I love the markets especially Carriageworks as there is almost no plastic used there. Everything is loose, or in paper bags or cardboard takeout containers.
Armed with my shopping lists wheelie bag and keep fresh mesh zip bag - one each for the markets and the other for each of the 3 major supermarkets Aldi Woolworths and Coles.
On my market list I had
Olive sourdough x 1 loaf
Cheese x 1 wedge
Mandarins x 1 bag
Lemonades x 2
Garlic stalks x 1 bunch
Dried Chinese dates x 200 g
Corriander x 1 bunch
Shallots x 1 bunch
Dutch carrots x 1 bunch
along with a few other vegetables and fruits such as potatos, sweet potatos, oranges, unwaxed apples and pepe sayer cultured butter.
I managed to get all of the things in the list (an extra 100 grams of Chinese dates negotiated as I love them more then the bag of dried sugar plums I also purchased previously), but didn't manage to get the other grocery items.
This time round I purchased my loaf of sourdough unsliced from the Bread & Butter Project and their special today was an olive herb garlic and nigella seed sourdough loaf. I could not wait to tuck into this and it was tasty. The wedge of cheese I chose this time round was the smoked vintage which will go so nicely with the sourdough. Then I snuck in something naughty from Flour & Stone - a slice of hazelnut torte. I could not resist having a nibble on it before leaving the markets (tbc)......
Onto Broadway Shopping Centre by train and bus from Central Station - one of the few independantly owned shopping centres around Sydney owned by Mirvac.
I used to shop here all the time - the buildings were once one of the main Grace Bros department stores (now known as Myer). Then converted to a shopping centre which was then extensively renovated and extended upwards now a bustling Inner West shopping centre with a separate multilevel parking station opposite.
On a Saturday Australia Post and most major banks are open for business. There are at least 2 of the major supermarket chains there - Aldi and Coles. There are also restaurants a cinema patisseries butcher chemists clothing even kitchenware etc - almost everything you need is there inside this shopping centre.
I love a shopping centre with at least a Coles and Aldi within walking distance of each other as there are just some things on your shopping list you just can't get at either of them but I have yet to find a shopping centre apart from Macquarie Shopping Centre (another independantly owned one) that has a Woolworths Coles and Aldi all in one place.
After finishing my hazelnut torte (I just could not wait) - it is time to explore as I haven't been here for at least a few years.
Tbc....
Ground Level
As soon as you enter the shopping centre via a side street up a small set of escalators, the first store you see to your left is an eatery called Merchants of Ultimo. It is not a restaurant, not a cafe but a conglomerate of "concession counters/stations" described as a mini food court , each separate and each serving a their own menu - there is a patisserie , a bakery, a pizzeria, a coffee counter and what looked like a drink bar. In the middle there are rows of tables and chairs and of course there is the option of take away or table service.
Some History
All the desserts (by St Ives pastry chef Brendan Dwyer - Leave It To B) displayed in a large sliding glass cabinet is what is visible as soon as you alight the upward escalators. I was tempted to purchase one to try - so pretty to look at and tempting however I did not purchase one this visit despite returning twice to look at them as I already had my hazelnut slice and so many choices I just could not make up my mind which one to try. I haven't had one of Brendon's desserts for years and used to love them especially "JuJu" a dessert he named one of his pastry chefs after. I used to try a different one every week but you can only have so many desserts. I have to admit when I heard he was selling his patisserie in St Ives Shopping Centre and setting up shop in Broadway, I thought I would try one of his desserts one more time before he left permanently. I purchased an apple and rubarb crumble tart and what did I think? It was the most disgusting dessert I had ever tasted! Did he actually make this? I don't think so. Not only was it very heavy and bland, it absolutely lacked finesse. It was ugly!!!!! A blob of unidentifiable something on top of a brick of pastry with over gelatinousness. Maybe this was the initial attempt of the new owners of his patisserie. Who knows.
Photos attached
More shops and I think a bridge connecting the shopping centre to the original old Grace Bros building which houses a medical centre and Rebel a large sports clothing footwear and equipment chain store.
Level 2
This is the dining precinct. The entire level is devoted to dining with a cinema tucked in a corner arm to the right.
With more shops surrounding the dining areas - Bondi Pizza, Schnitz, Grilled, Gomez, Sushi, Donut Box and Din Tai Fung etc all types of cuisine is available on this dining precinct level.
As you dine on level 2 have a look at the following artworks around. A fusion of food and fashion.
Fashion precinct. Love the skyline!
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