cjyoung316

Reviews

Restaurants, Japanese, Licensed, Serves Dinner

Overall 8.6 14

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

For 14 courses, $175 is reasonable at a fine dining restaurant. You will definitely need to be dragged out at the end there is so much food!

From start to finish, it is a truly great experience. Watching the chefs prepare the meals in the open kitchen is great. The service is attentive. There is a good range of sake to try. There were a number of stand out dishes including the pork bun (obviously), king fish with warrigal greens, marron with white asparagus, spanner and swimmer crab, hand torn pasta and the petit fours.

The online booking system is a pain but it is worth the wait. I will definitely be back.

Jan 30, 2012

Etch Restaurant, Sydney

Restaurants, European, Modern Australian, Vegetarian, Citibank Dining Program

Overall 8.1 74

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 9

I love this place, it is one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney. I have been here several times and they always provide an excellent meal. It's a great restaurant to go to for high quality food without blowing your budget. The caramalised date tart is one my favourite desserts in Sydney. Thinking about it is making me drool.

Jan 24, 2012

Parramatta Phoenix Chinese Restaurant, Parramatta

Restaurants, Function Venues, Chinese, Yum Cha, Serves Dinner

Overall 5.1 10

1.8 Not Recommended

Food 1 Ambience 3 Service 1 Value 2

I came here with my family for dinner on Chinese New Year Eve. This was my worst dining experience at any restaurant. It was a comedy of errors from the beginning, I don't even know where to start.

First, service was almost non-existent. It was almost impossible to wave someone down to take our order. Second, a waiter got angry when we asked for a refill of our teapot. When our meals came out, the kitchen had forgotten about three of our dishes. We had to call the waiters on at least three separate occasions to verify that they had forgotten three dishes. 45 minutes later, our three dishes came out.

Problem is that one dish had no taste, another dish had way too much salt and the other had raw scallops! The scallops were taken back to the kitchen to be recooked. The scallops were disgusting any way. I could only taste soda bicarbonate. After the mains, fruit was taken out to us, which we did not eat because the watermelon was completely dried out and did not look appetizing.

And to cap the night off, we found a fly in the tea (see photo)! Then we figured out why Parramatta Phoenix was not busy on CNY eve. Everyone else knew it was bad and went to other Chinese restaurants. At least we now know never to come back.

Jan 22, 2012

Harvest Vegetarian Restaurant, Rozelle

Restaurants, Vegetarian, BYO, Licensed, Outdoor Dining

Overall 6.8 66

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 8

Harvest Vegetarian is a lovely suburban restaurant for vegetarians to have a hearty meal. Both my fiancee and myself were so full after a 3 course dinner here. Portions are rather generous. The food here is delicious, although it will not blow you away. Definitely recommend to vegetarians as other reviewers have indicated, there are not too many of these types of restaurants out there.

For me the winner is the ice creams and sorbets that are made on premises. I had the almond ice cream, mmmm... almonds!

Aug 22, 2010

Chase Oyster Bar, Chatswood

Restaurants, Italian, Modern Australian, Seafood, Good For Groups

Overall 7.6 29

8 Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 8

Came here with my fiancée today for lunch. You have to get the garlic seafood on the specials menu. It is absolutely to die for, Lobster, scallop, prawn, fish in a delicious garlic sauce. All for a reasonable $25.

Aug 21, 2010

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Member since 2008

Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Displaying: 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

Momofuku Seiōbo, Pyrmont

Restaurants, Japanese, Licensed, Serves Dinner

Overall 8.6 14

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Jan 30, 2012

Etch Restaurant, Sydney

Restaurants, European, Modern Australian, Vegetarian, Citibank Dining Program

Overall 8.1 74

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 9

Jan 24, 2012

Parramatta Phoenix Chinese Restaurant, Parramatta

Restaurants, Function Venues, Chinese, Yum Cha, Serves Dinner

Overall 5.1 10

1.8 Not Recommended

Food 1 Ambience 3 Service 1 Value 2

Jan 22, 2012

Harvest Vegetarian Restaurant, Rozelle

Restaurants, Vegetarian, BYO, Licensed, Outdoor Dining

Overall 6.8 66

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 8

Aug 22, 2010

Chase Oyster Bar, Chatswood

Restaurants, Italian, Modern Australian, Seafood, Good For Groups

Overall 7.6 29

8 Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 8

Aug 21, 2010

Aria, Circular Quay

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Fine Dining, Has Bar, Licensed

Overall 7.8 445

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.5 Below Average

Food 6 Ambience 6 Service 1 Value 1

I took my fiance to Aria following our engagement. I must say that this was not an enjoyable experience and I didn't feel satisfied paying $200 when my expectations were so much great. I would like to think that we just had bad luck but after reading some other comments on this website, our experience at Aria seems to be the norm or at least far too common for what is supposed to be considered one of Sydney's best restaurants.

Some of the low lights included: We were seated underneath an air conditioner that was leaking. When we were moved to another table, the waiter took out a step ladder and mopped up the water that was dripping from the air con with a rag, pretty classy for a 2 chef hat restaurant. It took 45 minutes for someone to finally take our order despite repeated signalling for attention.

The waitress that served us was rude and didn't seem to care. I had an empty glass for 30 minutes before it was filled. I had the oysters for entree, which were quite piddly in size and just didn't have the nice fresh, creamy, and salty flavour that I was expecting. I had the snapper for my main. Although the dish was presented nicely, the fish was overcooked. I would expect a 2 hat restaurant to be able to cook a fish just right.

Overall, Aria is a major disappointment and does not compare well against other fine Sydney restaurants. Again I would like to think that we had bad luck, but this is not the way I would have liked to celebrate my engagement. The whole experience was rather amusing actually.

Dec 29, 2009

Sepia Restaurant, Sydney

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Citibank Dining Program, Degustation Menu, Has Bar

Overall 8 87

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 10 Value 7

I dined here recently with my partner, where we were warmly greeted by the staff. The service throughout the night was very good and the wait staff were very friendly and helpful. The food generally was quite amazing. I had oysters for entree, which were really fresh and tasted delicious. I had the murray cod for my main and the cod was cooked to perfection.

However, I was not a fan of the clam custard that came on the side. The desserts were the highlight of the night. I had the citrus marshmallows and my partner had the elements of chocolate. Both were amazing in their own right.

Overall, Sepia was a pleasant dining experience, although a bit pricey. I have already started recommending Sepia to my friends.

Jul 27, 2009

Umi Kaiten Zushi, Sydney

Restaurants, Japanese, Hip and Trendy, BYO, Child Friendly

Overall 7.1 94

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

I come here often. Umi is one of my favourite sushi restaurants in Sydney. The sashimi is relatively fresh. There is a good variety (even for vegetarians).

Aug 24, 2008

Aj's Indian Restaurant, Eastwood

Restaurants, Asian, Indian, Seafood, Vegetarian

Overall 8.4 131

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 10 Value 8

Came here for my birthday with some friends. I thoroughly enjoyed the expereience. Sanjay was very attentive, giving us suggestions on what to order and making sure we did not order to much naan bread. I will recommend this restaurant to anyone that loves curry! Definitely will be back here in the near future!

Aug 18, 2008