Tan Viet Noodle House

There is no other place to go to for Crispy Skin Chicken with Tomato Rice. 

Enough said because nothing I say will do justice to the crispiness of the chicken and the satisfied "ah, so full" feeling when the plate is bulldozed to nothingness. Go try it yourself. You know you want to.



Tan Viet Noodle House
209 Rowe Street, Eastwood, NSW 2122, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9858 5167
Daily 10:00am to 10:00pm

Izakaya Yebisu

Although an izakaya is a sake dining place, we did not order any sake. Instead, we caught up over a simple and relatively healthy dinner of sashimi and Oosaka-style takoyaki.

Ordering is rather fuss-free, as orders are done using an iPad. During peak lunch and dinner time, you may have to wait in a queue, as they are pretty popular. Would be fun to visit in a group to try more things on their menu - their tapas-sized serve allows for more space in the tummy for more yummy!

Izakaya Yebisu
Shop 7-10, Regent Place, 501 George Street, NSW 2000, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9266 0301
Sunday to Wednesday 12:00pm to 11:00pm
Thursday to Saturday 12:00pm to 11:30pm

Lane Cove National Park

I am very lucky that in Sydney, I live near national parks. The nearest would be Lane Cove National Park, which if I feel like doing heaps of exercise, I could walk to or when I don't feel like it, I take a bus.

Although I live close by, I have visited the park only twice. For me, the highlights of the park include the weir:

Weir across the Lane Cove River

The riverside walking track that had us walking on sand, on rocks, in between rocks, uphill, downhill, on boardwalks:

The resident ducks, brush turkeys and other feathered friends:

The various wild flowers and interesting plants:

Haha, lingzi anyone?

Paku!

Heart-shaped leaf of a Bodhi tree

And of course, the Boat Shed where boats and kayaks are available for rent:

Pottery Green Bakers, Gordon

Each time I walk up the pavement from Gordon Station, I try to catch a glimpse of the pastry display at Potter Green Bakers. All I do is glimpse and imagine myself indulging in all its glorious sweetness until one fine morning, I managed to organise a catch up here with a fellow Malaysian food-lover.

The first thought that came to mind when I stepped into the cafe was: Wow, Mum and Dad would love this place! The use of timber and steel was evident throughout the cafe, which helped create a rustic industrial ambience.

The use of plants and used bottles not only help to soften the tone of the place, it also adds colour and character.

You won't get drunk on this!

I should have asked if the metal of their tableware was copper but I did not. However, I did find out that their parents run the Lane Cove branch and are originally from Vietnam. Their Dad is especially good with his hands - he personally stamped, shaped and buffed these little babies in their family workshop back in Vietnam.

My cuppa of chai latte (hot drinks from $3.50 onwards)

Both of us weren't very hungry yet so we ordered off the breakfast menu. K had a grilled halloumi and poached egg stack ($15), a healthy mountain of crunchy spinach leaves, juicy grilled tomato, salty and chewy grilled halloumi cheese, poached eggs with oozy runny egg yolks stacked atop a slice of sourdough toast with a peak of fresh sprouts. A little messy to have but anything with poached eggs would be delicious.

And to continue with the egg theme, I ordered one of my favourite things - French toast.

Looked small but it was very filling. Their version of French toast is with cinnamon, bananas and Canadian maple syrup. The had their bananas and maple syrup on the side, unlike many other places who have their bananas and maple syrup on top of the toast. This way, we, the people eating it, get to choose how many pieces of banana and how much syrup to pour over.

Ah, and of course, can't leave without trying some of the pastry on display, can we? We had an Opera Slice ($5.00), which we found a little dry. Very chocolatey but a little dry. Maybe it was just that one piece which was like that. Unlucky us.

The Citron Tart ($4.50), however, was delightful. The pastry was just right for us and oh my, that tangy citron punch - like!

Another thing to like - this quote by Oscar Wilde that hung above where I was sitting:

Pottery Green Bakers, Gordon
4 St. Johns Avenue, Gordon, NSW 2072, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9499 8799
Monday to Wednesday 6:00am to 6:00pm
Thursday & Friday 6:00am to 9:00pm
Saturday 7:00am to 9:00pm
Sunday 7:00am to 5:00pm