My Place, Hong Kong

Yesterday I was the recipient of a fedex package. It turned out to be 12 sparkling new Royal Doulton champagne glasses from my Mum. An early birthday present! Yes: twelve! I'm a lucky girl. I can't even imagine having a dinner party at my house for 12 people involving champagne - now I need to build up my other dining room equipment around these glasses - looking forward to it!

So my husband and I were faced with a problem - how to christen the crystal?

Our favourite pastime involves sharing pizza and champagne at home. I don't know when we started this ritual, but when we had our civil marriage in China (another story), Moet and a Magherita was our celebration feast of choice. So with nothing to celebrate yesterday (except for the new glasses!) we decided to make an excuse for a review.

Welcome to my place. On the menu is Veuve Clicquot and delivery Mediterranean and Vegetarian from Wildfire Pizza.

We put the bottle on ice and ordered the pizza. 45 minutes later we popped the cork when the delivery arrived. Cheers. The crystal had a nice ring to it. We opened the pizza and found. . . something we didn't order . . . with 1 piece missing. Who would believe we got a pizza with one piece missing?! So we debated what to do - would they believe us? It was kind of absurd and hard to prove. I took a photo, but who's to say I didn't take the piece out myself? The mind starts to imagine how the piece went missing - did the delivery guy sneak it on the way over? Did it get hooked in the oven on the way out? Never mind the mystery of the missing piece - someone probably found it later and thought it was weird to find a lone slice wherever it was - we called Wildfire back, and the manager was very apologetic. She was sending out a replacement of the right flavour and full pie straight away.

So we happily drank our champagne and ate one pizza. It gave me a chance to get to know my new glasses. They're heavy in the hand and make me feel so special. Strangely my champers didn't boast an effervescent bubble - is this because of the glass design or the bottle we had? I think it's fair to say that another bottle is in order to qualify our R&D for Royal Doulton. . . I'm sure they have a customer comments line or something. After a whole bottle of The Widow I just about could have called it for a serious conversation.

So the substitute pizza arrived - all eight pieces in tact - but again the wrong order. Who cared by that point. We were mostly done our champers, and just glad that somehow the mistake pizza happened to be vegetarian by a fortunate chance. You can't really go wrong with lots of cheese and garlic.

In the end? I still love my new glasses. I still love drinking champagne and eating take out pizza with my husband. Every time we have this dinner date it brings some quirky little story to tell.

I think it's the bubbles.

North Bondi Italian Food, Sydney, Australia

On my last night back in Sydney, my good friends Lorin and Stu took me to Bondi - my childhood stomping ground!

We walked along the promenade of the beach as the sun set, watching energetics doing boot camp with one of the best backdrops you could ask for while you sweat your heart out. We happily chatted about how Bondi is underrated as the best city-beach in the world. The air was cool and the smell of salt was in the air while we hunted for the North Bondi Italian, happy that we were heading for dinner rather than a fartlek workout. Turns out that the restaurant is blatantly easy to find - just head north along the beach - when the path turns east: stop. Don't listen to your iPhone - it's distracted by the beautiful ocean and powder-white sand. Simple.

It wasn't until we arrived at the restaurant that I decided to review it. Based on the name alone, this place could have been anywhere. It wasn't until we arrived that I realised we were in for a treat. Stu asked me how I classify 'fine dining' so I made up the qualification of "mains above $30?" on the spot. On face value, the North Bondi Italian is deliberately casual due to it's iconic beach-side location, but it's special none-the-less.

It was a tuesday night and we didn't have a reservation. The skies were looking like they might weep, and the head waiter explained that he needed to keep a few tables free in case he needed to pull in some of his outdoor diners. He quickly got us a perch in the bar area, and by the time we had our drinks and cracked open a few peanuts, our table was ready. Candid and seamless service.

I have since heard that on other days it's much harder to get a table.

The atmosphere is open, with a combination of beach and Italian style. They do it well - Campari bottles line the bar, lots of dark woods, huge netted lamp shades that give a fishermans vibe while making you feel like you're sitting under a full moon, while the waitstaff are dressed in mod beach style with white cotton t-shirts, dunlop volley style shoes, tight denim shorts and oversized denim aprons. Somehow they all got hit with the good looking stick too. Whomever is hiring here knows their remit.

Upon sitting down I got admittedly a little worried. Any place with a whole section for offal on the menu is typically not vegetarian friendly. It's a large, placemat style menu with plenty of mouthwatering options, but I admit I did need to hunt for the vegetarian option. Most Italian places are easy for veggies, but the chef here obviously has a soft spot for trotters from his childhood. I found a pasta and a salad and I was happy!

We started with an amazing home made ricotta, served with lemon and mint. The ricotta was soft and subtle, and the addition of the mint was incredibly satisfying. We also had a large bowl of odd olives - some green and meaty and others black and pea like - all tasty!

My pasta arrived al dente - very nice, with an egg on top. The flavour was lovely, but not enough for me to remember beyond being al dete with an egg. . . It was nice and very satisfying, but a week later it's non-descript. The bean salad on the side had more unique flavours to speak of. Borlotti beans, celery, carrot, onion, and balsamic - fresh and so unique in it's simplicity.

Desert was the crowning glory. Unfortunately we were being eaten alive by mosquitoes by this stage! We were still happy due to wonderful service (was she Dutch?) and beautiful food, so we jovially swatted away, but 1 week later I'm still recovering! North Bondi Italian is lovely, but they'll need to do something about those mosies.

For desert we had an apple pie and a chocolate pudding - the chocolate was worth a special mention due to the creamy texture, and crunchy bubbles on top. Stu forced me to finish it off and I happily obliged. It was compact, uncomplicated and balanced - not so rich that I left feeling heavy.

The service was attentive, unique, hipster-cool but personal. Our waitress was listening to us with a genuine attentiveness that made me relax completely into her service. Each server continued the vibe seamlessly, as if to say "were a cool bunch but not exclusive - come have fun with us, enjoy some good food". It's cool how good service can make you feel a part of something. Even the waiter creating boobs down his shirt behind the bar felt strangely in place - just eat and have a laugh and love life. Note how often I'm mentioning 'cool' - how else to describe this place by the beach?

I left satisfied. Despite a meager 1 veggie option, I loved the experience of North Bondi Italian Food. They're doing something with design and concept that I haven't seen before - we've all seen Italian, and all seen Australian Beach - but together the idea is completely unique and I feel like they pull it off.

Address: 118 Ramsgate Ave, off Campbell Prd, North Bondi
Phone: (02) 9300 4400
Website: http://www.idrb.com/northbondi/

Cafe Sydney, Sydney, Australia

I've always heard about Cafe Sydney. When I first started my career and was finally earning a little money (after the last call on a seemingly endless university degree), I would dream about all the restaurants I wanted to spend my meager surplus in. People in the circles above me at work would talk about Cafe Sydney in the same sentence as the new fine dining establishments and fond old favourites of Rockpool, Darcy's, Aria, Claude's, Tetsuya's and the former FortyOne. I couldn't wait to experience this motley crew of eating houses myself. So on a recent trip back to Sydney, I took my sisters birthday as a perfect excuse to make a booking.

When we alighted the lift in Cafe Sydney, the first thing I noticed was the bold city names that lace the cornice of the high ceilings. New York, Cairo, London, Paris, San Francisco, Dalian, Xiamen, Kingston, Halfax. . . hang on a second. . . how did the latter 2nd tier Chinese and Canadian cities get up there? There must be a story here I'm not privy to.

Our table wasn't ready when we arrived, so we took a seat in the bar area and ordered some cocktails. The low seat, combined with my high heels, meant I ended up with my knees around my ears (I exaggerate, but not comfortable! Glad I wasn't in a short skirt - no chance. . .) as I ordered my drink from a non-plussed waiter. At this stage I was still open to being wowed. It was a Sunday lunch and I could hear the live music playing as I surveyed the place and chatted with my sister. Cafe Sydney is a combination of natural light, earth colours, accented with stainless steel and an orange carpet. It has an atrium style, and being full of glass and mirror, it had a boisterous atmosphere. It's a relaxed cafe environment, but unfortunately it's showing the signs of love in a few spots - the stained orange carpet has seen better days. Once I adjusted my expectations, I settled in for a nice afternoon, bistro style.

Our table became free and we carried our drinks around to our seat - our heavily pregnant, lycra clad Matre'D would have had no chance - she was spending all her grace navigating between the tightly packed tables and kids doing star jumps. Power to her - poor thing!

Our table had a fantastic view of the bridge - obviously this is what you're paying for when you come to Cafe Sydney. The balcony awning frames the coat hanger perfectly, and set the scene for a lovely birthday celebration.

It's a shame to say that the wait-staff were not adding any personal touch to their service (apart from the waiter who kept wiping my water glass and table in between my sips - thanks, you get points for being observant, but weird. . . just get me a coaster or put table cloths on during the warm days?) and not to mention that they were a pretty tardy bunch with no common service vibe. I quite enjoy being served by a waitperson with a huge, jolly 'I eat too much of my own pasta' belly, but it goes without saying that a sense of attention to detail in the dress is important. Lets just say that the male staff at Cafe Sydney are leaving the sour-faced girls in their dust. Enough complaining - the food was very nice.

Cafe Sydney has a seafood inspired menu, and my sister loved the fresh oysters and prawns. I was pleased to find vegetarian options on the regular menu, without calling ahead. I started with the famous goats cheese and beetroot tart, served with caramelised onion, walnuts, watercress, and cabernet vinegar. It was creamy and compact with a delicious marmalade accent. I then moved on to the gnocci as a main, which was golden-brown delicious, if not a bit heavy.  It was served with an interesting combination of thyme, peas, celeriac, and asparagus, with the peas giving the dish a delightful fresh sensation. The gnocci also came with a poached egg served on the side.

It was a huge undertaking for lunch, and left us without room for desert, so we finished off the meal with tea, which was served with honey on the spoon, and lemon. A lovely way to relax after a feast!

Overall, I would not call lunch at Cafe Sydney as my all-time favourite - I think it would be a nice place to take guests from out of town as a one-off for the novelty, but there are other places on the harbour offering a similar view. Having said that, if I'm going to spend $100+ per head on lunch, I expect more than just the view (fantastic as it is!). If Cafe Sydney could tighten up the sensibilities of it's wait staff and service plan (I hardly saw the same face twice, apart from the glass wiper), and perhaps re-think some of the design (a few less tables?), then they'd have a respectable high-end bistro, commiserate with the food they're serving.

Address: Level 5, Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay NSW 2000

Phone: +61 2 9251 8683

Website: www.cafesydney.com