Gia Hoi: Vietnamese in the 'burbs

Sydney is blessed with suburbs like Cabramatta, Bankstown and Marrickville for Vietnamese food and restaurant options. But it's almost as if Vietnamese restaurants are the new Thai restaurants, popping up in all sorts of suburban streets in recent years.

Crispy skin chicken with tomato rice from Gia Hoi, Chapel Road, Bankstown

With the plethora of options in Bankstown, we relied on someone in the know to lead us to the garishly magenta-lit insides of Gia Hoi, just off the main road.

All the favourite Vietnamese dishes are here and I couldn't resist the crispy skin chicken, served with salad and a yellow-red hued tomato rice.

The rice wasn't spectacular but the insanely crisp shattering skin of the chicken, with moist, tender flesh beneath, made up for any rice regrets.

Grilled pork chop

Another easy choice is the grilled pork chop, which comes with a choice of noodle or rice sides. The slightly (and nicely) fatty pork is incredibly tender and full of hours of marinated flavour.

Noodles on the side

The dry noodles served with the pork chop were obscured by a range of generous toppings: fresh and fried shallots, bean sprouts, raw onion and more, with a sweet dipping sauce on the side.

Fillings for rice paper rolls

The most exciting dish this time round was the mixed platter of fillings that arrived with a bowl of water, for fresh rolled rice paper rolls.

Watching and learning, the round rice paper gets a light dip into the bowl of water before being laid on a plate and filled with vermicelli noodles, fresh vegetables and herbs and one of the protein fillings: spring rolls, sugarcane prawns, grilled pork and beef slices.

They're then delicately rolled up and consumed immediately with more dipping sauce. It's not the most simple of dishes but certainly easy to polish off a platter among three.

So here's a trend prediction: the continuing popularisation of Vietnamese cuisine, especially out in the 'burbs where casual eateries like Gia Hoi thrive by doing what they've always done.

Good times collective #6

We're off and running in 2013, and straight back into the thick of things. There's a sense of reserved optimism this summer and I get the feeling that it's a prelude to a pretty massive year to come - hang on for the ride.

Pomegranate froyo with mango and lychee pearls from MooBerry, King Street, Newtown
(Disclosure: Food, booze and shoes is acquainted with staff at MooBerry)

It's the summer of froyo. The hot days so far are proof that the boom in frozen yoghurt, or froyo, operators is scarily on trend.

I don't know whether it's a short-term or even seasonal fad but I do know the cool, refreshing feel of the fruity pomegranate froyo with fruit and lychee pearls is my summer in a cup.

Biscotti froyo with Oreos and macarons from MooBerry, King Street, Newtown
(Disclosure: Food, booze and shoes is acquainted with staff at MooBerry)

On the other end from the fruity froyo scale is the all-out dessert approach: like biscotti flavoured froyo with Oreo crumbs and miniature macarons that are as cute as they are decadent.

Chicken burger with chips from The Grounds of Alexandria, Huntley Street, Alexandria

Ten months on and the crowds keep queueing up at The Grounds with no signs of waning. Personally, If I'm hungry I can't really manage a 30-minute wait so it's a good thing that they've introduced a more substantial takeaway menu on top of cakes and coffee.

I have no issue diving into a juicy fried chicken burger for brunch in the garden, especially with The Grounds' very good thick cut potato chips and aioli on the side.

Quinoa salad from The Grounds of Alexandria

The healthy among us can look to the menu of salads including this one of quinoa, kale, pumpkin, sultanas and more. A little on the sweetly-dressed side, it was a generous serve that made an interesting dip for the chips.

Bloody Mary at The Forresters, corner Riley and Foveaux Streets, Surry Hills

The jar-sized Bloody Mary at The Forresters must be Sydney's best dressed. Garnished to the point of being a salad, this vodka and tomato juice cocktail has to be healthy on some level, with cucumber, a pickled onion, cherry tomato, artichoke and rosemary all taking pride of place.

Sunday roast - roast beef with roast vegies at The Forresters

The Bloody Mary joined the weekly changing Sunday roast, complete with roast vegetables, gravy and sauce. Just be wary of potentially dry roast beef which chewy and dry, was clearly overcooked and probably kept on some heat source for a little too long.

Chicken nuggets from The Forresters

There wasn't much more satisfaction from the chicken nuggets, which were battered breast fillets smothered in a tomato and onion sauce. The unseasoned chicken has nothing on Maccas, I'm afraid.

Baked eggs with beans at Vicinity, Bourke Road, Alexandria
(Disclosure: Food, booze and shoes is acquainted with staff at Vicinity)

I've heard that Vicinity stopped serving breakfast recently, which is a shame as it was a great, airy spot with outdoor seating that is really made for brunching - and Sunday afternoon drinks.

I'm not sure which direction the venue is moving towards but the breakfast I did sample there needed tweaking. The baked eggs with beans in a tomato-ey sauce looked more like poached eggs dumped on top of some tasty home made beans, served with a huge slice of barely toasted bread.

Green and gold at Vicinity, Bourke Road, Alexandria
(Disclosure: Food, booze and shoes is acquainted with staff at Vicinity)

The 'green and gold' breakfast dish was actually quite a good, healthy option: more large-slice bread with mashed avocado, broccoli, watercress and a poached egg.

I keep meaning to return for lunch or dinner, but I'll also be watching their morning offerings with interest - after all, a big year is going to need a big breakfast.

The White Hart High Tea: Cocktails with a twist

Traditional English high tea isn't quite my cup of tea - I mostly blame my prior experiences with stodgy scones. But when The White Hart in Neutral Bay - renowned for fun, novelty cocktails - invited me to their weekends-only "Smokin Speakeasy Iced Tea", hinting that it was high tea but not as I knew it, I was intrigued and arrived thirsty.

Twisted High Tea at The White Hart, Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay

The alluring offering sat pretty on three tiers and looked the part of high tea. But the fact that every morsel and drink required a detailed explanation proved that it was certainly high tea with a twist.

Every component on the three tiers, some very unusual and innovative, was alcoholic; most a classic cocktail or drink in a new, deconstructed and edible form. It was recommended that we start from the top tier and work our way down to the sweeter cocktail treats.

Long Island Iced Tea - served with dry ice

We started first with a cup of tea: Long Island Iced Tea chilled with smoking dry ice, that is. Served separately in a dated, non-matching tea set, the sweet cocktail was more ladylike than lethal.

Martini jelly

To the top tier I couldn't resist the classic martini, made as a clear jelly with a green olive submerged within. Getting through the foam, there was a noticeable kick to the jelly with the martini definitely on the dirty side.

Vodka and tonic jelly (left) and white peach bellini

Prettily pink, the other slender shot glass held a white peach bellini topped with sparkling wine and "peach air" that was impressively true to taste.

The top tier also featured two clear jelly squares: a gin and tonic jelly (with the British flag) and a vodka and tonic jelly (with the US flag) - both of a delightfully wobbly texture and true flavours.

Deconstructed Mojito

Things ramped up on the second tier with a syringe appearing as part of a deconstructed mojito. Filled with white rum and sparkling water, the idea is to squirt liquid onto the spoon with the teal green mint jelly and taste as one mouthful.

The only trouble was that the mint jelly tasted more like toothpaste mintiness and I then inhaled a spoonful of what tasted like straight rum. Hello!

Shandy (back, left) and deconstructed Bloody Mary (front)

I've always liked shandy - that slightly daggy but refreshing mixed drink of beer and lemonade. This version of beer with a lemonade foam was probably more suitable as a drink on the top tier rather than second given the bitterness of the beer.

We were most impressed with the deconstructed Bloody Mary, comprising a piece of cucumber; a vodka jelly with tomato and Bloody Mary spicing; and wasabi foam. Consumed as a savoury mouthful, it was an ingenious eye-opener and the closest it got to the real thing.

Long Island Iced Tea marshmallows

We ended with the sweeter stuff: dreamy Long Island Iced Tea marshmallows, melting Clover Club and Piña Colada sorbets, an espresso foam (presumably of the martini variety) and The White Hart's signature pot of edible chocolate soil with absinthe jelly snakes.

Apart from the resultant sugar high, I'm not too sure of the total alcoholic content of the high tea, especially with the Long Island Iced Tea - so do check with The White Hart if you're driving and definitely come with your sense of novelty and adventure on hand.

The White Hart is serving its "Smokin Speakeasy Iced Tea" for $55 every Saturday and Sunday from 2-6pm. Bookings essential.

Food, booze and shoes sampled the "Smokin Speakeasy Iced Tea" as a guest of The White Hart.