Australia
Finally! The last 61 days has passed and I, along with my Mum and Dad, arrived at the airport to start the journey to my favourite place of all, Sydney. This was my third visit to Australia and I fell in love with it a little more each time I went.
We have a tradition when we arrive in Sydney. After checking into the hotel, we always head across to the Café across the street for our first meal in the city. It had only just opened by the time we walked through the doors at 8am. After being given menus and informed about the specials, we were given a little time to decide. I settled on pancakes with pears and yoghurt sorbet. Expecting 3 small pancakes, imagine my surprise when 3 pancakes almost the size of the plate turned up with quarters of spicy pears adorning the top, finished with the sorbet. Subtly sweet spicy pears and the palette cleansing sorbet. I didn’t manage to finish the pancakes but ate every single piece of pear. Heaven.
The following day, jetlagged, we headed to Palm Beach for a day trip. Palm Beach is the setting for the outdoor scenes in Home and Away, it was very windy but we took refuge at The Barrenjoey Boatshed. Home and Away fans will recognise this as it is used for exterior Diner shots. Having undergone an extensive renovation, ‘The Joey’ now boasts a modern, airy, dining space which gives laid back, beach vibes. Dad and I both opted for Steak, mine Medium Rare, Dad’s Medium to Well Done. Mum opted for Fish and Chips. We had to order and pay via the QR code on the table. The waiting staff brought the food 20 minutes later. Dad poured his Peppercorn sauce over his Steak and began to dig in. As I sliced into the Steak, I looked at mine and compared it to Dad’s. Why did mine look overcooked? I sliced into the Steak again, then realised, they had given me the Medium to Well Done Steak which should’ve been Dads. Dad offered to swap but I declined, I prefer to dip the Steak into the Sauce, not smother it. Mum’s Fish and Chips were huge, she has a small appetite anyway and I always joke she should order from the Kids menu, but on this occasion she really should’ve ordered from the Kids menu.
We decided to walk off the food we had eaten and headed up to the lighthouse to see the stunning views. Unfortunately, the easy trail was closed, so it was the difficult trail that awaited us. By the time I got to the top, my legs were like jelly, thankfully, the walk down to the bottom was much easier.
Next on our list of Hospitality establishments was The Grounds of Alexandria. Mum and I visited the last time we were in Sydney and we agreed to take Dad with us this time. Mum loves their Hot Chocolate, in her words ‘Best Hot Chocolate I’ve ever had’. Sadly the food on this occasion failed to live up to expectations. I opted for the Salmon Royale, which came with Kale instead of Spinach. The Salmon was purple and lost it’s flavour. Mum and Dad enjoyed their food, Rhubarb Pancakes and French Toast. There was a small gap between the end of the Coffee Bar and the Window where we were seated. Sunlight streamed through the window and on the floor sunbathing was a little cockroach. This was pointed out to one of the waiting staff who promptly swept the bug away but this didn’t help as we saw one crawling on the wall next to our table. We spoke to a manager as we left regarding this and they just said they would sort it. There was no apology. No-one wants to see a cockroach when they’re eating. Especially not in a well-known establishment like The Grounds. Not content with the response from the in-house team, I emailed Head Office to share my disappointment of the Cockroach being present, but also the response of the in-house team. A voucher was offered to us by way of apology but we declined. We were thoroughly put off by this, which is a shame because The Grounds has an amazing Laneway which is decorated periodically throughout the year in various themes. This can only be accessed by diners of The Grounds. The biggest disappointment of the holiday.
All was not lost after The Grounds, we rounded off the first week in Sydney with the most incredible meal I have ever had. ‘Oncore by Clare Smyth’ has only been up and running since November 2021 and already boasts 3 Hats (the Aussie version of Michelin Stars). Situated on the 26th floor of the Crown Sydney, with views overlooking the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, everything just screams relaxed elegance. Mum had informed the restaurant of the reason behind our visit (I was celebrating a big birthday). Upon arriving at the restaurant, staff proceeded to wish me Happy Birthday. We were shown to our table, via the Kitchen, all the chefs wished me Happy Birthday too. Every member of staff who came by the table did the same.
We were given a choice of the Seasons or Classic menu. Both comprised of 7 courses, not including the Canape’s or Desserts. Mum had the vegetarian option. I had the Seasons Menu whilst Dad opted for the Classis Menu. Every course we had was visually stunning and faultless, every mouthful was as flavourful and exceptional as the last. I didn’t want the night to end. After we finished Dessert, a little cake with a candle was brought over and again I was wished Happy Birthday. We ended the night with a coffee before settling the bill. All 3 of us agreed it was the best food we had ever eaten. There are not enough words to describe the incredible food, friendly staff and just the overall experience. Clare’s London restaurant ‘Core’ is definitely on my list of places to visit. It is extremely difficult to get a reservation as they only open 3 months in advance and you need to be quick to land a table. Fingers crossed I manage to get a reservation one day.
Oncore didn’t open on a Sunday which is why we visited a few days before my birthday. When it got to the actual day, there was only one thing I wanted to do to celebrate turning 30… KOI dessert bar. The brainchild of MasterChef Australia Season 7 contestant Reynold Poernomo, and his brothers. KOI, an abbreviation of Kids of Ike, is a firm favourite of mine, I always take a trip or two, or three to the dessert bar each time I’m in Sydney. My favourite dessert from KOI is the Citrus Jar, I always keep an eye out for this, but with a variety of decadent desserts in the cabinet, there are always plenty to choose from and something new each time. On this occasion, I opted for the Caramel Log, a little golden, shimmery number which contained Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Coconut and Almond. We ended up sharing the desserts as we normally do, we even went back for more desserts and washed it all down with a Latte. Full from Coffee and Cake, I spent the rest of the day shopping before ending at Zeus Street Greek for Gyros.
We got up to a lot during the second week in Sydney, drinks at The Opera Bar, Coffee and Cake at Bottega Cocoa, I even caught up with my roommate from the Greek Contiki trip as she doesn’t live far from Sydney. We headed to the airport on Monday, 2 weeks after we stepped off the plane, but we were not going home. Oh no, we were only just getting started my friends. We still had 2 glorious weeks left in Australia and flew to Brisbane for a week.
Truth be told, I’m lucky to be alive after the week in Brisbane. We hired a car and someone (not me) was the designated driver. We drove to Australia Zoo, the home of the legendary Steve Irwin. Australia Zoo had been on the bucket list for as long as I can remember. Like many of us, I grew up watching Steven Irwin and his family on TV. I knew I had to visit the Zoo, even as a 30 year old, it’s one of the best days ever and the best Zoo I’ve been to. I fed the Kangaroos and got to pet a Koala. Next time, I will definitely pay to hold a Koala. On the way home, the driver thought it was a dual carriageway and proceed to move to the other lane. It was not a dual carriageway and we shouted to move back to the other lane. 30 seconds later a car came travelling on the road going in the opposite direction, if we hadn’t moved over when we did, we would’ve been hit head on. The driver also tried going down a one-way road and nearly didn’t stop at a give way sign on the same day, so I nearly died 3 times that day.
We didn’t really do that many food related activities in Brisbane, this was kind of the chill week, we headed to the Gold Coast to spend a day at Surfers Paradise, as well as heading to Noosa. We still had one final destination to fly to before we had to leave the sunny sands of Australia to come back to wet and windy England.
Melbourne was the final stop on the trip for 1 reason, Vue de Monde, another 3 hatted restaurant on the bucket list. We recognised the restaurant immediately as it has featured a few times on MasterChef Australia. Once owned by Chef Shannon Bennett, now with Hugh Allen at the helm, the restaurant had gone through an extensive and expensive renovation in 2024 but luckily reopened in time for us to make reservations for Mum and Dad’s Wedding Anniversary. A small part of the renovation was new chairs, made from Kangaroo fur. There was also Kangaroo on the menu and I felt a little guilty as only a week before I was at Australia Zoo feeding Skippy. Now Skippy was feeding me!
The food was stunning, the open kitchen in the centre with the Chefs putting on a show creating dishes for your entertainment. We even saw the 2024 MasterChef Australia winner, who now works at Vue de Monde. I lost track of how many courses we ate at Vue de Monde, the food was beautiful, the views of Melbourne at night were stunning and the staff couldn’t do enough. I had already informed them that we were visiting for Mum and Dad’s Wedding Anniversary. Upon leaving the restaurant, they were presented with a little card signed by the staff wishing them Happy Anniversary. Little things like this make all the difference. In my opinion, not as good as Oncore, Oncore is still the one to beat, but Vue de Monde is still worth a visit if you are in Melbourne.
We ended the Australia trip with one last visit to KOI in Melbourne, it had only opened in July when we paid a visit, but I got my hands on the limited edition dessert ‘Hana’ I had to really when we share a name.
I hated leaving Australia, it’s my favourite place and feels like home. I promised myself one day I’ll move to Sydney. I have a plan to get there but as we know life never goes to plan, but I will get there one day.
My tips for Australia
- You will need either an Opal card or contactless card to use the public transport in Sydney, just tap on and tap off. The maximum amount you will pay per week is $50.
- Head to Palm Beach for a hike up to the Lighthouse, it’s a bit of a trek as Palm Beach is 2 hours outside of Sydney centre using public transport but the views are worth it.
- Reservations for most hatted restaurants are available 3 months before your chosen date, but you need to be quick to book as they fill up quickly.
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