insayn

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  3     

Came here on a Wednesday night and it was deserted. Nice ambiance however the food was very average and definitely not a good value considering the price we had to pay. All 4 of us left still hungry as we weren't confident that the other dishes will be any better than what we've had so far.

The beetroot cured kingfish lacked flavour and the pork belly was rather dry and chewy. The worst came about when I bit onto 2 pieces of fish bone which was stuck inside the nigiri sushi, and I find this absolutely unacceptable in a Japanese restaurant. It was a very thin slice of sashimi and I'm surprised the chef didn't catch it.

The waitress detectably apologized and had nothing to offer other than a replacement of that particular piece of nigiri which I did not intend to eat again. Overall a rather disappointing dining experience and very unlikely to return.

Oct 20, 2011

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Service  9      Value  9     

Nice little authentic Japanese restaurant hidden on Oxford street, will return regularly for lunch!

Oct 06, 2011

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  5     

When we first arrived the counter was left unattended, but eventually the lady dawdled over to acknowledge us. We were seated and agree that the menu is really extensive, meaning there were many choices, fortunately, I studied the menu prior to our visit so I already knew what I was going to order.

I ordered linguine sofia and it was rather disappointing since the photo on the website looked divine. The scampi, unfortunately, was lacking in flavour and and texture, the linguini had a light olive oil taste to it and that was about it. The highlight of the dish was the cherry tomatoes, but heck, I didn't pay that kind of price to enjoy cherry tomatoes. The reason why I gave 8 stars to the food was because of the other dishes that my friends have ordered, which were all quite nice.

One thing I wasn't quite satisfied about was the payment in the end. Our change never came back which made it a forced tip and I personally believe that it should really be optional. If they had brought back the change we would have happily left it as tips.

Sep 20, 2011

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Drinks  9      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

Came here with a Spreets voucher so it was really good value. Food was great with surprising flavours. Service was excellent and waiter made us feel very welcomed and comfortable which I find rare nowadays. Agree that it is rather dark in there but it's a nice ambience nonetheless!

Definitely will return for occasions as it is quite pricey normally.

Aug 18, 2011

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  3      Service  8      Value  8     

Agreed that the skin is slightly thick for the xiao long bao, but the flavour is still divine. Was disappointed by the zha jiang noodles, not sure if this is the authentic style but I personally didn't enjoy it. The XO stir fried rice cake was good and the winter special lamb skewers are also recommended. Very good value for money, will visit again if I'm nearby.

May 30, 2011

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  3     

Came here on a Wednesday night and it was deserted. Nice ambiance however the food was very average and definitely not a good value considering the price we had to pay. All 4 of us left still hungry as we weren't confident that the other dishes will be any better than what we've had so far.

The beetroot cured kingfish lacked flavour and the pork belly was rather dry and chewy. The worst came about when I bit onto 2 pieces of fish bone which was stuck inside the nigiri sushi, and I find this absolutely unacceptable in a Japanese restaurant. It was a very thin slice of sashimi and I'm surprised the chef didn't catch it.

The waitress detectably apologized and had nothing to offer other than a replacement of that particular piece of nigiri which I did not intend to eat again. Overall a rather disappointing dining experience and very unlikely to return.

Oct 20, 2011

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Service  9      Value  9     

Nice little authentic Japanese restaurant hidden on Oxford street, will return regularly for lunch!

Oct 06, 2011

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  5     

When we first arrived the counter was left unattended, but eventually the lady dawdled over to acknowledge us. We were seated and agree that the menu is really extensive, meaning there were many choices, fortunately, I studied the menu prior to our visit so I already knew what I was going to order.

I ordered linguine sofia and it was rather disappointing since the photo on the website looked divine. The scampi, unfortunately, was lacking in flavour and and texture, the linguini had a light olive oil taste to it and that was about it. The highlight of the dish was the cherry tomatoes, but heck, I didn't pay that kind of price to enjoy cherry tomatoes. The reason why I gave 8 stars to the food was because of the other dishes that my friends have ordered, which were all quite nice.

One thing I wasn't quite satisfied about was the payment in the end. Our change never came back which made it a forced tip and I personally believe that it should really be optional. If they had brought back the change we would have happily left it as tips.

Sep 20, 2011

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Drinks  9      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

Came here with a Spreets voucher so it was really good value. Food was great with surprising flavours. Service was excellent and waiter made us feel very welcomed and comfortable which I find rare nowadays. Agree that it is rather dark in there but it's a nice ambience nonetheless!

Definitely will return for occasions as it is quite pricey normally.

Aug 18, 2011

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  3      Service  8      Value  8     

Agreed that the skin is slightly thick for the xiao long bao, but the flavour is still divine. Was disappointed by the zha jiang noodles, not sure if this is the authentic style but I personally didn't enjoy it. The XO stir fried rice cake was good and the winter special lamb skewers are also recommended. Very good value for money, will visit again if I'm nearby.

May 30, 2011

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  3      Value  3     

Went there a couple of times for lunch, the food was quite average. I had a soup last time I went and half the container was filled with black eye beans which I'm not a great fan of, but the selection was rather limited. A particular waitress wasn't too friendly so will not be back purely for that reason.

May 30, 2011

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

Visited this place recently with a group of friends and was utterly disappointed by the quality of food and the appalling service.

We were not informed of the minimum spend when we booked a table over the phone, but were rudely given this information after we were all seated. With only about 6 items on their dinner menu, it was extremely limited and only to find out that some of them were not even available.

The restaurant space is quite small, so I find it amusing how the wait staff can be so inattentive to be leaving us waiting for about 10 minutes before acknowledging that we needed assistance. The supposed 'senior staff' was rude and spoke down on us, which made it a very unpleasant experience.

The food was so salty that I could barely distinguish the kind of meat I was consuming, and had to continuously drink water to prevent my tongue being numbed from drowning in salt. To say the food was even average is overrated. Much better Asian cuisines nearby for about 1/3 of the price.

May 27, 2011

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

This is by far the worst dinner experience I've had. Had several rude staff members lecturing me about the lack of knowledge in 'authentic Thai food'. Apparently they are the 'only authentic Thai restaurant in the entire Sydney region and that all others are"mixed" and unauthentic'.

It all started with a simple request of a utensil, in which they abruptly snapped at me by saying 'we don't have it', and walked away while I was still in the middle of a sentence. It was then followed by a relay of other staff members harassing us to either eat it their way or not eat it at all (bare in mind that it still has to be paid for).

The waiter had made comments about Chinese people in particular of not knowing how to dine proper Thai food in the most condescending manner. I felt insulted and angry, and by then we didn't even have any appetite left to eat the cold, uneaten food that was laying on the table. The senior staff insisted that we had to eat the food and that we would have to pay for it regardless. What a joke!

If you don't mind an abusive restaurant environment where you will be paying for average tasting Thai food for about 3 times the price, visit at your own risk.

Sep 19, 2010

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

I would have to admit that I was slightly disappointed. I wasn't very fond of the idea of mixing Thai flavours into Japanese Cuisine, since they are quite contrasting in flavour. Overall I felt that the dishes were lacking sauce, which tasted fairly plain, and then we were hit with a Tom Yum soup which was extremely strong in flavour.

The sashimi plate was very ordinary, tuna in soy sauce? and 2 small pieces of king fish in a salad dressing that they normally put into complimentary salads when you have Japanese food. The rice paper roll seemed a bit random, and the soft shell crab was drenched in oil. Other than that the roasted duck main was really good.

I was full afterwards but my boy wasn't, keeping in mind that we already had something small to eat beforehand. I would have to say the portions are quite tiny for what you are paying for. It's only worthwhile if you go on the discounted days.

Aug 17, 2010

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

6.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  6     

The food variety was different but the flavours weren't very exciting. Portions are a bit small for what they charge. The only thing I was happy with was the dessert, but I would have preferred it on a plate rather than in a cup, which didn't allow me to avoid the bits I didn't like. The Kangaroo meat was a bit chewy and bit too salty. I also had the crab omelette that people were hyping about, which was quite normal.

There were these bits they put on top which I wasn't exactly sure what it was, it tasted like this Malaysian paste which didn't go with the dish at all, and was also way too salty. I think this is one of those places you'd go once for the sake of it and not go back.

Aug 17, 2010