The lunch collective - Part I

A collection of city lunching: on the go, alone, at wine o'clock, and other all sorts.

Chai latte and pumpkin and bacon tart from The Goods Organic,
Crown Street, Darlinghurst

Past the quiet lull of Oxford Street on a weekday afternoon is an organic gem that's music to the hungry conscience. Sitting in a fridge full of salads and sandwich goodies are house baked tarts - this one a pumpkin and bacon variety that's eggy, but none too creamy, oily nor cheesy. Add to that an organic coffee (or chai latte in this case), homely but snazzy interiors, and overflowing bookshelves, and you've got a weekend lunch on a weekday.

Glutinous rice stick from Mother Chu's Taiwanese Gourmet,
Dixon Street, Haymarket

It doesn't look much but this has to be the easiest meal on the go ever. It consists of a fried stick of dough, or yau ja gwai in Cantonese, rolled in pork floss and encased in glutinous rice. The dough stick is usually a bit oily and chewy, the pork floss lends the sweet flavouring, and the rice is your carb fix. It's probably more a snack than a meal, but when you're rushing from place to place in that precious hour, it does some good for the growling stomach.

Grilled ginger pork set from Sakura, Pitt Street, Sydney

A tiny little Japanese restaurant sitting next to my regular haunt of Cupcakes on Pitt, Sakura do a brisk trade with lots of the expected lunch sets and suits squishing in and out of the tight seating. This buda shogayaki comes with a generous serve of pork fillets sauteed in a sweet and sour sauce with capsicum, onions and the occasional mushroom. The ginger flavour escapes me, other than the pickled gari on the side. It's served with a little salad on the side and a bowl each of steamed rice and miso soup.

Panini and a glass of wine from The Falconer,
Oxford Street, Darlinghurst

This looks quite the idyllic lunch but wasn't in the sense that it was about 4pm and I'd just left an unpleasant meeting. The panini took me right back to something I'd had on the island of Capri in Italy - escapism at it's best - with a fruit fly-attracting glass of French viognier. Grilled toasty white bread with prosciutto, stringy smoked mozzarella, juicy tomato and basil - perfection between two slices.

Roquet salad with grilled chicken from Urban Bites,
King Street, Newtown

There's something about sunshine at lunch that is comforting and heart-warming; perhaps harking back to the days of primary school playgrounds. This salad was a little disappointing: seemingly aged rocket, unripe tomato and a bland, pedestrian dressing lifted only by the chopped parsley on the chicken, surprisingly. Nothing that a bit of philosophising company, overly sweet chai lattes and a bit of sunshine can't remedy.

Coming full circle

The concept of starting all over again is not always looked upon favourably - it's discarding what one has accomplished or started and the economist's view of sunk costs inevitably comes into consideration. But for the sake of argument, and sometimes conversation, my good friend and advocate of the devil - another point of view - sees it as an opportunity to choose a new direction and start building stocks in another area.

It's like coming full circle, to the point of the beginning but then starting a new circle from that very same point. And the optimist tells me that the new circle can be as big; as colourful; as encompassing as I want it to be. Or I can just trace the same old circle.

I've excitedly got an Entertainment Book in my hot little hands this year (I lie - they're freezing), and voucher/card-wielding, I'm ready to take on even more Sydney Restaurants. First cab off the rank is Mandala Nepalese Restaurant; mostly for me to try Nepalese cuisine and to a lesser extent, the connotations of the word mandala. Oh, and momos.

Pappadums from Mandala Nepalese Restaurant, Avoca Street, Randwick

The pappadums are complimentary and come with a cumin-spiced achar for dipping. Lovely gesture as it is, they're somewhat wanting of freshness.

Chicken momos

I still struggle to understand my obsession with dumplings of most varieties. These steamed momos are made similar to Chinese styled dumplings, but the coarse mince of chicken and strong cumin flavour are new to my dumpling palate. I like this texture where the meat is not pulverised and I'm also a fan of the al dente-like wrapper and again cumin-strong achar on the side.

Bangur ko pet - crackling pork belly with grilled eggplant

The pork belly comes out a small dish of sharp cuts, glowing with the radiance only seen in deep fry. There are lots of layers of fat, some very thick, cooked to a creamy flavour and texture. Blatant artery clogging never tasted so good. The skin only achieved a low-to-medium level of crunch but the meat was nicely tender; however some sweetness or acidity would have been ideal to cut through the fat as the eggplant was also heavy on the oil flavour.

Beda sekuwa - grilled diced lamb fillets with coriander
and cumin on a vegetable pulau

The lamb dish looks a little abstract - cubes around a half sphere and random green splotches. Artistic un-appreciation aside, the lamb seriously good - the crispy charred surface gives way to medium-rare inner perfection; tender but with a meaty chew that we carnivores adore. The greenness is subtle despite its hue and the pulau is a sweet, fluffy rice mix with sultanas and peas that matches well with the lamb.

Maccha pucchare - grilled barramundi fillets with tiger prawns

The suspiciously thin grilled fillets of fish were served simply with lemon, tomato and coriander alongside several tastily char grilled prawns. The dish was almost too simple with any differentiating flavours masked by the strong fishiness of the fillets.

Khukura ko masu - chicken meat prepared in traditional
Nepalese way, tomato, garlic and ginger

The stewed dishes came out in vessels reminiscent of Indiana Jones' version of the Holy Grail. Heavy and deep bowls of bronze sheen with a stem, they're filled to the brim with meat and gravy. The chicken thigh meat is cooked to within an inch of its life, almost disintegrating at the mercy of the serving spoon. The sauce is mild and sweet, happily lapped up with jasmine rice and roti.

Boka ko masu - goat in bay leaf and cardamom sauce

On the other end the goat is served in large chunks, tender as non-fall apart chicken. It has an initial gaminess that gives way to a meatiness that's lighter than beef. The spiced sauce has more of a kick to it and envelopes the overall dish more favourably than its poultry counterpart.

Paratha

The paratha are a more flaky, buttery flat bread as compared to the roti here. I likened my first taste to a good pie pastry and they're ideal for dipping into sauces and wiping clean plates, which we managed to finish off to a point where dessert was uncalled for.

And so we've come to the end of the meal, with waistlines stretched and eyes sleepy (what's with overeating and sleepiness?). My first start in Nepalese cuisine has been an earthy and invigorating step that looks part of a very big and colourful circle.

Above the table

So apparently wisdom does come with age. Well, sometimes. And some bits of wisdom. It's all very randomly selective. One wonderous thing is the realisation and acceptance that you can't rely on anything, including history and oneself. It's rather liberating to realise and just accept that life can, and will, do strange things regardless of deliberate planning and intentions.

It's well and truly birthday season in my circles which translates to many a drink, dinner and new outfit - well, at least one of the latter. On a freezing winter's night in sleeveless silk that designers insist are made for winter, I'm running late (as ever - a quarter of a century has taught me nothing) for dinner at A Tavola - not good, but I can't rely on me to change bad habits, can I?

Rosemary and chilli focaccia from A Tavola,
Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

Joining our waiting table in the courtyard, we start on spot-hitting fresh and fluffy focaccia baked with rosemary and chilli. It's served with a delightful chilli-infused olive oil that has all the flavour but none of the chilli kick as we deduce from the menu and chalk board of chef recommendations.

Specials board

My Italian simply isn't up to scratch anymore so the table is collectively happy to hear from the waitress as opposed to my "Tuna cooked... somehow with... something," or "Duck in oil with little cabbage and... something". Each detailed recount of the specials, especially the mains, is met with the low murmurs, wide eyes and subtle nods of excitable appetites.

Monte Antico red blend from Tuscany

The exclusively Italian wine list presents options from the north to south, with a focus on reds. This amiable blend of sangiovese, merlot and cabernet sauvignon is light on the palate with enough acidity and personality to cut through some of the richer dishes.

It's mains and salads to share for our limited timeframe, but thankfully so given the seriously generous sizing of both the salads and pasta mains.

Pappardelle con maiale e balsamico

I can't go past the house made pappardelle, which I'd seen hanging by the kitchen on my way through to the back courtyard, and I'm justly rewarded by my loyalty to the pasta ribbons. A generous serve of the silky sheets comes with pork shoulder braised to fall-apart. The demure tomato based sauce is full of heart and winter comfort with spinach and possibly cavalo nero adding their vegetable voices to the hearty yet delicate dish.

Gnocchi di patate con Anguilla e porri

The gnocchi hogs the spotlight, despite looking quite the unassuming dish of potato dumplings. A quick heist reveals the dreamiest mouthful ever; the gnocchi ethereally and meltingly light, only brought back to earth by the rich and creamy butter and leek sauce.

Orecchiette con fegato di pollo

The orecchiette wasn't on the normal nor specials menu but had some intrigrued with its promise of chicken livers. The 'little ears' were inedibly hard on their first appearance but a firm al dente after a few minutes' kitchen revisit, and the dish declared a winner thereafter.

Anatra ott'olio con cavolino di Bruxelle

The duck confit was the other contender for my choice, and I had a quick sample of the meat which was tender but a smidgen too salty for tastes. It was served with brussel sprouts and a sauce involving chestnuts, which may have balanced the saltiness.

Buffalo mozzarella, rocket, vine ripened tomato, prosciutto

This huge and vibrant salad is definitely made with a few of my favourite things. Coming across with a very communal feel, I don't know whether to start with the blushing strips of prosciutto or if I should surreptitiously start hoarding the chunks of mozzarella. It's definitely one of the better, more flavoursome buffalo mozzarella I've had in Australia and simply heavenly with a sweet cherry tomato.

Red cabbage, raisins, dolce latte, walnuts, balsamic

The red cabbage salad is a surprisingly stunning salad too; not as sexy as the mozzarella but what it lacks in looks, it makes up in taste. The julienned cabbage is perhaps lightly blanched, having a perfectly crisp but not raw texture. Doused in olive oil and caramelised balsamic vinegar, it nests whole walnuts, raisins and a mystifying absence of the promised blue cheese. That's until the blue cheese enthusiast somehow unearths a motherload of dolcelatte at the bottom of the cabbage pile, and proceeds to eat it all. So much for communal.

The back courtyard has now filled and become unexpectedly loud. We're expecting to be booted out at any moment (we were pre-warned) and so forgo desserts in favour for other sins just over the road at one of my all time favourite bars.

Cocktail queue at the bar at The Victoria Room, Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

It is all about the cocktails at The Victoria Room. Okay, and a little about the plush lounges, stunning lamp collection and pretending that you're some sort of British royalty back in the day. But their cocktails are oh-so-pretty, yummy and just the thing to make you forget any niggling issues about getting older or unreliability.

Awaiting garnishes

The Victoria Room's cocktail list is worthy of study; page upon page of unique yet not crazily out of this world concoctions, with the sneaky non-alcoholic drink too.

Cocktail mise en place

Cocktails at The Victoria Room

The rest of the evening is cocktail-fuelled and not well documented. I recall that the Old Istanbull Iced Tea comes with cucumber slices and is not so much refreshing as odd, with a big hit of gin. It's the gained wisdom of 25 years that results in departure at a civil hour, not an extraordinarily painful or late awakening the next morning and a not hazy recollection of the night. Older and wiser indeed.