Masu

It had been a while since I'd had a knock-your-socks-off meal, so the newly famous Masu restaurant seemed like an appropriate place to change that.

Masu is located in Federal Street, and since picking up Metro's Best Restaurant award mere months after opening it has gone from strength to strength and has become a beloved favourite of many.

We settled into the bar where I was entranced by the expert bartenders.  This one was a 'plumberry sawa'; a sour plum concoction atop a whole block of ice.

Next was the food and I happily handed the ordering over to the others (a rare event). We started with edamame, of course, and a luxurious platter of the softest, freshest sashimi.

It felt like we were ordering everything on the menu - enormous juicy tempura prawns, caramelised pork ribs, Alaskan King Crab claw and chicken skewers.

You would think that would be enough for four ( I was full by this point), but on we went....

Light and crispy crayfish tacos, followed by meltingly tender beef fillet (which was gobbled up before I even touched my camera).

The food was all incredible - and you would be extremely hard pressed to find a dish at Masu that doesn't impress. My favourites were the beef, the tacos, and the crab - though in part just because the claw looked so fantastic on the plate.

We were bursting at the seams, but there is always room for desert. This one we enviously spooted at another table, and not wanting to be out eaten we ordered it too. Even with two self-proclaimed 'non-desert-people' at the table everyone got stuck in, and the plate was cleaned.

If you haven't figured it out from my raving already, the food at Masu is incredible. But to go there for yourself and experience the stylish interiors and impeccable service to compliment the meal takes it to another level, one that definitely blew my socks off.

Honeytrap

Last week I said goodbye to some of my very best friends as they left for their OEs. The three girls; Alice, Jamie, and Allie had seen to a never ending stream of goodbye lunches and dinners in the week before they left, but as far as the rest of us girls were concerned this lunch was the most important.

Being located just around the corner from the area that Sarah and I work, we chose Honeytrap on   K'Road for our meal. I had been following the Honeytrap Facebook page for what felt like forever but had never made it here, so I was thrilled to finally check it out.

Honeytrap is hidden away in St Kevin's Arcade, and we burrowed ourselves into the place even further taking the little tables in the loft above the kitchen.

Like the place itself, the menu at Honeytrap is small and eclectic, but fabulous in every way.

I chose the Vietnamese chicken sandwich, while the others chose beef brisket and caesar sandwiches. They look like fairly ordinary burgers, but I assure you that they are packed full of flavour, and feel like they aren't too bad for you either.

They also do shakes, and change these up week on week to some new fabulous flavour. When we visited it was delicious banoffee pie on offer (although, I probably would prefer a slice of banoffee pie instead.... drool drool drool)

As our plates were cleared and our lunch breaks dwindled to an end we said our final goodbyes, a few tears started flowing, and it was suddenly time to part ways. 

Luckily my tears were spared as I am off in a few weeks myself, and will be just behind them (but more on that later).

Girls, if you are reading this from wherever in Europe you may be I hope you're having an amazing time so far (and see you soon!)

Dear Jervois

It was a cold and rainy Sunday morning. Suzie and I, being the weirdos we are, went out for a very wet early morning walk with Humphrey the dog. 

After a couple of laps of Cox's Bay, poor Humphrey was soaked to the core, and I was about ready to call it a day and hop back into bed. But driving down Jervois road we spotted Dear Jervois, a fairly new addition to the band of Herne Bay cafes, and make a quick dive for some of the only spare seats left.

We snuggled in under the heaters with a jug of filter coffee in hand, Humphrey wrapped up in a towel, and eyed up the menu.

Neither of us could make it past the Best Ugly bagels, so Suzie went for the bacon and eggs on a bagel. They were cooked to golden, runny perfection - just look at the oozing goodness! 

I went vege for the delicious fried haloumi with tomato, basil, pesto and avocado bagel. If you haven't tried fried haloumi you haven't lived- it has to be one of my favourite types of cheese, and Dear Jervois have it perfected. 

Being the hip new cafe in town it tends to pack out quickly, so head in early or make sure you're prepared for a little wait. We sat outside, but the interior was beautiful and buzzing with weekend chatter and the smell of coffee.

From what seemed like an unsalvagable Sunday, Dear Jervois rescued our day with their amazing food and service. So after drying up under the heaters and refuelling we were ready to take on the rest of the weekend. Thank you Dear Jervois!

Non Solo Pizza

Parnell is my old stomping ground, so I was pretty excited to head there for a lazy Friday afternoon lunch, especially because we were going to Non Solo Pizza; a beloved Parnell institution.

Oozing with Italian flair and style, NSP is perfect for a long lunch, where in summer you can enjoy the beautiful courtyard bathed in dappled sun, or huddled around the fires inside in winter.

We dove straight in to the menu and started with some bruschetta to tide over the ravenous late lunch hunger (at this stage I was about to eat the tablecloth), and of course a few Peronis to match.

We all ordered a main, but at NSP I think the best way to eat is to share a whole lot of the smaller antipasto dishes, with a main or two for the table. I couldn't resist the pasta, so I happily ordered a big bowl of beef and spinach ravioli, in a beautiful veal jus with sage, parmesan and truffle. Lucy ordered the same, and it was fair to say we were almost licking our bowls at the end it was so good.

Among the other orders were the proscuitto wrapped pork loin, and a few of the famous NSP pizzas, which all went down with a big tick of approval.

I may be biased towards this old favourite haunt, but I've never had a bad dish, or a bad time at NSP, and the popularity of the famous restaurant speaks for itself. The best time to go is definitely on a warm summer afternoon, but if you can't wait that long then head on down for a cozy winter fireside meal.

Breakfast: The Muesli Hub

Previously a muesli sceptic, I told Lucy- a friend of mine and a co-creator of The Muesli Hub that she would have a hard time convincing me that this breakfast dish deserved a place on my table. But a few mere months later, and with the launch of her and partner Jono's new business I found myself eating my words (and a lot more muesli).

Photo by Anna Kidman 

Photo by Anna Kidman

The Muesli Hub is a slick new online service that allows you to create your muesli from scratch, and make it exactly the way you like it. Deciding on your first order is the hardest part; and so after a few tough choices I decided on a warming porridge base, macadamia nuts, banana chips, cinnamon, and chia seeds. It's delicious on it's own or with fruit, warm or cold, and I'll admit I even ended up having a few afternoon nibbles at the good bits.

Have a play on the website here- get creative, make your dream muesli mix, and let me know what you think!

Photo by Anna Kidman

Breakfast: Turkish Eggs

You might have heard me harp on about breakfasts before, and how I have only recently become acquainted with them. But now it has become a weekend pastime of mine to head up to the shops or the market to collect some delicious food for a decadent weekend brekkie.

On this morning I felt like recreating the delicious Turkish Eggs I always order at Queenies; my local cafe. So I went and collected:

• Greek yogurt
• A fresh loaf of bread (I used sourdough, but you can use anything really - try Turkish pide!)
• Fresh free-range eggs
• Avocado
• Lemon
• Chilli powder

Already it sounds like a strange combination - eggs and yoghurt? I hear you. But trust me, the sharp yoghurt and lemon cut through the rich egg and avocado, leaving you with a glorious mess to dunk your toast into.

The recipe is simple: add a generous dollop of yoghurt to your serving bowl and top with two poached eggs (hint: check out my blog post on poaching eggs). Place a few slices of avocado in the bowl,a squeeze of lemon juice and a generous sprinkle of chilli powder and sea salt on top. Last of all, toast slices of bread until golden, lather with butter and dunk into your eggs.

If you're ready to break the mould of bacon and fried eggs on the weekend then give this recipe a go. It's certainly not your usual eggs on toast but it's one of my favourites, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.

P.S. Keep an eye out for my next blog post for the perfect weekday breakfast!