Senyai (Sydney)

I happened to be in the city on a Thursday night and decided to dine at Senyai in the bottom of the Regent Place building. We judge a Thai restaurant from the duck red curry and Senyai’s offering was superb – especially the duck skin was not all soggy still when served. The crispy pork belly stir fried was also a delight with its intense savory flavour.

Details:
Senyai Sydney
486 Kent Street
Sydney
http://www.senyai.com.au/

Bay Tandoori (Waverton Sydney)

For New Year’s Eve, we went to Bay Tandoori at Waverton for an Indian banquet dinner. We worked up an appetite after a long stroll along the vantage points for the Sydney Harbour fireworks.

While we expects a New Year’s Eve banquet to be overpriced (at any places), we certainly feel we have got our money’s worth. There was prompt pappadams on arrival, followed by a freshly fried platter of vegetarian starters. The curries was flavourful with enough naan bread and rice for the 2 of us.

Details:
Bay Tandoori
69-71 Bay Road
Waverton
NSW 2060
http://www.baytandoori.com.au

Your Place Dining (North Sydney)

Catching up with friends on a Friday night, we decided to stay local and went to Your Place Dining. The restaurant operates as a café during the day and a fine dining Thai restaurant at night.

We always judge our Thai restaurant by the duck red curry. This particular one did not disappoint offering a generous portion of duck with nice, thick gravy. Do try the salmon soufflé for entrée which gives an interesting texture for a fish dish – I liken it to an hybrid of fish ball and marshmallow.

Details:
Your Place Dining
182 Blues Point Rd
Corner Blues Point Road and Victoria Street
McMahons Point
http://yourplacedining.com.au

Moo Chow Chow (Auckland New Zealand)

During my business trip in New Zealand, the client took the team to Moo Chow Chow – a modern Asian restaurant in the hip Ponsonby district.

The group shared close to a dozen dishes from the menu. The crispy roll of pork starters kicked (with its well-balanced chilli dipping sauce) things off nicely. My favourite dish was the caramelised pork hock – great combination of gelatinous meat and crispy fried skin. All the curry dishes kept their authenticity and were much welcomed on a cold evening.

Details:
Moo Chow Chow
23 Ponsonby Road
Ponsonby, Auckland
http://moochowchow.co.nz/

Blu Ginger (McMahons Point Sydney)

We visited Blu Ginger Indian Restaurant at McMahons Point with a friend after work. The location was a convenient stroll from North Sydney station.

All the familiar authentic dishes are available on the menu. The onion bhajia starter was nice and crispy which prepared us for the generous curry that followed. I particular enjoyed the special pumpkin lamb curry. Make sure you ordered a mango lassi to wash it all down!

Details:
Blu Ginger McMahons Point
147 Blues Point Road
McMahons Point
NSW 2060
http://www.bluginger.com.au/index.php/mcmahons-point

Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel (Lagos Nigeria)

I have spent much time in Lagos, Nigeria for business. Due to the security restrictions, I was required to remain in the Radisson Blu Hotel complex most of the time. Hence I thought it is worthwhile to note my dining experience there.

After ordering from the same menu for more than 40 times, I thank the grouper fillet with curry and rice as well as the perennial hotel favourite Club Sandwich for keeping me going. I am not a fan of the traditional Nigerian fare – most dishes consist of intense heat from black peppers with no aromatics.

Details:
Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel Lagos
Ozumba Mbadiwe Ave
Victoria Island 101006 Lagos
Nigeriahttp://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-lagos

Mamak (Chatswood Sydney)

We have waited at the queue at the popular Mamak at Chinatown on many occasions. So we decided to visit its Chatswood sister restaurant. While there was a small queue early on a Friday night, we got a table within 15 minutes.

We ordered the curries and satays for the evening, rather than our favourites of maggi goreng, fried chicken and kangkung belacan. The tangy fish curry really stimulated the appetite and I was wolfing down the steamed rice with the vegetarian curry. We also had the intensely sweet roti bom with ice-cream for desserts.

Details:
Mamak Chatswood
Shop P9
1-5 Railway Street
Chatswood 2067
http://www.mamak.com.au

David Jones Noodle Bar (Sydney)

I was brought by work colleagues to the Noodle Bar at David Jones Food Hall for a quick lunch. We got there early to avoid the queue which quickly built up over lunch time.

Menu prices are much higher than the normal food court, but the quality of food was reasonably good. My Thai chicken curry was sufficiently hot and the colleague’s Pad Thai looked appetising. And it was nice looking at the open kitchen to see the dishes being made.

Details:
Noodle Bar at David Jones Food Hall
65-77 Market Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.davidjones.com.au/stores/Market-Street-Sydney

Sugarcane (Sydney)

We visited Sugarcane Restaurant on the edge of Surry Hills on a Friday night for a casual dinner. The dining room was modern and the service (one person!) was attentive.

The menu captured a variety of south-east Asian dishes. While our entrée of prawn dumplings was average, we enjoyed the baby snapper curry with the sauce working well with the whole fish deep fried. The duck leg stir fry was also good with the meat maintained moist and tender.

Details:
Sugarcane Restaurant
40A Reservoir Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.sugarcanerestaurant.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

Yama (Sydney)

Queen Victoria Building is a place where I frequent for shopping, but never dining. Recently we visited Yama, a Japanese café hidden among the jewellery stores on level 2, for a bite to eat.

While the menu presented a large variety of Japanese dishes, the food served is rather westernised. Tempura was done well and portion size generous. However, my katsu curry was on the mild side – even in Japanese curry standards. Service was polite and it was nice to get a free bottle of wine from the credit card dining program.

Details:
Yama Japanese Cafe Restaurant 
2/455 George St 
Sydney NSW 2000 

Longrain (Sydney)

Overseas visitors and gathering of 8 people involving high school friends prompted me to bring them to Longrain in Surry Hills as this Thai restaurant only takes bookings for large group. Large groups were seated in the comfortable oval tables that were great for conversations.

The food was of high quality. The reputed deep fried pork hock was crispy on the outside while still gelatinous inside. The lamb curry was also excellent. And make sure you ordered one of their signature cocktails. Service was rather inconsistent – too rushed in the beginning yet missing in action during the meal.

Details:
Longrain Sydney
85 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills
NSw 2010
Australia
http://www.longrain.com.au/sydney_intro.htm

Home Thai Restaurant (Sydney)

We craved for some spicy food on a rainy night last week. So we headed to Home Thai restaurant at Haymarket after work which is within walking distance from the CBD.

Seating in the restaurant was very tight and not very comfortable. And the pace of service was very quick in order to accommodate the long queue of diners outside.

The food was certainly excellent. Pad Thai and Duck Curry were very spicy but flavourful. Do go for the fried donut dipped in a sweet condensed milk and pandan sauce if you have extra room at the end.

Details:
Home Thai Restaurant
Shop 1-2, 299 Sussex St 
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.homethai.com.au

Bundu Khan (Crows Nest)

We took up Bundu Khan’s cudo voucher offer of a set menu dinner for 2 at $49. The set menu consists of a mixed entrée platter, 2 curries (consists of 1 meat and 1 vegetarian), unlimited rice and naan bread, and dessert. After a day of bushwalking, we certainly could do with a fulfilling meal.

The standard of food just met our expectations of a supposed heavily discounted meal. While the entrée platter kicked off the meal well, the curries were blend. And the dessert was too sweet.

Details:
Bundu Khan Restaurant
344 Pacific Hwy 
Crows Nest NSW 2065
http://www.bundukhan.com.au/