Posts tagged ‘Lunch’
Cheeky North Sydney lunch @ Viet’s Pho
I’m so thrilled to be working in North Sydney again – not just because of the food – but also because I’m close to loads of friends and family, so can have a cheeky lunch here and there when there’s time to escape the office. Last Monday, I had the pleasure of catching up with BF for a quick lunch before heading off to Brissie for a few days. After some wandering around Tower Square, we happened upon Viet’s Pho. It was an easy choice since there were lots of seats available (and seldom elsewhere), but this easy choice became a great one as Viet’s Pho was almost better than Pho that Mr L and I had in Vietnam!
Back in action! Dreaming of Greece and a long, lazy brunch at Xenos..
Bet you thought I’d fallen off the face of the Earth! Never fear – here I am again with tail between legs… Why such a quiet period? Well, frankly, it’s been a hard day’s night and I’ve been working like a dog. Oh yeah – like a big dog – a Great Dane perhaps. In any event, I’m back now and look forward to some more regularity in my life. What’s more – Mr L and I are heading overseas in less than two weeks, so I’ll be able to share some magical food experiences with you. Bring that on really. In the mean time though, dreaming of Greece, I thought I’d tell you about a great Sunday brunch we had recently with BF, Commando and TB at Xenos Cafe Restaurant in Crows Nest.
The big dog here is a representation of how hard I've been working.. (pic from http://www.breederretriever.com)
A long, lazy brunch at Xenos
You know how people talk about long lazy brunches? On this particular Sunday, that’s exactly what we had. We met up at 10 am and had such a good time eating, chatting, laughing and playing with TB (BF and Commando’s gorgeous tiny wee man), that the time seemed to zoom by. Before we knew it, the hands on the clock were pointing at 12:30 pm! Time really does fly when you’re having fun.
Corn fritters of a different kind
I’m a sucker for a corn fritter. Like my love for pork, I am somewhat renowned for this affiliation and of course Mr L knew what I was having as soon as he looked at the menu. BF had the same idea and after a small amount of deliberating over Xenos’ extensive breakie menu, we ordered the corn fritters. They were served with bacon, avocado and a tomato relish. Unexpectedly, they also arrived with two poached eggs and a cheeky piece of roast tomato on the side. A decent breakfast by any account!
The corn fritters were deep fried – a take on the corn fritter we’d not previously encountered. With the relish and the bacon and avocado, they’re pretty good, but I’d probably prefer them less fried. Everything else was delicious though – particularly the poached eggs and tangy relish.
Corn fritters
The Cure
Mr L made his way through a number of glasses of red the night before, so when he found a menu item named “The Cure”, he wasn’t going to argue. The Cure was comprised of bacon, steak, eggs (any way), a hash brown, five chipolatas (yes, five!) and a token piece of tomato. The only thing that could have improved this breakfast was for it to be delivered by Robert Smith of the meal’s name sake band. I’m not sure whether it’s due to rehydration, or the breakfast itself, but Mr L certainly has more of a spring in his step after breakie. It’s quite possible that in this case, The Cure was better than prevention!
Mr L's Cure!
Tomatoey eggs
I didn’t note down the name of the breakie that Commando chose from the specials menu, but it was a special Greek breakfast, made up of poached eggs in a rich tomato sauce with loads of dippy toast. When we’re in Kefalonia, Santorini or Mykonos in the next month or so, I’ll see if I can determine what Commando’s breakie was called and will let you know! 
Commando's tomatoey eggs
The tomatoey eggs went down a treat, and BF and Commando shared a cheeky fruit plate for a breakie vitamin boost.
Fruit platter with honeyed yoghurt
Good hosts
The people at Xenos were happy to accommodate us during our long, lazy lunch stay. They brought us loads of drinks, lots of water and the cafe was warm on an otherwise cold day. I’ve gotta say – in Crows Nest, Xenos is one of my faves and there’s little doubt that we’ll be back.
The low down
I’ve just been reading that Xenos Cafe Restaurant is now celebrating it’s 40th year of service. It is located in a sunny spot at 7 Burlington Street, Crows Nest and trades over the following hours:
Breakfast: 7 days from 7:00 am
Lunch: 7 days from 12:00 pm
Dinner: 5 Days from 6 pm
Closed for Dinner Sunday and Monday nights
To contact Xenos:
Phone: (02) 9439 1748
Fax: (02) 9436 2477
Or visit the Xenos website at http://www.xenosrestaurant.com.au
What to expect from me…
It’s fair to say that the busy times at work are set to continue until Mr L and I embark on our holiday in two weeks, but I’d like to think I can blog at least a few times a week from now on. Thanks for your patience during my unexpected hiatus!
Moving on, I think it’s unlikely I’ll be blogging daily - a few times a week is probably more realistic and if I can manage more frequency, that’ll be a bonus! 
What I’d love from you…
Soon we’re heading to London, several parts of Greece, Paris, Iceland and a few cities in the USA. Do you have ideas about terrific little eateries, or fancy, flash restaurants that we should visit? I’d love to hear them! To provide a suggestion, add a comment using the form at the bottom of any of these posts.
Cheers!
Bet you thought I’d fallen off the face of the Earth! Never fear – here I am again with tail between legs… Why such a quiet period? Well, frankly, it’s been a hard day’s night and I’ve been working like a dog. Oh yeah – like a big dog – a Great Dane perhaps. In any event, I’m back now and look forward to some more regularity in my life. What’s more – Mr L and I are heading overseas in less than two weeks, so I’ll be able to share some magical food experiences with you. Bring that on really. In the mean time though, dreaming of Greece, I thought I’d tell you about a great Sunday brunch we had recently with BF, Commando and TB at Xenos Cafe Restaurant in Crows Nest.
A long, lazy brunch
You know how people talk about long lazy brunches? On this particular Sunday, the brunch lived up to its name. We met up at 10 am and had such a good time eating, chatting and playing with TB – BF and Commando’s tiny wee man, that the time seemed to zoom by. Before we knew it, the hands on the clock were pointing at 12:30 pm! I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.
Corn fritters of a different kind
I’m a sucker for a corn fritter. Like my love for pork, I am somewhat renowned for this affiliation and of course Mr L knew what it was to be for me when he looked at the menu. BF had the same idea and we ordered said corn fritters: served with bacon, avocado and a tomato relish. Unexpectedly, they also arrived with two poached eggs and a cheeky piece of roast tomato on the side. A decent breakfast by any account!
The corn fritters arrived looking deep fried – a take on the corn fritter we’d not previously encountered. With the relish and the bacon and avocado, they’re pretty good, but I’d probably prefer them less fried.
The Cure
Mr L made his way through a number of glasses of red the night before, so when he saw a breakfast option named “The Cure”, he made the apt decision to receive help in that form. The Cure was comprised of bacon, steak, eggs (any way), a hash brown, five chipolatas (yes, five!) and a token piece of tomato. The only thing that would have improved this breakfast would have been delivery by Robert Smith of the meal’s name sake band. I’m not sure whether it’s due to rehydration, or the breakfast, but Mr L certainly has more of a spring in his step after breakie – so it’s quite possible that The Cure worked!
Tomatoey eggs
I didn’t note down the name of the breakie that Commando chose from the specials menu, but it was a special Greek breakfast meal, made up of poached eggs in a tomato sauce with loads of dippy toast.
The tomatoey eggs went down a treat, and BF and Commando had a cheeky fruit plate to wash it all down with.
Good hosts
The people at Xenos were happy to accommodate us during our long, lazy lunch stay. They brought us loads of drinks, lots of water and the cafe was warm on an otherwise cold day. I’ve gotta say – in Crows Nest, Xenos is one of my faves and there’s little doubt that we’ll be back.
The low down
I’ve just been reading that the unpretentious Xenos Cafe Restaurant is now celebrating it’s 40th year of service. It is located in a sunny spot at 7 Burlington Street, Crows Nest and trades over the following hours:
Breakfast: 7 days from 7:00 am
Lunch: 7 days from 12:00 pm
Dinner: 5 Days from 6 pm
Closed for Dinner Sunday and Monday nights
To contact Xenos:
Phone: (02) 9439 1748
Fax: (02) 9436 2477
Or visit the Xenos website at www.xenosrestaurant.com.au
What to expect from me…
It’s fair to say that the busy times at work are set to continue until Mr L and I embark on our holiday in two weeks, but I’d like to think I can blog at least a few times a week from now on. Thanks for your patience during my unexpected hiatus!
What I’d love from you
Soon we’re heading to London, several parts of Greece, Paris, Iceland and a few cities in the USA. Do you have ideas about terrific little eateries, or fancy, flash restaurants that we should visit? I’d love to hear them! To provide a suggestion, add a comment using the form at the bottom of any of these posts.
Cheers!
A good day – brunch @ Fundamental and a visit to Adriano Zumbo patisserie
Well it’s been a good eating day today for Mr L and me. It started with brunch @ Fundamental in Balmain with PC and Tines. An after brunch stroll to Adriano Zumbo’s patisserie uncovered further spoils that kept us going through the day. Dog spotting, bird watching and lots of giggling occurred before we headed home to retire to the couch for a relaxing finish. Now with Masterchef on the tv, all in all it’s been a fundamentally good day!
Lunch at Nicks, and a promise to tell you about LL Wine and Dine bar
I’ve just flown into Adelaide, and this post was mostly constructed without internet access on that flight, so it’s a quick one on a working lunch last week with my boss @ Nick’s Seafood Restaurant, Cockle Bay. Tomorrow night, I have even longer in airports and on planes, so will write the post about the weekend’s shenanigans ootnaboot for PC’s birthday including a quite fabulous, if not somewhat squeezy dinner @ LL Wine and Dine Bar, Potts Point – stay tuned!
The talked up lunch @ Satang Thai, Haymarket + more pics from Mr L
Lunch @ Satang Thai in Haymarket with my mate Johy. Crispy pork belly with glossy Chinese greens and a tasty chicken and veggies in peanut sauce. Also, as promised, a few of the very clever Mr L’s pics from yesterday’s sunrise mission @ Freshie and a couple of Berrima shots.
Brunch @ Django Django in Fitzroy (Melbourne part 1)
Mr L and I were lucky to get an invitation to spend the weekend before last with a number of our terrific friends in Melbourne. Of course, we were excited to be in Melbourne with the gang, and exhausted after a huge few weeks, so we did the natural thing on Friday night and drank lots and lots and lots! On Saturday morning, of course we woke up starving. Fortunately for us all, FG had a cunning plan to get us to Fitzroy on the tram. Therein started a day of laughter and general hillarity – complete with chats with a random new Magpie-supporting friend (rumoured to be starring on Hey Hey it’s Saturday in one or two weeks), a lot of walking, shopping and eating.
No cook chocolate-orange tart – Mother’s Day special
It’s been a busy weekend, filled with celebrations – a few for Mother’s Day and a big one for our best mate Commando, who had a great birthday yesterday. We’ve just got home and there’s been no time to blog in the mean time, but hopefully the wait was worth it, for tonight’s post is a creamy, fudgey, decadent, no cook chocolate-orange tart. The filling in this tart is so gooey and rich, you could consider making the filling, chilling it and serving it as a chocolate jaffa mousse. Sound good? Check the pictures!
Almonds from Aldi – alright!
A quick post tonight – mostly made of pictures – I just wanted to tell you about a little spoil I picked up yesterday at Aldi, North Sydney. Of course, you might already be aware of these little gems, but if not, I’d thoroughly recommend picking some up for your lunch box. Aldi’s “Oh so natural” almonds come in a pack of six x 30 g boxes, and make such a tremendous, healthy treat for you and yours. (And no, I’m not on commission!)
Nanna G’s lunchtime fave: Myer Cafe
My Mum (Nanna G) is a big fan of the salad sandwich. All salad sandwiches are good, but there’s one that she particularly enjoys from the Myer Cafe @ Macquarie Centre, North Ryde. My Dad (Pa) likes any excuse to have lunch out and about. So having lunch @ Myer Cafe is an excellent way to have lunch with them both!
