4 posts tagged with "dining"

On Saturday 14 October, 2023, Nick and I went out for dinner to Rock Salt in Menai. It is a lovely restaurant, and a little classy with a similar vibe to Jensens. They allow a BYO wine; however, charge $5 per person for "corkage". We took our last Shiraz from Lucy's run that we purchased in the Hunter Valley.

We arrived about 15 minutes early to our 7.15 pm reservation; yet, we were immediately seated and within 10 minutes we had ordered and our entrée's were served. For me, I ordered the Bao buns while Nick ordered fish. It was very nice, but it was very sticky. I didn't think about the fact that I had to use my hands to eat. Therefore, in between the entrée and main, I had to wash my hands.

For my main meal, I ordered the pumpkin and goats cheese ravioli, while Nick ordered the Pork. This Ravioli was amazing, and also Nick commented on how great his was.

After dinner, we split a banana pudding. It was soooo delicious and on the same level as the Jensens pudding. Also, Nick had mentioned to them that it was our anniversary (it wasn't but we didn't celebrate our anniversary); so the waiters brought out a free cake that had "Happy anniversary" written on the plate. It was super cute! Apologies for not taking a photo!!

Between Jensens and this restaurant, I like Jensens a bit more. The food is a lot nicer and the flavours are so amazing compared to RockSalt. That's not to say that Rock Salt wasn't great, because it was very nice!

6.5.23​

On 6 May 2023, at 6.30 pm, Nick and I headed to Berry for a birthday dinner at Queen Street Eatery. Our booking was for 7.45 pm but we arrived half an hour before. We enjoyed a cocktail at The Rudlege bar, a few doors up from the restaurant. It was a cute place, but it was really slow - it took about 20 minutes before we got our drinks and the place was quiet with 3 bartenders. We quickly drank our cocktails (Amoretto sour for me and a mojito for Nick), and headed to the restaurant.

From the moment that we arrived at the restaurant, the service was amazing. It gave off a vibe similar to Jensens. Contrary to how the name sounds, it was a very nice and somewhat fancy place. The menu constantly changes, so you never know what the meal will be until you arrive. Lucky for me, they had a vegetarian menu as well as a regular one. Img caption. A look at Queet St. Eatery.

Unlike many other restaurants, Queen Street Eatery had a fixed menu: where you pay $99 per person for a 3 course meal with bread and salad. I suspect this is to ensure that they get their monies worth as it is a very small restaurant: sits about 15 people at one time.

We ordered a bottle of wine to start: 2017 Rockford Rifle Range #CabernetSauvignon from the Barossa Valley. The waitress decanted the bottle for us - so it seems like they know what they are doing with wine. The wine itself was very smooth and really delicious. Although this was expected considering that it is $133 in store.

Img caption. Enjoying a Barossa Cab Sauv.

Shortly after we had our first sips of wine, we were served some of the nicest brioche buns that I have ever tasted. Next came the entrée: I ordered the pumpkin and ricotta ritolo and Nick ordered the octopus. My mind was blown over how great the food was and it was only the entre!! For the main meal, I ordered the onion and leek tart, while Nick ordered the steak. This was also mouth watering delicious. Nick remarked about how tender and well-cooked it was.

By dessert time, I was really full. I still ordered the ice-cream sandwich, and Nick ordered the passionfruit and white chocolate parfait. This was such a good treat to cap off a wonderful meal.

Img caption. Our 3 course meal at Queen St. Eatery.

Once dessert was over, the wine was finished, we headed home. This place was so wonderful and I was so shocked that a place like this exists in Berry (considering how bad the bar that we went to beforehand was). It is a hidden gem that is definitely worth it! The service was 5/5 and the food was 5/5. While it was expensive, the price is similar to other nice restuarants such as .

The only faults that I can think of is that it was pretty cold inside - they don't seem to have heating. I was also sitting on a bench, without cushions, and it was really uncomfortable after a while of sitting. For this reason, I rate them 9/10.

• Located: 251 Princes Hwy, Bulli NSW 2516

16.4.23 Saturday date night​

Yesterday at 5.25pm, Nick and I left Chip at home and caught the train to Bulli. We timed it perfectly, it was just 10 minutes from leaving our house to arriving at Bulli. We walked 500 m to the Fitz Cafe and Bar, located on the Princes Hwy, opposite the Heritage hotel.

We had not booked prior to arriving, so we could not sit on the rooftop. We had a table inside. For a while, it was just us sitting and talking. We started with a cocktail each: The Spicy Mango Margarita for Nick; and the Pornstar martini for myself. I personally preferred Nick's cocktail: The jalapenos gave it a nice kick. The pornstar martini was nice, but very sweet and not to my likes.

Note: It was a shame that they didn't stock any local beers. I really like when local restaurants whether it be in illawarra or elsewhere, stock beers from local breweries. It shows that they support their local communities and for visitors to the region, it exposes them to the local beer.

After the cocktails, we ordered some food to share:

• Potato gnocci with a cauliflower sauce: This was sooooo tasty. The cauliflower taste was not so overwhelming either.
• Egg plant Bao buns (comes as 2, Nick and I had one each): The egg plant pieces were crumbed and really crispy, which made the bun really good to eat. Nick said that he could've eaten 4 of them. I agree. They were amazing.
• Sweet potato fries: were just standard fries.

With the food, we ordered a bottle of Cab Sauv: 2021 Highbury Fields Cabernet Sauvignon from Forest Hill vineyard. Given that it was 2021 wine, it hadn't had time to age. It was enjoyable wine, 4/5 but not the tastiest Cab Sauv that I have had.

Once we had finished our dinner, we waited 10 minutes and then ordered a kitkat cronut to share. Their sweets looked amazing! The cronut was so good. Then we paid the bill and jumped on the train by 8 pm.

By 8.15 pm, we were back at home to have a cup of tea and watch another episode of Killing Eve.

I would go back to this place, but book ahead to reserve a spot on the rooftop. The rooftop looks cool, it has fairy lights decorated around it, which you can see from Bulli Station. I think everyone else love it, so it is really busy up there.

Great restuarant, pretty expensive, great staff, great view, great food, great vibes. I ordered the Leek entre and pumpkin ravioli main. Amazing 9/10