Hard Rock Cafe Sydney - Darling Harbour

Hell yea!! Hard Rock cafe!! Hard Rock cafe has finally reopened its Sydney doors after closing down in 2007. Now the hardcore Hard Rock fans can finally add Sydney collectibles to their collection once again =)

We came here for a very late night dessert feast. As expected it was loud and crazy with the music pumping so hard you can barely hear yourself talk.




The ceiling was adjourned with pictures of rock n roll stars with a scattering of memorabilias displayed in the cafe.



We found the dessert section and my friend told me the chocolate brownie is a must try. It did not let me down - it was amazzinngg!!

Two massive scoops of vanilla ice cream doused with fudge with a mountain of whipped cream piled in the middle. You ask, where is the brownie? Lo and behold it was buried beneath all that cream and fudge =)

This was a heart attack waiting to happen but truly irresistable! The brownie was so scrumptiously gooey with the outside still crunchy. It was super rich and made me make 'mmhmm' noises as I ate.

A massive serving and for only $13.50? High fives all round =)



Hard Rock Cafe Sydney
Level 2, Harbourside Centre
Darling Harbour
Sydney
Tel - 02 9280 0077
http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=548&MIBEnumID=3

Baia Restaurant - Darling Harbour

Baia is situated on the famously busy strip of Cockle Bay Wharf amongst numerous other restaurants and bars. It was chosen by my friend who came to visit from Malaysia as it was close to Lindt Cafe and easy for everyone to meet up.

As it was a friday night Baia was extremely packed to the brim. It draws in the after work crowd and convenient for that quick bite before heading to drinks. There were not many tourists, to my surprise. It has a great vibe and allows you to admire the wharf and observe passer bys.

We had a group of 10 and had to wait for everyone's arrival. The waiter was extremely attentive and promptly offered water to each of the late comers that staggered in one by one. The menu offered an range of pizza, pasta and main options with an extensive wine and drinks list.



I ordered the guava squeeze mocktail which came in a large glass decorated with sliced strawberries and lime peel. It was deliciously sweet and clean with hints of lime.


Guava Squeeze $12


Apple Martini $19

We ordered garlic and cheese pizza bread and the classic bruschetta for the table to share and also an antipasto for me and my mate.

The garlic pizza was as it should be - exploding garlic flavours on a thin pizza base with stringy cheesy bits.


Garlic and cheese pizza $13


Classic bruscetta $13

The antipasto arrived on a stone slab with a myriad of little mounds including pork belly, duck proscuitto, chicken liver pate and Qld seared scallops. There were heaps of thin crisp lavoche for us to share albeit overly salty. The salt didn't go down well with the other equally salty elements from the duck proscuitto and pork belly. However the scallop was fresh and nicely seared.


Antipasto Baia $29

Our mains were all beautifully presented on big white dishes. What was unfortunate was the service. Maybe because it was a busy friday night, all nine of our mains arrived at the same time except for mine. None of the waiters realised the blunder until 5-10mins afterwards when she came back, apologised and rushed in to get my dish. It may have been a mistake from the kitchen but to have all our mains sitting out cold for that time whilst we waited for mine to arrive is a terrible mistake.


Artic crab risotto $26


Traditional Lasagne $26


Squid Ink Linguine $27


Gnocchi with pesto $23

My ravioloni was made with a prawn and scallop filling served with shellfish cream. The cream was magnificent as it wasn't too sickening nor did it drown the ravioloni. There were however only four ravioloni in total. Four? I was so hungry i could have eaten three of those plates. I was quite disappointed at the small portion size especially when the ravioloni was so scrumptious but could not satisfy my hunger.


Ravioloni $28

On the contrary, the table next to us had big pizza servings which they delved into like there was no tomorrow. If i was to come again, i would definitely love to try their pizzas and test out their desserts.


Baia Restaurant
Shop 114
Cockle Bay Wharf
Sydney
Tel - 02 9283 3434
www.baiatheitalian.com.au

Kazbah @ Darling Harbour

My friend was able to get a 50% discount voucher for Kazbah which was valid for 4 days only. We've been to Kazbah in the past to have their infamous breakfast tangines (which were to die for!!) at Kazbah in Balmain but we've never tried their dinners. Hence without hesitation we booked ourselves into the Kazbah at Darling Harbour to savour the flavours influenced by middle east and northern africa.

We all opted for the 3 course with wine for $55pp. 2 course with wine is also available at $45pp. For the 3 course that day we were told we will be served a selection of dips and bread followed by a Mezzes plate and then we chose our own main from the tangines, shish kebabs and specialties list on the menu.




The cool water jug with mint leaves

We requested the babaghanouj (eggplant dip) to replace the carrot. The generous serving of dips meant that we didnt have enough crispy bread to dip with. It was a lovely blend of flavours, not too spiced and texturely pleasing.


Babaghanouj, Hummus and Tzatziki dips


Crispy lebanese bread

The Mezze plate came with a selection of goodies - soft shell crab, prawns, chicken wing and grilled halloumi cheese. Even though i would prefer the japanese style soft shell crab instead, the other elements were scrumptious especially the sweet marinated chicken wings and grilled halloumi.


Mixed Mezze plate - cumin battered soft shell crab, chilli prawns, chicken wings, grilled halloumi cheese and beans

As a duck lover i couldnt go past a duck dish. The massive portion of duck was tender with the sweetness of quince, crunchy sweet potatoes providing a winning combination of textures.


Roast duck, falafel, honey baked quince, sweet potao chips


Tangine - beef cheeks, sweet potatoes, camramelised onions, almonds

I was extremely full by this stage but as a chai lover i couldn't resist ordering thier chahi served in a dainty glass cup.


Chahi "yemeny sweet milky tea"



Next we had the Kazbah Bomb! It made its appearance looking like a bomb alaska until the waiter poured kurrant vodka all over the bomb to set it alight. It is worth ordering just to witness this!


Kazbah bomb for two, turkish delight ice cream, blueberries, flamed with kurrant vodka





The kazbah bomb was a turkish delight flavoured ice cream encased in a film of fluffly meringue served with blueberries. It was a dessert for two but actually satisfied all three of us with some left over.



The tiramisu on the other hand can be given a miss. I literally took a scoop of it and then pushed it to one side. The waiter actually said he was going to warn me not to order the tiramisu when he saw i only took one spoonful, but obviously he didnt. It was definitely a poor choice!



So we walked out feeling like overblown balloons but very very merry. Paying $30 each for such a feast is unforgettable!



Kazbah
The Promenade,
Harbourside Shopping Centre Darling Harbour
Sydney
Tel - 02 9555 7067
www.kazbah.com.au