australia :: sydney :: shopping

[Albm]

Any local magazine prints I could support? 

Edited February 15, 2017 by Albm

[homme.homme]

There is a local magazine (zine) store in Chippendale which might have something up your alley...

 

http://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/art-and-design/article/pressed-time-weekend

[FatCook]

678 is/has been pretty good for K bbq

[Ivans On High]

I went to Cafe Paci last week. Wasn't nearly as good as I was expecting.

 

Anyone  got any other recs? 

[frasier oiseau]

Gleebooks has some pretty good photography/art/design stuff when I popped in

[profiterole]

I went to Cafe Paci last week. Wasn't nearly as good as I was expecting.

 

Anyone  got any other recs? 

 

Thats a bit dissapointing, Pasi Petanen has a kind of cult fallowing in sydney.

Sadly the only other place I have ventured into recently was cho cho san. It has that izakaya feel to it with an excellent drinks menu, food was decent but nothing amazing, it is another Japanese place afterall.

[frasier oiseau]

Renoir's La Grande Illusion is being shown as part of the French film festival next month (Really the only thing in the line-up I want to see), but doesn't say what format - hope they're projecting film and not just blu-ray or even DVD

 

http://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/film/grand-illusion

[FatCook]

Went to Bar H for my Birthday dinner, was decent. Saltbush tempura was interesting but ultimately kinda eh, wagyu rump was treated well. Lots of small-ish sized meals with drinks if you're into that

 

 

 

 

[frasier oiseau]

Some good shows in the coming few months

 

Invisible City

https://www.facebook.com/events/696286037156211

 

HTRK + Mika Vainio

https://www.facebook.com/events/777824405588428

 

Boris

https://www.facebook.com/events/858799460846256

[conqueror]

gonna be in sydney for 2 days and haven't been in over a decade...best coffee? restaurant recommendations (particularly thai or japanese)? cbd or super close by only.

 

edit: bummed i'm a week late for htrk.

Edited February 27, 2015 by conqueror

[frasier oiseau]

You might wanna check out Menya on Market st. or Gumshara and O-San Ramen, both in Haymarket

 

 

Other than Kinokuniya, anyone got any good recommendation for magazine/bookstores? There are three good ones on Glebe Point road (Sappho books, Gleebooks and Gleebook's used store), anyone know of any others?

Edited March 5, 2015 by pas de deux

[FatCook]

gonna be in sydney for 2 days and haven't been in over a decade...best coffee? restaurant recommendations (particularly thai or japanese)? cbd or super close by only.

 

edit: bummed i'm a week late for htrk.

 

coffee alchemy down at Marrickville is a personal favourite but it is out of your way abit. Alternatively they opened up Gumption down at CBD near Myers

 

Reuben hills (Surry Hills),

Brewtown Newtown (outer city sort of, also owned by the makers of Gnome in Surry Hills),

Paramount Coffee Project is smack bang in the city

[conqueror]

booked nom for sat night (thanks jeremy), gumption has been recommended by a few people so i'll make sure to suss that as well. cheers!

[big]

I went to Cafe Paci last week. Wasn't nearly as good as I was expecting.

 

Anyone  got any other recs? 

 

That's a shame, I went when they opened last year and the meal was excellent. Would you say it was the quality of the meals or just the combinations that let it down? My girl mentioned that she wanted to go back there but I'd rather go somewhere else if it isn't as exciting.

 

Some of the better places I've been to in the past few months...

Acme (Rushcutters Bay) - lives up to its hype and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who likes the idea of interesting pasta based dishes.

 

Raita Noda (Surry Hills) - I'm thinking of going back again in the next few weeks.

 

Telicherry (Cremorne) - Favourite new indian restaurant.

 

I'm after a new ramen joint now that Ryo's has changed their recipe/ stopped using pork belly in their soups, anyone have any good rec that isn't Menya?

 

Edit: deux, have you tried Mag nation on King st? I haven't been for awhile but they have a huge selection of random stuff

Edited March 11, 2015 by big

[frasier oiseau]

I'm after a new ramen joint now that Ryo's has changed their recipe/ stopped using pork belly in their soups, anyone have any good rec that isn't Menya?

 

Edit: deux, have you tried Mag nation on King st? I haven't been for awhile but they have a huge selection of random stuff

 

Mag Nation looks great, thanks for the rec

As for Ramen: if you want Tonkotsu, I would go to either Gumshara or Osan Ramen - Osan Ramen is new, but they're the better of the two, not as ridiculously heavy as gumshara and the broth is more well-balanced. Both are in Haymarket food courts and pretty cheap, like $10 a bowl

Ippudo is ok, but overpriced considering the other ramen in the city I've tried. A lot of people like Ramen Ikkyu, but I wasn't particularly fond of it. 

Might try this place in the future as well https://www.facebook.com/yasakaramen

 

 

 

Parlour Burger was kind of underwhelming, what are some people's favourite burger joints?

Edited March 5, 2015 by pas de deux

[big]

Yeah I've tried Ramen Ikkyu and didn't think it was crash hot. The only reason I'd go there was if I wanted to go full retard and get the rack of pork ribs in the ramen but then I'd rather just go to a rib joint. I'll try those first 2 you mentioned soon, that's more or less what I'm after. I haven't ventured to many ramen places apart Ryo's since it's walking distance from me but they've gone downhill big time.

 

have you tried Neil Perry's new burger joint in world square? It's decent for the $10 price point plus their shakes are great too. My personal favourite is Batch in Kirribili

[frasier oiseau]

Yeah I've tried Ramen Ikkyu and didn't think it was crash hot. The only reason I'd go there was if I wanted to go full retard and get the rack of pork ribs in the ramen but then I'd rather just go to a rib joint. I'll try those first 2 you mentioned soon, that's more or less what I'm after. I haven't ventured to many ramen places apart Ryo's since it's walking distance from me but they've gone downhill big time.

 

have you tried Neil Perry's new burger joint in world square? It's decent for the $10 price point plus their shakes are great too. My personal favourite is Batch in Kirribili

 

FWIW Gumshara does the pork rib ramen (And an insane "Super Mega Ramen" - pork rib, grilled pork belly skewer, and 12 slices of chashu) and they're far better than Ikkyu on every level except name.

 

Will check out the joint in World Square, might also check out Mary's in Newton since it's within walking distance

[frasier oiseau]

Also, Oak Barrel on Elizabeth st is an amazing bottleshop - I stop in for beer, but their range of whisky, wine and other things is breathtaking, really easy to get to as well

http://www.oakbarrel.com.au/

[FatCook]

^ my go to when I'm around and feel like grabbing some beers. The old dude which I presume to be the owner is super knowledgeable about craft beers and really friendly

 

They do regular whisky tastings or something too. Too bad a lot of the imported stuff is marked up due to taxes (much like everything else in Aus)

 

Mary's burgers is good, just gets really noisy and dim and from what I've been told by folks whose gone to the US still not as good as In n Out or something. They are also a wee bit more expensive, 14ish I think it was. Their mash is good tho. Fried chickens alright,

 

Also for those whose into something odd try dropping by the Corner by McCafe. Its a weird concept thing they're doing and just 5 minutes walk from my building. Not bad but pulled pork was waaay too sweet for my liking.

 

edit: this summarizes it quite well

http://www.goodfood.com.au/good-food/eat-out/the-corner-by-mccafe-healthier-food-and-a-world-first-20150114-12n6wl.html

Edited March 5, 2015 by FatCook

[big]

Oddly enough I was thinking of asking if anyone has been to the Corner. It seems to be a trend recently for corporations to go after the cafe market - Woolworths and some Coles have begun trying to set up cafes onsite. Is the Corner staffed by 14yr olds wearing button ups and fake beards or just normal people?

 

Whiskey barrel is my current pref as well, I've gotten some great stuff there but it can be insanely priced. I've found with much of their whiskey and gin, if you spend long enough, you can find it for 30% cheaper elsewhere in Sydney. Anyone tried Beer Cartel in the north shore? I've heard some good things about it but might swing by and check it out soon. 

[Ivans On High]

That's a shame, I went when they opened last year and the meal was excellent. Would you say it was the quality of the meals or just the combinations that let it down? 

 

There were two or so dishes that just didn't hit the mark, which at that price is too many. The quality was more or less there, but I think it was more the concept of the dishes which fell flat. 

 

As for burgers, I think Mary's does the best burger in Sydney. Get the Mary's burger with the trashcan bacon. And now that they've opened a take-away joint on Castlereagh it makes things easier for people who live out of the inner west.

 

I've tried burger project a few times, and the American Cheeseburger is really good. They are definitely doing a better job now than when they first opened. And the price is right.

 

For ramen I like Gumshara, and I also like the black garlic ramen at Ikkyu.

 

For beers I always head to camperdown cellars on Kingston (my local). They always have a massive selection of craft beers, and it rotates often. The guys are also very knowledgeable. I've been to Beer Cartel and can highly recommend it. It's a shame it's so far away from me. 

[big]

I had a chance to swing by Beer Cartel after I finished work and the selection is excellent. Ended up walking away with a box of mixed variety to try plus stocked up on some Doctor's Orders.

 

The general vibe I get from Sydney shopping retail isn't good. I enjoyed Assin's selection (I got my gateway drug pants there in 2011) but now that its gone I find I can't be bothered to go peruse stores. Sneakerboy had a good start but now they only want to sell tacky Buscemi and Giuseppe whilst Pieces reminds me of those tv shows about compulsive hoarders. That and their buys are boring

[frasier oiseau]

https://www.facebook.com/events/860521830660683/

This looks sick

[FatCook]

to be fair, at the end of the day Sneakerboy's gotta make business deals and one way to do that I guess is to cater to one of their strongest clientèle. The rich and clueless. 

[Ivans On High]

The same way Pieces has to sell Mastermind.

 

But I hear you on the physical store. It's terrible. Such a waste. There was a whole rack of Isaac Sellam which couldn't even be reached because it had piles of shit in front of it. It would be less of an issue if there was a web store, but there's not...

 

Well there is this http://piecesydney.com/ but the domain isn't even spelt right.

[big]

I take your point, it would be good if they took advantage of their lower warehousing overheads in HK by stocking some more interesting stuff as well to hit more than one market

[frasier oiseau]

There were two or so dishes that just didn't hit the mark, which at that price is too many. The quality was more or less there, but I think it was more the concept of the dishes which fell flat.

As for burgers, I think Mary's does the best burger in Sydney. Get the Mary's burger with the trashcan bacon. And now that they've opened a take-away joint on Castlereagh it makes things easier for people who live out of the inner west.

I've tried burger project a few times, and the American Cheeseburger is really good. They are definitely doing a better job now than when they first opened. And the price is right.

For ramen I like Gumshara, and I also like the black garlic ramen at Ikkyu.

For beers I always head to camperdown cellars on Kingston (my local). They always have a massive selection of craft beers, and it rotates often. The guys are also very knowledgeable. I've been to Beer Cartel and can highly recommend it. It's a shame it's so far away from me.

Stopped by Mary's before a show in Newton tonight, found it to be pretty underwhelming. Guess I'll try burger project sometime in the future

[conqueror]

just came back from a 2 night visit, as mentioned hadn't been for over ten years. the aquarium fucking sucked but darling harbour and the rocks were way nicer than i remember. didn't really do anything sufu-related apart from suss the chuck close exhibit at mca. here's some thoughts on a few places (mostly just looked up semi-highly reviewed places that we were near on urbanspoon since it was a last minute trip).

 

nom - didn't end up going even though i made a reservation. mardi gras made it fairly impossible for me to get to. next time.

ramen ikkyu - pretty good, but nothing to write home about. chashu was okay though and i'm not usually into it.

jazushi - dope date spot w live pianist and some amazing eel dishes. frozen cheesecake was potentially the best dessert i've had in australia. i don't drink, but seemed to have a decent selection. the street it's on is a total fucking dump, though.

gazzi - good chips, rest was average.

bowery lane - personally i loved the layout and the breakfast ("nyc" omelette) + service was spot on. similar melb joints could learn a thing or two. would def return.

gumption - disappointed that you can't actually hang inside and have to sit on shitty communal benches in the middle of a thoroughfare but my brew lived up to the hype. thought i saw some zero products for sale?

pho tk - not a huge pho dude but had a viet colleague recommend it even though it's in a westfield. completely underwhelming and tasted of literally nothing. bad day maybe? served by the most depressed dude working in hospitality on planet earth.

sushi hotaru - honestly, i expected it to suck on location alone but it was pretty incredible for $35 (9 plates?!). beats anything similar in melbourne/canberra/adelaide by a landslide. staff seemed to be all jp (or at least spoke it) which is super rare in the aforementioned cities.

din tai fung - (chinese) girl i was with who eats yum cha almost every single day said the dumplings were "okay" and wonton's were "delicious". i liked both.

 

unless i missed it, why doesn't syd kinokuniya have a magazine section? cool to see nieves in there.

Edited March 9, 2015 by conqueror

[big]

 

 

Agreed on Jazushi being a great date spot. I took my girl there years ago for our first date and it worked a treat. 

 

Pho tk is consistently shit so it wasn't just bad timing for you I think.

 

Kiniokuniya has a magazine section; it's hidden behind the Japanese section - rather obscure if you ask me.

[Ivans On High]

The Gretz has opened on Enmore Rd, a small bar by the Hartsyard team. Has anyone been yet?

 

I walked past the other night and it looks pretty good. There are few nice bars in that area now: Midnight Special, Stinking Bishop, Earls, Bloodwood.