Cool Mac - Kirribilli

Cool mac is a great japanese fusion cafe in Kirribilli that serves some amazingly tasty food. Home of what could be one of the best Udon’s on the North Shore (if not Sydney!). Very happy that you wife discovered and recommended we try this place - it’s fast become a favourite brunch spot.

Amazing Udon.

Situated in Kiribilli, Cool Mac is a little cafe that punches some solid japanese fusion dishes that make for an outstanding brunch.

One small thing you’ll note is that the interior space is kind of awkward.

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Menu (as of June 2019):

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Dengaku toast ($17.00)

eggplant, avocado, red miso, toast. (+ Onsen Egg, $2.50)

A japanese take on Avo toast, with amazing miso eggplant. I ordered this with the additional onsen egg (which comes on the side). I’ve had their previous menu ‘miso toast’ offering and knew it was amazing. This version, whilst lacking the meaty goodness of Charsu Pork (of the now discontinued menu item), was really tasty and good.

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Niku udon ($17.00)

soy braised wagyu beef, onsen egg, udon

(photo taken by my wife)

The udon at Cool Mac is a must try. It’s hard to explain how this unique wagyu udon has a perfect combination of flavours - but you’ll have to trust me. This is a perfect winter/autumn brunch meal option. Look around at the other tables and there is a good chance that you’ll spot it being enjoyed by other patrons.

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Mazesoba ($17.00)

dry ramen, soy braised stock to mix, pork belly, nori, egg, shallot, sesame

One of the special menu items that my wife occasionally orders - a dry ramen. I’m not a massive fan of dry ramen, I personally prefer the typical hot soupy version - but this dry ramen is always a hit with my wife. I guess it’s kind of like a japanese ramen/noodle version of a Korean bibimbap? you stir all the good items together and enjoy your tasty mixture.

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PRO:

• Udon is amazing

• All dishes tried are really tasty.

• Great coffee
  

CON:

• Limited seating space. Interior space could be reimagined for increased dining capacity.

• No highchairs for little ones (a new criteria that can make/break outings for parents).

• Parking can be a pain, as Kiribilli can be popular on weekends and decent parking zones are frequently taken.
  

OVERALL:

Cool mac is one of our regular places to go, and we are always happy to come back. Please do try the udon (or at least convince someone you are with to order it!)

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DETAILS:

Address = 2/34 Burton St, Kirribilli NSW 2061

Phone = (02) 9955 3087

Site: ‘Cool Mac’ Facebook Page

Map:

 

Firepop - Haymarket

You may have had lamb skewers before, but I bet you haven't had ones this good! New kid on the block ‘Firepop’ stands out in the hustle of Chinatown’s Friday night marketplace with a fantastic stall, fresh and high quality meat, and eye-catching signage. The brand and chain are fairly new on the scene - but already delighting people with their made to order flame cooked (hot coal BBQ) lamb skewers which are known as “pops”.

Note: They are currently only available on Friday nights between 4:00pm - 11:00pm.

The stall stands out on Little Hay Street among the generic stock standard ‘food stall’ neighbours.

Each pop (skewer) is made to order - which means a wait but the pay off is ‘'fresh off the flame’ lamb

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Disclaimer: In the spirit of honesty, and since it’s not likely to ever happen again, I should disclose that I am friends with the owners Ray & Alina. You may think this may be a biased review then, but if you knew me, that actually means I’m more likely to over-correct and be a harsher judge.

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MENU:

(Note: There are currently only two options to choose from, so I’ll let their promotional handout cover these).

“The OG”" ($3.95 for 1, or $14.95 for 5)

Signature lamb skewer with lamb rack cap fat pieces (trust me - order this)

The OG is the signature dish and frankly star of the show. The main difference between it and the slim is that the OG has pieces of lamb fat in between the lamb meat pieces. If you are a little put off, or questioning that, may I immediately interject and say - try it. The lamb is high quality and in larger pieces than I would have expected. The fat was a perfect complement and just super tasty. The spices and fact it comes hot off the flame is just amazing.

You get a choice of spice level; no chilli, mild, or extra hot.

• No chilli is your basic skewer, no real spice heat.

• Mild is exactly what it should be, a nice kick, but not too hot or spicy. (These are my fav)

• Extra hot is for the fans of spice. I didn’t actually try these, but my wife who is a chilli fan said these were her fav.

The OG was literally the only thing I ordered - and I ordered 20 of them to share with my wife.

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The Slim OG ($12.95 for 3)

Lean lamb pop (no fat pieces)

The slim is the alternate option on the menu lacking the fat pieces of the normal OG. I didn’t get a chance to try these, I am a mega fan of the original OG.

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Takeaway!

Now, obviously the pops are best enjoyed immediately, and it’s hard to resist tucking in them, but I was actually sent in by my wife to collect these and bring them home. I got my order to go and was given the neat carry holder as each cup holds 5 pops. I’ll later mention that these carriers are not great for car travel - which may be a problem only for me.

The last remaining pop after we feasted on them at home.

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Special details - Eco-friendly and uniquely designed.

One thing I really love about Firepop is the specific brand and little attentions to detail. Their message is great, their social media accounts (Instagram @firepopaustralia) are giving insight into who they are, and lots of little things make it special.

The cups are fully recyclable, including the lids.

The grill has been custom made, he entire unit is built in a special way that emits no smoke out of the stall, and everything is cooked with sustainable “black pearl” coal from QLD that is generated from nut production. It’s these little details that blew me away.

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PROS:

• Highly moreish.

• Big, juicy, fresh pieces of flame cooked lamb are exactly as good as it sounds

• Amazing stand/stall that opens and collapses into a deployable display.

CONS:

• Limited menu, locations, and times - but that’s because it’s so new (and I know they’ll launch a proper location at some point).

• There is a wait for the cooking process.

• Takeaway paper handles do not survive driving in a car and ordering excessive amounts is tricky to manage (but I made it home intact - though there was a moment where I had to quickly move half into my car’s cup holders).

OVERALL:

I’m super excited about Firepop and highly recommend that anyone that is in Haymarket on a Friday night (or nearby) make a beeline for Little Hay Street between 4-11pm and get some! I wish them all the best, and can’t wait to see what happens next for them.

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Details:

Address: Little Hay Street, Haymarket (approx. #9 Little Hay Street - see map below).

When? Friday nights, 4:00pm - 11:00pm.

Site: Facebook Page / Instagram @firepopaustralia

MAP:

 

Bendooley Estate Dining - Berrima

Visiting Berkelouw Book Barn and having a meal at Bendooley Estate has been on my wife’s dining bucket list for some time. The moment we walked in the door I can honestly say I was blown away by how charming and beautiful the Book Barn and restaurant is.

Situated inside and next to Berkelouw Book Barn

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Menu (as of August 2019);

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Pork belly pizza ($26.00)

Spicy BBQ Sauce**, tomatoes and sage

We decided that we should split a pizza for the table, and whilst all sounded good - we opted to try the ‘Pork Belly’. The one thing we were told by the server was that the BBQ sauce was “fairly spicy / are you ok with spice?”. We nodded and thought, of course, we love some heat/chilli. The pizza was quite tasty - except that the BBQ sauce was too hot for comfort. All 4 of us, 3 Koreans and a fairly alright chilli eating Aussie managed to find it unbearable. I would say it was a 8 or 9 out of 10 in heat.

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Fish of the Day - Barramundi ($37.00)

with Saffron Risotto

The fish of the day sounded so good when the waitstaff explained it that my wife instantly said “sounds great, I’ll have that!”. The fish was cooked perfectly, and the risotto was a creamy contrast to the meat.

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Linguine with picked blue swimmer crab ($29.00)

Chilli, garlic, lemon and gremolata.

A seafood pasta with crab and chilli - a great combo that was enjoyed before anyone else could grab a sample.

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Slow-braised Goat shoulder ($36.00)

with buckwheat polenta, cavolo nero and Sicilian green olives

I opted for the Goat because I’ve often been quite happy with goat dishes at restaurants. This was very tender, well done, and likely was a very tasty dish. The problem is, the pizza had overwhelmed my mouth/lips and the polenta mostly served to reduce the heat - rather than allow me to enjoy my main.

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The Bendooley Moroccan Lamb burger ($26.00)

Harissa aioli, pickled cucumber, sumac onions, tomato chutney, parsley and fat chips.

The lamb burger sounded fairly good on the menu, and to be honest it was a decent enough burger. The major problem was nothing to really do with the restaurant - but rather that I had already planned to cook my own Moroccan lamb cutlets for dinner that night - and in my totally humble opinion, mine were better than what this dish was. The fat chips were mostly neglected for the side shoestring fries.

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Shoestring Fries ($10.00)

with rosemary and smoked paprika salt.

A massive bowl of fries was gratefully picked at by all. I personally appreciated having something to accompany the pizza. The ‘rosemary and paprika” salt was so sparsely coated on the fries that it was barely there at all.

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PROS:

• Beautiful location, tempting to just go check out all the fantastic books.

• Dishes were immaculately presented.

• Wines from cellar door available by the glass (see last photo of menu, above).

CONS:

• Popular and bookings seem important. We were lucky to get one of the few tables set aside for walk ins.

• The spiciness of the BBQ sauce in the pizza could be reduced by 40% and still be enjoyable. More effort on the waitstaffs part to stress the heat of this is warranted.

• My main was rendered mostly unremarkable due to the heat from the chilli on the pizza.

OVERALL:

A stunning place to visit, worth checking out. This was on my wife's dining bucket list and I'd gladly come back again.

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Details:

Address: 3020 Old Hume Hwy, Berrima NSW 2577

Phone: 02 4877 2235

Site: https://bendooleyestate.com.au/dining/

MAP:

 

The Collaroy - Collaroy

There aren’t too many times when I write the name of a restaurant or cafe and think - well that’s a little redundant. Good thing the Merivale group like to keep the names simple. Having been to The Newport a few times, I was curious to see what The Collaroy had to offer.

The view from the restaurant level (deck).

A smaller secondary bar, that must be staffed during peak periods.

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Menu (as of July 2019);

(Click on image to view larger version)

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Rigatoni ($27.00)

Tube pasta, lamb ragu, tomato, rosemary, parmesan

This was one of the dishes I was trying to decide whether to order or not. I’m thankful that my sister in law picked it - she has great taste! It was a delicious ragu and came with copious amounts of fresh parmesan.

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Linguine ($28.00)

Narrow flat pasta, bug meat, parsley, lemon, chilli, garlic, breadcrumbs.

My wife is a seafood pasta fan (but must always come with extra chilli). This Linguine was great, I’ve always wanted to try a pasta with Pangrattato (breadcrumbs). I think this might have also been the first time I have eaten Bug meat that I can recall.

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Grilled Beef Asado ($34.00)

Chimichurri, beer battered onion rings.

I picked the Beef Asado because it was something unfamilar to me. When I was ordering, the server suggested I should get a side because it’s essentially “just meat”. I was surprised that this was Beef Short Rib - something I’m fairly familiar with from Korean food. It was delicious, though for $34.00 they might have provided a few more pieces of meat (6-7 on the plate?). If you aren’t sure what I mean by ‘short rib’, I took another photo;

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Italian Pork Schnitzel ($28.00)

Cabbage slaw, hazelnuts, lemon aioli.

A impressive schnitzel that is definitely not your typical pub special. This bad boy was much bigger than the photo makes it seem. It was also fairly thick and juicy.

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Fries ($10.00)

Aioli

A big bowl ‘o fries for the table. Very moreish and enjoyed by all.

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Broccoli ($13.00)

Almonds, sheep’s milk feta, confit garlic.

This is the side that I picked to counter my beef dish. It was really tasty and must’ve been a huge piece of broccoli considering how long the stalk was.

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Bonus : Bar

I was pleasantly impressed at the range and stock the bar had. I when tasked with picking a beer I had to opt for my favourite (Stone & Wood).

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PROS:

• Great food, attentive and friendly staff

• Well stocked bar

• Great view

CONS:

• Parking is problematic.

• Dinning area is only open from 12pm

• Some dishes are pricey for what they are.

OVERALL:

It was nice to say I’ve been there, but I probably wouldn’t go back unless I was showing some people from out of town the area.

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Details:

Address: 1064 Pittwater Rd, Collaroy NSW 2097

Hours: Mon/Wed/Thur 07:30-00:00, Fri/Sat 07:30-03:00, Sunday 07:30-23:00

Phone: 02 9114 7366

Site: Merrivale/TheCollaroy

MAP:

 

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0.6 Cafe - Alexandria

It was by pure luck that we happened to visit 0.6 Cafe, and wow what an amazing find!
My wife literally google searched “cafe” and picked this as we were driving through the area and wanting lunch.

Fried chicken wings that steal the show.

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Menu (as of July 2019);

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Give me wings (Fried Chicken wings) - (Small $10.00)

Fried wings with black mayo & sweet potato crisps.

We opted to get wings to share and wow they were amazing. Fresh, crunchy, and with a hint of sweetness - they were incredibly morish. Next time we should order the Large size ($13.50)!

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Duck duck duck ($19.00)

Fresh avocado, roast duck, onion, coriander, and classic housemade plum sauce on famous croissant

I picked this dish because it sounded so different on the menu. Duck on a croissant?! Sounds gloriously decadent. This was really tasty and enjoyed every bite.

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Crumbed Chicken Sandwich ($9.00)

Schnitzel with tomato, cucumber, spicy mayo, cheese & tokyo coleslaw.

This was the other item on the menu that I was considering. Happy that once again my sister-in-law picked the dish I was wanting to have. A very generous portion size, but mostly a schnitty sando!

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Udon for Autumn ($18.00)

Okra, corn, edamame, lime, nori, grilled salmon, crunch with homemade warm soup.

My wife picked this very refreshing udon. I really loved the way the broth came in a separate teapot that you poured over the ingredients.

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PROS:

• Amazing chicken wings… order them!

• Inventive and big menu

• Charming interior

CONS:

• Parking is a pain

• Menu has so many good items you’ll struggle to pick

OVERALL:

Wow, so happy with this cafe - cannot wait to come back. Looking forward to trying more menu items and revisiting those wings… did I mention the wings were good?

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Details:

Address: 1a/11 Bowden St, Alexandria NSW 2015

Phone: (02) 8205 9681

MAP: