Captain Cook Cruises, Sydney, AUS

Posted on June 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Last night in Sydney, last night in Australia, last night of vacation. Why not wrap it up with a dinner cruise around the city? So, we boarded a boat for a Captain Cook Cruise. They call it a ‘Sunset Cruise.’ This has pros and cons.

Pros:

Beautiful view of that yellow object fading in the sky
The colors of the sky against all the buildings
Just a nice setting for dinner

Cons:

Since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s now fall, which means the sun is setting quite early. Dinner was a 5pm.

Regardless, this was quite a nice way to close things out. First thing offered when we sat down was bubbly!

Then then first course (entrée per them) was Smoked Ocean Trout, shaved fennel, dill, capers with black caviar dressing.

That fennel was so perfectly mandonlin-ed. I’ve going to have to make some of this stuff!

For the main course I opted for the Tasmanian Grilled Salmon Fillet, accompanied by Dutch carrots and asparagus served with capers and lemon oil.

Tell you what, Tasmania should be known more for just their Devils! (they have such great wine, too!)

During the dinner they also served red or white wine. I sampled some of both. They were Shiraz or Sauvignon Blanc, Tyrell’s Wines, Moore’s Creek.

They didn’t have any dessert on the menu I could eat and were so kind as to bring a fresh fruit plate.

Scenic, delicious way to end the trip.

Golden Century, Sydney, AUS

Posted on June 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Decided to check out Chinatown while in Sydney, AUS. Walked around the whole area and then of course had to have some dinner. Finally decided on Golden Century.

It was quite the large restaurant and we were in the minority. That had to mean great food! The menu could easily put your back out if you weren’t careful. Huge and heavily bound. We got there a bit early and not too many tables were full. Within 15 minutes the place was packed.

Our waiter didn’t speak too much English and wasn’t too responsive, but eventually we were able to order some wine — decided to go with Hentley Farm Brass Monkey Vineyards Pinot Gris. Some nice pear tastes on there; wise choice.

After looking through the novel of a menu, we finally decided on steamed prawn dumplings, steamed chicken with ginger and shallots, and poached Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce.

The dumplings took awhile to arrive but once they did, ummm, very good. Then then other food arrived quickly. The chicken was awesome! Overall, very nice dinner. Couple things — fairly pricey and why is this place open until 4am — what do you do until 4am????

Portobello Caffe, Sydney, AUS

Posted on June 10, 2016 by melsmosaic

Was walking around Sydney and needed a bite to eat before taking a tour of the Opera House. Found a place called the Portobello Caffe, right on the water, where people’s food looked really good. Had to take a seat.

They do a lot with salmon at this place so at the table we ordered the Bruschetta Al Salmone — avocado, Tasmanian smoked salmon, sun-dried tomatoes, capers & Smoked Salmon Salad — tasmanian smoked salmon, mixed lettuce, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, grapefruit, lemon dressing.

Both were delicious and good sized portions. One complaint — very expensive — $24 (for lunch), even though very good. And, come to find out, there is a 6% surcharge for food on the weekends, pretty much because restaurants in that area know they can. You learn by trying, right?

The Morrison, Sydney, AUS

Posted on June 10, 2016 by melsmosaic

First night in Sydney, wanted to have something easy and close to the hotel. The concierge recommended The Morrison, which was about a block away. That worked.

They had a interesting spread on the menu. We opted to actually try one of those funky guacamoles that was on the special — pea guac. Not bad, though I like it ‘straight.’

For the main course we went with a whole baked fish, believe it was flounder. Absolutely delicious! They just use chilli, olive oil and parsley.

We paired all this with a nice white, Under & Over Pinot Gris. Nice and refreshing and a perfect match for the meal. The service at the restaurant was not tremendous but the food made up for it.