Porteno (Sydney)

I went to Porteno twice in 8 days, fortunately got seated immediately on both occasions. You must go early as there is a queue 15 min from its opening time of 6pm and bookings under 5 people are not accepted.

Once we were in, the meat feasts were memorable. I loved both woodfired dishes although I favoured the suckling pig over the lamb (just). BBQ eggplant ensalada combined well with the crispy bread; the blood sausage had the perfect level of spiciness; and the fried brussel sprouts were delicious. The pavlova was the standout among the 4 desserts.

(New Restaurant of the Year well deserved!!!)




Details:
Porteno
358 Cleveland Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.porteno.com.au/

Musashi (Sydney)

Musashi Dining Bar, situated close to the Chinatown area next to the theatre, consistently has a long queue of people during dinner hours. It was certainly the case when we visited last week.

The menu offers a large array of dishes. The quality was consistently high. The sashimi platter was fresh and presented beautifully – there was plenty of the 3 of us. We also had the Oden Hot Pot that has all kinds of goodies. I especially like the konjac jelly served in a lolly pop stick which goes very well with the wasabi-miso paste.

Details:
Musashi Dining Bar
Shop 5, 447 Pitt St 
Sydney NSW 2000
http://musashirestaurant.com.au

Chat Thai (Haymarket)

We were prepared in heading to Chai Thai at Haymarket for an early Friday dinner. We were seated at 5:35pm and the queue outside started at 5:45pm. Do not underestimate the popularity of this place.

The standard of the food justified the long queues. The red curry was rich and strong in flavour. The BBQ lamb was not too hot and was lifted just enough by the spice. We went for the mango sticky rice dessert as well as the special black bean and coconut soup – the variety of special desserts along (availability varies) alone is worth going back for.

Details:
Chat Thai Haymarket
20 Campbell St 
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.chatthai.com.au/