[AUSTRALIA] SYDNEY TRAVEL GUIDE – Things to do, Places to Eat and Visit (Part 2, end)

I case you haven’t, here’s the link for the first part of Sydney Travel Guide, list of recommended things to do, places to eat and places to visit in Sydney https://anakjajan.com/2016/03/19/australia-sydney-travel-guide-things-to-do-places-to-eat-and-visit-part-1/.

Sydney Opera House
Your visit to Sydney won’t be complete without visiting the iconic Sydney Opera House. It is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney that has become one of the symbols of the city from its iconic shape of the building. During our visit, Natalie Imbruglia was performing at the outdoor area of the opera house.

You can enjoy your time strolling around enjoying the beautiful view of the Circular Quay, having a relaxing moment, or you can have a meal at the restaurants nearby while enjoying the view. We personally recommend you to visit this area in the afternoon so you can enjoy the beautiful view of sunset.

Address:
Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Map:

Coogee Beach
White sands, blue ocean, beach is one of the must visit places in Sydney especially when you visit the city during summer. Coogee is a beachside suburb where you can walk along the picturesque pathway from Bondi to Coogee.

Near the beach, there’s an eating place called Coogee Pavilion where you can find various decent food such as burger, fish & chips, etc.

Address:
Coogee Beach
Coogee NSW 2034
Map:

Bondi Beach
Out of many beaches, Bondi Beach is one of the most popular in Sydney, here you can enjoy sunbathing, swimming or strolling along the white sands and enjoying the blue sky and turquoise ocean.

There are lots of restaurants around the area that offer amazing view of the beach, also the iconic Bondi Icebergs Club, a swimming club located at the south end of Bondi Beach with its iconic pool by the sea.

Address:
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach, New South Wales

Speedo’s Cafe
For breakfast/ brunch with sea view of Bondi Beach, Speedo’s Cafe is one of the recommended places. Speedo’s Cafe serves various pretty looking and colorful brunch menus and also cronuts. The cafe was very packed and busy during our visit on Sunday morning.

I ordered something light and refreshing to start the day, Coconut Chia Pot and it was a great decision. The chia pudding was served with blueberry jam, watermelon cubes and coconut soft serve ice cream, it was very refreshing and delicious, not to mention the pretty looking presentation.

Address:
Speedo’s Cafe
2/126 Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi NSW 2026, Australia
Map:

Harry’s Bondi
After a quick search on instagram, we made a spontaneous decision to try Harry’s Bondi and it was a great choice because we were totally satisfied with the food, coffee and vibe there. The cafe is located in Bondi beach area, it doesn’t have the direct sea view but it doesn’t matter since they have amazing food and coffee.

Ricotta Hotcake AUD 17.50
Pretty looking colorful hotcake with fresh and organic local ingredients that tasted just as good as its look. The ricotta hotcake has a very nice fluffy texture, drizzled with sweet organic maple syrup, silky smooth double cream and sweet strawberry and blueberry.

Pull Pork Roll with Sweet Potato Fries AUD 15.5 + Sweet Potato Fries AUD 4.50
This one was absolutely delicious, so soooo good! The combination between soft fluffy bun, sunny side up egg, juicy flavorful pulled pork with rich tasting coffee bacon jam was simply heaven! The sweet potato fries itself were also amazing, crispy crunchy on the outside while soft on the inside with sweet and salty taste.

Out of many brunch dishes we had, our brunch at Harry’s Bondi might be one of our top favorites. Totally recommended!

Address:
Harry’s Bondi
2/136 Wairoa Ave, Bondi Beach NSW 2026, Australia
Map:

La Perouse
Located not very far from Coogee Beach, La Perouse offers picturesque scenery that could be a perfect place to visit for you who love to take picture or enjoy pretty scenery.

Address:
La Perouse NSW
Map:

The Grounds of Alexandria
The Grounds of Alexandria by far is one of the prettiest cafe AnakJajan ever visited. Serving various homestyle food and specialty coffee, the cafe was built from old factory.

We just love the way they design this space gorgeously, charming vintage moody building with brick walls and then lush green organic garden for the outdoor area. Don’t forget to say hi to Kevin Bacon, the iconic tubby piggy pet of the restaurant.

Talking about the menu, The Grounds of Alexandria offers wide variety of dishes from breakfast, brunch, lunch, cakes, tarts, pastries, etc. Since I fell in love with the freshness and sweetness of the fruits here in Australia, I ordered Berry Hotcake AUD 19 and it was pretty good, soft fluffy hotcake with vanilla infused mascarpone cheese, blueberry, strawberry, puffed quinoa, micro basil and agave syrup.

Address:
The Grounds of Alexandria
7A, 2 Huntley St, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9699 2225
Map:

Do Dee Paidang Thai Noodle Bar & Cafe
AnakJajan received so many recommendations and lots of you mentioned Do Dee Paidang so we decided to give it a try and it was soooo good we had a second visit on the next day 🙂

Pad Kee Mao Crispy Pork AUD 13.90
Nicely cooked stir-fried flat noodle, the noodle was nicely seasoned with amazing wok-fry charred aroma. Love it.

Dough Fritter with Pandan Custard AUD 5.50
The golden fried dough fritter we call it ‘cakwe’ in Indonesia, it has a nice crunchy texture on the outside while soft on the inside, paired nicely with sweet, thick and rich tasting pandan custard.

Tomyam Spicy Noodle Jumbo AUD 11.50
The most famous item there is their tomyum spicy noodle with different spiciness level from level 1 to 7, AnakJajan ordered the medium level of spiciness, level 3, we thought that the spiciness level would be manageable but we were wrong! The level 3 was extremely spicy with burning sensation I almost cried. That’s why on the second visit, we ordered level 1 only, the tomyam spicy soup has an amazing and addicting flavor, spicy and sour altogether, while for the noodle there are several types of noodle you can choose. Must try!

Address:
Do Dee Paidang Thai Noodle Bar & Cafe
9, 37 Ultimo Rd, Haymarket NSW 2000, Australia
Map:

Bourke Street Bakery
Surry Hills area has so many popular cafe, bakery and coffee shops. If you are planning to have a culinary tour, this area is a must not miss. One of the popular shops in the area is Bourke Street Bakery, a small little bakery shop that sells various freshly baked items.

AnakJajan tried Carrot Walnut Cake AUD 5 and Ginger Creme Brulee Tart AUD 5.50 since we heard that both items are recommended. The Carrot Walnut Cake was really nice and moist but the winner would be the Ginger Creme Brulee, thin crunchy crust with silky smooth eggy creamy filling and bitter sweet caramelized sugar on top, the addition of ginger taste in the filling was a great touch to balance the eggy creamy taste.

Address:
Bourke Street Bakery
633 Bourke St, Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia
Map:

Devon on Danks
AnakJajan heard so many rave reviews about truffle soft serve ice cream from Devon cafe’s outlet at Danks street so we decided to try it.

The boutique cafe has a really nice and chic decor with neon signs, cement walls and wooden furniture. We ordered the DD Special AUD 20, truffle soft serve with fries and grated fresh truffle. It was totally the new level of soft serve ice cream, smooth creamy soft serve ice cream with delightful hint of truffle aroma and the way they serve it with fries was a genius combination! Sweet, salty and creamy, a heavenly combination!

Address:
Devon on Danks
2 Danks St, Waterloo NSW 2017, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9698 7795
Map:

Shopping Arcade
For you guys who are shopaholic, the shopping arcades in central business district of Sydney are definitely a heaven, within a few city blocks you can find various shopping destination such as Queen Victoria Building, the Strand Arcade, Westfield Sydney, David Jones and Myer.

Queen Victoria Building
Another iconic building that you must visit in Sydney, Queen Victoria Building or QVB, a late nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae in the central business district of Sydney and up until now the building is still operating as a shopping mall.

The building has a magnificent design both interior and exterior. Inside the building you can find various quality branded designer items. We are very impressed by how well they preserve and maintain the building perfectly.

Address:
Queen Victoria Building
455 George St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9265 6800
Map:

Gelato Messina
One of the most popular brands for gelato in Australia is Gelato Messina. Since they have lots of outlet, you can find it easily. The shop offers wide variety of classic flavors with some unique special daily flavors. AnakJajan tried Blood Orange sorbet and Cracker Jack (caramel peanut butter, popcorn with peanut popcorn praline), the texture was rich and smooth but slightly too sweet for our liking, we still prefer the gelato from Cow and Moon.

Address:
Gelato Messina
389 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9332 1191
Map:

Sydney Town Hall Clock Tower
Sydney Town Hall clock tower was completed in 1873, it has become one of the iconic symbol of the city located in the heart of Sydney, a must see spot for tourist.

Address:
Sydney Town Hall Clock Tower
483 George St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Map:

Petal Met Sugar
This place was a recommendation from our foodie friend in Sydney. A pretty small little space that consists of cake shop and flower shop. We ordered several items to tried, presentation wise the cakes were very pretty and it tasted just as good as its look, great texture and amazing flavor, this place is a hidden gem!

Address:
Petal Met Sugar
68 Sir John Young Cres, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011, Australia
Map:

Harry’s Cafe de Wheels
If you need a recommendation on the most signature local food in Australia, one of it would be pies and hot dogs from Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, an iconic food cart that serves pies, pasties and hot dogs.

AnakJajan visited Harry’s Cafe de Wheels at Woolloomooloo located in front of Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel overlooking Sydney Harbour, pie with mushy peas and hot dog are their signature items, since we had a dinner reservation afterwards, we only tried Hot Dog De Wheels AUD 7.80, the signature chili con carne hot dog with mushy peas, garlic onion, chili and cheese sauce, it was pretty good, soft fluffy bun, juicy sausage, we enjoyed the flavor combination between the ingredients.

Address:
Harry’s Cafe de Wheels
Cowper Wharf Roadway & Brougham St, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011, Australia
Map:

LuMi Bar and Dining
Lumi offers casual fine dining experience with a rather unusual dishes, Italian food with a Japanese twist. AnakJajan had an eight course degustation dinner for AUD 105 per person.

This was our first time experiencing Italian food with Japanese twist and we must say that it was an unforgettable and amazing experience, we enjoyed it very much. Every single dish has its own new and distinctive flavor and texture with mixture of a lil bit of Japanese flavor and a lil bit of Italian flavor, for example the soft Japanese steamed egg or chawan mushi that has been infused with fresh tomato water and Italian cheese, it was soooo good! Definitely one of our memorable meals in Australia.

Address:
LuMi Bar and Dining
56 Pirrama Road
Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Phone: +61 2 9571 1999
Map:

Good Times Artisan Ice Cream
Unlike gelato or ice cream, other than the famous Aqua S, soft serve ice cream is not that common to find in Sydney.

During our visit on February 2016, there’s a new soft serve ice cream shop just opened in Potts Point area, Good Times Artisan Ice Cream. I tried the funky looking Ziggy Stardust, it is a strawberry soft serve ice cream with strawberry dust, pop rocks, crispies and gold dust star, the soft serve ice cream has a nice smooth creamy texture with crunchy texture from the dehydrated raspberry crispies topping.

Address:
Good Times Artisan Ice Cream
87B Macleay St, Potts Point NSW 2011, Australia
Map:

Well, this is the end of our Australia Summer Feb 2016 trip guide, hopefully our Melbourne, Gold Coast and Sydney travel guides could inspire you for your trip to Australia. AnakJajan had an amazing time, blue skies, lovely weather, friendly and nice people, good coffee, amazing brunch, we just cannot wait to go back to Australia. Let’s travel!

http://www.australia.com/

If you guys are interested in visiting these places but you prefer a hassle free trip, you can check Avia Tour website http://www.avia.travel/ for more offer since Avia Tour is collaborating with Tourism Australia for special trip/tour offer to Australia.