Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs

Gin Garden in Establishment was my favourite for weekday lunch in Sydney. A popular bar by night, patrons return during the day for its convenient location and consistent quality.

An ornate room is lined with columns and features a marble bar. Brightly lit with a high ceiling, bar tables surround the perimeter.

Gin Garden is at the back, wrought iron gates open to an urban oasis. A glass roof is partially covered by bamboo which filters in natural light.

Lush green plants grow along the exposed brick walls and the gentle splashes of the fountain amplify the tropical ambience.

The menu is split into Thai and Australian. Thai classics included beef salads, stir fries, curries and noodles. Lamb, burgers, fish and chips, schnitzel and pasta were categorised as Australian.

A maître d’ seats diners and from there it is self-service. You order and pay at the bar, and pick up the meals on rattan trays when the electronic pager beeps and buzzes.

I had a lovely lunch with an ex-colleague. In between conversations, we enjoyed our plates of pad see ew. Stir fried in a sticky soy sauce was a generous serving of rice noodles, chicken, carrot, snow peas, Chinese broccoli and egg garnished with chilli. A wedge of lemon and sprigs of coriander freshened the meal.

We whiled away a couple of hours in the greenhouse, reluctantly exited into the spring rain.