Bejing Alley, Sydney

An array of different dishes that I haven't tried before including the cold noodle dish, some sort of omelette dish and a potato wrap. I was sort of thinking what the f**k am I eating but I was happy to try new things. The noodle dish was pleasantly tasty and the other dishes accompanied the noodle dish well. The omelette is definitely a side dish which was crunchy on the inside. 

The potato wrap was not to my liking but I think perhaps because of my ignorant taste buds.  The potato was shredded and seemed radish-like. It seem to be raw.

Come here if you're curious and want a quick bite.  It's on George St right by the cinema.

Prices: about 10 per dish

 jianbing

random potato wrap

Cafe Guilia - Chippendale

Cafe Guilia, I have been told is normally a great place to go and the food is amazing.  I had a mixed experience on this particular occasion. So here is what happened on this particular instance...

My chai was good.  It's not powdered chai.

My egg and spinach muffin was well put together but my friend's Kieffer Omette was raw and burnt.  We didn't say anything because we were in a rush with an apartment showing nearby.  My friend also had to wait some time and got her food after other people who had gotten there after us.  We guessed that since it was busy - they had messed up her order and quickly cooked her food. 

Prices: About 15 per person

Cooking time

Here were my efforts to make a delicious but healthy meal. Fish in a light tomato sauce with a side of tomato, basil and cauliflower.  With a side salad of pear and parmesan. 

Yum.  The flavours don't quite mesh well together but I love pear and parmesan cheese.

 

Element 6 - West Ryde

This is my new favourite cafe.  It's a local; the service is fantastic, the food is amazing, it has character and atmosphere and I used the wifi.  What more could you ask for from a cafe?  I love it.

I had the soy chai latte which was very tasty with a touch of honey.  It's not powdered chai. I also had the bacon and egg roll which had a sweet chutney and onion relish.  Maybe it had a touch too much chutney but overall I was very impressed.

My work colleague Mr Choi suggested I check it out and I didn't really make the effort but I got there in the end.  Love it

Prices: About 15 all up for myself

I then came back here on Good Friday where I ordered more tastiness for breakfast.  Best Cafe locally, forget Eastwood, Top Ryde, Meadowbank... this is where it's at.

Poached eggs with sourdough toast

Vegetarian Breakfast

Home Thai, Sydney CBD

Home Thai - Usually a very busy restaurant. I think it may have lost it's touch since moving closer to Darling Harbour.  It's old location which seems to be replaced by a Korean restaurant had a lot of character and buzz.  It also had a massive queue.

This new location has a lot more space but I think perhaps in transition has lost quality in food, atmosphere and allure. I still think Home Thai is worth a visit. It's a nice place for thai - just not the amazing raving reviews I would have given it previously in June 2013.

On this particular occasion I shared some Siu Mais, Pad Thai and a coconut curry prawn dish.  The food was good, not as hot as it could be but still tasty.  Check it out thai lovers ;)

Prices: about 15 per person

Din Tai Fung North Sydney

I miss working near Chinatown.  North Sydney is in dire need of a dumpling house and better yum cha.  That's why there is such a massive line for the take-away menu of Din Tai Fung.

Unless you get there at 11AM; be prepared to queue for a very long time.



The takeaway menu can appear to be a bit steep compared to the normal world square menu. I came here at 1130 with a few other work colleagues and we racked up a $250 bill which ended up being about 25 per person.  We enjoyed luscious mouthfuls of dumplings and other dishes

Signature dish on the left

prawn dumpling

ze chicken

dumplings in chili sauce

The Australian Hotel

I came here for a few drinks on my birthday because you can book a table and there's a good variety of beers here.  As I was getting tipsy, I decided it was best to eat. I stole a slice of pizza from one friend and I stole a slice from another friend.  Super cheesey, filling and exotic.  I did not enjoy the emu pizza as much as the kangaroo pizza.

I think the pizza is great if you are a tourist or quite drunk. 

Pho Pasteur (the Westfield one), Parramatta, Sydney (now closed)

I ordered the vietnamese pancake which can only be ordered when it's not busy or if you're willing to wait approximately 20 minutes which was fine with me.  I also ordered some rice paper where it nicely accompanied the herbs.

You roll up the herbs and the pancake together.  It's very tasty.  It's a little bit dear than the Pho Pasteur around the corner but it seems to be cleaner.

Price per person: $10-15

Mars Hill, Parramatta

A touch of chai latte.  I like the drinks at Mars Hill. The food is average and cheap.  The drinks are pretty consistent and tasty. I used to come here when I was a bit younger and it has changed over the years from laid back vibe, trendy to at times cheap/scummy to trendy again.  

I used to get the Mint De Slice which was pretty good or the chai latte.  I've only ordered food when I've been desperately hungry or when I'm low on funds.  A nice joint to hang out at occasionally.

It doesn't quite compete with my new fave - Element 6 but it's a nice joint.  A splatter of art and music to enjoy too.

Check out Denham's arms/pecks - he's my friend who has an indian background but can be periodically be mistaken for south american.

The Rose, Chippendale, Sydney

So the Rose Hotel was one of the local watering holes when I was university. Since then, occasionally over the past few years I've caught up with some friends who work at University and so when I was going to have a casual catch up, I thought it was time for another visit.

It's got a mesh of sticky floor icky pub at the front to cool, trendy beer garden at the back and the new additions of the cocktail bar upstairs and the renovated side library-feel on the ground floor.

This particular night I shared the chicken parma and a cheese platter accompanied by some wine.  The parma had a ridiculous amount of cheese on top which was naughty but delicious.  The cheese trio had some triple brie, cheddar and blue vein.  My sharing guest had a particular order of eating cheese but I was slightly tipsy and didn't follow instructions.  I think I'd give the cheese a skip next time unless you are looking to nibble.

Price: About 20 per person + wine

Menya Mappen City, Sydney CBD

I've been here a few times and I still find it like a robotic chain form of eating.  Express eating but slightly classier than food court eating.  You pick your base dish (which I choose Beef Udon) and pick additional toppings and sides. The egg on top is a must and seems to be very popular.

Finish your meal, don't socialise too much and get out.  There's a whole line of people after your seat :)

A good, cheap spot for express eating.

Prices: Less than 10 depending on how greedy you get on the toppings :)

Pino's, Crows Nest

The hottest Italian looking who was actually Irish waiter served me when I came here.  This is a very popular restaurant in Crows Nest so you should reserve or you'll have to wait for a while for a table.  

The octopus salad was very uniquely presented and surprisingly quite filling - not loaded with lettuce but rather a mix of mostly potato and octopus. My friend said the pasta was fresh and met his taste bud expectations.

A good joint with lots of atmosphere and lots of 5 o clock shadow waiters.

Price: Roughly 25 per person

Herb Bread

Octopus Salad

Boscaiola pasta

Pho Ann, Cabramatta, Sydney

My friend and I bought the same dress in Cabramatta and decided to eat some pho to celebrate.  After seeing a sign that said Pho for everyone, I thought that giraffe looks inviting.  Now back to the food - The pho was tasty as expected for the majority of Vietnamese restaurants in Cabramatta. I love loading it up with all the herbs!  The broth was nice.

Pho Ann is a nice place for lunch but it only serves Pho so don't expect any other dishes. It's slightly one dimensional in diversity but if you like Pho then you're set.

Price: About $9 per bowl of pho

The Forresters, Surry Hills, Sydney

Apparently Forresters is known for it's $5 steaks on Mondays which I'll have to go back to check out but on this particular instance I had a few pub classics of calamari, nachos and to satisfy any guilt- - some vegetables.

Overall, the food was nice and portions were fair.  I wasn't a fan of the sauces or the cauliflower. I thought there was a significant amount of garlic on the green vegetables which may heavily affect your breath.  I don't have anything too spectacular to say about the other food but I thought it was decent.

Prices: About 20-25 per person

Salt and Pepper Calamari

Vegetarian Nachos

Cauliflower