Have I ever told you guys the story about how I never used to eat cheese? The parentals don’t like cheese so by association I never ate it as a kid. Do you know what a Maccas junior burger is? A cheeseburger minus the cheese. It was no wonder I hated Maccas and it was only at the end of primary did I realise the magical powers of cheese after finally trying a cheese toastie.

And that was my segue to my visit to Buffalo Dining Club, a mozzarella bar for all the cheese lovers out there! I’ve visited Buffalo several years ago but this time I’d managed to drag the boy along because look! Giant wheel of cheese!


The Cacio e Pepe ($20) catches the eye of everyone in the room when the wheel of Grano Padano is carried out to our table and the spaghetti with olive oil, salt and pepper is mixed right in front of us. As the spaghetti is mixed in the wheel, flakes of parmesan is scraped off and transforms this amazingly simple but oh so tasty pasta. I could eat this every single day!


From the cold meat options which runs from mortadella, salamis and Jamon, I choose the San Daniele Prosciutto (60g/$9) which are delicate, thinly sliced ribbons that just about melts in the mouth. I instantly regretted not upsizing to a larger portion.


I can never resist ordering Burrata ($20) whenever I see it (other cheeses offered were Scarmoza, Buffalo, Caprino, Ciambella al Tarfuto) and picked Tempura Cauliflower and Pecorino crusted eggplant as the accompanying sides, because well, deep fry = win. The cheese also comes with some bread and crostini and a dollop of spicy nduja paste.


OOOOZY!!! Oh how I love burrata, so creamy and so deeeeelicious!


We’re also brought a jar of Buffalo’s own Chilli sauce which is pretty darn addictive, with a good amount of heat balanced with a truckload of garlic and sweetness of capsicum.


I couldn’t resist ordering the Buffalo Ricotta Gnocchi ($20) and it did not disappoint, the gnocchi was like little fluffy pillows of happiness and the napoletana sauce was rich but not overpowering.


Aaaand I had to get the Tiramisu ($10) which while creamy, was surprisingly light though I did wish there was a tad more booze in it heh


Buffalo Dining Club is pretty cosy and gets absolutely packed for dinner so if you’re like me and have issues with people and small spaces, then rocking up for lunch on a Saturday is your best option 😛

Buffalo Dining Club
116 Surrey St,
Darlinghurst

Trading Hours:
Weds – Sat: midday – 11pm

EDIT: CLOSED

Alright stop, JAFFLE TIME! So the boy and I were headed to The Meat Emporium to stock up on some steaks but needed sustenance before we braved the coldness of their storeroom and I vaguely remembered that Tartine (635 Gardeners Road, Mascot) was in the area. And yes before you say anything I know Tartine is known for their tartines (open faced sandwiches) but I was super keen to try a whole bunch of their jaffles because hey, jaffles reminds me of my childhood!


Chef Anthony Telford (ex Public Dining Room) opened Tartine in Feb this year and I’m kicking myself for not visiting sooner. The space is quirky with super comfy couches and reclaimed furniture, bread comes from Brasserie Bread, meat from Haverick Meats, but best of all, everything on the menu is under 10 smackeroonies!


Jaffle stuffed with lasagne ($9.90). Wait, what? Nah your eyes did not deceive you, you read that correctly- it’s a jaffle stuffed with a whole chunk of lasagne!


Mmm lasagne innards! The textures and flavours in this baby is pretty cray, there’s the toasted white bread, the folds of soft lasagne sheets, the layer of creamy bechamel sauce and the rich tomato sauce studded with shredded beef. Gotta love me some carb on carb action!


I’ve been craving pizza all week so I just had to order the Pizza Jaffle ($9.90) which was stuffed with slices of hot salami, cheese and pizza sauce. I would’ve loved more cheese in this one but that’s because there can never been too much cheese on a pizza for me 😛


I had high hopes for the Bacon and egg Jaffle ($8) but sadly the egg wasn’t oozy and gooey as I had envisioned. No matter, there was dessert to be had!


There’s 3 sweet jaffles on the menu (strawberries, ricotta, maple syrup and pear, ricotta, honey) but how could I not order the Nutella, bananas & marshmallow ($9.90)?! WOAHHH baby!!!


Innards shot! You know what’s perfect inside a jaffle? Nutella. Nutella is already awesome but when it’s all toasty warm and melty? Sublime. A river of hazelnut goodness surrounds slices of banana and gooey marshmallow and ohhh man this one is definitely one for the sweet tooths!


I’ll definitely be back to try the tartines and will definitely have to fit in another lasagne jaffle or two 😛

Tartine
635 Gardeners Road,
Mascot NSW

Trading Hours:
Mon – Sat: 8am – 3pm
Sun: 9am – 3pm

EDIT: CLOSED, moved to Newtown!

Is it ironic that I was drawn to Belly Bao (53-55 Liverpool Street, Sydney), located in the depths of the Good God Small Club, not for their baos but for their bao-burger hybrid? It’s not that I don’t like baos, but my heart had been disappointed so many times in my search for a Wonderbao replacement in Sydney that I just couldn’t handle more heartache.

And then I saw the Baoger and it was love at first bite! You can get a single patty Baoger ($10) but hey life’s too short for regret so why not go for the double patty Baoger ($13). The buns are pillowy soft baos which takes this burger to another level though eat it fast as the bottom bao does get soggy. The patties are super juicy, like, crazy juicy! And of course there’s the melty slices of good ol american cheese, crisp lettuce leaves and thin slices of sweet onion and pickled radish to cut through the richness. The Baoger’s are only available on Thursday and the kitchen does get smashed so get there early!

But not to worry I did try their baos and they were pretty damn amazing! Our baos of choice were the Slow Braised Beef Short Rib ($6.50) with kimchi, spring onion and sesame mayo; Crackling Roast Pork Belly ($6.50) with shards of crackling, pickled radish, coriander and kewpie mayo and my fave: the unctuously tender Slow Braised Pork Belly ($6.50) with pickled mustard greens, coriander, crushed peanuts and kewpie mayo.

The Sweet Potato Fries ($7) has the perfect crispy edges to fluffy innards ratio, the chilli aioli is on the spicier end of my chilli tolerance spectrum but it’s just pretty darn addictive.

The Belly Bao Sticky Fried Chicken ($15/half) is finger licking delicious! The chicken is juicy and tender, the batter crispy and not too thick and the whole shebang doused in an irresistible honey soy sauce. This baby has got to be right up there on my fave fried chickens ever!

And then it’s dessert time! The Baonana Split ($6.50) is as pretty as a picture, the gua bao is deep fried and stuffed with a wedge of vanilla ice cream, fresh banana slices, salted peanuts aaaaand drizzled with Nutella! It is amazing and I’m pleasantly surprised that the gua bao isn’t the slightest bit oily!

I loved the Strawbelly Bao ($6.50) too, possibly almost as much as the Baonana Split as the strawberry slices are drizzled with condensed milk and we all know condensed milk is my weakness!

I’m pretty impressed with the baos at Belly Bao, each one hand made with love by Sylvia Tran who formerly sold her baos at the Paddington markets every weekend. I’ll definitely be back this Thurs for another Baoger!

Belly Bao
Good God Small Club
53-55 Liverpool St,
Sydney

Trading Hours:
Wed – Fri: 5pm – 10pm
Sat: 6pm – 10pm

Hope ya’ll have been staying dry and warm! I hate the rain so I’ve been in hibernation mode and refusing to budge from my pile of blankets. But then the powers of Instagram drew me out to newly opened Bloody Mary’s (332 Victoria St, Darlinghurst) and of course I just had to start the day right 😛

The Bloody Hell ($20) is a twist from the classic Bloody Mary, using chilli infused vodka instead of the usual Tabasco sauce which gave it a spicy kick but not enough to send me running for the hills. There was a good balance of sweetness from the tomato juice and sourness from the lime and look! Food on skewers! A cheeseburger slider and a prawn! Novelty presentation win!

I’d wanted something light to eat so ordered the Pancakes ($13) and while they might not look it, they were super fluffy. I was happy with the generous amount of bacon piled on top but wished they were of the crispy variety. The pancakes could’ve used a bit more maple syrup (because who doesn’t love drowning their pancakes in syrup?) but extra syrup was easily procurred by our friendly waitress.


The boy opted for The Hangover ($25), a giant plate filled with spicy baked beans, bacon, chorizo, hash brown, poached eggs and sourdough toast. It is a bit on the pricey side for a big brekkie but Noods smashed it and said he would’ve liked a vegetable element of mushrooms or a tomato?


The breakfast menu at Bloody Mary’s has the usual suspects like granola and bacon & egg rolls but I’m super keen to return to try their lunch menu which runs the gauntlet from ceviche, burgers and pork cutlets and of course to drink each and every Bloody Mary variation they have 😛

Bloody Mary’s Sydney
332 Victoria St,
Darlinghurst
NSW

Trading Hours:
Mon – Wed: 8am – 10pm
Thurs – Sat: 8am – 12am
Sun: 8am – 10pm