The Wooden Whisk, St Leonards

I forgotten how I found out about this place, but I’m always on the look out for brunch destinations North of the CBD. I made the effort to come to The Wooden Whisk on a rainy Saturday morning, with the promise of good food, and 2 hours of free parking at the Pole Ln carpark nearby. Luckily the rain cleared up for us on our walk to the cafe.

Coffee; a must.

 
Kale Crave: Kale, cucumber, apple, mint, $6.20

Mr. Auie has been ordering these kale juices pretty much every time he spots them on the menu. Not sure if on a health bender or just trying to look like it. But it is reported to being one of the better mixes that he has tasted as of late; refreshing way to start the morning.
I’m pretty sure the kitchen staff were partly psychic as we got both our orders of coffee and juice within, dare I say, one minute of ordering them. The way to a brunch eater’s heart is coffee on demand!

Wooden Whisk Breakfast, $16.90

Two free range eggs, bacon, sausage, sautéed mushrooms, tomato, black pudding, Spanish style beans, toasted sourdough. Perfectly sized big breakfast with a good variety. These days a lot of places just seem to try to cram a plate full of anything they can think of and call it a big breakfast, and it usually leaves you aching for something else. This one however, had a lovely mix of goodies and left you comfortably full.

Sautéed Field Mushrooms, $15.90

Served with garlic, truffle butter, marinated feta, smoked pork, poached egg and toast. Stupid me, for some reason blanked out and didn’t registered that smoked pork would be similar to bacon. My mistake was Mr. Auie’s gain, as he is bacon fanatic.  But aside from the slight brain fart, the rest of the dish was delightful. I wish I could say I could tell there was truffle in the butter, but I guess my palate just isn’t that refined enough to tell. The egg was poached to perfection, and there was enough that Mr. Auie could have a large portion and the plate was still not clear by the time we were both full.

 

We would definitely make this a regular haunt. Quick service, attentive staff and good food. Can’t wait for a next visit. I hear good things about the sweets.

 

The Wooden Whisk
Shop 8, 38-46 Albany St,
St. Leonards, NSW 2065

Korn, Crows Nest

I think this little thai restaurant is quite new and nestled amongst all the outer restaurants along Willoughby Road in Crows Nest. Service was really quick (some of the food too pre-prepared) which was good for a quick dinner before a long and silly karaoke session in the city!

Thai milk tea ($4.50)

Satay chicken 6pcs ($5.90)

Deep fried taro ($5.90)

 Mussaman duck ($18.90)

Mango sticky rice

The Food Zoo experience: I would recommend the thai milk tea (one of my favourite drinks). Although there wasn’t enough ice to make it icy cold – but at the same time, it meant that you didn’t finish your drink in two sips leaving a cup of ice behind. I found the massaman duck a bit expensive given there were only a few pieces of duck in the dish and couldn’t taste anything in the fried taro except for sweet chilli sauce. The satay chicken was well served and the mango sticky rice (the price escapes me). I think I would go back to this place for my favourites and maybe give a chance to the other items on the menu!

Korn Thai

128 WIlloughby Road,
Crows Nest, NSW 2065

Tanpopo, Neutral Bay

 Tanpopo Volcano Roll – spic tuna, cucumber, avocado and flying fish roe ($13.00)

Camembert cheese tempura ($10.00)

 Salmon lover sushi ($15.00)

 Tanpopo Carpaccio – Ocean troout with capers and mixed leaves ($15.00)

The Food Zoo experience: I was surprised how busy this little Japanese restaurant was! After a 15 minute wait we were eventually seated although the table had been available the entire time and clearly not reserved so that was quite confusing. The Tanpopo carpaccio and the Tanpopo volcano roll is a must! My favourite was the Tanpopo volcano roll which was just flooded with mayonnaise goodness (although some may disagree and say it’s just too rich)!

Tanpopo

3/81 Military Rd
Neutral Bay NSW 2089

Moody Chef, Crows Nest

It seemed not so long ago that I was here with my most favourite person in the world. It’s so lonely not having you around but I feel so lucky that you will always have a place for me in your heart. When life gets tough and time passes by too slowly, I can always imagine you reminding me “everything happens for a reason”- even though I have yet to figure out what that reason is.

Anyway, I digress! Moody Chef is one of the few places I love going back to for the relaxed atmosphere, sweet memories and most importantly – good food! There are plenty of indoor (booth seating and private function room) and outdoor options which means it’s pet friendly!

They have their own range of sauces & jams!

Milkshake, Wild berry smoothie, Mocha

Chunky chips with peri-peri aoli ($8.90)

Poached eggs & Kipfler potato, bacon hash ($17.90)

Grilled chorizo and roast tomato bruschetta with fresh ricotta, poached eggs & pesto ($16.90)

Delicious runny poached eggs!

Poached eggs on spanish txitorra sausage with chickpea fries, chilli jam & wood fired toast ($17.90)

Nutella and mascarpone pancakes ($15.90)

The Food Zoo experience: The pancakes – oh my – were to die for. I have been going through a nutella phase and what I loved about the pancakes were the generous slabs of nutella between each pancake. Yes… I said “between”!!! I could happily die from a nutella overdose! I also really liked the poached eggs and the chunky fries get a thumbs up from me! I wasn’t a huge fan of the kipfler potatoes and bacon hash (was hoping the potatoes would be crispier and there were bits of hash which were just bacon fat) but there are plenty of other options and I will gladly go back go back to tick off each item from the menu!

The Moody Chef

1/30 Atchison St
St Leonards NSW 2065