They’re baaaaaaaack! It’s been 2 looong years but finally the Rising Sun Workshop has returned! The communal motorcycle workshop and eatery has now got permanent digs in Newtown and with Nick Smith back at it with the ramen, we cleared our weekend so we could feast.

The space is light filled and welcoming, a surprise considering the building was an 100+ year old hardware store!

Dimity Genaus returns with an amazing array of baked goods- that Carrot Cake omgggg BEST! Dan Cesarano is also smashing out some amazing coffee, using a custom blend made by Single O Roasters called The Workshop blend.

Breakfast starts from 8am and we immediately zero in on the Breakfast Ramen ($15) which has a wondrous flavour bomb of a broth. I don’t normally eat a heavy breakfast but I loved the richness of the broth! We find out later that buttered toast was added to the pork and chicken double broth before being strained out to create that oh so satisfying flavour.

Stab stab! Helloooo gooey egg yolk! Noods reckons he would prefer an onsen style egg but I actually quite liked the lightly fried egg in the ramen and you all know how much I love bacon 😛

I was surprised to see Kaya toast ($11) on the menu and even though I knew there would be several bowls of ramen in my near future, I couldn’t resist ordering it. Brioche bread had been lightly toasted and sandwiched with a generous amount of fragrant kaya- a coconut, egg and pandan jam. I thought the dollops of banana cream with dots of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) on the plate wasn’t really needed as it detracted from the flavour of the kaya toast which was pretty damn good and something I would order again.

We’d arrived early so we could try the Breakfast Ramen and planned to stay until the lunch menu switched over at 11-11.30am so we could try the 3 ramens available.  The Dark ($17) has a broth made of chicken, pork bones, shiitake mushroom and smoked hocks. It’s not as heavy as the Breakfast Ramen but has a more complex layering of flavours which I enjoyed. The noodles are firm and the egg has a perfectly gooey centre. The bowl is topped with a slab of kurabuta pork belly, a curl of black fungus, a juicy mushroom, bamboo shoots, caramelised onions, and a crisp sheet of nori seaweed.

The Light ($17) is a shio (salt based) broth made with Holmbrae chicken. I do prefer richer, heavier style ramens but The Light would probably be good for those not wanting the heavier shoyu style ramens.  This comes with a slab of Kurabuta pork belly as well, greens, a mushroom, bamboo shoots, a perfect ajitama (marinated soft-boiled egg), green onion and nori seaweed.

Lastly is The Monk ($17) which is heavy on the miso and comes with a scattering of corn, mushroom, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, greens and an ajitama egg. For some reason I’m never keen on miso based ramens so we’ll just move along 😛

There’s heaps of seating upstairs- with counter seats overlooking the kitchen so you can watch the action, or grab a stool at the long communal tables that were custom made and the perfect height to slurp up some ramen. I’ll definitely be back to check out the rest of the breakfast menu and grabbing one of everything from the baked goods cabinet!

Rising Sun Workshop
1c Whateley Street,
Newtown

Trading Hours:
Sun – Wed: 8am – 4pm
Thurs – Sat: 8am – 4pm, 6pm – 9pm

Man how the rain gets me down! It’s just so easy to take one look out the window at the pouring rain and hopping straight back into bed and ordering a pizza delivered! Pepperoni, thin crust and a garlic bread pls. But this weekend I thought, nay, we shall venture out and head to month old Smoking Gun Bagels in Woolloomooloo!

Le menu. Located about a block away from Flour and Stone and in the old Toby’s Estate premises, Smoking Gun Bagels specialises in Montreal style bagels. Their bagels are individually hand rolled, boiled in water that has been sweetened with honey- a defining characteristic of this style- before being baked in a woodfire oven.

Noods likes his usual brekkie staple of bacon and eggs and chooses a poppyseed bagel for the Hands Off Snakey ($12)- woodfired bacon with gribiche aka herbed egg salad. The bacon is deliciously smoky with crispy edges and the gribiche surprisingly packs a punch of flavour with a strong hit of white pepper, chives and dill.

I’ve gone for the lighter route and order the Not So Salmon ($15) on the All Dressed bagel that has an addictive crunchy combo of sesame seeds, poppyseeds, carraway seeds, wattle seeds, garlic, onion and salt. The bagel is slathered in tangy Pepe Saya cream cheese and layered with flakes of hot smoked trout, spears of pickles, capers, red onion, dill and pops of briny trout caviar.

And because I wanted something sweet, we also ordered the Queen P ($9) for dessert! I opted for a plain bagel which was then schmeared with peanut butter, macadamia and wattleseed crumbs and a sprinkle of salted macadamia brittle. This was crunchalicious and pretty damn filling!

PS40, a cocktail and soda bar in Sydney CBD, provides the syrups for the sodas. There’s an intriguing Smoked Lemonade, Wattle Cola or Bush Tonic for $5.

There’s a couple of tables inside, or if you’re lucky you can sit at the bigger tables outside on the footpath. They do a roaring trade for takeaway bagels, either as is or with toppings and also stock gluten free vegan donuts from Nútie Donuts. I’ll be back to try the Yid Life Crisis ($14) with woodfired chicken, charred avocado, kaffir lime and mountain pepper and super keen to see the chef special bagel where a different chef will come in and do their bagel creation each month!

Smoking Gun Bagels
129 Cathedral Street,
Woolloomooloo

Trading Hours:
Mon – Fri: 7am – 3pm
Sat: 8am – 3pm
Sun: 8am – 3pm

Woohoo so birthday month continues with dinner at Restaurant Hubert! Helmed by Dan Pepperell (ex 10 William St), Restaurant Hubert has quickly become one of Sydney’s hottest restaurants in town and it’s not hard to see why! I’d made the booking a month ago back when they were still accepting reservations for groups smaller than 6 and scored the coveted booth table, overlooking the baby grand piano in the main dining room. The fitout of Hubert is like nothing I’ve seen in Sydney! After making our way from street level down a flight of stairs, we pass cabinets filled with hundreds of tiny liqueur bottles before entering the reception area, warmly lit by flickering candles and lamps strategically placed around the room.

So before we start, I’d just like to apologise for the upcoming photos. You see, Restaurant Hubert has the perfect lighting for romantic dates but not so great for people who want to take pics but refuse to use flash aaaand the power went out about midway through our meal so I made do with the candlelight!

And I don’t normally talk about bread but Hubert’s complimentary bread is all kinds of wonderful, with delightfully fluffy innards and a crisp crust. They will happily bring you another basket as soon as they see you’ve demolished the last piece!

The Malakoff ($14) is a must order, it’s a ball of deep fried gruyere cheese with a schmear of Dijon mustard and a couple of slices of dill pickles to cleanse the palate. AND IT IS THE BOMB YO! Seriously though, how can you go wrong with deep fried cheese??? There was no way I was sharing this baby and made sure Noods had one too. After I finished stabbing into the golden crust and devouring every last gooey cheesy strand, I eagerly looked at his plate with the intention of stealing more cheese only to find he was doing the same and staring at my empty plate 😛

The Duck liver parfait ($18) is equally as impressive, the slab of parfait with a layer of maple syrup jelly is rich, creamy and oh so decadent and definitely worth getting another basket of bread to slather it on!

The Prime beef tartare ($23) is a generous mound of hand cut Wagyu topside mixed with egg yolk, chives, capers and nubbins of cornichons. I loved the mountain of thinly cut french fries but wished they were thicker so we could scoop up the tartare.

We decide to share the Bavette Steak ($42) for our mains and hot damn! This 350g grilled Rangers Valley flank has got to be one of the best steaks I’ve had in Sydney! So incredibly tender with a perfect medium rare center and that disc of Bordelaise butter? Be still my beating heart!

Oh and because I love my carbs I had to get a side of Pommes Anna ($12), super crispy potato slices layered in a rich beurre blanc sauce.

The desserts menu is short and sweet, we decide we’re too full for anything rich like the Creme Caramel ($18) or the Religieuse au chocolat ($14) and instead choose the Melon en surprise ($22) which quite honestly does surprise me, considering how much I hate coconut in my desserts! The Santa Claus melon is filled with a refreshing young coconut sorbet, melon balls, sorrel jelly and tiny pops of finger lime making it the perfect dessert to wrap up this epic dinner.

I loved the fitout of Restaurant Hubert, the seamless service and the amazing food and am looking forward to returning for the burger on the bar menu!

Restaurant Hubert
15 Bligh St,
Sydney

Trading Hours:
Mon – Sat: 5pm – 1am

Have you ever had such an incredible meal at a restaurant that you don’t even know how to convey the words on how amazing the experience was? That’s exactly how I feel when thinking about the lunch the boy and I had at Vue de monde when we went to Melbourne for my birthday. It starts from from the moment we were greeted in the lobby of the Rialto building to the impressive walk through the wine cellar. Then there’s the amazing view from our table, the impeccable service that was friendly and down-to-earth and every single incredible dish that we received in the 10 course degustation. Ready for some pics? Let’s go!

We start with some snacks, first up is this Chiko Roll made with fermented barley, charred cabbage, shallots, carrots and roasted buckwheat mayo. All it’s missing is a drizzle of tomato sauce and it’s the schmancy version of the milkbar from yesteryear.

A glistening Moonlight Flat Rusty Wire oyster is briny and zingy with the green grape granita.

The next lot of snacks is a trio: ribbons of buttery Wagyu beef; a beef tendon puff with celery root and prawn powder; and a mug of beef broth that warms the soul.

Vue de monde makes their butter in house and a trolley is wheeled over with an original Miele butter churner. The butter has been aged for a month we’re told, and has such an incredibly rich flavour, almost tasting like brie or camembert!

I couldn’t help but slather the butter inch thick onto the slices of warm bread!

Next up, morsels of lightly seared King George whiting and a fat mussel lurk in the charred orange sauce along with quandong and a sprinkle of microherbs.

AND THEN THIS! My fave course was this plump marron tail with a sheath of translucent squid, a dusting of seaweed powder AND A DOLLOP OF CHICKEN EMULSION! Everything about this dish was just so fricken tasty I greedily stared at Noods’ plate hoping he’d give up his marron haha but no dice. We were encouraged to use our hands and no cutlery was provided and yep that chicken emulsion was just finger lickin good!

Next up is the Marron Snag haha a homage to the Aussie snag sizzle 😛 I loved the interactive element to this course with the sausages arriving sizzling on a grill, warm brioche buns and condiments of caramelised onions and seaweed mustard served on the side. The sausages are a revelation, consisting of marron, scallop, chicken and seaweed- it’s no wonder we are blown away by the flavour packed into the sausage!

Cook me mah dinner!

The palate cleanser is a classic from Vue de monde with fresh herbs and flowers sourced from their garden at Burnham Beeches. Liquid nitrogen was poured at the table and we were instructed to carefully grind everything into a powder.

And then a quenelle of lemon myrtle sorbet is added and makes for the most refreshing palate cleanser ever!

Moving onto the heavier end of the dego is the strikingly presented crushed Yukon Gold potatoes, buttery and comforting and topped with a mountain of Yarra Valley trout roe and a puddle of black shellfish sauce as dark as the night. I loved popping each bauble of roe between my teeth for that briny burst!

The next course was kangaroo and it is lightly seared at the table on bincho white charcoal.

The red kangaroo loin does look a bit on the too rare side (for me) but flipping it over shows that the quick sear has actually cooked the kangaroo to a perfect pink centre with a caramelised edge.

Then comes the super tender braised veal loin with pickled, raw and scorched cabbage. It looked like such a simple dish but the flavour of that veal was amazing!

I absolutely loved this last course of Aged Milla’s farm duck breast with leek and fermented truffle, the duck was so tender and juicy but the skin! Oh my! How did they get that skin so perfectly crisp?!

And now onto desserts starting with this cute as a button quince sorbet in a cone of crisp parsnip!

Aaaand we were sent out a platter of petit fours!

Petit Fours- eucalyptus ice pops, ‘fairy bread’, macadamia cookies and lamingtons.

And then Vue de monde’s signature Valrhona chocolate soufflé arrives…

With a spoonful of vanilla crème anglaise liquid nitrogen! That soufflé will be the death of me, it was the lightest, fluffiest soufflé I’ve ever had!

AND THEN… THE CHEESE TROLLEY! I’d been eyeing the trolley all lunch and made sure to save some space because cheese makes my world go round!

Mmm cheese how I love thee… Noods was too full by this stage so I pretty much singlehandedly finished this haha

And some wattleseed caramels to finish!

Check out this amazing view from the 55th floor!

We even got some goodies to take home! I absolutely loved Vue de monde, yes it’s exxy but it’s definitely worth it for a special occasion!

Vue de monde
Level 55, Rialto
525 Collins Street,
Melbourne

Trading hours:
Lunch: Thursday – Sunday: from 12pm
Dinner: Daily from 6pm