sopra, sweet belem and ryo's

This weekend is one of indulgence. I decided I need some pampering after a long and busy work week.

Saturday lunch was at Cafe Sopra, hidden away on the 2nd level above Fratelli Fresh at Danks Street. Joy used to say they serve the best coffee in the world. I'm not sure I agree but the coffee is definitely very good. My favourite mushroom risotto and farfarlle in cream sauce have been taken off the menu so I had the farfarlle in tomato sauce with anchovies, olives and capers instead. Chun had the pentoni arigata (or something like that) alla bolognaisse (I'm definitely having this the next time cos it's soooo good) and apparently they slow-cooked the minced veal for 7 hours for this dish.



Notice how the cappucino didn't have fancy designs on them this time? Picture below shows the special cappucino I had at this same cafe last year with a butterfly carved on the milky froth.




It was off to Sweet Belem along New Canterbury Road in Petersham for desserts. This is a cake boutique situated in a Portuguese suburb that serves very authentic portuguese egg tarts. I also heard that their creme caramels are to die for. They were sold out when we arrived and we tried the raspberry cheesecake instead. Very rich. No good for weight watchers.



I just lurrrve the interior of this quaint little place. They have white clouds painted on the sky blue ceiling, so cute right?



They also have little round coffee tables with intricate designs. Very nice, I like.



That's the super rich cheesecake. Not for me though. I preferred the strong bitter cappucino.




Today, we went to North Sydney to try our luck at Ryo's Noodles again. I had gone there twice previously and had no luck tasting the highly rated japanese ramen cos they ran out of the ramen well before closing time my first trip there and was closed on my second time there.



It is very small but rather cosy inside. Don't think I can read all these japanese but I like they way they pasted them on all the walls.



Besides the ramen, I also tried the onigiri - japanese rice balls. I had the one with smoked salmon roe and it was delicious! OMG, I think I have the craving for it now already. Oh and they remind me of the anime Fruit Basket and I wonder if Rae watched it yet?



I ordered the ramen in pork stock - tonkotsu, and loved it. I think it's better than the tonkotsu at Ichi Ban Boshi next to Kino's in the city. Just a bit oily with the soft fatty pork and heaps of sesame seeds sprinkled on the noodles.




All in all, I had a really satisfying weekend. Will try to eat a bit more healthily this week so I can binge more next weekend. ^ ^