Bistecca was originally going to be my birthday dinner this year, but then, y’know, Covid happened. Thankfully once the worst of the first wave was over, not only did Bistecca reopen quick-smart, they also started accepting bookings for groups of any size. This was extremely good news, because apparently smaller parties used to have to show up at 4pm to scribble your name on a piece of butcher’s paper on the door, and hope you get a call sometime later that night.
I love it when my sister comes up from Melbourne to visit. Not only is she great fun, she also provides the perfect excuse for me to try out places that I normally wouldn’t visit, usually due to health and/or price reasons. And today, the plan is to have a huge Indian/Pakistani feast at Faheem’s Fast Food. Calling Faheem’s a restaurant would be a stretch; it’s barely even a canteen, with its rows of Formica tables squashed into a tiled room with zero décor. Service is strictly limited to three points – when they take your order, when they bring out your food, and when you head up to the ancient register to pay. But ambience and hospitality is not…
Up to now, dinner at Poly was probably my favourite upscale dining experience in Sydney, the poor service notwithstanding. Given that I’m currently trying to make one income stretch between two people however, I don’t really have a whole lot of time to be exploring the fine dining scene in Sydney, which is notoriously expensive as it is. But one really nice meal out at the end of the year for Chris’ birthday, our anniversary, and Christmas has always been a constant, and this year I chose Ester, the elder sister to Poly. Ester looks like every other popular Modern Australian restaurant that has ever been, but that’s not a bad thing. The interior is sleek yet warm, the bare…
With the relatively limited budget I have these days for going out to eat, it’s not often that I come across a restaurant that truly excites me. The cheaper places often tend to be rather same-same, whilst the more interesting places usually have prices that fall outside of what I can justify on a day-to-day basis. So with that said, it was doubly exciting when Bush opened – firstly because it just seemed like a really cool place, and secondly it was a cool place that I could afford to go to that very day if I wanted to! In the end, it took me about a month to actually make my way there; that may not sound very prompt,…
The best restaurants are those that you stumble upon, and that is exactly how I came to know about Cairo Takeaway. I was wandering through Newtown a few months ago after dinner, when I spotted an ancient-looking pot through a non-descript door, filled with falafel floating in golden oil. Naturally my interest was piqued, and a quick peek inside revealed a cosy, homely restaurant that seems to specialise in Middle-Eastern food, if the falafel vat and counter of fresh salads and pickles were to be believed.
Nothing tastes as good as a celebratory meal, and oh do I have reason to be celebrating today. After barely 3 years out of university, Chris (aka my other half) has been promoted to a senior software developer! He’s of course stoked, and don’t tell him I said this because he’s already had so many congratulations that he’s running the risk of getting a big head, but I’m also completely thrilled – for him, and for this excellent excuse to splash out on dinner at Poly.