More recently



the tearoom - Potato gnocchi, tomato, smoked pork, crackling

Had an extremely decadent weekend.

Took some German work ppl & clients to Cafe Sydney on Saturday night.

Been there before and was not as impressed this time. Food was ok but some of the dishes served were visually offputting. One German looked at his dish and the look on his face was priceless. Service was also so-so.

Then took the girl to Boathouse on Sunday for lunch. What a stark difference. Service was faultless, food was incredible. Only downside was the bill lol - I had to pay for this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollbaby

More recently



the tearoom - Potato gnocchi, tomato, smoked pork, crackling

OMG that looks sooooo good!!!

recent visits for me include

- Lotus and Fratelli Paradiso - the former was sensational despite the mixed reviews. the latter was pretty good, though a lasagne for main (their speciality disappointed a little)
- Rockpool for my engagement dinner (though didn't propose there). food was unbelievable (though the 5 courses plus side dishes have blended into one!!) will definitely return for a special occasion.
- Buon Ricardo - experience I'll never forget!! that egg trufle past OMG!! Accidently bought a bottle of 2000 Lakes Folly (looked at half bottle prices by mistake). Lakes folly is suberb though the restaurant price of $180 is a tad exxy!!
- spice i am - great for a cheapie though too many people!!
- wasavie - always love that place. great atmosphere & food
- lucio's for my birthday dissappointed. I found the food ok, but at that price range expected more

Next on the menu is it Love Supreme (the new Arthurs??) and Flying Fish, and of course Tetsuya's sometime in the future

^^ i loved the egg truffle pasta at buon ricardo (pics later). so simple and so delicious.

<3 spice i am. it's particularly good to go in a big group so you can order a little of everything and omg o much food.

i love lucios. did you try the blue swimmer crab pasta. its one of their signature dishes. it is awesome. i love love love it.

yes love supreme is the new arthurs. been there twice since it's opened up again. (pics soon). so yummy.

Masuya on Tuesday. so much yum yum.


Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab



Beef Tataki



Sashimi Boat



Salmon and Avocado Handroll



Tempura Prawn Handroll (omg so yum)


We also got the Nabeyaki Udon Hot Pot which was so tasty. Highly recommended.
I also had hot sake for the first time. It was very smooth.

^ OMG so much yum yum indeed.

The beef looks divine.

k_x oxo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollbaby

I also had hot sake for the first time. It was very smooth.

It's the only way to have it
Works wonders on a cold winter's day too.

Summerland in Bankstown

best lebanese ive ever had! SO much for for $30 banquet it was unbelievable. VERY fresh, authentic and just damn good!

belly dancer as entertainment at 9.30 was cool too.

Went to Mohr and Mohr in Darlinghurst for a pre-theatre dinner and found it to be a litle dissapointing. Fantastic pate for entree but the consensus was that the cassoulet was far too salty.

My pork-belly was pretty good although I found the crackling overdone.

Ho hum

There's such a thing as overdone crackling?

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcusus

There's such a thing as overdone crackling?

Yes. It should be crisp, crunchy yet light and fluffy not a solidified lump that nearly cracks your teeth.

k_x oxo

If you love Japanese i recomment Kobe Jones, It's so tasty and delisious. The soft shelled crab and volcano rolls are the bomb

Quote:

Originally Posted by krafty_x

Yes. It should be crisp, crunchy yet light and fluffy not a solidified lump that nearly cracks your teeth.

k_x oxo

Thanks K - I was about to eat my words as I am no crackling expert. This stuff was rock hard and like eating a gobstopper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grover

If you love Japanese i recomment Kobe Jones, It's so tasty and delisious. The soft shelled crab and volcano rolls are the bomb

Word! Volcano rolls are fantastic as is Special No. 2

The service is a bit too fast for my liking. Dishes start appearing within a couple of minutes of ordering.

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngman

Word! Volcano rolls are fantastic as is Special No. 2

The service is a bit too fast for my liking. Dishes start appearing within a couple of minutes of ordering.

totally agree, we sat down at 7.15pm and by 8.30 they brought us the bill.

they always seem to bring entrees and mains all together which annoys me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcusus

There's such a thing as overdone crackling?

I overdid crackling once - man did I throw up. Oh you mean overcook it......

Mezallunas in Potts Point. Good food with excellent service. very nice place

essence on king st wharf is very good .. ripples at lunapark is good too .. bay tinh in marrickville for vietnamese is one of my favourites the food is simply sensational .. jaspers in hunters hill was very good when i went last the head chef has moved on i think

ripples is great, the food is divine.

Who has eaten at Boathouse? Recomendations????

Also if anyone is around Randwick or eastern subs you should try Ummarin Thai.
One of the best Thai rest's I have been to. Awesome with a big group doing the banquet @ 24
bucks a head you share entrees (mixed), share a thail salad of your choice (two or three depending on numbers)
you each then get to select a main including seafood (exc whole fish), a desert each & coffee each.
Best value around. Also if you go you have to have the sticky pork ribs... sweet ribbbbs mm

Quote:

Originally Posted by buck naked

Who has eaten at Boathouse? Recomendations????

Went there a couple of weeks ago for Mum's birthday (I think there are quite a few comments on page one of this thread).

Eat the snapper pie - amazing!

went to pony last night in the rocks. expensive, and steak wasn't the best steak i've eaten for $45.

the service was average, i was just about to pick my own drinks off the bar as the waitress was too busy chatting with ulgy drunk fat men but someone just pipped me at the post. there were 2 really attentive staff, 1 average, and one uselss (we had the useless one for our table ) gf's lamb was awesome though.

no tip for them, food 7 staff 5 value 5.

Had a work farewell at Encasa on Pitt St today. Tapas so so tasty!


Also Jimbaran in Randwick is to die for an awesome value!
(www.jimbaran.com.au)

I love Encasa.

The lamb shoulder there...

And sangria... tapas.... oh yeah!

Went for lunch at The Watermark @ Balmoral yest'dee.

I had stir fried green beans with sweet & spicy sauce topped with pine nuts & then a vegetable stack which was yum.

Others had the asian antipasto, duck spring rolls, pork belly & Moreton Bay bugs, no complaints about any of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by buck naked

Who has eaten at Boathouse? Recomendations????

Went there Sunday a couple of weeks ago. The girl had the snapper pie and said it was awesome. I couldn't fault the food, service, or wine selection. The bill however........ But it was a fun lunch. We're just alcos.

okay, next tuesday is the little lady's birthday :blush:

we're either going out tuesday or wednesday, thinking a nice french restaurant maybe? spanish? mid range, preferably BYO wine as i have some great wines at the moment, but don't mind too much if licenced as long as the wine list is well priced.

we live in ashfield, so city is okay or glebe/newtown inner west etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bracko

okay, next tuesday is the little lady's birthday :blush:

we're either going out tuesday or wednesday, thinking a nice french restaurant maybe? spanish? mid range, preferably BYO wine as i have some great wines at the moment, but don't mind too much if licenced as long as the wine list is well priced.

we live in ashfield, so city is okay or glebe/newtown inner west etc.

You could try Sojourn in East Balmain. I've not been but hear great things. The 3 Weeds restaurant in Rozelle is great but don't think it is BYO.

Went to Rubyo's in newtown on Saturday, very nice. Not sure if it's french enough

There's atelier in Glebe, french ish, they do BYO

Friday night we went to Spice I Am for some awesome authentic thai. Had the pork belly with asian greens, crispy basil chicken and fried whiting with tumeric and salt and pepper plus basil pork belly.

omg. so good. all of it. pretty much cleaned the plates 100%. BYO (yay!) and the bill came to $73 which included rice and corkage.

went to La Sala in surry hills few weeks back.
Great atmosphere and lighting
Food was excellent - had herb gnochhi for entre` and seafood platter soup thing for main. fairly pricey but great value considering what you get. winelist included mainly yarra/hunter wines which is good but typical, my girlfriend got some cocktail thing which was nice too and cheap for a cocktail ($11?)

seemed to be full of rich obnoxious types but yeah whatever don't care really about what ppl around me are doing as long as they aren't annoying me

Decided at a last minute on Saturday night to go out for dinner somewhere on Glebe Pt rd. Tried Osteria dei Poeti, it was full, tried A' Mews, also full. Got in to Atelier as someone had cancelled and so glad we did! The food and the service were brilliant.

For entree I chose twice baked parmesan souffle with persian fetta and jambon. My bf had scallops and oxtail on a parnsip purees. That was probably the best, each scallop was sitting on an equal sized bit of oxtail. The scallops were really thick and perfectly cooked.

Mains - roast leg and braised breast of Aylesbury duckling with raost parnips on a swede puree. The duck was medium rare and the puree was a perfect compliment.
The other main was the special which was a breast of pheasant on trufled gnochi with brussell sprouts and mushrooms on the side and a bread sauce served at the table. The dish came with truffles as well and we got them on the side so we could both have them.
This was the first time I have tried truffles and Im not sure what all the fuss is about? They didnt seem to have a very distinctive flavour.

No dessert but got some complimentary chocs with coffee which was enough.

One of the best meals I've had for sure, will have to go back for the degustation as recommend in this thread.

Quote:

This was the first time I have tried truffles and Im not sure what all the fuss is about? They didnt seem to have a very distinctive flavour.

they're not supposed to. my understanding is that they increase the flavour detail of what you're eating it with....

I think this deserves some research and another thread ^_^

thanks for the restaurant selections, i think I'll take the Balmain one

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bracko

they're not supposed to. my understanding is that they increase the flavour detail of what you're eating it with....

so like the msg of fungus?

i love fishmongers down on hall st bondi.

the best fish and chips ever. and if you dont feel like chips - they have tempura veggies instead with soy dip. hugest most tender calamari i've ever had.

it's BYO with a bottle-o next door too! *high five*

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngman

Went there a couple of weeks ago for Mum's birthday (I think there are quite a few comments on page one of this thread).

Eat the snapper pie - amazing!

Had the snapper pie!! Was superb!! great lunch time venue, especially with water views on 3 sides. How did they do that tomato?? beautiful!

Booked into Atelier for Friday night, very excited after reading peoples thoughts.

Grabyourfork has some pretty good for reviews with lots of photos.

http://grabyourfork.blogspot.com/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollbaby

where's the rest of it?

^^ what do you mean ? i just managed to finish it. quality not quanity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollbaby

^^ what do you mean ? i just managed to finish it. quality not quanity.

I'd be through that in 2mins....I'd undoubtedly leave the restaurant and head to HJ's for a whopper to fill the gap left by the lack of accompaniments on the plate. Never been there but I think this review sums up what I think of the meal you photographed. Looking at their menu it seems that they've very little idea about value for money.

Quote:

The food was OK and the steaks were adequately cooked and served with interesting sauces, but there is something inherently wrong with the restaurant: the menu is basically standard steakhouse fare, only slightly jazzed up with French brasserie influence (bearnaise sauce, potato gratin etc), but the restaurant is set in what would be more adequate for Michelin-starred venue.

The wine list is also aiming for grandeur with very expensive bourgogne and bordeaux, again which would be more adequate to match real haute cuisine dishes. The service seemed to reflect this contradiction, and although friendly, hesitated between formal professionalism and steakhouse familiarity.

One more negative point was the sheer waiting time (40 mins), which seemed excessive, no matter how long the meat is rested after cooking (as we were slightly pompously explained)! The desserts were also unremarkable and ended the meal on a disappointing note.

^^ so greedy

every single person i've been there with has absolutely loved it. value for money - you can go and grab yourself a couple $5 dollar steaks if you want "value for money".
where did you find that review ? all the reviews i've generally read were usually very positive. i'm intrigued by this person and would like to read some more of their reviews. personally i don't want too many accompaniments on the plate. imo it ruins the steak. their online website is not a complete menu but i dont think it's necessary for a restaurant to serve 100 dishes. i would rather just 20 perfected dishes. if you get what i mean.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollbaby

^^ so greedy

every single person i've been there with has absolutely loved it. value for money - you can go and grab yourself a couple $5 dollar steaks if you want "value for money".
where did you find that review ? all the reviews i've generally read were usually very positive. i'm intrigued by this person and would like to read some more of their reviews. personally i don't want too many accompaniments on the plate. imo it ruins the steak. their online website is not a complete menu but i dont think it's necessary for a restaurant to serve 100 dishes. i would rather just 20 perfected dishes. if you get what i mean.

http://www.eatability.com.au/au/sydney/prime.htm

I prefer to eat out til I can't eat no more, not come home and find myself raiding the fridge for more food. Your Japanese meal looks fantastic, we had a similar boat in Vancouver not to long ago. I too like to photograph my meals!







for mine you're hard pressed to beat the Lobster chowder in sourdough with curly fries at Pier 39 in San Francisco.

best place for steak in Australia is Gauchos in Adelaide, that city has some cracking restaurants!

http://www.gauchos.com.au/about.htm

"Lobster chowder" sounds interesting. i would definitely give that a go. i've always wanted to have a soup in one of those bread things. the bread bowl is so cute and you get every last drop of the soup.

bistro 163 (closed now) they did one of my favourite soups - seafood bisque.
is that similar to a chowder ?

i can't like eating till i can't eat no more. it hurts my belly too much.

booked into Sojourn for tomorrow

edit: cancel that... the girlfriend wants steak for her birthday so we're going to kingsleys

bisque is a little different, I think it consists of many types of shellfish where as the clam/lobster chowder consist mainly of potatoes, onions, salt and lobster or clam.



place in San Francisco called Boudin's does the best & cheapest clam chowder I've ever tasted, if you like seafood you should try and find a fish monger who stocks mahi mahi and get a few fillets and deep fry it and dust it with cajun spices!

have you been to Tetsuya's? I'm hoping to dine there soon when I'm in Sydney.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpstekno

. bay tinh in marrickville for vietnamese is one of my favourites the food is simply sensational

Been going there since 1990, went to the head chef/owners daughters wedding.

They've recently sold to new people and refurbished the whole place. Its lost a little of its charm but the sound absorption in there is much better and the food is the same albeit a bit more expensive, obviously to pay for the rennos.

Thought I would ask in the Sydney thread instead of starting a new one. Going to Newcastle on weekend as my girl is in a play there and looking for somewhere to do Sunday lunch. Any recommendations.

Busshari: 119 Macleay St Potts Point (Japanese)

It's pretty tough for me to dislike a place. When people complain I generally think "stop being so precious, it can't be that bad".

This place really was. Well, mostly. Tuna dynamite rolls were fantastic. Teriyaki fish was the driest most revolting thing I've eaten all year, literally. I could barely swallow it, even with the help of water. I've eaten Weight Watchers frozen fish that was better prepared. Teriyaki chicken was mostly skin and looked congealed and gross on the plate so I didn't even bother. Gf told me it tasted worse than it looked.

The edammame was ok.

The bathrooms were well presented.