Four heels, two wheels and one meal

Where Alexandria

Why Feeling guilty after nearly two weeks of rain-related inactivity, I used a nearby warehouse fashion sale to lure my workmates to lunch at the Simon Johnson café [24A Ralph Street, Alexandria NSW 2015]. As the only one on wheels I had a head start on browsing the racks and braving the lunchtime throng of ladies-who-shop, but the girls soon caught up and before too long the three of us were standing in an indecisive huddle near the cafe counter peering at the small list of specials. Alex asked for the beef pie but it was already sold out, so she settled for the carrot, potato and leek soup. Jacq and I eyed the depleted cabinet of pre-made sandwiches and chose a goats cheese, mushroom and pesto foccaccia and a tandoori chicken wrap.

We took our number and settled at the table furthest from the counter with a ginger, lime and bitters drink to share. This refreshing beverage tasted like Moscow mule without the vodka. Impressed, we waited for our food to arrive. When only two-thirds of it did, the girls waited politely until I urged them not to wait for mine. Then the real disappointments started. The soup, which comes with a big slab of bread, was sadly lukewarm so we sent it back for a blast of heat, and the foccaccia was barely toasted, only a couple of token stripes on top. I tried a bite and it was OK, in a pestoey mushroomy, undertoasted bready way.

Then the soup came back – exactly the same temperature as before. I sampled a spoonful - it tasted fine but fairly bland – thick and carroty without the deep flavour punch of a good leek and potato soup, though I have yet to find one anywhere that’s as good as my mum’s.

While we had a waiter, we asked after the wrap. Some time later it arrived, at which point I had a few regrets about having it toasted – apart from the wait, I could have done without the warm cucumber and the yoghurt dressing dripping onto the plate – oops. But the chicken tasted good, the wilted baby spinach reminded me of happy brunches and the flaky bread benefited from what was in this case a thorough toasting.

Full but unsatisfied, we decided to redeem things by sharing a dessert. And redeem it did, because the olive oil cake was not only a beauty to look at, it was a joy to eat – moist and nutty with a tangy icing on top and a lovely pistachio crust.

• Arrive early to maximise your menu choices and think twice about ordering soup if you like yours hot 'n' steamy. Better still, just come for the cake.

• The regular wares aren’t cheap and the real sales don’t come along very often, but the SJ shop almost always has a central display of gourmet groceries at a good discount – I bagged a couple of treats for a foodie friend’s upcoming birthday (I can’t reveal what though ... she might be reading this!).

In search of flavour

Where Marrickville

Why After a Saturday morning session at Yogas'cool, Gusto and I were looking forward to a hot lunch of homemade soup when disaster struck. Suspicion should have set in when neither of us could remember cooking or freezing the otherwise unidentified watery mixture of chicken, pumpkin, rice and peas but when piping-hot, the soup tasted of ... nothing. We tried a few things to salvage it – parmesan, pesto and worcestershire sauce – but the flavour remained elusive. Baffled at what possessed us to cook let alone freeze it, we abandoned bowls and hopped on our bikes towards a much better option: Let's Eat Thai [352 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville (02) 9558 9508]. OK, so it was only a few blocks down the road, but it was already 2pm and we were hungry.



This wasn't our first Let's Eat Thai experience – not long after it opened last year we ate a lovely lunch of fishcakes and a deep-fried whiting special. Later, a home delivery confirmed that their tom yum is, well, yum. With a run of rave reviews recently, most centred around the owners Spice I Am pedigree, the place is probably heaving with happy diners at night but late on this Saturday lunchtime it was blissfully quiet.



The sensible option would have been to take advantage of the generously priced lunch deals, but we couldn't go past the blackboard offerings – in particular, the ped ma kham and banana blossom salad. With steamed rice for two and fishcakes to start, our order was complete and we were raring to go.



The fishcakes disappeared as quickly as they arrived – they have the authentic firm, almost rubbery texture and a fresh curry flavour that's sensational with the sweet dipping sauce.



Despite being Thai salad lovers, we'd never tried banana flowers so the next dish was an entirely new experience. Glistening with the chilli jam dressing, it looked gorgeous and we couldn't wait to dig in. It was creamy and crunchy, with hints of coconut, lemongrass, coriander and chilli and a slightly bitter flavour that worked well with the sweetness of the prawns.



As lively as the salad was, the dish that drew the most sighs of pleasure was the perfectly cooked duck breast with its crispy crust and mouth-watering meat. The tamarind sauce was fine-dining standard, a beautiful balance of sweet and sour, and everything else on the plate just added to the general deliciousness. It looked and tasted like it should have cost a lot more than $18.

How Head to Marrickville station and you're almost there – we only had to ride down Petersham Road, then over the hill to the other side of Illawarra Rd.

Distance A mere kilometre from home, and downhill at that. Shame on me.

Damage About $45 for two, but had there been a Wafu-style discount for eating everything on our plates we'd have paid $30.

Tips

• If you don't fancy the Thai desserts on offer, there are plenty of treats to be had at the Greek bakery across the road.



• If you're not into chilli, order carefully – this is authentic Thai and that means hot. Judging by my own frantic napkin-grabbing mid-salad, I'd go so far as to say it's less "Let's Eat Thai" and more "Let's Sweat & Cry", but I loved every minute of it.

Shanghai surprise

Where Marrickville to Ashfield

Why Back when I started plotting this food/cycling blog hybrid, one of the first destinations that sprang to mind was Ashfield for Chinese – shamefully, despite six years as an inner-west resident, I'd only been there as a shopper not a diner. So I cheered when Gusto suggested a Saturday night dumpling dinner. The obvious choice was Shanghai Dumpling [337 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield 9797 6999] – a few doors down from Ashfield Cycles – as it's listed in the 2010 SMH Good Food Guide, even though walking our bikes along the main strip we saw plenty of other places to come back for (and soon). Settled in our window seat in this modern, bright and clean eatery, however, we were happy, hungry and ready to devour a dozen or two.


The dumplings menu offered a choice of soup or dry, and we thought we'd prefer them by the plateful. Our waitress suggested we try the special of prawn dumplings, so we went for that along with our usual pork & chive and a side dish of shredded chicken.




The chicken arrived first, a beautiful stack of shredded bird well seasoned with szechuan pepper, dried chilli and sugar, plus shredded shallot, sliced fresh chilli, coriander sprigs and mixed salad leaves. Dipped in Chinese black vinegar, it was a tastebud-tingling hit.


Then the dumplings arrived ... in soup. Not what we thought we'd ordered, but probably what the doctor ordered and so delicious we were grateful they'd got it wrong. They came in a very clear broth with seaweed, preserved vegies, shallot and some salted black beans hiding in the depths.


The mild-tasting soup is a blank canvas – we daubed ours with droplets of sesame oil and some soy sauce mixed with oily roasted chilli flakes, but later we spied some lemon wedges on the condiments trolley which would be great to squeeze over too.

Swapping dumplings between bowls and slurping them up with the vinegar between chopstickfuls of chicken, we couldn't decide which we liked more - the classic pork (above) or the juicy prawn specials (below). As for the broth, well, to Gusto's surprise, I ate the lot.


How We did the usual cut-through by Henson Park, walked along Addison Rd, rode up Audley St to Petersham and turned left onto Trafalgar St, then went all the way along the train line through Summer Hill to Ashfield. At Liverpool Rd we got off and walked all the way to the restaurant. While parts of this direct route were bike-friendly, it got a little scary in the single lane traffic at times, so I wouldn't recommend it; next time I'll find an easier trip along quieter streets.

Distance About 6km or a 20-minute ride (one way).

Damage About $35 for two including soft drinks

Tips
• They don't have a takeaway menu, although the lovely waitress offered to write one out for us. The best thing to take away though would be frozen or better yet fresh dumplings to cook at home. We'll be back for these for sure.



• If you have enough room in your bike bags, stop off at the amazing Ashfield Fruit World for some serious edible bargains - we rode off with a load including bananas for 89 cents a kilo, a huge bunch of lovely leeks for $3 and a $1.99 bag of mandarins. Come back in a car to pick up cheap boxes of oranges, tomatoes and eggplants, too.

Lunch with a view ... of the bike shop

Where Marrickville to Newtown

Why After a two week hiatus from blog-related bike riding I was feeling pretty guilty, and while the one-and-a-half-hour return trip to my pal Jacq’s dinner party on Saturday night soothed that a little, I still had to go somewhere I could write about. Luckily a lunch date with my mother in law was set for Sunday, so I picked a new café I wanted to try - 2042 Cafe and Deli (403-405 King Street, Newtown, 9550 2500). Just across the road from King Street Cyclery it seems tailor-made for two-wheeled foodies so it was no surprise to see a couple of bikes already parked outside the wide open frontage.

Being open for breakfast and dinner, 2042 has plenty of choice on its menu for the hungry midday diner, even without the possibilities opened up by the well-stocked deli counter. To maximise options, eye up the multiple blackboard menus on the walls. We snapped up a special of chicken, pork and pistachio terrine along with a standard salad of roasted pumpkin, haloumi and rocket with pine nuts balsamic dressing.

The terrine looked and tasted worthy of a French bistro and came with slabs of Sonoma soy and linseed bread, while the salad was a satisfying mound of sweet pumpkin dice, tangled with rocket and crumbled lumps of salty haloumi.

It’s worth a visit just to browse the deli shelves. OK, it’s no Essential Ingredient but there are gourmet pantry items here you won’t find elsewhere in Newtown. I had my eye on these savoury jams from Spoonfed Foods, but I managed to get away empty-handed except for a brown paper bag containing a soft slab of chocolate and pecan brownie for afternoon tea.

How To get to Newtown station, from Sydenham Rd, follow the same route as for Addison Rd markets, but go straight on rather than turning left onto Addison. Cut through the little park (steep hill alert!) to get onto Stanmore Rd, cross at the lights and turn right onto Cavendish Lane. From there, it's laneways all the way to the top of Enmore Road.

Distance About 3.5km (one way)

Damage Salad $14.95, terrine $10.90, brownie $3

Tip

• Don’t BYO reading material – food-mag fiends can choose from a whole shelf full, including old issues of Cuisine, delicious. and Australian Gourmet Traveller.