Sydney Eats: Garden Buffet at The Star Casino

To close my 2014 Australia posts... Christmas dinner!  As I've previously mentioned, the family had dinner plans at The Star Casino's Garden Buffet.  I've been to Las Vegas and I've been to Macau in my years of travelling, so I know that when you say buffet at the casino, this means great overflowing delicious food.  And it being Christmas day dinner, surely they would've prepared something special for all the diners that day.  There was only excitement as I counted down the hours till we're seated and ready to eat!  Glutton much?  LOL!

Here it goes:  

Breads

Soups

Cheeses

Salads

Shells and Mussels

Squid and Clams

Shrimps and more shells

Chinese Congee

Pizza

Pasta

Mains

Fish and Chips/Chicken Wings

Turkey!

Roast Beef

Ham

More mains

Roasting

Chinese

Chinese Mains

Grilled Vegetables

Fruits

Snow Cones

Soft Serve Ice Cream

Chocolate Fountain

Candy Bar

Desserts

Some more desserts

And more!

Unlimited sodas

Coffee

I'm not even going to bother doing a small commentary on each photo.  Because to say that the buffet was underwhelming would be an huge understatement.  It was downright BAD!  And to think that this was during Christmas day dinner and we paid something around AUD 80++, which would already be equivalent to a nice hotel dinner here in Manila.  The selection of food was not that plenty either.  I'm not one to give up on buffets, but I gave up on this one after only two plates.  They couldn't even get a simple dish like fish and chips right.  What a downer.  0 out of 5 stars.  

Garden Buffet is at The Star Casino, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009, Australia

Sydney Eats: Din Tai Fung

When Dad announced that we were spending Christmas in Australia, everyone was ecstatic.  Well... big mistake.  While spending Christmas SEASON there was nice, spending Christmas DAY itself was not.  Why?  Because nothing was open, that's why!  So we had no choice but to find something that was open for sure.  It was a toss up between finding a hotel or spending it in a casino.  Guess which one won?  Well, the casino did.  We figured there was nothing much to do after eating in a hotel, so might as well spend it in the casino, where there's a bit more to do.

On Christmas day, the whole family trooped over to The Star Casino.  Since we had dinner plans at a buffet restaurant there, we chose something light for lunch.  And if the task of choosing were in my parents' hands, then you betcha they're going for Chinese.  Yes.  Chinese.  Again.  Din Tai Fung, here we come!

I've written about Din Tai Fung before, having tried it in Hong Kong.  Also got to try it in Taiwan and in Singapore, so yes, I'm no Din Tai Fung newbie.  So before we even started ordering, I already knew what I'm having!

Din Tai Fung at The Star

But unlike other Din Tai Fung outlets we've tried in other countries, Din Tai Fung at The Star Casino is just part of their foodcourt.  No biggie.  I'm not one to discriminate against foodcourt eats.  In fact, some of the best meals I've had came from the foodcourt!

Steamed Pork Dumpling

Not as tasty as the one I'm accustomed to.

Crab Meat and Roe with Pork Dumpling

Err... not as good either.

Dan Dan Noodle (Peanut Sauce)

Nope, not impressed.

Fried Pork Chop

Edible, but nothing special.

Egg Fried Rice with Green Bean and Minced Pork 

And finally, they got one thing right.  The egg fried rice!  Geez, how I wished we just ordered one cup each and be done with it.  Green beans were not bad either.

The verdict?  1 out of 5 stars.  Why, Din Tai Fung, why???  Next time, I'll be sure to just eat this restaurant on an Asian country.  I don't mean to discriminate, but really, Din Tai Fung just tastes way better in other countries.  Oh and from what I've heard, they're coming to Manila this year!  Fingers crossed that they'll be able to replicate the original and surpass the other leading xiao long bao restaurants that are already established and well known here.  

Din Tai Fung is at The Star Casino, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009, Australia

Sydney Eats: Emperor's Garden Restaurant

After three days in Melbourne (so short, I know!), we arrived in Sydney.  And the first thing on my Dad's mind?  Chinese food!!!  If you've read about my post about Emperor's Garden Restaurant last 2013, then good for you!  Haha, I'm kidding.  Being no stranger to this restaurant, my Dad chose this one as our first meal in Sydney.  Us kids, who are not much of a fan of Chinese restaurants, had no choice because the boss said so.  Ok, I'm kidding again.  We actually love this one because the food is absolutely fantastic!  Let's get going, shall we?  

Fresh Steamed Abalone

Chewy, but a little on the tough side.  But fresh abalone can never be compared to the canned ones, it will always be tougher.

Stir-fried Scallops with Egg White

Our favorite!  Even though we did not enjoy it that much last year, I made sure we ordered this one and just tell the server not to add too much flour with the eggs.  The result?  Almost got into a fistfight with my Brother.  LOL.  But yes, it was THAT good.  I am always amazed as to how huge their scallops are!

Honey King Prawns

This was truly unforgettable last year.  And this time around?  STILL AS GOOD!  Prawns were big and juicy!  An absolute must!

Fried Rice with Diced Scallops and Vegetables with Egg White

Still good.  So good that someone who does not eat rice actually ate more than a bowl of it!  (hello, Brother!)

Stir-fried Diced Fillet Steak with Japanese Style Raddish

Extremely tender.  Japanese-Style Raddish = Wasabi.  The addition of wasabi added a nice kick to an otherwise normal dish.

Nobler Barbecued Pork Spare Ribs

Melts in your mouth.  Or rather, MY mouth.  Bwahahahaha!

Stir Fried Beancurds with Assorted Mushrooms

The stir-fried beancurds were silky soft.  Almost felt like eating chawan mushi (Japanese steamed egg).

As if that's not enough, we went back for another round of Emperor's Garden Restaurant on our last night in Sydney!  We ordered a bit of the same dishes, and added some other new dishes too.  Other dishes are as follows:

Goose Web with Sea Cucumber in Pot

Not too impressed with the goose web.  It was tough bite.  I've had really soft and almost fall off the bone goose web before, so this one did not impress me at all.

Stir-fried Sliced Mini Abalone with XO Sauce

The sliced version was way better than the whole one.  Still chewy, but easier to bite into.

Pan-fried Wagyu Fillet

We found out about the wagyu fillet just as we were about the finish dinner the first time around this trip.  So Mom made sure to order this one when we went back.

Wagyu Fillet.  Look at that color!

I wish I could tell you that it tasted as good as it looked, but it did not.  Lacked the melt-in-your mouth goodness of wagyu.  For me, the best wagyu award still goes to Japan.

So the verdict?  We had a better meal the first night.  The second time around was not bad either, but paled in comparison to the first.  If we're talking about just the first night, then I'd give them 5 out of 5 stars.  But if you include the second night, then I guess it'd have to be 4 out of 5.  Next time, I'll go back for all those tried and tested ones and just stick to that!

Emperor's Garden Restaurant is at 100 Hay Street, Haymarket NSW 2000, Australia

Melbourne Eats: Spice Temple

Oftentimes, not everything goes as planned.  Take Spice Temple, for example.  The original plan was to eat at the Conservatory, Crown Casino's buffet.  We booked too late and was put on the waitlist for 8PM.  As 8PM was too late, we opted for another restaurant.  First was the steak place Rockpool Bar & Grill, and second was the famed Japanese restaurant Nobu.  Guess it's never a good thing to plan where to eat on the day itself, (and during Christmas season, nonetheless!) because all three restaurants were full, full, full!  And so we ended up on my brother's last choice for a restaurant - Chinese!

Unlike traditional Chinese restaurants with boring decor, Spice Temple is a hip, modern version of it.  There was definitely a dark and mysterious vibe inside.  Sorry no photos though, it was too dark!

Here's what we had:

Stir Fried Grass Fed Beef Fillet with Wok Blistered Peppers and Black Bean

Red Braised Pork, shredded with Chili, Ginger and Black Vinegar

House Fried Rice

So far everything was so-so until this came along:

Caramelised Lamb Spare Ribs

And of course, I saved the best for last.  Spice Temple's caramelised lamb spare ribs.  Sweet, tender and oh so flavorful.  My only complaint for this dish is that there was more fat than meat, making it hard not to feel guilty when having seconds!

So the verdict?  Spice Temple is actually surprisingly good!  Wasn't expecting good Chinese food outside Chinatown, but a good surprise is better than a disappointment, right?  3.5 out of 5 stars!

Spice Temple is at the Crown Complex, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, VIC, Australia

Melbourne Eats: Hunky Dory

After a long day of shopping at Chadstone (one of the biggest malls I've been to, with more than 500 stores!) everyone was dead tired and wanted to back to the hotel and rest.  It's a good thing that there were a couple of restaurants lining up the street near our hotel, so we picked one and gave it a try.  That lucky restaurant was Hunky Dory.  LOL.  Well not really.  It's probably because I've complained about not getting to eat fish and chips in Australia before, so this time, the family gave in.

Hunky Dory is actually a very simple, no frills self-service restaurant.  The menu was pretty straightforward too; it consists of mainly fish and seafood.

Salad

No one liked the salad.  Guess you really shouldn't order something that's not the restaurant specialty, eh?  Lesson learned.

Calamari

I personally thought the calamari batter lacked the crunch.  The calamari itself was soft and fresh though.

The Hunky Dory

Fish of the day, potato cake, dim sim, chips, lemon and tartare with an additional order of a piece of scallop

Whoa.  HUGE order.  Fish of the day was called flake, and it was tender although not as tender as dory (which is the most commonly used fish in fish and chips).  The scallop was so-so, they overcooked it and it wasn't as big as expected.  Dim Sim, on the other hand, was a nice surprise.  It's basically minced meat wrapped in thick dough.  And the potatoes?  Well.. they're.. err.. potatoes.

Overall Hunky Dory was fine, but it wasn't anything special.  Not really the best fish and chips I've tried.  That award still belongs to one of the restaurants here in Manila.  2.5 out of 5 stars.

Hunky Dory is at 670 Chapel Street, South Yarra, Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne Eats: Gradi

For our first meal in Melbourne, we met up with Mom's goddaughter, VF.  VF has been living in Melbourne for quite some time now, and rarely goes back to Manila.  So we visited her instead and asked her to tour us around.  But first, lunch!  Initially, VF wanted to bring us to a steak place near our hotel, but sadly, it was closed for lunch.  So we opted to just go someplace near the outlets, since we were planning to shop afterwards.  We ended up at the Crowne Melbourne Casino.  It was already about 3PM when we got there, and among the restaurants in that stretch, the tables in Gradi were still full.  We figured it must be pretty good, so we chose Gradi.

Patate Fritte

Erm... not so found of how their version of fries tasted.  I couldn't quite put my finger into it, but somehow it tasted off.  

Tagliata di manzo con infuso di olio alle erbe aromatiche

Eye fillet marinated with herb infused oil, chargrilled and sliced to serve

Very tender.  Look at how well they cooked it!  Perfect doneness!  It was a good thing it came out great because this was what 4/6 of the table ordered.  It would be a bad thing to see 4 disappointed faces.  Lol!  

Tortelli emiliani di carne in salsa di tartufo, parmigiano asparagi

Four meat filled tortelli Emiliani in a truffle and parmesan sauce with asparagus

My order.  I was expecting great things.  But ended up wishing I ordered the steak too.  The meat inside tasted bland and dry.  And the sauce?  Lacked truffle smell!

Tortelli insides

See?  You could tell it was dry even from the pictures alone.  Boo.

Cotoletta di vitello

Crumbed and fried Sicilian style veal cutlet served on the bone

Tasted like... Err... Breaded porkchop?  They even mixed up the orders so this was the very last one to arrive, after everyone was already finished with their own meals.  So not worth the wait.


So the verdict?  The only thing we really liked was the steak.  I've had better versions of the other dishes we had, so this was not am impressive meal at all.  Oh well.  2 out of 5 stars.
  

Gradi is at the Ground Floor, Riverwalk, Crown Melbourne, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank 3006, Melbourne, Australia

Art Series - The Olsen, Melbourne

Happy New Year Guys!!!  I know, I know, I've been AWOL lately from the blog.  Blame it on the holiday season.  It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also the busiest!  But I'm back now, and boy do I have some stuff to share! 

So how was YOUR holiday?  Ours was spent in Australia.  3 days in Melbourne and 3 days in Sydney.  Since it was a really short trip, we decided to just hang out, eat and shop for the whole trip.  No sightseeing, no touristy stuff.  Besides, the whole Australia was closed during Christmas day so that's another day we had to slash off from our trip.

First up, is our hotel.  Do you guys remember my post about Sydney's QT Hotel last 2013?  Was really blown away with that one.  So we stayed at the QT again this time.  Funny thing is, they gave us the exact same room!  So no blog post about QT since everything was exactly the was we remembered it.  Let's go to the Melbourne hotel, shall we?

The Olsen was booked by my Dad.  He actually tasked me to book a hotel somewhere near CBD or someplace with a lot of shopping places, but I wasn't able to find one.  So he did the booking himself and sent me the confirmation email.  I briefly researched about the hotel, and found it ok.  It looked nice enough, but somehow didn't interest me as much as the QT did.  So I didn't think much of it until the moment I set foot at The Olsen. 

First look at the room

Working table and Kitchen

That's a fully working kitchen complete with a mini refrigerator, sink, microwave, induction cooker, plates, cups and utensils.  You could easily get food from the supermarket and cook it yourself.  Oh what convenience!

Master's Bed

Couch and Dining Area

Notice the small entry way beside the working area?  It leads you to...

Second Room

...this!  A second room!  Just as we were thinking we'd have to sleep on the floor... surprise, surprise!   

Closet

Bathroom

The view from our window

The Olsen's Hotel Lobby

Hats off to my Dad.  I have no words - Australians really know their hotels!  First was QT Hotel, and now this.  QT might be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but this one wins as the most complete.  They even had a washing and drying room right next to our room.  Plus, they offer Smart cars for rent.  As if that's not enough, The Olsen's location is quite fantastic too - lots of small boutiques/restaurants around the area and a Big W (superstore somewhat similar to Target/Kmart) plus a huge supermarket is just right across it!  How awesome is that?!  5 out of 5 stars!  I love it!  

Art Series - The Olsen is at 637-641 Chapel Street, Melbourne, Australia