a monster of a feed

Whilst I'm generally on the lookout for a new place to eat, lately I've been revisiting the favourites and trying a few new dishes on the menu. One of my locals is Ribs & Rumps; my place of choice when I'm in for a big feed (and trust me, this place consistently offers a monster of a feed!)

We had a funny waiter that night and he was keen to get those bibs on us as soon as we ordered. It wasn't too embarrasing as it seemed that the waiter had done the same thing to everyone around us.

J was originally planning on getting a steak but the news that I was shouting that night convinced him that he would much rather enjoy the Ribs & Rumps Original Combo - a whopper of a feed that had both beef and lamb ribs plus a 250g rump steak.

I'm a big fan of their beef ribs but tonight I thought I'd try something a bit different and went for the pork ribs. Whilst tasty, I actually do prefer their beef ribs better (there's just that bit more meat!)

Since we first ordered the sizzling black mushrooms, we've been a fan.

I suggest making a booking if you plan to come here on a Saturday night. The restaurant is crowded with families, large groups and private functions but don't get me wrong, it's a great buzzing atmosphere and if you happen to come across the waiter we had that night, you'll be guaranteed an entertaining evening.

If you can restrain, try to save some room for dessert. They bring the dessert menu (in the literal sense) to your table and the cakes do look so good. So far I haven't been able to fit it in but I'm working on it!

hurricane's grill & bar restaurant @ darling harbour

After the Melbourne Cup last week, J&I finished up at our respective work functions and decided to eat out at Hurricane's at Darling Harbour. I can't remember how long it took us to get together but I remember J complaining about it - unfortunately due to me being in heels for most of the afternoon, my feet were aching and so we took a very long winded bus trip which potentially took about 3 times as long as it would've to walk. Anyhow, I was more than relieved to plonk my bum down on a seat at Hurricane's. I didn't care all that much that we had to finish dinner by 7.30pm - my feet were aching and I was hungry.

It's quite a relaxed fit out at Hurricane's - I haven't been to the one in Bondi which everyone seems to talk about but somehow, I'd thought it was more upmarket? J reminded me that it is a steakhouse and it probably makes more sense for a more relaxed setting but anyhow, you get the nice view out over Darling Harbour which definitely compliments the meal.

Garlic Roll. J says the Herb Roll is actually even better.

Since ordering the mushrooms at Ribs & Rumps, J&I have become quite big fans of mushrooms - thought we'd try the garlic mushrooms here. These taste even better!

J is laughing at me because it seems that my camera has taken to eating food - apparently there is a sliver of garlic bread on the lens of my camera.I went for the 350g New York Strip with Pepper Sauce. Definitely recommend this over the Prime Rib Eye which J had - much more tender and seemed to have a bit more flavour to it. Chips were a tad burnt so I started eating J's which were fine.The 500g Prime Rib Eye with a side of mushroom sauce. J actually struggled with this one.

Food actually came out quite quickly because we left way before the time we were going to get kicked out. I saw a very pretty dessert at the next table but unfortunately, was too full to fit in any - next time. Anyway, might I add, next door to Hurricane's is the British Lolly Shop where J accused me of flirting with the guy that was working in there. But hey, all I did was walk in to look at lollies whilst he was going to the toilet, and the dude that was there comes up and offers me a lolly (as they do in every other British Lolly Shop you go to). So yes, just making that quite clear to all.

ribs & rumps @ talavera rd., north ryde

I was very pleased to discover a few weeks ago that there's a Ribs & Rumps close to home. Instead of heading all the way to Gordon, there's one on Talavera Road in North Ryde, just tucked behind Mac Centre - a mere 15 minutes by car for me. And to top things off, this Ribs & Rumps is way, way better. Not only do you have both indoor/outdoor courtyard seating, there's square tables and large round tables plus function rooms; parking is also just out the front door. I'm already thinking about my next meal there - I'm determined to get a seat at one of those round tables (you actually have to go there to see what I mean). Seating aside, it's a mix of both the service and quality of food which make it much, much better than Gordon.

Dinner was with our eating partners in crime: E&E(P). Entrees we had the Black Mushrooms (awesome!) & Caesar Salad (a bit tasteless; could do with a lot more dressing).

I went for a half rack of Beef Ribs with Chips. Unreal! FYI: Beef Ribs are my favourite out of beef, pork and lamb :P

J goes for a steak with Baked Potatoes. I think their ribs are better!

It had been a Saturday night and they were pretty much booked out. We'd made the last minute decision to eat there on a Saturday afternoon and only managed to squeeze ourselves in - so I encourage anyone eating here to book in advance. I actually quite like the outdoor seating here (it's covered and not too noisy) and the place seems to attract a nice crowd. They have desserts and cocktails! But unfortunately, half a rack of ribs later, my stomach couldn't quite fit it in. Might try next time and ooh...I definitely want one of those Cobs that come to the table with a Steak Knife stabbed through it - they looked dangerously awesome!

mumu grill @ alexander st., crows nest

The week had only started at work and I was already thinking about the weekend (Do weekends fly by or what?!) In an email to J on Monday, 'Let's organise dinner at Mumu Grill', J very diligently took care of the rest and organised 9 of us to have dinner at Mumu Grill on Saturday night. It was a long week's wait but Saturday finally arrived and yay, time to sit down to dinner with friends in the company of good food, wine, 'lots of hearts' on the walls (which proved a little too much for my friend C), lots of cows on the walls and the friendly team at Mumu Grill cooking up a feast for our table.

First up was Wood fired bread and dips - olive tapenade and a white bean, parsley, and parmesan tapenade. Makes for a good starter!

The wine came to the table and I forgot about photos of all our entrees! We had an assortment of tapas including the spanish olive selection (first time I've eaten that many olives and I actually quite like them!), mushrooms topped with roasted capsicum, fetta and parmesan (tad expensive but I highly recommend), and the boys went for the cured meat plate that consisted of hot salami, mild salami, bresaola, jamon serano and cornichons (I had been intrigued when I saw it on the menu but a small bite was already quite enough salami for me!)

Mains - My choice: Prime Rib crusted with Szechuan Pepper (with a Red Wine Jus on the side). You get a choie of either chips or potatoes with your meal (everyone down our end of the table opted for the chips which were lovely as they should be :P). In this photo is also the grilled goat cheese salad which we shared down our end of the table - the cheese was absolutely delicious!

J with his Aged Sirloin - Kona crusted with Papua New Guinea Kimel Coffee Bean (definitely one to try as I would've never though coffee bean could go so well with a steak!)

All the cows and Mumu hearts on the wall (there's a lot more hearts on the wall in the ladies bathroom which I thought was rather pretty but C wasn't a fan of - I admit I'm a bit of a kid and the name 'Mumu' is extremely, extremely cute!) Anyway, the table isn't all that big with the 9 of us - it was a tight squeeze with all the food that we ordered (very strangely, the waiters come by your table quite often to check how everything is but even when most of the table had already finished - and had arranged their knives and forks arranged to be collected; they still didn't collect them. C finally had to ask them to grab our plates so we could stretch out a little and have a bit more room.

A handful of coffees were ordered but looks like I was the only one keen on dessert (possibly the first thing I look at when I sit down in a restaurant and open up the menu :P). Hehe, I went for the Dessert Platter which offers a taste of all the desserts on the menu (which turned up surprisingly big). Wasn't a big fan of the sorbet (way too sour and even J, who loves sorbet, scrunched up his face a little with how sour it was). The gingerbread and mascarpone sandwich was definitely an eye opener and different to anything I've ever tried!

Dinner ended up being about $60pp which was certainly worthwhile for the quality of the food - each dish was full of flavour and unique compared your standard steakhouse (for those not keen on steak, there's also organic chicken and duck on the menu which I wouldn't mind trying!) On the whole, service is attentive but clumsy at times (the thought they knew where the plates were going and placed them in front of us but in the end most of our plates had to be swapped around.) It did however come with an apology and throughout the night, our glasses were topped up regularly and the table was wiped down after we finished which I thought was a rather nice gesture. Might I add, it was nice and warm inside compared to the chill of the night when we stepped out after our meal! Shame that only Mumu Pizza is in the Entertainment Book - Mumu Grill is part of the same restaurant!!

meat & wine co. @ darling harbour

A couple of weeks back, 8 of us were at dinner @ Meat & Wine Co. (just next to the Imax Theatre at Darling Harbour and only a short walk away to the show we were going to later that night). I've been here a handful of times now and food here has been consistently good and I would highly recommend as a place for group dinners. Some snaps from the night:

E wanted the Haloumi which turned out a little too small to share (but was nonetheless fantastic - the first time I've tasted haloumi!)

Mixed bread platter with more than enough slices of garlic bread, herb bread and bruschetta to go around the table.

J reckons he looks good in this photo!

My dinner: 300g rump with peppercorn sauce. Of the sauces they have here, peppercorn is probably my favourite followed by Vodka & Blue Cheese.

J's 500g Waqyu with Portugese Sauce (which reminded me a lot of Oporto's). Personally, for the price you pay, I think the Rump is a more decent feed.

Salt grinder malfunction - the whole container of salt crystals comes tumbling down onto E's plate! It did however season the rather bland salad they use to dress the plates.

With 2 bottles of wine for the table, it ended up being a rather pricey meal @ $60pp. There was no time for dessert as after dinner, it was a mad dash to get over to the Lyric Theatre. It's a shame though...looks like they no longer have the Chai Creme Brulee which had been terrific the last time I had it there. Boo...in place they have just a Plain Vanilla Creme Brulee!

nick's bar & grill @ king st. wharf

Some of you may have noticed that I've become rather chatty of late. I'm not too sure why but once I start a conversation, it seems like I just can't stop. Some of you may have received lengthy emails from me, others have had actual conversations with me in person, or even when I'm not prompted, I'm highly inclined to talk (and talk quite quickly). I just noticed today when I was speaking to someone at work that I was talking way too quickly and had to slow down. Bizarre or what?!

Could be the fact that my b'day is coming up and in my excitement, I've been using it as an excuse to start celebrating early and catch up with a lot of people. Fun! This weekend I had two more of these celebrations, all in the space of a day :D Definitely the best b'day ever! (and I know I say that every year but really, they do get better each year!). So anyhow, Saturday lunch was with J at Nick's Bar & Grill on King St. Wharf.

First thing I noticed was that they had exact same menu as Nick's Seafood! I think I've been to all the Nick's restaurants now; the one at Cockle Bay, the one also in Bondi. I thought they would differentiate their menus slightly but nopes. Food is still good though, don't get me wrong!

Trusty Garlic Bread!

J's B'day Present to me. I love it!

We both got steaks. I was so jealous of all the mushrooms that were in his mushroom sauce. The potato he had was baked in the creamiest and cheesiest sauce ever!

My Sirloin. Very prettily plated with a sprig of something which I don't think you can eat.

Something which has really hit me is that there's a lot of foreigners working in the restaurants along the wharf/harbour. We had a rather funny incident when it came to paying. J had given his Entertainment Card to one waiter. Once they'd put the bill through, another waiter was walking around with our bill and asked around everywhere who owned the so-called 'credit card'. For some reason, he must've thought we were too young to own a credit card but hey really, it was a mistaken Entertainment Card. Anyway, the funny/stupid thing was that the guy asks the table next to us who had just started their meal whether the card belonged to them (at which point, we said it was ours...poor guy, he was starting to look really stressed). So yeah, not sure if I'm making much sense, neither am I having a go about the waiter but it was just one of those funny things which happen.

Thanks J for an awesome lunch! It worked out well that the weather cleared up to a really nice day whilst we were eating. You are tops, as always!