When I first heard about Henna for the Broken-Hearted by Australian author Sharell Cook I immediately knew it would be right up my Asia-loving alley. A traveller turned expat finds new love and her life’s calling (writing) in mystical, magical India. A place I have travelled around and grappled with and would love to give another chance some day.
Sharell’s story is an inspiring one. At age 30 her marriage falls apart and she has a less then enthralling accounting career. A volunteer stint in Kolkata and subsequent travels around India combined with meeting soulmate Aryan lead to a life rejuvenated. She now lives in Mumbai and blogs at Diary of a White Indian Housewife (which I’m madly trawling through the archives of to catch up with), as well as writes professionally. Oh, and is now married to Aryan!
Though Sharell’s story is far more dramatic (and dare I say interesting) than my own, parts of her story really resonated with me and my own experiences living in Asia and searching for meaning. I had the love bit sorted already(!) but also realised my true passion (writing) while living in Cambodia, meanwhile grappling with cultural differences and all the ups and downs of living in a developing country
I found at the end of Henna for the Broken-Hearted I wanted to know more…what happened next? What other obstacles did the author face? What other uniquely Indian things were encountered? I love this genre of book and will happily take any recommendations for others like it!
I came across vintage furniture shop Drunk on the Moon by accident on the little strip of shops and restaurants on Newtown’s Australia Street, home to the excellent Black Star Pastry cafe. The shop is tiny but packed with a really well curated selection of vintage furniture and home accessories, like wooden dining tables, small wooden pigeon hole shelves, ladders, ice chests, stools and lots more. Like a little piece of the Brooklyn Flea in Sydney’s Newtown, the prices are really reasonable and it’s one of those places where you fall in love with everything, from the big pieces to the small. Oh, and if you’re into typography there are vintage Scrabble letters for $1 a piece.
Drunk on the Moon, 247 Australia Street, Newtown, tel: 0409 841 451, www.drunkonthemoon.com.au
Image courtesy Drunk on the Moon
I can’t seem to get enough of Marrickville’s cafes lately (which keep on multiplying – yay!). I’ve blogged about the gorgeous Double Roasters before and while I do love it I have a tendency to try new and different places all the time.
Marrickville Road Cafe is a cute, grungy little place with a graffiti mural on one wall and a brilliant breakfast burrito. It’s just started operating as a wine bar and dinner spot on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The wine selection is minimal and it’s no sommelier fronted Surry Hills small bar, but for a nice glass of cab sav and a satisfying burger on a recent rainy meant-to-be-summer evening it definitely hit the spot.
From one cafe crush to another, my allegiances then switched to 2204 on Addison Road. Cavernous and cool, there’s an exposed brick wall on one side and a black wall on the other with vintage couches to sink into. The bacon, brie and cranberry panini is delicious and there’s free wi-fi to while away your day.
I’m also totally in love with Hellenic Bakery on Illawarra Road. Think a Greek sweet emporium packed to the rafters with luscious cakes, biscuits, breads and pastries. While it’s not really a cafe, you can eat at one of their few outdoor tables and grab a coffee from the cafe next door. Their sweets run the gamut from Greek (like galaktoboureko) to the generic (like mud cake) and it’s all so enticing. My favourite so far is their chocolate cannoli complete with choc chips squished on the end at only $2 a pop.
Cornersmith seems to be hottest thing to ever hit Marrickville… so hot it’s always so packed. (No I don’t want to ‘go on a list’ and wait. It’s MARRICKVILLE not the Lower freakin’ East Side!). Once I get over the fact you may have to queue for their reportedly awesome housemade pickles, locavore cuisine and Mecca coffee and actually eat there I’ll let you know!
A Sydney stalwart for cheap Pakistani and Indian Eats, Faheem Fast Food has long been the go-to place for taxi drivers hailing from the subcontinent. It still is, but you’re also likely to see groups of 20-something Newtown dwellers pre or post bar crawl, families and assorted in the know spice lovers amongst the mix.
The decor is no-frills, some say the service is brusque (let’s say it’s efficient) but the food is satisfyingly hot and seriously tasty. The tandoori chicken is a must try – lean, succulent and spicy; the chickpeas (in a tomato based curry) are a delicious veg option, and the Pakistani speciality ‘Nihari’ is a winner – two chunks of melt in your mouth, slow braised beef in a rich and earthy curry (great for naan dipping). Their mango lassi is the perfect heat beating beverage. Dishes at Faheem’s hover around the $11 mark and are substantially sized – all are a bargain.
Faheem Fast Food, 194-196 Enmore Road, Enmore, tel: 02 9550 4850
Open Mon-Fri 5pm-midnight, Sat-Sun 12pm-midnight
Lakemba is well known for its amazing Lebanese eateries (like Jasmins) but there’s more to this fascinating multicultural hub than baklava and hommus. One of the most unique places on the bustling Haldon Street strip is Island Dreams Cafe, specialising in Christmas and Cocos Islands cuisine. These remote islands are territories of Australia and located in the Indian ocean – Christmas Island just south of Jakarta and the Cocos Islands half way between Western Australia and Sri Lanka.
The food from the islands is heavily influenced by Malaysian cuisine (with a dash of Chinese and Indonesian) so there’s nasi lemak, beef rendang, curry puffs and chicken curry (on the bone) on the menu. Lemon chilli chicken is another specialty, and on the day we visited there was a stirfried liver dish too. It’s cheap and cheerful home style cooking at its best, with a choice of two dishes and rice at $8.50 with a beyond enormous serving size. The rendang is rich and not overly spicy – it’s hearty, warming food definitely served with love.
The drinks here are major drawcards too (just ask the bunch of regulars hanging out the front on the pavement), from teh tarik to a large range of coffees from the typical to the traditional – think sweetened with condensed milk. I loved their delicious falooda style rose syrup based shake flecked with basil seeds, and there was a coconut consumed too (Saigon flashbacks!). I felt very welcomed and at home here, and just a little bit wistful for an exotic, tropical escape.
Bau Truong stands out like a beacon of cool design in a suburb awash with delicious but aesthetically challenged Vietnamese restaurants. A cool turquoise and yellow theme pervades the otherwise moody, dark interior, there’s a loft level creating a great feeling of space and a cool warrior-like wall mural dominates. The restaurant is the third in a series of Bau Truongs – the others are mainstays of the Cabramatta and Canley Heights eating scenes.
Fortunately the food here matches its superior surrounds, with the menu featuring Vietnamese cuisine with a focus on the country’s south and some dishes offering a nod to the owners Vietnamese-Chinese heritage. There’s a ‘tapas’ like menu featuring snacks from bo la lot to banh xeo and fresh spring rolls, then a large menu with soups, stews, grilled meats and more…lots more! Note to parents: the soft shell crab with tamarind sauce is the perfect kid-friendly food – crunchy fried batter, easy to eat, tasty but chilli-less (and there’s highchairs, and they open at 5pm for dinner so you can get your not so date-ish date night on).
Bau Truong, 185 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, tel: 02 9569 4938I loved their salt and pepper squid, one of their more Chinese influenced dishes. Covered in a tasty mix of shallot and chilli it also comes with a bowl of salt, pepper and lemon for dipping. There are wines by the glass for a reasonable $8 or so and there’s delicious Angry Man beer by Murray’s Brewing Co. Basically, it ticks all the boxes for a family-friendly dining destination with gorgeous decor and amazing food. Did I mention it’s in my neighbourhood too?!
Also at:
42 John Street, Cabramatta, tel: 02 9727 4492
250 Canley Vale Road, Canley Heights, tel: 02 9755 7099
Rather than pre-mixed, their yoghurt comes plain with a layer of fruit mixture at the bottom (the taste test winner was the passionfruit). The yoghurt itself is labne-like in texture with its liquid strained – luxuriously thick and creamy but surprisingly fat free, with some flavours at 2%. You’d never guess this was the case though. It’s textural trickery at its best!
As for my favourite way to eat yoghurt, this is what I do to convince myself I’m having a sweet treat when it’s actually healthy (clever – I know!):
Add toppings to yoghurt and voila! A dessert worthy of a healthy eating new year’s resolution.
P.S. If you’re wondering where to find Chobani it’s currently retailing at Woolworths’ stores throughout Sydney at $2.29 a pop.