Chiosco by Ormeggio @ The Spit

Being whisked over to Mosman for a team Christmas lunch is always welcomed and most definitely appreciated. It is a glorious sunny December day (amid some bad weather days) to dine alfresco on the jetty overlooking the marina and Middle Harbour at Chiosco by Ormeggio, the more casual dining restaurant sister to Ormeggio (just on the other side of the jetty). The concept is Italian Trattoria and it's modern, fresh and judging by other diners good portion sizes!

 

 

Enjoying a glass of bubbles and admiring the view we peruse our menu for today and we are all excited about what is about to be served.

 

 

There are 15 people dining with us today so we have the Chefs Sharing Feast.
 

We start with some Pane. Fresh from the Ormeggio bakery the organic sourdough has a wonderful thick crust and fluffy dough. The bread is served simply with extra virgin olive oil.

 

 

The Burrata is served broken into creamy mozza chunks scattered on the plate with crispy kale, capers and crispy organic sourdough crumbs.  Each dish serves 3-4 people on the table.

Boxes (and I do mean boxes) of Fritto misto arrive next. School prawns and baby calamari coated in a semolina batter and deep fried to a crunchy mass of deliciousness. Served with a tangy lemon mayo. This was definitely my favourite of the day.

 

The Baccala fritters are moreish. The creamy potato centres were fluffy and the salted cod hinted of salt. topped with a creamy herb mayo this were good little bites.

A bowl of mussels arrive that are sauteed in a garlic, chilli and tomato sauce served with garlic bread. The mussels are plump and delicious.  The bread was soggy as it had soaked up a lot of the sauce.

 

Next up, Gnocchi with a pork cheeks, peas and a pea puree arrived.   The gnocchi were pillowy soft and the pork cheek was rich and had a depth of flavour that was surprising. Fresh peas are delicious!  this was topped with crispy strips of bacon.

 

A platter of the Gamerboni, Pollo alla Diavola and Corn arrived.

 

The plate consisted of grilled split king prawns with a lovely chilli and lemon dressing, free range chicken with chilli, rosemary and grilled lemon and cobs of corn dusted with paprika and pecorino.

The chicken was spicy and crispy and very tender and juicy.

 The grilled king prawns were fabulous and easy to eat as they were already split. The char on them gave them a great flavour.

I think the corn speaks for itself. Corn with spice and cheese is always a winner in my books.

 

We finished the meal off with a box of Bombolone and Cannolo. Some may have had coffee, I continued with bubbles.

The bombolone are donut balls filled with nutella and dusted in sugar. These are addictive! 

The Cannolo is filled with sweet ricotta. The shell is on the softer side but the sweet filling is light.

Chiosco has a great wine selection but it is also BYO (which we did as it was easier for us). As you can see I took a bottle with me on the boat.

We finished the afternoon off on the boat cruising around Middle Harbour and around through the heads before being dropped off at Darling Harbour. Bubbles on board and good banter amongst colleagues topped off a perfect afternoon!

Sapore di Napoli @ Kingsgrove - Round 2

A week after my first visit  I am back for a birthday dinner. Sapore di Napoli @ Kingsgrove

 

We start with garlic bread. The dough is bubbly with a few charred bits which make it crunch and doughy at the same time.  The garlic is superb.

 

 

My Dad raves about anchovies on pizza, my Mum not so much. He requested anchovies on the pizza and was shot down in flames (by Mum) so he got his own jar!  Look at the excitement...

 

 

 

Okay, so we didn't really get the jar but we did get a couple of bowls of them.  They are super briny and salty and they are the delicious. 

 

 

We start with the rocket and parmesan salad drizzled with aged balsamic and olive oil.

 

 

 

It turns into a pizza fest.  Some of us share a couple of pizzas.  I can't even remember which this one was.

 

The bases of the pizza here at Sapore are bubbly, fluffy but crispy. 

 

Miss B goes with a Clasic Margherita which is topped with the tomato, fior di latte and basil.

 

 

No 6 Pizza Capriccosa - double smoked ham, artichokes, mushrooms and olives.  This was a very tasty pizza!

 

 

My brothers own pizza.  No 15 fior di latte, beef mince, italian sausage, spicy salami, caramelised onion (added olives)

 

He devoured it! 

 

Again another successful visit at one of our local restuarants. 

Sapore di Napoli @ Kingsgrove

It is nice to see that Kingsgrove has started to grow a little over the past year or so. With the new development at The Pottery, new shops, supermarkets and restaurants have started to breathe some life into this sleepy little hub.

Seeking a dining destination for a dinner with friends (and kid friendly), Sapore di Napoli was suggested. Nestled in the square of The Pottery (across from Woolworths) this well lit busy open restaurant is just the ticket for 5 adults and 4 kids on a Saturday night.

2GB radio has voted Sapore di Napoli No 1 choice by customers (according to the sign out front) and offers the authentic woodfired pizza. Always striving to find the best meals, here I am.

 

 

 

 

Once we are settled with drinks (and wine buckets eventually) we catch up while choosing what we are going to share.

We start with the special of the evening. The Antipasti platter which has a selection of marinated artichokes, marinated capsicum, salami, shaved parma, olives, tomatoes and rocket, cheese and a ball of mozzarella. It’s a decent starter for the five of us.


 

 

We also went with a serve of Crocchette di patate con bufala (potato croquettes with buffalo mozzarella. 

 

The kids share a garlic pizza and a  bianca con prosciutto cotto (hold the chilli) and they are happy campers reading books (yes I know!) and chatting amongst themselves.

We all end up having a piece of the garlic pizza because it looks so good.  It's fluffy and full of toasty garlic!

 

 

The bianca con prosciutto cotto (hold the chilli)  looks good too.  There is something about cream based sauces for pizza and the fior di latte is gooey and cheesy.

 

Penne Vodka – penne pasta with bacon, cream and vodka. Surprisingly this cream based pasta sauce is light (or is it the vodka?). I love penne because the sauce gets inside the tube and coats the pasta more (I'm sticking with that). Smokey nubs of bacon are delicious.

 

Another share bowl is the fettuccine tri colore with Italian sausage, cherry tomatoes in napoletana sauce. the simplicity of this bowl of pasta is what makes it a winner. The intense tomatoes flavour is so yum and the pasta just past al dente. Very comforting dish.

 

Couple of  pizzas for the adults makes a very carb laden meal, but tasty and yum all the same!

Pizza Contutti Carne – tomato base, fior di latte, beef mince, italian sausage, spicy salami, caramelised onion and olive oil.

I have to admit the pizza is pretty good.

Pizza Garlic and Sausage with San Marzano tomato base, fior di latte, Italian homemade sausage, garlic and rosemary

I like the use of fior di latte, the stretchy curd melts easily and goes all gooey on top of the cheese. Nubs of sausage through out with hints of garlic. I like this pizza!


Fior di latte is fresh mozzarella made from cow’s milk rather than the traditional buffalo.
  

 

 

When there is room for dessert I have to take advantage.  Sapore di Napoli are well known for their homemade gelatos.  The stracciatella was calling my name.  What is that?  Vanilla gelato with chocolate chip.  Plain and simple but the perfect dessert.

 

My friends went with something a little traditional and had the cannoli. one filled with vanilla and one filled with sweetened ricotta.  the filling was lovely and light but unfortunately the pastry was soggy, which was the only small let down.  I like them crispy!

 

 

The kids finished off with the nutella pizza with strawberries.  By the look of it all around their mouths I think they enjoyed it very much.  and secretly who doesn't love nutella on a pizza!

 

 

I was delighted to find yet another restaurant in my area that is casual and fun and family friendly.  It's BYO as well as licenced.  The service, although very friendly and outgoing was a little hit and miss, where we had chase up a couple of requests (like an ice bucket for our wine, but that is okay.  It was busy and we eventually were given what we needed.   They also hold functions if you are looking for a venue for a private event.