Category: Sydney

All About Food Blog is currently based in Sydney, Australia. It is obviously THE place to be if you want to find food from all over the world.

Three Blue Ducks

Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: $150 for 2.5 people

Place: 8.5 / 10

Review:

A little prelude before my review of Three Blue Ducks restaurant: My wife had wanted to go to this restaurant before we eventually had the occasion to do so. I would probably describe the restaurant as French-style modern Australian with Asian influence. The only downside here was that I did not bring my big camera with me and had to rely on my iPhone! Three blue ducks menu is a very simple piece of paper on a clip board. I think it is quite beneficial as they change dishes seasonally. The dish was divided into four categories: smalls, bigs, sides and sweets (I think you can figure out what they mean).

It is obvious that we have to select seafood as our ‘smalls’ dish as five out of seven selections were seafood dishes in three blue ducks. Our first option went to snapper ceviche ($14). It was a beautifully presented dish that gave us a fresh start to our dinner. The next one was an unconventional corn, chawanmushi and crab ($17). It came as the ‘swipe’ presentation on one end of the plate.

We also took out their special of the night, beef brisket with chimichurri. When the wait person explained the special for us, all I could hear was ‘Beef brisket… slow cooked for x amount of hours… then cooked with chimichurri’. However, since I am a big fan of chimichurri, I took this option. I know my picture really didn’t do justice here, but the beef was great. It was very soft and you didn’t even need a knife to cut it up!

Now, we move on to the ‘bigs’ dishes. It would be a sin if you go to three blue ducks without actually trying their duck menu. On this occasion, it was duck, chilli jam, mushrooms and greens ($32). I was actually quite reluctant to try because of the word ‘chilli’. However, when a one hat restaurant in Australia specified chilli on the menu, you wouldn’t be expecting a blistering hot one! I had to share the duck with my son, because he chose this more than the beef brisket or chawanmushi we prepared for him. I guess he wasn’t wrong because it was clearly the best dish of the day. We didn’t even leave a single drop of the sauce!

Our other ‘bigs’ dish was wallaby, broccolini, pickled grapes ($30). We tried this out of pure curiosity. How many restaurants listed wallaby as an item on their menu? Possibly not many! The interesting part of this perfectly cooked wallaby was a hint of wasabi on its sauce. To be honest, we had difficulties in actually recognising that it was really a wallaby meat.

They have some unusual items for side dishes, the ‘sides’. However, we found that they were the best value for money and tasted pretty great! For the first dish, it was a rich and flavoursome mushroom and grains dish ($8), they used different types of mushrooms and grains that were most likely consisted of barley and quinoa. We also loved the roast carrots, honey and almonds ($8). Not only they provided a sweet dimension to our dinner, it was also presented in quite a decent size.

I must say the ‘sweets’ section had a list of dishes with quite unusual ingredients. We decided to pick apple & pears, ginger & mint custard ($14). It was quite an interesting mixture of sour apple sorbet, diced pears, and strong flavour of ginger and mint sauce. They also used savoiardi (or ladyfinger biscuit) that soaked up most of the strong-tasting custard.

The final verdict for Three Blue Ducks

It is quite rare that we went to a restaurant with high hopes and met with equal or better presentations. Three blue ducks restaurant actually exceeded my expectations as a one hat restaurant!

Details:

141-143 Macpherson St, Bronte

02 9389 0010

http://www.threeblueducks.com/

Feb 24, 2014
House of Crabs

Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $340 for six people

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

Opened at the beginning of November last year, House of Crabs (written as House of .C.R.A.B.S. in their website) has become the ‘Talk of the Town’ in Urbanspoon. The restaurant’s specialty (can’t really call it ‘signature dish’ as there might be different combinations) was ‘The Boil’.

Before we talk about ‘The Boil’, let’s have a look at what they have to offer. The first one to arrive on our table was from ‘The Greens’ section Kale, bean, & broccoli salad w/ spiced sunflower seeds ($16). Kale is the keyword to healthy food these days, but sounded a lot like hype for me. We also had a plate of fried chicken ($18). I must admit that I wanted to order this dish because of the picture I saw in Urbanspoon.

Personally, I think the best dish of the night was the lobster fries w/ lobster gravy, bacon & corn ($12). It was listed under ‘The Snacks’, but in reality it was quite big. I am pretty sure that there was no lobster in the fries, but the lobster gravy that generously covered the lobster fries was heavenly. You must not skip this one! We also ordered deep fried soft-shell crab ($15) from their Special Menu board. I love how the crab gave the complemented crunchy taste to our dinner.

Now, onto the main course, that was called ‘The Boil’. The price that you see on the menu is based on 500 grams of the seafood of your choice. They have six different seafood dishes that can be combined with four different sauces. We had all the sauces, but only three different kinds of seafood. I didn’t try the QLD prawns ($27) with Oriental sauce, but the prawns looked pretty big!

My first taste of the boil was the Alaskan king crab ($45) with Mexican sauce… and boy it was hot! We ordered two portions of Alaskan snow crab ($36) with Cajun and Lemon Pepper sauce respectively. It was quite hard to differentiate the king and snow crab because they were in a bag and the snow crab was actually quite big. From the four sauces, I quite like the non-spicy lemon pepper and the Cajun ones.

There was also a special edition of ’The Boil’ that featured QLD yabbies ($34) with special creole butter sauce. Some of us didn’t quite like the appearance of the peeled yabbies as they were quite dark and looked ‘un-fresh’. After browsing Google for how peeled boiled yabbies might look, it was certainly a lot darker than that!

Lastly, the waitress explained earlier that they pride themselves of an ugly aftermath that showed that you really enjoyed the dish. I won’t post the aftermath because it was quite gruesome, but if you want to see, you can view the aftermath here.

The final verdict for House of Crabs

At House of Crabs, in addition to its specialty, the boil, you must also order its lobster fries.

Details:

Level 1, 305 Cleveland Street, Redfern

[email protected]

http://houseofcrabs.com.au/

Feb 17, 2014
Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab

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Harry’s has moved to a new venue, please check restaurant website for its new address.

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Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $50-60 per person

Place: 7 / 10

Review:

We conclude our feast-ival January with another Chilli Crab restaurant. Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab restaurant has quite a confident sounding to its name. It even has the owner holding a mud crab as a picture on its billboard sign. We only ordered four dishes this time, but that was because there were only four of us. Nevertheless, I am still amazed how we could finish those dishes!

Our first dish of the day was (this is what’s written on the menu) Harry’s Pepper and Salt Calamari ($22.50). I think it was the dish flawless dish of the night. It was presented quite nicely and had an extra sauce should you require it. The calamari itself was perfectly crunchy and chewy at the same time. The calamari was quickly followed by Garlic Sauce Kangkung ($15.00). It was very similar to something that you would prepare at home, it looked very boringly green and tasted equally so.

For our next dish, Today’s Market whole fish in Ginger and Shallots ($38.50), the fish was overcooked. It was quite unfortunate because I think the combination of flavours and presentation were spot on! It had all the flavours of a ginger and shallot dish with additional tofu and green vegetables.

Of course our last dish of the day was Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab (MP $85 per kg). There was quite a messy feel to its presentation, but then again you WILL get messy when eating a crab. From the taste department, this was the hottest crab that we ordered so far (PS: we always asked the chef to cook the crab ‘normally’). It was accompanied by nice-looking buns although it might be a bit too greasy. The crab was quite on par with other mud crab restaurants I have reviewed before.

The final verdict for Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab

The dishes at Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab was quite average. Given the pricey nature of the crab, you would expect the accompanying dishes to be quite enjoyable as well.

Details:

198 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills 2010

02 9281 5565

http://www.harryschillicrab.com.au/

Jan 29, 2014
Cafe Mix

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $75 buffet dinner

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

Prior to this review, I’ve been to Cafe Mix at Shangri-La Hotel a couple of times before for both its buffet and a la carte dinner. However, we decided to write on their buffet dinner. Available only on weekends, they have a buffet dinner called Spectacular Seafood Buffet at Cafe Mix Shangri-La, a big and catchy name for sure. So, how was it?

The buffet was divided into four sections with the first one strategically located just after the entrance. It was a crepe station with a fondue fountain filled with loads of goodies: strawberries, churros, marshmallow, and lollies. It would definitely grab instant attention for kids and adults alike.

The second one was its centrepiece: seafood buffet bar. There were a lot of chilled seafood dishes, like Balmain bugs, crabs, oysters and prawns. There was also whole poached salmon. Squid, octopus, scallops, and white baits were made into different kinds of salad. There was also a selection of salads for vegetarians. There were two Japanese dishes (sushi plates and miso soup) fitted awkwardly next to the seafood buffet. I didn’t like the sushi and didn’t even try the soup.

The third section comprises of a mixture of hot dishes, mostly of Asian influence, like roasted pork belly, BBQ pork, and noodles. There were also some European dishes, including Arancini mushrooms, carbonara pasta and mussels in white wine. At the other end of the table, there were several Indian dishes, like Mango Chicken and basmati rice with pappadums (love the pappadums!). However, I skipped most of them (including some vegetable dishes I didn’t bother to check) to reserve my tummy space for its dessert.

Lastly, we have the dessert section. As I am a big fan of macarons, my eyes were fixated on them. They still couldn’t beat Baroque’s in terms of taste, but were more than okay for ‘free’ ones! I am also a big fan of crème brûlée, but I could only taste my wife’s crème brûlée as they weren’t available when I tried to get it! Other notable desserts include: apple crumble, some chocolate desserts, meringue and jelly.There was also a selection of cheese if you fancy them.

The final verdict for Cafe Mix at Shangri-La

There was definitely abundance of choices when you dined at Cafe Mix. However, these dishes were simply too ordinary for the listed price. I did hog on the Balmain bugs as they were pretty uncommon and quite similar to lobster.

Details:

Level 1, Shangri-La Hotel

176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW 2000

02 9250 6000

http://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/restaurants/cafe-mix/

Jan 20, 2014
Xanthi Bar and Restaurant

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Unfortunately, Xanthi Restaurant has closed its doors in March 2014.

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Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $35 per person

Place: 8 / 10

Review:

Our review this week came at the back of an ad hoc visit to a one-hat restaurant, Xanthi Bar and Restaurant (Greek: ????h?). To give you a perspective on how rare this was, we only went to a hat restaurant on special occasions, like birthdays.

The original title of our first dish was BBQ Calamari, but we had it changed to Crumbed Calamari ($16) because it suited our son better and they were willing to accommodate that. As expected, the calamari was perfectly fried. Our second dish of the day was a staple in a lot of Mediterranean/Greek restaurants, Dip Selection ($10). I think it was a great bargain for its price. You got tarama (salmon roe), split pea, and tzatziki dips and toasted pita bread.

This next salad/fruit combination might be a bit unusual to some people, Watermelon and Manouri Salad ($11). It was a combination of watermelon, manouri cheese, candied almonds, and vanilla & honey vinaigrette. It turned out to be quite a refreshing dish with a playful sweet and savoury taste to it. Conversely, the Seafood Filo Rolls ($22) suggested by the waitress fell short of my expectations. The dish sounded really fancy: prawns and scallops with a cayenne pepper, coriander and flaked almond cream sauce, served with cos lettuce and cucumber ribbon salad with an olive oil vinaigrette dressing.

Our next dish was the most expensive of the night, 250gms Lamb ‘Horiatiko Souvla’ (from the spit) ($38) – Served with toursi (greek pickles), tzatziki, Greek salad and chips. I am a big fan of its crispy lamb skin! It was seriously crunchy like pork crackling and I’ve never tasted lamb skin cracked like that!

Our last dish of the day was Deconstructed Seafood Saganaki (34). We got two skewers of marinated prawn and calamari with spicy seafood sauce and creamed feta complemented the decoration.

The downside of our visit there was that they missed the extra order, we wanted Lokaniko Spetsofai (sausage), but it never came.

The final verdict for Xanthi Bar and Restaurant

As expected from a one-hat restaurant, Xanthi Bar and Restaurant delivered us quality meal in their dishes. However, with the exception of its Horiatiko Souvla’s crackling, there was really nothing spectacular either.

Details:

Westfield Sydney Level 6

02 9232 8535

http://xanthi.com.au/

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Jan 15, 2014
Malacca Straits on Broadway

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8 / 10

Price: $50 per person

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

We always have a grand fiesta at the start of the year, not only to celebrate the New Year but also to celebrate birthdays of people around me. For the first restaurant of the year, we went to Malacca Straits on Broadway that has a unique specialty: BYO Crab! For $20 per mud crab (they only take this one!), they will cook your mud crab in one of three sauces. It is actually a very good price if you buy one gigantic mud crab (2+ kgs), considering that most places would charge $85+ / kg for similar dishes.

However, I must admit that the star dish was the first one out of the kitchen, Golden Sand Prawn ($26.80) – Crispy prawns served in a batter of duck egg yolks. This dish was perfect in many ways – Crunchy, savoury, yummy all rolled into one! We even ordered a second serving, despite being the more expensive dish of the night; it’s THAT good!

Consequently, the Marmite Chicken ($14.80) – Chicken pieces cooked in honey and Marmite sauce – and Oyster Omelette ($16.80) – Oyster pieces in fried egg batter and served with a tangy chilli sauce – that came afterwards fell short of the high expectation set by the prawn.

It went much better when they brought out Chick Kut Teh ($14.80) – Claypot chicken and oyster mushroom in savoury herbal soup – traditionally made with pork, this Halal, Malaysian restaurant changed the meat to Chicken. It provided the clear and refreshing feeling out of the heavy tasting dishes. Kangkung Belacan ($12.00) – stir-fried water spinach with sambal belacan – further cleansed our palate for the finale.

When the waitress brought the mud crabs to our table, they really made heads turned. They looked very delectable! Our first mud crab was cooked as Dry Curry Crab the menu stated that it was “Our knockout ‘dry’ curry sauce” and the owner (I think) actually said that customers loved this sauce more than the chilli crab. It was the right spice but I felt that it lacked that juicy leftover sauce that you could scoop out of the chilli crab.

The second mud crab had to be cooked Singapore Chilli Crab (Sweet and savoury tomato and chilli-based sauce) way! They offered whether we wanted more chilli or the non-spicy version, and I asked for the way they normally cooked it. Perhaps the only piece missing on the night was the deep-fried bun as they do not serve this.

The two desserts that we ordered weren’t exactly light either. Sticky Rice Pudding with Egg Custard ($5.00) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and coconut milk was probably nice if you haven’t had that much to eat. Kuih Ketayap ($5.00) – Pandan-flavoured crepe filled with toasted coconut and palm sugar and served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream – might be better suited for this occasion.

The final verdict for Malacca Straits on Broadway

If you want to eat Chilli Mud Crab on a budget, then Malacca Straits on Broadway is the place to be! However, you must also try its Golden Sand Prawn as they were literally golden!

Details:

66 Mountain Street, Broadway 2007

02 8021 7069

http://malaccastraitsbroadway.com.au/

Jan 9, 2014