Bathers, Balmoral Beach

The cafe at Bathers on Balmoral Beach in Sydney is a great place to unwind after a hot day at the beach! From the outside you may think you're entering quite a posh place but having originally been a pavillon for bathers, there's no problem if your feet drag sand through the door!

I love the way the tables are set up to face the beautiful view of the beach! With cool blue water bottles and bright striped napkins, you can most definitely relax inside this gorgeous place.

My sister and I came here for lunch and tried a pizza and a zucchini fritto misto. The pizza was lightly covered in spinach along with sheep’s milk pecorino and grilled haloumi. The zucchini fritto misto was somewhat like tempura, with cherry tomatoes, prawns and sweet onion for flavour. Everything always tastes so light and fresh here, you can never go wrong on a hot day.

Spinach pizza with sheep’s milk pecorino and haloumi, roast garlic & sage

 Apple & watermelon crush, Apple mojito

However I could happily skip lunch and just have one of their amazing affogato's! I'm not sure how many times I've had one at Bathers but they are always perfect with biscotti on the side.

 

Affogato

Bather's address is 4 The Esplanade, Balmoral Beach.

Rose Bakery, Paris & London

My absolute favourite place in Paris was the cafe just around the corner from my place in the Marais. Rose Bakery is a one of a kind place in Paris, bringing together the modern English style of organic cafe food with the French attention to detail. The owners are in fact a couple - one French, one English.

Rose Carrarini, the chef, of which the place is named after has been praised for her talent in creating simple meals that don't compromise on flavour! From mini apple and raspberry crumbles to pizzettes, each item on the everchanging menu is made fresh on the day, making use of local ingredients.

After one slice of lemon cake and a great cappuccino (note - extremely difficult to find in Paris!), I soon became a Rose Bakery addict! My routine included a mid-week afternoon treat and a big brunch on Sunday.

 Apple & raspberry crumble

 Sunday brunch - bacon & eggs, pancakes

Broccoli, fennel & onion quiche

There are two locations in Paris - one in the 3rd and the 9th, plus one in London in the trendy Dover St Market building. But they all uphold Rose's vision of simple, fresh food.

And now that I'm back in Sydney, I have the book - Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery !

Rose Bakery locations -
30 Rue Debelleyme, Paris 75003 (metro - Filles du Calvaire)
46 Rue des Martyrs, Paris 75009 (metro - Notre-Dame-de-Lorette)
17-18 Dover Street, London W1S 4LT (tube - Green Park)

Borough Food Market, London

Living in Paris meant London was only 2 hours away, as opposed to 24 hours. So I hopped on the Eurostar and spent a week there. A friend back home had told me I had to visit the Borough Food Market in South East London while I was there. So I did! After spending a good hour trying to find it, getting lost between the tube stop and London Bridge, I was home.

Apparently this is the market where the famous Jamie Oliver buys his fresh produce. And of course he would, there were stalls of fresh juices, traditional pies, olives, cheeses, fancy sourdoughs, cupcakes, practically anything! I couldn't resist sampling every cheese and every type of olive!

The market seemed to be a popular place for people grabbing a freshly made lunch in their break from work. If only the foodie markets at The Rocks were on during the week!

If you're off to London anytime soon, I highly recommend going to the Borough Food Market! It's a great place to spend a good few hours sampling food, listening to a bit of music and then somehow finding your way back to London Bridge!

Borough Food Market is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It's address is 8 Southwark St, London (tube - London Bridge).

Aqua, Milson's Point

I was one very spoilt foodie on my birthday.  My boyfriend Peter took me to Aqua, Milson's Point as a surprise!

Perched above the open swimming pool next to Luna Park is a classic, modern and inviting restaurant. It’s the pool that you see whilst on the train as it begins to make its way over the Harbour Bridge. The restaurant just sits above it capturing one of the most amazing views in the world.

The food is modern Australian with perhaps an Italian twist.  I had the Veal Involtini filled with provola cheese, pesto, gnocchi Romano and asparagus.  The gnocchi Romano absolutely made the dish, very delicate and full of flavour. Peter had a King Island Beef Tenderloin, perfectly cooked – I’ll be having that next time!

Dessert. What can I say? Have you ever seen a mille feuille with mango sorbet instead of custard? The Aqua Mille Feuille was delicious with a layer of mango sorbet amongst layers of pastry infused with coconut crème.

Peter on the other hand chose something even more decadent, a chocolate plate with a milk chocolate mocha brulée, a dark chocolate fondant, and a white chocolate mousse with grand marnier jelly. Too much? Never.

Aqua’s address is Northcliff St, Milson’s Point.

Swerve cafe & espresso bar, Mosman

A few weekends ago I popped down to Mosman with two friends for a late lunch and coffee. Strolling along Military Road we came across Swerve cafe & espresso bar. I think this place has been around for some time but has recently had a revamp! Modern decor including a long communal table and timber panelling on the walls, this place is bright, filled with light even on a rainy day!

The menu was light and fresh with sourdough sandwiches filled with chicken and avocado or ham and mustard seed just to name a few. Along with a list of delicious smoothies and frappés! But let’s not forget Swerve’s best thing on the menu - their coffee. Swerve makes their own blend of coffee, which is one of the best blends I have tasted.

There’s nothing like a place that actually serves fresh bread these days. So many times are you asked if you would like your sandwich to be toasted because the bread is a day old and will taste better after it’s been covered in butter and toasted. Swerve’s sourdough was just perfect, I wonder if they made it themselves.

I highly recommend the mixed berry frappé! I love berries so to find real berries at the bottom of the glass was the icing on the cake.

Swerve’s address is 876 Military Road, Mosman.

The Rocks Aroma Festival

On Sunday 25 July, I went to The Rocks Aroma Festival. A scene of coffee, sweets and music! As it was a one day only event, the Rocks was absolutely packed!

 Each Australian brand of coffee had their own stall, selling coffee at $2 a cup. Along with sweet cupcakes, nougat, fudge, and Guylian hot chocolate!

 The Bacco Pasticceriaparticulary caught my eye. Beautiful Italian pastries. I find these to be extra sweet as they tend to be covered in copious amounts of sugar.

Pastries are definitely a European influence, but I like to think cupcakes are an Australian thing. In Paris, I only passed one cupcake store! The last few years in Sydney, cupcake shops, practically boutiques like Cupcakes on Pitt have really taken off. Here’s a favourite -

Ladurée

Another source of inspiration - Ladurée, Paris (founded in 1862).

Whenever I had visitors in Paris I would take them here for a truly French experience. You could say it is almost like our version of ‘high tea’ in Australia. But the rich flavours and the bright colours are something I have yet to find in Sydney.

To be found.