The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
We woke up to news of a Biden-Harris victory and then spent lunch at Surly’s American Tavern, an American themed pub and restaurant in Surry Hills, seeing off our favourite Kiwi anaesthetic colleague back across the pond.
sweet potato chips with poutine topping
The sweet potato chips with poutine topping ($14) was good. The sweet potato chips were crisp, despite being drowned in a fully adequate helping of gravy. The cheese curds were soft and not too hot.
BBQ Platter
The BBQ Platter ($45) was ordered as a result of my indecision. There were so many meats that I wanted to try, but so little time. It consisted of 18 hour dry rubbed beef brisket, 12 hour pulled pork, Smoked chicken thigh, Texas hot link sausage, and smoked chicken wings with pickles, onion and corn bread.
The beef brisket was not bad, quite moist. The pulled pork was not exciting at all. The smoked chicken thigh was nice, and it was nice that it was skin on The Texas hot link sausage was quite tasty, good. The smoked chicken wing I could’ve lived without – it would’ve been better as a normal wing. I didn’t eat the corn bread. It gave me too many flashbacks to the weird frozen cornbread delivered from Third Wave Cafe in Melbourne. The pickles were fresh and tangy and good. The coleslaw was actually really good. Chips were fresh.
Seatings are timed for 2 hour intervals News coverage of Joe Biden’s presidential win was being played throughout our entire stay there. 4/5.
There’s lot of praise floating around for Lucio Pizzeria. After having dinner there tonight I don’t really think it’s warranted.
Lucio
The Lucio ($24), Lucio Pizzeria’s signature pizza, is a half margherita half calzone. It is an interesting concept to create a pizza in such a way. While the flavours weren’t bad, I just wish there would be more of everything – more tomato, more basil, more ham. The calzone filling of ricotta and ham was good, but underseasoned.
Campagnola
Lucio’s Campagnola ($24) continues the tradition of underflavouring. While the sausage itself had good flavour, the flavours on the rest of the pizza where overwhelmed with cheese and cheese alone. This was a very cheesy, oily pizza, and a little bit of salt, a little more mushroom or sausage, would have gone a long way.
If I had to give my meal at Lucio Pizzeria an overarching theme it would be that it is underseasoned, bland, yet very oily. My compliments where compliments are due would have to go to the pizza’s thin base. It’s not awful – but it’s expensive, and I definitely wouldn’t travel for it.
The next pizza on my hitlist in the local area is Da Mario in Rosebery. I hope they will not disappoint me as much.
3/5 unworthy of their medals. Simply did not live up to the hype.
Lucio Pizzeria East Village 2, 4 Defries Ave, Zetland NSW 2017 02) 9697 3028
Mum’s Kitchen (not my mum – someone else’s mum) should be commended for their early opening hours. It is a rare Lebanese restaurant that opens at 6 in the morning, and while its food isn’t great, it’s one of the few interesting options for breakfast after a night shift in the area.
The Half Cheese Half Lahem Pizza ($10) was some of the worst half cheese half meat Lebanese pizza I’ve ever had. Somehow both the cheese and the meat halves were dry. If you’re looking for something like this that actually tastes good I suggest you try Mina Bakery, the closest of which is in Carlton. Nonetheless, despite it being very bad, it was still good, as meat, cheese and carbohydrates tends to be.
The mixed plate ($21.50) was equally disappointing. The meat was dry, and the hummus was very watery. The garlic sauce was too creamy and didn’t have enough garlic flavour. Nevertheless a dry man finds a cactus in the desert.
The Chicken Wrap ($11.50) was actually quite good. There was a good ratio of filling to bread, and the pickles and chicken and sauces inside were synergistic. This is a good pick of a bad bunch.
Overall, Mum’s Kitchen is quite bad. But where else are you going to go if the craving hits before noon?
I’ve had delivery from 爱吃帝烧烤部落 HD Chinese Skewers BBQ a couple of times now. The first time was great, the second time was pretty middling. Let me tell you.
The Signature Lamb Skewers ($13.50 – left) were delicious the first time I had them. They came really fresh and crispy – it is lamb but it is aboslutely coated in a light amount of batter, cumin, and chillis. The second time I ordered, however, was a bit more soggy and disappointing.
The Black Pepper Sauce Wagyu Skewers ($14 – right) were very tender and good. I can highly recommend them.
The roasted chicken wings ($12 – not pictured) were yummy but they only gave 2, making them $6 each. No thanks.
The Spicy Cold Noodles ($15.80) were delicious. Sour and tasty, the cold temperature great for a warm day. It is relatively similar to Korean cold noodles.
I can recommend 爱吃帝烧烤部落 HD Chinese Skewers BBQ, however given the inconsistency in quality I would recommend eating in rather than getting delivery to make sure that you’re getting the skewers fresh.
In what was sure to be an unexpected outcome for Sydney Dining Group, the recent mention of Ripples Milsons Point amongst Sydney’s latest COVID-19 hotspots actually helped bring the Ripples brand to prominence, one of a few reasons why we chose to dine at Ripples Chowder Bay for dinner tonight. We felt that Ripples’ ability to avoid a major catastrophe with their previous COVID-19 case meant that the restaurant was likely to have good ventilation and hygiene practices. It was, after all, our friend’s first time out since we ate at Acre in June.
Of note, street parking was $18.50 for 3 hours. We overstayed (it was difficult to predict how long we’d be) but were not ticketed.
We were initially seated in a spacious dining room inside, but moved outside to attempt to find more cross ventilated pastures on the deck. Unfortunately, because of the adverse weather, the deck was covered in a thick plastic shroud – something I had experienced at one of Sydney Dining Group’s other restaurants, Aqua. This meant that the outside dining area actually put us in far closer proximity to other patrons, without an increase in air changes per hour – something that greatly worried one of my senior colleagues.
Chorizo & Mozzarella Arancini (5 for $16)
We started with a plate of Chorizo & Mozzarella Arancini (5 for $16). I enjoyed the arancini but found it difficult to spot the chorizo. My partner, a big-time arancini fan, was not impressed. This was, believe it or not, one of the best value dishes of the meal.
These king prawns with orange, fennel & chervil ($28) were such bad value that it should have been criminal. What we got for $28 were three little cooked prawns, and a bit of citrus salad. I savoured my $9’s worth of prawn, which I found to be sweet and yummy, as well as my few allocated orange and salad bits. Our consensus opinion was that this starter was OK in taste, AWFUL in value. I think any reasonable restaurant with a sense of decency would hesitate to charge more than $15 for this tiny dish.
My gastroenterology colleague’s pick of main was the Confit Duck with cabbage, wild rice & red wine jus ($38). I thought this duck was very good, however judging from the size it must have come from a very small duck, perhaps one that had just hatched not too long ago. This is the best confit duck that my partner and I have ever had, although that’s not saying much as we have tended to avoid confit duck from Western restaurants ever since our first few attempts. I enjoyed the tender and juicy nature of the meat, as well as the delicious red wine jus.
Whole Market Fish (baby snapper), Tomato, capers & zucchini ($42)
My senior colleague’s pick of main was the Whole Market Fish, Tomato, capers & zucchini ($42). The market fish of the day was baby snapper. I enjoyed this dish and had this the most as it was closest to me. I liked the generous serving of vegetables, as well as the nicely oven roasted white flesh. Quite wholesome and good value compared to the rest of the meal.
Our next main was the Lamb Rump with peas, zucchini, mint, yoghurt & lamb sauce ($38). I had only a very small corner piece so it is a bit difficult for me to describe it. I thought it was nice, however, for them to have cut it up into bite sized slices. I thought that the meat was better, more flavourful, and more tender than that at COOH, a recent comparison.
Green Beans with crispy eshallots & lemon oil
A side of Green Beans with crispy eshallots & lemon oil ($12) was shared, however my colleagues did not seem to keen for it. I was personally grateful for this high greenery dish.
The Soy Panna Cotta with pineapple, coconut, sugar sauce & coconut gelato ($16) was my senior intensive care colleague’s first introduction to the concept of panna cotta, but otherwise not memorable.
The White Chocolate Mousse with chocolate crumb, passionfruit & mango sorbet ($16) was memorable for its strong sour passionfruit taste, small size, and large price.
The Lemon Tart with pistachio, meringue & pistachio gelato ($16) was not bad, however not as good as similar lemon tarts at around the $7 mark.
Ripples at Chowder Bay was an expensive but ultimately forgettable meal. Whilst I enjoyed the roasted baby snapper and confit duck, pretty much everything else could have been skipped. This is especially true for the desserts, which were all boring and expensive. We paid $291 between the four of us for the above listed foods and a $65 bottle of middling red wine, and a bit of condescension from our waiter when we asked for a recommendation for said wine.
Ripples Chowder Bay was fine only in terms of the price.
3/5, don’t recommend.
Ripples Chowder Bay Building 7 C, Chowder Bay Rd, Mosman NSW 2088 (02) 9960 3000
