xya

Reviews

Restaurants, Chinese, Seafood, Yum Cha, BYO

Overall 5.9 108

3.3 Below Average

Food 2 Ambience 6 Service 3 Value 2

We haven't been to Kam Fook for a few years and the quality and service seems to have dropped tremendously since.

Went on Saturday afternoon at 2pm with my wife and was immediately ushered to a table. We were left there for 5-10 minutes, before a waitress came over to take our dim sum order. We told her that our tea is not even served and she said she would get someone. A couple of dim sums came but still no tea.

Finally, I had to call the senior staff over and told him that no one had served us tea. No apologies, just a grunt. Thought the service was bad enough, the food was even worse. The prawn dumpling (har gow) and chive dumpling were overcooked and the skin was very mushy and thick. It was probably one of the worst dumplings we had in Sydney. We had 3 other non-dumpling dishes which were Ok, but not outstanding.

For what we got, it's certainly overpriced. Given that we had yum cha here years ago, this was a shocking experience and won't be back again.

May 06, 2012

Corner 75, Randwick

Restaurants, European, BYO, Licensed

Overall 7.8 31

8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 8

First visit for me and my wife after reading good reviews about the restaurant. It was Sunday night and the restaurant was only half full, which is similar to other restaurants around the area.

We had a crepe filled stuffed with veal meat and goulash soup as entree. Both were excellent, the veal was tender & moist and the goulash soup was very tasty & hearty.
This was followed by their specials on the night, cabbage roll and a pork chop dish. Both servings were very big and well worth the money.

The cabbage roll had generous servings of cooked shreded cabbages on top of a leave roll with stuffed rice & veal mince. It also came with some baked potatoes. The pork chop came with a capsicum sauce, which is nice, but nothing to shout about. Still, there was 2 large pieces of pork chops.

We were full by the time we got through the mains, but couldn't resist sharing a dessert, which was the guten (?) pancake. It was a crepe filled with mashed nuts (can't recall what type of nuts it was) with warm chocolate sauce topping. It was not overly sweet and very nice.

We saw other tables having schnitzels and garlic breads, which we will definitely come back to try. Ambience-wise, it's an old school Eastern European feel to the place, which for us is great. Service was very prompt and friendly.

Overall, we spent $75 without any drinks but was very full. We would have love to try their knuckles but they were not available that night. We will definitely come back to this nice restaurant again.

May 06, 2012

Rocks Teppanyaki, The, The Rocks

Restaurants, Japanese, Good For Groups, Hip and Trendy, Private Room

Overall 6 41

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 10

Like the previous reviewer, we came here on a Groupon offer. 15 courses from its "The Whole Shebang" for a fraction of the full price.

The ambience is nice, although felt a bit crowded as we have 10 guests to a room, with one chef. So, may not be a great venue if you want a private dinner.
No food throwing but still great to watch the chef cook. It's an entertainment by itself.

With 15 different items to eat, we were really full by the end of the course. We can't find any fault with the food, it's freshly cook, well prepared and organised. Had we not got the Groupon offer, we would probably find the full price to be on the very high side. Hence, we gave a 10 for value based on the offer price we got, not the full price.

Jan 25, 2012

Bistro Papillon, Sydney

Restaurants, French, Good For Groups, Air Conditioning, Bistro/Brasserie

Overall 8 39

6.5 Recommended

Food 6 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 6

For entree, we had Gratinee, which resembles a thin crust pizza with onions and cheese. Looks simple but very delicious.

The mains were Coq Au Vin (chicken casserole) and a seafood special with cream sauce. I thought the chicken was a bit tough and dry, perhaps, overcooked a bit but the sauce was very tasty. We had to order some bread to finish up the sauce. The seafood was Ok but nothing memorable.

Finish the night with a creme brulee which was very nice. The service was attentive and friendly. The restaurant is cosy and good for a romantic dinner or for groups. The price is a bit on the high side as the servings were not large.

Dec 17, 2011

Jin Yan Asian Cuisine, Castle Hill

Restaurants, Chinese, Yum Cha, Family Dining, Good For Groups

Overall 6.6 10

5.5 Average

Food 3 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 5

Came here last week for yum cha. We're surprised there was no queue at 1pm and the restaurant is very modern and clean. The waitresses pushing the carts were very friendly and it's quite good to see English written menu on each cart to describe what dim sums are in there. I've not seen this anywhere else.

Unfortunately, these are the only good points I could give to this restaurant. We order mostly steamed dim sums and were terribly disappointed by the quality of the dim sums. Although the filling in the dim sums were generous, the dim sum wrappings were starchy and very poor compared to all the other yum cha places that we frequent.

We had coconut sago and mango pancakes for dessert. The sago was average but the mango pancakes were disappointing. Would have been good if the mangoes were thawed first. Just imagine biting into a freezing cold mango. Overall, very disappointing yum cha experience. Hope it was just a one-off, as it's a shame given such good service and ambience.

Dec 17, 2011

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Member since 2007

Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Kam Fook, Bondi Junction

Restaurants, Chinese, Seafood, Yum Cha, BYO

Overall 5.9 108

3.3 Below Average

Food 2 Ambience 6 Service 3 Value 2

May 06, 2012

Corner 75, Randwick

Restaurants, European, BYO, Licensed

Overall 7.8 31

8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 8

May 06, 2012

Rocks Teppanyaki, The, The Rocks

Restaurants, Japanese, Good For Groups, Hip and Trendy, Private Room

Overall 6 41

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 10

Jan 25, 2012

Bistro Papillon, Sydney

Restaurants, French, Good For Groups, Air Conditioning, Bistro/Brasserie

Overall 8 39

6.5 Recommended

Food 6 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 6

Dec 17, 2011

Jin Yan Asian Cuisine, Castle Hill

Restaurants, Chinese, Yum Cha, Family Dining, Good For Groups

Overall 6.6 10

5.5 Average

Food 3 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 5

Dec 17, 2011

Zaaffran Fine Indian Restaurant & BBQ, Darling Harbour

Restaurants, Barbeque, Indian, Vegetarian, Fine Dining

Overall 7.4 293

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

My wife and I came here a few months ago but didn't booked in advance. Luckily, we only had to wait for 10 minutes. The setup is quite nice and if I had booked earlier, I might be able to get a seat with view of Darling Harbour. Definitely a good place to have a romantic dinner.

For mains, we had briyani rice and beef ribs. The briyani rice was cooked in a pastry, which makes it look really special compared to the usual briyani rice. The taste was really good. The beef ribs were fantastic, really tender. We would recommend both dishes.

For dessert, we had Symphony of 3, which is a combination of rose kulfi, mango kulfi and pistachio ice cream. The mango kulfi stood out of the 3, but overall, nice dessert.

I would definitely come back again.

Dec 17, 2011

Crooked River Wines Restaurant, Gerringong

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch, Ample or Convenient Parking

Overall 8.4 3

8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

The food here is great. For entree, we had garlic prawn pate with crusty bread. The garlic prawn pate was very light and goes very well with the bread. This was followed by the very tasty chilli salt squid, which had an interesting combination with chorizo and seaweed.

For mains, we had a very refreshing crab with mango salad, which was very similar to the Thai style papaya salad, and the best of all was their signature dish, the pork belly. Don't miss the pork belly, it's a very clever combination of different ingredients to make a wonderful dish.

The restaurant have tables that oversees the vineyard but make sure you book in advance. We didn't make a booking, so had to content with a table inside the restaurant. Still good but I would have given a 10 if I had a seat outside.
Service is good and friendly. Overall, a great food experience and we'll definitely be back the next time we're in south coast.

Nov 19, 2011

Mesa Lunga, Adelaide

Restaurants, Italian, Spanish, Tapas, Vegetarian

Overall 7.1 8

6.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 7 Service 5 Value 7

Came here for a late lunch on a Sunday. The restaurant wasn't pack at that time, probably only had 3 or 4 other tables. Unfortunately, one waiter was tied up trying to prepare coffee for the others and another seem more interested in chatting with some of the patrons than attend to us. So, we were left on our own for a while, even to the extent of us getting our own menu after waiting for 10 minutes for one. Service was certainly lacking.

Service aside, the ambience is quite nice. We ordered 4 tapas: smoked ocean trout, goat cheese with quince jelly, garlic prawns and beef cheek. The highlight is probably the beef cheek, which was tender, tasty and sitting nicely on soft yummy potato puree.

Hopefully they can improve their service to match their food.

Sep 14, 2011

Rockpool Bar and Grill, Sydney

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Steak House, Fine Dining, Hip and Trendy

Overall 7.9 199

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 6

Rockpool is quite an experience, foodwise and ambience. Great place for a date or in a group.

For entree, we had steak tartare and a quail dish. Both which my wife and I really like a lot, probably the highlight of the day. For mains, we had a ribeye on the bone and a grilled fish. The fish was ordinary, nothing really to shout about. The steak was quite good but, unfortunately, the cut of meat wasn't that great. There were some chewy bits running through the middle of the cut, which for a $60+ steak, I would expect at least a nice decent chunk of meat.

For dessert we had a black forest dessert, which was nice but not outstanding.
Overall, it's pricey and the mains and desserts were a bit of a disappointing. Luckily, we really love the entrees and may consider coming back a second time. The serving was pretty big though, as we struggled to finish our 2 entrees, 2 mains and a shared dessert.

Sep 14, 2011

La Pesa Trattoria, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Italian, BYO, Citibank Dining Program, Has Bar

Overall 8.3 46

8 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 7

I would sum up the dinner experience as started on a high note and ended rather flat. My wife and I had the Milanese antipasto which was pretty nice. For mains, we had the osso bucco, which I thought was Ok. I think some other reviewers like it a lot.

The main highlight for us was probably the pork neck. It was really tender and nicely prepared. Unfortunately, the desserts were a letdown. We had the tiramisu, polenta cake and also the semifreddo. None which really stood out or out of the ordinary. We might consider going back again, but may skip dessert the next time.

Sep 14, 2011