Bar Reggio, Darlinghurst

A few weeks ago, the boss decided to plan a staff dinner which ended up being our Xmas party. They were all in the mood for pizza and somehow it ended up being at Bar Reggio because the boss and a colleague really loved it when they were there a while ago. We were originally planning to show up without a booking but after hearing that it gets really packed (and it was a Thursday night), it was my job to book a table at the very last minute. Thankfully there was only 8 of us so it wasn't too bad but we were reminded that we had to finish off after 2 hours.

Despite being quite close to each other, Bar Reggio is much cheaper with a traditional, old-school Italian appeal than the nearby modern-Italian Verde Restaurant. It is strictly BYO only at $2 pp so remember to buy your drinks beforehand if you feel like having a beer or wine with your meal. The atmosphere is incredibly noisy so it was hard for me to speak to my colleagues a few seats away without getting out of my seat or screaming my lungs out (mostly the latter because the table space was quite cramped). But that's the charm about this family-run restaurant. Bar Reggio has serving hungry customers for more than 20 years with little changes to the interior decor and yet it still gets the crowds and even the queues outside the door to this day. Just cheap and cheerful Italian fare with no fuss. They even have a courtyard if you want to dine and chill outside. 

We didn't bother with any entrees or sides this time. There was so many choices for pizzas and pastas so we went straight to ordering them. There is even some decent vegetarian options for pizzas and pastas which should satisfy those who cannot eat meat and seafood for personal, dietary or religious reasons. The pizzas and pastas were more towards the rustic, simple appeal with uneven slices and even quite a few burnt edges rather than the more fancy, neat gourmet ones that have been opening around recently. A crisp pizza base which isn't too thin nor is it too thick with stringy mozzarella cheese are a winning combo for me when I got to try a slice of each pizza. 

The Palmer Street was the first slice that I tried out of the 6 different flavours of pizzas that we tried. It was stacked with pepperoni, pineapple, onion, chilli and mushrooms. The flavours tasted quite nice together. Also for me, any pizza with pepperoni makes me happy.

Palmer Street (S - $14, L - $17)

I know that Supreme pizzas packed with every single topping except for seafood and chicken isn't authentic Italian but I still enjoy trying them. It's also a fave for my folks whenever they order from Domino's or Pizza Hut because you get to try a bit of everything on the pizza. Bar Reggio's version is made fresh and on the spot in their wood-fired oven near the front. The many ingredients were quite flavoursome and satisfied the many hungry diners at the table.

Supreme (S - $14, L - $17)

Like most pizza restaurants, seafood pizzas are generally the more expensive items on the menu. Bar Reggio is no exception. Their Reggio pizza contains only garlic and chilli prawns but it's one of the most expensive out of the pizzas. While I really loved the taste, I was hoping there would be more prawns since there were a few slices when there was almost no toppings.

Reggio (S - $16, L - $20)

There were a couple of vegetarians in our group so a few non-meat pizzas were necessary such as the above and below. Scattered with various seasonal veggie toppings including onions, olives, mushroom and green capsicum; I will certainly be trying this again next time I'm planning a meatless day. Lots of flavours and toppings to enjoy and satisfy your taste buds even if you are a carnivore.

Vegetarian (S - $14, L - $16)

After ordering 4 large pizzas, we realised that this wasn't enough for 8 hungry people! We ended up deciding on ordering the Marinara which turned out to be the favourite for everyone on the table. It is topped with perch fillet, prawns, calamari, chilli and garlic. The prawns had a nice bitey and plump texture that matched well with the softly shredded perch fillets. While there was chilli, we did feel compelled to use the extra chilli provided on our table for the added flavour. Regardless, the Marinara was the winning pizza for us and worth the $20.

Marinara (S - $16, L - $20)

I was getting terribly full by this point but I'm a sucker for prosciutto. The trecolore came to our table topped with prosciutto, rocket, garlic and mozzarella. Unlike the other pizzas on the menu, this is the only one that has a white base instead of a tomato sauce base. The taste remained fairly tasty and I do loved the sliced prosciutto. The rocket was quite strong though especially when a bundle of it is stacked on top of your slice.

Trecolore (S - $14, L - $17)

Looks rustic but not too soft or hard. The texture had a bite which I liked although I don't usually eat risotto. The winner for me is the tangy napoli sauce that adds a fruitful taste to this dish that will please those who want to try risotto but not a fan of creamy bases (like me lol).  

Vegetarian Risotto with mixed vegetables and napoli sauce ($16.00)

I try much nor was I able to catch the name of the below dish (Penne Napoli possibly? - $12.00) but the flavour seemed ok for me. My colleagues said that they preferred the pizzas and found the pasta overcooked though. 

Penne Napoli (I think?)

We all ordered a variety of desserts which were actually incredibly cheap and easy for those who do not want to spend on too many dishes but still feel like something sweet. No seriously. The prices of the desserts here range between $5 to $8 and you get more out of it with its generous servings. I didn't try my colleagues' desserts but they seem very satisfied in the end.

Baked Ricotta Cheesecake ($6.00)

One of the more heavier and creamier (and cheesier!) versions of tiramisu that I've noticed. It will get you even more full than you already are. It's the most expensive out of the desserts but worth the buck.

Homemade Tiramisu ($8.00)

I was indecisive about my dessert selection but eventually chose the Bianco and Nero which is basically a profiterole filled with vanilla custard and covered with milk chocolate. It may be $5.00 but the serving is pretty big too. Didn't mind the whipped cream on the side as it does take away the bitterness when it gets to you. Cannot get enough of that creamy vanilla custard that oozes out of the profiterole once you take a bite out of it.

Bianco and Nero ($5.00)

Would love to try the below dessert next time I'm at Bar Reggio. Anything covered with chocolate sounds heavenly to me.

Baci ($5.50)

It may not be fancy and the seats and tables can be cramped at time, it's definitely cheap and cheerful. The colleagues loved it too. The service was not bad though very busy at times especially with the increasing number of diners as the night progresses. With decent servings and affordable prices, it's no wonder that it's been around for at least 20 years. Great place for large groups and family gatherings. Just prepare to wait in queues at peak times if you don't book in advance. Many thanks to my colleagues for being patient while I take the shots and even offering to be hand models for the night!

Bar Reggio
135 Crown Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
(02) 9332 1129
http://www.barreggio.com.au/
Lunch and Dinner: Mon - Sat 12:00pm to Late

Verde Restaurant and Bar, Darlinghurst

Stanley Street is one of those areas of the Sydney CBD that I don't venture as much as I would like to but have heard a lot about. When you walk along that street and the surrounding area you will find countless old school Italian restaurants, whether it's cheap, expensive or focused on a particular region in Italian cuisine. Located nearby on Riley Street in an olden Victorian-era building is Verde Restaurant and Bar, which focuses on Southern Italian cuisine as inspired by owner and chef, Antonio Ruggerino childhood and family background. What differentiates Southern Italian cuisine from other regions of Italy was the use of olives, capsicums, tomatoes, eggplants in their food due to the warmer temperature to grow this food. 

When it opened 6 years ago, it began as a fine dining restaurant. Like most restaurants these days, it has moved towards home-style, casual dining with the atmosphere being much more social than I expected when I entered inside the venue. The service was friendly though there were moments when I had to get their attention. 

Some restaurants do bread and olive oil while others so free olives like Verde. I generally prefer black olives but on this occasion, the green olives doused with olive oil were quite addictive with its zesty taste and not too firm yet still fresh texture. 

Complimentary Green Olives with Olive Oil

Since looking at the menu for the first time, I've had my eyes set on the arancini balls with grape tomato salsa. Sounds like my ideal combo whenever I wanna have a bite out of these risotto balls. Size-wise, it was bigger than I expected. The rice wasn't too hard and not as soft either. The grape tomato salsa adds a nice tanginess to this dish. Didn't expect any cheese but there is a actually bit of stringy (mozzarella?) cheese found inside the arancini ball. Stringy cheese is my guilty pleasure dammit.

Arancini Balls with Grape Tomato Salsa ($6 for 2, $12 for 4)

Another dish that caught my eye was the spaghettini with blue swimmer crab dish. Yes it was pretty weird eating pasta after barely having it for many many months so it was nice to have a light type of pasta for now. The pasta was made in-house and had a lovely aldente texture with strong flavours from the white wine broth - particularly from the tomato and chilli. There was also decent amounts of picked crab which made up for the premium price of the meal even though the serving size was smaller than I expected. One thing that gets be annoyed at restaurants is when I want to eat everything - including the broth - off the plate but then I can't because there is no spoon. Thankfully at Verde, a spoon was available on the table and the broth was amazing so I was able to polish off every bit of my plate. Yay! 

Spaghettini Crab (Picked Blue Swimmer), Grape Tomato, Garlic, Chilli, White Wine ($32.00)

Sometimes, it's the dessert that determines the outcome of the restaurant. Personally, I reckon it's the journey that matters in the end especially if I'm too full for desserts. Since I wasn't too full from the first two meals then the dessert is essential this time. I love a good tiramisu especially after trying a few from Italy. Verde's version filled me up quite a bit with its fluffy layers, creamy marscapone and countless thin shavings of Perugino chocolate. It was creamier and a tad bigger compared to some other variants of tiramisu in the past but the chocolate shavings were the highlight for me. I could pour loads of them and still not get sick of it!

Traditional Tiramisu with Shaved Perugino Chocolate ($14.00)

While Verde may be located so close to countless old school Italian restaurants, what sets this apart was the modern interior decor and its casual, social yet not too noisy atmosphere. On the other hand the prices were on the expensive side even with the use of a discount voucher. I can imagine this restaurant would be ideal for a casual date, work dinner/lunch or a gathering of families and/or friends for a special occasion though there were a few friends dining nearby for a catchup. Wouldn't mind coming back again sometime soon to try some of the other dishes on the menu when I get the chance especially for their desserts.  

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie received a discount voucher courtesy of Platinum Media and Communications, and Verde Restaurant and Bar. Opinions are personal.

Verde Restaurant and Bar
115 Riley Street, Darlinghurst NSW 
(02) 9380 8877
http://www.verde.net.au/
Lunch: Monday - Friday 12pm to 3pm
Dinner: Monday - Saturday 6pm to late

Chinese Noodle Restaurant 2, Town Hall

Have you ever walked past Chinese Noodle Restaurant at the Prince Centre in Haymarket with the plastic grapes inside and the violin player at the front? And it's sister restaurant (Chinese Noodle House) on the right that looks exactly the same in everything except for the name? Well the same restaurant has recently opened another branch further up in the Town Hall area on Bathurst Street called Chinese Noodle Restaurant 2. Or Chinatown Noodle Restaurant according to the sign at the front...in Town Hall. Though the restaurant menu listed it as Chinese Noodle Restaurant. Confusing much? Thankfully the confusion ends there with it's expansive menu of yummy dishes. Since I don't go to the Haymarket/Chinatown area as much except for Friday evenings and weekends, it was a delight seeing this restaurant slightly closer to where I work.

Chinese Noodle Restaurant and it many other branches across the city specialises in Northern Chinese cuisine particularly from the Xinjiang region. This includes the popular steamed, pan-fried and boiled dumplings as well as epically large servings of hand made noodles. 

For some reason, I always have cravings for pan-fried dumplings and pork buns. Here, it was the crisp base that is always the winning element for me. When you order dumplings, you get the choice of ordering the full amount or half of it. While I ordered the half-servings, it was still got me filled up thanks to the doughy texture. With these pork buns, be careful when you attempt to bite into them because hot broth can squirt out from the top! I learned it the hard way...

Pan-fried Pork Buns (5 p - $5.50, 10 p - $9.80)

I guess it didn't help when we also ordered the renowned handmade noodles. This version is stir fried with capsicum, onion, mushroom, celery and your choice of meat (I went with lamb lol). If you only want to order one dish here, this should do you good for lunch and dinner. If you want to order many dishes, bring a few friends because the serving size is suitable for at least 2-4 people. As for the noodles, they were too greasy for my liking but the texture of the handmade noodles is thick, soft and chewy - which is what I loved in this dish. Been addicted to handmade noodles for a while and this is one of my fave places for this type of food so far.

Xin-Jiang Hand-made Stir-Fried Noodles with Lamb ($10.80)

After reading through the menu and wanting to try some of their dishes, I returned for a second visit a few weeks later. In Northern Chinese cuisine, one of their well known food was a hamburger-like bun filled with your choice of meat. I've seen a similar version elsewhere but was disappointed by it however this version was so tasty and addictive. This version was also toasted which adds a crunch as you bite into the bun. The meat was fairly tender with bursts of spices in its flavour. Will consider order this again next time.

 Toasted Xi'an Bun with Lamb ($6.50)

While I did order a half serving of 6 pieces, I was pretty surprised when the full load of 12 dumplings arrived to the table. Like the pan-fried pork buns, these dumplings have that crispy bottom that I prefer as well as the piping hot broth. I also enjoyed the filling of the dumpling as it was tender and juicier than dumplings at some other restaurants where the texture of the same filling was tough. The dumpling dough was thick so this gets you full very fast even if you order just this one dish alone, half-servings or not.

Lightly Pan-fried Pork and Chive Dumplings (6 p - $5.50, 12 p - $9.80)

That crispy pan-fried dumpling base!

These noodles may not look pretty but of course it's the taste that matters the most. This certainly delivers with this particular dish. The minced pork scattered on the handmade noodles reminded me of spaghetti bolognaise. This is combined with fresh sliced cucumber that tastes nice together once the amount of minced meat, oils and carbs from the noodles gets too much to handle.

Beijing Combination Noodles with Pork Mince and Shredded Cucumber ($9.90)

The service has its ups and downs at times. While I have been greeted with a smile by the staff member sometimes, there was that mishap with the ordering of the pan fried dumplings as mentioned above but it didn't fuss me in the end. Sure the food may not look pretty or fancy, but what really matters is delivering generous portions of food and quick speed for extremely affordable prices. It's that cheap and cheerful vibe that gets me going back to this restaurant fairly often these days. And while the plastic grapes may not be hanging on the ceiling like at the Haymarket branch, the violin-playing owner pays a visit every now and then to impress the diners and anyone walking past the restaurant on the street.

Chinese Noodle Restaurant 2 (aka Chinatown Noodle Restaurant)
77 Bathurst Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Chinese Noodle Restaurant
Shop 7, 8 Quay Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9281 9051

Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant, Chinatown

Just like how there are so many Chinese languages, there are numerous different regional Chinese cuisines. Cantonese, Shanghai, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Xin Jiang, Fujian and many more. Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant specialises in Sichuan (aka Szechuan) cuisine. This type of cuisine emphasises on bold and strong flavours in their food especially the use of pepper, spices and garlic. It also has a surprisingly large number of branches across Sydney including two in the Haymarket area which made things very confusing when we were trying to find the restaurant. 

Apparently the restaurant we went to was the fancier looking Harbour Plaza Branch as opposed to the other Haymarket branch which was situated upstairs somewhere on Dixon Street. From the reviews it looked like most of the food was the same at all Red Chilli Group branches. Although it was a Saturday night, it wasn't too packed though still fairly noisy at times.

When your restaurant has the word 'chilli' in it's name, you know what to expect. However if you cannot handle spicy food at all, there is a guide in the menu that shows which dishes are spicier by the number of chillies next to the menu item. 

All the dishes we had were shared mainly due to huge portions of most plates. The guys were keen for the lamb with onions and cumin spice. The meat was succulent that I ended up being quite greedy and trying to grab every lamb piece for myself (and yes I love the taste of lamb). It also came with assorted veggies, cashew nuts and capsicum stir fried together along with dried chilli pieces, which added a generous amount of hotness to the dish.

Lamb with Onion and Cumin Spice ($22.30)

The prices were quite intriguing. While it looked small in the menu photo and the price was much cheaper, the portion was generous and great to share with a few friends. The noodles were slippery and spicy with the amount of chilli contained in the soup. The minced pork and cabbage on top of the noodles was my favourite part of the dish for the extra texture and meatiness when the chilli oil takes over.

Spicy Dan Dan Noodle ($6.80)

I had not tried anything with duck egg yolk before but the guys were keen on trying it. Upon seeing them coughing when they tried a piece, I was initially hesitant to try one myself however it had no effect on me. Actually I thought that it was incredibly tasty with the sticky, crispy and crumbled duck egg yolk. So addictive that I wanted to try more from this dish. The pricing was confusing since the portion was smaller than the previous dish but the price was much higher in contrast. 

Stir fried prawns with duck egg yolk ($20.80)

If the many chilli dishes scare you to bits then fear not. With the huge amount of chilli dishes that we had devoured, these mild dumplings were actually much needed to sooth our tongues. I actually had not tried boiled dumplings before but was delighted at the slightly thick, cooked dumpling skin with the hot broth inside. We still made good use of the soy sauce and vinegar for the added flavour but perfect to have if you don't like any spicy dishes. Certainly a surprise hit for the table.

Boiled Dumplings with Cabbage and Pork ($9.90)

Another relatively mild dish that we dug in was the salt and pepper squid. Thanks to its lightly crispy batter, these were popular at our table. While it was scattered with sliced capsicum, it was still fairly mild in comparison to other dishes. At $26.60, we thought it was a tad pricier compared to some other dishes with larger portions and lower prices. 

Salt and Pepper Squid ($26.60)

Recently, I returned again for another visit after seeing the amount of other dishes that I wanted to try from the menu. Been a fan of bean noodles since starting my diet earlier this year thanks to my parents' dinner suggestions.Red Chilli Sichuan's version was served cold and incredibly slippery. So slippery that sour and spicy (chilli oil) sauce was splashing every across the table including my phone screen. While the bean jelly noodles were soft and served cold, the peanuts gave it a decent crunch which was also a relief once the spiciness hits you. Again, the serving was more generous than I expected so will recommend this as a shared dish. 

Sichuan Bean Jelly with Sour and Spicy Sauce ($8.80)

The generous serving also applies to the below dish. I was so addicted to the egg yolk batter from the prawns that it got me curious enough to try the stir fried corn with salted egg yolk dish...even if though it is not doing your weight loss any favours. Still, I adored the crumbly and sticky batter that  rubs onto your tongue.

Stir-fried Corn with Salted Egg Yolk ($16.80)

After loving the boiled dumplings on our previous visit, I was compelled to attempt the sweet and spicy version. The serving size was smaller than the non-spicy version but packed with tons of flavour including from the chilli oil to the sweet sesame sauce. The dumpling skin was firm, silky, thin and packed with pork inside - reminded me of a won ton dumpling actually.

Boiled Dumplings with Sweet and Spicy Sauce ($7.80)

While the food was nice and unique to what I usually had, the service could have been better. For a restaurant in the Chinatown/Haymarket area this was expected however at one point, we also ordered rice but it did not showed up at our table yet we still got charged for it. Thankfully this was fixed as we were full as well. Also, there were a few staff members who thought that I was Chinese. The communication barrier is pretty evident here since my friends communicated their orders in Chinese and there were a few wait staff who didn't understand me when I made my order. Despite that, we enjoyed the food even though the prices were leaning towards the expensive side on some dishes. Since most of the dishes were made to share with its large servings, the prices can be reasonable if you are here with a medium-large group of friends if you are keen to try as much as you can. 


Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant
25-29 Harbour Street, Harbour Plaza, Haymarket (also at Dixon Street, Haymarket; Chatswood; Glebe; and Burwood in NSW)
(02) 9211 8130
http://www.redchilligroup.com.au/

Saigon Bay Restaurant, Darlinghurst, Online Ordering Courtesy of Menulog

For those who know me personally, you may know that I was incredibly busy at work last month due to staff shortage. This often meant spending my lunch time at work or doing overtime every now and then. I'm sure something like this has happened to every single one of you reading this post. While I usually bring home-made lunches, there were days when I felt like eating out but there were many days when I didn't have the time to do that.

Thanks to Menulog, I was given the opportunity to try out their online system for my next delivery order. The Menulog website makes online takeaway ordering easy to use with over 2000 restaurants to choose from, free usage and an SMS confirmation that your order has been processed. 

Whether you are ordering from home or at work, you can just simply begin your order by entering the post code to see which restaurants are available for delivery in your area. If you are a returning customer, you get the option to log in if you wish. 

The navigation of the website is easy and straightforward for first time buyers. None of that messy, cluttered stuff. Most restaurants offer promotions for your order and depending on which restaurant you choose, you could also get discounts or freebies such as 10% for your first order at the restaurant of your selection. If the results were too broad, you can refine your search using various filters such as Type of Cuisine, Specials or entering the Restaurant or Dish name in the search field. With this website, you can browse menus, read or write your own review, rate the service and speed or check out the minimum order for free delivery.

While there are hundreds of restaurants available for pick up, I was surprised that there wasn't as many that offer delivery. There was even much less restaurants that do delivery for lunches but thankfully Saigon Bay was one of those places that do this. 

At Saigon Bay, you get a couple of promotions including 30% off for your first order. This was on top of the $25 voucher that I received from Menulog. Thankfully the sub-total price is still included in the minimum order which is $30 so you don't need to order anything extra once you get the discounts and vouchers. Also, if you order from this restaurant 7 times, then the 8th order is free. To start, simply choose the dishes you would like to get from the menu. These selected dishes will then appear on the right of the screen below the 'Your Order' tab with discounts and total price.

After finalising your order, just enter your delivery address, contact details, delivery time and voucher details at the checkout. 

Finally, enter your payment details whether you choose cash, Mastercard, VISA, American Express (depending on the restaurant).

Now that the order has been placed, the best thing to do is just wait for your order to arrive. Or in my case, just continue working. Since I knew how busy I would be over the next few days, I actually made my order a few days before in advance and not worry about it on the day. You also get a confirmation via SMS the following day which stated what time my delivery will arrive and the contact number for the restaurant if any issues occur. 

Although I made my order to arrive on Wednesday, suddenly on Tuesday I got a phone call from the delivery guy who said that my order is here. I was surprised since I did not expect it on that day (and I had my own lunch with my work colleagues due to Melbourne Cup). While I was glad that it did arrive at 12:45pm on the dot, I was concerned that the order will still be pending for the following day so I had to call up the restaurant and Menulog to ensure that the same order and delivery did not arrive on the original date. Thankfully that was rectified by the staff.
So lesson learnt: order on the day or the day/night before NOT two or more days before in advance (doh).

Now onto the food! I was quite surprised to hear that Saigon Bay Restaurant has actualy been around since 1993. This is on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst where many restaurants on that street do not last too long. After seeing it pop up on various food-related websites and the fact that they order lunch delivery for the CBD area, it got me curious enough to order food from this restaurant. The food arrived in a massive brown paper bag containing boxes with cutlery and food that was steaming hot. It felt like I was inside the restaurant and the food just arrived to my table.

Vietnamese Crispy Duck Pancake ($14.90)

While I've always tried the Vietnamese Pancake (Banh Xeo) with prawns, I actually have not got the chance to try it with duck. The batter was so crispy as if it was delivered straight from the kitchen. Also much more oily than what I'm used to. Ended up making good use of the greens from a separate box including the salad and mint to accompany the pancake.

Salads and Vietnamese Mint for the Banh Xeo

When seeing this dish on the menu, I could imagine how good this dish would have looked at the restaurant. Was disappointed that it did not came with rice paper rolls as this was mentioned on the menu. While the beef was not as tender as I preferred, it was still full of flavour with its crunchy yet mild onions. It also came with a deep, beef broth that was well-matched with the peanuts and tomato slices. 

Special Camp Fire Beef ($22.90) 

I often thought of papaya salad as part of Thai cuisine but then I have seen my family serving their own papaya salad back at home. Unlike the Thai version, the Vietnamese papaya salad was much less spicy and milder in terms of flavour. Saigon Bay's version demonstrates this. While the salad needed some fish sauce for added flavour, the prawns were fresh and plump and the shredded papaya retained that nice, sweet crunch. 

Papaya Salad ($18.90)

Apart from the mishap with the date of delivery (which the staff fixed it up quickly), everything else went smoothly. The food was delivered on time, the food remained delicious and held up well even though it arrived via delivery. With an easy-to use website and a mobile app, I wouldn't mind trying out Menulog again for ordering take-away online whether it's home delivery or pick up especially with the many restaurants available on the website. Will recommend this if you are too busy to go out for lunch or you want to eat restaurant food for dinner without leaving your house. 

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie received a voucher courtesy of Menulog. Opinions remain personal.

Menulog website: http://www.menulog.com.au/

Saigon Bay Restaurant in Darlinghurst
249 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
(02) 9360 3220
http://www.saigonbay.com.au/