The last time we were in Sydney we stayed in Potts Point; a suburb known for it's foodie scene, picturesque architecture and being home to some of Australia's most expensive real estate - this time we went for somewhere a bit more our vibe.
Marrickville certainly fit the bill. Greek bakeries and Vietnamese restaurants lined the streets, craft breweries and jazz bars sprinkled amongst them. In the green grocer's sits an old man, reading the newspaper, occasionally waving to people he knows as they pass - a scene I thought relegated to small communities or the past. We stayed in an Airbnb a few minutes walk from the high street, in the attic of an old bakery decked out with an eclectic mix of vintage furniture. Underneath is a potters studio, often occupied by the potter herself, crafting intricate flower totems out of clay alongside a semi-friendly cat who occasionally tried to hamper her efforts - all for £60 a night. The area was well connected too, if needs be, we could get to central Sydney within 20 minutes.
Our first morning in Sydney, after a pretty laborious 6 hour bus journey the night before, we were up bright and early ready to be shown around by our host. He kindly took us on a tour of the high street, pointing out his favourite eateries and telling us a bit about the history of the place. Once a greek enclave, the area slowly became more diverse with Vietnamese moving in during the 1980's gaining the area the moniker "Little Vietnam". Venturing past the end of the high-street, we ended up in St Brigid's Catholic church. Inside, specifically in the Mary chapel, sits an exact replica of Michelangelo's Pieta carved in Marble, the only one of it's kind in Australia - the original sits in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
The next day we explored the Marrickville farmers market, a small market filled with a plethora of food stalls and a few dealing in secondhand goods that is only open on Sundays. We stuck to the victuals, snacking on a perfectly citrusy lemon nata tart ($5), a delicious but slightly greasy tomato and aubergine arancino ($10), washing it all down with a freshly squeezed orange juice ($8) and an iced masala chai ($8). A successful little trip.
The rest of our Marrickville explorations also involved quite a lot of food. We grabbed Banh Mi ($8 - $11) from Pork Roll, one of the area's many shops specialising in the traditional Vietnamese sandwiches. I think we picked well, the bread was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the fillings were stacked and the server was a abrupt old Vietnamese woman who could make a banh mi in about 30 seconds - an authentic experience. Another Vietnamese place we tried out was Banh Cuon Ba Oanh, they made two things: sticky rice and Banh Cuon. It must have been good as the queue to get in was at least 5 people long every time we passed it. When we eventually went it, Ben decided on pork sticky rice which he found delicious and I went for the Vegan Banh Cuon, a dish I hadn't heard of before but very much enjoyed.
Leaving the Vietnamese cuisine behind we tried out Lox in a Box, a cafe that specialised in bagels, and the Goodwood Bakeshop, a bakery that routinely had a line down the street. For the bagel we went for the classic: a sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato and dill - it was okay. The fillings were great but the bagel itself was bread-y, not the lye-soaked chewy kind of bagel I prefer. Coming in at a whopping $19 I also felt the price was a bit of a rip off too.
The items at Goodwood bakeshop were also priced on the higher side. The plain croissant ($5.5) was beautifully baked. The Peanut butter and miso cookie ($5) was delightfully crunchy, and a pretty irresistible mix of salty and sweet that made it perfect. The rhubarb danish ($8.5) featured a creamy mascarpone custard with a large helping of cardamom, it also had a crumble topping but I didn’t really notice it much. The almond croissant ($8.5) was my least favourite, they took a classic and added a mandarin and pink grapefruit jam, which overpowered the almond filling and left a bitter taste - Ben thought it was fine.
The rest of the week was spent exploring different areas of the city. First up was Newtown, an apparently quirky and bohemian suburb that was strangely quiet when we visited. Not only was the high street pretty empty but half of the shops were closed on the day we visited. We did manage to find some fancy ice cream at "Cow & The Moon", an artisan gelateria with some delicious and unique flavours to choose from. I also treated myself to a new nose ring, finding a interesting handmade piece from Tribal Soul Design.
Things were much more lively when we revisited Newtown later on in the week. The farmers market at Carriageworks (technically in Redfern, but oh well) was bustling, most stalls had long lines to get to the counter and the seating area outside was packed. The venue the market was in, an old railway workshop, was pretty cool. In the adjacent building a contemporary art exhibition was going on, so the whole are was overlooked by a large howler monkey that was one of the exhibits.
Once we decided what we were having, we patiently queued, earning ourselves an almond croissant ($9) and a cold pressed apple and raspberry juice ($5). The croissant was amazing, my only criticism being that the frangipani filling was a touch too wet for my personal liking and I had zero complaints with the juice. Newtown high street was far busier too with couples and groups wandering in and out of the cafes or heading with bags towards the farmers market. After a little explore we switched to the residential streets, wandering along the rows of victorian houses, admiring the tree lined roads while looking out for the street art that the area is known for.
Heading into more touristy waters, we decided to give the Opera house a second go - we weren't overly bothered by it on our last Sydney trip but we only viewed it from the botanic gardens across the water. Up close, it was far more impressive and just to make sure we really took it in, we did a lap of the bottom to see if from all angles. I take back what I said before (although I still thought the roof would be whiter), it’s a behemoth of a building, an impressive feat of architecture, its sail like roof towered over us creating the iconic silhouette that all Sydney tourists flock to see.
It wouldn’t be the last we saw of it either, we had one more of Sydneys beloved tourist traditions to tick off our list: visiting Manly for some fish and chips. To get to Manly (at least from the side of Sydney we were staying in) it was a two step process, a train ride to Circle Quay and then a ferry to Manly itself. Its from the ferry that the Sydney Opera house can again be seen in all it’s glory. We sat on the prow of the boat, getting horribly windswept, to get an uninterrupted view of it before quickly retreating inside once we had passed.
Manly beach itself was beautiful, a long sandy beach that curves along the bay, lined with pine trees that offer some much needed shade. As the water was rough, most of the sea was empty apart from a few surfers who were trying their luck with the small waves on offer, the swimmers braving the frigid spring water were all cramped to one end between the flags that offered safety from the currents. As surfing isn’t really our forte we were heading on a small coastal walk to Shelly beach instead, but first we needed to buy some water.
I don’t really know what happened in the small corner shop we went to, but somehow I ended up paying over $6 for a small bottle of water, too awkward to change my mind once the bottle had been rung up at the counter. Expensive drink in hand we headed off. The walk only took us 20 minutes and along the way we passed groups of swimmers exercising just outside of the sea pool and sunbathers lining its edge. Shelly beach was a cute little beach full of groups relaxing, playing games and picnicking. It was also home to what can only be described as devil turkeys - scruffy red headed birds that spent their time fighting and rootling around in peoples unattended belongings.
So we relaxed, and when we had relaxed enough we headed off on a mission to find fish and chips. We searched the internet and wandered the streets, ending up at Manly Seafoods; a traditional takeaway fish and chip shop. We went for the Fisherman’s Basket: it comprised of a mix of battered fish and calamari, 1 battered prawn, 1 battered crab-stick, chips and randomly, a potato scallop. It was okay, the calamari was honestly good but it went downhill from then on, the fish was nice but really small, the crab-stick just bizarre and the chips were a bit greasy. It wasn’t terrible but I also wouldn’t return.
As we sat on the boat back to Sydney, looking out of the window we were surprised at just how many small little beaches litter it’s shoreline, the shoreline itself spread out like a fractal burn on wood. I thought it would all be developed, every inch taken over by urban sprawl, not little oases of nature left peaking out between the development.
We enjoyed our time in Sydney, staying in the ‘burbs rather than the tourist centre gave us a different perspective of the city. We saw a less polished side of Sydney, with more street art and street food but the touristy things were only a small train ride away. I can see why people are drawn to it, and I think early spring was the perfect time to visit, the weather was hot without being overbearing and we managed to miss the crowds that overwhelm the city in the summer.
It was a pleasant unexpected trip and a little part of me would have been happy to linger for longer, but it was time to leave - South Korea was waiting.
Trip Date : September 2024
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