Wok and Noodle Bar @ Potts Point

Looking for an authentic and quaint Japanese style noodle bar in Sydney? Head to Wok n’ Noodle Bar in Potts Point.  Although the address is Shop 2, 119 Macleay Street Potts Point it is actually in Llankelly Place(tucked in behind Busshari).

Wok and Noodle Bar were opened by the guys of Ramen Osan and have been opened for a few months. Seating only a handful of people at a time, this tiny kitchen overlooks its patrons and is genuinely authentic Japanese.

 

 

We share a serve of the gyoza that are home made. 

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Fresh and full of pork, ginger and garlic with a chewy yet soft wrapping and a thin crispy bottom these are good!

 

I have taken up on the recommendation to try the unique Sydney Black ramen. I’m intrigued and definitely find that I am starting to enjoy the varieties of ramen (remember it’s not that long since I really started to ‘get’ ramen).

A piping hot bowl of ramen is served to me on this wet cold day and it’s the perfect weather for this variety of ramen (but anytime is a good time). It’s a nice size bowl of soup (not over the top large) and I instantly fall in love with the bamboo handles soup spoons that are offered up to use, along with chopsticks.

The soup base consists of both Chicken & seafood stock topped with a selection of pickled bamboo shoots, yam, broccoli, mushroom, onion, Chinese yam, black garlic oil and parmesan cheese.

The black garlic paste floats on the top of the soup like a glorious oil slick and is nothing like I imagined but loved every bit of it!

 

 

 

My dining buddy orders a bowl of the spicy miso ramen, which is a Hokkaido style ramen, it’s a spicy chicken stock, a soft gooey egg, shallots and other tidbits. 

The ramen here at Wok and Noodles is thinner and lighter than the Ramen O San counterpart but just as delicious and tasty.

As Sydney in the grips of the ramen craze, you can rest assured that Wok and Noodles are at the top of their game. Definitely a place I will love to come back to soon.

 

 

Sushi Rio @ Westfield Sydney

I love Sushi Rio so much that I am on average once a week.  I have started having cravings if I don't get a such fix!

 

Sushi Rio is in Westfields Sydney on Level 4.  Most dishes are $3.50 making this sushi train a fantastic cheap lunch in the city.  You can choose off the train or you can order from a list of dishes. 

 

 

 

I would have to say my favourite sushi dishes here are the soft shell crab handroll, the crispy skin salmon (because it still meaty) and the grilled salmon nigiri.

Make sure you ask for fresh wasabi, which comes cold out of the fridge and top with copious amount of pickled ginger (it's the best).

Sometimes they have special dishes on, like the crispy prawns pictured below.

 

Sushi Rio is definitely a go too place for lunch!  Best to go early during lunch time, although turn around time is frequent.

 

 

 

Travel Photo of the Month - June 2016

I have been culling my old travel photos lately. 

While sifting I came across this photo and it brought back a flood of memories. To a day that was most definitely in the top most memorable days in all my years of travel. One of my dream trips was to do ‘Africa’ safari style. Free camping out of the truck for a couple of months across the continent had always been a dream and that dream became a reality in 2001.

This particular day we were in Livingstone, Zambia. We were visiting that side of Victoria Falls. 

We were lucky to be there during the season when the mighty Zambezi river was low and flowing slow(er) and were able to wade out into the middle of the river to the Angel’s Armchair (or Devil’s Pool as some may know it now). A natural ‘pool’ that is on the edge of the Falls, literally. 

Sitting in this pool peering over the ledge into the First Gorge and looking 100 metres down to the Zambezi River below was one of the most awe-inspiring, inspirational moments of my life. A moment that I have always cherished.





Don't worry I'm not 'throwing' the photos out, just converting to soft copy and getting rid of the bulky, heavy photo albums that are gathering dust and culling some of the unnecessary photos!  keeping the keepers!