Sailors Thai Canteen George Street Sydney

For something different in the Rocks precinct of Sydney there is always Sailors Thai Canteeen. True to form of a canteen there are no seperate tables. A long table from front to back greets the diner on entry into the dining room.


If you really do seek privacy you can always opt for the table outside. The views of the Circular Quay are very good. Indeed Sailors is located on prime real estate in the heart of the Rocks and easy walking distance to Circular Quay.

For a more formal dining experience you can head downstairs to Sailors Thai. The canteen serves up a quick meal. Be aware of the no bookings policy. Again for bookings and a more relaxed dining experience head downstairs.

There is no real order as to which dish arrives first. We ordered the Papaya salad, soft shell crab and pad thai. First to arrive was the papaya salad. In Thailand Som Dtam(pronounced SomTam) as its known is a colurful salad which is deceptive in its appearance. It originates from north east Thailand. The main ingredient is grated green(unripe) papaya and it is combined with chilli, garlic, lime, shrimp and fish sauce. I was very careful in launching into this salad because previous experiences have induced tremendous eye watering, nose running episodes. Tonight's experience was somewhat subdued. It was milder than I had expected but still had the flavours of past experiences. An added bonus was the crispy fried pork which accompanied the salad. The pork added an extra dimension. As with a lot of Thai cooking the sour and sweet is present. On this occasion it was just a little too tangy for my tastes.
Next was the soft shell crab. It was a special, and it was great, though I did not care too much for the sauce that accompanied the dish. My tip is to eat the soft shell crab as it is, and taste the delicious sweetness of the meat. The sauce tends to dominate if combined with the crab.
Finally the ubiquitous Pad Thai. I found it to be reasonable but for the price there was nothing outstanding with the dish.

Another tip, use the supplied flavourings on the table to add some zing to your choices. Come on it is a canteen help yourself!

Service was efficient but lack any warmth. A smile or two would not have gone astray.
For a quick meal, this place is tops. A unique dining atmosphere and a varied crowd where you wouldn't feel out of place in shorts and t-shirt or jacket and shirt.

Rating : ***

Bach Dang Canley Vale

Heading out to Cabramatta/Canley Vale is always a favourite for me. Definitely an ethnically rich area where you can pick up something that you would find hard to pick up in any other area in Sydney. Getting out there on a Friday evening tests patience, as thousands head home or out of Sydney for a weekend getaway.
First impressions of Bach Dang are positive. It's bright exterior and lighting instantly endears you.
At 7pm the restaurant is slowly filling up. One thing I found somewhat intimidating about venturing out here in the past was going to a restaurant and perhaps not being able to understand. I was lucky on this night as one of my friends knew the menu quite well and she was in charge of ordering.
Rice noodles was very much central to our dining experience on this night. Firstly we started off with prawn fritter on a stick in which we removed chunks, combined with lettuce, mint and a couple other greens and rolled up into a rice roll. It was a delicious, fresh start to our meal. Being an interactive in nature, you have control of flavours and the amount of meat in each roll.
Next up was the hightlight of the night. Crab vietnamese style. We went overboard and ordered 3 crabs. It was a feast no doubt, and finger licking good to borrow a catch line! The flavouring was not intense to nullify the sweetness of the meat.
Next up it was meats and rice paper rolls again. Like our first dish, this again provided fresh contrast to the crab.
Finally it was a fish soup to finish off our meal. With some secret flavouring and spices coupled with fresh fish chunks, we prepared the soup. About 10 minutes later, I tasted the soup. It was suprisingly tangy and spicy at the same time. It was quite the spectacular end to our dinner.
Service was efficient despite the crowds. As I sat and observed, I noticed some attractive offerings coming out of the the kitchen.
Definitely a place to return and sample new delights

Rating : ****

Jordan's Seafood Restaurant Darling Harbour

While Darling Harbour isn't the culinary centre of Sydney, if you haven't made bookings on Crown Street for a Friday night, the next best option is to try your luck at the Darling Harbour/Cockle Bay precinct.

At 7:30 the most of the more intimate regional cuisine restaurants were full of dinners with more than a few having walk-ins patiently in line.

What to do, settle for Jordan's. A table was ready in minutes and with my friends we were seated outside to enjoy the balmy evening and people watching.
Ambience is surprisingly good. Just the quiet hum of mostly couples enjoying dinner under the stars.

Service on the other hand was frustrating. A hierarchy exists, a waiter that will only take orders. Those that deliver food, will not take orders. Order takers are confined to their own areas and will not cross into a another's space to assist hungry and thirsty customers.
To our surprise, the food we ordered was delivered rapidly. I had ordered a West Australian gold band snapper. It was lightly battered and crispy. The flesh was tender, quite simply it was some of the best fish I had tasted for a while. I was presented with two fillets and along with chips, it made a good meal. I was able to sample my friend's steak. While it was cooked to a perfect medium, I know definitely that Meat & Wine a few metres away serves a better aged steak with a better flavour and more tenderness. My other friend had a soft shell crab. Out of the 3 dishes, this one ran third. It was touch to salty and the batter somewhat masks the sweetness of the crab. It could have been so good.

Accompanying my meal was a 2005 Katnook Riesling. It was a fine partner. Zesty, it complemented the seafood.


Basically a hit & miss. The central location makes it handy. For corporate dinners or larger groups the space and seafood platters will generally please.

In Sydney where seafood is king, there are better options.

Rating : ***

East Ocean Restaurant - Dixon St Haymarket

What better day to test the mettle of a restaurant than Father's day. On a special occasion day you expect fully booked restaurants, and diners looking to celebrate with special requirements for their loved ones.

We were lucky to get a table considering I had only booked a few hours earlier. I was dining with my family and they were arriving separately. When I arrived I had little problem getting to my table; in contrast when my mom and sister arrived, they were dealt with quite abruptly and rudely by one of the waiting staff. This would be the theme of the night, contrasting levels of service, from sublime to less than ordinary.

We began with the house soup. A clear broth accompanied with generous portions of pork, it was equal to any soup you would normally pay for. The soup was full of flavour and munching on the pork at the end was a bonus.

Next up was a 2 course Peking Duck. We sat back as our waiter chopped up the duck and served it up in a pancake sized bread. Delicious was the verdict. You can't really go wrong with Peking Duck but without having to get your hands dirty makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable. The duck meat was then mixed in to form the san chow bow. Again the balance of flavours was just right.

Our mains on this night was a braised bean curd with mushrooms and baked pork spare ribs. These two dishes complimented each other nicely. The pork was so tender it practically fell of the bone. Bean curd can often be overcooked but on this night, the softness of the bean curd coupled with chewy mushrooms accompanied with a thick gravy again highlighted how each of the ingredient's flavours and textures were in synch with one another.

Serving sizes were more than appropriate and between 5 of us, 4 dishes more than filled us up.
I was so full that I could not even savour the complimentary sweets.

One of the waiters assigned to us, wore a frown all night and after perusing the bill and giving him our money, he then alerted us that he would be not be providing change and should assume that the change was a tip. Now that was a first for me. Luckily, after refusing to leave the table, another waiter returned with our change.

So a great night food was tempered by inconsistent service. A great restaurant to dine in, and at times excellent service. The ambience was better than I expected.

Check it out you may receive the great food and also awesome service if you are lucky.

Rating : ***

Ironchef Chinese Seafood Restaurant - Broomfield St Cabramatta

Where else can you find good Yum-Cha in Sydney. You are tired of fighting the congestion of Haymarket, and the traffic chaos that is Chatswood. How about Cabramatta? Surprised? Don't be! While Cabramatta is famous for its little Vietnamese shops boasting the best Pho in town, there are also Yum-Cha restaurants that are equal to those found in Haymarket and Chatswood.

We arrived at Ironchef at around 10:30. Even at this time on a Sunday morning, hungry families had already started collecting tickets waiting for their number to be called for a free table. I am guessing Sunday is when many Chinese families will gather for a feast of dumplings, sticky rice and paos. No different to any other good yum-cha joint in town.

Carts are brimming with bamboo pots and we are spoilt for choice. It is hard to discern between this yum-cha with the best I have eaten in Sydney. I will definitely have to come back with a bigger group to try many more of the unique offerings, which I did not have the chance to on this day.
I tried the usual suspects and also a few new offerings.

In terms of size, Ironchef is large and with an open kitchen you can see what is going on. Outside Ironchef is a club area as well. So you can eat, watch the latest sport, place some bets. Lots going on to keep everyone happy.

The staff are friendly although trying to get a tofu fa took quite a while as only one cart was circulating with this delicious dessert.

Situated directly opposite the railway line, Ironchef is easily accessible. If you get there early, parking is not a problem and generally you won't have to look very hard for a spot.

After yum-cha the main centre of Cabramatta is just quick walk over the train line. Walk off the calories perusing the shops and quence your thirst with sugar cane juice.

See a different side of Cabramatta, the side where families shop for fresh produce, enjoy delicious yum-cha and spend quality time together.

Rating : ***

Nick's Seafood Restaurant - King St Wharf

When looking for a restaurant to impress on friends from overseas, you tend to go for the trusted names such as Nick's, Doyles etc... You hope for a level of service and quality of food that is consistent and worthy. When it goes wrong, potentially, you leave a bad impression, because people feel that they have paid a premium yet end up experiencing a feeling similar to that of leaving a local McDonalds restaurant.

Our night started out with the reservation being misplaced. Luckily on this cold Monday night, most restaurants on the Wharf strip were empty, so it was not a problem obtaining a table for 6.

Menu options are quite solid in all areas. Seafood tends to dominate the menu, but having a seafood in its title, you expect that. I tried Nick's Chowder Soup for my starter. With a reference of local chowder firmly etched into my palate, Nick's came up short. Flavours were not as intense and the measly offerings within the chowder just did not stack up to those sampled further up the bay towards South Head.

Onto the mains and it was the Seafood Platter that was now being tested. Refreshingly, it was nice to see an offering that was not dominated by fried battered! Fresh lobster, king prawns and oysters stood out.

In my experience when sampling platters, you quite often stumble on morsels of seafood you were not expecting to see, yet with this offering, what was on the menu was all you got and even then we were made to share just 1 piece calamari.

Attention to detail was sadly lacking. Imagine receiving a chowder, without a spoon, or bread without butter? Yet this was the case. I can only guess, that the crew on hand had a crazy weekend where they were run off their feet, and were looking for a Monday night, where they could tune out.

Finally it was time to pay the bill and watch out if you have an entertainment book because you will have to wrestle with the maitre'd or shall I see the kid with a tie to get your discount to which you are entitled to. You have been warned!

Overall a disappointing experience. The food was average and service was a real let down. When you spend $200(after discount) you are hoping, that you are spoiled for an hour or 2, rather than made to supervise the staff to ensure your needs are being met.

Rating : **

Sea Treasure - Willoughby Road Crows Nest

There is always an air of expectation, excitement and anticipation when visiting a restaurant that has received a coveted SMH Good Eating Guide Chef's Hat.

While I suspect the Chef's hat was awarded for the a-la carte menu, I thought the Yum-Cha offerings would reflect the quality found in dishes served later in the evening. The layout doesn't exactly lend itself to efficient delivery of yum-cha treats and the waiters are made to earn every penny by carrying around piping hot bamboo pots by the half dozen, rather than wheeling around traditional trolleys you will find in Chinatown.

It is a good idea to get into Sea Treasure at 12 or just after as the restaurant quickly fills. Parking on the street is almost impossible to find but close by is a council car park which will give you two hours free parking, enough time for a sumptuous yum-cha lunch.

About 15 minutes into our meal we are already sampling our favourite yum-cha delights. I could taste the freshness of each dish and without a doubt it was as delicious as any yum-cha restaurant in Sydney. As time goes by though, and each waitress comes around we do notice a lot of the same dishes and our 'No Thanks' quite overwhelmingly outnumbers 'Yes we will take that'. Of course you will find those 'special' dishes significantly ups the final price circulating throughout your meal. After a little while we gave up and opted for some dessert. Mango pancakes, coconut jelly and egg tarts were all available and they did not disappoint.

If you are working in the area, again this would satisfy your yum-cha cravings, but if you are looking for a bit more variety, then Chatwsood is 7-10 minutes away and offers a more complete yum-cha experience. Also at $20 per person, Sea Treasure does come out more expensive than it's North Sydney neighbour, Greenwood, yet it is somewhat more relaxing atmosphere to enjoy lunch. Would I come back, Yes! But not for Yum-Cha rather I would opt for a dinner to see whether the Chef's Hat in my eyes is deserving.

Rating : ***