Hurricane Grill at Darling Harbour offers a nice view of the harbour while you dine. However the prices are on the higher end but I really enjoyed my dining experience here.

Steak and ribs combo: The combo comes with a sirloin steak and choice of lamb, pork, or beef ribs, and a baked potato or fries. We opted for the lamb ribs which were very tasty. The meat was not over cooked so it fell off the bone easily but was still tender. The steak was tasty as well and cooked to medium rare like we ordered it but was the underdog compared to the ribs. Each diner was given a bib to eat the ribs which I found useful.

Steak and ribs combo

Fish of the day: I was surprised when this whole grilled fish arrived at our table since I have never had whole fish at a western restaurant before. Usually they are deboned or sliced. This fish dish didn't come with any sides and cost AUD$34. It was grilled quite nicely and gently seasoned with lemon juice and herbs. Probably will not order this again.

Fish of the day

Overall, Hurricane Grill at Darling Harbour offers the food and view if you are willing to pay. Our server was friendly and food came quickly.

The first time we walked by Mamak we saw a queue outside the restaurant so I searched it up online and found that it is one of the top favourites in Sydney. So we went back to give it a try but we had to queue for about 15 minutes at 5:30pm on a weekday before we were seated.

Ice coffee

Chicken Satay: The minimum order is half a dozen satay. The chicken satay was grilled to a nicely charred smokey flavour and tasted great with the peanut type sauce provided. However each skewer has little meat so half a dozen isn't a lot.

Chicken satay

Nasi Goreng: This fried rice was not too oily and included some cabbage, carrots, and shrimp pieces. Pretty solid fried rice and a decent portion.

Nasi Goreng

Classic Roti Canai: This roti was soft and came hot. There were two types of curry and chili sauce served on the side. Both of the curry choices were flavourful and differed mainly by spice level. I really enjoyed how buttery and flakey the roti was.

Classic Roti Canai

Roti with egg: The same side curry and chili sauce is served with this dish. In between each piece of roti is a very thin layer of egg. The roti with egg is not as flakey as the classic roti as this requires it to be flat to layer the egg. I preferred the classic more.

Roti with Egg

Overall the food at Mamak really is quite good. However the atmosphere is a rushed and cramped inside the restaurant so do not expect to take your time to enjoy your food. As well I found the restaurant a bit dirty as there was a flea on my menu and flies around our table.

When traveling in Sydney we came across this Din Tai Fung branch at the Westfield Mall. I was excited to try Din Tai Fung yet in another city (Bellevue here). The one at Westfield isn't a full restaurant but a food court vendor. However there were still many employees behind the glass working on the dumplings.

Firstly, the prices here are by far the most expensive Din Tai Fung I have tried as compared to in Taipei and in Bellevue. For four pieces of xiaolongbao it cost AUD$5.80. Unfortunately the xiaolongbao disappointed. They were only slightly warm and were not served hot. The soup inside was minimal and pork ordinary. They were simply not up to Din Tai Fung rave-worthy standards.

Xiaolongbao

The golden taro bread cost AUD$2.90 and only consisted of the two pieces in the photo below. It was basically a deep fried bread stick with a taro filling and dipped in sesame seeds. The taste was not bad but for the price this is completely not worth it.

Golden taro bread

The most disappointing was the hot and sour soup for AUD$5.50. It completely lacked sour taste and was a watery consistency. The ingredients consisted of shredded pork, tofu, and veggies. I did not like this at all even though this is deemed as a popular menu item according to the counter.

Hot and sour soup

Overall I was disappointed by the Din Tai Fung food at Westfield. The food court outlet was unable to uphold the restaurant standard of the Din Tai Fung brand.