September - October

Breadfern (Redfern)
Accidentally over ordered because I was overwhelmed by the range of items… I would have been utterly destroyed if they weren't good, fortunately that wasn’t the case 🥹🥹

My favourites were the ⭐Zucchini & Goats Cheese Quiche, and the ⭐Chicken & Leek Pie. It's rare for me to stan the savoury dishes so consider it a testament to the taste. The tarts were very good, the donut was too greasy for me.

Moon Phase (St Leonards)
They're a much busier spot now & have multiple chefs cooking throughout the day, so your chances of scoring a fresh pastry have rocketed. The ⭐Bulgogi Danish was rich, sweet, savoury, crispy & hearty all at once. The mid-autumn special croissant ⭐Lava Moon was perfect, ooey gooey, salted egg goodness.

Ice Kirin (CBD)
It's been a while since my last visit but the flavours are much more intense than I remembered. This time I had the ⭐Black Sesame gelato. Deliciousss.

Monkey King (Various)
Roselindfieldville, maybe you are redeemable... When a suburban spot is well-rated, it’s often due to a lack of competition in the area. Not in this case because their curries & stir-frys are stunning.

They're a chain operation, largely on the North Shore so perhaps there's one closer to you. I’ve also visited the Willoughby one & didn't find any discrepancies in quality. Favourites are the rich & comforting ⭐Green Curry and the smoky, perfectly wok hei ⭐Pad Sew Ew 🥹 Love love

Mr Stonebowl (Chatswood)
A well-known modern Chinese franchise. Some of it is gimmicky, it can be hit or miss, but everything I've had at the Chatswood branch has been DELICIOUS. I'm unsure if it's location-specific or because these are newer menu items.

We had the mid-autumn set menu. The mixed seafood soup had a lot of texture & yummy mild canto seafood flavour. Good lobster noodles but I haven’t had a bad one tbh 🫡 

The ⭐Singapore-Style Barramundi was very tasty, the sauce reminded me of a sweet arrabbiata lol. The ⭐Truffle Rice was very aromatic & moreish. The ⭐Fried Eggplant, ordered on a separate occasion, was crispy & flavourful too.

Khao Kang (CBD)
I love Thai breakfast foods. Kai grata or ⭐Pan Eggs is a street-breakfast of eggs, topped with ground beef, crispy sausage, ham & maggi sauce in a cute baby skillet. Deceptively good.

Mapo (Newtown)
I was super pleased with the texture, it would be in my top 3 for gelato. The ⭐Ricotta Lemon Olive Oil flavour was as it sounds; tart, sweet & slightly grassy. The pistachio flavour was too roasted for my preference & had lost most of its signature fruitiness.

Norcino (Pyrmont)
A popular Pyrmont lunch spot. We tried the ⭐Suppri, Mortadella Sandwich, the ⭐Norcine pasta, Carbonara, Tiramisu & ⭐Affogato. I still prefer Cucina Romana for Roman Italian but a nice spot nonetheless.

Porkfat (CBD)
I believe hatted restaurants should be able to justify their prestige & prices. If they fall below an 8/10, it can seem harsh but I have to place them here in anti-treat jail…. 😞

I thought the Larb was tasty but I really didn't find anything else to be special. Especially considering that Sydney is utterly overflowing with fantastic Thai food, this was disappointing :(

Upon examining the hatted list for Sydney I've been to 9 establishments (out of 131, bit of a way to go) & would only wholeheartedly recommend 1 of them 🤔