St James Hotel
114 Castlereagh St
Sydney, NSW 2000
Went to the St James Hotel with some friends for dinner and drinks, but what was initially expected to be just a few people turned out to be almost 15 that rocked up! Just as well the place wasn’t too crowded, so it wasn’t too noisy. The bistro’s really lovely – cosy and warm since it’s downstairs and with a great vibe from the music pumping upstairs. Best of all? THE CHEAP FOOD! Their star dish? 250gm Certified Angus Rump steak w/ mash or fries.. for $9.95. UNBELIEVABLE. And no, they don’t give you a dodgy crap steak.. the steak arrived beautifully cooked and perfectly medium-rare as requested, resting on a massive pile of thick flat-cut fries. “Ooooh can I please have extra gravy on the fries? DROWN THEM!”, said I. And the very nice, very amused check promptly obliged. Dinner. Beer. Friends. All good. Except they need an extensive dessert menu!
La Renaissance Patisserie
47 Argyle St
The Rocks, NSW 2000
Couple of us trooped down to La Patisserie for lunch today, since the weather was beautiful and sunny outside. And also because we had 2 French people coming along 🙂 This time, I decided to try something different, the Croissant generously filled with cheese and ham in a creamy bechamel sauce .
You’d think that’d be pretty ordinary.
Well, you’d be wrong.
It was awwwwesome! I’d previously gone bonkers over their Pies and Sausage Rolls.. well, this Croissant was EVEN BETTER. It was crispy and fluffy on the inside, but incredibly moist, warm and delicious on the inside. The ham was proper ham, and the cheese was the proper cheese.. not the sort of no-frills kind you get with any ‘ol ham & cheese croissant. And that Bechamel sauce, ooh la la! It was rich and creammmmyyyy. The whole thing wasn’t salty at all, with just a beautiful, light flavour. It doesn’t sound healthy either, but it wasn’t oily or heavy, so you don’t feel guilty eating it 😉
Dessert was the Mille Feuilles (layers of delicate puff pastry and vanilla crème pâtissière, dusted with icing sugar).. something I had the last time I was there and couldn’t get enough of. Flaky, delicate layers of crisp pastry and smooth, cool cream. What more can you ask for??
Anyway, on a (kinda) food-related note, I’ve discovered a really cheap and awesome lip balm – The Body Shop’s satsuma shimmer lipbalm! I bought it after the dentist let me put some on after my session, and I fell in love with it, so ran to The Body Shop afterwards to grab myself a pot. The fact that it comes in a pot is annoying, but the balm’s awesome – it’s got the most delicious scent and flavour that lingers even after the balm’s disappeared, and the very very subtle shimmer is lovely!
5/5 entry!!!
I’m going to bookmark this for future.
hope you’ll like it too!
Ooo those mille feuilles sound so good right about now.
I love the smell of satsuma/mikan!
Me too! Satsuma’s one of my faves next to vanilla. Love how fresh/citrus it smells
5/5 entry!!!
I’m going to bookmark this for future.
hope you’ll like it too!
Ooo those mille feuilles sound so good right about now.
I love the smell of satsuma/mikan!
Me too! Satsuma’s one of my faves next to vanilla. Love how fresh/citrus it smells
I swear by the cranberry lip shimmer, but it only comes out during christmas time, so i just buy 3 pots which will last me the whole year 🙂
Ooh I’ll have to keep an eye out for it, it sounds nice!
I swear by the cranberry lip shimmer, but it only comes out during christmas time, so i just buy 3 pots which will last me the whole year 🙂
Ooh I’ll have to keep an eye out for it, it sounds nice!
Yup, that’s one of my fav. balms too! Yum. 🙂
It’s so fun and pretty 🙂 and super cheap too!
I love the smell of satsuma. I have a huge bottle of lotion.
Me too, it’s pretty much my fave scent, even better if there’s a hint of vanilla in it. Mmmmm
Love the Body Shop product shout out. As you know I’m a HUGE fan of everything they sell, do and promote. I bought the mint flavoured shimmer one the other day. Magical! 🙂
I used to like them, then went off ’em for awhile cos they were everrrrrywhere. And now this Satsuma has got me all interested again 😛 The mint smelled so good too!
I’m totally craving the chocolate eclaire at La Patisserie, and the ham & cheese croissant sounds soooo good! Let’s catch up for lunch there soon in a week or 2. We’re moving this weekend and it’s going to be crazy for the next week coz we’ve got tons of stuff plus we still have to settle things like plumbing works and blinds. Sigh…
Yes let’s 🙂 Want to do a Sat lunch there? Then we can wander around the rocks and the harbour after as well. I want to have the croissant and mille feuilles again.. I just can’t get enough of ’em!
have fun moving, your new place sounds gorgeous!
Ya it’s really strong in this one so the scent lingers, which I love!
hmm i love satsumas.
do you find TBS’ balms feel a little plasticky? i have very dry lips and TBS lipstuff aren’t moisturising enough which is a pity because some smell very very nice
Ya I agree, it’s not as super moisturizing as my Lucas papaw balm, but since my lips aren’t very dry, this TBS works just fine – I like the shine and shimmer and most of all the smell, so it’s worth it, heh!
where are the photos of the food bev??
Was too lazy! 😛
Yup, that’s one of my fav. balms too! Yum. 🙂
It’s so fun and pretty 🙂 and super cheap too!
I love the smell of satsuma. I have a huge bottle of lotion.
Me too, it’s pretty much my fave scent, even better if there’s a hint of vanilla in it. Mmmmm
Love the Body Shop product shout out. As you know I’m a HUGE fan of everything they sell, do and promote. I bought the mint flavoured shimmer one the other day. Magical! 🙂
I used to like them, then went off ’em for awhile cos they were everrrrrywhere. And now this Satsuma has got me all interested again 😛 The mint smelled so good too!
I’m totally craving the chocolate eclaire at La Patisserie, and the ham & cheese croissant sounds soooo good! Let’s catch up for lunch there soon in a week or 2. We’re moving this weekend and it’s going to be crazy for the next week coz we’ve got tons of stuff plus we still have to settle things like plumbing works and blinds. Sigh…
Yes let’s 🙂 Want to do a Sat lunch there? Then we can wander around the rocks and the harbour after as well. I want to have the croissant and mille feuilles again.. I just can’t get enough of ’em!
have fun moving, your new place sounds gorgeous!
Ya it’s really strong in this one so the scent lingers, which I love!
hmm i love satsumas.
do you find TBS’ balms feel a little plasticky? i have very dry lips and TBS lipstuff aren’t moisturising enough which is a pity because some smell very very nice
Ya I agree, it’s not as super moisturizing as my Lucas papaw balm, but since my lips aren’t very dry, this TBS works just fine – I like the shine and shimmer and most of all the smell, so it’s worth it, heh!
where are the photos of the food bev??
Was too lazy! 😛