LL1

This place offers a good range of Australian Menu items such as steaks, some seafoods and pizzas along with foccacias and snacks for those after something less substantial. We visited for lunch and ordered three dishes - fish and chips, foccacia and involtinis and all were reasonably sized and of good quality. Nothing exceptional, however nothing poor in taste either. The restaurant is comfortable and seating is well spaced. The place can also cater for functions and parties. Service was very friendly and helpful when we were unsure what to order.

For those with Entertainment books, you can buy one meal and receive one free with a voucher from the book.

Be FOREWARNED! You don't come here for the service. You do it yourself. You get your own tea, your own sauce, chopsticks etc etc. The reason why this place survives despite the poor service and lacklustre interior of the restaurant is its food. Most Chinese will tell you that they don't care about the service or the surroundings. Only the food matters. Really what else is there? This place is famous for its pot sticker dumplings and on the value of money scale it's a 9/10. The taste is there. However I won't go back due to hygiene concerns. When our bowl of noodles arrived the waitress' thumb was sticking in it! Many a controversy runs through this place!

Not to be confused with Kenzan at the GPO, this five star Japanese dining establishment has been around for over 25 years consistenly offering high quality, Japanese dining to meet the taste of discerining Japanese officaianados! Presentation is top notch with all dishes preented as works of art and food quality matching prices. The difference here however compared to say Nobu is that they stick to traditional time honored menu items and do them very very well. No fusion, no funky styles, just Japanese in the traditon of traditional construction and presentation. Decor is traditional Japanese with pine tables and chairs or a separate room split by bamboo curtains. Wine list is reasonable.

Take a trip back in time to a more relaxed pace and you land in the 1960s! Visit Pellegrinis and you'll experience home cooking that's simple and wholesome. Menu is limited and yes, the granitas are great, so is the coffee and the desserts are something else. But it's the throwback to a simpler, more relaxed and home style atmosphere along with consistenly good food that makes Pellegrinis what it is. Your choice is basically pasta, pasta and pasta, however when you taste it you understand why they don't go outside the range that has been so for the life of the place. If you're a group of four or more, try going to the back and eating in the kitchen, it will give you a feeling of being in an Italian home with your Mom cooking at the stove, about to serve you!

Cypriot tennis star Marcos Bhagdatis' place to visit when he's in town is Stalacties. When the World Cup was on with Australia vs Greece - they closed the street around this restaurant. Police stop by and park in the no parking zone whilst they wait for a Souvlaki or two. Enough said! An institution of Greek food for more than 20 years, running 24/7 this place consistenly provides at any time of the day or night great Greek food. Whether it be Gyros, spanakopita, greek cheese fried or cabbge rolls in vine leaves, it's always good. Prices used to be very reasonable and have gone up, however you also need to consider the location which is convenient. The place is packed on Friday nights and weekends so expect to wait a while. Service is ok, not fantastic, however when you are that busy, no one seems to be overly bothered.

Nobu brings up names such as Robert Di Niro and Nobu Matsuhisa in the one sentence. Strange but true. This place is reknown for great food, atmosphere and avant garde Japanese with tradtional styles rolled into one. One thing's for sure is that the price in this place matches the quality - order anything and you can be sure that it's the best of the best. If you ever wondered what it would be like to be on the panel of tasters in Iron Chef or master chef, visit Nobu. We went with a group of 16 (and you can imagine the bill aftewards - enough for someone to fly to Tokyo...!!) and no one was dissapointed and everyone was talking about the food for weeks afterwards. Sushi and Sahimi was the freshest I've tasted. Soft Shell Crab, tempura rolls, duck, waguy gyoza were all superb. Serivce was a bit slow and sometimes difficult to catch a waiter - well it was Saturday night! Overall, great food, reasonable service, and food that matches the price - no complaints! Serving sizes are not particularly large, allowing you to try a range of dishes, however that means the bill does go up. Wine and drinks list is extensive and can be tailored to the dishes ordered.

Great French Pastries and of course, croissants are a hallmark of this little bakery that has been around for 40 years. Famous for their millefeuilles, chocolate croissants, escargots and other pastries, the quality of the cakes is generally good, although on a few times we've experienced average mille feuilles which were soggy in the middle instead of having a firm, solid custard and flaky pastry. Prices are steep for the goods here so don't expect much change out of $20 for a few croissants and cakes. Service is so so - if they don't know you, the service is very pedestrian, however I have seen other customers walk in and the attitude changes signficantly because they know them. I guess a good sign is if you have many customers walking in speaking French and buying from a French patisserie, it must be ok! It pays to get in early on the weekend as many things sell out early.

Looking for a quick lunch on the run out in the Eastern 'burbs and want to confuse yourself with the selections? Just head to Ampang Tofu (also known as ren ren in mandarin). This small shop with a few tables is great for a quick lunch on the run of noodles in soup, curries and other Malaysian Dishes. Popular dishes include Mee Goreng (thick yellow noodles with vegetables, tofu, chicken and a hint of chilli) or try the Yeung To Fu which allows you to select a range of tid bits to include with your noodles in soup. This ranges from fish cake okra, eggplant, prawn dim sims, and other little delights cooked on the spot for you. Normal range of drinks is available and decor is ruled by a large photo of the petronas towers on ones side of the restaurant - imagine you're having lunch outside a hawker stall back in Kuala Lumpur!

As with other reviewers, we found the food to be lacking in any zing. It doesn't mean that it was bad, however the price of the food did not match the quality. Barramundi and lobster were ok, however were nothing exciting to the palate, instead being on the plain side and not offering any flavour or zest that a top seafood restaurant should provide. Views from the restaurant are very pleasant with the windows overlooking the water. Given the prices charged however we expected more than what was on offer. Service whilst friendly was not as a top restaurant should be where the waiter should offer suggestions as to the best dishes of the day and drinks to match. Service from the kitchen was a bit slow with the break between entree and main taking about 20-25 minutes!