Shenkin Kitchen - Enmore NSW

The Shenkin, it just exudes with an attractiveness, a uniqueness and a buzz.  It has an espresso bar in Newtown along King Street and a cafe in nearby Erskinville, but I had longed to pop in its Enmore outlet, opened in April this year, with unusual food, Israeli, influences of Mediterranean and yet with a tinge of Eastern Europe. This Enmore kitchen is open seven days a week for early breakfast until a late tea - and from Wednesday to Saturday evenings, offers dinner menu till 10pm.  It echoes tradition and still feels modern and young.  I compare its refreshing food menu with its daringness to place ladders to hold ceiling lights.  The cafe may be smallish, but invites in mothers with prams, couples in love and is blessed with smiles of the staff and the comfort of its guests.

There are lots of bread options - with rye choices, banana bread and sourdough filling up the mainstream Aussie spectrum, but yet with surprises like bureka and mixed berry baked stuff.   Israeli salads are served with chorizo, bacon and non kosher temptations. The Shenkin big breakfast  may be a safe corner, but then I see shakshuka sauce, hummus, pita bread and couscous.  You can have the varied ingredients in wraps, omelettes, pancakes, burgers or on toast. In one sitting, you allow your palate to be stimulated  by the food styles of more than the Middle East, encroaching a bit around the Mediterranean and with the familiarity of Aussie produce.

The Shenkin honours a street in Tel Aviv. The family who founded this business has a rich past across various countries like Poland, Russia, Egypt and Israel - and the Shenkin significantly illustrates and celebrates the dynamism, energy and cultural vibes of immigration.   The founder, Arie Haikin, opened this delightful business only six years ago, and the cafe outlet has a one Coffee Cup awarded by the Sydney Morning Herald.  Arie has two sons, Din and Bar, to run this eye opener of a modest and yet outstanding restaurant.  It is not just the coffee, milkshakes or juices available  that add to the fun of the Shenkin, but I reckon more so its business concept, its communal spirit and its homely feel.  Tables may be small for couples, but there are also the bigger canteen styled wooden ones that encourage strangers and mates to mingle.

On a late Saturday afternoon, I could see fellow lunchers drop by as if to a friend's place. I am served with a embracing engaged style, the staff seemed relaxed that day even if they had to cope with a ever growing crowd. The setting inside the kitchen outlet is reminiscent of European ghettos and yet so synchronised with the  lifestyle expected around this Newtown- Erskineville-Enmore hub.  I realised that one does not have to always splash excess dollars to create a right mood for diners, only to show the sincere heartfelt energy of well trained welcomeness and tasty food.  Practical and hard working, the Shenkin offers both breakfast and lunch items all day long.  It is akin to open house on a festive day and once the Shenkin opens its doors, it will not turn away people.  I loved the timber flooring at the Enmore outlet, in gratifying contrast to the raw brick of one of its main walls.  Oh yes, a thought about the shakshuka - originating from North Africa, it is based on fresh poached eggs, dazzled by a fiery tomato based sauce and contains no meat or dairy (so it is kosher). Selected olive oil, paprika, cloves, red chill, cumin and capsicums go into the making of the recipe.

The Portuguese inspired omelette, with chorizo, tomatoes and greens - with a rather large serving.

Flavours on Crown - Wollongong CBD

The omelette above turned out better than I anticipated, with tasty bites of several ingredients embedded in the rewarding fresh egg mix. There was a hint of spice, a bit of Italian, generous servings of tomatoes, snippets of mushroom and flavourful ham bites.  The accompanying buttered bread cuts may seem simple but did provide a contrasting lightness.

There can be some drama on the walls but I must say the service is very good and friendly. Whilst waiting for three friends, the staff came to engage in naturally warm chat, something which perhaps some Sydney based cafes have forgotten or intentionally avoid.  Family groups, couples and mates can be seen inside or outside, seated beside the pavement tables, at this cafe, which neighbours the Sugar Cube along lower Crown Street in Wollongong CBD.  The location is also good for shopping, the beach is not far away and is worth considering if you are also catching a show at the WIN Entertainment Centre or a game at the WIN Stadium.

At breakfast time on a Saturday morning, initially I could not decide on a breakfast stack, an Eggs Benedict and a Mediterranean omelette.  There is a choice of modern Aussie with bacon, beef burgers and toasts and Mediterranean influenced flavours with ingredients like chorizo, fetta and pitta breads.  I have not tried the dinners here - there is a restaurant  upstairs.

Home Cooking

Straits Chinese fish curry - Balgownie NSW

Tofu with mince pork and crab meat - Aunty Kui Chan's, Penang

Marinated pork ribs ala Cantonese - Aunty Kui Chan's, Penang

South Indian styled chicken curry - Aunty Kui Chan's, Penang

Light snacks to ponder - Balgownie NSW

Prawn stock noodles with pork slices, hard boiled egg and vermicelli - Jen Young, St Ives NSW

Roast pork with crackle - Jen Young, St Ives NSW

Mee goreng Indian style - Aunty Kui Chan, Penang

Tofu snacks - Susan Chan, Carlingford NSW

Walnut cake - Lai Tan, Carlingford NSW

Pendolino Italian, Strand Arcade - Sydney CBD

The Arrosto Di Anatra Con Cavofiore Al Vino Rosso - or simply slow roasted duck leg with Sicillian red wine braised cauliflowers, puree and Fava beans, black olives and duck and thyme sauce.

It is a restaurant named in honour of a special olive tree, dear to the heart of those who hail from Tuscany and Umbria.  It is tucked away at one corner, the western one, on the second floor of the Strand Arcade, right smack in Sydney City Centre, the one joining Pitts Street Mall and George Street.
make it past their cafe and you then enter the inner sanctum.

Pappardelle pasta flavoured with beetroot and garnished with fresh goats cheese, dried black olives , red onions and Italian parsley exemplify the rustic charm  and feel of the Pendolino.  What caught my eye was their attempt using pork , veal and tomato ragu, served with a Gramigna pasta.  The Trota, a fine name for a basic Russian inspired sandwich, places ice berg lettuce with smoked trout and zings up the final taste with a horseradish mayonnaise, perhaps an excellent lunch idea.  For the brave and initiated, the truffled  chicken liver and Portobello mushrooms I reckon can be a good choice, for it is a challenging matter to make and draw out the best in two very delicate ingredients.  My recommendation for insalate or simply salads, would be the Ortaggi, a healthy and light mixture of ideas with pine nuts, ricotta, beetroot, pumpkin and Treviso radicchio, splashed with a Nebbiolo vinegar.

The cafe portion perhaps is great for breakfasts.  One can reasonably expect choices in cheeses, breads and paninos, What makes Pendolino apart in my eyes is the tasting plate in oil and olive, the Da Assaggiare. This is a wholesome experience by itself, providing the guest with subtlety, contrast and quality as you soak the beautiful bread samples with each distinct and memorable choice of olive oil flavour. The other significant thing that makes me want to go back tot he Pendolino is the blood orange olive cake (the Torta agrumato di Sanguinella).  And then there are the mains, carefully prepared, lovingly served, beautifully articulated and downed with an exquisite choice of wines and liquors.

Pendolino not only offers a cafe and restaurant, but perhaps more significantly also is a wine and olive oil providore. Beautifully named the Lolioteca, you can also access the products on line but perhaps nothing is as enjoyable as viewing the range up front  - with choices like blood orange flavoured extra virgin oil and premium sweet Nebbiolo red wine vinegar, you are transported to another world.  To me, the simple and most satisfying choice would be a small container of Australian grown olives  (the Piccoline).  The store underlines what Pendolino does best, provide an atmosphere and experience, with accented pronunciations that magically transport a guest back to another time, another place - and not in downtown Sydney, on the edge of a desert island.

Housed in a corner of an era of architecture gone by, huddled discreetly by climbing two flights of stairs or taking an antiquated lift, Pendolino first greets you with a cafe with a casual al fresco feel, and even if you find this section can be choked with tables and narrowness, you are soon ushered into a dining room from another century.  Subdued candle lights provide a possible line of gems but once you look at the menu, the carefully named and made dishes overtake the attention of the diner above everything else.  The owners of Pendolino also operate La Rosa upstairs in the same Strand Arcade.  Please note that Pendolino restaurant is closed on Sundays and public holidays.  The wine bar takes over from 5pm till late for six evenings a week.

There is nothing more gratifying than good friendship - and short of that, letting the juices of a craftily and lovingly coked duck flow on to the palate.  With a deep marinade bite, I enjoyed the flow-on succulence of the meat and the crispiness of the well roasted skin.  The sauce matched the inherent tone and taste of the red wine enhanced meat.  I would have preferred alcohol to fully complement this remarkable dish, but we were at office lunch time and had restrictions in time, liberty and option.  Maybe next time at a more easy pace.

Atom Thai, King Street, Newtown - Sydney NSW

The Miang Kham, a delicate appetiser with betel nut a the star.

Texture, taste and twist - is that what we anticipate in any cuisine? Perhaps we also appreciate the clever and subtle use of ingredients, how they blend together in the dish presented to us and how they make an impact on our palate and overall dining experience. Some city centre establishments face constant pressure on space, costs and turnover. Some may take short cuts in pre cooking some of their menu items but such a practice can impact on a discerning diner.  The variety of multi-cultural items on the food scene in Australia means customers may compare with their experiences from traditional settings back in the source countries.  The subtleties of ingredients produced in Australia can make a difference.  Some resort to experimentation and fusion, thereby bringing diners a new dimension and a whole new world of possibilities.  Some diners do not care so much for the food as the quality and flow of the drinks and company.  Some relax because the staff make them feel mellow and others can be highly strung sparked off by one perceived or actual attitude.  All food establishments want regulars to come back, to yearn for their signature items, to spend on their high margin menu dishes and to more than just survive in a fast changing and demanding business environment.

Sago in coconut milk on the glass with ice cream (foreground) with black glutinous rice accompanying mango slices (background)

Atom Thai does not have too many dining tables but is adequately sized in space-conscious Newtown precinct of the greater Sydney area.   The demographics are ready to eat, there are out of towners who come to Newtown occasionally to have a night or day out and the variety of restaurants just means competition for the dollar in the pocket.  I had a birthday treat from a  close cousin and family there recently - and enjoyed three specific dishes: salmon with papaya salad, the Miang Kham and the appetising belly pork stir fried with a relish.  Miang Kham is a uniquely Thai entree that blends a bit of salad, a bit of appetiser and a bit of dash. It can be viewed as an exotic Thai experience, but growing up in Penang island, where there is a sizeable but minority population of Thai origin, this isa familiar item to me.  The best version of this snack to me is home made but it can be found readily in any street market in any Thai conurbation. Kham means to bite and Miang refers to items wrapped in a leaf. Ingredients like ginger, garlic, small dried shrimps (hay bee in the Penang Hokkien parlance), roasted peanuts, roasted coconut shavings, red hot bird's eye chill, shallots are prepared and gathered before the folding process.  The origin of this item suggests a fusion base as the recipe came form an area bordering between Thailand and Burma.  It is popular for festive occasions and fairs, and has variations in Laos and you may have sen its cousin, the Miang Pla, with fish inside, if you have been backpacking in upper South East Asia.

Salmon with papaya salad beside the tasty pork belly (background) and the duck curry (foreground)

Staff are smiling and friendly at Atom,  with the place filling up fast by 630pm on a Sunday evening.
Located at the western end of King Street, nearer to Sydney University campus, it is one of several Thai cuisine outlets in this varied part of Sydney.  An interesting observation about Atom is the absence of overloads of  sugary tastes in their savoury dishes, something which Thai outlets in Australian suburbia has a potential and real risk of.  The clientele that evening we were at Atom was predominantly Caucasian, but of all ages.  I noticed the quality of the ingredients and the care with which each dish was served.  Although I am not  a big fan of glutinous rice, I enjoyed the bite of their steamed black rice dessert, accompanied by a tangy mango.   Thai cooking plays on the diversity of herbs and spices and the challenge is to get a balanced and yet interesting sensation for the diner.