The Dale Cafe - Annandale, Sydney

Located at an unassuming and residential corner of Annandale, not far from Sydney's Anzac Bridge, I had the opportunity on a recent weekend to be introduced by friends to the Dale Cafe. Run by three twenty somethings, two guys and a lady, the place is divided into a cafe sit area and one with leather lounges, all placed with no airs, graffiti on a door and with a feel of a heritage past. The crowd on a Saturday arvo is relaxed, seems to be full of regulars and know what they want - a home away from home.

The Dale Cafe is located at 18 Trafalgar Street, Annandale, NSW 2038, in Sydney's inner west, close to the Italian quarter of Leichhardt. The nearest cross road is Albion Street. It also hosts The Little Marionette On the Dale, which offers breakfast, lunch and takeaways, but more interestingly, provides a one-on-one barista training opportunity for those interested.

Sydney's Fish Markets

The Sydney Fish Markets are an hour ahead of the Tsukiji Seafood Markets in Tokyo - both are world leading in their field. Apart from the obvious seafood trading, the Sydney version also hosts a cooking school; an upstairs Chinese restaurant called the Fisherman's Wharf (specialising in Hong Kong and southern Chinese cuisine); behind the scenes walking tours; lunching under Sydney's reputable blue skies and the not so reliable waiting seagulls; dawn crowds especially during the Easter and pre-Christmas seasons; unique offerings like Balmain bugs; the iconic Doyles outlet; and a host of other shopping possibilities for bread, sushi, cut flowers and newspapers.

The largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sydney Fish markets offer water side views of fishing boats and marina yachts in an inland bay, with the Anzac Bridge overlooking it all. There are easily more than fifty separate retail outlets and a variety of seafood garnishing, ranging from soy sauce, wasabi mustard tubes and all types of dressings, in addition to my favourite choices of oysters on the shell, sea urchin roe and grilled barramundi. These markets have been here beside Blackwattle Bay since 1966 and open its doors every day as early as 4am. You can reach these markets by car with paid parking, or take the blue coloured trams from Chinatown. The seafood trade here has followed the computerised Dutch auction system since 1989.

On a recent Saturday morning visit, my mates and I selected oysters on the shell garnished with bits of bacon relish; whole cooked rainbow trout; miniature abalone on the shell soaked in ginger streaked broth; English style fish and chips; grilled prawns on the skewer; sea urchin roe; tuna and salmon sashimi; fresh oysters on the shell, again , but ungarnished; and all downed with beer. (above and below images).

The Bondi Tucker

I have not had souffle for a long time from a commercial restaurant, and could not resist
the version made by the Bondi Tucker (image above). Run by Ben and Louise, this cafe-restaurant is open every day, and is located only ten minutes walk from the main strip of Campbell Parade at Sydney's Bondi Beach. The place was relatively quiet when we arrived on the evening of Mothers Day, but soon had diners gradually fill up. The walls were surprisingly plain and did not match what was seen on the restaurant's website - maybe it was in the middle of some renovation exercise. Three blokes manned the closed up kitchen, whilst a lone woman attended to customers outside. Note the day menu is very different from the evening offerings.

White table cloths were put into place after 6pm that Sunday evening, followed by the practical disposable paper piece on top. For the mains, I took a conscious risk to select pasta with pumpkin and garnished by bacon bits (above image). The chef handled this delicate dish well, especially in the outcome on the palate - savoury, melting in the mouth and not over powering. Everything served at the Bondi Tucker is made on-site, including the garlic aioli to complement the well made breads ( ours was with compliments) and the banana nut bread. And yes, it is definitely Bondi - free range eggs only.

The entree was my next best nominated serving that evening, after the souffle - fresh aromatic oysters on the shell in an inspiring white wine-infused and fresh herb broth, accompanied by light vegetables. The juicy moist kangaroo (last image in this post) was served with spears of asparagus and usually not part of the regular menu. Meats used in the Bondi Tucker are from A.C.,Butchery in Leichhardt, whilst seafood are supplied by De Costi's at the Sydney Fish Markets.

The Bondi Tucker is located at 80 Hall Street, Bondi Beach, Sydney's iconic lifestyle destination.

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