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Bentley

Hybrid bar-restaurants are extremely popular amongst Sydneysiders, and so it shouldn't be a surprise to note that the Bentley Restaurant & Bar is a huge hit. Located in the heart of Sydney's city at 320 Crown St, Surry Hills, Bentley offers a range of French and Spanish inspired meals. Walking into the spacious restaurant and seeing the modernised design and furnishings, I immediately had high hopes for what was yet to come. As Bentley has become such a popular dining destination, upon arrival, me and my date had to wait a while to be seated, but this didn't bother us at all as we were able to sit at the separate bar area and have a few drinks before dinner. Despite this minor delay, from the moment we were seated to the moment we left, the staff were amazing at providing what was needed to ensure we had a good experience. I started off the meal with an entree of leek & baby potato soup, which was smooth and creamy, and overall satisfying. For the main course I went with Roast pumpkin with forbidden rice, herb tofu and garlic sauce. The pumpkin was cooked to perfection and the herb tofu and garlic sauce consisted of all the flavor needed to make this meal delicious. Although Bentley is a bit pricier than some other places around, the quality of the food really makes it worth it. If you're a fan of Spanish and French cuisine, I definitely recommend giving Bentley's Bar & Restaurant a visit.

Find out more about it here: http://www.thebentley.com.au

- E

Pancakes On the Rocks

Pancakes on the Rocks located at the Rocks in Sydney, which approach the Australian flavour with panckes, pizzas, salads, ribs and crepes. the best thing for this restaurant  is  24 operating hours, which means you can enjoy the meal at any time you want with your mate.  Inside the restaurant,  large open spaces on two levels with cushy red booths, comfortable wooden chairs and a colourful cartoonish painting of Ned Kelly splashed across one wall. For me, as a international student, it is a beat place to experience the Australian style food, especially pancakes,  Their pancakes have various flavours and are the epitome of greatness and the sight of them alone will take your breath away. My favourite would be the Vanilla & Choc Surprise  which includes one buttermilk pancake and one chocolate pancake, with vanilla and chocolate ice creams, drizzled in chocolate sauce. As me is not the biggest fan of strawberries, we tend to order this all the time because it does provide a good balance of flavours.


- Z

Montezuma’s

Yes the time has come for a tough decision, soft or hard shell tacos or for that matter some burritos. Montezuma’s Mexican restaurant has you covered for authentic style Mexican food. There is everything that comes to mind, tacos, enchiladas, chili con carne and other Mexican dishes. I found myself spoilt for choice and unable to pick one, though luckily there is a mixed dish with a bit of everything. The food was vibrant, fresh and above all tasty with the only negative they possibly use way too much cheese. There is also a variety of fresh cocktails to choose from, but the line is extremely long. That aside Montezuma’s was a fantastic choice for some delicious Mexican food.

http://www.montezumas.com.au/L/Ourmenu.aspx

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PJ O'Brien's

In true Irish fashion, Guinness is flowing at an impressive rate but at PJ O’Brien’s on King street, a traditional Irish meal is also within reach. First thing that you notice is the hospitality of the staff (majority are Irish)  but unfortunately browsing through the menu I see some of the same old pub food. There are however classics such as beef & Guinness pie, Irish stew, Kilkenny’s catch (Irish fish & chips) and what I sampled the shepherds pie. Whilst it looked impressive, it tasted a little bland and I suspect it may have been frozen. On other occasions the veal schnitzel was sampled, it was huge! The schnitzel tasted much better, but lacked that zing. PJ’s may not have been overly impressive but you can do much worse. 

Check it out here PJ O'Brien's

-D

Vina Vegetarian Restaurant

A Vietnamese Restaurant with a 100% vegetarian menu located at 395 King Street, Newtown. Vina offers a range of Vietnamese salads, soups, vermicelli dishes, fried rice, tofu and mock meats. With this business being run by a family, I found the service to be excellent and the atmosphere to have a very cosy feel, topped with delicious home-made meals. Being a vegetarian it is hard to find a restaurant with such extensive vegetarian meal options that Vina offers, so I was obviously delighted at the menu. For all you meat eaters out there, don't cancel out visiting this place, as even all of my carnivorous friends were left raving about the food. The only real problem I had with this restaurant was the difficulty of deciding what to order, and after about 15 minutes of staring at the menu, I finally decided to get the Vermicelli salad and Summer Rolls. My meal was brought out to be fairly promptly and both meals tasted equally amazing and were inexpensive. I would definitely recommend Vina Vegetarian Restaurant for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

- E

The Russel Wine Bar

The Russel Wine Bar is located in Rocks and captures the charm which is prevalent in Sydney’s history. The building itself has that old sand stone look but adds to the vibrant atmosphere as you walk inside. The menu is very modern tapas style, sharing is highly recommended as it can be hard to choose between dishes. As the name suggests, there is an extensive range of wines of the highest quality to choose from, and there will certainly be a match for whatever you choose to eat. On this occasion I sampled the pork fillet on white bean puree, which was absolute perfection. My guest had there roast pumpkin, feta & spinach salad, by their account a delicious gluten free option. In short this place was flawless in terms of food, drinks and service. 

check it out here the russel wine bar

Image  from urban spoon

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Enjoy the meat in Suminoya

Do you like eat meat? If you like, don't miss the Japanese BBQ restaurant Suminoya in Martin Place. Inside of restaurant, the strong smell of charcoal will come into your nose firstly and make you drooling. It provide BBQ buffet at dinner time with the different price leve, but me and my friends always choose the highest level price of 55$, because it include all kinds meat, seafood and various dessert.

About meat, the beef tongue is my favoruite one which is avaluable for order, It is succulent, thinly sliced and full of flavour, perfect when cooked over a charcoal grill. Another special one is beef sashimi which attract me eat again and again. This looks intimidating at first but actually tastes fantastic. Raw beef and spring onions are mixed with a raw egg and perhaps some sesame oil. Some people can’t fathom the idea of eating raw beef, but it’s not much different to eating beef tataki or sashimi.

- Z

Let's Do Lunch @ Aria 2011

Me and my girlfriend decided to do the Sydney International Food Festival's Let's Do Lunch event at Aria (Matt Moran's restaurant, for MasterChef fans). I'd never been before, and I actually found the restaurant harder to find and more low-key than I had originally anticipated.

The view from inside!! (Image taken from Aria's website)

The inside was quite nice, and it offered up a great view of the harbour, and is only a short distance from the Sydney Opera House.

Shortly after we were seated, the waitress came around with bread. Although my girlfriend's was fine, my roll was actually a bit burnt, which I found to be quite a shortcoming in a 2 hat restaurant.

The actual main was the reason why I had chosen Aria, as the blue swimmer crab and pumpkin risotto seemed to be perfect for my girlfriend's tastes. The risotto was creamy, and went down a treat with the pumpkin. The crab was moist, but its flavour possibly a little bit mild alongside the pumpkin. It was served with a piece of pan fried fish (which I've competely forgotten about ==||), which was a little bit dry.

If I were to be honest, I wasn't blown away by my experience, as the fish had been a little overdone, and the bread burnt. However, the waiter then came around with a desert menu, and asked what we would like. This menu had no prices on it (unlike the comprehensive menu presented to us earlier on), and we thought that dessert was a bonus course.

Mango and lime bombe with black sesame tuille & passionfruit sauce

We both ordered the bombe, and found it delicious!! It was delicious and fresh, and was quite frankly better than any of the Sugar Hit offerings I had sampled that year. It managed to end the meal on a high note, for what would otherwise have been a somewhat more mediocre meal. Unfortunately, when the bill came, we realised we had been tricked, and that the dessert cost extra. After a fit bit of grumbling, me and my girlfriend came to the conclusion that it had been worth it simply because it was so excellent (and the best part of the meal).

-A

Thai Pothong

If you're a lover of Thai food, you can't look past a restaurant that has been awarded the title of Best Thai Restaurant in Sydney 4 years in a row. Located at 294 King Street, Newtown, Thai Pothong certainly goes above and beyond expectations. As a vegetarian, I was extremely pleased to see the large vegetarian menu that was offered here, but don't fret meat eaters, there's plenty for you too! Starting off the meal with a Vegetable Coconut Soup, I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly the entree was brought out, considering how many people were dining. For the main course I went with a Vegetable Pad Thai, which was so delicious I kept eating it long after I was full just so I didn't waste any of the delicious flavor. The ambiance of Thai Pothong really is lovely and welcoming, and the staff were amazing at ensuring all the customers were taken care of and enjoying their meal. Thai Pothong was an overall pleasing dining experience, from the food, to the service, to the overall atmosphere, it's definitely worth a trip to Newtown. And just in case you're not quite yet sold on visiting, vouchers are given to customers who pay with cash for the gift shop attached to the restaurant, so you can pick up a little gift for yourself or someone special when you're leaving. Who wouldn't want that?

Find out more about it here: http://www.thaipothong.com.au/

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MOOCHI

Nowedays, the frozen yogurt is one of most popular dessert in Sydney. Moochi is frozen yogurt shop that provide the healthy ice cream to people. in the shop, there are variouse flavours and toping can be choosed. A relax  atmosphere around the shop suit for people who have leisure time, it is a good place for young peolpe enjoy with their friends after lunch or dinner. As my experience, the original flavour is best one to be just perfect.  it located at Churchill Ave strathfield.

-Z

Baja Cantina Mexican Restaurant

Baja Cantina is a reasonably priced Mexican Restaurant with a great atmosphere and deliciously large meals. Located in Glebe at 43-45 Glebe Point Rd Sydney this restaurant is just a short walk from Central Station in Sydney's CBD. The vast selection of traditional Mexican dishes will leave your stomach full, your taste buds satisfied, but won't leave your wallet empty, making it a great value for money dining experience. Starting the meal off with a serving of Bajas Famous Nachos, my dining experience was off to a good start, with amazing and fast service topped off with the exceptional quality of the food. The main course was a Quesadilla, which tasted superb, although be warned, the serving sizes are huge, so if you're not a big eater you may have some trouble finishing the whole meal. If you really want to get into the Mexican mood, you might want to buy a jug of Sangria or perhaps a bit of Tequila... if you can handle it. All in all, it's hard to fault Baja Cantina, so long as you don't mind a slightly crowded room, you're definitely in for a good dining experience at Baja Cantina Mexican Restaurant.

Find out more about it here: http://www.bajacantina.com.au/home

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Bavarian Bier Café

Can anyone guess what time it is? Yep you got it; Oktoberfest is officially here so it seemed like the perfect time for some German goodness at the Bavarian Bier café, on Sydney’s York Street. The Bavarian is well known for its wide range of authentic brews but they are also complemented by a variety of meals from pretzels to apple strudel. Keeping with Oktoberfest, I found it prudent to test the uber schnitzel. The huge chicken schnitzel was topped with a warm dressed rocket salad and served with chips. This combination seemed strange but tasted amazing and rest assured it didn't last long. The Bavarian is a bit pricier than similar style places, and the York street venue is noisy, but all is forgotten for the Oktoberfest atmosphere.

click here to check it out Bavarian Bier Cafe

- D

The Blue Gum Hotel

Located at Waitara, on Sydney’s North shore, the Blue Gum takes a modern yet sophisticated  approach to the classic pub food genre. A relaxed atmosphere flows into the dining area, with big rustic table’s ideal sharing some meals and drinks with mates. Vegetarians be warned the menu is a carnivores delight, with steaks the pride of this bistro. For this occasions the steak sandwich and coopers battered fish were the go. The fish was quite succulent with excellent batter and huge side of chips. The steak sandwich was very modern, served between sourdough, caramelised onions and crisp salad a true winner. So summing up, with reasonable prices and more than generous serving sizes, the Blue Gum really goes beyond expectations. 

 -D

Sultan's Turkish Pide and Kebab House

Sultan's has been somewhere I go with my mates for many years now. Located in Waitara, it might be out of the way for some, but is suitable both for a quick meal and also for a late night snack, as they open late most nights.

They might look like any average run-of-the-mill kebab house, but they combine excellent food with great prices. Their kebebs are great, but their pide is spectacular, and definitely the best I've ever had. They're made to order, and come steaming hot out of the oven.

I think Sultan's is definitely worthy of a visit if you happen to be in the area, and costs around $7 - $20 per person for a nice filling meal.

The Crave Sydney International Food Festival

As the Crave Sydney International Food Festival rolls around again, I figured I should post about the great food and events that are offered.

For those who don't know, the Food Festival occurs every year in October, and is a great event for food lovers, often offering great food at great prices.

Sugar Hit is one of these events, and consists of a desert course with a glass of wine at participating restaurants, at a fixed price of only $20 per person. Considering the high calibre of restraunts who participate, it is an opportunity for those with a sweet-tooth to have a sweet treat. It's also great to be able to sample an expensive restaurant for such a bargain price, and previous years included gems such as Tony Bilson's (now closed) restaurant.

Another great event is Let's Do Lunch, which similarly offers a fixed price lunch ($38 pp) at participating restaurants, once again consisting of great restaurants (including hatted offerings such as Aria and Est.). As a university student, I can understand only too well how people may want to have a fancy meal once in a while but are often unable to afford/justify the price. At this price however, it is affordable and gives you the opportunity to sample places you've seen on MasterChef or have been dreaming about trying.



Link:http://www.cravesydney.com/



-A

Blog Storyboard

Hi everyone, I'm posting the preliminary storyboard for our blog as per the requirements of the assignment.

Hi Everyone!!!

I'd just like to take the chance to welcome viewers to our blog =D

This blog was actually created as part of an assignment for a university unit.

In this blog, we hope to share our dining experiences in and around Sydney. Although this blog is to be created within  a relatively short space of time, we will attempt to cover as much as we can.

I hope you enjoy our blog, and enjoy our efforts to bring you information on all the great food that can be had in this wonderful city. Please feel free to leave any comments, feedback and criticism - it will all be welcome and much appreciated!!

- A

A teaser of one of the upcoming posts - some foodies might recognise this signature dish!!