Category: City

City of Sydney covers numerous areas. It can mean CBD, Chinatown or any other part of Sydney, except The Rocks

The Palace Tea Room

The Palace Tea Room Review:

We went to The Palace Tea Room for the Mother’s Day brunch. Given that we could get in without even booking the place was a plus in my book. Unfortunately, there was a little ‘drama’ where our food was delivered extremely late due to clerical errors. However, they were quite apologetic about it and removed the drink bill off our total amount. Not bad!

Let’s talk about the food itself. Being in the historical Queen Victoria Building at the heart of Sydney, you would expect a sizable price point for the restaurant. Browsing through the menu, the price was actually quite acceptable.

Salmon & grilled vegetable salad with avocado, beetroot & feta, horseradish cream – $26

I ordered this for my main dish. However it ended up being taken over by my wife because her dish was unavailable (I think they ran out of pappardelle). She enjoyed everything about the dish.

Wagyu Beef Burger (tomato, lettuce, pickles, gruyere, bacon, onion, fried egg) with fries – $25.5

We had wagyu beef burger as a replacement. While I was still having the burger, the little one actually wanted to eat the fries. To his defence, the fries were pretty good. There was nothing special about the burger.

Buttermilk and blueberry pancakes, caramelised banana, honey butter and maple syrup – $17

The pancakes were very fluffy. It was probably a tad too big for a six-year-old kid.

Devonshire Tea – two scones, tea or coffee – $18

The devonshire tea is why we are eating here in the first place. We ordered two types of tea: Rose Floral and Cherry Blossom Tea. They were very nice. I didn’t eat too much of the scones (because I had to finish the pancakes).

The final verdict for The Palace Tea Room

A big plus for the palace tea room was availability during Mother’s Day and also how they handled crisis.

Did you know?
There are quite a lot of tea on offer at the Palace Tea Room. You could also purchase them to enjoy at home.

Rating for The Palace Tea Room:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $25 – $35 per person

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop L1 20 – 22, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney

+61 2 9283 2222

http://www.thepalacetearoom.com.au/

May 31, 2017
Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant

Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant Review:

I had a friend coming over from New Zealand and he was looking for a great dining experience in Sydney. My option went to Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant, which was considered by many as (one of, if not) the best Japanese in Sydney.

They have an option of Kaiseki, aka degustation, dinner. But on this occasion, I opted to pick and choose dishes we would like to try… just because there were just way too many I’d like to try!

Tofu and Avocado Salad – $10.80 – silken tofu, avocado & seasoned seaweed with shiso basil dressing

My usual comment for salad is ‘just another green’. For this one, the green comes from seaweed, and avocado as well… a less green-y salad!

Masuya’s Salmon Salad – $13.80 – lightly spiced marinated salmon with creamy blue cheese, onion and salad with rice vinaigrette dressing

I love this salad… with capital L O V E! It has that burst of blue cheese while we’re eating that makes it pretty exciting.

Beef Tataki – $14.80 – seared wagyu beef, sliced sashimi style, crisp mizuna with ponzu soy citrus and a touch of balsamic

The depth of flavour for this beef tataki is very nice.

Karaage Soft Shell Crab – M $19.80 – crispy soft shell crab with sweet chilli and wasabi mayonnaise sauce

This dish was gone quite fast, courtesy of its mouth-watering presentation. The wasabi mayonnaise was very smooth. There was also a portion of crushed potato (it wasn’t exactly mashed as the texture was grainy) that was quickly becoming our favourite!

Tonkatsu Pork Loin (Kurobuta) – $20.80 – deep-fried crispy kurobuta pork loin served with home blended tonkatsu sauce

They told me that the tonkatsu was pretty good as well.

Sea Eel (Anago) – $22.80 – bbq sea eel grilled with our flavoured original sauce on a bed of steamed rice

This white sea eel wasn’t exactly presented for sharing. Masuya’s sauce was sweeter than most Japanese grill sauce.

Hokkaido Scallops – $24.80 – deep-fried scallops, imported from Hokkaido, Japan, served with homemade tartar sauce & tonkatsu sauce

To be honest, I am still not sure what’s so special about scallops from Hokkaido. It tasted like scallops from Sydney, which I think is already one of the freshest and best in the world.

Sushi Deluxe platter – $68.00 – Gorgeous and most valued sushi selection – total of 32 pieces assorted sushi

There were quite a lot of sushi in the plate. It was presented beautifully and tasted amazing!

If you really want that uni (sea urchin) sushi, you’d better be quick!

Ocean Jewel Boat – $88.00 – a dozen pacific oyster served with three different types of sauce, scampi, hokki, scallop and fresh salmon sashimi

Ocean Jewel Boat is the most mouth-wateringly elegant sashimi boat I have ever seen. The content is like A-list celebrities of the seafood world, minus lobster. It was served super fresh. We, obviously, devoured them in a heartbeat!

Nasu Miso – $9.80 – deep-fried eggplant with Masuya’s original miso paste

We actually ordered this quite later in the service after we found out one of our guests couldn’t eat too much raw fish. What’s not to love about nasu miso? The eggplant was so soft!

Misoyaki Chicken – $20.80 – oven grilled miso marinated thigh fillet of chicken served with green vegetables

Another one that we ordered quite late. The serving was quite small but it really packed a punch.

Wagyu Sukiyaki Hot Pot – $48.00 – finely sliced marble score no. 6 sirloin beef with seasonal vegetables, cooked at your table, served in a traditional Japanese style with beaten egg dipping sauce – minimum order for two

I did not order this for our main group. A decision that I quickly regretted (and was frowned upon by some people in the group). You really must order this when you are dining at Masuya… especially in winter!

The final verdict for Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant

Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant lived up to its name. We had wonderful dining experience there

Did you know?

The restaurant group has a few different levels of restaurant, including an izakaya that we have reviewed in the past.

Rating for Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant:

9.0 / 10

Taste: 9.0 / 10

Price: $75 per person

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

12 – 14 O’Connell Street, Sydney 2000

+61 2 9235 2717

http://www.masuyainternational.com.au/en/masuya/

May 15, 2017
Kabuki Shoroku

Kabuki Shoroku Review:

We had a special occasion this week and decided to have a nice dinner at Kabuki Shoroku Japanese restaurant in Sydney CBD. Their restaurant had an old feel to it (according to them, they have been around for 25 years!).

They have a degustation menu called Kaiseki – autumn. It was priced at $88 per person. It is predominantly seafood dishes, highlighted by lobsters cooked in two ways.

Chef’s seasonal selection of appetisers
There were four different appetisers: slow cooked tuna, bamboo shoots, cheese and squid with fish paste. They were quite small but full of flavour.

Assortment of various fresh sashimi
Three of the most common kinds of Sashimi for each of us: salmon, tuna, kingfish. The cut was rather thick but it was so fresh.

Lobster tail grilled in two ways – mornay & soy
I usually was not a fan of lobsters. They carried a premium price but less tasty than a tiger prawn. Kabuki Shoroku served their lobsters beautifully. I wouldn’t mind a second serving.

Slow cooked duck and seasonal mushrooms served in clear starchy sauce topped with spinach and yuzu
The duck was probably our favourite for the night, just by a small margin from the lobster. I would also definitely go back to the restaurant for this dish!

Pacific saury seasoned with sweet soy and lightly fried, sansho pepper, lime
Saury is a kind of fish (yes, I had to google it when seeing the menu). It was quite an oily one, especially after being fried. Despite its small look, it was actually pretty heavy.

Sushi chef’s best selection of today’s nigiri sushi
We had three very fresh sushi. I couldn’t quite remember what they were.

Miso soup
Instead of the usual cloudy soup, the colour was actually quite dark. The flavour was pretty intense. It is interesting how they served the soup at the very last.

Chef’s special dessert selection
The dessert of the day was green tea mousse with strawberry and cream. It was quite a thick dessert to end the night.

Additional dishes
The following dishes are not part of the kaiseki menu, but came in as extras for the little one (or mine).

Saute Salmon with soy butter – $28
The soy butter for the salmon was pretty salty. It needs to be enjoyed with a bowl of rice.

Sushi – Scampi and steamed oyster
Scampi is my personal favourite in a Japanese restaurant. I usually order it when they are available. I actually also ordered sea urchin, but they were not available that day.

Tofu Rare Cheesecake with Ice cream – $12
Tofu cheesecake was so interesting that we just had to order it.

The final verdict for Kabuki Shoroku

You know you had a very nice dinner when you left the restaurant feeling nourished and happy. That’s how we felt upon leaving Kabuki Shoroku. Their service was impeccable.

Did you know?

Kabuki Shoroku has a sister restaurant for a more informal dining called Sakuratei. It is located right in front of the restaurant.

Rating for Kabuki Shoroku:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: $88 per person

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Ground Floor 31 Market Street Sydney 2000

(202 Clarence St)

+61 2 9267 4552

http://www.kabukishoroku.com.au/

May 2, 2017
678 Korean BBQ Restaurant

678 Korean BBQ Review:

My friends told me that 678 Korean BBQ was one of Sydney’s hottest restaurants at the moment. It was quite early in the evening when we got there but the queue was already quite stifling. So, my expectation was already pretty high.

Customary in any Korean restaurants, we were given Banchan (Korean side dishes) upon sitting down at our table. The side dishes were so many that we hardly had any space left for our main dishes!

Being a Korean BBQ place, obviously the spotlight was placed in the BBQ dishes. The good thing about it was that they use charcoal for cooking… grilling with charcoal on a mesh is so much better than gas!

Our choice went to a few BBQ dishes that were staple to our group, like beef tongue and short rib. Their price ranges from $21 (for the beef tongue and brisket) up to $38 for Wagyu Chuck Tail Flap.

For four adults, our table was extremely full. You really need to get busy real fast or you won’t be able to move!

The menu was divided into three big sections: BBQ, lunch, and meal. There are also a few meal dishes that we ordered on the night.

Marinated Fresh Wagyu Beef Sashimi – $29

One of my favourite dishes in life. Known in Japanese as Yukke, this delicate dish has to be top notch or you will be in all kinds of problems consuming it. My only problem with this dish was the price. The place that I frequently visited include yukke in their buffet set.

Spicy seafood soft tofu stew – $16

Korean soups are always good to have in cold winter days.

Egg Soup – $2

For $2, it’s quite a bargain!

The final verdict for 678 Korean BBQ

It was apparent that quite a lot of people enjoyed dining at 678 Korean BBQ restaurant. However, I think my friends sold it a tad too much to me.

Did you know?

678 Korean BBQ is actually located in the 1st floor. The entrance to the building was quite narrow and there was only a sign outside the building.

Rating for 678 Korean BBQ:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $15 – $36 per dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Corner Pitt St and Goulburn St, Sydney NSW 2000

+61 2 9281 8997

https://www.facebook.com/678Sydney/

Aug 19, 2016
Intermezzo Ristorante

Review:

This week we went to a restaurant in quite a premium venue, GPO Grand at Martin Place. The name of the restaurant is Intermezzo Ristorante. Their menu is predominantly Italian with French influence. It has all the cues of a fine dining restaurant. However, they are not a hatted restaurant and also not listed in Top 500 restaurants in Australia. The good thing about it is that you don’t put any expectations on the restaurant and anything good coming out of it is a bonus!

Sicilian Green Olives, Diced Marinated Roma Tomato with Fresh Herbs, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Sourdough – $9.50

It is quite a simple antipasto for little nibbles… and you might need to order a bit more sourdough.

Carpaccio di Bresaola – $21 – Cured Wagyu Beef, Marble Score 9+, thinly sliced with Rocket, Reggiano and Housemade Grissini

It was a pretty well made beef carpaccio and I quite enjoyed it.

Linguine Scampi – $36 – Linguine with Western Australian Scampi, Fresh Vine Ripened Cherry Tomatoes and Chilli

We chose to have the Linguine for starter because originally my wife thought she could share it with the little one. However, to our surprise, the chilli was actually quite spicy here.

Calamari Fritti alla Napoletana – $21 – Crispy Hawkesbury River Calamari Rings with Lemon and Chilli Oil

We had to order this as a backup plan to the kid. We asked for a tomato sauce to accompany the calamari rings and they actually gave us a proper tomato pasta sauce.

Bistecca Alla Fiorentina – $41 – Dry Aged Grain Fed T-Bone (400g) served with Roasted Potatoes and a Rocket and Parmigiano salad

I liked my steak medium rare. I think the t-bone was just a tad overcooked. The rocket salad was also quite sour.

Pesce al Cartoccio – $36 – Ocean Trout Fillet with Truss Tomato, Wild Mushrooms, White Wine and Herbs, served Steamed in Baking Paper

The other main was wrapped in baking paper and was quite small. Also, I could not taste any flavours from the trout.

Wild Rocket, Pear and Parmigiano Reggiano – $11.50

Just like the steak’s sald, the vinaigrette was quite over powering that made the rocket too sour to my liking.

Tiramisu – $15.50 – ‘Pick me up Dessert’ of Mascarpone Layered with Biscotti, Espresso Coffee and served with a Coffee Sorbet

Finally, a dish worth talking about. I always enjoy a good tiramisu. The deconstructed tiramisu was pretty special. It is not your traditional tiramisu and the coffee sorbet really lifted up the mood!

Pannacotta al Caramello – $15.50 – Caramel Pannacotta served with Pistachio Brittle, Honeycomb and Buttermilk Gelato

It is quite a unique take on pannacotta. Instead of the usual shape, this one was almost spherical. It looked quite lively but the pannacotta did not look like the centerpiece of the dish.

The final verdict for Intermezzo Ristorante

Dessert was the only saving grace for Intermezzo Ristorante. Their tiramisu was delightfully refreshing. In contrast, all I could remember from the main and entrée were the high price tag they put on them.

Did you know?

If you book online, apparently you can get a complimentary coffee. They also have different ‘menu of the day’ and the image below was from dessert of the day.

Rating for Intermezzo Ristorante:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 6.5 / 10

Price: $35 – $41 main dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

GPO Grand, 1 Martin Place, Sydney 2000

+61 2 9229 7788

http://www.gpogrand.com/intermezzo-italian-restaurant-sydney-cbd

May 25, 2016
One Tea Lounge

Review:

We went to One Tea Lounge solely because of its ramen burger. I have actually visited their ‘express’ restaurant at Hawker Lane in Chatswood and I was curious enough to try their main restaurant in the city.

One Tea Lounge and Grill is not your typical Japanese restaurant. ‘Funky’ might be the word that best describe the restaurant. The menu was even funkier. Peking duck fries anyone? Or what about Lava Stone grill?

Peking duck fries – $12 – with hoisin sauce & coriander

Obviously this is the first one I ordered (after ramen burger that is). When the dish arrived, it is a big bowl of fries topped with shredded Peking duck and coriander.

The strange mix of Peking duck with hoisin sauce and chips actually worked really well!

Popcorn curry chicken – $10 – with green tea lime mayo sauce

We ordered this for the little guy. However, he already made his mind up about Peking duck fries. The popcorn was actually pretty good as a snack.

Designer sliders – $21 – Choice of 3 sliders of our signature designer burgers to get started for the night

Ramen burger is actually part of the designer sliders. You can pick between three different sliders (ramen, rice, or matcha baoger) and four fillings: original wagyu beef, braised pork rib, teriyaki chicken, and miso tofu vegetarian. Matcha baoger is a Japanese bun with a hint of matcha.

The burgers were flavoursome. As ‘sliders’, they were not really that small.

Lava Stone Grill 9+ Wagyu Beef 180gr – $48 – Sizzle the best quality wagyu beef with shimeji and enoki on a hot lava stone at the table. Served with 3 dip sauces – matcha sea salt, green tea hollandaise & yakiniku sauce

One of the mains in the menu with quite an eye-catching name and also one of the more expensive ones. It was quite justifiable as they used marble 9+ wagyu beef. The sauce also married up perfectly with the quality beef!

Matcha Fries – $7 – with green tea salt, seaweed or shichimi spicy

The matcha fries was quite standard when compared to the other fries at One Tea Lounge. I guess you can compare it yourself by the picture below.

Matcha Fondue (for 2) – $23 – Fresh fruit, Green tea castella, macarones, cookies with Matcha white chocolate dip sauce

I had a hard time taking a picture of matcha fondue. Everyone seemed to be wanting to dive in straight away! If you look at the pictures below, you’d understand. It has quite a lot of little bits to dip into the pool of heated green tea!

The final verdict for One Tea Lounge

One Tea Lounge and Grill have quite an interesting list of dishes in their menu. If I could, I would try every single one of them!

Did you know?

You should really try their Asahi burger from the lunch menu. I tried it when I visited Hawker Lane in Chatswood

Rating for One Tea Lounge:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $10 – $58

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Upper Ground Floor, 73 York Street, Sydney 2000

+61 2 9279 3311

http://www.onetealounge.com.au/

May 20, 2016