I was walking home after dropping off some used clothes at the Australian Red Cross in Paddington (my favourite op-shop to donate to) and grabbed a takeaway latte with my handy keep cup from Ampersand Cafe. It was so good, and the ambience so excellent that I managed to head back for a proper sit-down latte a week or so later.
The coffee has a lightness about it, a creaminess, which I liked. And I loved the atmosphere: sit among the books at the back, if you like.
Or there are tiny tables in a small courtyard, with books on top of most of them. The view of Oxford Street is not necessarily a beautiful one, but the café’s vibe makes up for it.
Friendly staff and good people-watching. Lots of army folks from the Victoria Barracks across the street were popping in for their caffeine fix; possibly a little business meeting in the back, other meanderers like me.
Ampersand used to have a place next to the library on Crown Street, which I found charming: a bookshop next to a library, but this is the surviving outpost nowadays. I recommend it!
I’d heard rumours over the last two years of Wok and Noodle Bar’s owner, Jun Toyoda, and Chef Kazuteru O-San’s tiny ramen restaurant at the top of Llankelly Place, but I’d never tried it (or seen an empty seat, as it’s really just a hole in the wall). What a surprise to find that it has such a generic name that doesn’t do it justice, though it seems like its reputation has been drawing in a steady flow of customers.
It’s pretty adorable, a little piece of Japan in Sydney, a tiny hole in the wall like in Tokyo and Osaka. They serve authentic Japanese drinks (as well as the food) and it really does feel like a part of Japan has been transplanted to Potts Point.
One of our friends LOVES this place, particularly for the richness of flavour, for example in the black garlic tonkotsu broth. They also offer both interesting flavours and varieties: so, the tsukemen dish, cold noodles in three sizes, that you dip into a sauce and then eat. Also an interesting soba dish on offer, and if you don’t want one of the super-rich broths, you can go for a lighter miso or soy broth.
The thing is: I’d already gone to RaRa Ramen for lunch, so I opted instead for their udon dish, which was supposed to be spicy. It wasn’t that spicy (it looked like it should be spicy), and it was missing something for me. A really good udon dish has more of a bite and spring to it; perhaps these were overdone. Perfectly fine but not great.
My pals were impressed at how big the large tsukemen dish was, and confirmed that the tonkotsu broth with the ramen they also ordered was, indeed, very, very rich. I think I should come back for the ramen another day (the black garlic one appeals to me) and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the best ramen in Potts Point.
Does Crown Street and Sydney need more Thai food? In the Mood for Thai always seemed popular, and I liked the mood and decor, so was surprised when it closed down to be replaced by another Thai restaurant.
At first glance, I couldn’t see the appeal: the prices for dinner seemed pretty high. I reckon if you’re going to spend that much, you could spend a little more and go to the various top-notch Thai eateries around the city, or wander down closer to Chinatown for the more famous ones like Chat Thai or Boon Cafe (recently reviewed in the New York Times).
Still, one shouldn’t judge without trying, so for a casual lunch with my pal, we wandered in. It’s cheery logo is on the tables, as you can see, the two o’s taken out of the name of the restaurant and divided by a small line.
The food is expensive and one of our party remembered the portions being small the previous time she went, but we had two appetizers and three mains between us, and were stuffed: some delicious dumplings (pork and garlic chive steamed buns, $26 for 6), a very generous plate of Hunan-style sticky pork ribs ($31) (yum!), a delicate fish dish, steamed flathead Jiang-Xi style with pickled mustard green and chili.
As there are cat cafés around the world (including the Catmosphere Space Cat Cafe in Surry Hills, Sydney), a dog café has been awaited. Or at least a dog-themed café, from what I gather from the name. On the corner of Foveaux and Crown Street, I hope this isn’t a cursed location. I liked the last incarnation, which seemed fresher than the café that was there before! If their food is as good as their coffee, hopefully they’ll do OK.
After 30 years, the owner and designer of Wheel and Dollbaby, with their shopfront on Crown Street, decided to call it quits, and suddenly there’s a new cafe selling extremely healthy looking meals, and some interesting hot drinks.
We stopped by for an English Breakfast tea (D’s go-to drink, unless they’re out of English Breakfast, in which case Irish Breakfast might do), and while I was tempted by my usual latte, I decided to go with one of their unusual superfood hot drinks. And what would be more unusual than a blue latte made from blue-green algae? It was tasty, and served up in an attractive ceramic cup, I found it so appealing that I’d ordered it again. It tasted like an interesting, savoury, coffee substitute, not herbal or medicine, sort of earthy, and pleasant tasting (I had mine with almond milk, so perhaps that was the predominant flavour, the slight sweetness matched with a lovely creaminess). And blue!
