Entertainment Book - Sydney

I don't know about you, but I love a bargain...and free stuff. I am trying to save for a house; in Sydney, so you can't really blame me. I heard about the entertainment book through work who are selling it for the Christmas Party fundraising. You can get a book based on location, such as: Sydney, Sydney North, Sydney Greater West etc. Obviously I bought Sydney as I live in Sydney.

 

It is full of vouchers for fine dining, cafes, restaurants, dry cleaning, take away, fast food, the cinemas etc. You name the category and it is probably in there. The restaurants are not crap restaurants either. I was a huge sceptic before I bought this book. I thought 'who would buy that, it probably only has shitty cafes that no-one goes to anyway'. I was mistaken and gladly so.

 

The book cost me $65, though I think the price varies depending on the region you buy for. I got it two weeks ago and already I have saved $65 from the vouchers so it has paid itself off. Earning its keep from day one. I am not getting paid for this review, nor do the people who created the book even know about this tiny little blog. The point of this post is to let you know that if you buy the book, we can all be a bit cheap together save money.

 

So far, I have only used vouchers for places I regularly go to. I am a creature of habit, I know. I do however intend to use the book to open my eyes and find new places. Perhaps ones I even need to drive to! I was surprised at the list of offerings available and am really keen to try out a few of the places I would usually never venture to. Most of the deals are either for 25% off or a complimentary main meal when another is purchased. Obviously up to a certain value, but still a great offer.

 

Some offerings in the fine dining section in Sydney include: Ocean Room, Bistrode CBD, Cafe Sydney, Kobe Jones. As I said, the offerings in the book are not too shabby.

 

If you don't have an entertainment book, I'd highly recommend grabbing one. Even if you don't want to save money because you're rolling in it, it's a good way to find new places to eat out.

Corelli's Newtown - Review

Even though I’ve lived in the area for over three years, I only just went to Corelli’s for the first time two weeks ago. For some reason I always thought it was cash only and I never carry cash, so I guess that’s why I never went.

I was surprised with the options on the menu. At 7pm at night, I could order breakfast, 

lunch or dinner. That is a winner right there. I could get waffles at 7pm if I wanted to.

Last night, I went with S, his sister and her boyfriend. Between us, we ordered a coffee each and two plates of chicken nachos which were $12.90 each. The nachos are huge, so a serving each would have been ridiculous. We had planned to have cake afterwards, but we honestly couldn’t fit it. That’s how huge the servings are. The food is really good; fresh produce and plenty of toppings.

I noticed they served Vittoria brand coffee (which I generally don’t like), so I was hesitant ordering a coffee. I was however, pleasantly surprised at just how good it was – signs of a great barista. The tiny teddy on the side was a nice touch too.

The service was fast and friendly – though I have read reviews of others receiving bad service.  Perhaps we just got lucky.

I will admit, the café is nothing overly special. The décor is a little old and tired, but the food is cheap and it comes out fast. On face value, I don’t think you can expect that much from Corelli’s and maybe that is why I have such a positive review. It doesn’t look like much, but it does deliver.

If you are ever looking for a quick cheap bite then you can’t really go past Corelli’s.

I'll never make it as a fashion blogger

Trying cafes in different areas is a favourite past time of mine. A couple of weeks ago we tried out Bread and Circus in Alexandria. It was average, really. The foods are interesting with a really healthy approach to the meals. The service - slow! 

Scrambled eggs and other stuff

We ordered food and coffee, as you do. The food came and naturally we asked where the coffees were.  After being assured they were on their way we kept eating... meals finished and we asked about the coffees again. The lady quite rudely told us they were on their way...only to come back 2 minutes later with her tail between her leg telling us they'd forgotten about them. Almost 10 minutes later, we looked over and there was no-one at the coffee machine so we told them not to worry, paid for the food and left. 

We went driving around town and stopped off at Chippendale for a coffee. The cafe choices aren't all that great, but the little lane-way we found was fun to take photos in. As per my title to this post, I'll never make it as a fashion blogger. I can't pose for the life of me (I do like the outfit though - pinterest inspired..not bad for someone who is unfashionable!) 

Look at the camera, Rhiannon

What's with that hand?

S's sister on the other hand - she's smokin' hot!

There was a cool little vintage store in Chippendale that made our morning out not so bad. I tried on some leather shorts and thought they looked pretty cool. Then I remembered summer + leather would probably not be so cool. Literally.

What have you all been up to? I don't think I'll be blogging too regularly for awhile, as I just officially started my job today and life is hec-tic!

Pictures and Wagaya, Newtown

Hi everyone!

Following on from this post, the new job has made me super busy. I am in the process of transitioning from one job to the other, whilst both are in busy periods… and also keeping on top of Uni work. Suffice to say, this little blog o’ mine has not been at the top of my list of things to do. A shame really, since I love blogging and interacting with people.

Anyway, to try not to get too bogged down with work and uni on repeat, S and I have been making time on weekends to get out and about and get some fresh air. A couple of weeks ago we headed to Centennial Park for a long walk (right after that long week of rain) and to snap some pictures.

We also went to a Japanese restaurant called Wagaya for impromptu date night a couple of weeks ago. I had wanted to try the place out for a while, but never got around to it. Well, I regret not going sooner. It has the BEST Japanese food outside Japan…and trust me when I say I KNOW Japanese food. It is amazing. It is like a little Japanese Izakaya (tapas pub) and the staff are all Japanese. The food is authentic, you order from iPads and it is just a lot of fun. To top it off, they have Chu-Hi which is only the best Japanese alcoholic drink ever.

Okonomiyai | $9.50

Gyoza | $7.90

Wagyu Nabe | $11.50 

We ordered: Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake), Yakitori (Chicken skewers), Wagyu Nabe (like a hot pot) and Gyoza (pork dumplings). The food is inexpensive and for all that, plus 2 drinks each, the bill only came to $65. Not bad at all! The service is really fast and friendly. Definitely recommend the place!
 

 S and I sat there reminiscing about Japan and trying to decide if we will head over again in February next year. The current options are: buy a house sooner or go overseas and wait a little longer to buy a house. We’re leaning towards option 2, but we will see closer to then.

How has everyone else been?