An Evening in The Rocks Tour

I had my fair share of odd jobs back in the good old uni days, but one of the most fun and memorable jobs was when I guided tours of international students through The Rocks- an area I wasn't particularly familiar with myself, but a little bit of reading up helped me sound like an expert in front of groups of students most of whom probably had only been in Sydney for no more than a couple of weeks.

So when I was invited to an evening tour of The Rocks, it certainly brought back many good memories. Quite unlike the tours I ran however, this one was certainly much more professional and well planned, guided by a group of very staff who were much more knowledgeable in the area than me.

Tuxedo Bar

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We started at Tuxedo bar, Sydney's first bar completely dedicated to Espresso Martini's. It's not exactly an easy find- you won't see any large bright signs guiding you in- but once you do eventually make it into the entrance, you'll find yourself into a warm, inviting space, located within the former Cadbury chocolate factory.

Any type of cocktail is the perfect way to start the night, but Tuxedo's Espresso Martini is especially delicious. There's about 6 different variants of the espresso martini on the menu- it never gets boring!

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Matcha French Toast

If you're a fan of matcha, and live in Sydney, you'll no doubt have heard of Cafe Oratnek (or Cafe Kentaro) in Surry Hills and their matcha lattes, lamington, tiramisu, donut etc etc etc.

Actually no. 

Let me try again. If you're a fan of matcha, you've probably visited Cafe Oratnek and tried them all.

Unless you're like me of course, and tend to like visiting after the hype has died down, once everyone's moved on to visiting other new and exciting places, in hopes of there being less of a crowd!

So I did eventually visit this cute little cafe, although I still didn't avoid a bit of a wait around the busy lunch period (but I guess that's a sign that it's actually good!). And I did manage to try their delicious looking Matcha French Toast, which was every bit as amazing as I had imagined it to be!

Cafe Oratnek's version is quite a unique creation-  thick slices of rye sourdough dipped in a matcha egg batter, served alongside a creamy dollop of matcha cream, strawberries and banana chips, all sprinkled with a layer of matcha coconut.

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Tawandang, Chatswood

I thought I had posted about Tawandang a couple of years ago but looking through my posts apparently not, so here we go!

If you've ever been to Chinatown, chances are you've probably walked past Tawandang although you might not have noticed it. It was pretty hard to miss for myself, as my bus stop was right across from the restaurant when it opened, but otherwise you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just your average Thai restaurant. It's not until you read their menu and realise that it's so typical afterall- offering not only some more traditional Thai dishes, but also their almost signature dish of German Pork Knuckle. How's that for something different?

According to their own description, the German component of the restaurant comes from the fact that they are no only a restaurant, but also the first Thai - German micro-brewery in Thailand. I'm not too big on beers so no comment on the drinks, but the food alone is well worth the visit.

We walked past their newly opened Chatswood branch a week ago and would almost have missed it were it not for their big 3rd anniversary banner with their 50% off their pork knuckle dish offer. I was immediately sold and we wasted no time in making a booking.....two consecutive days in a row!

Going by the restaurant's history, which makes up the first spread of their menu, the restaurant has been quite successful not only in Thailand, but also with its branches in Singapore and now two in Sydney. Whilst the Chatswood branch is not nearly as large as their Thailand branches (which apparently seat 2000+ diners!), but it does span across two levels and is much larger than it first appears. Make sure you ask for a seat upstairs, as it's a lot more spacious and comfy!

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