5 posts tagged with "restaurant"

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!

• Location: At Kareela Village: 1–13 Freya Street Kareela NSW 2232

18.3.23​

Nick and I had a gift card for a dinner at Jensens. As this restaurant is quite popular, it had been booked at least 1 month in advance. We were so excited for it! It was a classy place, but the vibe was more semi-casual. Some people were dressed up, others were in smart-casual. It was a great mix of fancy and casual.

In summary:The staff and service was 5/5 and the food was mouth watering delicious

Over the month of March, they offered a deal: Buy 2x three-course meals and get one of the mains for free. Nick and I starved ourselves before going because we wanted to take advantage of this deal.

When we arrived, we were immediately seated at a table for 2, booked for 7.30 pm. Shortly after, we ordered a bottle of wine: Silkman Shiraz and pinot noir blend from the Hunter Valley 2021. We ordered this one as I didn't like the sound of the other ones and this was on the cheaper end of the wine list. The wine was very nice and unexpected. I enjoyed every sip of this wine. We made a note to visit Silkman vineyard next time we go to the Hunter.

Img caption. My three-course meal at Jensens.

Side note: At Jensens, they serve some really fancy and cool cocktails, but I am not much of a cocktail drinker: I honestly think cocktails are more of a dessert treat.

For a starter, we had a garlic pizza. The bases were very well cooked. Although it had a taste of any standard garlic pizza.

For my entre, I ordered the pasta of the week which was pasta with potato and a honey sauce. Nick ordered the tuna sashimi. The flavours of my entre were mind blowing. Nick was also very pleased with his entre, he said that it was his favourite dish.

For the main, I ordered another pasta: Smoked beetroot ravioli with whipped ricotta, roasted beets and brown butter, while Nick ordered the chargrilled Lamb Backstrap with a smoked macadamia hummus, charred herb salsa and lamb jus. My main was also really amazing. All the flavours came together quite well and the beetroot was not overpowering. I was stunned that someone could cook like this. Kudos to them. I aspire to be as good at life as they are at cooking.

Finally, for dessert, we ordered:

1. Chocolate fondant with peanut butter ganache, caramelised white chocolate and peanut crumble and rice milk icecream; and
2. Jensens banana pudding with hot butterscotch sauce and sticky cream and hazelnut praline.

Both of these dishes were to share. I personally enjoyed the banana pudding the most. The pudding was very moist and complemented the butterscotch sauce well. Too much of the butterscotch sauce overpowered the banana flavour, but just the right ratio produced an amazing dessert. Usually with pudding, extra butterscotch makes it so much nicer, but just eating the banana pudding alone was very nice.

The chocolate fondant was also a great dish. By itself however, it was very bland. It definitely needed the peanut butter ganache. This mixture was quite heavy.

We did leave Jensens with full bellies. However, it was mostly the dessert that filled me up. I found that the serving sizes of the entre and main were quite similar (small) and after the main I still had a hungry tummy. It was just as well that we ordered the first garlic pizza. We definitely didn't need to starve ourselves for this meal. Next time, we probably will order a pizza to share as well as the entre and main and then probably one dessert between us.

The three-course meal probably costs $100 per head and as a student I would never consider going here. The best thing though was because of the gift card, we only paid $13!!!! Such a great Christmas present, and thanks to Nick's sister for buying it for us. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

27.5.23​

Today we celebrated the Birthday of Nick's mum, Liz. Nick and I arrived at Kareela shopping Village at 5.45 pm. We went into Coles to grab some Cherry Ripe's for her birthday (it's her favourite chocolate) and then went to the restaurant. Nick's parents were already seated with a couple of cocktails, which looked amazing!

Nick and I also ordered a cocktail each - Nick ordered the Scientist while I ordered a honey margarita. They were delicious! Like last-time, we ordered a garlic pizza for a starter along with our individual entrée. For my entrée, I ordered the pasta special of the week: a 3 cheese ravioli (Nick ordered this for his main). It was delicious!

After the entrée, we ordered a couple more drinks: for me a 2018 Cab Sauv, which was pretty good. Nick and Chris (Nick's dad) ordered a couple of beers and Liz had a white wine.

For my main, I ordered the cauliflower ritolo. It was crumbed and fried? It was like a basic main dish. It was delicious, but I don't think it was on the same level as other dishes that I have eaten from them. It tasted like something I could've cooked. Everyone else really enjoyed their dishes.

For dessert, we ordered one banana pudding between four of us. Liz got a birthday icecream. Everyone (aside from me) ordered coffees and then we headed home. It was an enjoyable night! ♥

Img caption. My entrée and main meals: (1) the 3 cheese ravioli, and (2) the cauliflower ritolo.

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