Deli Bottega (1/144 Glenayr Ave, Bondi Beach NSW)

Last Sunday I spent the afternoon sitting outside in a singlet top – pretty awesome for a winter’s day but not so unusual down at stunning Bondi Beach. On the last day of my four day sojourn back to my home city I met a friend for brunch at Deli Bottega, a charming (not in the small and dirty real estate agent sense of the word) corner situated cafe positioned to the side of the usual weekend Bondi busyness.

I was befriended on Facebook by the cafe which is owned and run by a friend and his partner whom I met in Spain years ago via our mutual friend. It is Spanish inspired with  a good mix of meats, seafood and vegetarian. The options are plentiful but not overwhelming, creative but not over-complicated, and delicious without hesitation.

The ricotta pancakes with berry compote were just right for brunch, the perfect sunny Sunday treat. My dining partner had poached eggs (four of them, he’s a big boy!) with spinach and roast tomato on rye – healthy and delicious.

Of course I am biased but this really is a gem in a suburb where the rest of the shops and cafes (and people) can start to feel a little samey.

A definite must for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’d love to get back for sunset wine and cheese – there is a fabulous selection of imported cheeses, jamon, figs and other antipasti yummies.

Deli Bottega: 1/144 Glenayr Ave, Bondi Beach NSW. (02) 9365 7319.

I started swimming (yes, I know it’s getting into winter!)

I wanted to update this post with a little note to say that I am really really really enjoying swimming! Have weaved it into the morning routine and getting to a 6:30am swim with my amazing colleague Jaselyn. She’s a pro and taught me to go the distance by swimming slower with the mantra in mind “I’m going to have an easy swim today”.

On Monday morning I swam the furthest so far since I started swimming in late May. Perhaps by the time summer comes along I’ll feel ok to try ocean swimming. Now if only I can overcome my irrational but very real fear of sharks…

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To add to my suite of exercise activities I’ve started swimming. Encouraged by my courageous colleague Jaselyn who is a pro triathlon competitor, I have begun following the straight line and getting some lap time in.

Luckily, I have found the perfect swimming partner in Caitlin – considerably more competent than I and experienced in swim training… the ideal training partner because I know she would be capable of dragging me out should I start to flounder or get a cramp! I realised I have not swum a distance since 1998 at my school swimming carnival…

I had my first taste of swimming when I was in Sydney for Mother’s Day at the 25m pool at my parent’s apartment. But my first real pool time with Cairty was last Sunday at Fitzroy Swimming Pool, an outdoor location with a 50m pool, perfect for catching the last autumn afternoon sun. It wasn’t very crowded and there were plenty of lanes available for casual laps.

There are lanes dedicated to play, slow, medium, fast lap times.

I contemplated the play lane and, decked out in my black Speedo costume with goggles on head, I realised I was perhaps misleading in my costume because at the moment of choosing lanes I didn’t feel ‘qualified’ to wear such garb on my first day swimming! So I started in the slow lane wearing my ‘fast’ cossie. The pole dancing must be working a treat because I managed to move over into the medium lane… and then back to slow then the fatigue began to set in after the first 200 metres.

Last Friday morning we ventured into the darkness for a 6:45am swim at indoor Melbourne City Baths and it was not half as unpleasant as that hour of the morning sounds. Given that I usually get up at 5:45am to make spin it was kind of like a sleep in for me! The pool here is 30m long and a little more crowded so it’s harder to count the distance  covered. Not that I am up to counting yet, I’m just aiming to get through half an hour of laps without feeling like I may have dropped a lung at the bottom of the pool.

For our next swim we may try Richmond pool as another indoor alternative although we are fond of the outdoor Fitzroy pool, even though it is a little chilly in the air. But I’ll keep updating the swimming progress and come to a decision about which pool to commit to!

This is a wonderful form of exercise I’m really enjoying. There is no impact on the joints and I feel kind of ‘floaty’ after I get out of the pool and not heavy like after spin. the cardio workout is amazing and I’m using smaller muscles I forgot about which is good too. The best part has been gaining a lovely new friend – thank you Caity for inspiring me to dive right in.

So, what do I bring to the swim training team? Well, I hope it’s my enthusiasm and commitment to the times we schedule in. I think I could very well become addicted to the swim.

*Note: I wanted to take pics of the pools but I felt creepy. So I didn’t.

Thai Foon, Darling Harbour Sydney

During my luxurious weekend in Sydney with my gorgeous family we went to a fabulous Thai restaurant in Darling Harbour called Thai Foon. I am quite picky when it comes to Thai food – quite often I feel the dishes are too oily or one flavour dominates the whole dish but the balance of fresh ingredients of the Thai Foon offering was just right.

My family enjoy their food and we all cook, even my 17 year old brother! The Chinese influence means we are great believers in sharing our dishes which is great because it means you get to sample more options from the menu. The menu is extensive but not overwhelming with choice and there are more creative recipes mixed with the usual traditional Thai fare. I wish I could remember exactly what was in each dish but Saturday seems like such a long time ago now! I hope you can see well enough in the pics I took in the dimly lit restaurant.

We chose crispy skin duck, sizzling mixed meat dish, whole snapper flash fried with sweet chilli, Thai style seasonal vegetables with rice noodles.  All were delicious and the flavours well married so the freshness of the ingredients could be appreciated.

My only criticism of the evening was the noise level. At the risk of sounding like and oldie it was a bit too loud – it’s not the kind of place to go for a quiet evening. But overall, yes I would recommend Thai Foon as one of the better Harbourside restaurants.

THAI FOON

Shop 329-330 Level 2, Harbourside Shopping Centre
Darling Drive, Darling Harbour
Sydney NSW 2000

Ph: 02 9281 2005

Pony Lounge & Dining (The Rocks, Sydney)

One of Mum’s favourite restaurants in Sydney just so happens to belong to a good friend of mine (the PR in me thought I should disclose this early in the piece!): Pony Lounge & Dining at The Rocks. We took her there yesterday for Mother’s Day and enjoyed fine food that is consistently delicious and of top quality ingredients. Mum doesn’t like anything too “clever” preferring to savour fresh ingredients cooked to perfection. If the dish happens to be “clever” then so be it but sometimes the quality and flavours of the ingredients can be lost to the creativity of the chef.

The sun was shining and the day was perfect, with only the tiniest hint of autumn in the crispness of the air. After strolling through the charming Rocks Markets and picking up some infused vinegars and oils for our very own MasterChef mother we were seated at the long wooden communal table which works a treat in the space. And each seated group manages to retain a sense of privacy, separated by the bench seating and table lamps.

We shared some small plates for entrée – seared sirloin, calamari, frittata. For mains we each had something different which is perfect because we all got to try one another’s dish! Mum had the lamb, Dad had prawn linguine, Alex had salmon, Riordan had the venison and I had the barramundi. It was all cooked to perfection and just the right size portion.

After mains we were spoiled with a chocolatey dessert and each Mum received a little gift of hand-made truffles. A reliably top experience, Pony is a must if you’re after quality food at reasonable prices for the location, venue, service and style!

Appreciating the differences

I went back to Sydney on the weekend for a wedding and the trip really made me appreciate the differences between Sydney and Melbourne. The old Sydney versus Melbourne debate is a farce and not something I support or weigh in to because the cities are just too different to compare in a ‘which do you like better’ poll.

There are a few ways of describing the differences between the cities. I have been using the Sydney as bling, Melbourne as classic style simile for a while which was only highlighted during my trip back to Sydney. But one of the funniest I have heard came from someone who was perhaps from Sydney. It goes like this:

Melbourne is Sydney’s uglier sister who has had to develop a better personality than Sydney.

I don’t know about the ‘uglier sister’ part of the analogy but I do think Melbourne has a warmer, more welcoming personality than Sydney where everything is shiny and showy and just a little bit tacky in some places.

No matter how many pros and cons there are, I will always have a special place for both cities in my heart. There will always be a little more something special for Sydney but only because it has the advantage of being the place where I have grown up and where my family is. There is nothing better than family. Perhaps I can get them to move down here….