Napoli in Bocca, Haberfield - Sydney

The  Calamari Ripieni was carefully packed with other seafood mince and came out beautifully on the mouth. Even if I have a current aversion to overwhelming gravies of tomato, I accepted the Napoletana gravy well as it blended well with the taste of seafood. This was a good accompaniment to our Messina beer.

I have been to this restaurant several times - it is just a stone's throw from the main set of lights in Haberfield's junction of Ramsay and Dalhousie Streets. 

We had arrived ten minutes early and were told that Bocca opens at noon. We came back dutifully but were led to the worst table for two, beside a door that indicated toilet.  The place was otherwise relatively empty when we sat down. The veal was tough and chewy. We ordered three dishes between the two of us and even if we said we were sharing, one of the mains did not come with a serving spoon. 

I had inadvertently left a small bag of fresh aromatic bread when we left. When  I came back for it, I went to our lunch table but the chubby waiter, upon seeing me, exercised his discretion and was not very helpful, asked me to wait in a haughty tone, flinching a level of his ignorance and just shouted to another staff at the counter - the pizza guy - for the bag, instead of speaking to me directly to collect it accordingly.  In silence, , i walked over to another part of the venue and tHe pizza guy sheepishly gave me my bag of breads.

At that very moment, I thought of my resident villages of Italian cuisine in Fairy Meadow, Balgownie and Wollongong  - and the lovely Australians of southern Italian heritage there do not behave in this peculiar way.  I also felt to return to Carlton's Lygon Street.  In balance, I must note that the other wait staff were rather nice, including those who took our food and drink orders, cleared the plates and asked if we wanted to consider dessert.

The highlight of our Sunday lunch was the rucola - really fresh and rather sweet tasting large rocket with a subtle dash of thinly sliced Parmesan cheese, seedless olives, balsamic ooze and virgin olive oil.  We could eat them with an easy abandon and nurture our bodies with greens that are as meant to be consumed, without artificiality but with the quality of enhancing dressing and produce of the Earth as natural as they can be. At under AUD10, it was an optimal entree. 

The veal (Vitello Funghi) as one of the mains was disappointing meat wise.  Biting into them sent sensations of toughness and rubbery fears. Redeeming features were the white wine cooked sauce with a touch of cream  and the delightful potato pieces. We were glad that we had a non-tomato base for this. The lunch menu at Napoli in Bocca was not varied if you did not want pasta or pizza - and we had thought of getting something away from the chicken and fish.

The Grind Espresso Bar and Cafe, Surf Road, Cronulla - Sydney

Andy had been singing the praises of this cafe and I had to try it. Located on a side lane parallel to the main pedestrian mall in Cronulla in Sydney's south-east, it has a width of two shop fronts and faces the low rise single garages for units across the narrow roadway.  One can say it has a partly hidden location, but two streets away is the mall. The place may first look cluttered but there is a method to the buzz. The staff are cheerful on the morning the three of us dropped by. The lady who took our orders had a busy commencement in the cafe since that Saturday dawn, but she still had  the wit to say she is working "on the grind" around mid-morning. There is a sheen of brown about the decor, interrupted by graceful lights and unusual punctuations - I love the Ciry Rail time table board that lists the type of coffee available instead of suburban rail stations.

The coffee is wholesome, flavourful and makes me want to return. Chairs can be low or high, in disparate combos that reflect more of Sydney's Newtown or Melbourne's Chapel Street.  We can be shoulder to shoulder, or maybe thigh to thigh at times, but everyone seems to relish in their cuppa, especially when the sky is so blue outside.  The coffee has character but so has the place and delivery.  Snacks are practical and easy.  I felt as if I was in a fete and the village had all turned up to have a communal addiction fulfilled.

If there is such a thing as a regular gathering hole for coffee, mates and community, the Grind does measure up. It has the atmosphere of a place where you can meet up with new or old mates, bring the family or just have a quiet moment from the cares of the world.  The Grind seems to be a stop in the schedule of the customers. We went there after a breakky meal in another part of Cronulla.  We naturally joined in the liveliness of the place.  I did not notice if wifi was provided, but I reckoned not - and it was not necessary at all.  Would I return - yes at the next opportunity!

Sakura Sushi, Corrimal Street - Wollongong CBD

Very compact, this sushi delight is run by a young crowd from China, but they do a good job in recreating the small bar atmosphere beside a narrow lane as one can recall when going off the main path in most Japanese cities and villages.  The town this time is Wollongong CBD, off the beaten track along the food strip that is Corrimal Street.  There must be only like seven tables but every time Wills organises for me to go join him there, the tables are quickly filled up by twenty somethings and a m ostly non-Asian cohort. Wills and I love the sake there, maybe more of Wills but I find this relaxing and get into a mellow mood by the time the meals come - especially when Howard joins us as well.

There are perhaps two main menu options at Sakura Sushi - the hot stuff and the cold raw cuts of seafood.

I love both, and although I have patronised this place several times, I did not try the piping hot udon noodle soup until during my most recent visit.  They do not have ramen but the udon was tasty and warming on a rather unexpected cold evening in Wollongong CBD.  I appreciated the quality of this stock offered.  Howard and Wills called for the beef and tofu combination in a hot pot (picture below).

The sushi platter had a fresh oomph on the palate, with generous tender moist cuts of tuna, salmon, cucumber, all ready to be savoured with a choice of mayonnaise, soya sauce and the hot green stuff that can only be taken in tiny bits and dissolved first - the wasabi.  Always accompanied by vinegared rice shari, sushi does come in many forms now, especially when exported in practice away from Japan - I like the California rolls, mango rolls and spicy shrimp rolls, although my favourites remain the Unagi (or teriyaki roasted freshwater eel), the Ikura Gunkan-Maki (sea urchin eggs) and the Toro (fatty tuna belly).  Such selections can also be best accompanied by ocha or green tea.  In Sukara Sushi, there is no kaiten zushi or sushi train, but servings come on flat wooden boards that also add character, presentation and style.  My group of three later adjourned to the nearby Bars on Legs, opened a few months now up a staircase nearby Samara's and opposite the road from the Harp Hotel.