BearBull

Reviews

Restaurants, Asian, Vegetarian, Good For Groups, Romantic and Intimate

Overall 7.5 25

4 Below Average

Food 4 Ambience 4 Service 4 Value 4

We had high hopes, we thought a new genuine Vietnamese restaurant had sprung up in Marrickville. The verdict... Average, spice and heat totally dumbed down to suit local palates... a great Asian restaurant for Aussies, they will totally love this. I don't even think the chef has been to Vietnam. My guess, Mainland Chinese. Not his fault, the audience isn't discerning enough... so he will do very well here.

Feb 07, 2012

Bamiyan, Five Dock

Restaurants, Afghani, BYO, Licensed, Serves Dinner

Overall 8.4 30

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 9

Trying new restaurants in Sydney is always a bit of a challenge in my experience. Bamiyan was a delight! From the warm reception when we arrived to the menu advice to the utterly delicious food everything was fantastic. Our party of 5 shared a mixed entree of beef dumplings chicken tikka and lamb kebabs, the dumplings were delicious morsels of beef and spices in a very delicate dumpling wrapper and the chicken tikka and lamb kebabs were succulent and tender we also had some pumpkin bread to share with the entrees which was very light and delicious.

We shared 4 mains: dahl, beef vindaloo, a chicken dish, a kofta curry and some lovely basmati rice and naans. Everything was truly outstanding and I very much look forward to bringing friends to Bamiyan. They have not been open for long but they seem to already have attracted quite a good crowd of happy locals.

Nov 18, 2011

Khan Baba, Auburn

Restaurants, Indian, Pakistani, Serves Takeaway, Restaurant Bookings

Overall 7.3 4

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.3 Below Average

Food 1 Ambience 5 Service 8 Value 3

Oh no... why? I read a review that rated this restaurant highly, I must go back and find out who that reviewer was and make sure I disregard all his future reviews. Lovely waitress, nice looking room... the food? OK so we ordered 2 entrees - incidentally, lunch time on a Tuesday, place had only 3 other tables filled. So, tandoori lamb chops, and tandoori prawns. Lamb was tough, how does lamb get tough? How do you get lamb to taste like mutton probably does? Guys, just marinate it in yoghurt, the enzyme will break down tough meat and you can get away with it. The prawns were obviously frozen asian ones, they didn't season them. Oh, and did I mention that there was only pepper (the already ground variety) at our table, so we tried to nick some salt from the other table because the prawns were in dire need of salt in fact any seasoning, and the other table had both dispensers with pepper! Now for the main course. We ordered butter chicken which when done properly should have flavour but not too much heat, and should be creamy with subtle but definite flavour. Get this... all you can taste is tomato paste. Ugh. I'd never go back, what an insult to Indian cuisine.

Jan 25, 2011

Blancharu, Elizabeth Bay

Restaurants, French, Japanese, Bistro/Brasserie, BYO

Overall 8 86

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 9

OMG, somewhere wonderful to eat in Sydney! Where the chef is humble enough to appreciate that the diners are who count and - bonus - the chef doesn't have a bad pony tail! Congratulations Mr. Haru, a wonderful restaurant, beautiful clean flavours, pretty presentations, your carrot soup with that magical hint of cumin is gorgeous. We'll be going back.

Oct 14, 2010

Bungalow 8, Sydney

Bars, Music Venues, Hip and Trendy, Outdoor Dining, Water View

Overall 5.3 142

1 Not Recommended

Ambience 1 Service 1 Value 1 Food 1

It's unbelievable that people would consider coming here to eat, the service and food (?) are equally appalling, but it's perfect for those who are more interested in drinking and being seen.

Oct 06, 2010

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Member since 2007

Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Displaying: 1 - 10 of 13 reviews

Lotus, Marrickville

Restaurants, Asian, Vegetarian, Good For Groups, Romantic and Intimate

Overall 7.5 25

4 Below Average

Food 4 Ambience 4 Service 4 Value 4

Feb 07, 2012

Bamiyan, Five Dock

Restaurants, Afghani, BYO, Licensed, Serves Dinner

Overall 8.4 30

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 9

Nov 18, 2011

Khan Baba, Auburn

Restaurants, Indian, Pakistani, Serves Takeaway, Restaurant Bookings

Overall 7.3 4

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.3 Below Average

Food 1 Ambience 5 Service 8 Value 3

Jan 25, 2011

Blancharu, Elizabeth Bay

Restaurants, French, Japanese, Bistro/Brasserie, BYO

Overall 8 86

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 9

Oct 14, 2010

Bungalow 8, Sydney

Bars, Music Venues, Hip and Trendy, Outdoor Dining, Water View

Overall 5.3 142

1 Not Recommended

Ambience 1 Service 1 Value 1 Food 1

It's unbelievable that people would consider coming here to eat, the service and food (?) are equally appalling, but it's perfect for those who are more interested in drinking and being seen.

Oct 06, 2010

Teriyaki Boy, Balmain

Restaurants, Japanese, BYO, Outdoor Dining, Serves Dinner

Overall 8 65

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 10

This is the best little Japanese restaurant I know of, and I'm a real pain to please. In fact, I would say this is my favourite restaurant in Balmain, not a hard feat, I wouldn't generally eat in Balmain.

It's crowded and the tables are crammed together, sometimes you can barely fit around the table coz you're jammed up against the wall or a corner, but if you go early in the week, or have an early or much later dinner, you can move a bit more comfortably. There's nothing this place doesn't deliver that isn't terrific, beef tataki is a plate of paper thin rare beef with their wonderful light mayo and crunchy garnish to give the dish great contrasting textures.

Crab dumplings are to die for and beat Flower Drums offering hands down. Their eggplant with miso paste is sublime, sashimi always fresh and beautifully cut, and their pork belly is amazing, we always go back, you can't go wrong and it's a bargain.

Aug 05, 2010

Flower Drum, Melbourne

Restaurants, Chinese, Fine Dining, Romantic and Intimate, Licensed

Overall 6.8 55

7 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 5

We had heard that this was the best Cantonese restaurant in Australia, a Big Call! As we were in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, we dined there for the first time to see if it was all true.

Ambience was pleasant, loads of privacy and space between tables, the service was attentive, if slightly ingratiating. We had a look at the set menus (banquet style) and decided there was no way that we could have eaten so much food, nor was there anything that was so compelling we just had to order it. To their credit, they are extremely accommodating, because they told us we could choose single items from the banquet menu if we just wanted to try any specific ones.

We had some oysters, slightly steamed and they were wonderful, extremely fresh. We also tried the 'pearl meat' which was lightly braised bivalve or whatever the poor little creature was, this was nice, interesting texture without too much flavour. We had some prawns, excellent size and quality, and the deep fried King George Whiting was also very nice. We also had some crab dumplings (not as good as Teriyaki Boy's in Balmain).

The verdict, all very nice, a bit expensive, well actually quite expensive, but I wouldn't say it's a must visit restaurant. We've eaten fabulous Cantonese in little holes in the wall in Mong Kok for a fraction of the price, and sometimes you can get lucky in Sydney and have a stand out dinner in Chinatown that would have challenged Flower Drum, the problem is it's inconsistent. So probably FD win in the 'consistency' stakes, which is something.

Aug 05, 2010

Marque, Surry Hills

Restaurants, French, Hip and Trendy, BYO, Degustation Menu

Overall 7 227

7.3 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 5

We had dinner at Marque recently. Our expectations may have been a bit high, expecting 3 Hat food from a 3 Hat restaurant. To be honest, the service and ambience were impeccable, little touches such as bringing separate water jug and a bowl of ice cubes with a whiskey show attention to detail.

We opted for the a la carte option as the degustation courses are not evident until they're announced on arrival, I like to know what I'm about to dine on. The little raw yolk amuse gueule arrived, and as I'm not a fan of raw egg, mine was substituted with a 'tomato foam', very refreshing although I'm surprised foam is still being served, also it didn't have that incredibly intense zing that Bistro Ortolan's tomato essence delivers.

My husband chose the maron as an entree, and I had the duck ham, this came with something that tasted/looked like potato foam but apart from the suds both had good flavour. My main course was the cod and scampi anglaise, which was also very pleasant, a bit like comfort food, imagine a fishy rice pudding, creamy. John had the pigeon which was delicious.

The dessert, as there was no cheese course, I chose the Comté which was a very nice gruyere with some shaved nashi pear orbs, nothing I couldn't have zipped up in 2 minutes with a reliable grater! John's quinces were nicely done, with a slight tang and firm enough texture.

Would we go back? No, if I want exquisite food we will go somewhere else where you know the chef is intensely passionate because it's right there in every bite of every creation that comes out of that kitchen.

But it wasn't all lacklustre, the service at Marque is sublime, their wine list is inspired, and the ambience is wonderful with soft lighting and tables set far enough apart. I just felt the food was created and delivered to a formula and lacked intensity. The evening cost just under $400 for 2 with 2 pre dinner drinks and 4 glasses of wine, the wine was excellent.

Jul 16, 2010

Din Tai Fung, Sydney

Restaurants, Chinese, Taiwanese, Yum Cha, Air Conditioning

Overall 7.2 185

6.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 5

Forget that you have to queue, that there are weirdo items on the menu and that it can be a bit exxy. There are a few stand out dishes including their dumplings and pickled cucumbers, most of their offerings are little works of art beautifully executed but they also have some strange little dishes like a type of spaghetti noodle-y thing in peanut butter tasting sauce. I wouldn't go there for a special night out, but if you just itch for a slippery opaque dumpling that's beautifully turned out, it's worth it.

May 03, 2010

Maya Vegetarian, Surry Hills

Restaurants, Indian, Vegetarian, Good For Groups, BYO

Overall 7 79

5 Average

Food 6 Ambience 4 Service 4 Value 6

See I just don't really get the hype. We were taken there by friends who were on a nostalgia kick, foolishly expecting strong and honest flavours, it all appeared a little watery and bland. I'm sure it has a strong following, but I suspect it's more out of habit than anything else.

May 03, 2010