Canberra - Kingsley

Due to a medical condition, I don't eat steak much.  I went to Kingsleys last night because I enjoyed mussels when here last year.  They weren't on offer tonight so I had my rare steak.  I was seated and was well advised by staff regarding the different cuts of meat.  I had eye fillet from the south coast, with chips and steamed vegetables.  And it was all magnificent!  It was joined by a Bourke St Shiraz from the Canberra region (not sure about the Melbourne name) - a must if a bit expensive.  I normally don't eat desert but had a great vanilla bean panacotta, Tamar Ridge Boytritis Riesling and wait for it, a decent coffee.

A must on a cold night!

Canberra - King O'Malleys

What I am doing here playing drinking games with my students?  Well it was a lot of fun.  I ate chicken pargiamana with chips and salad.  Actually it was very good and well priced.  Its loud and young.  Yeah, suits me.

Postscript - Darwin

I returned to The Noodle House for a meal with friends.  I must have got them on a bad night before.  The food was magnificent this time.  We shared steamed barramundi with ginger and shallots, tofu with three types of mushrooms and duck with mushrooms.  All fantastic.  Well done Noodle House.

Darwin Eateries - Pee Wees and The Noodle House

Twelve months ago I came to Darwin and enjoyed these two eateries.  This time I went away disappointed.

First Pee Wees.  It appears there was confusion about the number of our booking.  But that was no reason to be surly.  For me, it started the night in a sour way.  I had soft shell mud crab and pork belly.  The crab was cold and the pork belly slightly burnt and dry.

And now The Noodle House.  It was State of Origin night (but I am sure this ad no bearing on the food).  Exactly one year go, I had the lemongrass chicken and would have eaten it forever!  This time it was a strange taste (not much lemongrass) and dry (is this the big dry of Darwin).

So far I have been disappointed y the food in Darwin.  But I will not give up - there must be a good barramundi somewhere!

The Wine Cellar - Bankstown Sports

You have to meet Tim.  Tim owns the Wine Cellar at Bankstown Sports and is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  And the cellar is his and his hobby.  All you have to do is tell him what you enjoy and he will do the rest.

If you need something to eat, Tim will co-ordinate it with the two upstairs Italian restaurants.  The BBQ seafood platters are highly recommended and Tim will match it with a great pinot noir.

If you can, don't drive and you will have a spectacular night.

In finishing, Bankstown Sports has a number of great restaurants.  For my wife's birthday we visited Platform One, which I will review in the coming weeks.  However, we started off with a generous glass of Mumm's champagne in the Wine Cellar!  Tim opened it specially - he is that sort of guy.

Welcome

I like reading the newspaper.  I like reading restaurant, cafe and bar reviews.  But it seems that if I want to sample most of the places reviewed, then I have to move out of my southern Sydney home to at least the inner city.  It seems that most reviews hardly get out of the city.  Maybe the reviewers use their travel expense to pay the grossly inflated bills.  So I have decided to do something about it!

Whenever I go out in the burbs I will post my own reviews (and yes, I occasionally go into the city to eat and you will get that review as well).  I am not so concerned with the flashy interior but with the food and service.

I hope some people will join me on this journey.