You know when you keep seeing photos of a certain dish on IG and instantly know that you just HAVE to have it? That was me a couple of weekends ago when I kept seeing pics of food from Ester in Chippendale.

So I dragged the boy over last weekend for a lazy long lunch and we start with Roasted rock oysters ($5 each). They were bloody perfect considering how I normally hate cooked oysters! They were briny, plump specimens, not entirely cooked through so they still quivered when slurped straight from the shell and there was just enough of the zingy horseradish emulsion to set the tastesbuds a-tingle.

The Fermented potato bread ($22) is a must order. A MUST ORDER! The bread is blistered and crusty on the outside from it’s time in the wood fired oven. It’s super light and fluffy on the inside, just begging to be torn apart and dunked into the kefir cream with a squish of dashi jelly and a spoonful of salmon roe.

I ordered the Calamari & lardo on a stick ($16) solely because of the magical word lardo and it did not disappoint. Folds of smoky, tender calamari alternate between delicately thin ribbons of melty lardo that have been slightly caramelised by their baptism in fire.

We couldn’t resist Ester’s take on the classic sausage snag with the Blood sausage sanga ($9). A pillow of fluffy white bread holds a squiggle of mayo (or is it aioli hmm) and a steamed then roasted sausage made from minced pork belly, rice, nuts and pig’s blood. It’s surprisingly balanced, the sausage is damn tasty and doesn’t taste overly meaty or salty.

NOW THIS! THIS! The Potato pasta ($18) is what I’ve been drooling over this past month and it’s just as incredible as I had imagined. The sheets of pasta are silky and tender and hiding a incredibly smooth potato puree that melts on the tongue. The sauce is a potato dashi and puncturing the egg yolk so that it runs all over just adds even more umami to the dish and sends me into a dizzying stupour.

I had my heart set on the sourdough ice cream but when I saw the dessert special float by me I knew I had to have it in my life. BEHOLD! A giantass choux puff filled with cumquat and white chocolate cream!

Innards! The choux is deliciously crisp and flaky, reminiscent of Beard Papa’s cream puffs and the filling while delightfully creamy isn’t too sweet and is just the perfect end to the meal.

Ester
46-52 Meagher St,
Chippendale

Trading Hours:
LUNCH
Sat: 12pm onwards
Sun: 12pm – 6pm

DINNER
Mon – Sat: 6pm – late

So over the weekend the boy and I went to Holey Moley for a round of putt putt (where I completely kicked his ass) and we found ourselves outside The Stinking Bishops, ogling the cheese displayed in the fridge. Surprisingly for someone who’s this cheese obsessed I can’t believe it’s taken me 3 whole years to visit! But hey let’s not dwell.

We start with the Organic chicken liver pate ($20). It is perfect- rich, creamy, ridiculously smooth and the spoonfuls of apple puree and tumble of ginger and tamarind jelly helps to brighten the palette.

The French onion mac & cheese ($26) is one giant mountain of insanity.

LOOK AT IT! My gut is twisting just looking at this haha the creamy mac & cheese is buried under a pile of caramelised onions, scamorza (Italian cow’s milk cheese) and gruyere. It is incredibly cheesy and is every lactose intolerant persons simultaneous dream and nightmare.

There’s a Smoked Wagyu ‘Mr Crispy’ sandwich ($13) on the menu but we choose the Mushroom ‘Mr Crispy’ sandwich ($11).

The sammich is stuffed with juicy field and enoki mushrooms, melty taleggio cheese and a generous schmear of garlic and thyme mayo. The side salad was a welcome addition to cut through the richness of the toastie, especially the florets of pickled cauliflower!

And of course we had to get some cheese! 3 cheeses will set you back $29 and comes with muscatels, a slice of fig and walnut, quince paste and a bowl full of bread, lavosh and crackers. We get a buttery Brie Fermier, the creamy Domaine de Bresse mild blue and the unctuously ripe Epoisses de Bourgogne, in all its gooey, oozy glory.

The Stinking Bishops
5/63-71 Enmore Rd,
Newtown

Trading Hours:
Lunch: Fri – Sun: 12pm – 3:30pm
Dinner: Tues – Thurs: 5pm – 9pm
Fri & Sat: 5.30pm – 10pm