Avenue Diner | Food and Coffee

Coffee is my guilty pleasure. I love going to cafes and try different variants of coffee. I am very particular in the blend I choose, because I have to admit—I am really picky when it comes to my coffee drink. That is why I am really happy and excited that I have finally found Vella Nero,  a lovely cafe shop in Sydney.

Vella Nero offers premium variety of coffee beans that they roast in the store itself. They offer premium Arabica green beans such as Brazillian Deterra, Colombian Water Decaf Supremo, Ethopian Limu, Papua New Guinea A-Kimel and Sumatra Mandheling Kuda Mas.

I have been visiting this cafe for a week, and every time I drop by, I made sure that I try their different coffee blends. The first one I tasted was the Brazilian Deterra green beans. My medium roasted coffee has a good balance of sweetness and nuttiness. The next day I tried out Colombian Water Decaf Supremo and I liked it as well! It has a light with a hint of acidity in its flavour. For those who are into a more refined taste, the Ethiopian Limu beans is the right choice for you. It has richer taste with a hint of sweetness and acidity. On the other hand, Papua New Guinea A-Kimel beans are the most aromatic when roasted. You can easily taste the clarity of the flavour as well. The last blend I tried is the Sumatra Mandheling Kuda Mas, which I must say, my favorite among all the coffee blend I have tasted. It has deep and rich flavour that I totally enjoyed.

Vella Nero also offers designer blend freshly roasted coffee. You can choose from Capuccino, Espresso, Plunger, Costa Rica Hacienda Rio Negro and their Signature Blend. I was able to try their award-winning signature blend when I visited them. It was amazing! I love the sweet and nutty combination of flavors. This coffee blend won 2007 Golden Bean Awards Bronze medal and 2008 Sydney Royal Fine Food Show Bronze award.

Aside from that, you can also check out their menu! They offer scrumptious breakfast, lunch and sweets. I was able to taste their bacon and egg on Turkish roll with BBQ sauce and it was so tasty! I also enjoyed their variety of gourmet sandwiches. Sopressa salami is my favorite amongst all, because I love the combination of aiolo, provelone cheese and rocket.

Vella Nero opens from Monday-Friday, 7am to 4pm and closed during public holidays.

I just got back from a vacation in Paris! Even if I have been there several times, the city still fascinates me and excites me.

Of course, as a restaurateur, I made sure that I went around the city and dine in the best restaurants Paris has to offer. Among all the restaurants I dined in, Restaurant Le Meurice is my favourite.

As a chef who has always dreamed to have a Michelin star and as a girl who always fancied a glamorous life, dining in Restaurant Le Meurice is a dream come true for me. Located in the heart of Paris, this lovely restaurant is the perfect place to go to is you want to experience “gastronomic grandeur”. It is the right place if you want to experience fine French dining.

When I entered the dining room, I was in awe. It was very beautiful—the mosaic floor, damask curtains, crystal chandeliers. It gave me that classic and grandiose French vibe. The view is also perfect, since it is overlooking the beautiful Tuileries Gardens.

I went there to have dinner and was totally excited to finally eat a dish cooked by Chef Yannick Alleno, one of the best chefs in the world. He has bagged his third Michelin star in 2007. I was really looking forward to experience his brilliant and inventive cooking as well as his superb culinary techniques. He is known to have a deep knowledge of Escoffier technique and I cannot wait to see and taste the food he makes using those techniques. This is indeed a once in a lifetime experience.

Their menu offers scrumptious appetizers, fish and shellfish, meat and poultry and desserts. They also have a degustation menu and choices of wine that you would like to pair with the said menu. Le Meurice also offers authentic Parisian menu. This menu can be seen as the definition of how passionate Chef Yannick Alleno is to his craft. “My cooking is like my city and my city is Paris,” he said.

For my appetizer, I tried their Mackerel marinated with Ponzu and seasoned with sesame oil. It was definitely scrumptious. I loved how he incorporated the flower of hibiscus jelly, tomato petals with shiso to the fish. I also tried their Dublin Bay Prawns coated with a coral Bearnaise Sauce. It has roasted chantrelle mushrooms and celtuces on it. The prawns were cooked to perfection. The flavors were phenomenal.

I totally forgot about my diet and also tried their Suckling Pig from Corsica dish. The spinach cushions with buttered vegetables and ravioli with honey vinegar were amazing. I love the combination of the sweet and sour flavor in this dish.

For the dessert, I tried their Sponge Cake Souffleed with lemon. It had tequila on it, a very interesting spin to the ordinary sponge cake. The cake was soft and it felt like it melted in my mouth. It was really satisfying.

Restaurant Le Meurice opens for breakfast at 7am-10:30am on weekdays and 7:00-11am on weekends; for lunch at 12:30am-2:00pm; and for dinner at 7:30pm-10pm.

If you are traveling to Australia, make sure that you drop by Pier Restaurant, located at Rose Bay, New South Wales. It is one of my favorite restaurants in the country because of the memories it brings whenever I go here and most importantly the scrumptious food this restaurant serves.

Pier Restaurant started in 1991 and has been known as one of Sydney’s best and premium dining destinations. It has been honored as the best Australian seafood restaurant, both internationally and nationally. It was also awarded Three Hats by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide and Three Stars by Australian Gourmet Traveller in 2007. It also won the Gourmet Traveler Restaurant of the Year in 2008 and held as one of San Pellegrino Best 100 Restaurants in the World the year after. Chef Greg Doyle, Pier Restaurant’s owner, maintained its reputation and philosophy to serve only the best for their customers.

The restaurant is famous for their scrumptious and expertly cooked seafood dishes. Their entrees, main dishes, and desserts are all outstanding and very well-prepared. When I go here to have dinner, I always order the Spanner Crab Tortellini for my entree. The shellfish consomme, tomato and soft herbs are cooked to perfection. It is very tasty and healthy at the same time. I have also tried their Roasted Scallops (served with crispy potatoes, shimeji mushrooms and cauliflower), Ink Risotto (a yummy calamari, gremolata and parsley oil dish) and Kingfish Carpaccio (pomegranate, ruby grapefruit and shaved fennel dish) and I tell you this: you better try them out as well!

For my main dish, I love to order their Seared Yellow Fin Tuna! I love the kombu and ginger bvraised scallop, calamari and prawn that are served with it. The dish totally satisfies my taste buds! I am not really into eating fish (I prefer meat most of the time), but this dish made me love to eat fish. Other outstanding main dishes in their menu are the Bread Crusted Kingfish (served with almond foam, tomato fondue and soft herbs), Rangers Valley Sirloin (with cavolo nero, bordelaise glaze and her butter) and Crispy Skinned Hapuka (with globe artichoke, celery heart and golden oyster mushrooms).

For desserts, their Kiwi Fruit Vacherin (yoghurt meringue, apple sorbet and mint) is my absolute favorite. It reminds me of childhood for some reason! Their Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and Blueberry Souffle are also must-try.

The location and the ambiance of the restaurant give a whole new experience too. It is situated in the Sydney Harbour bay with a beautiful view all around. When you go there in the morning, the view of the harbour is at its “sparkling best” while at nightm, it is at its “most dramatic”.

Pier Restaurant opens 12pm-3pm for lunch and 6pm-10pm for dinner on Mondays to Saturdays while the kitchen closes at 9pm on Sundays.