What sort of restaurant comes to mind when you see the above image? With a wood grained paneled interior such as this, the first thing that comes to mind for me is a steakhouse, with all the meaty, smokey goodness that lies within. In this case, it’s the Outback Steakhouse.

It’s the sort of place where manly men hang out with other manly men, or as the manly head of their family, to eat manly meals that are of man-sized portions.

So it’s kind of odd to admit that two men walked into this establishment to share a single entree, a single main and, for a moment, contemplated sharing a dessert. One of those men may have been me. Read more »

Whilst out on a shopping run to Rozelle, something that I find myself doing about once a month due to a number of great purveyors that can be found there, a request was thrown out onto Twitter for good place to stop by for lunch. As often as I shop in Rozelle, I rarely find myself eating there for some reason.

A number of suggestions were thrown around, but one that came up with some degree of frequency was la grande bouffe. Read more »

I don’t think that I could ever get tired of eating Lebanese food. Having gone to Jasmins on a previous occasion, and thoroughly enjoying  that experience, a suggest was brought up on Twitter to check out Al Aseel, as it was implied that the food here was good, and possibly in the same league as Jasmins. If you’ve been to Jasmins, that’s saying quite a lot.

Does Al Aseel have what it takes to meet, or better yet, exceed the quality and value of Jasmins? Read more »

Aren’t parties such a great excuse to get together and enjoy the pleasure of each others company over food & beverages?

One such party organised by chocolatesuze started off as a simple gathering over cheeses she’d obtained from a prior trip to the Hunter Valley. By the end, the guests of the party had sampled what I would regard to be some of the best prosciutto, jamon & other equivalent products available in Sydney, with one unanimously clear favourite. Read more »

When dining out with friends, do you find that you often order dishes to share amongst the group, or order individual dishes for each person to enjoy on their own? When faced with a plate of these fantastic lamb cutlets from Sahara, I wouldn’t blame you if you’d wanted these all to yourself.

For me, despite how fantastic these may be, sharing is by far and away the preferred option. Perhaps that’s due to my Asian heritage, where the concept of communal eating is as integral to life as breathing. However, when five succulent & smokey lamb cutlets are to be shared amongst six food bloggers (none of whom are vegetarian), you find yourself caught in what I refer to as the “yum cha dilemma”.

At yum cha, you’re often faced with the situation where there are an insufficient or uneven number of dumplings or portions to be shared equally. The question is, do you order more? Cut up & divide the portions evenly? Choose to fore go your portion in an act of self sacrifice? Or does it come down to a wild-west-like showdown of the quick and the dead unfed? Read more »