Posts Tagged ‘Mediterranean diet’

SPANISH GASTRONOMIC TOUR IN SYDNEY

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Last week I told you all about the new MoVida restaurant in Melbourne, so I thought, maybe it’s time to explore Sydney’s Spanish restaurants too! I’m going to share some of the places I’ve enjoyed around here as I’m sure you’d love them too.

One of the most popular restaurants in Sydney is The Bentley (www.thebentley.com.au), in Surry Hills. It’s known for its great wine list and innovating cuisine. They modernise traditional Spanish dishes, so you can find “the tres gazpachos” with the traditional ingredients such as tomato, onion, cucumber, Spanish olive oil… but also some improvising with new tastes such as basil or red pepper.

spanishtour
Then there’s also the Ash Street Cellar, Merivale Group’s ‘spanish project’. They are one of the largest hospitality companies in Sydney and with the Ash Street Cellar, they’ve recreated a Spanish atmosphere, with outdoor eating and great wine selection that always comes accompanies by small portions of jamón or Spanish olives.




Sydney CBD’s Postales Restaurant, offers much elaborated Spanish dishes, such as rabo de toro (oxtail), hare meatballs and Jamón de Bellota with pepper. For some style and chic decoration as well as its elegant cuisine we can also choose Cru 54 in Surry Hills (www.cru54.com.au).

If you are after some typical Spanish tapas we have a few options to choose from; there’s Kika Tapas Bar (www.kika.com.au) in Darlinghurst’s Victoria Street. This place gives you the opportunity to try a good glass of Spanish wine with Spanish olives or croquetas, for more than a fair price. In the north of Sydney’s bay, in Kirribilli, we can find another gorgeous place, Catalonia (www.catalonia.com.au), which bases its offer in the tapas culture and Mediterranean flavours. And for more sophisticated tapas we can find the Bodegas Tapas Bar, also located in Surry Hills, its beautifully modernized decoration of Spanish icons will surprise and delight.

There are many more places to try, but I’ll save those for another post. For now, start trying these, I’m sure you’ll love them. Whether you need to impress someone on a date or just enjoy a good meal next time you’re out make sure you give some of these Spanish places a go!

What’s the secret to a longer life?

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Well, people have all sorts of opinions on this hot topic but there seems to be some recent scientific evidence to support claims made about a specific diet and certain foods.

In June this year, while reading the Sydney Morning Herald, I came across this article about a study released which investigated the Mediterranean diet and its effect on health and mortality.  The research results can be found here but in summary, the study found that there were clear benefits in combining key components of the Mediterranean diet, such as plenty of vegetables and olive oil, and that higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a statistically significant reduction in total mortality.  Professor Dimitrios Trichopoulos, from the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the study, said:

“The analysis suggests that the dominant components of the Mediterranean diet are moderate consumption of alcohol, mostly in the form of wine during meals, as is traditional in the Mediterranean countries, low consumption of meat and meat products, and high consumption of vegetables, fruits and nuts and olive oil”

Now, adding a bit more olive oil into your daily diet doesn’t just mean splashing some more of it into your frying pan!  Here are some simple ways to enjoy more olive oil daily:

  • Replace butter or margarine with olive oil on your toast or sandwiches 
  • Instead of using butter or cream when cooking mash potato or pumpkin, use olive oil to get a smooth consistency and extra flavour
  • Another good trick is to replace bottled salad dressing with flavoured or infused olive oil
  • And finally, my favourite fresh dessert tip is to slice an orange into flat sections, mix a dash of quality extra virgin olive oil with some honey and drizzle the sweet syrup over the top.  Trust me, it’s delicious!

If you have any additional tips please share them as I’d love to know.