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New South Wales

Ragu Pasta and Wine Bar

When I lived in Melbourne, I loved having after-work pasta dates at Grossi Cellar Bar. The casual yet cosy (not to mention convenient!) location, the simple but refined menu, and the comfortable prices made it just about the most ideal location for a mid-week date. Unfortunately, the Sydney pasta scene has so far failed to thrill me, and two years later, I’m still trying to find that place for a quick bowl of good pasta. When I first came across Ragu Pasta and Wine Bar, I was actually pretty reticent to try it. Being a food court restaurant, I wasn’t convinced at how authentic the experience would be, regardless of how much Italian they include on the menu. What finally…

18/03/2020

Cheapie Lunch (Under $20), European, Italian, Sydney CBD

Banh Cuon Ba Oanh

I love restaurants that do one thing, but do it well. And when it comes to Banh Cuon Ba Oanh? It’s all in the name. For the uninitiated, banh cuon is a wonderful little Vietnamese dish of steamed and rolled rice noodles, not unlike the ones you get at yum cha. But instead of being served with tea as a mid-morning snack, banh cuon is traditionally served for breakfast, though you’re certainly welcome to have it for dinner here, if you don’t find yourself tempted away by the other home-styled northern Vietnamese dishes.

11/03/2020

Asian, Cheapie Lunch (Under $20), Marrickville, Vietnamese

Al Yasmin

It’s been literally yonks since I’ve had a good Middle Eastern meal, and as I’m only a few weeks away from moving out of Sydney’s southern suburbs – one of the best locations for no-frills Lebanese food in the city – I was keen to use that time to check out some of the more popular restaurants in the area. And if you prowl a little around the internet, you’ll see that Al Yasmin is a name that comes up frequently on the best-of lists. Having expected a cramped, fluorescent-lit space, the reality came as a pleasant surprise. Not only is the space brightly lit, clean, and spacious, it even had some rather pretty paintings of desert scenes hung along…

04/03/2020

Cheapie Lunch (Under $20), Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Punchbowl

Tontaro Honten Ramen

Another day, another bowl of ramen. And up for review today is Tontaro Hoten Ramen, the relatively new venture by Jun Toyoda, whose artery-clogging ramen at O-San has a bit of a cult following. Though I’ve been told that Tontaro is a step up from the food-court setting of O-San (having never been myself), the set up here is nevertheless very no-frills. The blond wood panels a sparse, canteen-like space, and everything is pretty much self-serve. I do however appreciate the individual seats lining the edge of the restaurant, which makes solo dining a much less awkward situation if you’re bothered by that sort of thing.

26/02/2020

Asian, Cheapie Lunch (Under $20), Japanese, Sydney CBD

Faheem Fast Food

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…

19/02/2020

Best Of Sydney, Cheapie Lunch (Under $20), Enmore, Indian

Dopa Donburi and Milk Bar

In the no-man’s-land between Christmas and New Year’s, finding a good restaurant to eat at can be a bit of a challenge to say the least. Thankfully there are some wonderful souls who forsake their own holidays so that the rest of us, who are too lazy to cook, can have somewhere to wine and dine. And one of those wonderful places is Dopa Donburi and Milk Bar. Located at the mouth of the fancy new Darling Square Precinct, Dopa caught my eye on my very first foray into the area with its sleek, minimalist design. The menu is very much in vogue, and has its finger on the pulse of what Sydney seems to be loving right now –…

12/02/2020

Asian, Haymarket, Japanese, Just A Bit Special ($20-$35)

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