Chef Gallery

Posted by Unknown in $10-$30, Chinese, Sydney: CBD

3 comments

Got a call from my friends and they asked me 'do you want to go to Chef Gallery?', without waiting any longer I picked up my camera and went to the city. When I arrived in the restaurant, it's very clear why the named it Chef Gallery.

 

When we got our table, they asked us if we want to sit in table or in front of the kitchen. I picked to sit in front of the kitchen. From there we could see how the make dumpling and noodle. I were quite amaze on how quick and skillful the cook when they made noodle, dumpling, etc.

 For appetizer, we ordered Pork belly roll - thinly sliced blanched pork belly rolled with carrot,
cucummber, topped with a garlic and oil free vingerette dressing ($8.90). Chilled pork which very tender and the crunchy carrot and cucumber. It's a good dish for hot summer.

Chef's own golden snowflake chicken - lightly crumbed chicken fillet very crispy, tender and moist served with noodles in a pumkin soup ($13.90)

Because we saw the chef made the noodle, we decided that we need to try the noodle. The noddle was very thin and firm, if they didn't show the process I wouldn't it was hand made. As for the soup it was a bit bland for me (I would prefer stronger flavor soup). Chicken was moist and crispy, it wasn't oily at all and taste really clean.

Guo Tie - lightly pan fried dumplings cabbage & pork ($8.90). The Guo Tie top skin was crispy while the bottom one was soft. They only cook the skin one side, it give a nice contrast when you eat it, especially when you put with vinegar and soy sauce.

As for the desert, we have decided before we went there that we must tried the Steamed sesame ‘piggy face’ bun ($5.90, picture on the top). It was a steam bun filled with black sesame, it show how good the chef in creating this unique desert and when you bite it. It burst with warm sesame which add extra flavor to the bun.

It's a very cozy place to have dinner with friends or family where the chef can show their skills and you know that all dishes were made fresh.

Olio

Posted by Unknown in $30-$70, Australian Modern, Sydney: St Leonards

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Hei guys, I know I haven't updated this blog for a while. Especially, since I move house in October. I've prepared couple of review and I will update it all in one go.

First will be Olio, located in St. Leonards train station complex. It's a good area too relax and have lunch during work hour (depend on how long your break is). 

They served Coffee Luwak which originated from Indonesia and some people said that Coffee Luwak has a strong taste and fragrance. If you're a coffee lover you need to try it.

I went there for a late lunch with my friend, we ordered Greek Lamb and Duck Sausage.

The Greek Lamb with megadarra, tzatziki, eggplant & olive salad($29). The lamb was tender and the cream work together really well to catch the sharpness of the lamb. Accompany with olive salad which refreshing.

As for the Duck Sausage with cabbage, ham and lentil ($25-$30, dish is taken off from menu). It was a very earthy dish for some people the taste might be a bit strong or not clean flavor. For me I love this dish, because the combination of sausage and lentil. The strong flavor from sausage was balanced with soft taste of lentil.

Firehouse Hotel

Posted by Unknown in $10-$30, Bar / Pub Style, Sydney: North Sydney

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Firehouse is one of my favorite lunch time location in North Sydney. Not only they have a good variety of food they also have a nice outdoor space.

I believe that Firehouse offer more options compare to other pubs around North Sydney. It is better to book for table before hand if you want to come with your friends as lunch time can be a little bit busy. Though the serving time is quite quick considering some of the food need to be cook on order.

Enough with the small details let's start talking about food. Baby cos caeser salad($12) and Chicken Schnitzel($15) are pretty much the standard menu available in most of pubs. Beef & Guinness($14) pie is another common dish, though the only differences are the quality of the beef and gravy on the plate.

Salt & Pepper Calamari($16) is crispy and not greasy and it serve with a fresh salad. Char Grilled Porterhouse Steak($18.50 + extra $2 for the sauce), it's a good quality of meat and you can taste the smokiness as well. I think this one is a little bit over price.

Last are 2 of my favorite dishes Satay Chicken($17) and Lamb Shank($16.50). The satay is served with rice, salad and peanut sauce, this is a true asian style dish. The satay is cooked in a char grilled so you can taste the extra flavor from grilling and peanut sauce add an extra exotic taste.

Lamb shank, some people say that they don't like lamb because it smell and after taste in the mouth. But, this lamb shank doesn't have that problems. All it has is a clean and full of spice flavor, the meat just melt in your mouth. You won't have any problem to eat it just with spoon and fork.

I'm Angus

Posted by Unknown in $30-$70, Australian Modern, Entertainment Card, Sydney: CBD

2 comments

Been a bit busy with other stuff and don't have chance to update this blog, especially when I'm running 3 blogs at the same time. This time I will start with I'm Angus and after that I got couple more restaurants to put in the list.

I went there on Sunday to have a catch up with my former collage, it was a good day considering how the weather has been in the last couple of weeks and he's been saying that I need to try this steakhouse.

We arrived in the restaurant and sat in the terrace, the atmosphere was great very relaxing and comfy.

I ordered Blue Swimmer Crab Cake and Fillet Mignon served with garlic potato and onion marmalade.

The crab cake was nice, it full of crab meat. However, my crab cake was a bit oily. It was a refreshing starter to go with beer or white wine.

As for the main, it was tender and very juicy, the potato was good and very buttery which is great. I love the onion marmalade. It was a great dish the meat, sides and gravy work together really well and you can taste how good the meat is.

My friends ordered Giant Pork Ribs and Prime I'm Angus Fillet. Both of them were good. Though the pork ribs was a bit dry for me.

Price List:

• Blue Swimmer Crab Cake($25)
• Fillet Mignon($46)
• Giant Pork Ribs(full rack $39.50 or 1/2 portion $27.50)
• Prime Angus Fillet(160g $31 or 250g $42)

I'm Angus

The Promenade, Cockle Bay Wharf

Shalom

Posted by Unknown in $10-$30, Halal, Indonesia, Sydney: Kingsford

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If you like to be close with your partner or friends this restaurant will provide the perfect settings for you. As the chairs and tables are really squeeze close to each other.

While the atmosphere and decorations won't impress you, they have a good variety of menu selection start from fried chicken, satay and soup. Majority of the foods are around $10 including rice and it's served halal food.

We ordered Fried Chicken with Chilli, Batagor, Chicken Soup(Soto Ayam) and Chicken Satay. The peanut sauce on Chicken Satay was good especially the sweet soy sauce. Fried Chicken just ok, just another Fried Chicken. the Batagor not as crispy as I would like to be. The Chicken soup was good it has a strong spice flavor.

As for desert we ordered Ice Durian, basically Durian top with shaved ice and condensed milk. Could be better with stronger flavor or more durian on the top as I can't taste the flavor on shaved ice.

It is a good place to try Indonesian food, however you can't expect too much from the atmosphere or service as both fail quite bad. If you are a big guy like me, you might have difficulty walking inside the restaurant.

Shalom
458 Anzac Parade
KINGSFORD NSW

Yakitori Alley - Japan (Yurakucho)

Posted by Unknown in Japan (Kanto Prefecture), Japanese

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There's nothing much to say in this place except that you need to go to this place and experience it yourself. Though the foods are only a simple meat in skewer, however the taste and atmosphere completely overcome the simplicity.

It's located in an alley below JR train line, it's a popular place for Japanese people to catch up after work and as you can see on the picture that there are couple of tourist as well.

The atmosphere is really encouraging you to relax and enjoy your foods with friends/family. The foods were light and almost like a snack to be enjoyed with a glass of beer. You can't have enough with one skewer, especially the Tsukune(picture: below left) it's a grill mince chicken.

Yakitori Alley
Japan

Miro Tapas Bar

Posted by Unknown in $30-$70, Spanish / Tapas, Sydney: CBD

2 comments

Tapas.... everytime I went to tapas bar / restaurant, we always ordered a lot of variety of food. Since the serve it like a snack / appetizer food.

We went there for our friend farewell as she decided to go back to her home country for good.

For starter we ordered Pan con Ajo (Garlic Bread), Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Prawn), Patatas a la Andaluza (Deep-fried potatoes tossed in parsley and sautéed garlic). The garlic prawn was really good especially the butter sauce and I used the garlic bread to get the leftover sauce. Potato on itself was quite dry, but if you mix it with the parsley and sautéed garlic it tasted better.

Aceitunas (Olives) and Tortilla Espanola (Potato and onion omelette), I'm not a big fan of olives so I ended up avoiding this dish. The tortilla was a bit dry in my opinion, it could do with a bit sauce on top of it.

Here come the best 3 of the night. Champinones al Ajillo (Garlic mushrooms), Berenjenas Rebozadas (Deep Fried Eggplant in a parsley batter) and Chorizo con Manzanas Caramelizada (BBQ Chorizo with Caramelised apple).

Mushrooms cooked in butter or olives oil is my favorites, it does work with any dish in the plates. Eggplant was like a tempura style dish, the batter was light and crispy while the inside was moist (note: eggplant absorb a lot of oil). The chorizo mixed well with the caramel sauce and this is a classic combination of pork and apple.

Paella Vegetariana (Traditional rice and vegetable dish served in an iron pan). Usually paella is the closing note of the night, however for me this paella is the worst dish of the night. Not because it's a vegetarian dish, but the burnt taste that we can taste on the veges and rice. I think it was overcooked in the oven and when we scrap the bottom all of the rice already turn black.

As for the drink we ordered coffee and sangria. All and all the experience was good, especially one of our friend is a vegetarian and Miro offered a lot of vegetarian tapas. The price was reasonable considering we ordered more around 10 dishes.

Miro Tapas Bar
76 Liverpool Street
SYDNEY NSW