Posts tagged Chain Restaurant

Bondi Pizza, Macquarie

Review April 22, 2016

It doesn’t take an Italian to know good pizza. Case study 1: the pizza expert in my life is Simon, who just so happens to be Korean. And with all his experiments in dough fermentation and the best tomato sauce base, you can bet that Simon really knows his Magheritas from his Neapolitanas.

So I guess you could say that eating pizza with Simon at a chain restaurant like Bondi Pizza is…interesting, to say the least.

The Order:

Sicilian pizza, $13.95
Traditional Italian pepperoni, chorizo, Wagyu meatballs, Spanish onion, pancetta (bacon), kalamata olives, bocconcini & rocket with a drizzle of chilli oil. (NB: Meatballs contain 50% Wagyu beef & pork)

Magherita Pizza, $10.95
Roma tomato, Italian buffalo mozzarella, shaved parmesan & basil.

Magherita Pizza

Garlic and cheese pizza, $10.45
With added balsamic onions

Bondi Wagyu Beef Burger, $16.95
Delicious wagyu & beef pattie served on a toasted bun with cos lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles & our own unique blend of special sauces. Served with fries. Added cheese and pancetta.

Chilli Prawn Linguini, $24.95
Chilli prawns tossed through linguini, wild rocket, chilli, parsley in light olive oil & freshly squeezed lemon juice

Dessert Share Plate, $22.95
A sample plate of our four best selling desserts… Oven-baked Apple Crumble Pizzette, Chocolate Brownie Swirls, Belgian Chocolate Fruit Fondue & Triple Chocolate Brownie served with warm melted Belgian chocolate & vanilla ice cream.

The Food:

Of the titular (tee hee! That word always makes me laugh) pizzas, we decided to get the Sicilian, $13.95, from their signature range, the Magherita, $10.95, from their classic range, and the Garlic and cheese pizza with added balsamic onion, $10.45, just to round things out.

Garlic and cheese pizza, $10.45

The Garlic Cheese Pizza wasn’t particularly popular at the table, but there was something about its similarity to a cheesy garlic bread that I quite liked. Sure, it wasn’t amazing in a pizza sense, but the base wasn’t dry, and I quite liked the sweetness that the balsamic onions brought to it. Not quite sure about when you’d order it, though – the garlic isn’t strong enough for when you have an anti-vampire hankering, and the bread isn’t, well, bready enough if you’re in the mood for bread.

Sicilian pizza, $13.95

Thin base aside, the Sicilian fared much better, with its wide range of toppings. Not sure what that says about the pizza, per se, but it was definitely the best one of the lot. How can you go wrong with the salty hit of olives and cured meats?

The Bondi Burger and the Chilli Prawn Linguini were next – there was much debate at the table about whether the non-pizza dishes at a pizza restaurant would be any good, but hey, if they have it on the menu, I think I should give it a go.

The burger was rather unremarkable, especially given Sydney’s current burger-scape, I mean, with burgers like these:

A photo posted by Tammi Kwok (@teafortammi) on Apr 14, 2016 at 11:03pm PDT

I’m not sure that a burger like this would be up to par:

Bondi Wagyu Beef Burger, $16.95

It wasn’t horrible, but just not quite good enough in the kick-ass flavour, cheese porn, buttery bread, let’s-eat-till-we-drop-and-come-back-for-more department.

The Chilli Prawn Linguini fared slightly better, with the pasta being suitably al dente, and the prawns neither overcooked or stale.

Chilli Prawn Linguini, $24.95

The only thing for me, was that all I could really taste was a peppery heat from the chilli. No zesty lemon, no floral chilli notes, no fresh herbacious goodness..Just a pleasant amount of salt and heat.

By this time, I wasn’t sure what the dessert was going to be like, but with the variety that a Dessert Share Plate, $22.95, would give you, it should be pretty hard to go far wrong.

Chocolate Brownie

Chocolate Swirls

The Chocolate Brownie Swirls were very pleasantly surprising: soft bread, rich chocolate…pretty much as advertised, with the added bonus of that warm chocolate fuzzy feeling that I get. You should try it. It’s like being hugged from the inside. The Apple Crumble Pizzette, though, seemed a little…uh, burnt. Not sure that the crumble concept works in a blazing hot-as-hell oven, but the warm scrolls did balance it out for me.

C+. Okay, not great.

Food: 0.5/1

The Service:

The service was actually REALLY GOOD, especially for casual dining restaurant. I know, I know, you might be saying “oh but they knew you were going to review the place!”. Well, there was a mixup, and it turns out that they didn’t realise that we were reviewers till the end when we cleared up what was going on, so double points!

We were really well looked after, and it was fairly easy to get their attention when we needed something. They were very aware of where and when to set things down when it looked like we were in the middle of digging into a plate, or clearing things to make more room, or even simply to greet us with a smile when I looked up and caught their eye. Very pleasant and friendly, and chirpy (like a Snow White’s squirrel friends), to boot.

The only thing that would push the service to the nth degree? Personal recommendations and food knowledge. The best service I’ve gotten are from service staff who are foodies themselves, and love sharing that love and passion. And while they’re very warm and welcoming here, there just wasn’t a sense of kindred foodie-love between us.

Although, I do think that this same accomodating service is type that would make Bondi Pizza a fantastic option for families or large groups that require a little more assistance.

Service: 0.5/1

Value for money:

If you’re talking about pure dollar-for-dollar value, there are quite a few pizza joints out there that offer up similar pricing for better quality (and more authentic) dishes. Not horrifyingly expensive that I’d run for the hills if someone in my group suggested coming here, but not where I’d choose to go if I was feeling a touch broke at the end of the month but really wanted to eat some pizza.

Value for money: 0/1

The Vibe:

The decor was nice, in the same way a mum would say, “hey let’s go out to a nice restaurant together tonight”. It was clean, inviting, pleasant…no dim lights and snooty wine lists here. But on that same note, there wasn’t a clear identity (have I mentioned that I’m partial to a good theme?), which would have pushed it from restaurant, to total experience.

Vibe: 0.5/1

And finally,

Look, Bondi Pizza isn’t trying to pass themselves off as artisan/gourmet, and we aren’t under any illusions either. But when the menu is so large, it gets even harder to hit all the right notes, and that may be where it fails diehard foodies like us. We have eaten at enough specialised pizza places to know that if you were an absolute pizza fiend, this might not be the place to go.

However, if you had to cater for children, or non-foodies, this would be a very accessible starting point. Nothing was bad, and there were option a gluten free, vegetarian, etc – so you could customise your food as your dietary requirements needed.

Bonus points: 0/1

Love your pizza? Me too! Why not try 400 Gradi Cinchetti in Brunswick, or take on a Lebanese twist with Just Man’oushe in Sydney’s CBD? So much yum.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Bondi Pizza.

Bondi Pizza
Macquarie Shopping Centre
Corner of Herring and Waterloo Roads Macquarie Park, NSW 2113
Phone: (02) 9889 5852
Website: http://www.bondipizza.com.au

Manpuku Ramen, Chatswood (part 2!)

Review February 3, 2016

Sydney Food Blog Review of Manpuku, Chatswood

If you think I’m crazy for going to eat ramen in the middle of summer – heck, even I think I’m nuts – then I must be certifiably insane. But good food does wonders, and, as my second afternoon in a summer at Manpuku will attest, really good air-conditioning.

Yeah, 40C heat ain’t got nuthin’ on that air conditioning.

The Order:

Kono Deaini Kanshashite Aijou To Jonetsu Konete Isshoukenmei Tsukutta Uchirano Icchan Sukina Manpuku Shiawase Ramen, $14.90 (with extra ni tamago)
Soy based pork and chicken soup. Pork belly, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, shallots, seaweed sheet with wavy noodles.

Tsukemen, $15.90 (with chashu instead of softened pork rib)
Soy based tokotsu sour dipping soup. Softened pork rib, bamboo shoot, eggs, ultra seaweed sheet and shallots with wavy noodles.

Hiyashi Chuka, $13.50
Cold noodle with chicken soy based sour soup. Comes with ham, cucumber, bean sprouts, egg, tomato, seaweed, snow sprout.

The Food:

When a ramen place has three different types of noodles for their different ramen, you can bet that the choices they make is deliberate, and not much is left to fate.

Chef Suzuki – who got head hunted from another ramen restaurant for those skillz- tells me that Manpuku works with a noodle master, who suggests the best noodle type for that particular soup. A tonkotsu, for example, works best with a dried noodle that provides the best al dente texture that will stand up to such rich broth.

Kono Deaini Kanshashite Aijou To Jonetsu Konete Isshoukenmei Tsukutta Uchirano Icchan Sukina Manpuku Shiawase Ramen, $14.90 (pictured with added egg)

Our first bowl of ramen was the Kono Deaini Kanshashite Aijou To Jonetsu Konete Isshoukenmei Tsukutta Uchirano Icchan Sukina Manpuku Shiawase Ramen, also affectionately known as the Long Name Ramen. And you know what, the name was not the only thing that was a mouthful. (Heh? Geddit? Ramen joke) The soup was a great middle ground between the pork and the chicken, rich without being unctuous, with plenty of delicate flavour throughout. And if, like me, you yearn for something a bit less delicate, then I would suggest adding the garlic paste for bonus points. Fresh garlic is blended with drinking sake to mellow it out slightly, and it brings an amazing Victoria-Secret level body to the soup.

Hiyashi Chuka, $13.50

The Hiyashi Chuka, on the other hand, was very much my speed. Springy cold noodles get topped with finely sliced ham, egg, cucumber, seaweed, tomato and bean sprouts, and tossed in a chicken stock/soy/mustard dressing. I swear, if this is a typical salad, no one would ever complain about eat salad ever again. It was tangy, refreshing, and just so SO moreish. Chef Suzuki says that the sourness means that he never gets tired of eating this noodle, and I’m inclined to agree. It felt so light on the stomach, and my palate was partying with such a riot of flavours that I just kept eating till well beyond the point that I was full. Shame that it’s only here for the summer season, though. Personally, I’d find a reason to eat this all year round!

Tsukemen, $15.90

We also tried the new and improved Tsukemen, with a less salty gravy/broth for you to dip your noodles into. This time, we also had the chashu (sliced rolled pork) instead of the softened pork rib like the last time, but I must say, if I had to do all over, it’ll be the pork rib again…and again, and again. There’s nothing like a first love, huh.

The Service:

Chef Suzuki (left) and his team

I know it’s not the fairest thing to say, since I was invited as a guest, but if you can, have a chat to Chef Suzuki, because that just augmented my experience and made me hyper aware of every element of love that went into the deceptively simple bowl (bowls!) sitting in front of me. Knowing that the soup, for example, takes at least six hours of simmering to perfect, or that the noodles are rolled thrice with a $100,000 machine to give you that body and texture, just makes me thankful for all the labor that goes into creating the ramen experience at Manpuku.

He even told me that he tried pressure cooking the stock to speed up the process, but that created a “brown” smell (from the Maillard reaction) that he wasn’t after. How cool is that?!

Otherwise, I like the efficiency of service still, much like the last time. Ramen still came out at lightning speeds, and the staff were polite and lovely across the board. Nothing out of the ordinary, but super pleasant, like the last time we were there. ?

Value for money:

We always knew that the ramen here isn’t the cheapest around, have you seen the portions?! It’s huge! I know you can probably get a cheaper lunch elsewhere in Chatswood, but for the portions that you’re getting and the quality, I think it’s a pretty good bang for your buck.

Also, I only just realised how many items there actually are on the menu, so there’s lots of variety and something for everyone! Score.

The Vibe:

It’s still super chill, and the the vibe is still really relaxed. Maybe it’s the 40C day that we rocked up on, but it’s totally the place that you rock up in shorts and flip flops, and have a casual bowl of noodles.

And they still yell random things whilst cooking your ramen. Tee hee. How’s that for atmosphere?

And finally,

I’ve always known that ramen broth takes forever and that there are different noodle types for your soup, so in that sense, Manpuku isn’t reinventing the wheel here. But I’m sure there are plenty of ramen shops that don’t spend the time, and for that I’m grateful still.

It’s also really interesting that Chef Suzuki, like Chef Haru of Ramen Ikkyu, has a fine dining background. It gives him a different understanding of how to balance flavours, and brings a new perspective to a very traditional art form. To quote him, there is no right or wrong ramen: it is an art form, and his experiences allow him to express the art in different ways.

Oh and if you’re wondering what a chef who is around ramen all day every day eats?

Cereal. Chocopops, to be exact!

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Manpuku.

Manpuku
226 Victoria Avenue
Chatswood, Sydney
Phone: +61 2 94111021
Website: www.ramenmanpuku.com/

Chat Thai, Haymarket

Review December 30, 2015 1 Comment

Ever had that feeling after a meal when you know what you ate, but you don’t know know. Don’t know the name of the dish, don’t know the price, and don’t know how to order it again.

GUYS, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T TAKE A PHOTO OF THE MENU. FML.

Asian restaurants are quite notorious about not putting up information on their extensive menus online, and it turns out that even a chain like Chat Thai – with fairly modern sensibilities like having an online presence – is not immune. Which means that the result of an impromptu dinner at Chat Thai in Haymarket is me scrambling for information because I am not even sure what each dish costs indivually because we split the bill.

#FoodBloggerFail

The Order (as best as I can remember/Google):

Mhu Grob Pad Prik King, $15
Stir fried crispy pork belly and Wild ginger in red curry paste.

Padt Thai, $13

Dtum Tardt (specials menu), $13.90 for small
Papaya salad platter with prawn cracker, Thai sausage, pickled crab, egg and rice noodle.

Sticky Rice Durian, $8
Sticky a rice steamed with sweet coconut cream and palm sugar accompanied durian custard and fresh durian.

Voon Kathi, $4.50
Young coconut jelly

The Food:

What can I say, really. To this date Chat Thai has never let me down in terms of food quality (prices are another issue entirely) and no matter which outlet you visit, you know that you’re getting an authentic plate of food. After all, the many MANY Thai people who work at all the outlets simply cannot be wrong, right?

Dtum Tardt (specials menu), $13.90 for small

The Som Dtum (papaya salad) and all its incarnations remain my favourite, especially with its heavy aromas of dried shrimp and other preserved seafood. Yeah, you know the smell I’m talking about. If it’s available, go for the share platter on the specials menu (Dtum Tardt) – it elevates the humble salad to a full meal, with rice noodle sticks, Thai sausages, and prawn crackers thrown in.

Mhu Grob Pad Prik King, $15

The Mhu Grob Pad Prik King, $15 was a very pleasant surprise, given that I had no idea what to expect. Firm cubes of pork belly is coated in the fiery red paste – peppery and savoury and perfect on a bed of steamed Jasmine rice. No frills, just the good stuff.

The Padt Thai, too, really hit the spot. Sweet, nutty, and fresh (from the raw bean sprouts), this classic plate of thin rice noodles bring me right back to uni days, where it was both staple and indulgence at once. (Read: I ate a lot of it, but felt guilty every time).

Voon Kathi, $4.50

Sticky Rice Durian, $8

Dessert-wise, the Sticky Rice Durian wasn’t quite the “slap some fresh durian on sticky rice and cover it on coconut cream” plate that I was looking for, but I guess they were classing it up a bit. The Voon Kathi, though, was a pleasant surprise. Made with rich coconut cream, I found myself thoroughly enjoying biting into fresh chunks of coconut dotted through the jelly.

Very refreshing.

The Service:

The thing about Asian restaurants with a high turnover: the service is, well, unpretentious. They are super efficient on their end – bringing out food at lightning speed, and refilling water with ninja stealth – but they expect you to be, too. Make up your mind, eat, pay, and let them turnover the table. If you’re a dawdler, I would expect to feel slightly rushed, like the world is playing at 2x speed and you’re stuck trying to catch up.

Mind you, they were NEVER impolite either. Towards the end, we were asked firmly if we had finished ordering and whether the bill could be brought, but never was an explicit word said about needing us to leave. Very tactful, and clear about getting the message across.

Value for money:

Every time I have Asian food in Sydney, a small part of me weeps about how cheap it all is in the home country. But you know what, we are in Sydney and not Thailand, and I’m just going to have to suck it up. As far as the CBD goes, it’s actually really decent food for a fairly decent price, and for the fact that I know it’s a brand I can rely on, I’m willing to pay that price, and possibly more, every single time.

The Vibe:

Let me start this bit by saying that we went on a 32C day, not realising that the restaurant IS NOT AIR CONDITIONED. However did I miss this before?!

Well, I’ve no idea, but part of me swears that it’s a convenient ruse to bring the element of Asia into Sydney, where we’re entirely too comfortable.

Lack of air conditioning aside, there is an easy status quo in Chat Thai though – the waitstaff clearly aren’t here be your next BFF, which takes the pressure off making small talk with them while they’re just trying to do their jobs.

And finally,

Chat Thai is like an institution for Thai food in Sydney – the brand is everywhere, and we have come to trust that they’ll serve up good food consistently, no matter which branch you visit.

Haymarket remains my favourite, though. There’s just something about being in Sydney’s little ThaiTown that heightens the experience.

And besides, any excuse to buy Thai groceries, emirate?

This meal was independently paid for.

Chat Thai
20 Campbell St
Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone: +61 2 9211 1808
Website: www.chatthai.com.au

Manpuku, Chatswood

Review December 16, 2015

Not owning a car sucks. You know why it sucks? It sucks because when you see restaurants in say, Kingsford, that you want to visit, you have to either take a bus or not get to go at all.

Oh, and I hate taking the bus.

So when I found out that there was a Manpuku conveniently located in Chatswood, I just knew that I had to go get my ramen on.

The Order:

Miso, $14.90 + $3
Miso based pork and chicken stock, bamboo shoot, pork belly, seaweed sheet, shallots and egg + spicy bomb and extra egg

Tsukemen, $15.90
Soy based tokotsu sour dipping soup, with softened pork rib, bamboo shoot, egg, ultra seaweed sheet and shallots

Okonomi stick (Musashi), $5.90
2 skewers of Japanese and seafood pancake, mayonnaise, powdered seaweed bonito flake and Japanese BBQ sauce.

Manpuku mini rice bowl, $3.90
Pork belly, mushed egg, bean sprouts, shallots, sesame, mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce.

The Food:

Manpuku runs like a well-oiled machine, and the food comes out hot and fast. Every bowl looks exactly like the picture in the menu, and they’re clearly hitting all the marks like seasoned performers.

Okonomi stick (Musashi), $5.90

The Okonomi Stick is a must-order if you like Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake). Tender pancake is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and topped with bonito flakes, mayonnaise and Japanese BBQ sauce. AND IT’S ON A STICK!! Extra awesome.

Miso, $14.90

The Miso ramen featured a rich miso pork and chicken stock, with wafer thin slices of rolled pork belly, menma (pickled bamboo shoots) and ni-tamago (soy marinaded egg). I strongly recommend getting the Spicy Bomb – a ball of chilli flavoured paste gets stirred into the soup, pushing that rich flavour over the edge…of absolute GLORY.

Tsukemen, $15.90

The Tsukemen was lighter than I’m used to – all the Tsukemen I’ve had in the past involved noodles dipped in a gravy-like sauce, and here, the sauce was more soup-like. Much less intense in flavour, but on the upside, I’m not left constantly reaching for water to wash down all the salt. Oh, and the Softened Pork Rib! Tender fibres of pork meat is layered with unctuous collagen and fat, because nature knows what she’s doing, and Manpuku knows just how to treat it.

So. Freaking. Delicious.

Manpuku mini rice bowl, $3.90

We tried the Manpuku mini rice bowl, partially because it’s so darned cheap! If I was dining alone and wanted something light, I do think that the mini bowls can function as an actual meal. The mushed egg in the Manpuku bowl added an odd sort of graininess, and I’m not quite sure that it worked with the blanched bean sprouts. Not my cup of tea, but still cooked well regardless.

The Service:

When we had to write down our names on a clipboard, I thought that we were in for a long wait. Apparently not. We weren’t even 5 minutes in and we were ushered to a table, complete with menus. They were efficient and speedy without being invasive, and never have I felt like I was in more competent hands.

But just when they seemed like they might be professional to the point of being rigid, they came through for me. Washoku card holders get a free drink with their meal (have I mentioned how much I love free shizz?), and it just so happened that I left my card at home. Our waitress very nicely said that if I could show her my login screen on my phone, then she’d put through the deal for me.

How nice is that?!

They were also extremely thoughtful about things like cutlery, and reinforced the feeling that we were being very well looked after.

Value for money:

Considering that we basically had enough food to feed three people comfortably (or in this case, 2 very greedy people), I was quite surprised to see that our bill was only slightly over $40. At an average of $15 a pop, the ramen can be considered on the pricey side, but for the absolute monster portions, and food so lovingly laboured over, you’d be hard pressed to find better value for money elsewhere in Sydney.

Oh and for the extra greedy of us (sometimes a girl’s just gotta eat!), there’s also kaedama starting at $1.50 for a half serve. It’s basically the option to order more noodles for your leftover soup, because God forbid you should leave Manpuku hungry! ?

The Vibe:

I quite like how Manpuku straddles the fine line between no-nonsense and well, whimsical, for lack of a better word. Everyone goes about their business with fantastic efficiency, but the whole restaurant is decorated with hanging ropes and stained wood.

And when I say the whole restaurant, I do mean all of it, including the toilet. Yes, there is a giant wooden ship-shaped sculpture in the toilet, with rope and jaunty plastic flowers and a touch of glitter, just for Christmas.

Have a look when you go. Go on.

Also, don’t let the constant chorused yelling scare you. Besides the expected “irashaimase!” (Welcome) when you walk in the door, there is also a specific call-and-answer type war cry (for lack of a better word) that comes straight from the kitchen. Have no idea what it is, but I quite like the enthusiasm of it all.

And finally,

I’m so glad I’ve finally ticked Manpuku off the Eat List. It checked all the boxes for me – food quality, value for money, service – and I can’t wait to go back for a lunchtime treat. The only downside is that because they’re so specialised in doing ramen well, they don’t have many options for other foods, meaning that you can only go with other ramen lovers like yourself.

But those are the best people anyway, right? ?

This meal was independently paid for.

Manpuku
226 Victoria Avenue
Chatswood, Sydney
Phone: +61 2 94111021
Website: www.ramenmanpuku.com/

Loco for…Coco Cubano, Ryde

Review December 13, 2015

Sydney Food Blog Review of Coco Cubano, Ryde

When I first saw Coco Cubano, all I knew was that you could order a Cuban cigar with your hot chocolate. I don’t smoke, and the hot chocolate was okay, but not great, so I left it at that.

Today, many branches later, Coco Cubano is offering up much more than hot chocolate and cigars – though the cigars are still there for sure – and I was lucky enough to be invited to try out the new menu!

The menu:

Starters

Tostones
Havana Dip Plate

Entrees

El pollo frito
Chilli caramel pork belly
Cuban fried rice
Tropical prawn salad

Mains

Arroz con pollo
Pork ropa vieja
Beef short ribs
The Cubano

Sides

Elote
Garden salad

Desserts

Buñuelos
Citrus cheesecake

Drinks

Salted Caramel Espresso Martini
Chocolate & Rum washed “brownie”
Triple chocolate batido crazy shake
Salty dulce de leche crazy shake

The Food:

There was just SO MUCH of it. As statistics would dictate, some were good, and others not so much.

Of the good pile, lay the El Pollo Frito, the rice in the Arroz con Pollo and the Buñuelos.

El Pollo Frito

The El Pollo Frito (fried chicken drumettes with red mojo dipping sauce) had a lovely, seasoned crust that the colonel (or should I say, el presidente) would be proud of. The dipping sauce was similarly flavourful, with a great balance of sweet, tangy and savoury. Sure, the drumettes themselves could use a little brining themselves, but otherwise it was pretty nice.

Arroz con pollo

The Arroz con Pollo (Cuban spiced half chicken with brown Sofrito rice) had fabulous rice that was light, delicately flavoured with separated grains. Nice work. The chicken though, came off a little dry, but for me, the rice more than makes up for it.

Buñuelos

And the Buñuelos? Donut + Chocolate = always a winner. The donut was a touch stiff for me, but I loved the crunch of cinnamon sugar on the outside, and then the richness of the thick, flowing molten milk chocolate that I can dip it into.

Of the not-so-good, the Cuban fried rice, the Chilli Caramel Pork Belly and The Cubano. Every thing else is – in the words of every competition reality TV show judge ever – “safe“.

Cuban fried rice

The Cuban Fried Rice (with chorizo, chargrilled corn and black beans) would have been better off labeled just rice and beans. It had the texture of risotto, which completely threw me off the expectation of fried rice. It was pretty heavy, and when compared to the rice of the Arroz Con Pollo, just didn’t make the cut.

Chilli caramel pork belly

The Chilli Caramel Pork was almost too sweet, or not sweet enough. It was like eating pork belly (albeit tender and nicely cooked pork belly) that had been sprinkled with sugar. It didn’t quite have the hit of dark rich tones of caramel, and there wasn’t an element of salt to balance out what sweetness was there. The chilli also wasn’t particularly present, but that could also be because my Asian chilli sensors have been used and abused over the years.

The Cubano

And if you’ve seen Chef (the movie that taught us you needed to neither have looks nor personality to land Scarlett Johansen, you only need to know how to cook), you would probably have a super romantic idea of the Cubano, which at its core is a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. A BANGIN’ toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Here it was a bit, um, bready, and the cheese say limply on the ham and pork, but was neither melty nor luscious. The side fries, though, were shoestring, and so have my seal of approval just for that.

The Service:

It’s a bit hard to comment on the service because we were there for a menu launch, but I did have a particularly friendly waiter who was hilariously cheeky and made sure we felt right at home. It was also a great ice breaker that he had a name tag that said “Awesome”.

Well, if the shoe fits, right?

The other service team members were friendly enough, but mostly just seemed rather green and just a little lost. Maybe it was the event setting that they weren’t used to, but when compared to Mr. Awesome, they just sort of faded into the background.

Value for money:

It’s not the cheapest meal out there, with mains sitting at the $25-$35 mark. But then again, they aren’t advertising value so much as they’re advertising an experience. In this case, it’s a bit middle of the road: the food wasn’t particularly authentic or punchy, but they weren’t charging you CBD prices for it. It would make more sense if you were dining in a group, in this sense, and if the group wanted a Cuban-lite experience that wasn’t too exotic.

The Vibe:

When we went, they had a BALLER singer/guitarist playing. He was as Australian as they come, but he really brought a Latin American vibe to the whole place. The mood lighting and dark wood also brought forth visions of smoky clubs in 1930s Havana, and really add fuel to all the Dirty Dancing fantasies you might have (the sequel, I mean. Don’t judge me!). The space may not actually be conducive to dancing, but doesn’t mean you can’t pretend!

And finally,

So the goss from Mr. Awesome is that the kitchen team was very nervous about the new menu, also because they were coming together as a new team. Fair enough. Some things can take a while to settle in and because this is the launch of something new, I can take that into account. I had a good time there, and while I didn’t get what I think would be an authentic Cuban experience there (I’m happy to give the oppression a pass), I went in knowing that an authentic Cuban experience wasn’t what they were offering up anyway.

Like I said, if you’re celebrating in a group that has polarised tastes and likes a very… gentle introduction, this is a safe bet. Otherwise, maybe stick to the hot chocolate and cigars. Hard to go wrong, there.

The Order:

The Food:

The Service:

Value for money:

The Vibe:

And finally,

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Bondi Pizza.

Bondi Pizza Macquarie Shopping Centre Corner of Herring and Waterloo Roads Macquarie Park, NSW 2113 Phone: (02) 9889 5852 Website: http://www.bondipizza.com.au

The Order:

The Food:

The Service:

Value for money:

The Vibe:

And finally,

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Manpuku.

Manpuku 226 Victoria Avenue Chatswood, Sydney Phone: +61 2 94111021 Website: www.ramenmanpuku.com/

The Order (as best as I can remember/Google):

The Food:

The Service:

Value for money:

The Vibe:

And finally,

This meal was independently paid for.

The Order:

The Food:

The Service:

Value for money:

The Vibe:

And finally,

This meal was independently paid for.

Manpuku 226 Victoria Avenue Chatswood, Sydney Phone: +61 2 94111021 Website: www.ramenmanpuku.com/

The menu:

Starters

Entrees

Mains

Sides

Desserts

Drinks

The Food:

The Service:

Value for money:

The Vibe:

And finally,

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Coco Cubano.

Coco Cubano Ground Floor, Top Ryde Shopping Centre Corner Blaxland & Devlin Street Ryde, NSW Phone: 02 8279 9239 Website: www.cococubano.com/

Bondi Pizza
Macquarie Shopping Centre
Corner of Herring and Waterloo Roads Macquarie Park, NSW 2113
Phone: (02) 9889 5852
Website: http://www.bondipizza.com.au

Manpuku
226 Victoria Avenue
Chatswood, Sydney
Phone: +61 2 94111021
Website: www.ramenmanpuku.com/

Manpuku
226 Victoria Avenue
Chatswood, Sydney
Phone: +61 2 94111021
Website: www.ramenmanpuku.com/

Coco Cubano
Ground Floor, Top Ryde Shopping Centre
Corner Blaxland & Devlin Street
Ryde, NSW
Phone: 02 8279 9239
Website: www.cococubano.com/