home at Encasa

After a long stint away, you want to come home to what you know and love. New adventures and relationships can always be found, but for the lucky ones that have it, home is where the heart and soul are.

After a long absence from Encasa, it's amazing how easy it is just to slip comfortably back in to order a jug of sangria and the usuals on an as-always packed Friday night.

Ensalada con queso - salad with cheese from Encasa, Pitt Street, Haymarket

The salad with goat's cheese is the only way to go for a salad fix here. Sweet roasted red capsicum, black olives and mixed lettuce leaves provide a little early respite from what is always a protein- and carb-heavy meal at Encasa.

Patatas bravas - Fried potato with garlic mayonnaise and spicy tomato sauce

I remember in earlier days, the patatas bravas used to be served in the small, round terracotta tapas dishes. It's now grown to a small oval dish and no-one is complaining. It just means more crunchy, golden chunks of potato smothered in aioli and spicy tomato sauce for everyone.

Chorizo a la sidra - Spanish sausage poached in cider

This version of the spicy Spanish sausage is a little more subdued than the normal grilled version as it is cooked in cider, with some of the sweetness penetrating the big, salty slices of chorizo.

Mejillones a la Marinera - Black mussels in fresh tomato sauce with chilli and basil

The prettily arranged dish of mussels is not how I remember the dish from prior visits, but I guess it's been a while. The perfectly cooked molluscs are a silky, soft delight to eat, and are given a bit of a kick with the spicy tomato sauce that's made for mopping up with white bread rolls.

Gambas Sevillanas - King prawns in spicy tomato salsa

Bread rolls also come in very handy for the even spicier king prawns in a chilli spiked tomato sauce - sometimes painful but one of my favourite tapas at Encasa. The large, whole prawns are always cooked to perfection, and on this occasion, burningly hot in temperature too.

Champiñones al ajillo - Garlic mushrooms

There is no shortage of garlic or oil with the mushrooms - whole and chopped button mushrooms that are cooked ever so slightly so as to retain a fresh firmness.

To be honest, I've never even seen the dessert menu at Encasa - we generally stuff ourselves with the tapas. And as always, we were closer to rolling out of Encasa than walking out, but when it's something you know and love rather well, it's easy to feel right at home doing so.

Get tropical at The Island Bar, Cockatoo Island

Cocktails at The Island Bar, Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour

Summer is officially here (if not necessarily weather wise) and The Island Bar on Cockatoo Island is into its summer season, opening seven days a week until February which is just perfect for the party and holiday season.

The Island Bar

Boasting a few changes and refinements since last year, The Island Bar appears to be flourishing with the increase of activity on Cockatoo Island, not to mention exclusive private parties. But never fear, the shipping containers and all manner of souvenir to the island's shipbuilding past remain.

Afro beats for entertainment for the First Day of Summer Party at The Island Bar

We couldn't complain really as a dark and cloudy morning turned into blue skies (albeit cool and windy) for the First Day of Summer Party to launch the summer season for The Island Bar. The water taxi to Cockatoo Island was quick and easy, although the ferry is a less bumpy option.

Sparkling wine - does it count as a launch party without bubbles?

Dark and Stormy cocktail

The bar staff have certainly got their cocktail work cut out, with 21 cocktails on the menu and a great deal of them available on launch night. On regular occasions, all cocktails can be bought by the glass or jug, making for excellent group drinking value or some pretty serious solo sessions.

Cold War Sgroppino cocktail

I'd tried and loved the Cold War Sgroppino before, and would happily drink this for the rest of summer. Vodka and lemon sorbet seem made for each other, and with a dash of Aperol and lemon juice, this cocktail is probably the most fun you can have in a wine glass.

Piña colada served in a young coconut

Speaking of fun, the very uniform young coconuts used to serve the piña colada should be the dictionary image of 'fun'. Lots of rum and pineapple mix with creamy coconut and ice, topped with a straw or two and a paper umbrella.

Kicking back on a deck chair with one of these particularly creamy drinks was probably as close as I'm getting to an island getaway this year.

Pizza oven incorporated into a shipping container

One of the aforementioned changes to The Island Bar is the expanded food menu, courtesy of a custom installed pizza oven - right into the side of a shipping container. The makeshift shipping container kitchen must be a logistical nightmare, but the high quality of pizzas they were pumping out makes it pretty impressive.

Prosciutto pizzettes

For starters, the kitchen pumped out tray after tray of mini pizzas, which seemed more like (fast cooling) baked miniature pizza bases with tomato sauce, topped with raw and uncooked toppings like here: rocket, prosciutto and a shaving of parmesan cheese.

Smoked salmon pizzettes

Other raw toppings included smoked salmon, rocket and Spanish onion. This was definitely the first smoked salmon 'pizza' I've ever had; though I suppose it was a little more like a canapé. And I certainly didn't expect smoked salmon to go with the pizza's tomato sauce, but it did surprisingly.

Roast capsicum pizzettes

More raw Spanish onion rings were to be found on the roast capsicum pizzette, which were all frankly going down a treat with the drinking crowd. However, there was more than just a little excitement when we discovered what was essentially an antipasti buffet (at the launch party only, I'm afraid).

Vegetable and cured meat antipasti selection

We were able to help ourselves to grilled eggplant and zucchini, roasted red capsicum, marinated artichoke and big, fat green olives. For carbs there were wedges of pizza bases and some puffed squares of dough, which were ideal with the salty cured meats.

The soft, yielding prosciutto was a crowd favourite though I adored the flavourful garlic and fennel salami just as much. There was a particularly high sodium chloride content in the capocollo of cured pork neck, while the bresaola had a distinct and stronger meatiness than its porky cousins.

While I could eat antipasti endlessly (and did refill at least once), it was hard to ignore the smells emanating from cardboard pizza boxes that were being ferried over from the shipping container kitchen.

Funghi pizza

Serious, serious pizza. And I probably should have expected no less from The Island Bar proprietor and star bartender, Marco Faraone.

On the cool night, the drinks-chilled crowds flocked to the warm food like moths to a light. The smells were intoxicating and I had to hold back every part of my being not to run off with an entire box.

The fresh-from-the-oven funghi pizza featuring mushrooms and ham definitely hit the spot with its thin base yet crisp edge. And yes, I did pick up all those fallen-off toppings, as I always tend to do - the best part, really.

Mango daiquiris at the bar

One of the great things about The Island Bar is that the staff know exactly what they're doing. The bartenders have the tropical flavours and fun of The Island Bar's cocktail list down pat, with one serious Mango Daiquiri.

It had the full hit of its rum contents while the ripe, in-season mango and ever-fun margarita glasses (even though plastic) make this a cup of summery joy.

Mango daiquiri in the upstairs Tropics Lounge

Above the working bar section in the stacked shipping container, the upstairs has been converted to a sleek area named the Tropics Lounge. Lots of white and nautical stripes, and seating that's easier to get out of than the deck chairs downstairs, make this a posher experience than the outside good times 'lawn'.

Nutella dessert pizza 

And as I turned down one of the last rounds of piping hot pizza, another staff member came around with an irresistably sweet proposition: crispy pizza bases sandwiching generous amounts of Nutella.

While it's not something I'd generally eat with a sweet cocktail, it was straight back to school day lunches with one bite of the chocolate hazelnut goodness.

The Island Bar by night

With night falling and lighting up the residential shoreline one side and the city skyline the other, we'd settled comfortably into the Tropics Lounge with plenty to drink and a bit of a view too.

While a great night was had, I can definitely see the appeal of a daytime stint at The Island Bar, with no fear of missing the last boat/ferry back to Circular Quay. That and beautiful days on the astroturf with a cocktail jug and gorgeous, fresh pizza - indeed, let's get tropical.

Food, booze and shoes attended The Island Bar First Day of Summer Party with thanks to The Cru Media.

Mihana: Secret izakaya business

On a quiet street in Crows Nest, the unassuming shopfront of Mihana Dining and Sake Bar hides a secret. Push past the traditional entrance into a long, dim dining room and it's obvious.

With high seats at the bar and group seating alongside, you know you've entered some secret Japanese izakaya, where slightly inebriated Japanese salarymen wouldn't at all look out of place.

Teapot at Mihana Dining and Sake Bar, Falcon Street, Crows Nest

It was eerily quiet inside the restaurant, apart from some ambient Japanese music while the formal service added to the overall feel that we'd just stepped in from the street into a rather large Tokyo bar.

Atop the bar were plates of Japanese home style dishes that are served as is onto smaller serves, but seeking a post drinking session bite, we looked to the menu of snacks and essentially drinking food. A bit of a shame really, given the impressive bar and selection of sake on offer.

Gyoza

Seated at the bar near the kitchen, we could hear the noises of sizzling as our food was prepared. The ever-polite staff seemed busy arranging tagged bottles in a cabinet; bottles of half drunken whiskies mostly, awaiting the return of their owners, safely behind glass doors.

The pork filled gyoza were a fine example of their kind; their long-ish, crisp-skinned bottoms and meaty innards disappearing before they'd had even a chance to cool down.

Chicken thigh yakitori

There is no better drinking food than yakitori grilled skewers, usually of meat. They're salty, smoky, protein-rich and all things that should be associated with boozing (even though we'd done ours earlier).

Chicken breast meat, while healthier, lacks the flavour of thigh meat for the very same reason. The fat, and sometimes 'red' flesh, of the thigh provides flavours and texture while the sweet and umami-full yakitori sauce finishes the job.

Chicken skin (back) and chicken wing (front) yakitori

My favourite yakitori would probably have to be chicken wings - it's got it all: skin, flesh and bone. And with golden and crisped salted skin like this, it's hard not to sink your teeth straight into these wings, however piping hot off the grill they are.

The more exotic, and almost pure fat, choice is the chicken skin. Threaded onto a skewer in concertina fashion, the simply salted skin is grilled to a fatty crisp and is just that in every bite: fatty and crispy. Definitely one for chicken skin lovers.

As we cleaned our last skewer, a small group of Japanese men had sat down at one of the tables. Straight away, a tagged bottle came out of the cabinet and cans of Japanese beer made their way to the table. There was laughter in their ruddy faces as they ordered some dishes from the bar top options. It was proper izakaya-style drinking and eating and it was no secret that the night was still young.