Exploring Sydney, well, okay Fratelli Paradiso Pastries!

Sydney. Consistently voted one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it's so easy to see why. Even on a winter's day it's a pretty cool place, and for me, I think it's the harbour that gives it such vibrancy and life. And then there's the food ... apparently Melbourne is the food hub of Australia ... well it's got competition!

Since moving from Melbourne to Sydney a few months ago I've not got this exciting and ongoing adventure of finding all the interesting markets, cafes, restaurants and great foodie spots. I've tackled a few so far that have been recommended, and surprisingly a number of these are right on our door step. I'm not about restaurant reviews, I'm more about the cooking, but just had to share this on one of our local highlights.

The first day we arrived here we had dinner at Fratelli Paradiso in Challis St, Potts Point, then I think we ate there every night for the next week. We love that it is a simple, yet modern trattoria and has an uncomplicated menu that you can easily mix and match without waiters making a fuss. They're always happy for us to eat "family style" which you kind of want to do if you're eating there every night! The wine recommendations were great, and I have to say that the scampi linguini which was also a house recommendation is cooked to perfection and a winner in my eyes.

But that's Fratelli by night and I'm sure there's been a gazillion people reviewed it, raving or now, but by day it has the most amazing little bakery in house and is a damn fine place to go for an indulgent kind of brekkie.

Had our friend Maisie with us for the weekend so we had to pay a visit.

Fratelli Paradiso

The restaurant is split into two with the bakery being on the west side. Grab a seat inside, if you can, and sit close to the marble bench and you can be part of the baking action if that's what you're into.

What first hits you when you walk in is the tall pasty trolley, filled with freshly made delicacies some of which you'll recognise, others you won't but you must try. Palmiers, custard filled donuts, plain or almond croissants, tomato/basil/mozzarella brioche sandwiches, mozzarella/prosciutto or spinach/mozzarella pastry sandwiches ... all there for the eating!

The pastry cart

The pastry chef started at 3am and he's still working. We chat a little, he loves what he does and admits it's been over 20 years he's been doing this. It's great to see him in action, baking the dinner rolls for the restaurant, then popping a few pizzas in the oven ... zucchini/anchovy and tomato/mozarella/basil. It's all so tempting, and choices are difficult. So we just have to have breakfast there both Saturday and Sunday so we can indulge. They also have a breakfast menu if you don't want pastry and are happier with a couple of poached eggs or muesli.

Here's the donut ... wasn't me who had this, it was my friend Maisie. I opted for the tomato brioche sandwich and almond croissant which were shared between two. So good, and the coffee wasn't bad either.

Maisie's brekkie!

I'm excited that there are still places like this about, where we can see where our food comes from. And yes, it is slightly indulgent but that's just the joy of life, and it puts smiles on peoples faces and grimaces on them when they have to exercise it off again.

Went home and Maisie and I made a pear cake. This is one of my favourites. It didn't turn out quite as planned so I'm leaving that to my next post. Stay tuned!

Bon Appetite.