We’re contradictory, aren’t we, human beings? We change our opinions about the same thing. We apply a certain set of reasoning in one situation and not in another. For example, the Poolside Cafe at Boy Charlton pool is a spectacular location. Spectacular. A tranquil view of Wooloomooloo (or the ships docked there). Eye candy in the form of athletic and sometimes preening Sydneysiders sunbathing or doing laps. The green of the Domain’s Yurong District to the west leading up to Mrs Macquaries Point.
In yesterday’s review, I was so grateful for the nice view of Bondi Beach from Moo Burgers, I said it really didn’t matter how the food was. But for some reason, I found some dissatisfaction at the Poolside Cafe between the contrast of how visually beautiful the food is and a lack of flavour.
My poached eggs in burnt sage butter was interesting with yoghurt, a contrast to the savoury oil. But there wasn’t a strong burnt sage flavour, and I was left in the end with a weird pool of butter. Husband’s fruit bowl looked beautiful but he felt there wasn’t any variation in the grain used and that it just wasn’t quite right.
And yet the service was warm and friendly. And the day was beautiful. Such a great location and such pretty food would seem to earn higher ratings on Zomato than its current score of 3.3. So it looks like others have felt the same contradictions.
Say you’ve got friends or family visiting overseas…
Even if the quality of the food was mediocre, and it wasn’t, this view sort of trumps everything. It’s the perfect place to take out-of-towners for a casual lunch when seeing the sites.
In the meantime, my family liked their burgers, onion rings and this amped up fries.
I thought the food was good. Not bad, not extraordinary, but fine. But it does appeal to tourists (and locals perhaps) with a wide selection on the menu, everything from kangaroo burgers to wagyu beef patties and salads.
But as I said: this view is amazing. The food is secondary.
Look like Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake has some competition. The cashier tells me that Pablo is from Osaka but there are stores in all major cities in Japan. It seems like a very similar proposition as Uncle Tetsu’s: a light Japanese cheesecake, not too sweet, sold in large varieties and small tarts.
I couldn’t NOT try one, so went for the matcha tart. It was not what I expected: more of a gooey custard than the light cheesecake that I know from Uncle Tetsu’s, a lovely matcha shade of green, and I have to say: delicious. They’re pretty small, and $4.50 which feels expensive, but it was tasty enough I would definitely consider buying a big one and bringing it to a dinner party. Stay tuned.
The Chat Thai in Chinatown is always impossible to get into (we checked) so we backtracked a few blocks to Yok Yor. My family from Hawaii believe that the Pad Thai is among the best (and most interesting) they’ve ever had, with more sauce than usual, wet and delicious. I was happy to show off how many Thai restaurants cook whole fish here, which I think is stupendous.
A casual Vietnamese meal with the family during the Christmas holiday period. My favourite Vietnamese dish are Nem, the deep fried spring rolls with a delicate rice noodle crust or wrapper. These were suitably delicious and the highlight of the night.
I quite liked the squid dish but it was a bit too visceral for my family. We had a fried rice with red chicken, which turned out to be little balls of chicken, a slow-cooked pork shoulder dish and a beef dish.
I liked the food better the last time I came, two years ago. Something felt off to me this night, the sauces a bit too sweet or some spice combination not agreeing with me.
It’s very hard to figure out where to eat as a casual diner at the Fish Market, and particularly when you have to figure out what to recommend for out-of-town family or friends. Both of my last family lunches (my family and a few years ago husband-to-be’s family), we settled on the Fish Market Cafe.
My soft shell crab burger was nom-nom-licious. I’ll be happy to return to try more menu items. And I like the location on Bourke Street in Surry Hills, quiet but still with a neighbourhood feel, folks walking and cycling by, leafy trees.
