Sushia, North Sydney

Update: The Special  Bento box is no longer available and their sushi quality has dramatically decreased! No longer my favourite sushi eatery in North Sydney. :(

I'm completely and utterly gutted about the quality of sushi and sashimi in North Sydney.  However my favourite sushi if I had to pick one is Sushia in Greenwood.  I always try to get there early to get the special bento box. I think it's got a nice variety of sushi, sashimi, and other bits and bobs.

Failing to get this, I get the other variety mix box which is $9.90 which is basically the box below without the sashimi, seaweed inari, random prawn and the other tid bits in the top right corner.

Special Bento Box $11.90

Grill'd, Parramatta, Sydney

I think for a chain; Grill'd has done well to compete with the fast food chains as well as the pubs/cafes that serve delicious burgers.  I've only been to Grill'd in Brisbane and Parramatta where both instances showed consistent, delicious and happy burger endings.  I still vote for Chur Burger for quality and value and atmosphere... Sydney's best burgers are definitely there. But I'd still go to Grill'd.

The notion is around having healthy burgers.  I don't know if there is such a thing as a healthy burger but Grill'd burgers don't taste as processed as the fast food chains but you are probably paying double for it. I think it's worth it

Grilled 100% grass fed lean lamb, avocado, tasty cheese, salad, relish & herbed mayo. $12.90 with chips $4.50

My friend demolished her lamb burger.  I think that speaks for itself.

Grilled chicken breast, brie cheese, thick cranberry sauce, salad & herbed mayo. $12.50

My other friend also eradicated this chicken brie burger.  He had just eaten at Grill'd yesterday too and yet he suggested that we come here for a catch up.

Grilled 100% grass fed scotch fillet, free range egg, mesculin, tomato, spanish onion, mustard, beetroot relish, herbed mayo on ciabatta.  $15.50

I slowly got through this steak sandwich.  It was massive. I would have wanted a bit more beetroot relish but other than that, I thought it was an awesome steak sandwich.

They didn't ask how I'd like it cooked but luckly I don't mind rare.

St Honore Sourdough Bakery, North Sydney

St Honore is a cosy and feels very warm inside. My work colleague loves this bakery and introduced me into the delights of vegetarian rolls, little cakes and other little treats.  I had a craving for one of their spinach and feta vegetarian rolls.  It's got a nice salty bite to it with a  bit of crunch.

It hit my spot and so that was my lunch for the day! It will cost you a few bucks for a treat.  I'll come back to try a few other things.

 

Grasshopper, Sydney CBD

I came here with two friends and we got a jug of cocktails and ordered a few bar snacks downstairs. It's one of the original, hole in the wall small bars. It's a nice, trendy, dark bar.  Go upstairs for a posh dinner.

The chicken wings were tasty. They were nice and crunchy though the sherry and soy sauce was a bit too salty.  After a few wings your taste buds start to become numb.

Crispy chicken wings, sherry, soy and sesame dressing $20

Below, the eggplant paste was flavoursome.  The tofu was nice with the eggplant but some more tofu would have helped balance the flavours out better.

Eggplant with hot bean paste $6

New China Restaurant, West Ryde

I came here on a Monday where I was the only customer at the time.  It was a deserted ghost town but I've been here before and enjoyed the food. Overall, I think the food was good. There are a lot of dishes on the menu and I've seen the local Chinese come in and order delicious lamb on the hotplate and other dishes.

I had a weird situation with the house wine. The white was fine and fresh. The red house wine was clearly off. When I told the waiter at the end, he sniffed it and said the bottle had been opened for a week and it was fine. I encouraged him to drink the wine but he didn't.  So maybe play it safe and either order a bottle of wine or don't order at all. The house wine is only $4 so I didn't push for a refund but I felt sorry for anyone who was going be ordering red wine after me. I was slightly annoyed that he didn't offer a refund but you need to let the little things go in life :)

Prices: About 20 per person plus drinks

Ghost town

Fungus with onion - About $10

 I love the fungus dish. It's a cold dish but the textures are absolutely delightful and it's a great side dish to any meal.  It was about complementing some of the more spicer dishes.

Dumplings in chilli sauce - about $9

 The dumplings were a tad dry and overcooked. The sauce was nice enough. Nothing to really rival the dumplings at HuTong in Melbourne but they were okay. I don't think I would order this dish again.

Chilli with Chicken - About $20

 The chilli with chicken (because it was mostly chilli) was nice. Little bits of fried chicken mixed in with tonnes of chilli, peanuts, spring onions and random bits of ginger. It was nice enough but filled with chillis.

As you can see, it was mostly chilli

The Point Deli - Mc Mahon's Point

My friend and I love this place for lunch. It's a fresh, cosy little cafe that serve really well presented, fresh food.  For about $12, you can eat something funky fresh, healthy and enjoy the welcoming environment.  It's about a 10 minute walk from the main part of North Sydney.

They have different food every time I go there. On these two specific occasions I found the corn fritter and lamb salad.  It tasted homely, fresh and delicious.  The other time, I had the bacon and leek frittata with the spicy chickpea salad.  It was filling and tasted very fresh and warming.  Team up lunch with a nice out hot chocolate and you might be in heaven.

Lunch for me generally costs about $12 or about $15 with the hot chocolate!!

Corn Fritter with Lamb Salad

Bacon and Leek Vegetable Frittata and Chickpea Salad

Yatai Bento, West Ryde, Sydney

I have been to Tatsuya a million times and because it's so consistent, I haven't really given Yatai much of an opportunity to shine.  I decided to give it a go and try its lunch special.  I walked in at 2pm and it was quiet, clean and filled with brown furniture.

I was pleasantly surprised with my bento lunch box.  It was a good size and the beef was delicious! The sashimi was average.  I prefer Tatsuya sashimi but I guess when you factor in value than Yatai is definitely competitive.  The staff are lovely too.

It left a good impression on me.  I'd go back here.  I love Japanese food!!!

Prices: Lunch specials are $9.90 or $11.90.  Other mains are around $12-15

Wooden feel

Sashimi with Beef, rice and cabbage salad

 

El Loco, Surry Hills, Sydney

Cactus Table numbers

In true typical Surry Hills fashion, this place is full of hipsters in tacky trendy ambiance. It's got a sticky floor and a sticky table  but the food is amazingly tasty and quick, the cocktails are salty fresh and you should be potentially prepared for a queue.

I've been here quite drunk as well when there is a bit of a dance floor.  It's got a good university young vibe to things. My favourite taco overall was the prawn taco!! I would recommend this for shiz

I think it's sort of tacky but trendy. 

 Now you're waiting for a review on the food. First up is the beef taco below.

The Beef Taco is your base taco.  The Beef Taco is tasty and a nice bite to eat. The meat is marinated well and taste like Bulgogi (Korean). There are nicely cut and clean cucumbers, finely grated cabbage and cheese. A nice snack at $5

Prawn Taco Yum

The prawn taco was my favourite and also $5. If you had a hint of chilli, it was amazing. The prawns were beautifully cooked and matched the pico de gallo (salsa).

My friend and I had to wipe both tables we were sitting at. They were all sticky.

My Beetroot and Lime Margarita

I washed it down with a salty fresh beetroot and lime margarita.  It was something a bit different. This is what I call a down to earth cocktail. It was still delicious and went well with my tacos.

El Loco Hotdog - House made frank, pico de gallo, mustard relish, jalapeños, mayo, queso fresca on a soft hotdog bun

My friend got the hot dog.  It was just a frankfurt hot dog with some tasty trimmings.  She asked for the mayo to the side as she's not a fan. She seemed quite content with her choice. A $10 hot dog :)

Chorizo Quesadilla - Chorizo, jalapeño and cheese quesadilla with chipotle mayo

I was absolutely enjoying my chorizo quesadilla at $6. When I opened it up, it was mostly two pieces of chorizo, about 3 pieces of jalapenos and cheese. But boy did it swirl up the taste buds and sensations as I dipped this in the chipotle mayo.

I interchanged in between the chicken taco below.

Chicken Taco

I love corn.  I am a fan of the subway onion sauce as well.  The chicken taco has small pieces of chicken with corn and the salsa taste like the subway onion sauce so overall I was a fan.  Ultimately I fell into taco heaven and could have easily consumed a few more margaritas.

I think two small dishes is enough for a girl (like me). You may have to order a few more dishes if you are a man.  I'd definitely come back and will have to check it out at the slip inn (although the dishes are slightly more expensive there)...

Thai Curry, West Ryde, Sydney

If you are looking for quick, consistent, take away Thai then come to Thai Curry. It's located right by West Ryde Station. I've ordered pick up Thai from Thai Curry a million times. It's a cheap Thai place in decore and price.  The food can range from amazing to average. It's not the greatest place to dine in but if you are not picky or partially blind then you will be fine.

This is my favourite Thai place in West Ryde. It's a lot more authentic than Tommy Thai Smile and much cheaper.  Tommy Thai Smile wins in decore though.  TTS also wins because they deliver. But on everything else, I would say Thai Curry wins!

My pad see ew with beef was a nice fulfilling meal.  Bargain at $8.90

Speak clearly on the phone. Food will take about 10 minutes to cook. They don't deliver. Enjoy :) yum

Pad see ew

  

Firehouse - North Sydney - UPDATE REPOST

Firehouse has had an uplift.  It looks a lot more amazing these days and they have worked out the issues with the kitchen. Once upon a time; if you arrived with a large group of people and attempted to order lunch then it would take a long time for the food to arrive and the food would be average.

What is the verdict now that they've had plastic surgery?

The food looks a lot more appetising. All the pizzas looked amazing! I had the Moroccan Lamb Salad which was nice but average really. The meat was a bit dry and the cous cous tasted like dry sand. The Schitz was good but the salad looked very basic. 

I'd definitely come back for Pizza and for big group lunches. I'm glad they've picked up their game and the plastic surgery has also had cosmetic improvements.

Prices: Mains lunch 15 to 20. There are dinner specials each night for $10 with a drink purchase. Check out the website

Tandoori Chicken Pizza $17

Moroccan Salad with Cous Cous - A bit dry all round. $16

Chicken Parmigiana $18

Below was my post in August 2013

Lamb Shanks

Steak Pie

North Sydney. It's hard to compete with the city and it's seriously competitive deliciousness but there are a few regular places I head to.

The firehouse is a reliable pub lunch/dinner. Not as fancy as the tree house but still a popular destination for North Sydney workers during lunch hour and it's special $10 dinners (with the purchase of a drink).

My pie looked like a frozen pie from woolworths but once I cut into it - the steak came out and it looked a bit more legitimate! It was a good meal.

I was told the lamb shanks were good but not amazing.  A solid effort fire house.

In terms of a watering hole; it gets really busy from 5pm to about 7pm then quickly fade as people go home or move onto bigger and better things in the city. Lots of suits and office people!

Greenwood Seafood Restaurant, North Sydney

The mango pancakes were orgasmic. The stand out dish on this occasion. The dumplings were good but slightly dry.  The Cheong Fun with Pork was tasty.  All the other dishes were okay.  Overall it's a good place but I would love some more Asian food rivalry in North Sydney to bring up the quality.

My colleague and I came here for an epic feast for two. It was a good experience. Nice, clean, consistent dishes with jasmine tea. I did ask for chrysanthemum tea but they didn't have any which I thought was a bit odd.

Prices: All the food below and tea ended up being $50 which was more than enough for two girls.

San Choi Bao - not your typical yum cha dish

Cheong Fun with Pork

Duck pancakes

Scallop and Prawn dumplings

Prawn, Garlic dumplings

Mango Pancake = Win

Yum