La Tratt

Inside Fairfield RSL

14 Anzac Avenue
Fairfield NSW 2165
(02) 9727 5000

Open Wed-Sat 6pm-9:30pm

Fairfield RSL has apparently been super re-vamped over the years, to become one of few stylish RSL clubs, a sports club that is swanky and fancy that doesn't require a long trip out of the area. I have been inside to dine at "Pho" and wasn't very impressed, actually none of our party of 8 liked any of the food.. Pho is best eaten in Cabra at one of the various restaurants that offer pho on their menu.

However, La Tratt really impressed me. The service, the food, and the ambience all exceeded my expectations, and great value for money as well. The prices mentioned below are ala carte, on both the nights i was there it was $49 for bread olives and olive oil dip, entree, main, & dessert. Really cheap in my opinion!

So to start, we were given olive bread, normal bread with olive oil to dip, and a small bowl of olives & garlic. I always try not to eat too much bread but i love my carbs! haha :)

The first time i came here i had the $49 deal, and started off with the tart as my entree. The puff pastry was hot, crispy and soaked with a really tasty sauce from the mushrooms and eschallots. It was nice to have the rocket on top and the fetta on the side, made the dish look very appealing.

Wild mushroom and eschallot tart with rocket and persian feta

$15.90

Fried zucchini flowers with white polenta, tomato, capers and salsa verde

$18.90

Polenta cake (not on the menu but it comes with the

Cape Grim Black Angus fillet with confit garlic puree, fried polenta cake, wild mushrooms

and veal demi glaze $34.90)

$2.00

My dining companion had been warning me about this 'polenta cake' and had had these every single time she's come to La tratt (i think on this occasion it was her 3rd of 4th visit!)

As i mentioned above, the polenta cake only comes with the angus main, but if you ask nicely they can serve it alone for you. At first i thought "really? that good?"

But after a third bite i was hooked, there's something about the buttery and creamy insides that melt in your mouth paired with the crisp and crunchy outer shell. Definitely addictive!

The 2nd visit however, had left us with two slightly browner polenta cakes, i much prefer the lighter colour but they both still tasted pretty darn good.

Twisted pasta with slipper lobster, chilli, tomato and cream

$17.90/$27.00

On my second visit i decided to dine ala carte, so i can cover a bit more of the menu rather then have the same dishes again I i had already covered the vegetarian and pesketarian options on the specials menu)

The sauce in this dish i really enjoyed, but it was slightly over salted, but had decent pieces of lobster throughout. Not overly chilli, i would've prefered the sauce to be a bit thicker so that it coated the pasta better.

Lemon marinated spatchcock with sweet corn puree, char-grilled witlof, pine nuts

and sweet wine sauce

$29.90

Northern territory wild barrimundi fillet with spring bay mussels, herb risotto and saffron sauce

$29.90

My friend and i both had this seafood dish for our mains, which was delicious! However, we both fell sick that same night right after we got home. Neither of us get sick often, so i rang up the next day to inform them. My message was left, and a few days later the restaurant manager rang me to ask about it.

He was at first a bit defensive, saying that no one else had fallen sick that night and they were really busy as well (how many people actually come forward to admit that they got sick?)

I stood my ground and disagreed, saying that it was definitely something we ate no matter how nice it tasted, we somehow both fell sick and most of our dinner came back up again.

He said he would like us to come back again, and offered us a dining voucher worth $100. This was really generous of him, despite getting sick, and even if i had no voucher, i was still keen to come back and try other things on the menu.

yummy steamed greens

onto dessert ..!

White chocolate pannacotta with poached blueberries, passionfruit jelly, meringue

and mint syrup

$14.90

Chocolate fondant with apple compote, mascarpone cream and hazelnuts

$14.90

I really wish i had taken a shot of the fondant insides, really gooey and chocolatey i enjoyed eating this immensely, and ate it really slowly so that the experience would last longer :P

Lemon and mascarpone tart with vanilla cream, citrus and blood orange candy

$13.50

The tart was nice and tangy, a really great way to finish a meal, & i really liked the crunchy toffee coating.

On my first visit we were offered tea or coffee or biscuits, but on the 2nd visit we weren't. A little bit inconsistent!

All in all, i very much enjoyed both my dining experiences here at La tratt. I recommend coming here, it's really unexpected that a sports club would have something so fancy on the inside, you really do forget that you're in a RSL.

Also don't forget, the special 3 course price is valid Wednesdays and Thursday nights only.

They were featured in Sydney goodweekender as well check it out here :O)

& also featured in SMH here.

Santos

231 Canley Vale Rd (Cnr Derby St)

Canley Heights 2166 NSW

Phone: (02) 9727 0580

My first non-photo food related post EVER.!

Two weeks ago on a Monday night, me Jc & Bich went out for dinner for a catch up.

Santos was originally located on the main road (beside the Pub) but have recently moved across the road on the corner of Derby Street.

We shared a large plate of chips (with extra chicken salt which was charged at $2.60, but you get a small cup full of this stuff and Bich says it's worth it even to come here just for the chicken salt and chips!).

Also sharing a plate of garlic bread (Bich wasn't really hungry) while Jeremy has a creamy chicken and avocado pasta and i chose a creamy red pasta with sundried tomatoes.

Later that night i began to feel incredibly sick, and went for a lie down to try and get some sleep but this feeling in my gut was awful and i could feel my food going back up my food tube.. (esophagus??)

At around midnight i spewed out my pasta dinner (i won't go into detail but it was definitely and no undoubtedly the pasta that i ate).

This is the fourth time in my life that i've had food poisoning.

The first: cherries, i have no idea why as they were new from the shop but it could be the fact that i was shovelling them into my mouth and not fully chewing them before swallowing (i love cherries but i went through a period where i was so turned off by them cos of this incident)

The second: a late night snack at a cafe in Liverpool (i've forgotten the name but its right outside westfields closest to the doors) it was a sunday night (i remember because it was work the next day and also Richard's birthday) and i had a chocolate croissant. I felt sick when i woke up in the morning and out it came ew. I have not eaten a croissant ever since! (this was around 2006-2007). I have not been there since.

The third: Bircher Muesli i made myself which i kept in a box with a loose lid in the fridge. If the lid wasn't broken and it was closed properly then i don't think i would've gotten sick as usually they keep for about a week in the fridge except this was only at day four. I had some around 10am for morning tea and not even an hr later i was insanely sick with vomiting and was sent to the doctor and then home. I didn't eat bircher muesli for a long while after that, at least 3 yrs. I made some last year but the satisfaction in eating it was no longer there (and i felt like i was eating it for health purposes only, not for any cravings of any sort)

And now my fourth time, due to a pasta dish at this restaurant.

Initially i had no plans to do anything except move on with my life and perhaps never set foot back in that restaurant. After telling Mel though, she convinced me to tell the restaurant owner, and i also thought maybe i could ask for some sort of compensation.

I rang Santos the next day but although the manager was not there, the waitress (i assume) took my name and number and said her boss will ring me back some time soon.

A few hours later the manager rang me back and asked me what i had, and proceeded to tell me that he served the same dish to eight other people and so far no complaints, and that he also receives his ingredients fresh off a refridgerated van and that his food storage and handling complies with the food acts in Australia (or something along those lines).

He wasn't at all talking to me in a contradicting manner, and was very professional about it, and he offered me a free meal the next time i came in because he did want me to come to his restaurant again. So my name is down in books as 'free meal'.

Now my question to you is - what would you do in my situation? I know it's free food and all but i've been slightly scarred from the incident. It's unlikely that i will get food poisoning two times in a row (i have eaten at the old Santos a couple of times with no problems), but should i be wary? Should i take the offer?

I'd love to hear your thoughts..

Photo's courtesy of http://jhieu.wordpress.com/

Indulge

Edensor Park Shopping Centre

Shop 1, 215 Edensor Park Road

Edensor Park NSW 2176

This restaurant changed owners (it used to be il Posto), and it's pretty much around the corner from my house (a 5 minute walk only).

I've always passed this place while running, but never though to go in.. I don't usually eat out at Italian places, and if i do, it's only through recommendations.

When a really good friend of mine (ANITAaaaaH!) mentioned that she's starting up a foodblog i was very excited, and suggested coming here to do our first review together. It's close by, and being a weeknight we wouldn't be staying out too late.

This place had signs up for 'Tuesday Specials' which is for just $19.95 you get a choice of garlic or herb bread, a main sized salad (to share between two) & either ribs, pasta, or pizza.

Garlic Bread

Herb Bread

Greek Salad

The salad was pretty nice, but didn't have enough fetta i think :) I really like my salty foods, so for a normal person it would have probably been enough hehe. The salad was nice & fresh, and the dressing wasn't at all heavy.

Carbonara with gnocchi

Ants said her gnocchi wasn't bad at all. I had some gnocchi the other day (a restaurant we take awayed from, i have a thing about taking photo's of take away food, i dont think its pretty at all). And yeah, it was pretty sickening after about 6 or 7 pieces of gnocchi i just couldnt eat anymore. But this was after i finished one and a half pieces of arancini, so maybe i was just full hehe. This gnocchi looked pretty light & tastey.

Primavera with spinach & ricotta raviolli

There wasn't much selection for a vegetarian, & i didn't want to gorge on pizza.. so i went with the primavera & spinach & ricotta ravioli. The ravioli was quite dry, but the pieces were pretty decent.

We only managed to eat half of plates, & we both just doggy bagged the rest. I took the salad home, & finished it off the next day it was really good the day after! hehe.

I'd like to come back here for the pizza, i don't think the pasta's we had said much about the restaurant.

Even though we were about 20 minutes late (our booking was at 8.30), they were really nice to us, the staff were quite friendly actually. & the owner also came out a few times to see how our meals were going. The meal includes either gelato or coffee at the end but we were pretty full, and it was getting late, so owe skipped it. We were the last ones there actually, so i felt obliged to hurry outta there because they had already started sweeping the floors & stuff (quite rude to do that though don't you think??)

Also! While we were taking photo's the owner casually walked past & said something like 'the food will get cold by the time you start eating it, the food must be eaten hot, not cold!' & it really sounded like he meant it, but was trying to sound like he was joking.

Maurizios

1183-1185 The Horsely Drive

Greenway Plaza

Wetherill Park NSW 2164

Ph: 9756 1133

We headed over here after having desert at 'the chocolate room' (yes, we had desert first! we didnt want to be totally stuffed & not be able to have much for desert)

This restaurant has been here since god knows how long?? I remember seeing it when i was little, & always wondering what it was.. that big yellow building!

My boss has dined here with customers quite a few times now, and he's said all good things about it, so i thought it was time to visit the place.

Fresh Herb Bread

Started off with Herb Bread, which was actually kind of stale.. it was really hard to bite into, i usually prefer my herb bread crusty but nice & soft in the middle - but thats just me!

Crumbed asparagus mornay

I chose the asparagus over the spinach & ricotta canneloni because well..

a) i wasnt really hungry

b) i wanted to try something different

c) i was cooking canneloni the next day at home for friends!

I liked this dish, it had a generous amount of sauce (which was very tasty & NOT lacking flavour!) & the asparagus was lightly crumbed & fried so that it still tasted very much like quick-cooked asparagus, fresh & crisp.

Spaghetti marinara

Sam chose his usual seafood pasta, which was a MASSIVE serving even though he only ordered an entree size ??!! MUST'VE been a mix up, it was seriously so big he couldn't finish it (and Sam is ONE BIG eater!)

It looked dry, & he complained that it was as well. It didn't look like he enjoyed it much..

Homemade ravioli

Filled with mixed seafood served n a pink lobster sauce

Julie chose the home-made ravioli, which was a medium sized dish for an entree as well!

Greek Salad

We ordered a salad, assuming everyone's dishes wold be small (since we ordered entree servings only), but we really struggled to even eat the salad,  except me - my asparagus mornay was really tiny hehe! The salad was a very generous serving as well.

I loved the presentation of our dishes, & the service was prompt. Great value for money aswell considering how enormous the serving portions were! Dishes were very modernised, not a bad thing either :)

Bonta Vita

Shop 10-02 Regent Place

501 George Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Ph: 02 9267 2212

After seeing Shez post up about an italian-malaysian restaurant, i really wanted to try this place out myself.

Months later i was able to spend a day out in the city & remembered that this place was on my to-eat list.

But only a couple days before i saw a post on NotQuiteNigella's that made me think twice about coming here.. Someone threatened legal action? No photo's allowed? (and a sign out front to prove it), Manager posted a comment supposedly covering up for a mean comment that was left on Lorraine's site? This slowly turned me away from wanting to eat @ Bonta Vita anymore..

But the rizza sounded so intriguing, and i had planned for this for ages, & we were practically in the same block coming from Norita..

Whispering to Rick whilst walking into the restaurant.. "Do you think we should keep our cameras away?" and "Do you think they'll confiscate it?"

My friend Ben suggested we casually take pictures of ourselves with the food in the background haha/ It aint a crime to take pictures of eachother???

We were pretty hungry, after only having breakfast at about 10am, some cake & drinks at 2pm, and now it was 4pm we were starved for some food. My friends Wensy & Ben liked the sounds of malaysian-italian food so i had already booked us a table. 4pm was not quite dinner time yet, so the place was pretty empty..

After opening the doors & stepping in, we heard a man yell out in an extremely condescending tone.. "hell-ooo, we have customers". What a way to greet customers ? ..

The waitresses were friendly, not very good english speakers (this annoys me at restaurants), but she did her best to help us with menu enquiries & ordering.

Mezi di Piatto $21.95

After taking a couple of photo's, & checking to see if any workers were giving me a "put that camera away" look, or anyone that looked like they were coming to confiscate it (Lols), no one said anything (although, it might just be my imagination, but from the corner of my eye i thinks the owner was looking over at our table everytime a flash went off??!!), so i went on happily snapping away as i usually do at any other restaurant.

A variety of dips including eggplant, hommus & guacamole served with slices of toasted bread. The bread tasted stale, much like old Cabramatta bread rolls. The dips tasted very.. un-fresh. Except the eggplant dip, that was nice. But the other two seemed like they were taken off the shelf of a Woolworths or Coles or something like that. So for $21.95, this dish was expensive :/

Hainanese Chicken Rice $17.95

Rick ordered this as there wasn't much on the menu that he could have (he can't eat wheat dairy tomato chilli eggplant and various other things for the moment). The dish came with a ginger & garlic dip, & was decorated with coriander & a sprig of mint, and sliced cucumber. He didn't look like he enjoyed it, mentioning that his mum made it one hundred times better than here.

Rizza No. 7 $16.95

This was why i wanted to come to Bonta Vita, for their Rizza's (roti+pizza=rizza!). Quite frankly, it was a huge let down :( While the pastry LOOKED crispy, it was really soft &.. sort of soggy, and it was just so bland the filling didn't go well with the texture of the rizza. We chose the Rizza No.7 which was Char Grilled eggplant, green peas, grilled onions, mushroom, tomato, mozzerella served with vegetarian sauce. & also Rizza No. 1 Bocconcini, pesto, cherry tomato, mozzarella served with BV sauce. (i didnt get a picture of this)

The rizza much reminded me of the soggy gozleme that i get at fairfield markets (which is so much nicer??! & only costed half the price.

Roti Canai (i think??) $9.95

I don't remember what this was, looking over the menu it must be this.. basically it was just crunchy sheets of pastry, that was really buttery & flakey in the middle. Slightly sweet, and served with two types of dips. Wasn't a big fan, we actually didn't finish it either..

We didn't finish most of the dishes, not because we weren't hungry, but because the food wasn't that nice and we'd be forcing it down. Rick finished his rice though, he was pretty hungry.

All in all, we were all bitterly disappointed, & i feel really bad for taking my friends here to eat :(

The ambience was horrible, having the owner (i assume he was the owner) talk to his workers in such a rude way, doesn't scream 'friendly' at all. I'm happy to say that i have tried out Bonta Vita, but sadly won't ever go back ever again.

Cine

The Entertainment Quarter
(Formally known as Fox Studios)
Shop 211, G01 Driver Ave
MOORE PARK NSW 2021

Ph: +61 2 9332 1409
F: +61 2 9332 1404
E: info@cine.com.au

Tonight is the night The Presets play. We started off walking around Fox Studios and ended up choosing some italian food from Cine. (there isnt actually much to eat here, there is chinese, pubfood, German.. what else?)

At the entrance, we saw Geoff Jansz! He looked so stocky and tanned in person. We decided not to pester him for an autograph since he was having dinner with someone.

We were directed to our table quickly upon entering the restaurant (thinking we had to wait since the bbc was so packed). Cine was semi-packed but we got a table for four quite quickly. Betty had the pumpkin risotto, I had the lamb shank and there was also a fetta cheese pizza for everyone to share.

Ann chose this bottle of wine (she usually does whenever we go out to eat), this was probably the first red wine that i've enjoyed :)


Frankly, the lamb shank was absolute rubbish. The flesh was hard and not even anywhere near the right texture of a lamb shank. It should be soft, tender and falling off the bone. This one was really bad. Betty's uncle (to date) makes the best lamb shank. The saving grace for this hard and clumpy lamb was the jus it was covered in. The jus gave the lamb quite a nice flavour, but the texture of the meat ruined the entire dish.

The pizza was steaming hot right from the oven,  covered with generous amounts of goats cheese, chicken pieces & Zucchini. Flavors were a bit weak, the base was semi dry (but i guess healthy isn't a bad thing!).

The risotto had lashings of parmesan shavings on top, with spinach leaves stirred through right before serving. It wasn't too oily or thick, was a very light type of risotto, with chunks of soft pumpkin throughout. I also liked the pine nuts i found in each spoon i had.

From my bad experience with the lamb shank, I would not recommend the food at this restaurant. It was below food court level lamb roast even. The carvery at my local north sydney eatery makes their roast better than this lamb shank!

Liana's Licenced Restaurant Cafe (2nd visit)

306 Church St
Parramatta, NSW 2150
(02) 9687 7979

We've been here before & for the exact same reason came back again for a cheap & filling meal after a long 7km run @ Iron Cove.

This time we brought along Jeremy & Ann :) We're all training for the city2surf this year.

Our waiter had a good sense of humor, he remembered me & Rick the last time we were here, & also mentioned that we devoured the large portion of Pasta we both had each to ourselves hehe.

The food took more then 50 minutes to come out, Jeremy & Ann weren't impressed at all. We were surprised, because last time the food came out in relatively good time, and it was much more packed as well..

We all decided on one pasta between two, a salad, and a large serving of canneloni.

The canelloni was stuffed with spinach & ricotta cheese (way too much ricotta me thinks, but still very delicious). Lots of cheese on the top made it, a very very stringy cannelloni (stringy = good!)

This salad - the dressing was too powering, sour, there was just TOO much dressing on each leaf we didn't finish it all, it would of been nicer if they used less vinegar..

Rick & Jeremy shared this creamy bacon & mushroom fettacine, while Ann wasnt fussed - so i chose the same pasta that i had last time - creamy tomato salmon & avocado.

Everything came out nice & hot, despite the waiting time, it was a nice dinner, we were all very, VERY stuffed.
‎

Liana's Licensed Restaurant Cafe

306 Church St
Parramatta, NSW 2150
(02) 9687 7979‎


After doing the Iron Cove run (7km, in just over an hour) we were starved, fatigued, wrecked beyond imagination. Stumbing out of the car, staggering to the closest restaurant which was this place. "Under original management again" posters up, i wonder why they changed in the first place? Or was it just a sales gimmick to get people thinking 'they are back, bigger & better!'

We ordered two pasta's and an entree (unaware that we didnt even need an entree..) The portion was HUMUNGOUS like crazy how can that fit into my little stomach?? I had thought about take awaying but .. knowing we had a 3 hour gym marathon the next morning - i scoffed it ALL DOWN, i think the food filled my stomach and overflowed up to my throat haha

Half a dozen oysters, there was chopped tomato parsley & cheese and this was put in the oven (not for long i assume, because it was edible temperature (not burn my f#cking tongue hot)


Rick ordered chicken mushroom linguine, he LOVED this it was hella creamy with a good amoutn of chicken pieces in it (they didnt stinge woohoo!)


I ordered creamy tomato salmon ^ avocado linguine. I think the pasta was slightly overcooked, but this was the best pasta meal i have eaten in a restaurant (beats Leidchardt Elio's by far)

Half way through i was getting pretty much full but i pushed it all down, hoping it will stay there till the morning when i have to get up for the gym!

Rick will be disappointed when he see's i've reviewed this place - only because the photo's were taken with his phone camera.

But i wanted to tell everyone - come HERE FOR A CHEAP & DELICIOUS meal of italian its so so value for money (pasta was about $23 each), and we left the joint holding our bellies :)

Definately coming back, (with a bigger group next time) so we can all share around pasta & Pizza (we saw heaps of people take awaying pizza aswell so thats gotta mean something hehe)

Dolcissimo

96-98 Corner Ramsay & Dalhousie Streets
Haberfield NSW 2045
tel 9716 4444
fax 9716 4555


Headed to Haberfield (next door to Leidchardt) for some italiano. Rick's sister recommended this place, said it was nice & cheap, better then what Leidchardt had to offer.

We B.Y.O'ed some Brown Brothers Rose Muscato (my pick!!), this was fruity & dry, much much nicer wine then the Muscato was.


After alot of thinking and umms and ahhs we ordered

Margherita Pizza $17.50
Mozzarella cheese, Basil, Olive Oil

Pepperoni $18.50
Mozzarella Cheese with thinly sliced Pepperoni

Farfalle Al Salmone $23.90
Short butterfly shaped pasta, fresh salmon,shallots,extra virgin olive oil, with a dash of brandy in a tomato and cream sauce

Crostini Di Casa All'Aglio
Garlic bread




The garlic bread was abit of a let down.. the bread tasted stale, although the buttering right to the edge made up for it!


The Margerita Pizza was very average - Pizza hut rips this into pieces (and its only half the price lol)

I didnt' try any pepperoni pizza (Hello, My Name is Betty, I'm a Pesketarian!), but i heard that it was average tasting aswell.

The pizza's crust were very thin, crisp, not oily (but not to dry either). 8 slices on each (standard)


The pasta, was a very small size for the price, we only got a few spoons each & it was finished. It was creamy, tomato-ey, the dish was quite hot (temperature hot), the salmon was cooked to perfection (and in cubes, perfect bite size chunks) & it didnt need any extra salt (which says alot for the girl who overdoses on flavourings).



Between the four of us, we were still hungry afterwards so decided on ordering some desert aswell.

We chose:

Home Made Tiramisu
Marscapone, coffee, Tia Maria Liqueur and Italian savoiardi biscuits

Fragole Alla Crema (Strawberries and Cream)
Fresh Strawberries marinated in Disaronno 'The World'sfavourite Italian Liqueur' topped with grenadine and decadent double whipped cream

Going

going . . .

GONE!

It had been a while since we'd eaten tiramisu (the last time, was when we made it at home). It was light, coffee was not over empowering, the cream was just the right amount (any more and it would become soggy). Real sponge fingers were used in this, i'd say this was my favourite dish of the night!


Now the strawberries and cream - i didnt like very much. The liquor was too strong, it was more bitter then swet, and the cream they used tasted cheap (like the cream you get out of a whipped cream can)


All up cost about $25 each person (not including the wine), i'd say this was considered a cheap & yummy eat.

Next time we come back we'll be trying out the gelato/icecream instead..!