Food Tour: Dove & Olive

I love a restaurant with a good name and a great vibe. This is not a case of judging a book by its cover. Truly, the atmosphere established by a restauranteur who has taken the time to find a fitting, intriguing name then develop a warm, neighborhood feel inside their doors makes the food taste better.

Maybe it's all psychology, mind tricks, sorcery, or sleight of hand. But it works every time.

I was delighted to come across Dove & Olive, which had me swooning over the cute name. It also totally delivered on the great vibe: felt like a neighborhood pub where everyone would know your name. The food was so good, and considering Sydney prices - so cheap! The company and conversation shared was full of laughter, stories, and learning Aussie idioms and slang.

Kyle and I met up with our friend (whom we met during our last time down under) for a welcome back dinner. We quickly found a table and saw that not only did they have a meal deal but it was also Thirsty Thursday!

So we shared two jugs of beer for $20 and each got an $8 burger. Seriously, three people spending $44 on a meal that includes alcohol is a-maze-ing in Sydney. Even if the food didn't taste that great - which we've already established wouldn't be possible given the name and the vibe of the restaurant - but even if it was tasteless, I'd still consider coming back if only for their daily deals!

To Dove & Olive, thank you for your great name, fantastic atmosphere, delicious burger, perfect fries, wide craft beer selection, and yummy salad. I promise next time to grab a fork so I won't eat my salad with my fingers. Until we meet again, keep being awesome.

Food Tour: Sailors Thai Canteen

We found this restaurant in September during our two month stint in Sydney. I quickly fell in love with the menu (flavorful and contemporary) and the atmosphere (community tables and chefs cooking out in the open). Seriously, what's not to love?

After eating here multiple times during our two month stint in Sydney, we knew it would be a crave-able flavor. I'm not too ashamed to admit that while we were home in North Carolina we might have discussed how delicious Sailors Thai is, and how we look forward to dining there again.

So, naturally, on our first Friday night in Sydney we had to get a seat at the welcoming community table of Sailors Thai Canteen. 

The elements of our meal were determined before we even entered the door. We wanted the moo grob won and geng keaw warn nue with two sides of kao, thankyouverymuch.

(But to be honest, we don't speak Thai… So instead of butchering the names of the dishes we asked for the pork belly and green curry beef with two sides of jasmine rice.)

The dishes arrived quickly, prepared correctly, and piping hot. We were ravenous and excited - this was the meal we'd been talking about for months! I couldn't even be bothered to take a picture before we started dishing out the food.

Above is the moo grog won - or the crispy pork belly smothered in a sweet and sour sauce. The pork was cooked to perfection. A crisp outer skin, but not overly heavy. Tender and juicy meat on the inside (which really is the belly). The dish's description of a sweet and sour sauce forgets to mention the spicy kick you get at the end of the bite. The flavors are very well balanced and I may or may not have licked the plate clean.

We paired the crispy, spicy pork with geng keaw warn nue, their green curry beef dish. The meat was slow cooked and was unbelievably tender. The green curry was bursting with coconut milk, thai basil, and what tasted a bit like mint. The heat was mild as compared to the pork belly. And wrapped up in the roti, which was well cooked and buttery… Well, we can just say that we were certainly full to the bone by the end of the night.

Delicious meal. Great company. And (relatively) inexpensive. Excellent date night.

Turns out they're hosting a 2014 NYE six course meal *hint hint* so perhaps we'll be dining there again very soon.