Appetite Sydney - Life is Too Short to Have a Bad Food

Chef Gallery

2010-11-01T22:32:00.000+11:00

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

2010-10-31T23:27:00.000+11:00

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

2010-09-30T00:13:00.001+10:00

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

2010-08-24T11:05:00.003+10:00

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

2010-08-07T01:10:00.045+10:00

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)

2010-08-03T20:06:00.000+10:00

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

2010-07-12T19:10:00.003+10:00

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

Tetsuya's

2010-06-07T23:36:00.004+10:00

Here come the big one... by big I mean big in taste, experience and price as well. This will be a long story as we had 13 courses on offer during our visit to Tetsuya's and each has it's own uniqueness.

We booked the restaurant since December 2009(6 months prior to the actual dinner) and received confirmation that we gonna dine in a private dining room.

As you all know it's a 'No Choice for Paying Customer' policy in Tetsuya's. We're greeted by Adam our head waiter for our room and he explained that the whole menu for the night.

We start off with Avocado Soup with Potato Ice Cream & Tonburi (picture: top left), it's a chill avocado soup which was quite refreshing and the potato ice cream to be honest it's not my cup of tea (because I believe white ice cream should taste vanilla).

Moving on to Pacific Oysters with Rice Vinegar & Ginger (picture: top right), the quality of the oysters were top notch and fresh. On my opinion the sauce really lift the freshness and leave a fresh feeling on your mouth.

Third course was Sashimi of Kingfish with Blackbean & Orange (picture: top), I'm a fan of Japanese sashimi dish and the quality of the fish didn't disappoint me at all and the sauce was outstanding it has a sharp flavor which you can't get in normal sushi shop. It work really well with the recommended white wine to go with the dish.

Continuing with the next fish course, it's a scampi three ways Scampi in Tea with Lemon Infused Oil, Scampi with Capsicum and Scampi with Frozen Egg Yolk Wrapped in Pancetta (picture: top left). Adam recommended to start from Scampi in Tea with Lemon Infused Oil and move clockwise. You pulled the scampi from the oil (note: don't drink the tea), though you can't really taste the oil so much it help to increase the flavor of the next 2 scampi as both of them were quite dry and... flavorless (maybe).

The next fish course was Tetsuya signature dish Confit Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Celery & Apple (picture: main picture). Petuna's trout are from the Pacific Salmon family of trout, also known as rainbow or steelhead trout, or even salmon trout. It was cooked in low temperature oil (Confit), the fish was full of flavor, tender and garnish did work well with the fish. The only complaint I can think: portion size is too small for a great dish like this. If there's a fish and chips shop sell this dish, I can have it everyday without any problem.

Last fish course of the night was Grilled Fillet of Barramundi with Braised Wood Ear & Chestnut Mushrooms (picture: top right), the chestnut mushroom texture was similar to risotto with no crunch. If it's served before the signature dish, it might have a better impression on me since the signature dish was the height of the fish course.

Moving on to the meat course, first is Braised Ox Tail with Sea Cucumber & Yuzu (picture: top left). I would say out of the three meat courses on that night the ox tail was the most satisfying in term of flavor, again the problem was the size. It was too small for me and the amount of meat on the plate was to little compare to the sea cucumber.

Next was Twice-Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Foie Gras (picture: top right). First time ate a game bird and I would say it's good the meat had a good texture, it's not hard and had a good flavor. Foie Gras was alright, it did work well with the spatchcock.

Last meat course was Seared Veal Fillet with Sea Urchin and Wasabi Butter (picture: below), about this dish I had my reservation to it. I didn't like the sauce at all, it might be the Sea Urchin or it could be the wasabi butter, whatever it was I personally think that this shouldn't be served at all.

Dessert should be a finishing touch after any great meal, however the three desserts 'Banana Ice Cream with Pineapple Sorbet' (picutre: below left), 'Cannellini Beans with Mascarpone & Soy Caramel (picture: below right)', 'Chocolate Pave with Cream Cheese Ice Cream & Cinnamon Twigs (picture: none)' were so-so and didn't have the wow factor that you want from a pudding.

Banana Ice Cream with Pineapple Sorbet probably the one I would say reasonable. While Cannellini Beans with Mascarpone & Soy Caramel was ok... it feels like a condense milk mix with a mascarpone and the chocolate pave taste too salty as they put too much rock salt in the pave.

After I finished the dessert, I didn't feel like I want a second helping. So we decided to order Coffee which they provided Macaroons as complementary.

As for the summary, the experience was good, we enjoyed the service and ambiance was superb.

Adam and the waiter/waitress understand about the food that were served to us. They're always checking our room to see if we need anything which I said is good, however it's too often which sometimes it stopped us from talking.

The fish courses were the highlights of the dinner while the rest left me with a mix feeling, feels like I didn't understand what the chef tried to achieve from meat and dessert courses as the flavor and ingredients mix a bit unique for me.

Tetsuya's

529 Kent Street, SYDNEY

Taste of Shanghai - World Square

2010-06-06T10:45:00.002+10:00

After a drought of update in May, because I'm a bit busy and some other issues (sorry guys). We will start with Taste of Shanghai in World Square. This is the third installment from 'Taste of Shanghai' brand the first two are at Eastwood and Ashfield.

We came after 6 p.m. and the queue is so long. Just after 6.30 p.m. we got our table, went in there and it's feel like any other chinese restaurant. Full of noise and squeeze, though the interior and menu is quite good and fancy for a chinese restaurant.

We start with Steamed Chicken & Mushroom Dumpling. It's a dumpling with a chicken & mushroom mince with a soup inside, the skin is very delicate and if you put to much power in the chopstick it's gonna break.

Then come Fish Fillet with Crab Meat Wrapper on Fire, my friend though it's gonna be a crab stick instead the crab meat. You really can taste the delicate crab soup cutting through the soft fish mix together very well, the soup didn't overpower the fish.

Grandma Pork Belly come next. If you really like pork belly(fat), you need to order this dish. It might not be the strongest dish in the table, but the meat are so tender and moist. You might expect that the dish will have a strong flavor gonna punch through your mouth. But it's not, the meat and soup have a mild taste. (Picture: main picture)

Last dish that we ordered is Garlic Bamboo Chicken(deep fried) when it come down to the table I can smell the coriander and probably bamboo(not sure about the smell of bamboo). It's nice, tender and not greasy at all which it can be done easily if you deep fried any stuff. You just can't stop eating the crumb and peanut that they use as garnish. The only concern about this dish are the chicken was served in bone and don't have a lot of meat.

This proof that Shanghai cuisine is milder compare to the other chinese cuisine I've come across before. I believe that there's not much MSG on the dishes.

It's a nice chinese restaurant and like other chinese restaurant you can't expect much from the service or atmosphere.

Taste of Shanghai

Shop 9.07, World Square Shopping Centre

644 George Street SYDNEY

Journal

2010-04-25T18:26:00.006+10:00

Another cold Monday morning in Melbourne, if I was in Sydney probably I won't even bother thinking to go to office. I will just go around the Rocks and have some warm coffee/food.

At first I'm planning to go to Degraves Street area and my sis told me to try Journal Cafe.

We ordered 'Bacon and Egg Roll' and 'Avocado on Toast'.

It's a good 'wake up call' breakfast and I don't why but it feels so relaxing sitting in there in the morning. Probably, because I'm in a holiday mood or it's just Melbourne atmosphere.

Journal
Ground 253-265 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Hako

2010-04-24T23:33:00.002+10:00

Another story from Melbourne CBD, this time is Hako. My sister saw this restaurant from another food blog called Melbourne gastronome (use google to found it) and she heard that they have a unique Ebi Tempura.

Went into the restaurant I was impressed by their interior and atmosphere, it's a simple yet elegant style(picture above) and it's not a squeeze type of restaurant.

As we are not sure what to order, we asked the waitress what is recommended in this restaurant and she recommended a blue swimmer crab meat and tobiko with shiso leaf wrap. So we order that and boy it's sure full of flavour. You need to wrap the whole crab in leaf and have a one full bite burst of fresh flavour.

Then come the Ebi Tempura, I'm not sure what the wrap made from since it's not a normal batter more like a thinly slice pastry. One thing for sure, you can taste the freshness of the prawn.

For main courses are Teriyaki Chicken and Fish Special. Though some people may said it's only a teriyaki chicken, I believe that this dish taste much better than the food court hot bar teriyaki chicken. What really nice about it that I can taste a good flavour of well cooked chicken and just enough acidity from the sauce.

As for the fish dish, it was a fish of the day thing so I'm not sure with the fish type. The sauce was very light soy and there's a hint of sake. It's quite a clean dish without any taste of fishiness. The only complain about this dish, which is come from me personally, there's too much bone in the fish.

Overall it's good experience with the restaurant and food.

Hako

310 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Quirk's Grocery & DeliCafe

2010-04-20T10:03:00.003+10:00

Saturday.... while everyone still sleeping in their house. I already on my way to Redfern to documented an event called Indonesia Culture Day 2010. Arrived in the location a little bit too early and all of my friends hadn't come.

While I was waiting for Indonesia Culture Day 2010 to start, I saw this cafe across the road and think 'maybe I should give it a try'.

And I did, when in there and straight away noticed they have a good selection of bread and a simple breakfast menu. The interior is nice and rustic which make you feel 'it's time to relax and chill down a little bit'.

I ordered their breakfast special which consist of sausage, bacon, mushroom, tomato, bread and egg.

With accompany of coffee, the coffee was quite light and have a strong flavour.

While I was waiting for the food, I noticed that there're a lot of local people from the area come to buy their bread/pastry and in no time the cafe was full and running.

Although the breakfast menu was quite simple, I'm impressed by the selection of fresh salad and pastry available. I will definitely go back and try their bread.

Quirk's Grocery & DeliCafe
74 Pitt Street, Redfern

Spice I Am

2010-03-29T20:20:00.002+11:00

Back to Sydney and with some extra spices.

This time we visit Spice I Am in the city. It was a hot day and for some reason we decided to eat something with spice.

We ordered 'Jungle Curry', 'Papaya Green Salad' and 'Basil Crispy Chicken'. The waiter warned us that the Jungle Curry is very hot and I though how hot can it be.

After the food came, I took a spoonfull of curry and I must admit it took me by surprise that the curry is really hot and it didn't stop there. The papaya salad is spicy as well (more spicier than other thai restaurant I've been to). Luckly the cripsy chicken has a mild taste.

If you want to dine there, sometimes you need to wait in a queue because the place is small and be warned that if they say it's spicy it's true.

Spice I Am

90 Wentworth Avenue
Surry Hills

Nobu

2010-03-28T23:23:00.002+11:00

Let's change our pace a little bit. This time it will be Nobu.

Some of you might be familiar with the name 'Nobu'. It's no surprise, because the international flagship restaurant based in Manhattan is famous for celebrity hang-out.

Being famous for it's Japanese fusion, I have big expectation that the food will be outstanding and I wasn't wrong. It's something different from your normal Japanese dish.

My sister and I started with 'beef fillet tataki, onion ponzu and garlic chips' and 'saute mushroom salad'

The beef taste very light and easy to be have as a starter and the mushroom salad is very refreshing just perfect before you have the main course.

As for our mains, we ordered 'assorted tempura' and 'black cod with miso'. The tempura was light and crunchy as the batter is very light. For the black cod, you can taste the miso in the fish and it's break apart in your chop stick.

Nobu

Crown Entertainment Complex, Ground floor
8 Whiteman St, Southbank

Melbourne

St. Ali - Outpost

2010-03-28T22:29:00.003+11:00

Second post from Melbourne is for St. Ali Coffe.

Apparently, this guy is known as patron saint of coffee. It was because he introduced coffee to Muslim mystics in the 15th century (you can read more details on their website, http://www.stali.com.au/the-saint.php).

We went there for brunch and to my surprise there're a lot of office people in there. While we're waiting for our food, we talked with 2 locals and have a good chat. Then I learned that both of them are photographers, we talked about their experiences and achievements.

Then our food came which are as above pictures(sorry guys I forgot the name). I must admit ever since I went to Melbourne and try their food, I learned(I won't say converted) that salads can have a good taste with a good dressing of course.

St. Ali - Outpost
9 Yarra Street,South Yarra
Melbourne

Birdman Eating

2010-03-28T21:35:00.002+11:00

For the next few post, I'm gonna put a report from my trip in Melbourne.

First up is Birman Eating, I heard from my sister that this place has a unique breakfast dish such as black rice with coconut yogurth and mango or home made crumpet.

We went there and order their speciality baked egg of the day (you need to go there and see their black board for the variation) and ricota hotcakes with berry compote and vanilla ice cream.

The baked egg taste delicious, it's a simple dish with eggplant(couple of spices, I don't know what >.<). On the other hand the ricota hotcakes a bit so-so. However, the experience and atmosphere in there is very relaxing.

Birdman Eating
238 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Melbourne

Kingsley Steak & Crabhouse

2010-02-17T21:07:00.004+11:00

Kingsley.... I managed to spare some time to go to this place after I came back from Melbourne and I must say the meat quality did not disappoint me.

As you can see on the top, I ordered Wagyu Rib-Eye (400g) 350 day grain-fed, marble score 6-7, qld, with bois-boudron $56.9. The meat is heaven for a meat lover like me and they don't play around with the serving(actually you need to pay for the side dish) it just serve with a simple sauce.

As always in good western restaurant, we always serve by a piece of bread except this one we were served a half loaf of fresh bread. I came out warm and flaky, I assume it's just freshly baked from the oven.

These are the other dishes:

- Kingsleys Burger $19.9
grain fed beef, bacon, cheddar, rocket & beetroot relish with chips

- King Crab Carpet Bag $36.9
crab meat & tarragon butter with bèarnaise

- Mud Crab (QLD)

Singaporean Chilli Crab

Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse

Restaurant 10/6, Cowper Wharf Rd,

Woolloomooloo

Danks Street Depot

2010-02-14T22:31:00.003+11:00

Ah... a late update for this restaurant(sorry guys been busy for some reason). I went to this restaurant on 23 January 2010, the week before I went to Melbourne. This restaurant was recommended by Clari(even though she never try it herself).

When I arrived there, it was a comfortable restaurant. A bit different from fine dining restaurant but it didn't match up to cafe category.

Back to food, I ordered slow cook lamb(pic: the one on the top) and I must say that it taste like lamb curry back home in Indonesia. If it was serve with rice I would believe the chef is an Indonesian. It's a very relaxing place to have a breakfast or brunch early on the day, a quite place and homey.

The following are what my friends order(from left to right):

- Poached Eggs with Hash - 2 Eggs served with Herbed Tomato, Sourdough Toast and your choice of Bacon or Silverbeet Hash

- Panzanella Salad - Ox heart tomatoes, roasted red Capsicum, dried chunks of Sourdough, Anchovy, Basil and Parsley with a Tomato Dressing and Parmesan

- Chicken Sandwich - Biodynamic Chicken stuffed and roasted then mixed with roasted Corn and Mayonnaise. Served on Rustic Loaf with Rocket.

Danks Street Depot
1/2 Danks Street (Cnr Young Street), WATERLOO

Malacca Straits

2010-01-14T23:26:00.003+11:00

Another one of my favorite lunch takeaway around North Sydney. Because they cooked the food fresh from the wok and even the hot bar foods are great. If you do have extra time to wait go for the wok option.

left - nasi goreng

right - hokkien mie with chicken and prawn (special on monday/tuesday only)

I do always get these foods with extra sambals sauce(warning sambals means chili in indo/malay). They have option for vegetarian for all of the wok dishes which is good for PV as he had decided to become vegetarian for no good reason.

pad thai

For those who work in North Sydney, this is a piece of advice for you lot to avoid the queue:

"Come before 12.00 p.m."

Malacca Straits
Mount Street Food Court
99 Mount Street, NORTH SYDNEY

Bourke Street Bakery Cafe

2010-01-13T21:59:00.008+11:00

Ah~ the smell of freshly baked bread and coffee in the morning is a heaven for some people and after I went to Bourke Street Bakery, I was converted.

It's not your normal bakery around the corner of your house(it might be for those who lived in Surry Hills) and you might be surprised by the queue on Saturday and Sunday morning.

What we ordered:

*sorry guys I forgot all of the tarts name... I just enjoy the food too much this time and forgot to write the tart name

Bourke Street Bakery Cafe

633 Cnr Bourke St and Devonshire

SURRY HILLS NSW 2010

Pier

2009-12-27T23:27:00.004+11:00

Pier the best seafood restaurant by 'Sydney Morning Herald' Good Food Guide 2010. When I saw this restaurant in the book, I though 'How good can it be? It's only a seafood'. But, last week when I went there and tried the food. I was wrong, it's really that good and I will come back again in the future to try other dishes.

For the entree we ordered 'Gazpacho' and 'Seared scallop with white and black truffle'. The Cone of Kingfish Tartare was served as a complementary by the chef.

We get a white wine to go with the seafood dishes, it's Albert Mann - Riesling Grand Cru Schlossber 2007 (which I can't found it in Dan Murphy's)

I do recommend you to get my main course of Steamed Sea bass - 'textures of seasonal mushrooms' ($48.00, top left). The textures mushrooms consist of puree, jelly, foam, crumble and mushroom. The other 2 are Beef - soubise - caramelised veal sweetbreads($56.00, top right, order by FW) and Slow Roasted Lobster - white asparagus - pancake - kale - jus($95.00, bottom, order by EL).

Pre-desert, Kiwifruit sorbet with custard and petals. I'm not sure what the white powder is, maybe I should ask next time.

As I have challenge myself in the main course by ordering steamed sea bass, I though I should give it a go on the Lemon and Olive Oil Ice Cream - fig - custard and I was delighted. It was fresh and summery.

EL ordered Souffle - cream - peach syrup. It's the first time I tried souffle and now I understand what the means that souffle should be light.

We do end up spending around $160 for each person, but it's a money well spend as you can't get the experience else where (at least for now).

Pier

594 New South Head Road, Rose Bay

Sushi Tengoku

2009-12-26T14:13:00.005+11:00

If I were a food writer, I would put this place as a hidden gem restaurant. It's hidden in a small place between a laundry service and electronic shop in Kensington. It is a family run restaurant, though the only downfall about this place will be it's service. It could be slow at a time and you need to pre-order some of the dishes before hand.

But don't be fooled by it's appearance and review from other people in the net, the quality of the fish are very fresh and you can't get it in any sushi shop. I would dare to say that the sushi and sashimi are much better compare to 'Sake Restaurant & Bar' (this is my personal preference). If you see the price for each sushi or sashimi, it could be overwhelming for some people (i.e. $3.00 for a piece salmon nigiri, but see the picture below it will justify the price).

I could spend more time in writing about the food, but why wasting more time there's only 1 word to say about the food. Great! One advice before I close this post: If you want to come here, make a booking to avoid disappointment.

What we order:

Top (from left to right) - Salmon Maki, Ebi Tempura, Baked Scallop
Middle (from left to right) - Chawan Mushi, Mix Sashimi
Bottom (from left to right) - Salmon Nigiri, Salmon Aburi

Sushi Tengoku

121 Anzac Parade, Kensington

Rag & Famish Hotel

2009-12-25T12:16:00.011+11:00

If you work in North Sydney.You probably have the same question everyday "what's for lunch?" is it gonna be another chinese takeaway or a piece of bread from Subway?

Usually me and my friends will go to Mount Street food court to have some Malaysian food, Pho or kebab. But this time, we decided to go to Rag and have a pie with couple of beer.

This is my favorite food in Rag, Beef & Guinness Pie with mash and peas ($10.00). It's a good bargain for a pie with chunky beef and a good gravy (not your normal frozen pie).

The other thing that I like about this place is the atmosphere in the outside table area, it makes you feel relax and don't want to go back to the office after you finish your meal (which is bad, considering we still have another 3-4 hours in the office after lunch).

Other dish:

Calamari & Chips ($9.00)

Rag & Famish Hotel

199 Miller St, North Sydney

Sake Restaurant & Bar

2009-12-21T20:44:00.004+11:00

When the first time I heard about this restaurant, I was tempted by it's sake selections. 50 different types of sake and couple of Japanese Beer which imported straight from Japan.

I decided to go to this restaurant with my friend AK and his wife WB. I should explain that AK is an expert in Japanese culture and alcohol among us. When we arrived in the restaurant we were greeted by "Irrashaimase" from the waiter/waitress with an english accents, which we founded it's very funny(no offense guys).

When you went through the entry door, you can see all of the sakes that they have which are stored in a special area and you were welcomed by the modern Japanese interior design.

Chilled 'Salmon Tartare with Chives, Wasabi & Soy' (AUD $15.00) was our starter, I remember the chillness of salmon and soy mix really well which I could say taste must better than a normal salmon sashimi and soy. By saying that I notice that the soy taste a bit richer than normal soy in a sushi takeaway shop.

'Butter-soy salmon grilled, crispy skinned New Zealand salmon with butter soy & lemon' (AUD $29.00). The salmon taste wonderful, I could taste the miso run through salmon meat. Though if you did not eat it with it's sauce the salmon taste so-so.

Sake Restaurant & Bar

Argyle Percinct,

12 Argyle Street, The Rocks

Pony Lounge & Dining

2009-12-20T23:44:00.004+11:00

Welcome to appetitesydney first post.

I remembered that my best friends (AS and NH, I missed you guys) recommend this restaurant for it's reasonable price and great food. And I decided to give a go on my birthday dinner. It's a quite interesting restaurant because you can see the kitchen from where you're sitting(open kitchen style). By seeing the menu, I can tell that they change the menu based on the season since I can't found the recommended Crispy Skin Duck Pressed that was recommended by AS wasn't there and it was confirmed by the waitress that they just changed the menu to summer menu.

I decided to order 'Eye Fillet, heirloom tomato, baby radish and chilli, aged balsamic' (AUD $42.00). Though I have my doubt about balsamic vinegar as the sauce, but I was pleasantly surprise on how good the taste go with the meat. As for the meat it was cooked perfectly, I could not asked for a better medium rare, it was grilled to crisp on the outside and pink in the inside and you could taste the smokiness from the wood fire grill.

These are what we order for the night:

Left - Crisp Kurabuta Port Shoulder, Sichuan Carrots, Choy Sum, Chilli Caramel (AUD $32.00)

Right - Tasmanian Salmon, Salad of Pickled Beetroot, Orange, Mint and Fetta (AUD $29.50)

Pony Lounge & Dining

Shops 14-15 The Rocks Centre,
Cnr Kendall Lane & Argyle Streets, The Rocks