Group Lunch

The Stoned Crow

After a long morning spent at Rhodes IKEA, my girlfriend and I decided to make a pit stop on the way home for a late lunch in Crows Nest. As we walked down Willoughby Road, the main road for Crows Nest restaurants, our eyes were caught by the happening pub The Stoned Crow.

The first thing you notice when entering the pub is the beautiful decor. The size and available space has been maximised, with a completely opened front-of-house that separates the main street and the pub with high benches and stools. The restaurant feels much larger than it really is, as an entire wall has been covered with a mirror. Finally, the ceiling is finished with hanging plants to further enhance the open "outdoors-iness" encapsulated within the restaurants arrangement.

The changing landscape of the modern day pub menu has seen The Stoned Crow follow suit. The classics such as chicken schnitzel and hamburgers are readily available, however a tapas menu is also on offer for those after something lighter. I hate to sound like a broken record player, however I cannot fault any of our three dishes; they were all superb. The S&P calamari is cooked perfectly, and is finished well with the tangy sauce included. The chorizo quesadilla came with hommus and cranberry, and too was gone quickly after arriving. However the highlight was the duck pizza; the hoisin sauce is balanced beautifully with the duck, finished with cucumber strips and shallots to give a fresh taste to the plate. The presentation of all three on cute little cutting boards can be seen below.

Whatever you're after, be it a beer and schnitty after a long days work, or a selection of tapas and pizza when dining out, you can't go wrong at The Stoned Crow.

- David

Chorizo Quesadilla

Peking Duck Pizza

Salt and Pepper Calamari

Umi Sushi Express

This time I will be sharing with you guys Japanese food again, as I'm a big fan of it.

Japanese cuisine has a reputation for its freshness. Standing out in the competitive food industry, Umi Sushi has taken the lead.

The sushi train bar is located at shop 2, 505 George Street, Event Cinema Complex, Sydney NSW 2000. Since it has a good location does not mean it will be expensive. You will definitely be surprised by the price that they charging! $3 for each sushi plate, plus a rang of traditional and fusion sushi.

Apart from the cheap prices, Umi Sushi also provides deals such as a 'movie deal' to attract more customers. For $22, you can get 1 movie ticket, 2 sushi plates, and 1 still water. It is a fantastic deal! Other deals include happy hours and monthly specials.

Of course, the sushi there are fresh and just like what you will expect. Take you friends and enjoy the sushi train after the movie!

- Tingting

Yangtzegang (揚子江)

Today,  I want to introduce Chinese restaurant  "Yangtzegang". This Chinese restaurant is located in Eastwood. I'm strongly recommending this restaurant. This is because I used to work in this restaurant as a waiter. I've tried to eat a majority of the menu items. In my opinion, this restaurant's foods are quite nice to eat, whilst the price is not that expensive. Also, they have many seats, so if you have a family event or a friend event, you can celebrate there.

This picture is of the entrance to the restaurant.

They have various courses, such as Beef, Pork, Chicken, Rice Noodles or Pastries

                                                    There are 4~5 pages of the menu.

When you order food, they provide basic side dishes such as Chinese traditional tea, pickled radish, and pieces of kimchi.

This menu item below is noodle soup with seafood (This food item is one of my favourites, but if you don't like spicy food or seafood, don't try to eat this).

$15

This menu item below is fried rice with shrimp and eggs. If you like fried rice you can try it. But, if you don't like seafood you can order basic fried rice as well.

$13

Fried beef with spicy and sweet sauce is really popular in this restaurant. Small size is $22 and large size is $28. This food is really taste nice and not that spicy, so everyone can try it.  And this food is good for 3~4 people(L Size).

There are many restaurants in Eastwood, but this Chinese restaurant has a 20 year tradition and a good reputation for traditional Chinese food. If you are interested in Chinese foods or spicy food try to visit here.

In my opinion this restaurant is 3.9/5.0

By - Jay Lee-

La Zana Ristorante

Former North Shore local restaurant of the year and still a local favourite, La Zana is often full midweek as well as weekends. Patrons are a mix of families & couples. Bookings are usually required.

Simply the best Italian restaurant in the area, La Zana consistently dishes up perfectly cooked pasta, a good range of freshly baked pizzas and supplements this staple fare with a varied 'primi' & 'secondi' menu that incorporates both traditional antipasti and veal dishes, as well as an appealing range of seafood dishes. The seafood hotpot in particular is one to try.

I can recommend the tagliatelle boscaiola - perfect fresh pasta in a creamy sauce with bacon that avoids being too rich.

Serving size is relatively large, so if you are a dessert nut, you'll need to miss out on the starter.

The other dish ordered was Tagliatelle La Zana which was also a great feed and a good blend of chicken & avocado in a white sauce.

Service was polite and friendly.

~ Poppy

Harry's Cafe De Wheels

Harry's Cafe De Wheels

The best pie in Sydney!

See all locations of Harry's cafe

Harry's Cafe De Wheels is an iconic food cart situated in major suburbs around Sydney that speciailzes in foods such as pies, hotdogs, sausage rolls, tarts and breads.

This famous franchise was named after a famous Sydneysider who went by the name of Harry Edwards.

The age group that attends to the delicious pastry that Harrys has to offer are varied from kids to adults as all can enjoy their meal/snack with a tasty homemade milkshake.

<Harry's Tiger Pie>

The signature and most popular pie would have to be the Tiger pie so this was my choice as I made my visit to Harrys. 

With a choice of lean beef, curry chicken or veggies it is topped up with hot mash peas and mash potato with a warm and succulent spread of gravy sauce. 

<Cheeses Dog>

The pie was well matched with the alternative main attraction so the choice was made to get an extra hotdog with cheese sauce and ketchup.

The option was given for either shredded cheese or cheese sauce on the hotdog but I had the cheese sauce one as I have had the shredded cheese dog many times before.

Harrys is not considered a fast-food outlet but more of a pit stop to fill those little hungry needs, then its back onto the road.

Basil Nut

With the rapid growth of new and old cuisines across Sydney it can sometimes be difficult to find a restaurant that stands out and offers a new take on a popular cuisine. Basil Nut manages to do this, with its innovative Thai dishes that are full of fresh ingredients and fusion flavours. 

The restaurant is small and always packed; it is never a good idea to bank on getting a table without booking. They do however do a roaring takeaway trade, and are extremely efficient in getting food out to both takeaway and eat-in patrons. If you have a large group and wish to have a long dinner it is probably not the restaurant for you, due to the restaurant’s size it is often a little cramped and noisy.

I have always enjoyed Thai food, however I have never before tasted such interesting flavours at a Thai restaurant. Whilst the menu offers traditional classics such as Pad Thai, Satay Chicken and Fish Cakes, it also gives you the choice of many In-House specials, my favourite being the Chili-Jam Duck. The duck in this dish is always beautifully tender and lean, and the handmade Chili-Jam perfectly compliments all components of the dish; offering a slight kick to the palette. All Basil Nut dishes exude freshness and flavour, and are remarkably light and not oily.


- David

Chilli Jam Duck

Fish Cakes

Sakae

Address: 138 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122 Phone:(02) 9804 7420 Hours: Open today · 10:30 am - 10:00 pm

Sakae is really famous Japanese cuisine franchise in Sydney. On Sunday, me and my friend visited the Japanese Dining bar "Sakae" which is located in Eastwood.  Japanese foods are very competitive in the markets. This is because it really tastes nice and comfortable to eat (Sushi, Takoyaki etc). If you want to eat Japanese traditional foods, I recommend to you visit Sakae Japanese Dining bar.

This is menu for Sakae. Majority of foods are traditional Japanese foods. 

(http://www.sakae.com.au/?page_id=306)  When you access official Sakae website, you can see more details and menus.

 This is the inside of Sakae, this dinning bar is not that big. But if you feel like inside is too small, you can have meal outside.

Outside of restaurant you can have meal under the big trees. So it has a really natural and good view.

Chicken Karage

This is chicken karage with salad, we ordered 6 pieces of chicken karage and it was really good for an entree dish.

Japanese Curry Udon

My friend ordered "Currie Udon". This food is based on currie and they put in the Japanese noodle udon.

Sapporo Ramen

This food is Sapporo Ramen. Sapporo originates from the Japanese city Sapporo, and Ramen is a Japanese traditional noodle. This food was really nice to eat.

Overall, my opinion is 3.9/5

Price : Not that expensive

Quality: Quite nice

3.9/5

-Jay(Jaewook) Lee-

Swissotel's Just Pure Bistro

Fancy a romantic dinner? Why not take your partner to Just Pure Bistro?

In April, the restaurant offers their 'Autumn Menu' to their customers with a special menu for kids. The reason for that is because they offer a range of fresh, natural and locally sourced products that are in season at the time of dining in. The concept of simple, organic, locally grown ingredients. Swiss hospitality has helped the restaurant earn a great reputation.

This time we had two mains of pork belly and barramundi fillet. The food was cooked perfectly with flavour into it. The chocolate dessert was amazing for the end of the meal. The price of the meal was reasonable, however if you can get an early bird booking from the restaurant, you can get discount or cheaper price for a set of menu.

Just Pure Bistro is a good place to experience with family or friends. You can enjoy the meal with 5 star service and the Sydney CBD view. Make a booking now!

- Tingting

India Tea & Curry House

India Tea & Curry House is a traditional Indian food restaurant with a homely feel and great food. The menu is typical of its genre, but is exactly what you want to see when choosing Indian cuisine. The restaurant caters for dinner only from 5:30pm, eat-in or takeaway and is licensed for BYO.

The dishes are true to their heritage with no hesitation when it comes to flavor and spice. On Thursday night we ordered Chicken Korma and Balti Beef for mains with plain and cheese Naan as a side. The Korma was enriched with flavor but not too much spice which went down with ease, unlike the Balti Beef which got the tastes buds attention quickly with the immediate heat. Together with the Naan breads the curries made a delicious feast that definitely followed with a loosening of the belt buckle as a sign of satisfaction. - I will gladly note, the one dish that was westernised was the cheese Nann, which was made with mouthwatering stringy cheese instead of crumbly Indian cheese.

One of the most pleasurable points of the evening was the service. All the waiters were so softly spoken and polite, with no need for a note book to remember the orders. They were very attentive to every table and made the evening more enjoyable. As each guest left we were all greeted by the owners who asked how our evening was and were generally interested in what we had to say.

Overall this restaurant gets a big thumbs up due to its traditional food qualities and impeccable service.

~ Poppy

Cucinella

CUCINELLA

209B Coogee Bay Road Coogee, NSW, 2034

www.cucinella.com.au

According to the webpage of Cucinella, the term Cucinella means a "small kitchen" in Italian. 

Cucinella is located in Coogee bay and it is an Italian family owned business.

I went to Coogee beach to have a enjoyable breakfast as part of a celebration for the Easter break.

(You can also check the detailed menu of Cucinella from its webpage link above)

 Italian dining is very accessible in Sydney and it usually has an entree, salad, main and dessert as well as a coffee menu. However, I had only chosen from the breakfast menu and coffee to top it all up.

 I personally believe that a good Italian style breakfast will be based on the fresh vegetables, the proper way to cook eggs and most importantly the precision of hollandaise sauce.  

These three were perfectly combined with its hospitality level.

Ever since I came to Australia, I enjoy having breakfast at a cafe on weekends.

Cucinella could be one of my best food experiences in Australia.

 Salmon Eggs Benedict

The Eggs Benedict is shown to be the most attractive choice among the cafe-food menu. 

The thickness of the hollandaise sauce was just right and wonderfully mixed with the eggs and sourdough bread.

Big breakfast

However, the only thing that I would suggest to Cucinella is that the portion of food was not enough for a hungry customer.

Although I ordered the "big breakfast", it was only limited to a "medium breakfast" for me.


If you are heading towards Coogee beach, having coffee is a must as one can enjoy the taste while watching the waves smash against the beach.
If your out and about Coogee Beach, visiting Cucinella will not disappoint your tastes as its delicious Italian style menu and its exquisite coffee will make you want to come again.

Sushi Train Neutral Bay

The sushi industry is one of the most competitive food markets in the streets of Sydney, with a privately owned store on just about every corner. It only takes one bad roll for a customer to lose loyalty to any given outlet before they move on to another. I’ve dined at more than my fair share of sushi stores, though the one that I believe is a step above the rest is the eat-in restaurant chain, Sushi Train.

Sushi Train offers the regular fixes of inside out hand rolls, having that fresh taste that is expected at any eat-in sushi train. As someone who is very nit-picky about their salmon, I can assure you that the texture is beautiful and not too fatty. As a healthier alternative, generous portions of Sashimi are also available for those that prefer the cuts of fish to the seaweed paper and rice.

A favourite hot plate of mine is the vegetable Gyoza. Be on the lookout, as it is best to order this dish during peak hour so that it is made fresh. Similar to the dumpling, this dish is a great entrée and a staple order at Sushi Train. If you’re after an alternative for your palette to sushi, you can’t go wrong with Gyoza.

However, this brings me to the reason why I dine in at Neutral Bay. The okonomiyaki, a Japanese seafood pancake, is made fresh upon request and is a must-order at any Sushi Train. Accompanied with a light mayonnaise and a thicker version of soy sauce, the delicate pancake melts in your mouth upon every bit. This dish has been cooked to absolute perfection, and is a light dish for those looking to end the night on a good note.

If you're after fresh sushi with great hot plate alternatives, I recommend you head down to your local Sushi Train.


- David

Okonomiyaki

Mini Salmon Rolls

Chicken Katsu

Eat Love Pizza

Address: 31 Wheat Rd, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone:(02) 8267 3666
Hours:


Open today · 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

Hello guys, I'm going to introduce one of best Italian restaurants in Sydney! This restaurant is called "Eat Love Pizza" and located at Darling Harbour. Eat Love Pizza is Sydney's favourite and most innovative pizza restaurant.

On Saturday, I went to this place for dinner with my family. 

Customers can enjoy the view of darling harbour while they have dinner. Design of the restaurant is really good. 

-Supreme Pizza-

I ordered Supreme pizza with thin crust, my opinion is it was bit salty, but the taste was better than dominos or pizza hut.

-Carbonara Spaghetti-

Spaghetti was my favourite meal of the night, despite being a bit oily. If you like Italian food you have to try it! It was really good.

-Garden Salad-

This salad was okay, but I could not find difference compared to a normal salad. It tasted okay, but is not recommend.

Before I had dinner, I put all foods on my dish and took this picture. If you really like Italian traditional foods (Spaghetti, Pizza) and wine, you have to visit Eat Love Pizza! You will enjoy the nice view, mood, and foods!

https://www.darlingharbour.com/eat-drink/eat-love-pizza.aspx


Posted By -Jay(Jaewook) Lee- 

Infuzions

Infuzions is an extremely versatile mixed Asian food restaurant that is a new addition to the collection of night life restaurants in the suburb or Hornsby, NSW. By versatile I mean applicable to both Asian nationalities and western as as the menu combines both traditional Asian dishes like pad Thai, sang choy bow and vegetables and silk tofu stir fry, and then caters greatly for western cultures with dishes such as oven roasted salmon, Wagyu beef salad and fun dishes such as grilled meats on vertical skewers.

The menu is sectioned into categories including entrees, BBQ & grill, curries, Asian pan and wok. Infuzions caters for lunch, dinner and take away.

On Thursday night when I attended there was a live band playing classics from all eras that was enjoyed by a vast age group of audience. The general client age group for the dinner session was between 30-60 years of age as the restaurant is more sophisticated and is also licensed with a wide range of beers, ciders, wines, champagnes and cocktails.

The food quality was satisfactory, with a special recommendation to the scallops to start - cooked/seasoned to perfection! The mains were a good size but not too complex in variation of flavours - in particular the infuzions marinated chicken.

If I were to go again I would order a range of entree's as a tapas style meal as there were many dishes that tempted me but the mains were too large to order a variety.

Overall it was a pleasant evening with good entertainment and food too!

~ Poppy

infuzions.com.au/hornsby/

Kura Kura

I'm going to recommend one of the best Japanese Dining in the town~~

Kura Kura is a lovely little restaurant fitted out well. You make order from iPads, which are easy to use as it has different languages for the customers.

The service in Kura Kura is quick because each dish you order goes straight to the kitchen, which means your can have your first dish on the table while your still thinking of what to get next. 

Most importantly, the food here is very reasonably priced with ample serving sizes (we had $130 for 4 people). It's always fresh and tasty. 

Bring your friends to Shop 3, 76 Ultimo Rd Sydney, NSW 2000 (opposite of the entrance to Market City)


- Tingting