Tuesday 28 June 2011

Australia Day 1 - Sydney - Walking until my legs drop off

I'm back from my nine day trip to Australia and have a tonne of reviews for you! As I don't see myself going back to Sydney or Melbourne any time soon, not because I don't like the place but because it's so expensive, I'm going to do a long post of reviews for each day.

As a side note this is not a review but if you go to Sydney be wary of the strict security at the airport, the staff are mostly quite rude as well! Don't walk too fast or you'll be checked, don't speak too fast or you'll be checked, always smile until your jaws hurt or you'll be checked - just a word of warning.

Anyway onto the reviews...

Pancakes on the Rocks - 4 Hickson Road
We went to the original store for breakfast, NOTE the shop is inside the Metcalfe Arcade on the first floor, but it was remarkably easy to find from Circular Quay.

I ordered the Aussie Sunrise having read amazing reviews but foolishly rejected the offer of free tapwater, which I surrendered to later. I was pretty stumped when I saw the size of the dish! How in the world was I supposed to finish this for breakfast. My motto for food has always been "eat what you are served", I just hate wasting food but even I was challenged by this. Disregarding the sheer size of my challenge the pancakes were gorgeously done and soft and springy to the touch but maybe too rich considering there were two. I did like the combination of scrambled eggs, bacon, pineapple and bananas but everything was just served half a portion too much.

I hate to say it but I didn't finish the pancakes! Don't even consider ordering the Aussie Sunrise unless you are starving because there are options which have less food. It was about AUD 40-45 for three, which we soon learned would be about normal price for any meal in Sydney.

Mother Chu's Taiwanese Gourmet - Shop 1 8688 Dixon Street
We came here upon recommendation but I myself wasn't too keen. I've read a lot of reviews that Mother Chu is basically a haunt for cheap food rather than good food. I'm a bit fuzzy on what we ordered but we ordered the Xiao Long Bao, Pork Dumplings, Yau Tiao wrapped in another bread thing~, stir fried vegetables, Beef Pancakes and Beef Tendon Noodles. Nothing really stood out, the lauded Yau Tiao wasn't that amazing to me and the XLB weren't what I was expecting. My memory doesn't go that far to remembering what the noodles tasted like so all in all I wouldn't really recommend this place if you are looking for the best in Sydney. Meal for three was around AUD 45-50.

Meetfresh - 13 Goulburn Street
A lovely spot at the front of Chinatown, there were a lot of people queuing here so we decided to jump in as well. There were a lot of flavours and textures in my pot (Herbal Jelly 4) and it was nice and cheap at AUD 5.50.

General Tourist Attractions

Harbour Bridge - Extremely breathtaking, any tourist should walk the bridge to see the views and walk under and around it to experience the sheer size of the structure.

The Rocks - I think if you were to go go on the weekend when the markets are open but if you are only here to see the architecture then it's a quick detour from the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Aquarium - I wasn't really stunned but they do have a huge stingray and a cute manatee. There are a few interesting exhibitions but nothing really amazes me.

Sydney Wildlife World - Located just next to Sydney Aquarium but for some reason much less well advertised I think. I enjoyed seeing the wallabies, crocodiles and koalas which are quintessentially Australian to me but the price is a little more expensive.

Darling Harbour - A must visit at night to see the sparkling night lights reflected on the bay, an absolutely breathtaking view.

Chinatown - Pretty small and inactive, I was rather disappointed because it's nowhere near as bustling as London or New York.

WARNING! I don't know if it's just my lack of research but I was looking forward to eating at Plan B for the Wagyu Burgers and Sausage Roll only to realise that Becasse had closed the operation and moved everything to Westfield whilst doing so they cut Plan B and now only have a bakery. I haven't seen a post on the internet about this so I thought I'll warn people who might fall in the same trap.

Be patient for my following posts, I have the whole summer to write them!

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