The Cow and the Moon Artisan Gelato - Enmore NSW

There are aromatic gelatos in many places dotted across Australian conurbations, thanks to southern European expertise, offering alternatives to mainstream Australian ice cream from the UK and Asian varieties with a rather startling choice of exotic flavours.  So what is so different about this sorbet and gelato bar at the corner of London Street and Enmore Road in the suburb of Enmore, perhaps a less well known cousin of sprawling nearby Newtown.  The Lord and Lady of The Cow and the Moon - John and Wendy Crowle - hailed from the NSW South Coast, a bakery past and has a love affair with Italy.  John has a fantastic philosophy about his business - and it shows, with sentiment and deja vu invoked in the hearts of the customers, families, children and baby boomers. And son Sam specialises in his single origin coffees.  And his sister Olivia is cheerful.

I had eyed going to sample the coconut flavoured gelato for some time now. It won an award.  Next is to test the pistachio, which always provides the strengths and any shortcomings of any gelato maker. And then I could not resist hazelnut roche. Were they going to be too creamy or thin? Oh why did I not get the salted caramel - okay, maybe next time!  Gelato is best consumed fresh, like seafood.

I found the pistachio with a vivid colour, smooth texture and with a pure taste - not overwhelming, perhaps a bit too creamy for me but overall with  a fresh attitude and with a less fatty sensation on my lips.  Gelato is European in origin, so I am a bit wary of tropical flavours with them - when I dipped into my coconut, it was not gritty, it had just the right  intensity for a difficult flavour and it was not over tyne top.  In Italian, gelato literally means frozen but I did not get my mouth or tongue frozen - merely awakened, teased and satisfied.  I have a weakness for hazelnut, so I knew I was going to be positively prejudiced with my hazelnut roche choice.  The hazelnut flavours were not powered by sweetness but stood their ground.

Location can help. It is easier to find vehicle parking in Enmore - and there is the Enmore Theatre with a variety of gigs and acts that attract the very demographic who may want a pre or post performance place to sit down in or just hang around.  I noticed that the menu can be simple and limited - just coffee and the cold stuff - but that may be its most attractive point. Oh yes, it can get complicated when children look at the variety and may want more than they can consume, especially with accompanying dotting parents. The smile on a child's face pressed against the glass is echoed by the ambiance of the cafe and the easy going manner of the staff, especially Sam.  People can hang around casually waiting for takeaway or just a cone of sorbet - and they feel as if they are in their neighbourhood joint on a lazy weekend arvo.  If all the tables are taken up, hey we can hang on the street and perhaps take the opportunity to view the wall graffiti on nearby lanes.

I must say the coffee blend served lived up to match the gelatos.  My cuppacino was bold but offered a striking flavour. It had body, just the optimal froth on top and a wholesomeness in the cup.  Some competitors have good gelato but less than awesome coffee, but not here.

The name can say it all - the Cow indeed takes each visitor to this cafe to the Moon.

Oh yes, the coffee brings out the gelato, and vice-versa.

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.