Max Brenner, Westfield Pitt St Mall

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. If you dare to encounter the world of richness and want to ignore the political undertones of Max Brenner.  There have been claims that Max Brenner has links to other groups that support the Israeli army who are in conflict with the Palestinians. I believe it has been unsubstantiated but there seems to be lots of controversy surrounding Max Brenner.

For this reason, I don't know if Max Brenner would be my first choice because I generally want to faint after so much chocolate but also it's a bit pricey for what it is.  Secondly, I'm undecided about whether I believe there are direct links.  You'll end up paying about $25 for a shared dessert with two drinks.

TheWestfield Max Brenner is in a good location. It's sort of the back up dessert places some times.

The chocolate souffle has oozing liquid chocolate bliss coming out. Yum. But only in moderation.  It's too much with the chocolate drink.  I do like the chocolate waffle drink.. sometimes you need a bit of chocolate fainting.

Chocolate Souffle with chocolate ice cream

 Hot chocolate with waffle balls 

Bailey's Cafe, North Sydney

So I have been blogging for about a year now and I've been to Bailey's Cafe a million times for a morning chai latte and on occasion an Egg wrap.  I just haven't been able to blog it because it wasn't on urbanspoon but i've added it to share with the world. It's so consistently tasty. The egg wrap is perfectly cooked with eggs, feta and spring onions on a perfectly toasted wrap.

But they are famous for their egg wraps.

They also do a good lunch which is always full of fresh ingredients in wraps. sandwiches and then you have your meals of fish and chips, nachos and other tasty treats.  Expect to spend about $10 for lunch and a bit more with a drink which is your typical North Sydney prices.

Egg Wrap with my classic Chai

Jamie's Italian, Sydney

I have a crush on Jamie Oliver. There is always a massive queue outside Jamie's. I got there at about 5pm and managed to only wait 15 minutes but my friends tell me that you should expect to wait an average of an hour.

To be honest, I thought the place was a bit hyped up for what it was. The food was still good.  I'm just not sure it would be worth the wait.  The pork belly was nice but not amazing.  The pasta was different. I found it slightly oily and the scallops were ok. The polenta chips were crispy little cubes. I'll have to come back to try the different food if I have the patience to wait.

My waiter Daniel introduced himself to myself and a friend so I felt the need to tell him my name in return.  I politely asked him to swap my dirty fork with a new one.  The customer service was good ultimately. I asked him how the tip system worked wondering if Daniel would directly benefit. He said he did with a small cut for the chef/front of house staff which I thought was fair.

How have you found your experience?

Price: About 25-30 per main

Alcoholic Grown up Ice tea $16 per drink

 Ice tea for grown ups to start off a good catch up with an old friend. It didn't really taste alcoholic but maybe I am just an advanced drinker.

Signature Porchetta - Pork Belly $27

Polenta Chips - $8.5

Black Angel Spaghetti: Squid ink pasta, scallops, garlic, chilli, anchovies, wine and capers. Small size $15.50

Fix St James, Sydney

Do you like your wine? Compare the booze menu with the food menu at Fix St James and fall into wine heaven.  A fancy establishment for some classy wine and some classy food.  A nice place to have lunch but with the premium price tag. 

Fix St James is a corporate fancy restaurant during the week.  I came here on a day on off with my bestie looking to gossip post-overseas trip with a side of shopping.  

Price: $30 to $35 per main and about $15 plus for a glass of booze

Jaume Rose and the Glover Hill Champagne

Bread

Start off with a few sips of wine, eat some herb infused bread and prepare yourself for a nice lunch.  I ordered the fish of the day which was $35.  My dish was a king fish which was perfectly cooked on a corn based bed of baby corn, creamed corn and prawns. A good dish put well together but I would have wanted more moisture on the creamed bed of corn as everything made your mouth dry. Maybe this is where the massive menu of booze should come into play.  A nice place.

Fish of the Day -  King Fish Fillet, with a side of corn, prawns

 My bestie got the Beef Tartare which was pleasant but you should be a fan. The chips were good. She said "I could probably go without" so I take it that she wasn't a massive fan. I am not a fan of raw meat.  The only exception I would make is raw fish. Sashimi me up baby.

Beef Tartare with a side of chips

Grill'd, Macquarie Centre

I came here with my friend Kneeha and we bonded over burgers baby and a sneaky corona. Another consistent experience at Grill'd. The meat is well cooked with all the trimmings.

Well cooked chips seasoned that go down well with a beer. A good consistent burger joint but yet to rival Chur Burger. Chur Burger is Burger Heaven. You can check out my review here

The floor was a bit slippery and my friend almost tripped. Perhaps a bit more care about the floor and hygiene is required if they want to avoid accidents.

Price: About 15 per burger.

Our Place on Darling, Balmain

Are you looking for a cosy restaurant with excellence customer service and some tasty delights?  Check out what I ordered on this particular night.  Our Place on Darling is a child friendly restaurant which may or may attract you to this venue. I was looking for a nice restaurant in Balmain and read some pretty nice reviews on Urbanspoon.

I thought the staff were very helpful and provided just the right amount of attention.

The highlight of the night was the dessert.  Both the honeycomb cheesecake and the mango and passionfruit semifreddo were awesome.  Let's talk about the other parts of the meal.

Complimentary soup - Potato and Cauliflower

A nice way to start the evening was the complimentary soup taster.  It was smooth and creamy in texture.  I also ordered the entree below which was the Saganaki.  The bread was really soft. The cheese was nice with the chilli and tomato sauce (which I didn't really taste the chilli in).

Saganaki - Panfried greek sheep's cheese, chilli and tomato chutney and flat bread - $12

Confit duck leg, duck fat potatoes. goat cheese, beetroot, rocket $25

The two mains were the duck and their special espetada.  The duck was nice if not slightly dry.  The espetada is perfect if you are a meat lover and wedges lover. I think the wedges could have used a bit of seasoning.

The special - Espetada - Skewered beef fillet chunks, with red wine sauce and hand cut chips, salad - $25 mid week

Mango & Passionfruit Pavlova Semifreddo $12

As I mentioned earlier, the dessert was the absolute highlight for the night. I would love to come back and try the other desserts.

Honeycomb cheesecake, lemon curd, vanilla ice cream $12

Misschu CBD Tuckshop, Sydney CBD

Fresh, clean, consistent, trendy but overpriced. I'd still come back though. Why do you ask?

Sometimes you just want something different. I think being Vietnamese makes me a harsh critic so here are my thoughts.  Not all the food at Miss Chu is vietnamese or traditional as such.  It's more of a clean, asian fushion trendy snack shop.  I agree with the other bloggers and reviewers where people say it's over priced and may not be as taste competitive with some of the places in China Town.  But I would come back.

So I would come back because it's right next to my favourite bar and I love Asian food.

Prawn and Scallop Dumpling $7

The dumplings are tasty, consistent and cooked well. They don't rival the freshness of the yum cha at the fish markets though!  They also came out quite quickly.

Vegetarian dumplings $7

BBQ Pork Buns $2.5 each

The pork buns are tasty and are not dry.  Just perfectly cooked. The spring rolls are a bit different than your norm.  If you like a lot of fried crisp then definitely give it a go.

Hanoi Vegetarian Net Spring Rolls (4 per serve) - $6

Prawn and Mango Rice Paper Rolls $7.5

The fresh rolls were okay. I couldn't really taste the mango but the hit of herbs and prawns was evident.

Check out this place but I wouldn't recommend it for dinner. It's more of a snack stop shop.  I think they should improve the ordering and picking up food system as well. You basically order your food then they yell out your name.  It was a bit annoying but not annoying enough to keep me away!