Asian_Restauranteur

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Been here twice, in late 2010 and about a month ago so this is the combined review:

Food: absolutely delish. They have one of the best steaks in the city. It is a yearling steak that they provide you a butter knife rather than a steak knife to cut it with. The presentation and attention to detail is fantastic. The only small thing is that I think the previous way they prepared it last year with the celeriac was one of the best dishes that I have ever had with the ultimate combination of not only flavours but textures.

I have also had that lamb which was fantastic, my wife who does not usually have lamb could even try a bit. In addition, special mention needs to go to the Crab, Sweet Corn martini entree, it is a must and similarly my wife keeps on telling me to come back for it.

Ambience - I cannot fault them for the ambience. It is mentioned that it does feel like a hotel lobby but compared to restaurants in other hotels it is considerably better, it does have the nice high ceilings and the nice open kitchen allows you to see how the chefs work like clockwork and their precision at preparing your meal.

Service - top notch service, the staff pay attention to detail and answered many of our questions particularly with regard to how they prepared the meals (given my partner loves cooking) and where they sourced produce etc. The manager (Jon I think - looks like a current NRL player) was also extremely helpful.

Value: I have paid a lot more for considerably less value. I think the only difficulty with this is that it is a fine dining restaurant at Olympic Park which does not have too much else in way of dining going for it. However, if this restaurant were in Wooloomooloo or any other upmarket dining district then it would fit right in.

Aug 15, 2011

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

September 2008 Update:

Thought this place could perhaps redeem itself on a Sunday night. Went in with a family who usually order the lobster and seafood works. It was moderately busy with a couple of empty tables and no queue. We waited a while to be seated waiting for these waiters to complete their social chat for a few minutes. We were then seated and after a couple of minutes we asked for menus and finally got them after a couple of more minutes.

We made our choices and waited to order. We asked a waiter and he told us that he would get someone else to take our orders... waiting... waiting... waiting... we then asked someone to get us tea in the interim... waiting... waiting... waiting... a teapot came out with 1 cup - that was great when we had 4 people... we finally grabbed someone else and asked when we could order and if we could get another cup.... waiting... waiting... waiting... after about 10 minutes we decided to walk out... and no one even spoke to us...

Previously I gave scores as noted below, however, since we didn't even get food this time I am rating everything as awful. It is also not a one-off as mentioned below. It's just downright disrespectful. They were not short on waiters who seemed to be talking to each other or setting up other tables which had no people waiting for them. It seems to be a case of they believe they're too good for their own good.

March 2007 Review:

Food 7/10 - the food is good with a large selection of seafood.

Ambience 5/10 - what's expected of a chinese restaurant but is affected by non-existent service quality

Service 1/10 - very poor, served by rude maitre d' and waitress who looked down at me after I ordered takeaway.

Note, I am a young professional of Chinese descent although I was dressed casually I was frowned down upon entering the restaurant with noone even greeting myself nor my partner. After ordering food for takeaway I asked for the red bean dessert and was bluntly told "no - it's not free" and once we told them that we were willing to pay for it, they reluctantly agreed.

They came out with a half filled container of red bean dessert and demanded payment of $5 (see value for more details). Value - I love my fujien fried rice but it was very dear at $19. Spent approx. $50 on takeaway, however, the $5 for a red bean dessert is completely overboard for something that is usually free and complimentary!

Summary, although the food is good it does not warrant coming here again. I used to come here when the previous manager was there and who provided a warm reception ensuring his staff did, however, the coldness of the manager now has also rubbed off on the staff. Although, the restaurant has built a good reputation over a number of years, it doesn't take much to ruin it.

Oct 08, 2008

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

Food - tried this place after reading the reviews and I must say that the food did look quite good when I was lining up. I ordered the laksa as this seemed like the signature dish however as has been mentioned here it maybe too westernised as such. To give you a description, I ordered a laksa that did not have bean sprouts or tofu (you can order a tofu laksa) but had onions and capsicum in there - YES capsicum - what the?!? The soup was quite bland and the only reason I am giving it a 7 is because my friends who ordered non-laksa food said it was quite good.

Ambience - not too bad under the Grace Hotel for laksa and we were able to get the last table (just). Usually it's difficult to get a table in a laksa place at lunch in the city. Not a true Asian feel though and never seen laksa served in oval bowls.

Service - good, not spectacular but they cleaned up quickly. Value - all about $8-10 which is not too bad these days.

Sep 20, 2007

8 Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  7     

Food - reliable and consistent every time we've been there. One of the best if not the best Thai place and known by all locals. For someone who has been to Thailand a couple of times this would even rate highly over there.

Recommendations: green curry chicken, basil pork, roast duck with special sauce and tom yum goong.

Ambience - what you would expect from a small Thai restaurant. Due to the small size and the popularity it can get very loud. However, the focus of the restaurant is not on its ambience but its food.

Service - very good, waitresses remember faces and names and appear very warm. They also are very knowledgeable about the menu and willing to cater for fussy requests.

Value - it has recently increased in price (still comparable to most Thai restaurants) but this is justified by the high quality food.

Mar 03, 2007

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Been here twice, in late 2010 and about a month ago so this is the combined review:

Food: absolutely delish. They have one of the best steaks in the city. It is a yearling steak that they provide you a butter knife rather than a steak knife to cut it with. The presentation and attention to detail is fantastic. The only small thing is that I think the previous way they prepared it last year with the celeriac was one of the best dishes that I have ever had with the ultimate combination of not only flavours but textures.

I have also had that lamb which was fantastic, my wife who does not usually have lamb could even try a bit. In addition, special mention needs to go to the Crab, Sweet Corn martini entree, it is a must and similarly my wife keeps on telling me to come back for it.

Ambience - I cannot fault them for the ambience. It is mentioned that it does feel like a hotel lobby but compared to restaurants in other hotels it is considerably better, it does have the nice high ceilings and the nice open kitchen allows you to see how the chefs work like clockwork and their precision at preparing your meal.

Service - top notch service, the staff pay attention to detail and answered many of our questions particularly with regard to how they prepared the meals (given my partner loves cooking) and where they sourced produce etc. The manager (Jon I think - looks like a current NRL player) was also extremely helpful.

Value: I have paid a lot more for considerably less value. I think the only difficulty with this is that it is a fine dining restaurant at Olympic Park which does not have too much else in way of dining going for it. However, if this restaurant were in Wooloomooloo or any other upmarket dining district then it would fit right in.

Aug 15, 2011

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

September 2008 Update:

Thought this place could perhaps redeem itself on a Sunday night. Went in with a family who usually order the lobster and seafood works. It was moderately busy with a couple of empty tables and no queue. We waited a while to be seated waiting for these waiters to complete their social chat for a few minutes. We were then seated and after a couple of minutes we asked for menus and finally got them after a couple of more minutes.

We made our choices and waited to order. We asked a waiter and he told us that he would get someone else to take our orders... waiting... waiting... waiting... we then asked someone to get us tea in the interim... waiting... waiting... waiting... a teapot came out with 1 cup - that was great when we had 4 people... we finally grabbed someone else and asked when we could order and if we could get another cup.... waiting... waiting... waiting... after about 10 minutes we decided to walk out... and no one even spoke to us...

Previously I gave scores as noted below, however, since we didn't even get food this time I am rating everything as awful. It is also not a one-off as mentioned below. It's just downright disrespectful. They were not short on waiters who seemed to be talking to each other or setting up other tables which had no people waiting for them. It seems to be a case of they believe they're too good for their own good.

March 2007 Review:

Food 7/10 - the food is good with a large selection of seafood.

Ambience 5/10 - what's expected of a chinese restaurant but is affected by non-existent service quality

Service 1/10 - very poor, served by rude maitre d' and waitress who looked down at me after I ordered takeaway.

Note, I am a young professional of Chinese descent although I was dressed casually I was frowned down upon entering the restaurant with noone even greeting myself nor my partner. After ordering food for takeaway I asked for the red bean dessert and was bluntly told "no - it's not free" and once we told them that we were willing to pay for it, they reluctantly agreed.

They came out with a half filled container of red bean dessert and demanded payment of $5 (see value for more details). Value - I love my fujien fried rice but it was very dear at $19. Spent approx. $50 on takeaway, however, the $5 for a red bean dessert is completely overboard for something that is usually free and complimentary!

Summary, although the food is good it does not warrant coming here again. I used to come here when the previous manager was there and who provided a warm reception ensuring his staff did, however, the coldness of the manager now has also rubbed off on the staff. Although, the restaurant has built a good reputation over a number of years, it doesn't take much to ruin it.

Oct 08, 2008

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

Food - tried this place after reading the reviews and I must say that the food did look quite good when I was lining up. I ordered the laksa as this seemed like the signature dish however as has been mentioned here it maybe too westernised as such. To give you a description, I ordered a laksa that did not have bean sprouts or tofu (you can order a tofu laksa) but had onions and capsicum in there - YES capsicum - what the?!? The soup was quite bland and the only reason I am giving it a 7 is because my friends who ordered non-laksa food said it was quite good.

Ambience - not too bad under the Grace Hotel for laksa and we were able to get the last table (just). Usually it's difficult to get a table in a laksa place at lunch in the city. Not a true Asian feel though and never seen laksa served in oval bowls.

Service - good, not spectacular but they cleaned up quickly. Value - all about $8-10 which is not too bad these days.

Sep 20, 2007

8 Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  7     

Food - reliable and consistent every time we've been there. One of the best if not the best Thai place and known by all locals. For someone who has been to Thailand a couple of times this would even rate highly over there.

Recommendations: green curry chicken, basil pork, roast duck with special sauce and tom yum goong.

Ambience - what you would expect from a small Thai restaurant. Due to the small size and the popularity it can get very loud. However, the focus of the restaurant is not on its ambience but its food.

Service - very good, waitresses remember faces and names and appear very warm. They also are very knowledgeable about the menu and willing to cater for fussy requests.

Value - it has recently increased in price (still comparable to most Thai restaurants) but this is justified by the high quality food.

Mar 03, 2007