Botanica Brasserie, Sheraton on the Park Hotel

Now who doesn't love a great two for the price of one buffet? Hehehe with the enliven your senses deal you can have two for the price of one buffet at both Sheraton on the Park (Bontanica Brasserie) and Sheraton Four Points Hotel (Corn Exchange). I don't know why but we've only had Sheraton buffet at Bontanica Brasserie and not at the Corn Exchange and this time was no exception...(I just checked it out and it's cheaper at the Corn Exchange, maybe it's reflected in the food quality?)

Prawns

Smoked Salmon

They had those glass thingys where you could only put your hand in to reach the food so it was a bit hard to take pics. I also totally fail when it comes to taking pics at a buffet, I only remember to take pics of my own plate but not the actual self service areas ==

Prawns & Oysters

The oysters were a bit of a disappointment. They were very small and I llike mines creamy, which these weren't.

Anti-clockwise from the bottom: Lamb rack, ricotta and pumpkin pinwheel, noodle salad, saffron crusted lamb, smoked salmon, pesto pasta, grilled mediterranean veggies

The ricotta and pumpkin pinwheel was definitely the highlight of that plate and I went back for it twice! The noodle salad was also pretty nice, slightly tangy, helping to cut through the richness of all the other stuff on my plate! The saffron lamb was okay but nothing special.

Not sure what I was trying to take a pic of here...

Desserts!

Icecream Teppanyaki

They had a whole slab of glass separating us from the icecream teppanyaki so I couldn't get a good shot with my meagre camera phone. This is like coldrock icecream but with a fancier name and less options to choose from!

You could choose from chocolate or vanilla icecream and the toppings included nuts, chocolate, m&m's, banana chips, marshmallows etc.

Vanilla icecream teppanyaki w/ banana chips

I was quite full by this time so went for simple vanilla icecream & banana chips instead of something richer. I think it would have been nicer if they had real banana as well as a selection of other fruits.

Fruits

I left as a very happy chappy, clutching my tummy! =] The desserts were definitely my favourite part of the meal though I am disappointed I only managed ONE creme brulee!

Buffet prices start from $90 (ie. $90 for two people with the enliven your senses deal)

Botanica Brasserie

Sheraton on the Park

Level 1, 161 Elizabeth St

Sydney, NSW 2000

Ph: (02) 9286 6650

Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe, Sydney

This is another enliven your sense meal two for the price of one deal. YAY! It was a cold and rainy night when we went and we were so glad to walk in and get away from the rain. The first thing that I noticed was the separate bar and dinning area and the second thing I noticed were the massive beer barrels in the bar area. 

According to their site, Redoak Brewery is the *msot awarded brewery in Australia* and this is really emphasised with display after display of trophies and awards. All their food is matched with beer suggestions, they even have tasting plates that come with matched beers.  

Vegetarian Tasting Board $20

The little schooners of beer were so cute and I thought that the actual 'board' was ingenious, there were slight depressions to hold everytyhing in place and they all fit perfectly. 

From front to back (beer in brackets):

Sweet corn, red capsicum and chilli soup (Honey Ale)

Cous cous, vegetable loaf with beetroot hommus (Kolsch)

Polenta muffin w/ BBQ zucchini, tomato and Irish Red Ale relish (Irish Red Ale)

Roasted pumpkin, fetta and pine nut pie (Organic Pale Ale)

We were instructed to take a sip of beer first then take a small taste of the food then another small sip of beer and so on. The food would enhance the beer and vice versa. I'm no beer expert (I get Asian flush VERY EASILY so I rarely drink but hey, it is a *beer cafe* so why not!) so I don't really know if the beers were enhancing the food and so on! My favourites were the soup and the pie. The soup was all at once sweet, salty and slightly firey and I was quickly mourning the fact that there was so little of it! 

The pie was also great, crisp pastry, a tad of fetta on top and pumpkin and pine nuts in the centre. We had a a bit of trouble eating it though! We didn't realise it was only a pastry top, the innards housed in a dish so we tried to cut the thing in half! We got a rude shock when the knife hit china! hahaha

Cripsy Skinned Tasmanian Ocean Trout w/ sauteed scallops, cauliflower mash and tomato & chive dressing $26

I had the Tasmanian Ocean Trout. The whole thing was great, perfectly cooked fish & scallops, nice dressing - everything excepting the cauliflower mash. The cauliflower mash was placed under the trout and it had a very distinctive fishy taste - not good. But apart from that I loved it! 

Grain-Fed Beef Fillet on a potato, chive and Spanish onion cake with eggplant relish and peppered Oatmeal stout jus $36

The slab of beef was very thick and we found it slightly rarer than we preferred, but it was very tender and every last bit was eaten up. I really liked the potato, chive and spanish onion cake and I had a hard time trying to sneak more of it onto my plate! N.B. If you order the steak you'll need to wait 30min.

The lighting was pretty low but half way through the night they decided to make it even dimmer! Thus the next horrible pic:

Tamarillo Creme Brulee w/ Blackberry coulis and peanut brittle $10

The dessert was a bit of a let down. I really wanted to taste their famed beer icecreams or truffles but my Asian fllush had only settled down a while ago so I decided on the creme brulee instead. I couldn't taste the tamarillo at all and the creme brulee itself was very foamy and it wasn't set properly. The blackberry coulis was good and the peanut brittle smelled really nice. I'm allergic to peanuts so I didn't try the brittle but my mum tells me it wasn't that great. 

Overall there were some great bits and also some not great bits but hey, it was two for the price of one!

Pretty cupcake display I saw at QVB that night

Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe

201 Clarence St

Sydney

Ph (02) 9202 3303

website: www.redoak.com.au 

Grace Brasserie, Grace Hotel, Sydney

I haven't actually finished blogging about all the places I went to during the "We Love Sydney" deal and now there's already another deal being promoted! Buffet breakfast at the Grace Brasserie was the first thing I'd had with the Enliven Your Senses deal and by, was it a good deal.

Buffet breakfast was $30pp but with the enliven your senses deal it was buy one get on free i.e. $30 for two people. 

Earl Grey Tea

I started with a pot of earl grey tea but they also had coffee and an assortment of juices on offer. 

Eggs Benedict

I'm not really a fan on poached eggs, mainly because I don't really like the taste of vinegar with eggs. Bu the eggs benedict looked really enticing so I gave it a shot. Yep, I still don't really like poached eggs but I think that those who like poached eggs would have really enjoyed this. 

Eggs Benedict, Baked Beans, Mushrooms

Eggs benedict, mushrooms, sausages

The sausages were pretty good, they were veal sausages if I remember correctly =] 

Scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes and cranberry juice

I really like cranberry juice! I couldn't get enough of it but it soon ran out and so I had to resort back to my earl grey tea. The scrambled eggs were oay but I think I could have made them better, these were sort of waek and runny.

Sausages, bacon, egg, salmon strudel

Hashbrowns, egg sunny side up, bacon, salmon strudel

The salmon strudel was something I'd never tried before. It was cripsy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, definitely my favourite for the day.

MORE FOOD!

Spelt banana cake, croissant, pastry.

I was so full from the savoury stuff I didn't really get a chance to try the sweet stuff on offer. I did try the spelt banana cake and croissant though and they were pretty nice. There were also cereals, fruits and other breakfast-y food on offer. They even had chinese pork buns! hahaha 

Grace Brasserie

77 York St

Sydney NSW 2000

Ph: (02) 9272 6888

open for breakfast: 6.30-10am Mon - Fri

7-11am weekends & public holidays

Din Tai Fung, World Square

Din Tai Fung

Shop 11.04, World Square Shopping Centre

644 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

Ph (02) 9264 6010

bookings are only taken for groups of 10 or more people 

After a long and tiring day of uni, there's nothing better than a warm meal, good company and not having to worry about actually cooking the meal or having to wash the dishes. I was pleasantly surprised, getting a call from my mum asking if I wanted to go out for dinner tonight at Din Tai Fung. There was that enliven your senses - buy one get one free dumplings - deal so of course I said yes. 

By the time we got there my mum, ever so considerate had ordered a few things so that we could dig straight in once we got there! 

Steamed pork dumplings (xiao long bao) 

The xiao long bao was the first to come out. Din Tai Fing definitely makes the best you can get in Sydney although the differences in the price you need to pay is also pronounce. The crab meat xiao long bao are even more tasty however I would definitely stick to the pork ones if you're not the type to just have money lying around randomly. 

Individual Xiao Long Bao

Crab Meat Xiao Long Bao

Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai

The shao mai was pretty good too. I wasn't expecting this to have soup in it too so I tipped it upside down, intending to get the shrimp out. I was surprised when the shrimp fell out with a plop and immediately following it, all the soupy goodness! It was such a waste!! 

Individual Shao Mai 

 

Okay, and now for the noodles. Not only does Din Tai Fung make the best dumplings in Sydney, it also makes one mean bowl of noodles! They always come out al dente, snapping apart with every bite =] 

Noodles mixed in broad bean sauce (Zha jang mien)

Noodle soup with fried pork chop

Hot and Sour Soup 

Now don't forget the hot and sour soup! I'm not a big fan of bamboo shoots so this didn't sit that well with me. But I could tell that it was still good, not too hot nor too sour. But there was a lot of pepper and I felt like I was turning into a fire breathing dragon after just one taste. 

The six dishes came to a grand total of just under $60 after the buy one get one dumpling free deal, making it slightly more affordable than it usually is. I urge all you dumpling lovers out there to hurry up and take advantage of this deal before it ends on the 31st July, 2009.