Chefs Gallery (Sydney)

A hastily organised dinner doesn’t deserve a 20 minute wait. But the crowd in front of Chefs Gallery implied to us that it is worth it.

Sitting along the bench looking into the kitchen added to the fun. The dry noodle with fried shallots, freshly made by the chef in front of us, had simple flavours with chewy texture of the noodles accentuated by the shallots. Dessert was the highlight. Poor guy slaved himself for nearly an hour sticking little noses and ears to the sesame ‘piggy face’ buns yet seeing customers polished the buns off in under 2 minutes.

Details:
Chefs Gallery Restaurant
Shop 12, Ground Floor Regent Place
501 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
http://chefsgallery.com.au/

Cotton Duck (Sydney)

The flexible menu was what attracted us to visit Cotton Duck, the new sister restaurant of Dank Street Depot. Specifically my friend was intrigued by the prospect of having 1 main and 3 desserts – one can order any 4 courses from the menu for $85 (2 courses for $55).

The food was as slick as the contemporary dining room. And the unique cocktail list complimented the food well (aloe vera and mint?). We were fortunate to try the special wagyu beef cheek dish for the night. The pumpkin pie and chocolate raspberry tart gave us the right balance of sweetness.

(1 for the beef cheek, 1 for the dessert, 1 for the cocktails =D )

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

Sailors Thai Ivy (Let's Do Lunch)

Does lunch between meetings with workmates constitute a power lunch? If so, there were many of them at the Ivy as we dined at the new Sailors Thai. As much as I like Ivy's décor, the dining room (formerly Teppanyaki) could do with an update. The communal table reminded me of the boardroom.

The Let’s Do Lunch menu certainly added some spice to the workday: pork belly was still crisp despite being drenched in a well balanced hot and sour Sriracha sauce. Curry chicken was tender and the clean flavours of the curry sauce had us scoffing down extra rice.

Details:
Sailors Thai Ivy
330 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://sailorsthai.com.au
http://www.merivale.com/#/ivy/sailorsthai