The Meat & Wine Co, Sydney

Complimentary red wine with Citibank Credit Card

Half Rack pork ribs ($39.00)

Monte Grain Select = 350g rib eye steak ($39.00)

Home-made garlic mash ($6.00)

High country pork belly – char-grilled strip pork belly caremalised in palm sugar and served with a fresh snow pear and carrot salad . ($16.00)

Farmhouse lamb shanks – slow cooked with celery, onion, carrot and herbs. Served with garlic mash ($30.00)

All the food on my place – looks like a buffet!

Creme brulee – honey and cinnamon creme brulee with balsamic macerated strawberries ($12.00)

Chocolate & pistachio fondant – served with vanilla bean ice cream and a white chocolate and pistachio nougatine ($15.00)

Perfectly melted centre!!

Milk Tart – Sweet homemade custard with a crumble biscuit base and cinnamon dust ($12.00)

The Food Zoo experience:  TGIF! For a week ago, that is. Nothing like some fine wining and dining with the unusual group of girlfriends! The complimentary wine was lovely (especially for someone who never normally drinks) and the garlic mash and perfectly cooked steak were my favourites!  The fondant was to die for and had the perfectly melted centre. Yummmmmmmmy! Service was average and overall the meal cost us $45 per person which was quite reasonable. I was a bit delirious after a long week (and maybe the half a glass of wine) but all in all, nothing but good memories about this place!

The Meat & Wine Co.
31 Wheat Rd
IMAX Theatre Complex
Sydney NSW

Petaling Street, Haymarket

So this place has been around for a while but why have I only heard of it this year?? I need friends who will take me to nice cheap eats more often! This place has become one of my favourite places for a cheap, casual but satisfying dinner!

Downstairs seating area

“Michael Jackson” – Soya Milk with Grass jelly ($4.80)

Lemon Barley Hot ($4.80)

Lam Yu Pai Guat – Pork spare-ribs cooked in red fermented beancurd ($18.80)

Hainanese Chicken

Combination Hor Fun ($11.50)

The Food Zoo experience: I have been back at least five times and left feeling full and satisfied every single time! There is also rarely a queue since it has huge downstairs seating too. I love the Hainanese chicken (probably not the best or cheapest in Sydney – but I’m easily satisfied). I would also recommend the roti canai with condensed milk to finish off the meal (although it’s not in the pictures above). Tip: Restaurant takes CASH only! (Well I think you should really be expecting that from an Asian restaurant anyway!)

Petaling Street
760 George Street
Haymarket 2000

Stephano’s Ristorante, Parramatta

It’s a Saturday night and we are at a friends place desperately calling restaurants to try to make a reservation somewhere that served ribs and steak. In the end we decided to just drive to Parramatta and try our luck. Initially we wanted to have dinner at 3one7, but they were full. So we wondered up and down Church St, eyeballing the menus for a good while, until we settled on Stephano’s

The Mister and I had walked past Stephano’s several times before and were always greeted by the hostess standing just at the entrance; tonight was no different. We were quickly shown a table, a bonus considering it was a Saturday night at 7:30, prime dinner time. The menu is extensive and it took awhile for us to decide on what to order, so we ordered a starter to quell our grumbling stomachs.

Stephano’s Cheesy Fries, $11.90

I’m not usually a fan of bacon, especially on its own, but cheese and bacon go so well with fries that I just couldn’t help myself. The thing about this dish however is that you have to eat it fast. As soon as the cheese cooled down it was sad faces all around ):

Pork Racks (Single), $21.00

Pork rack of ribs smothered in Stephano’s own BBQ sauce, char grilled served with chips and salad. I didn’t taste this dish, but was assured throughout the meal that it was “awesome”.

Gamberoni, $23.90

King prawns with garlic, chilli in a napolitana sauce with a touch of brandy. They also had little surprise prawns tucked away in the pasta. I ordered the pasta thinking it would be a small meal, considering I can’t actually eat as much as I’d like to think I do. But how wrong I was. There was actually enough left over for the Mister to take home the next day to make a very filling breakfast. I had to ask for additional chilli since I couldn’t taste any ): But that didn’t affected the taste of the sauce. I would definitely order this dish again; I loved the sauce that much. It looks a bit thin in the picture, but it was the perfect consistency, and clung to the fettuccine to ensure the perfect mouthful every time.

 

Chicken Mediterranean, $24.90

Tender grilled chicken breast smothered with fresh lemon, garlic, olive oil, herbs and seeded mustard. The chicken was tender and laced with herbs.

 

Stephano’s T-Bone (900grams), $28.90

T-Bone marinated in parsley and garlic. The steak was a little bit tough on the strip loin side, but was perfect and tender on the sirloin side. Even for the Mister this was a huge meal, and one side was left unfinished, and the salad left almost untouched.

After dinner I craved dessert, but nothing at Stephano’s caught my eye, besides, I already had my mind set on something else….

Stephano’s Ristorante
329 Church St
Parramatta, 2150
T: (02) 9633 3132