Tostiditas of crab, almond & green onion mojo, cucumber, lime, grape $8
With the transformation of what used to be District Dining, is the birth of a new Tex-Mex eatery, Mexico Food and Liquor - Surry Hills. The exuberance of the space is almost like a shrine to Mexican art culture celebrated by the bright and colourful portraits of Frida Kahlo donned on the walls. The outdoor seating bar area is sure to be a favourite and they even have bag hooks under the tables :). Start with a nibble on their crisp tostiditas which is easily demolished in a bite or two. It’s light in flavour and a refreshing way to start the meal, nice clean flavours. 
Prawn, smoked paprika quesadilla, chilli & orange w/ corn salsa $10
Roast eggplant, green onion & walnut quesadilla with black cumin sour cream $12
Who doesn’t love quesadillas?! :D Crisp, toasted tortillas sandwiching scrumptious fillings of prawns, and the vegetarian option of roasted eggplant with crushed walnuts. The prawn was a clear favourite of the two only because of the corn salsa! Best corn salsa I have ever had, I could totally eat a whole bowl of it haha.. I did eat most of it actually ^^” 
Beetroot, blood orange, chilli peanut salad w/ queso fresco, tostada
Crispy potatoes tossed in celery lime salt w/ spicy tomatillo dressing
Mexico’s fried chicken $14
A delicious salad of quartered wedges of roasted beetroot (I love beetroot!), segments of juicy sweet blood orange, and roasted chilli peanuts. Whilst the succulent fried chicken was less spiced than expected, the tomatillo dressing for the crispy potatoes were bursting in spice, bit too chilli for my tolerance :(
Coffee, doughnuts and a cigarette $10
Tunes from the 1940s playing from an old ‘radio’ (ipod attached to the back of the frame) sets the scene for the Crave Sydney mid-week special during October. Drawing inspiration from Edward Hopper’s Night Hawks, Single Origin Roasters - Surry Hills has re-created the classic American Noir setting with a cup of Joe, doughnuts and a guilt-free cigarette. 
House-made doughnuts - cinnamon and paprika
Pour-over of Cafe Noir - custom blend
Boon chocolate cigarette
For ten dollars this is quite a steal! Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of doughnuts but these were honestly the best I have ever had! Served piping hot, these golf-ball sized doughnuts had a liberal coating of sugar around the crisp surface of the moist and plush dough. I just loved how it was a light pastry and even though it was deep-fried, it didn’t leave an oily after-taste. Whilst I wasn’t loving the paprika doughnut as much as the classic cinnamon, the slight savoury taste was a better pairing with the coffee. Did you know that doughnuts were tossed out of ‘doughnut food trucks’ during WWI and WWII to American troops. Oh man I really hope they put the doughnuts on their cafe menu! Though my favourite part was the guilt-free cigarette which came out with these smoked wood-chips that smelt like tobacco! Such a novelty but it really helped set the scene :) plus I instantly felt quite hipster hehe. 
Hana Hana, Chinatown
Recently opened on Thomas Street in Sydney Chinatown is this hidden underrated gem - Hana Hana - 5/209 Thomas Street, near Market City (thanks for recommending Mel). This new Sydney cheap eats is very similar to the popular Menya Mappen & Oiden where you select a main dish and add side dishes DIY style. Since it’s new and not many people know about it, there are no lines! Pricing is comparable to Mappen and there are a lot more choices but based on taste alone I prefer Mappen but that’s not to say the food here isn’t tasty! :) 
Mentai ontama udon $5.90
Gooey egg yolk, slippery udon, tempura flakes, and my favourite mentaiko (Alaskan pollock roe) in a light broth. Just like the ‘fast food’ eateries in Japan, you order your dish from the touch-screen monitor and a ticket comes out of the machine. You then proceed to towards the ‘buffet/DIY train’ where you pile side dishes onto your tray. The bowls of noodles in my opinion are quite filling so keep in mind you can always go back to get more side dishes later! 
When I used to work in Darlinghurst, during my lunch break I would wander the streets and one day I happened to come across The Owl House - Darlinghurst. I can’t remember for sure what it was that made me stop since it’s quite a small area and unassuming in the daytime. There was a menu posted up on the wall encased behind a sheet of perspex/glass (forget which it was but you get the gist) and I stood there studying the menu which made me salivate even though I had just eaten! The next thing you know, I gathered a group of friends to check it out for dinner because Fridays means finding a good drinking hole is a top priority and SMH 2012 Best Bar with Food definitely hits the sweet spot ;) 
Cocktails - Classic Hour 5PM-7PM Everyday $10 ♥
The Mary Pickford - Rum, Maraschino liquor, pineapple & house-made Grenache
Sea Breeze - Vodka, cranberry & grapefruit
Champagne cocktail - Orange bitters soaked sugar cube topped with bubbles
Tom Collins - Gin, lemon juice, soda
Bar snacks - Smoked bone marrow & ox tail croquette $5ea ♥
Small dishes - Warm asparagus salad, poached quail egg, shaved parmigiano, Jamon serano & balsamic glaze $14 ♥♥
”Oxtail is a tricky cut, full of connective tissue and fat, but when it is cooked in the right way, it produces far more flavour and rich sauce than steak.” - Heston Blumenthal. Golden crumbed golf-balls of smokiness with each bite devoured. It was everything you would expect and hope it to be; from the gelatinous bone marrow to the flavoursome meaty-taste of the ox tail. The asparagus salad is something I would be happy to eat everyday! Even though no one else was keen on getting the salad, everyone was pleased I had persuaded them into it because it was amazing :D 
Small dishes - Duck & quail terrine with pistachio, confit orange, pear & citrus chutney and a cointreau veloute $20 ♥♥
Most the guys thought this terrine was gastronomic which says a lot! I was a tad skeptical at first because a terrine is quite a task to master but once again I was wowed by the quality of food being brought to our table. Whilst it came with bread, I would have preferred something crisp but then again I would have been happy to eat the terrine on it’s own haha. Lovely balance of sweet, savoury, and slight bitterness of the veloute which held the flavours together.
