EoMEoTE #5: Eggymite--Scrambled eggs with Vegemite

Hot buttered toast with Vegemite?Or hot buttered toast with scrambled eggs?Why not do both?!?When inspiration for this month's End of Month Eggs on Toast Extravaganza struck me, I had visions of soft fluffy egg pillows decorated with beautiful dark brown swirls of salty goodness.I whisked the eggs with milk and then added half-a-teaspoon of Vegemite. Trying to swirl the solid lump of brewers

Una's on Broadway, Ultimo

A gaggle of foodies descended upon Una's on Broadway last night, Easter Monday, to see if this latest outpost of Una's could stand up to the original.In all there must've been about fifteen of us: some new faces in the crowd as well as some familiar ones, including Casey, Aaron, R and VerucaSalt.The restaurant was surprisingly empty, although true, this area doesn't have the luxury of constant

La Peniche, Stanmore

You've probably driven past La Peniche a million times on your travels up and down Parramatta Road but never realised it. Disguised amongst the bland windowed shop fronts, it is here at La Peniche where you can dine on a three-course meal plus glass of wine for a mere $30.$30! Tell me more!La Peniche is actually the "application" for students from the Paris International Cooking School, something

Out of Africa, Manly

Sipping hot sweet mint tea brings you back to a carpet-selling souq in Fes, where your t-shirt and shorts instantly label you as a bumbling foreigner, your brain is addled by the stifling heat, and a small but determined Moroccan is trying to convince you that the carpet that lays between you, really is an unbelievable bargain.We're not quite in Fes, but rather in wet and miserable Manly, having

Bairro Portugues - Petersham Food and Wine Fair

After checking out the St Patrick's Day parade in the city a few Sundays ago, we then high-tailed it to Sydney's Little Portugal for the annual Petersham Food and Wine Festival.It was a dazzlingly warm and sunny day and Audley Street was closed off to traffic and jam packed with stalls and wandering foodies.Hey we recognise this stall...Street mural by Portuguese-born Australian artist Luis

Berry bombs

When I saw kiwiberries in this week's Good Living, I didn't really think I'd see them at the local Woollies.But there they were. $3.99 for a punnet. Oh go on... why not. Gastronomic research you know?... :-)According to the Good Living blurb, kiwiberries are hand-picked, "vary in shape from round to elongated, weigh between 5 and 20 grams, and are loaded with Vitamin C".Once home and having

Pink Salt, Manly

EDIT: This restaurant has closed at this site. Bella and Evan have re-opened Pink Salt in Double Bay with a new kitchen team.For those of you who aren't Australian reality-TV addicts, Pink Salt is the New South Wales restaurant in the Channel 7 series My Restaurant Rules.Basically the concept goes that five couples at the start of the series are given the opportunity to develop and manage their

St Pat's pics

I'm a little behind in uploading my photos from the past week, but here are some pics from Sydney's St Patrick's Day parade.

Granola nuts

Today's Good Living mentions that Australian businesses have been sent letters by lawyers representing Sanitarium for mis-use of the word "granola". Short Black reports that apparently granola was trademarked by Sanitarium in 1921, and that the letter indicated that "businesses had 14 days to remove granola-labelled products from shelves".Reminiscent of the community horror at the ugg boot

IMBB13: Lime, white chocolate and coconut muffins

Wow. I can't believe I finally got my act together and made it to an IMBB finishing line. And before deadline too. Woohoo.What is IMBB? It stands for Is My Blog Burning and is basically an online simultaneous theme-based cook-off. This month's IMBB theme was My Little Cupcake (or muffin). Yay, I recall was my response. Not too intimidating for this lazy chef.A couple of days were spent recipe

Una's, Broadway

Una's at Broadway is now re-furbed and open for business. I walked past here on Monday and couldn't resist a couple of furtive shots of the interior through the window. The large snake-like communal table looks a little boarding-school like, but it seems a practical and economic way to deal with the irregular party sizes of students who are sure to frequent here.They've maintained the kitsch

St Patrick's Day Parade, Sydney 2005

Everybody loves a parade and after my frenzied coverage of the Chinese New Year festivities, I thought it only fair I cover Sydney's Celtic roots as well.However reflecting Australia's relentless multiculturalism, it was heartwarming to see Irish-Chinese families on the sideline and a couple of Chinese kids within the parade itself. Not to mention the Chinese dragon which was somehow included in

Farmers Market, Fox Studio

Saturday. Markets. Food. Eating.I'm starting to get used to this...Fresh cornPlumsBunya nutsTraditional carriers at the Ethiopian food stallHand-decorated cupcakes $5.50 eachfrom Carissa Lake at the Cupcake Princess stall.Barbie's on at the Mojo Picon stallGarlic prawns barbecued with Mojo Picon sauceChorizo roll with Mojo Picon and Mojo VerdeFarmers Market, Fox StudioWednesdays and Saturdays

La Disfida, Haberfield

Whilst Napoli in Bocca is famous for its soft-cooked thicker crust pizzas, La Disfida serves up its polar opposite--pizzas with bases rolled out so thinly that crispiness and delicateness go hand-in-hand.It's a Friday night and although it's still fairly early at 7pm, La Disfida is already starting to fill up with hungry patrons. There's a modern warm wood-and-brick feel to the place, with none

Look Mum...

Guess what happened at school today!!!Thanks to all the judges (fine fine taste people), J for supplying the photographic (and edible) material, and of course, the tirelessly working Ron from IMBB.Congratulations also to joint-trophy-teamster Who Wants Seconds, the other place-getters, and all the entrants in DMBLGiT. A fine selection of both photos and photographers!Now lens eat!

Snapped: Pitt Street Mall

Free hugs at Sydney's Pitt Street Mall.

Yutaka, Sydney

I first discovered Yutaka courtesy of Pinkcocoa here. I'm becoming more and more sceptical when it comes to buffets, but Pinkcocoa's pics and write-up convinced me to give this one a go.Yutaka offers a la carte sushi and teriyaki but most of the punters are here for the hedonistic excesses of the all-you-can-eat buffet. In a quaintly open pragmatic approach, the lunchtime offer is a bargain $12--

Pyrmont Growers Market

It's that time again. Pyrmont Growers Market.Yum.And who did I bump into, but pinkcocoa and shinchan!Loaves from La TartineFruit loaf from La Tartine: my new must-have staple!Liquid refreshment from Parker's Organic JuicesWe had the blood orange juice which was very tasty.Myoga from Kei's KitchenEDIT 1/2/06: Bolivian Rainbow Chillis(Thanks chillisrus!)Good Living Growers' Market7.00am - 11.00am

bills, Darlinghurst

If there's one place in Sydney that is Mecca for breakfast afficianados, it's bills. The phenomenally successful Bill Granger springboarded his career via a plate of humble but unbelievable scrambled eggs and the rest, as they say, is history.Today Grainger is restaurant owner (bills in Darlinghurst opened 1993 and bills2 opened in Surry Hills in 1996); best-selling cookbook author (bills food,

Una's, Darlinghurst

Ok, so it'd only been 15 days since we last visited Una's, but the allure of an $18 schnitzel frenzy proved too great to resist...We arrived at 7pm tonight and ended up waiting about 20 minutes in the bar upstairs. We're sure they make the room extra stuffy just to make sure the beers get knocked back more quickly!Downstairs, Una's was packed as usual. We scanned the menu blackboards quickly

AG's sticky chilli baby octopus

I'm a bit of a baby octopus fan and thought it was about time I tried my hand at home. Bit of sweet chilli sauce, plenty of searing heat and lots of toe-curling caramelisation! You can't go wrong with a DIY marinade.I never understood why people turned their nose up at baby octopus. Tentacles? So what. Chewy? Only if the chef has ruined them.However as I squelched marinade into the quivering blob

Napoli in Bocca, Haberfield

It's 6.15pm on a Saturday and like most restaurants around Sydney at this time, Napoli in Bocca is fairly desserted. "Perfect", we think as we approach the maitre'd.

"Do you have a booking?" we're asked.

"Err... no."

"One moment please" he says as he scans his reservations book. "Hmmm... I can give you one-and-a-half hour only. Is that ok?" he proposes.

Holy mackerel. (Or should that be