Category: Australian

Categories
Australian

Showroom Bar at the Royce Hotel – St Kilda VIC Restaurant Review

I had such a traumatic few days last month in Melbourne doing a work-related quiz that upon my return to Sydney I felt physically unwell looking at the photos of all of the foods that I ate whilst I was down there, let alone thinking about writing reviews for them. The constant thought on my mind was really just what if I had to go back? , and so even though I had nothing else to do with my time, I had to take a little break from writing pegfeeds to try to avoid leading myself down that cognitive spiral. Luckily (and rather unexpectedly) I heard back good news.

The lobby restaurant of the Royce Hotel is where we had our end-of-quiz meal, with a few new friends from Western Sydney. Much more of a celebration of having finished rather than having succeeded, we sat in the upscale accommodations comfortable in the knowledge that our examiners , who were all staying in the hotel proper, would be occupied across the road with the afternoon batch for some hours yet.

I never have mocktails, but since I’ve kind of stopped drinking, the amaretti sour ($18) fit the bill whilst the other colleagues were celebrating with a bottle of champagne. Whilst I know that medically a glass of champagne isn’t going to hurt the transaminases, I’d been eating so terribly in the six months leading up to the exam that I was keen to avoid any ethanol that might compound on the metabolically associated fatty liver disease. The amaretti sour was pretty yummy.

The Moreton bay bug ($55) was very good, an opulent dish for someone who had had only a plain croissant for breakfast for fear of intra-exam emesis. The sauce, a black bean aioli and achiote oil concoction, was extremely creamy, complimented by small cubes of leek, turnip and purple potato. The brussel sprouts were tender, and the bug itself was of course delicious. The price for this dish was not small, but the taste was high, the setting was nice, and it fed me well.

I would recommend the restaurant, not the quiz.

Showroom Bar
The Royce Hotel, 379 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004

Categories
Australian Fast Food

Chargrill Charlie’s – Drummoyne NSW Restaurant Review

Our colleague from India is moving interstate to Victoria, and asked us for a suggestion of the pinnacle of Western cuisine to try in Sydney before he leaves. This was my friend’s suggestion. This review is from a visit to the Drummoyne store, but I assume can be applied broadly to any of the outlets in the chain.

The half chicken & chips ($15.90) was actually quite good. The chicken was very similar in flavour profile to that of a rotisserie chicken from Coles or Woolworths, but much moister and fresher. Charlie’s advertised smoke-free charcoal cooking technique did produce a less burnt product than for example El Jannah, whilst still retaining some charcoal flavour.

The chicken roll with mayo and gravy ($13.90) was very moist and flavourful, with enough tomato and lettuce inside to create a sense of healthiness similar to that of a KFC twister.

Full disclosure, I had this charlie’s chop salad ($7.90) after a day in the fridge. One of the problems I faced ordering at Chargrill Charlie’s was that very few of the online reviews actually mentioned anything about the chicken. Most reviewers raved only about the salad, but again without any direction as to which one to get. This was fine. I think it would’ve been bette rwarm.

I’d never had Chargrill Charlie’s before. It seems like Red Rooster for the Harris Farm crowd. The quality was pretty good, but I don’t know that I’d recommend it to a visiting cardiologist, dignitary, or ex-teen heartthrob Justin Bieber as a representation of peak Australian cuisine.

I’ve also been informed by my friend that her peak recommendations for this place are: “marinated chicken drumstick” and “avocado vinagarette salad”, and that I ordered the wrong thing.

Chargrill Charlie’s Drummoyne
172 Lyons Rd, Drummoyne NSW 2047

Categories
Australian

Porterhouse Bistro Wiseman Park Bowling Club – Gywnneville NSW Restaurant Review

We spent Saturday lunch at the local lawn bowls club in Wollongong with a number of my partner’s colleagues just before the holiday season. It was my first time lawn bowling in a few years, the first being during my first week of internship in a similarly-vibed orientation event.

The salt and pepper squid ($13) was a nice, reasonably priced dish with a light batter, served with a side salad of “young leaves” and a plentiful pot of aioli which found more purpose with some hot chips than the squid they came with.

The half rack of pork ribs with chips and salad ($24) featured the return of the young leaf salad, which remained fresh from its first outing with the squid. The pork ribs were unfortunately a bit dry and underwhelming, and not improved in my opinion by the pot of BBQ sauce. I enjoyed these fresh chips, and even more so with the aioli pictured above.

The roasted cauliflower salad ($17) with chicken ($5) was actually very good. A number of my partner’s colleagues ordered it just by itself, but I for one could not resist the addition of some juicy meat to bite into. The roasted cauliflower was sweet, with a texture that avoided mushiness. Tahini, hummus and roasted cauliflower are a synergistic trio that ticks all the right boxes every time they’re together, and this salad was no exception. Cauliflower aside I enjoyed the fresh and tangy addition of pomegranate arils and the juicy cherry tomatoes, though I was less impressed by the rest of the salad being essentially the same side salad that gets served the Porterhouse Bistro’s other dishes.

COMMENTS
The food at Wiseman Park is not what it’s is famous for, but honestly you could do much worse. I wouldn’t take a bus to Wollongong just for this meal, but if you’re there enjoying a quick game of bowls why not?

Porterhouse Bistro Wiseman Park Bowling Club
1 Foley St, Gwynneville NSW 2500
(02) 4229 4132

Categories
Australian

The Vic on the Park – Marrickville NSW Restaurant Review

Here are just some quick thoughts about the food from a recent work dinner to celebrate the end of the clinical year. I’m in a bit of a post-alcohol phase right now so I cannot comment on the drinks, though I understand from my colleagues that they did flow freely.

These nachos ($18) were pretty alright. I enjoyed their freshness and minimal seasoning, and found myself coming back to them when I wanted a break from the rest of the saltfest. They are vegetarian, though can be optioned for another $5 with some spicy pulled chicken.

It had been a good long while since I had had fried onion rings ($12), and these ones were far superior to what I remember from Hungry Jacks (Burger King) in the early 2000s. These onion rings were large, moist on the inside with a crunchy batter on the outside. They were delicious warm, though a bit too salted for my liking. The horseradish ranch sauce was pleasant, but again it was a bit salty for me to have any significant quantity of it.

The Vic Chicken Wings ($16) were texturally good – crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, but similarly to the onion rings they were quite salty. This was a theme that was continued by the salt and pepper squid ($19, not pictured).

I wonder if perhaps having oversalted and overseasoned food may however be synergistic at a pub where the markups on beverages may be a more significant profit maker than the food. I have no other way to explain why the textures hit so well, yet the salty taste for such a large majority of their food is so strong.

The Vic on the Park
2 Addison Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
(02) 9114 7348

Categories
Australian British

Fish Butchery – Waterloo NSW Restaurant Review

We were excited to eat at Fish Butchery after reading some pretty glowing reviews online and glowing feedback from our friends about related restaurants Saint Peter and Charcoal Fish. Despite such expectations our moderately-long drive to Waterloo was sadly not met with as much joy as we had hoped.

While I’m not usually one to complain loudly about service, preferring to focus on the food, I think that the ultra-premium prices paid at Fish Butchery does invite greater reflection into what exactly one is paying for. The first red flag of our visit, apart from the prices of the familiar raw fish (Murray cod and Clhinook salmon) in the fishmonger’s display that were easily 50-100% greater than what you’d expect to pay from your favourite internet-based fish market delivery service, was that the staff seemed to be too busy to wipe the crumbs off the tables between customers until the new customer’s food was ready to be served. This meant that we sat with crumbs in front of us, not really seeing a staff member venture outside for about half an hour as we waited to be served.

Though Fish Butchery styles itself as a takeaway joint the reality of it is that it’s a restaurant, complete with both indoor and outdoor seating. There are just normal expectations around the cleanliness of tables when you’re spending $80 between two for lunch, and these weren’t fulfilled.

The Al Pastor Swordfish Tacos (2 pieces for $24) were not what I was looking for. Though grilled, they were not as grilled as I had hoped, and arrived to us lukewarm at best. The internal fish meat was on the raw to rare spectrum, which is not what I was expecting but did not cause any physical bodily harm. The flavours of this taco were highly mild, though the sweetness and juiciness of the grilled pineapple was a very welcome addition to what was otherwise a barren and expensive half moon.

The fish sausage roll ($22 with chips and a Strange Love soda) was the highlight of the situation. The sausage roll, filled with a mixture of Murray Cod, Mt Cook Alpine Salmon, and cured Murry Cod fat had a very good depth of flavour and fatty moistness inside. The pastry was a crust above your average sausage roll, but to be expected given the asking price. The potato chips were unfortunately actually not very good, and even my potato fiend partner was unable and unwilling to finish them. The tomato sauce was rich and good. Unlike the rest of the things we had at Fish Butchery I could actually give a positive recommendation for this sausage roll, though by itself ($14) rather than with the chips.

I didn’t love this hyped up Yellowfin Tuna Cheeseburger Double ($20). I don’t think there was anything special about it apart from the use of fish over mammal, and I don’t think the flavour or texture really lived up to a burger made of methane-producing cow. The inside of these tuna patties was a bit rare, but I think that’s probably OK because we literally eat sashimi and these guys are the fish experts.

The regular salad ($14), half cauliflower and half eggplant was actually pretty good, if oily. A non-fish product that was not weighed down by fishy expectations.

THOUGHTS

I really wanted to like Fish Butchery, but outside of the single sausage roll nothing else that I had really wowed me, especially at its price point but even if they were more reasonably priced. I expected better from a guy who charges $150 for a piece of stainless steel specifically to weigh down cooking fish.

Fish Butchery Waterloo
965 Bourke St, Waterloo NSW 2017
02 8960 0903