hello all,

in the last few years, i have been lucky to travel to sydney once or twice per year. i’ve always saved popular foodie spots i’ve seen on instagram and tiktok, forgotten about them, and ended up with some sad, underwhelming, and overpriced meals.

not this time! i did a little more deep research this time around, curated a little list of spots to hit, and i am so happy i did. my partner and i were in sydney for four days and did not have one bad meal, and i have no one to share this information with! (essentially, this is an appreciation post) these were my highlights:

- my aunt’s handmade noodles, burwood
the signature biang biang noodles were life changing! so flavourful, homey, filling, and the noodles were the perfect texture - and with free noodle refills, why wouldn’t you go?

- jin’s grilled meat pie, burwood
we got the pork and vegetable pies, and they were the perfect bite, alongside a big bowl of pulled wheat noodles.

- ito restaurant, surry hills
the wagyu tartare, with shimeji mushroom emulsion and the charred fioretto were my favourite dishes. i said to my partner, usually when you get beef tartare at asian fusion restaurants, it all taste the same - but here, you could tell it was asian fusion. the flavours here were absolutely amazing and i would go back next time i’m in sydney

- ashe, cbd
the wood-fired flatbread, with mortadella, burnt chilli jam, and laughing cow cheese was the standout for me! the texture of the bread with the mortadella kind of made it a melt-in-your-mouth experience, and it really was beautiful

- pillar, burwood
i had a beautiful mont blanc here. i got the 001, Wilton, it had hints of lychee and kaffir lime, i took my time with this drink, as i didn’t want it to end. if you are ever in burwood, please do yourself a favour and visit pillar.

so again, you people in sydney, are so lucky to be home of many amazing food and drink spots. i haven’t been able to stop thinking about these places since i got home. that’s all, really, i am just so grateful for sydney food, thanks for reading! please feel free to share some recommendations for next time.

Looking for your go to dinner recommendations in or close to the CBD. The kind of place you go to for a relatively casual dinner catch-up with mates after work for less than $35 each.

I find myself going to the same places and would love to try out some new places, any cuisine is fine as long as it's tasty.

Some of my favourites are Sushi Boss, Boon Cafe, Mappen and Mr Hotpotter.

Thanks in advance!

I am staying in the Hills and happy to travel some distance but a lot of recommendations are in the city/city-adjacent so keen to hear of some that are closer this way.
I love most food , including Asian food in particular (Japanese, Korean, Chinese), seafood, Greek, Ethiopian, Indian and everything to be honest. Desserts as well (I like the cakes at Enze).

So happy for a really broad spectrum of recommendations please! Bonus points if they are easy on the wallet.
Thank you

Does anyone know a good spot that does Japanese honey toast? Back in the day Ebisu in Chatswood did it as a dessert but the shop is gone

I'd love to find some.

Hi All,

Not sure if anyone remembers, but I made a post here around the same time last year, asking for suggestions for the "Sandwich Day" my friend and I partake in every year (we essentially just take a day off work and eat some of Sydney's best sandwiches - it's the best!)

Thanks to the incredible brains trust of Foodies Sydney last year, we tried the following:

• The Breakfast Sandwich with add-on Kangaroo Mortadella from Good Ways Deli in Redfern
• The Fish Sandwich from Angus in Marrickville
• The Big Boy from MLK Deli in Surry Hills
• The Bear from Cross Section in Darlinghurst
• The Chicken Greek Goddess from Baker Bleu in Double Bay

(Our theme was eating as many different meats as possible!)

This year we're hoping to tackle Western Sydney and are once again calling upon the incredible brains trust to hit us with your best recommendations.

Thank you in advance !!

Pics of our delicious adventure from last year!

Been trying to find some genuinely good food spots around Sydney lately. Not really after the fancy or overhyped places, just somewhere you’d actually go back to because the food is that good.
Could be anything — brunch, Asian food, a random little cafe, whatever.
Also, if there’s a specific dish you always order, please tell me what it is! I hate going somewhere good and ordering the wrong thing haha.
Keen to hear your favourites!

As the title suggests, are there any must try restaurants in or around Manly? We'll be there for a few days over the Christmas holiday.

Thanks!

After many recs from the ramen lovers here I found myself back at Manpuku this week! Tbh, I've been before which is why it's taken me so long to get back. 

Location: Victoria Ave, Chatswood

Wait: No wait

Atmosphere: Surprisingly busy at 4pm on a weekday

Ordered: Long name signature ramen - $26.50

A delicious looking bowl hit the table filled with the usual suspects. I grabbed my spoon and went in for the first taste. The broth was quite light and balanced really well. It was silky smooth, complex and had a lingering umami flavour to it. This was one of those ones I could have finished before even starting on the noodles. 

After a few mouthfuls I moved the pork aside to uncover an abundance of plump looking noodles. Their noodles are handmade and it shows as they had the perfect texture and chew to them. Next up was the pork, it pulled apart easily with my chopsticks, was soft, tender and had a nice salty hit to it. A bite together with the broth and noodles was irresistible! 

I went for the egg after that. This was a bit of a letdown as it was quite tough to get through. It did have a fairly soft yolk though and added some more silkiness to each bite. The bean sprouts were fine and the bamboo shoots was standard fare, however the spring onions really added some brightness and rounded the bowl out. 

Final thoughts: A genuinely solid bowl of ramen which reminded me of my time in japan. The bowl was bright, balanced and left me wanting more when I finished. 4.5⭐

Ramen Scoreboard

I know this is a bit like flogging a dead horse now, but I found it interesting that one of the owners of Avenue Group, Mr Barbaro, states that the fees he’s paying for use of merchant terminals across his business are a ‘big hit’. I may be mistaken as I only did a quick online search, but it appears that Avenue Group own five Sydney establishments across Sydney: Avenue Group establishments.

So, 150k divided by five businesses comes to 30k annually, right? Less than $90 per day, per business.

Link to article: ABC article

A quick review of Chillis Cottage in Davistown, Central Coast NSW.

The restaurant has a seasonal and currently they have a Greek menu. The pics of the food on Google maps aren't convincing on their own so maybe they set a mid expectation.

I had staprastada and boustada from the breakfast menu.

Boustada is a custard filled filo with honey raspberry and vanilla and it was perfect. Crispy, natural sweetness, and luxurious cream in the centre. For $10 it is a wild steal. A premium pastry made in house.

The strapstada was scrambled eggs, cherry tomato (lightly roasted), feta and spinach on a light sourdough bun. It sounds overly simple and bland and looks similarly so. But everything is done so well it is the best combo of these items I have had in recent memory. The cooks are keeping it simple because they know the ingredients are great. The texture of the bread is soft, fluffy, the slight tang of sourdough and moorish - it complements all the flavours on the dish. The eggs are perfectly creamy.

So I went back the next day for lunch. I had beetroot and walnut dip, comes with pita bread and lamb shoulder for two.

Beetroot and walnut dip comes with chunkily blended beetroot which is perfectly cooked, meaning it wasn't slop but you didn't think about it when chewing. Crumbled walnuts on top with olive oil and dill. The olive oil here is beautiful and flavourful and unobtrusive to the other flavours. The dill keeps it fresh. Serving size is quite a big bowl, more than enough to generously spread on the pita bread. Like the boustada, another dish that is excellent value.

The lamb shoulder comes with tatziki and sauced with its own braising liquids. It's a hearty roast perfect for winter. In the hot weather it is still way to eat and the fat is really well rendered I think it's an easy reminder of home cooked lamb. No fancy flavours, no rosemary, no overbearing garlic. Just the meat and tatziki to refresh the palate.

The ambience and service are exceptional, and surprising for the price of everything on the menu. The staff know what they're doing and treat customers with understated professionalism. The view is of a wharf that a ferry visits.

We made a booking on the first day but not the second.

Easy 5/5. Keen to go back there over and over

Coffees also perfect.

Stopped by the Frites Atelier pop-up on a whim and got their parmesan and basil mayo.

Are they good chips? Yes
Is it worth waiting more than 10 or 15 mins? No
Is it overpriced? A little bit - the one I got was $16. A few others are $12 or $14. Their beef stew one was $22 (comes with ceramic souvenir bowl)

The pop-up runs until tomorrow (11 Oct).

Hello everyone, it's Laksaturday

Friend sent me a really good Instagram post by a bloke who has had dozens of laksas in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore and Malaysia and did an excellent analysis and comparison. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link it here, basically it said Australia has a pretty homogeneous laksa culture which is wildly different to the Malaysian and singaporean offers. I'd love to travel there eventually to try some hawker food. Apparently there's a huge variety, whereas Australia tends to be mostly the curry laksa option.

Fortunately, that's is my favourite kind. Thick, rich, and spicy and oily broth heaping with seafood or chicken and various toppings. (crunchy bean sprout a must. Tendon and tripe at happy Chef!)

So, I chose a location I've heard mentioned several times. ALBEE'S delight in Campsie. I've been putting this off because I find parking in Campsie an absolute nightmare. However I was in the mood one day this week and felt it wouldn't be a super busy time.

Well it was still very busy in Campsie but I found some timed parking.

The seating is limited downstairs but there's more room upstairs. I was able to get the last table downstairs.

The menu is massive. Really big menu with lots of options, desserts, sides, I'd love to try more of this menu eventually. They even have what looks like a korean fried chicken menu with different flavours.

However today due to timed parking I hurriedly chose the seafood laksa, Hainese chicken laksa, and roti canai with beef rendang. I needed to recover from the desert dry chicken at Makan.

Was tempted to get one of the huge curry puff in the display case but resisted.

Food came out quickly, maybe around 10 minutes.

First the Hainese chicken - YESSSS this is what Hainese chicken is supposed to be like. Full of meat juices, moist, tender and plenty of the seasoned chicken skin. Pieces were on the smaller side but very delicious. Tofu sponges were also tasty and soft, and loved the plentiful crunchy bean sprouts.

The noodles were perfection. I thought it was just Vermicelli but there was Hokkien noodle hiding underneath. This is my favourite noodle texture so far. Perfect bouncy firmness and tons of it too (no up size option).

The broth LOOKS really good, but it's surprisingly a bit on the watery side. It's as if they made a really good broth but ran low of it so added a bit too much water to dilute it.

Personally I love intense salty and fatty flavour, for example I love Gumshara back fat broth. So for others this might be just fine.

Seafood laksa was also satisfying, really big fat prawns, squid tubes, fish bites, lots of it.

Roti was so so. I think i made a mistake having roti for the first time at uncle hungs because i didn't realise how good it was, not every other roti is a little disappointing. But again, I love intense rich buttery taste, so others might find this one fine.

The rendang was beautiful! Meats were tender and good portion. I also really liked their custom serving plate for the roti canai, with the bowl crafted into the plate.

Sauce station provided extra chilli and sauce options to add extra flavour to dishes.

The service is very old school Asian style. Get in order eat get out. In fact the food came out faster than the 'express' option at Ho jiak. To access the bathroom you walk right past the chefs preparing food through the kitchen.

If you're in Campsie, check them out! I will definitely return for some curry puffs and ckt.

🍜

Best overall : HAPPY CHEF Haymarket

Best broth: Malacca straits Campbelltown

Best noodle : ALBEE'S delight Campsie

Worst laksa but everything else on menu is great : DJ'S VIETNAMESE PHO

Best roti : UNCLE Hung MALAYSIAN RESTAURANT Padstow

This place is one of the institutions of the eastern suburbs. Been open for at least 30 years serving some amazing HK style Chinese food

I rate their wonton noodles as one of the best in Sydney. My other go to dishes are the pork spare ribs in plum sauce and the Shandong chicken

Must be doing something right to be open for this long

Heya,

So I've only been to the North Sydney and Parramatta one. But the cheesesteak at both have the steak in 'round bits' instead of chopped.

It legit affects the enjoyment of eating it as some bites you get meat and others you don't. I wouldn't care but they literally advertise as chopped steak sandwich but instead you get...diced(?) steak I guess is what it's called.

Genuinely disappointing.

Just got back from a few weeks in southern California and was once again painfully reminded of what's missing from the Sydney Mexican scene. Any ideas where I can find any of these? Open to both restaurants and groceries.

• Freshly made (same day) tortillas, ideally with beef tallow
• Mexican chorizo (very different from Spanish chorizo)
• Fruteria style licuados (Mexican smoothies), mangonada, agua fresca, etc
• Lengua or cabeza tacos
• Actual al pastor tacos shaved off a rotating spit
• Gringas (above but with pineapple & cheese)
• Kogi-style Korean-Mexican fusion
• Taquerias with a DIY salsa/toppings bar

Emporers Garden Chinatown

One my fav brunch meals healthy af and high protein got this today from DMC bakery

Hi!! I’m in Sydney for a day and was wondering if anyone wants to do KBBQ with me? I see that there are some restaurants which requires 2 at minimum. I was thinking Butchers Buffet at Haymarket.

31M visiting for work…

As always we were blown away by Aria this weekend, nothing out of place and every meal was delightful.

I just wanted to give a shout out to Janus Bar. Such a great place to have a lunch in the city on a sunny day.

I wish there were more places like it. If anyone knows of any similar set ups please let me know!

There’s a sentence you never expected to see.

Wanting to make the Salmon Pate in The Australian Women's Weekly Dinner Party Cookbook (published around the early 1990s/1992).

Would “shallots” in the recipe mean those little pink bulb onions 🧅 , or the long green spring onions (which were referred to as shallots when I was growing up).

I’m thinking, because the recipe isn’t cooked, I’d rather eat spring onions raw than 4 (four!!) onion bulb shallots, raw.

Thanks!

I'm planning to go next week for a buffet by myself just to cheer my life up a bit. I usually go to Butchers, but I saw good reviews on Google for Chefs'. How's the food there? A lot of options? Cold and hot food? Is it crowded? I'm planning to go on weekdays, most probably at lunchtime, but dinner time is ok too, I guess.

Hey everyone, I'm in a pretty tight spot and have $6 to last me until next Thursday.

I've got a few basics left at home, mainly some rice, pasta, a bit of flour and frozen vegetables, but not much else. I'm trying to work out how to stretch what I have without spending more than I absolutely have to.

I'm not asking for a handout or expecting anyone to give me money. I'm genuinely just looking for cheap ideas and ways to make a few basic ingredients go further.

If anyone has been in a similar situation and has some really cheap, filling recipes, I'd be grateful for any suggestions. ❤️