the main course would be Kangaroo pizza, yes, you read that correctly – Kangaroo pizza, with cracked black pepper and a great big pile of fresh rocket, served straight out of the oven courtesy of The Australian pub in the oldest part of the city, The Rocks. Washed down with a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc, of course.
If the beginning bit of my Sydney experience could be compared to a bag of Cheezels, then the middle bit of my Sydney experience was a more sophisticated experience for my taste buds. As mentioned in my previous post, our accommodation made it very easy for me and my fellow travelers to trade in sleep for sightseeing. Not wanting to levitate above our mattresses for any longer than we absolutely had to, we set new land speed records for getting pretty and trotted out of Kings Cross and through the botanical gardens as early as we could – the sooner we caught a glimpse of the harbour and the iconic opera house, the sooner the trauma of sharing a bathroom with an, um, eclectic collection of backpackers dissolved... we were in Sydney and we were going to make the most of it.
We took a bus to shopping central and we drooled over rails and rails of vintage threads at one of the many, many one-of-a-kind market stalls. We indulged in a little retail therapy (we'd earned it) and we strolled through the streets swinging our shopping bags triumphantly. Having worked up quite an appetite we consulted the Lonely Planet and hopped on another bus, disembarking outside a gorgeous upmarket eatery called Balzac's that (very kindly) advertises a 3-course lunchtime special between 12 and 2pm for just AUD35. This, for those who have not been to Sydney, is an absolute bargain.
After a dinner the night before of Pringles, Cheezels and bottled water – beef spring rolls with a truffle dip, followed by prawn risotto and finished off with a lemony/creamy/chocolatey tart-like dessert, felt like the best meal we'd ever had. The luxury of drinking wine that came out of a bottle with a cork and a label (not out of a 'clean skin' or a box) was much appreciated. This was one of those lunches that makes my post-holiday workout regime (a.k.a daily torture) oh so worth it!
Having developed a taste for the delicious (and slightly unusual) we took the advice of an ex-pat friend of mine and ventured beyond the tourist-trap city centre and (literally) stumbled upon The Rocks. Note: heels are not an option, if you ever find yourself planning to go there, cute ballet flats are the sensible, and ankle-saving choice. We strolled through the cobbled streets, sneaking a glimpse inside all of the cute cafés and picking up the pace as we passed the boutiques – slowing down would ultimately result in 'just having a look' and well, we were saving our cash for our planned dinner of Kangaroo pizza, the must-have meal at the must-visit pub, recommended by the ex-pat. So, there was no room for 'Oops! I swiped my credit card again'
The Australian pub is definitely not a tourist trap, purely for the reason that it's not that easy to find. Only after being directed up a staircase that is actually carved into (or out of) one of the old stone walls, did we emerge onto the street we were looking for and, even then, we almost walked straight past our destination. Luckily, we spotted the ex-pat who had secured us a table and soon after our first round of drinks, we were distributing cheese-dripping slices of pizza around until everyone had had a taste. The verdict? Delicious! Had I not been saving space for dessert (at one of the Moonlight Market stalls) later on that evening I probably would have ordered a second.
To be continued...
Comments