Pony Lounge & Dining – The Rocks revisited (Sydney)

We visited Pony at The Rocks on a summer night. Compared to our last visit, it was raining heavily and we found a nice refuge along the communal table, right below the heaters.

Their small plates again made a great start to the meal. The mozzarella complimented well with the salsa and the frittata packed with flavour. While I enjoyed the blue eye cod with potato crust main course, I wished there was something to cut through the oily mustard sauce to balance the dish.

We enjoyed the special dessert. Caramelised figs and chocolate worked well with the French toast.

Details:
Pony Lounge & Dining – The Rocks
Corner of Kendall Lane and Argyle Street
The Rocks NSW 2000
http://www.ponydining.com.au

Cotton Duck ... one more time (Sydney)

We visited Cotton Duck for the last time, a week before its closing. The service was still polite and attentive. We enjoyed the corn polenta entrée and shared the boer goat. My favourite of the night was the freshly made plum pie – a great way to end a cold and rainy night.

Sad to hear that it is closing down, thanks for the memories.

Details:
Cotton Duck
50 Holt Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.danksstreetdepot.com.au

Thanon Khao San Thai Restaurant (Sydney)

We walked past Thanon Khao San around the back packer hostels area near Central Station in Sydney. The décor resembles that of a street food market in Asia, and we were ready for some authentic Thai cuisine.

The duck curry is served inside a coconut, with the skin slightly charred creating the extra flavour – certainly better than most other duck curries we have tasted. The sauce was mopped up with some roti on the side. The bbq chicken wings and pad thai were also excellent.

Details:
Thanon Khao San
413 Pitt St 
Haymarket NSW 2000
http://www.thanonkhaosan.com.au

Foveaux Restaurant and Bar (Sydney)

We visited Foveaux Restaurant in Surry Hills with the $60 (2 entrées and 2 main courses) discounted voucher (can’t resist a bargain). We arrived early to have a drink at The Red Door bar downstairs.

The entrée with smoked duck and confit spring roll gave us 2 interesting texture and was our favourite dish of the night. The brisket main course was slightly dry but the sirloin on the side was perfectly cooked and well complimented by the subtle wasabi cream.

A good experience with discounted voucher pretty much guarantee us coming back for the tasting menu later this year.

Details: 
Foveaux Restaurant and Bar 
65-67 Foveaux St 
Surry Hills NSW 2010 
http://www.foveaux.com.au 

Green Gourmet (Sydney)

After the continual feasting in the past month, we have decided to slow down a bit with a vegetarian meal. We headed to Green Gourmet opposite St Leonards station for dinner on Sunday.

The restaurant serves vegetarian meals aligned to the ideals of Buddhism – plain, simple cooking without garlic and onion. The fried taro fish was interesting and the burdock stir fry was light. The dishes were not super delicious but we trust that they were healthy and cleansing.

Details:
Green Gourmet
538 Pacific Highway
St Leonards NSW 2065
http://www.greengourmet.com.au/

Adriano Zumbo Patissier at The Star (Sydney)

We planned for dessert on a Sunday at Adriano Zumbo new dessert train at The Star casino after a fish market lunch. By arriving 10 minutes before opening at noon, we secured our seats before a queue was formed.

The variety and creativity of the desserts on offer were amazing. Given the price tag ($9-$11 per plate), we limited ourselves to 2 plates only. The ssnowmanorr was nicely soft and complimented well with the subtle lychee and coconut cream.

The cube caramel found the perfect balance among caramel, passionfruit and ginger – a combination we can never imagine working.

(And we cleaned the plates...)

Details:
Adriano Zumbo at The Star
Shop 1, Cafe Court
The Star
80 Pyrmont st
Pyrmont, NSW 2009
http://www.adrianozumbo.com/the-star-pyrmont/

Miso (Sydney)

Craving for a warm meal on a rainy evening we went to Miso, a Japanese katsu specialist, for some deep fried action.

This casual dining venue serves its deep fried dishes in teishoku (set menu) style. For around $20, you will have a combination of rice, side salads, miso soup and even dessert to go with the katsu dishes. Both our chicken and pork katsu were juicy on the inside and the dipping sauce nicely balanced. No wonder there is always a queue outside.

Details: 
Miso
World Square Shopping Centre
Level 1, Shop 20, 644 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.masuya.com.au/