Jamie's Italian Take 3 and 4

The first time I came here for lunch was way back in 2013. Came here again for dinner since they had the $10 pasta special. The wait is definitely long for a Saturday night since they only accept walk ins for the special, but managed to get in after 2ish hours. (Long overdue post, but really don't care haha).

 

Fresh crab spaghetti: Hand-picked Blue Swimmer crab with chilli, fennel, capers, white wine & garlic-$28.50

This dish was quite fragrant as you could smell the crab and sweetness of the sauce. There was also a decent amount of crab and relatively fresh. The sauce was a more thin sauce, but tasted quite healthy and flavourful at the same time. Pasta was cooked al dente.

pasta lift

Primavera ravioli: Buffalo ricotta & black pepper pasta parcels in a lemony butter sauce with peas, mint & pea shoots-$26.50

There were only 6 pieces of ravioli, and was hoping for more filling inside. The sauce had a nice acidity to cut through the richness of the butter and ricotta. Again, pasta was cooked al dente. 

Seafood risotto: Oozy risotto of saffron, garlic & shellfish sauce with squid, prawns, bronze fennel & crispy capers (entree)-$17.50

You could smell more seafood in the risotto, but I guess I would have liked the saffron to be more prominent (again, saffron is pretty much the same cost as gold…). The saffron is more subtle in flavour. Decent amount of seafood for a smaller size risotto, but it is pricier for the size.

Gnocchi genovese: Potato gnocchi, basil pesto, green beans & truffled potatoes, with ricotta & pine nuts-$28

The gnocchi was more on the chewier side, as I normally expect a more fluffy sort of gnocchi. Could have had more pesto flavour, since I love my pine nuts (why do I like expensive food?) I loved the fried bits for a nice crunch. 

The Honest Kitchen

Didn't realise I've actually been here before around 1.5 years ago. It's a nice restaurant if you want some Western food in a relatively quieter place to chat.

food spread 

Had the same bacon and potato pizza as last time. I don't think the other pizzas sounded interesting.

Seafood pasta bread bowl

It's cute how it's served in a bread bowl and comes with the 'lid' of the bowl as well. Decent amount of prawns and other bits of seafood in the pasta.

Chicken risotto

Not your authentic Italian risotto, as this was a bit more soupy instead of creamy, but it was still nice with decent chunks of chicken.

Bingsu with mochi and almond and bean powder. They use the soft, milky ice here.

Really can't go wrong with snowflake like milky ice for dessert. Good amount of mochi and bean powder as well, so you have flavour all the way to the bottom.

Bowery Lane

Birthday celebrations with some of the extended family are the best! Exploring new places in Sydney, and when you have more people, that means you can order more as well, hehe. Bowery Lane is ' inspired by industrial-era New York, plating upscale Modern Australian cuisine.'

entrance

cute plants

bar

dinner

The restaurant filled up very quickly from 6.30 to 7.30pm. Food came out relatively quick. We opted to share a few dishes. Service was attentive initially but towards the night when it got quite busy even on a Wednesday night, it was hard to catch their attention.

Slow cooked lamb shoulder, ancient grains, chermoula, mustard cream

This was the crowd favourite, and I highly recommend. Lamb was tender and falling off the bone, with a decent portion for the price. It was accompanied with some texture from the grains and chickpeas. You could really taste the lamb flavour rather than a salty sauce. The sauce was a bit lemony, and helped to keep the flavour of the lamb more distinct.

Crisp pork belly, cider baked apple, quince paste, upland cress-$59

The menu didn't say crackling pork although we were hoping for it, so the skin was super tough to cut into considering it's still meant to be crisp. The portion was also smaller for the price you pay. Pork was average, cooked well and not too salty either. Loved how they gave you a whole apple which was super soft. Would have liked more sauce and and the quince paste (which kind of tasted like apple). 

Spring bean spinach risotto, lemon creme fraiche-$26

Another favourite from the table. Super creamy risotto without the richness compared to other risottos since they used fresh greens, and creme fraiche.

hand picked spanner crab: roasted fish bone dressing, macadamia, coastal plants-$23

The crab was nicely seasoned with quite a unique sauce-slightly sweet and acidic. Could also taste the sweetness from the crab itself. Loved how it came with bread to mop up some of the sauce.

New York Cheeseburger, angus beef, house made ketchup, fries-$23

The burger was below par for the price you pay. It reminded me of Maccas but more refined. At least the meat was pink inside. The bread was a bit too toasted, so parts of it was actually hard. Fries were also pretty average, and didn't have much potato inside even for french fries....

They also charge $25 for cakege for the table, which is quite expensive for a restraurant (excluding fine dining as they either don't let you bring a cake for charge $5pp....). I guess it's the memories which count, which makes up for the cakeage. (These photos were uploaded before my phone died...) They did give 2 sparkler candles which were fun, since if you didn't blow them out completely, the spark would reignite the wick and make a flame again. Half of us continuously ate throughout the day so wasn't really hungry when dinner came. I think these dishes plus a rich cake which I brought were just enough to make everyone full. If we were all starving and didn't have dessert, would probably needed to order 2 more dishes.

Blu Water Grill

Fun mother daughter dinner date x2 somewhere close-ish to home. Haven't been to Hornsby for a while, but it's nice to know they still offer free parking after 6pm (unlike parra who changed to after 7pm, and no free parking at all in December). There are plenty of outdoor and indoor seating, we opted for indoors since it was a hot summer's evening. Quite a lot of people there on a Sunday night.

wine case

hanging lights

Risotto of the day (main): creamy chicken, bacon, mushroom, peas and mozzarella-$25.90

Looks small from this angle, but there was more than enough to share between 4 people. It was super creamy and cheesy, so would be a bit heavy for one person, but perfect to share. Lots of tender chicken with strips of bacon. Would have like more mushroom. It was perfectly seasoned, creamy and cheesy but not overly salty.

Crispy skinned king salmon w/ watercress, rocket, cucumber & preserved lemon salad, spicy water melon salsa-$28.90 

Watermelon made the whole dish so exciting and refreshing! Bit of pepper to spice things up. Heaps of greens with a lovely tangy dressing on top of the salmon. Surprised the skin remained crispy after the salad was placed on top, a million photos, then slitting it into portions. Salmon was fresh, but slightly cooked a bit over but not overcooked like my last encounter...so definitely satisfied.

Tapas Plate: Grilled chorizo w/ honey glazed Spanish onions Kumera chips w/ spicy cumin yoghurt, Twice baked crispy pork belly bits, served w/ pita bread-$22.50

pork belly

sweet potato chips

The tapas plate was value for money, so happy with this decision, and it's perfect for sharing. I chose the pork belly, which was crispy, and not too fatty. There were over 8 pieces in there. The sauce kind of reminded me of an Asian marinade, which is different for Western pork belly style since it's normally just salted. So delicious. Also chose the chorizos, but since sausages are generally quite unhealthy, this wasn't really popular, but I love my chorizo, so ended up having most of it. The extra onions with sauce if perfectly balanced with the bread, since the chorizo itself is quite heavy on flavour. The chips were cooked to amazingly as well, and loved the health-ish yogurt dip. Chips were soft and not oily. Amazed at how all 3 dishes plus our own small dishes and glasses fit onto the table. Two waiters came to place the food and rearrange the table-that skill on point.

Dessert: Lemon & pistachio buttermilk pannacotta w/ Cointreau gelato & toffee 14.5

yummm

Yay-panna cotta served on a dish, and it did indeed have that 'wobble' effect. The panna cotta was really refreshing and not too creamy, maybe because of the buttermilk. There was a lemon jelly-like thing on top, with lemon zest. On the side were cut up strawberries, and pistachio crumb/toffee, which gave the dish a sweetness and texture, and a good nutty flavour. The gelato tasted like the alcohol-kind of like that artificial sweet orange flavour...Melted quite quickly, but homemade is generally like that, still loved the smooth and creamy texture. Presentation was simple and rustic.

Pot of soy-$4.50

On the receipt it said English breakfast tea, but this was just soy milk warmed and served in a teapot. It was enough for almost 4 full cups, so no idea how one person would finish it...We ended up sharing it between 4 people since we were super full.

night

The staff are super lovely, and happy for us to share 3 main dishes, and 1 dessert between the 4 of us. They knew if we needed anything straight away. Decently priced for a place up north, and no extra charged for a Sunday night dinner. Hope to be back to try more!