Corner Cafe Pennant Hills

Yangtz Eastwood

Bar Italia Leichhardt

7ettimo Leichhardt

Tatsuya West Ryde

Club Bobos Rhodes

when we walked in we couldnt find a table to sit at because none of the tables had been cleared. we just ended up sitting at an uncleared table outside and we had to request the table to be cleared. then the food - the burger and drink was $9.90 and meat was dry and drenched with bbq sauce. but still edible. chips were $3 and we okay. tasted a bit home cooked.

then the eggs benedict with salmon. the smoked salmon had been cooked - so now very dry. no sauce provided and a salad with caesar dressing??

Selah Circular Quay

Retrospective review

We visited Selah for a quick pre theatre dining experience.
Just one course -
The ambience was beautiful, service was great, and food was just lovely.
Set back from the water - away from tourists!

this was the duck.

Ambience 8/10
Taste 8/10
Service 7/10
Cost 7/10

Golde Jade Seafood Restaurant Eastwood

this is one of my favourite places for yum cha. theres enough variety to keep me entertained. also the prices arent ridiculous - i find rhodes phoenix quite expensive. also the trolley ladies come around frequently so you re not waiting half an hour between dishes.

the only dish i wouldnt recommend is the xiao long bao. really soggy - worse i ve had really.

Cups n Coffee Concord

there are heaps of great cafes along majors bay road. just a quick stop at this cafe - which has indoor and outdoor areas for a quick coffee and strawberry granita - bit sweet

Dollyz cafe Concord

a lazy saturday morning so husband and i decided to make a trip to concord one of our favourite weekend brunch spots. tried to go to espresso organica which was closed til late january. so looked for the place with most people and found dollyz cafe. husband wanted breakfast and he ordered eggs benedict with salmon only $12.50. while i had to have some carbs so went for the spag bol also only $12.50. lots of flies everywhere - all around majors bay road but food was great with good servings and quick service.

food 7/10
value 9/10
service 8/10
ambience 7/10

Ta Fong Noodles Homebush West

my ongoing search for the perfect pho. i have been eating at the flemington pho restaurants ever since i was about 6 years old. abandoning my regular pho at saigon (across from the station), i thought i'd try this place on henley road.
i am not going to give points for service or ambience because generally these places are pretty dirty and the service is awful - but that really goes together with a pho joint.

the stock here was a bit thick and a bit sweet for my liking. and the beef was too thick.

i also had the rice paper rolls with prawn and pork. okay but nothing to write home about.

so the pho score - with a bowl of pho costing $9

is 6/10

Exquisito Rhodes

just a quick lunch at rhodes food court. havent had a good baked potato for awhile. got myself a baked spud with ham and pineapple with garlic butter, sour cream and shallots (isnt it actually meant to be chives).

anyway $7.90 for the spud and $1 extra to get a can of drink. they only have the schweppes type drinks.

potato has gotten a lot smaller than i remember. otherwise tasted ok

price 7/10
taste 7/10
ambience 6/10
service 7/10

Jonga Jip Eastwood

Bossam is a classic korean dish where you have cooked pork that you have together with kimchi, lettuce, spiced radish often mixed with oysters.
Jonga Jip does this dish really well, especially if you order the large one and it comes out in a big basket.

Also the great thing about this restaurant is all the side dishes - i think 8-10 different types.
Allows you to taste various korean dishes
It has the tables with the electronic bells you can press to get the waiter so that you're not sitting around for the waiter to come all day.

Food 8/10
Price 7/10
Ambience 7/10
Service 8/10

Ragu Pasta & Wine Bar Sydney Westfield

there are so many places to eat at westfield sydney food court. i ve been to most of the places now but this was before i had started the blog so no photos. Anyway tried the pasta joint in the middle of the food court which claims to make their own pasta. gave the humble lasagna a go. for $17 the size of the dish was pretty small - it is just a food court after all. i assume since it took quite a while to come out that it was freshly made - none of that cafe microwave things. there is a separate eat in area which i assume would cost more as it requires table service but didnt ask.

food 6/10
price 5/10
ambience 6/10
service 7/10

Pancakes Plus Cafe Bankstown

Pancakes have to be one of my favourite breakfast foods.
But I also like to eat them randomly during the day.
Anyway whilst working a short stint in Bankstown I discovered the pancake cafe in Bankstown Centro.
Next to the fruit shop, quite dimly lit, casual eatery.
Had the lemon pancakes.
They're not as fluffy as the ones at Pancakes on the Rocks and after eating one I wonder if they were slightly underdone.
But anyway enough to fill my pancake craving.

Price 7/10
Taste 6/10
Service 6/10
Ambience 5/10

Fortune Palace Chinese Restaurant Carlingford Village

So I am fan of crustaceans and I must say that lobsters definitely provide the most meat.
So on my quest to find yummy affordable lobster, and calling up different places to find out prices I came across Fortune Palace Chinese Restaurant in Carlingford Village advertising $28.80 for 1/2 kg of lobster.
Now - not being Chinese could not read anything but the numbers, and I'm sure there was fine print in there. (plus no writing in English at all for the seafood)

So we walk in and ask for lobster to share between 2 people
and here comes the catch (which I have been subsequently told is common in chinese restaurants) - I need to order 2 other dishes. mmm... anyway can't argue with the rules so end up ordering random vegetables and meat that didn't really want to have.

The ginger and shallot lobster I must say was quite yum.
Since then we have gone back a couple of occasions and each time the criteria seems to change - they have different prices on weight.
On one occasion there was a chlorine type smell to the lobster which I later googled to find out that meant they may not be fresh. Also, the last time the sauce was gluggy.

Why to I keep going back - because it is cheap lobster. Still about 1/2 the price at other restaurants.
Service is variable. I think in any chinese restaurant you're never treated as well if you don't speak the language. But generally there have been english speaking waiters that make sure we get out free post dinner red bean soup, orange piece and glutinous rice balls.

Price 8/10
Taste 7/10
Service 5/10
Ambience 5/10