Grey Goose Taste By Appointment - QT Sydney

Grey Goose invited M and I to their Taste by Appointment event in OT Sydney on 18 Sep 2014. The event was hosted by their global brand ambassador Mr Joe McCanta, throughout the evening Joe lead us on a cocktail crafting journey to discover our own unique tastes.

Makaroni Pizza Pasta Bar Review - Leichhardt

Food	★★★✰
Setting	★★★
Service	★★★★
Total	10.5/15

Bruschetta $7.9

Makaroni Leichhardt is located in The Italian Forum, M and I went on a cold, wet winter night, but we were greeted by a friendly waitress standing outside the restaurant. The decor is simple and the place looks clean, another friendly waiter came and took our order. We ordered the Bruschetta, Funghi Linguine Pasta and Classic Margherita Pizza.

The hand made linguine was cooked al dente and is one of the best pasta I've had in a while, I would happily drive 30 minutes to Makaroni Leichhardt just to eat their pasta again. The Margherita Pizza is cooked in a classic wood fire stone oven, however the flavours somehow did not impress me as much as their pasta.

Pros: Great hand made pasta, friendly staff.
Cons: N/A

Chefs Gallery Review - Sydney

Food	★★✰
Setting	★★★✰
Service	★★★
Total	9/15

Chinese Roti with Pekin Duck ($16.90)

Chefs Gallery is a Chinese fusion restaurant near Town Hall serving up some beautifully presented dishes. Be prepared to wait in line on a busy night though, as they do not accept bookings on those nights.

Chefs Gallery is quite a crowded restaurant, and without much of a stretch I can easily eat off the table next to us, so this isn't an ideal place to have an romantic dinner for two, this is your eat quickly and get out of here type of place.

My pick of the lot would be the Chinese Roti with Pekin Duck, it's a nice change from the original pekin duck. If I were to go again I would love to try their take on the sliders/mini burgers, but will make sure not to order their "Handmade thick noodles wok fried with prawns and onions in chili prawn paste" again. The noodles didn't have the al dente, bouncy texture that handmade noodles are suppose to have, it was possibly overcooked, the sweetness of the sauce also overpowered the flavour of the prawns .

Pros: Good concept, creative fusion, clean restaurant.
Cons: Average tasting food for the money, tables too close together, noisy.

New Shanghai Review (新上海) - Lemon Grove Chatswood

Food	★★★★
Setting	★★★
Service	★★★✰
Total	10.5/15

Xiao Long Bao (mini pork bun)

When it comes to xiao long bao (pork dumplings) people will always compare them to the world famous Din Tai Fung, at 8 for $12.80, Din Tai Fung is $5 more expensive than New Shanghai, but they are also more delicate. Making dumpling pastry is an art form, the thinner/lighter the better, but they also need to be strong enough to hold the broth inside. New Shanghai's dumpling pastry in comparison is a little thicker, but for the price I would happily eat there.

There are two New Shanghai restaurants in Chatswood, one in Lemon Grove and one in Chatswood Chase shopping centre. Chase has a more upmarket decor and environment where as Lemon Grove is cheap and cheerful, and the prices reflect that.

Apart from xiao long bao there are plenty of dim sims and authentic Shanghainese dishes available. They have conveniently highlighted their more popular dishes on their menu for those that are not familiar with Chinese food.

Pros: Authentic Shanghai food, good price.
Cons: N/A

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe Review - Darling Harbour

Food	★★
Setting	★★★★
Service	★✰
Total	7.5/15

Dessert Platter

There are three Guylian Cafes in Sydney, but unfortunately we went to the one in Darling Quarter.

Let's start with the good part, I quite like Darling Quarter, it has trendy restaurants and an awesome playground for kids which at night turns into a playground for the young at heart.

And here comes the bad news, we went on a Saturday summer afternoon, the cafe was quite busy, but there were only two waitstaff serving the tables so the service was painfully slow. I feel for the waitstaff though, they really are doing all they can, but the management should have rostered more staff on a busy day like Saturday. Another let down was the signature dessert platter we ordered, for a cafe famous for their chocolate, the platter doesn't really have that much cocoa in it, but instead it felt like what Cadbury Chocolate had become, mostly sugar and very little cocoa.

Pros: Nice setting, family friendly environment.
Cons: Slow service, chocolate not that great considering the price.

Izakaya Samurai (Sushi Samurai) Review - Neutral Bay

Food	★★★✰
Setting	★★★✰
Service	★★★★
Total	11/15

At least once a month I get cravings for sushi, and this month I decided to try Izakaya (Sushi) Samurai because we were in the area and with the entertainment book we get 25% off the total bill.

Izakaya Samurai use to be called Sushi Samurai Neutral Bay and since the name change they have installed touch screen menu ordering systems to all tables. The menus do help when the restaurant is busy, but if there are more than 2 of us at a table, it becomes quite difficult for everyone to see the menu. The staff are super friendly though, so that's a plus, and they also have a wide variety of fresh food to choose from. Overall a decent place for some above average Japanese food at a good price.

Pros: Wide range of food and drinks, above average food, super friendly staff.
Cons: Touch screen menu could be slow when there are more than 2 people at your table.

Outdoor dinning area

Touch Screen Menu

 For more information visit www.izakayasamurai.com.au

Central Coast Weekend Away

A few friends and I stayed a weekend at The Entrance NSW.

Here are three places that we visited.

1. Long Jetty (105 Tuggerah Parade, Long Jetty)

When the weather gets warmer this is a nice place to spend the afternoon.

There are three jetties near The Entrance. Parry's Jetty, Walkins Jetty & Long Jetty. Long Jetty's Tuggerah Lake foreshore reserve has picnic areas, Toilets, Children's Play areas.

A bike track runs along the foreshore between Chittaway Bay & the Entrance.

Long Jetty (-33.352937, 151.486296)

Photo taken by Rhys Pope

2. Norah Head Lighthouse (Bush St, Norah Head)

Nothing more than a lighthouse.

Norah Head Lighthouse (-33.281733, 151.578188)

3. Silky Oak Drive, Morisset
This is a great place to have a close encounter with kangaroos, lots of them! I went there 3 years ago and there were more than 100 kangaroos, but this time there were only about 50. I've seen people feeding them bread, but apparently bread is bad for them and can cause digestive issues. Also be careful with the larger roos, as I've seen them attack people. This field is actually part of the Morisset psychiatric hospital, so it is best to not disturb the patients in the hospital by keeping the noise down.

There is a picnic area near Eucalyptus Drive, Morisset, that's next to Lake Macquarie if you arrive early in the afternoon and have some time to kill.

Kangaroos (-33.126570, 151.513660)

City Extra Review - Circular Quay

Food	★★★
Setting	★★★✰
Service	★★★
Total	9/15

Journo Burger with the lot ($24.50)

Whenever I stay up late, I crave for food, and this is where 24 hour restaurants come in handy. But what happens when you want something other than McDonald's? Off the top of my head there are two 24/7 restaurants in Sydney - Pancake On The Rocks at The Rocks and City Extra at Circular Quay and Parramatta.

The City Extra at Circular Quay caters more to tourists and late night party people. It has the view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from most of the tables on the first floor, I can image how popular they'll be during Vivid Sydney and the New Year Fireworks.

On this particular day M had the Lasagne al Forno ($25) and I ordered their Journo Burger with the lot ($24.50). I did enjoyed the burger and fries very much but I could tell a lot of what I paid for is the location of this prime real estate. This is even more evident in M's Lasagna, it was also quite good, but definitely not $25 good. However we were quite happy since we received around 50% off with the entertainment voucher.

Pros: 24 hours, wide menu choices, all day breakfast, location, friendly staff.
Cons: Price reflects their location.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Lasagne al Forno ($25)

City Extra Circular Quay

For more information visit www.cityextra.com.au

Li'l Darlin Review - Surry Hills

Food	★★★★✰
Setting	★★★★
Service	★★★★
Total	12.5/15

Personal Favourite: Arancini Balls, Grilled Chilli Prawn Pizza, Warm Spiced Butternut Pumpkin Salad, Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak with home made mushroom sauce, and Oven Baked Original Swirls.

Arancini Balls ($12)

It all started with an invite from Mr Simon Hancock to attend a dinner showcase at Li'l Darlin Surry Hills. I've heard nothing but great things about Simon and the events he organises, so M and I quickly pencilled in a time with Simon to visit Li'l Darlin.

Li'l Darlin Surry Hills is only a short stroll from Central Station, a friendly waiter greeted us at the door and sat us down right in the centre of the restaurant. I looked around and was quite surprised to see a good number of people chatting over drinks on a Tuesday night, the whole ambience was warm and cosy with nice music in the background.

Within a few minutes we were presented with the Gluhwein (Mulled Wine). It's served at just the right temperature for a cold night like this. M loved the sweetness and the aroma of the wine. This was followed by three entrees, my favourite being the Arancini Balls (made with risotto and mozzarella), they were crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, the Salt & Pepper Calamari were also fried to perfection.

Out of the three pizzas we tried, the Grilled Chilli Prawn Pizza would be my first pick. The prawns were fresh, flavour combination spot on, and they thoughtfully gave us more chilli on the side. Another highlight was the Mushroom Sauce accompanying the Char-Grilled Steak. The sauce was to die for, rich and creamy with that amazing mushroom taste. The Steak went well with the Pumpkin Salad, the pumpkins were fresh, warm, sweet and melt in your mouth.

Then came the cocktails and dessert, Li'l Darlin has a wide range of cocktails and drinks to choose from, most of them look quite spectacular, too bad I am not much of a cocktail drinker. M's highlight of the night was the Oven Baked Original Swirls, she is a huge fan of Nutella and chocolate desserts, and this one taste just as good as a Max Brenner dessert.

Pros: Good food, wide variety of drinks, cosy atmosphere, friendly staff.

Hot Star Large Fried Chicken (豪大大雞排) Review - Sydney

Food	★★★★★
Total	5/5

Personal Favourite: Original Fried Chicken ($7.90) and Mushrooms ($4.90) or as a combo with a smaller serving of mushrooms ($10.90)

Hot Star Original Fried Chicken

Moo Gourmet Burgers Review - Bondi Beach

Food	★★★★
Setting	★★★★✰
Service	★★★★
Total	12.5/15

Personal Favourite: Wagyu Beef Burger, Beef Avocado and Bacon,

US TV show "Food Paradise" shooting the Deluxe Moo

Food Paradise is an American TV series that features the best food across America. (www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/food-paradise) The producer of the show got in contact with me one day and ask if I was available/interested in eating at Moo Gourmet Burgers at Bondi Beach, and talking about their burgers/food on camera. You all know how much I love the Moo Burgers in Crows Nest, so of course I said yes!

The shoot was on a weekday and M's lunch break isn't as flexible as mine, so I asked my buddy A to join me instead. Bondi really is a beautiful place. And Moo Burgers is located conveniently near a bus stop (even though I drove) with awesome views to the beach.

Lucio Pizzeria Review - Sydney

Food	★★★★✰
Setting	★★★★
Service	★★★★
Total	12.5/15

Personal Favourite: Pastiera Napoletana (Ricotta Cheesecake), Caprese Salad and the classic Margherita pizza.

Pastiera Napoletana (Ricotta Cheesecake) $10.50

The first time I visited Lucio Pizzeria was in early 2013 with M and her parents. I've heard how quickly the tables here fills up (they do not take bookings), so I made sure we arrived just before their opening time 6pm.

A friendly waiter sat us down at their alfresco dinning area while he went and setting up the rest of the tables inside. The whole place was packed within 15 minutes of opening. 

On our most recent visit we weren't as lucky, we arrived around 6:30pm and had to wait nearly half an hour before being seated. So a word of advice, get there early, or be prepared to wait.

Cafe Sydney Review - Sydney

Food	★★★★
Setting	★★★★★
Service	★★★★
Total	13/15

Personal Favourite: Peppered beef tenderloin, spiced sausage roll, baby carrot, spinach puree, jus. Medium rare of course.

Peppered beef tenderloin, spiced sausage roll, baby carrot, spinach puree, jus $39

M has been bugging me for the longest time to take her to Cafe Sydney, but I've been secretly saving this place for her Birthday Surprise.

The table was booked weeks in advance, to make sure that we get the best view by the window. And what a view.