EATING OUT in SYDNEY Pictorials

[Ce'nedra]

Feel free to contribute

Wildfire Restaurant

Cuisine: Seafood/Mediterranean/American

Mixed platter

Various dips that went with the platter

Herb potatoes

Cute miniature tongs!

Chargrilled prawns

Chargrilled chicken & sausages

My plate

Beef

Ahh...the view from Wildfire -the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Address: Overseas Passenger Terminal

West Circular Quay

The Rocks NSW 2000

P: (02) 8273 1222

Fax: (02) 8273 1223

[Ce'nedra]

Kopitiam Cafe

Cuisine: Malaysian

The food here is good and the prices fairly cheap. Variety hmm...not much. The service, however, is atrocious! Sure we came in pretty late but rather than telling us that they were closing soon, they decided to turn the lights off while we were still pigging out! And to top it off, after we payed, they would take our money with no reply and no smile (actually, they looked pretty grumpy).

As you have came to realise, we found the service to be very rude, which is pretty sad considering the food isn't bad at all. With that said, I don't think I'll be returning. There are other good Malaysians around in Sydney. I do like that this place had a very homey, authentic ambience though.

Malacca chendol (dessert drink) -nice and coconut-y

Roti canai (flat bread with curry sauce) -I really liked this. The bread was also crispy and buttery mmm...

Char kuay teow - a bit oily for my liking. I've had better.

Nasi lamek -my first time trying it. I liked it -in fact, they used the same sauce as the one in roti canai curry sauce above.

Hakka-style pork -rich and delicious! The flavours remind me of my mother's cooking which is always a good thing I loved the crunchiness of the wood ear mushrooms.

Address: 594 Harris St

Ultimo NSW 2007

P: (02) 9282 9883

[sandra]

Wildfire looks like Brazilian rodizio...

How was the food?

[Shalmanese]

I've eaten at Kopitam before. Great food, rude service like you said. Still worth a visit anytime you're in that area. A friend of mine was doing an art project at the Powerhouse museum and it was a regular haunt of hers.

[Ce'nedra]

sandra: Yep Wildfire definately had a Brazilian influence with the whole chargrilled meats on sharp ends going on. I thought it was nice but not the best. A bit pricey if you're talking about pure enjoyment of the food (I've tasted better). But it's not all that expensive if you're thinking about it in terms of quantity I suppose...it was basically never-ending supplies of meat!

Shalmanese: Yes it's a real shame with Kopitiam.

I never knew the Powerhouse Museum had a cafe/restaurant?! Does it have a name or is it just referred to as 'Powerhouse Museum'?

[insomniac]

I never knew the Powerhouse Museum had a cafe/restaurant?! Does it have a name or is it just referred to as 'Powerhouse Museum'?

←

as far as I recall when dragging the kids to be 'educated and enriched' (i.e. it was raining) the Powerhouse only has a bog standard cafe

[Ce'nedra]

LOL I see

My friend lives really closeby to the Powerhouse Museum so maybe I can stop by next time I visit her

Tonight I ate at Ichiban Boshi with my friend and had one of my favourite ramen there -tantanmen! It's actually a spin off the Chinese dan dan mian and not really considered a 'ramen' but that doesn't concern me as its sooo good. You must try it if you haven't already done so!

EDIT: I forgot to add that the bowl is HUGE! So filling I think my belly is about to pop soon

Address:

The Galeries Victoria

Level 2, 500 George St

P: (02) 9262 7677

Edited September 24, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[alanamoana]

i think shalmanese meant that the restaurant kopitiam is near the powerhouse museum and that a friend of his ate at kopitiam often because she was spending a lot of time at the museum...NOT that the museum has a restaurant

(right, shalmanese?)

[Ce'nedra]

Oops...thanks for clearing that up for me

[Shalmanese]

i think shalmanese meant that the restaurant kopitiam is near the powerhouse museum and that a friend of his ate at kopitiam often because she was spending a lot of time at the museum...NOT that the museum has a restaurant 

(right, shalmanese?)

←

Yup!

Ichi-ban boshi was also another regular place of mine when I was working in Bondi Junction (they have 3 stores IIRC). If you get in early enough, order the tonkatsu ramen. Otherwise, I usually get the one with grilled, braised pork belly. Giant serving although I think it's mainly the soup which fills you up. I've only managed to finish off an entire bowl of the soup once.

[Ce'nedra]

I've never been to the Bondi Ichiban Boshi. I always go to the Galleries Victoria one since I like to shop around that area every once in awhile (and it's closer for me because I have to go to uni).

Yep yep I've tried the tonkatsu one before as well. Creamy and slurp-worthy mmm...the only probelm is, I remember it was only served after a specific time (and only in limited quantities -I think about 15 per day or something!) and that's also at a very busy hour which can be a real hassle

Once me and my friends tried to order earlier than the specified time and they refused us, saying we had to wait for another half hr (the amount of time we were early) Oh well it was worth it

Edited September 26, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Blue Eye Dragon

Cuisine: Taiwanese (pretty much covers all regional China)

Simplistic but classy surroundings with a Chinese accent

Steamed pork dumplings with Chives, Ginger and Shallot -these were HUGGEEEE! Really good stuff.

This is the HIGHLIGHT of the night! Calamari Rolls with Salted Duck Egg and Seaweed...sooo good! Never tasted anything like it yum..

Crispy Prawn Rolls with House Plum Sauce - these are basically spring rolls with a nori wrapped around them. They were, however, of superior quality to those served at most other restuarants.

Pork Belly slow cooked in Soy, Aniseed, Garlic & Light Chilli - warm and comforting for your stomach

Tofu Stuffed with Minced Pork & Prawns on Hot Plate -one of my sister's favourites

Braised Beef Brisket with Aniseed, Ginger, Light Chilli, Tomato

.........desserts now

Sticky Rice with Chinese Wolfberries & Sultana, finishes with Sweet Peanut Powder and Coriander - I must say, while this doesn't look all that spectacular, this dish, like everything at this restaurant, is superior quality to most Chinese restaurants. You can taste the difference!

Sweet Red Bean with Vanilla Ice Cream

Sticky Rice Cakes in Ginger Syrup & Sweet Peanut Powder - I normally don't like this dessert but it's quite nice here

Oh and can I just recommend that if you ever go here, some other dishes that are said to be really good are:

- Stewed Beef Shin with Sesame Oil and Shallot

- Chicken with Water Chestnuts & Onion in Bean Curd Pastry

- Prawns with Jade's Bloody Plum Sauce

I must come back for these!

The service here is also worthy of making a note about. Very welcoming and helpful with plenty of suggestions

The ambience is great too. It looks like an upper-end restarant but without the deafening silence while you're eating - I was fairly loud while chatting away and rolling (not literally ) with laughter (friend's jokes) at this place and noone thought it out of the ordinary

While the decoration is kept to a minimum, there are some beautiful Chinese ornaments that are tastefully displayed.

Address:

Shop 2, 42 Harris Street, Pyrmont

P: (02) 9518 9955

[Peter Green]

Ce'nedra,

How was Blue Dragon handling the service? All at once, or are they staging the dishes out one by one in the "new" manner?

Cheers,

Peter

[Ce'nedra]

Ce'nedra,

How was Blue Dragon handling the service?  All at once, or are they staging the dishes out one by one in the "new" manner?

Cheers,

Peter

←

Hi Peter

The dishes were given out one by one, which is a bit of a *shock shock* for an Asian restaurant as we all know they normally don't believe in the order from entre --> main --> dessert hahaha!

Service was particularly great here; you should try this place some day if you ever come to Sydney

[Ylee]

The calamari rolls were my highlight too, when I visited that restaurant. Looks like you got way more peanut powder on your dessert than I did though. (My pictures here : http://blog.lemonpi.net/?p=1054 )

[Ce'nedra]

Ylee: I'm glad you enjoyed it too

I shall check out your blog soon. Does it have other restaurant reviews too? I love reading up on those, eg Grabyourfork (EXCELLENT blog).

[Ce'nedra]

For my cousin's (late) birthday, she invited me and her other girlfriends (thoughh I must take the credit for suggesting the place hehe) to a girlie day out for High Tea at the the Tea Centre (in the Glasshouse). If you read the blog The Journal of a Girl who Loves to Cook, you will know that the blogger Su Yin held this delightful High Tea

Not only was it delicious and worth alot of effort and time to prepare, it was also a real bargain!

Only $35 per set for 2! You just don't get that for high tea (split that in two and that's $17.50 per perseron)! Anyway, if you're interested in attending an exclusive High Tea (booking is essential) by Su Yin (she is returning to Malaysia soon noooo! ), keep a look out on her blog as she might be holding another one due to high request. Do it now before it's too late arghhh!

Anyway, we all had a great time and Su Yin was very sweet too

Address: Tea House @ The Glasshouse

146 Pitt Street, Sydney