A local's guide to Rosebery

There are two reasons to come to this pint-sized Rosebery café, and both of them are martabak. One version of the Indonesian dish is a kind of fried roti, stuffed with egg, onion and Indonesian-style spiced mince. The other, known as martabak manis, is sweet, like a fluffy pancake with hundreds of crumpet-like tubular holes. Choose from a whole range of sweet, salty, and crunchy toppings for added oomph. 

You'll find a bottleshop attached to every other pub or supermarket in this city and they are fine for a grab-and-go. But when you want something special, and maybe even sustainable, the Drink Hive should be on the top of your list. It's the first bottle shop in Sydney to introduce refillable beer and wine stations. Booze industry pros Mal Higgs and Gregoire Bertaud works directly with local craft brewers and winemakers to offer up artisan wines that you can bring back to refill and you'll also find a range of hand-selected boutique brands on the shelves and in the fridges.

Wholesale pasta producer Adamo’s Pasta has a store and restaurant in Rosebery – not only can you grab a selection of freshly made pasta to take home with you, you can also dine-in until 5.30 most days. Swing by for a range of freshly made pasta sauces, trays of lasagna and a selection of Italian dishes, like squid ink spaghetti, saffron tagliatelle and truffle oil parpardelle. 

This warehouse haunt in the Cannery is the onsite drinking outpost of the eponymous local gin label. The bar is separated from the distillery by a heavy-duty metal grille and a wall of spirit barrels. It's in good company here – check it out alongside other big-hitters in the Sydney eats and drinks scene, like  Tally it up with Black Star, Da Mario, and Messina.

Koskela is like a theme park for interior design geeks. Every Koskela piece has been designed and made in Australia under the careful watch of owners Russel Koskela and Sasha Titckosky, and the size and layout of the store means that shoppers can run wild through a playground of bright, colourful arrangements – from fantasy garden sheds to adorable kids’ bedroom designs.

Want to learn how to press your own block of halloumi from the everyday utensils you already have in your kitchen? What about stretching and moulding your own gooey burrata and bocconcini? Want to do it with a glass of bubbles or a craft beer in hand? The folks at Omnom Cheese Making will sort you right out. These guys run boozy classes from their Rosebery HQ to get you skilled up in making your own artisan cheese varieties, and sell the ingredients and kits you need to keep it up at home. 

It’s a much larger offering in Rosebery than the original Balack Star store in Newtown, where the big airy warehouse space supports an open kitchen and a large glass counter where you’ll find a whole world of sweet treats. And, the cakes. Oh, the cakes. Try the lemon myrtle chiffon cake covered in toasted coconut, or the classically pretty strawberry-watermelon creation. 

Another Cannery fixtue, Banh Xeo Bar is a white-tiled lunch spot lit by a pink neon sign with Vietnamese plates and snacks on the menu. The obvious order here is, of course, the bahn xeo: a thin, savoury crepe-style pancake, with comes filled with the likes of shrimp, pork belly and bean sprouts. It's a relaxed, easy spot to eat in the Cannery, that doesn't skimp on the flavour. 

Check out a jam-packed line-up of rotating classes pitched at cooks with differing levels of ambition and one-offs from special guests at this Rosebery cooking school. Learn how to make Singaporean mud crab, to swan about your kitchen with French flair, or the secrets of molecular cooking: from smoke to foam to bubbles and more.