One of the most fantastic gifts of love was the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife!

Now while I have plenty of properties for sale that might be able to match that on certain levels, sometimes the most special way to express your love is through something simple!

Why not turn the day around into something fun and invite all your single friends over for a night of delicious food and laughter that will make everyone around you feel loved.  So instead of suggesting all the wonderful chocolates and flowers you could buy, I thought I would include a recipe that I love to make for the perfect dinner. This pasta is really easy to prepare and will fill everyone’s belly with love!  Top it off with your favourite white wine and enjoy the night in.

Zucchini flower, vongole and prawn pasta

300g orecchiette pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil, extra to drizzle

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

200g peeled green prawns, butterflied

350g clams (vongole)

¼ cup white wine

300g cherry tomatoes, halved

4 zucchini flowers, flowers picked and stems thinly sliced

½ cup basil leaves

finely grated parmesan, to serve

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until al dente. Drain and keep warm.

Heat the oil in the same saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, chilli flakes and the prawns and cook for 2 minutes or until the prawns change colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the clams and the wine to the pan, cover with the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the clams start to open, remove with a slotted spoon and add to the prawns. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes start to break down and give of their juice. Add the zucchini flower stems and cook for a further minute. Return the pasta, prawns and clams back to the saucepan and stir until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, stir through the picked zucchini flowers and the basil leaves. Serve with parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra oil.

Serves 4.

Image and Styling: Kirsten Jenkins

Located less than 2km from the CBD, this vibrant suburb is popular with executives, a young inner city crowd and plenty of the well-heeled who have moved from larger suburban homes in search of a more vibrant address.

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Sophisticated and cosmopolitan, Potts Point is often referred to as ‘Parisienne’ in its ambience, with its main tree-lined boulevard, Macleay Street, blessed with a traditional grandeur mixed with a chic urban buzz.

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Dining and coffee are two of Potts Point’s greatest attractions, with restaurants and cafes dotting virtually every one of its quaint streets. Challis Avenue is particularly vibrant, with a local favourite The Fish Shop (formerly Lotus) and the trendy authentic Italian eatery Fratelli Paradiso.

Macleay Street Bistro and fine dining The Butler (formerly Mezzaluna) are two of Potts Points favourites, the latter enjoying a stunning open deck setting gazing back to the city skyline. Most of Potts Points waterfrontage is devoted to the Garden Island naval base, although there are a few exclusive apartment blocks which enjoy direct access to the harbour.

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Architecturally Potts Point is renowned for its beautifully preserved Art Deco apartment buildings as well as some grand Victorian terraces which are found primarily along Victoria Street. Prestigious contemporary developments punctuate the surrounding character architecture, such as Ikon, The Pomeroy and Rockwall Gardens.

Comprising just 10 streets of which six are tiny cul-de-sacs, diminutive Point Piper is an ultra-exclusive peninsula jutting northward into Sydney Harbour between Double Bay and Rose Bay, 4.5km from the CBD.

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While most of its harbourfront is devoted to the private playgrounds of the rich and famous, Point Piper does have two small boutique beaches used mainly by locals, Lady Martins and Seven Shillings.

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The Royal Motor Yacht Club and the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club are also discretely set within Point Piper’s foreshores. Several of Sydney’s top schools are located just minutes away, including Cranbrook, which is literally across New South Head Road, Scot’s, Ascham, Kambala and Kincoppal-Rose Bay.

While Point Piper itself is solely residential, the exclusive restaurants and upmarket boutiques of Double Bay – Sydney’s answer to Rodeo Drive – are just moments away. Take a picturesque walk around the shores of Rose Bay and you’ll find Catalina The Pier, two of Sydney’s most famous waterfront eateries and the site of port for local seaplanes.

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Renowned as one of Australia’s premier addresses, this internationally renowned enclave is lined with multi-million dollar waterfront mansions set on some of the most expensive real estate per square metre in the world.

Much of Point Piper’s architecture is contemporary, reflecting the desire to build bigger and more luxurious homes on this prime land.

However homes from all periods remain here, with some fine examples of Victorian, Edwardian, Federation, Art Deco and P & O styles. A number of apartments were built in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, enjoying views every bit as spectacular as the breathtaking mansions surrounding them.

Just 3km from the CBD, quaint and charming Paddington is one of Sydney’s best-known suburbs. It’s renowned primarily for Oxford Street, the vast boulevard which runs north to south through the entire suburb and is one of Sydney’s premier shopping destinations.

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Lined with interesting boutiques, high-street shops and eclectic specialty stores, it’s also the home of the Paddington Markets, held every Saturday in Paddington Primary School. Glenmore Road (The Intersection with Oxford Street), William Street and Five Ways have also emerged as world-class shopping strips, and it’s here that you’ll find some of the city’s most fashionable boutiques.

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Paddington plays host to a vast array of revered galleries, including the famed Sherman Galleries, which congregate primarily around Glenmore Road and the prestigious tree-lined boulevard of Paddington Street. Paddington is an entertainment mecca, with attractions such as Fox Studios and the Sydney Football Stadium.

It’s well-known for its pub culture, with traditional hotels such as The Royal, Bellevue, The Four in Hand, The Grand National and The London and The Paddington Inn offering great pub food at reasonable prices. A firm favourite among trendy inner city types and executives, Paddington’s increasingly high prices mean that the affluent have a firm foothold on the suburb.

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Paddington is famous for the ornate Victorian terraces which dominate almost every one of its meandering streets. Still quite working class up until the late ‘80s, Paddington’s rapid gentrification saw these formerly rundown residences snapped up and renovated at a rate of knots, with the high demand sending prices skyrocketing into the million dollar stratosphere.