Restaurants in Sydney: December 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Chat Thai

Address: 20 Campbell St, HaymarketSydney, Australia, 2000
Phone: (02) 9211 1808
Trading Hours: Lunch: 10am-5pm,
Dinner: 5pm-10pm,
Supper: 9.30-2am

Chat Thai is commited to excellence in Thai cuisine. The name “Chat Thai” simply means “Thai Nation”. But the English meaning “to converse in a familliar and informal manner” is also what Chat Thai is all about casual and relaxed dining with authentic Thai food made to be shared with friends and family. Principle aim is to serve great, fresh and authentic food in an elegant, yet simple environment, and to also provide a helpful friendly service and, most importantly, value for money.

SHIP AND SHORE $15
Warm salad of chicken, pork, prawns and fried egg, dressed with chilli jam, mint, coriander and spanish onions.

PAD SIEW $12
Stir fry of thick rice noodles, chicken, chinese broccoli and eggs in a dark soy sauce seasoning.

KI MAO $12
Stir fry of thick rice noodles and chicken seasoned in dark soy sauce, chilli and holy basil

GAI SATAY $2.5 each
Skewered and char grilled chicken fillets marinated in garlic, turmeric and coriander roots. Accompanied with peanut sauce and salsa of pickled cucumber and red onions.

Nice seating and decor :D The restaurant is always packed and always has a queue, but service was pretty good even though the waitstaff were rushed by the crowd! This has to be the best Thai in Sydney! I really like the restaurant, the dish is all great. All the dishes taste is very elegant compared to the other Thai restaurant. Plus, cheap price is very attractive. Strongly recommend to everyone!!

Food Rating:
5/5 ( Highly Recommended )

Price Rating:
4.5/5

Katty

Beschico

Beschico Restaurant
Address:
41 Beecroft Road
Epping NSW 2121
# 02 9869 8188

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The first thing that you see when you enter this restaurant is a modern australian ambiance, although this is a korean restaurant. Beschico serves a fried chicken and a oven baked chicken. Most people said that this restaurant is a KFC's competitor with less felt guilty after eat here.

Beschico provides a hot fried chicken and a oven baked chicken. Most popular dish from this restaurant should be the drumetts and they call it 'Chico Hot Drumetts'. It is basically a fried drum stick chicken covered with some sort of sauce. They also have 'Chico Hot Original' it is the same kind like the other dish but instead of drum stick, they put chicken wings and chicken thighs as well.

Other dish is a boneless crispy chicken. It is basically just a deep fried boneless chicken.

Half Crispy Hot Drumetts & Crispy Drumetts

Boneless Crispy Chicken & Chico Hot Drumetts

Food Review:
3/5

Price:
3/5

Service:
3/5

Photos from:
http://tastedbytwo.com/2009/10/22/beschico-epping/

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Aria Restaurant

ARIA Restaurant Sydney

ARIA Restaurant is situated on the very edge of Sydney Harbour. It is co-owned and operated by Matt Moran and Peter Sullivan. ARIA provides a dining experience that encapsulates Sydney lifestyle, offering panoramic views of Sydney Harbour, the freshest Australian produce in an innovative and contemporary menu, an extensive award-winning wine list with seamless, friendly and highly efficient service.

Interior design by Tzannes Associates with subtle lighting and a spectacular backdrop creates an intimate dining room of warmth and elegance. A restaurant that is sophisticated yet maintains a relaxed and inviting atmosphere.

ARIA currently holds two coveted Chef's Hats awarded by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009

DUCK

Roasted breast of duck with cherries, green almonds and a star anise and ginger sauce $56

BEEF

Roasted fillet and cheek of beef with celeriac puree, roasted onions and Bordelaise sauce $56

LAMB

Roasted lamb fillet with confit belly, eggplant purée,

tomato and basil fondue and a black olive sauce $54

MAP

1 Macquarie Street

Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 9252 2555

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Sparkle Cupcakery

Shop Details

Address: 32 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills 2010 (Between Bourke and Crown Streets)

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Style: Tea

Opening Hours: Monday - Thursday 7:30am - 6:00pm
   Friday 7:30am - 6:00pm
   Saturday 10:00am - 6:00pm
   Sunday 10:00am - 6:00pm

Phone Number: (02) 9361 0690

Website: www.sparklecupcakery.com.au

In recent times, cupcakes have been receiving a whole new level of exposure. By that I mean, stores that specialise in making and decorating cupcakes have been opening up all over the city this past few years. Personally, I think it's predominantly the aesthetic designs that tempt potential customers. Without them, cupcakes would just be presented as sugary flour, egg and milk! On that note, I was recently introduced to a glamourous cupcake store situated in the centre of Surry Hills, named Sparkle Cupcakery. The element of these cakes that sets them apart from the plethora of cupcake stores around the city is the inventive flavours. Yes, these cupcakes don't particularly have much to their presentation but the flavours they offer somewhat strikes curiosity and excitement before the first bite.

When we walked into the store, we were immediately welcomed by an elegant display of all the flavoured cupcakes in an elongated glass cabinent. The rest of the store was consistent with a modern design, glass displays and polished furniture.

My cousin and I purposely made a trip there to indulge in their tea party set, which cost $30 per head. (Pretty expensive, but actually quite filling!)

The party set included (For two people): Personal choice of one cupcake each, six salmon finger sandwiches seasoned with some delicious sauce, two glass cups of gourmet strawberry yogurt jelly, two large strawberries with chocolate fondue, two chocolate macaroons and two delectable glasses of hot chocolate.

Out of the variety of flavours on hand, we selected the 'Green tea and Bubbles' and 'White Chocolate and strawberries' cupcakes as part of our party set. At the first bite, we could taste their subtle flavours and sweet, sweet quality. They were undeniably tasteful and held promising flavour, but it was just a tad too sugary for my liking. On another note, the finger sandwiches were delish! and were my personal favourite out of all that was on the table, closely followed by their rich hot chocolate. The macaroons were deliciously light and chewy (pretty standard) and the strawberry yogurt jelly melted with flavour in our mouths. Writing about it is making me crave another visit!

Our Tea Party set :)

Food rating: 4/5

Price rating: 3/5

Emily

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Lindt Chocolate Cafe

Lindt Cafe Martin PlaceLevel 1, 53 Martin Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone (02) 8257 1600
Lindt Cafe Darling Harbour
Shop 104 – 105 Cockle Bay Wharf,
Cockle Bay. Darling Harbour.

A must for all those chocoholics :) If you are passionate about chocolates, especially the creamy, rich kinds, you'll love the Lindt Cafe. They have two branches, one on Martin Place, the other at Cockle Bay of Darling Harbour.

Definitely a great dessert place to take your friends, family and loved ones. The desserts there are so delicious! Not just the chocolates but the cakes and ice-cream too. And the atmosphere is really nice, you won't be disappointed!

- Chocolate milkshake $7
THE BEST chocolate milkshake I’ve ever had. Made with their Lindt ice cream and garnished with shaved Lindt chocolate. It was sweet, thick and chocolatey.

- Waffles with chocolate lindt ice cream and dark chocolate sauce $16

The waffle was both crispy and fluffy, and the ice-cream was creamily delicious. I love the fact that it's Lindt's own ice-cream. decadent but not too rich!

- Macarons: pistachio *2, rose, hazelnut $2.5 each

The macarons were quite good, crispy, chewy shells with lots of filling, but a bit too sweet! Lindt had a pretty good range of macarons on offer, including vanilla, dark chocolate (70%), milk chocolate, hazelnut, passionfruit, champagne, strawberry, peach, pistacchio and rose, etc.

Food Rating:
4.5/5

Price Rating:
3/5

Katty

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Wagaya

Shop details

Address: Level 1, 78-86 Harbour St, Haymarket, NSW 2000

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Cuisine: Japanese

Opening Hours: Mon-Sun, 5pm-2am

Phone Number: (02) 9212 6068

SUSHIan Roulette $9.90

Wagaya is a popular Japanese restaurant situated in the central of Sydney. It's mostly famous for its inception of the touch-screen ordering system, which offers both a fun and efficient dining experience. Furthermore, the restaurant's dim lighting and modern architecture delivers an elegant and relaxing aura.

My company and I agreed that the highlight of the night was associated with the SUSHIan Roulette. Essentially, this is a plate served with six pieces of salmon sushi with one of them containing an insane amount of wasabi that was capable of blowing up someone's brain! (Metaphorically, of course) :). We decided to enhance the experience by getting one person to spin the bowl and to whichever piece of sushi another person's finger landed on, they had to take it. Once everyone had their designated piece of sushi on their plate, we all counted to three before we launched it into our mouths. A few seconds passed, and my younger cousin started to scream and slur his words. His face proceeded to turn tomato red and his eyes began to water. Believe me, it was the funniest thing to watch! I, myself, had tears in my eyes from solely witnessing his animated reaction. On that positive note, this dish is personally recommended. Be ready for some hysterics!

Despite the small servings of food for its price, the quality and intrinsic taste is incredible.

Ice Green Tea Latte $4.20
The catch is the ice-cream on top.
Yum!

California Roll $8.20
The famous california roll, except
it tastes so much better than the
ones I buy at regular food courts!

Chicken Nanban and Tartar Sauce $8.90
This is basically crispy chicken
complemented with a delicious
vinegar-mayonnaise sauce.
Though it's nothing special,
it still tastes damn good!

Cold Tantan Udon $9.50
Famous japanese cold udon with
pork mince topping and
mild spicy sauce.

Tequila Sunrise $8.90
This is one of the various cocktails
that they have on their menu.

Wagaya Salad $7.90
Seared chicken pieces, lettuce,
tomatoes, cucumber, corn kernels,
appetizing lotus root crisps and
mouth-watering wagaya salad dressing.

Spider Roll $9.40
Delicious soft shell crab sushi,
beautifully served!

Aquamarine (March Birth Stone) $5.50
This is one of the many
mocktails (non-alcoholic drink) that
they have on their menu.
Tastes like blue lemonade!

Eel Fried Rice with Wasabi $12.50
Tasty fried rice with grilled eel
pieces and a dollop of wasabi to mix.

Rainbow Roll $10.30
Delicious salmon, avocado, prawn
and crab sushi.

Crumbed Cheese $6.90
Mini slices of delectable melting
cheese with a crispy outer layer.

Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone! Great dishes, reasonable prices and lightning speed service.

Average price per person: $25-30

Food rating: 7.9/10

Value rating: 7.4/10

Service rating: 8.2/10

Emily

References:Maps from google maps (www.maps.google.com)Pictures were taken by myself

Chiku-Ya Japanese Cuisine

Chiku-Ya
Japanese Cuisine

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Chiku-ya is a japanese restaurant located near Bondi Junction, Westfield. Here you could find a typical Japanese food like Udon, Karage, Tempura, Don etc.

Karage is a marinated soy sauce, garlic or ginger covered with flour and deep fried until brown. It has a crispy, tender and savory taste. It usually come with sauces like teriyaki sauce or other sauces.

The most highly recommended dish is Karage Don. This Karage Don is served with rice and sauce. Even though it is very simple, this Karage Don is worth to try for.

This Karage has a smooth texture, hot and crisp on the outside, soft, sweet and tender on the inside. This is like the best Karage I've ever taste.

Karage Don at Chiku-Ya

Another dish that I tried is a salmon steak. This salmon steak is served with salads and teriyaki sauce. It is pretty good and recommended.

Salmon steak

One thing I do not like in this restaurant is their service. I came to the restaurant around 6.30p.m, ordered some food and I got the food around 7.45p.m. But it was all worth to wait the best karage don I ever taste.

Type of food: Japanese food

Address:
Eastern Suburbs
106 Ebley St
Bondi Junction

Phone: (02) 9386 9534
Hours:
Tues-Fri Lunch 11.30-2.30pm
Dinner 5.30-10pm
Sat-Sun Dinner only 5.30-10pm

Price Range:
$7-$20 per dish

Service Rating:
2/5

Favourite Dish:
Karage Don

Price Rating:
4/5

Food Rating:
3.5/5

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Fakruddin Biryani

World famous Bangladeshi Chef

Biryani:

Biryani is perhaps the most popular rice based dish in the world that is available in many forms. Though, this dish is known as a traditional famous Indian cuisine to the world. Fakruddin Biryani from Bangladesh means something very special to the food lovers. Due to its popularity Fakruddin Biryani has opened its branch in Sydney .