Jamie's Italian

Jamie's Italian

107 Pitt Street

8240 9000

http://www.jamieoliver.com/au/italian/sydney

Lines often signify great things. The apple iPhone 4s. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Din Tai Fung. So if you see the line outside 107 Pitt St be aware that yes, it is the new Jamie Oliver restaurant. Yes its the first of Jamie's Italians in Australia. Yes there is a min 20 minute wait to get a buzzer. And yes its another hour wait after that buzzer to actually get a table. But dont worry, it serves some pretty good pasta and its served by some pretty good looking waiters.

We start off with the must order antipasti plank ($13 per head). When I say must order, every table orders this. And for good reason, its damn good.

We also share a Crispy Squid served with really garlicky mayo ($12). Crunchy goodness.

Our mains were the Bucatini Carbonara ($12), Truffle Risotto ($17) and a special of Pork chop served with Pumpkin ($26) (in order).

For desserts we had the Our Special Tiramisu ($9), the Creamy Panna Cotta ($8.50) and The Ultimate Brownie ($8.50)

The damage was $45 each which was actually quite good considering it was basically a three course meal and we ordered some sparkling water. I guess its also a bit of a novelty- I mean come on. It is Jamie Oliver. I liked it but wouldn't really say that its worth waiting an hour for.

The Good: Reasonably priced food, celebrity chef (ish), cute waiters and cool atmosphere

The Bad: Feel sorry for all the people who were still in line at 9pm waiting

Vessel Italian & Bar, Sydney and Sunday Night Easy Listening

Vessel Italian & Bar

1 Shelley Street Sydney

Macquarie Group Building

9295 5070

http://www.vesselsydney.com.au/

I've been listening to a lot of Adam Levine lately (Stereo hearts, moves like jagger & won't go home without you). He makes me feel like a teenage fangirl again! hahaha. Anyways I'm going to choose Wont Go Home Without You as this week's song because this is like an awesome song to sing to with friends when you're all drunk.

Now back to business.

Vessel Italian & Bar is the restaurant downstairs of the Macquarie 'cube' building.. It actually does really good pizzas (which are half price on Wednesdays at the bar).

I don't think very many people know about the restaurant since there were quite a few empty tables. Its actually a really nice restaurant and very close to King Street wharf.

We order the mojito and espresso martini to start. After trying the espresso martini, I immediately regretted ordering my mojito. The espresso martini was really yummy!

Salt cod & potato croquettes with aoili ($12)

I didnt like this :( I dont like salt cod, it tasted really fishy and weird. Bad choice.

Seared scallops with artichoke puree, almonds and breadcrumbs ($19.50)

This was quite nice except a little overcooked.

Buffalo mozzarella with eggplant, pine nuts, green olives, tomato & basil ($17.50)

Seared kingfish with squid, globe artichokes, peas and kifler potatoes ($34.50)

The kingfish was cooked really well and I was surprised by how big the portion was. However the artichokes were tough and chewy and I dont think they cut out the artichoke heart properly.

Pan roasted duck breast with baby beetroot, beans, watercress & walnuts ($33)

This was not too bad.. The watercress was a bit bitter and I think this dish needs something sweet to add a different depth of flavour.

The Good: Espresso martini, the gourmet pizzas, friendly service and the location

The Bad: I've learned that I do not like salt cod.

Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria QVB

Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria

http://www.bacco.com.au/

Shop 24-27, Level 2 QVB

455 George Street Sydney

(02) 9264 2155

Thursday night is shopping night and what other way to complement shopping than to dine and wine in the QVB? J & I made a last minute decision to have dinner that night and catch up on each others lives. We were in luck as I was able to book ahead and we were seated outside.

J's favourite food is pasta and we've been on a hunt for some of the best pasta places in Sydney. Originally we were going to have lunch at Ragu Wine Bar but its been too busy at work to take a long lunch break.

Oh no! The two dishes that we ordered are not on the website menu! Crap.. I have no idea what the names of the dishes were as they were in Italian.. So here goes my best attempt..

ORECCHIETTE with fresh tuna, brocolli and pine nuts

Okay so I ordered this dish so I sort of remember what was in it. The orecchiette (no idea how to pronounce this) was perfectly cooked and the tuna was very succulent. Only thing is I felt like this dish was a bit too 'fishy'.. it needed some more olives or something else to balance out the flavours. But I was pretty happy anyways!

PACCHERI with cherry tomatoes and something else...

This was J's dish and I think he enjoyed it so it must have been good. I only got a small taste of it so I honestly cannot remember exactly what's in it. I think it had salted ricotta cheese on top.

bellissimo!

We also ordered the Caprese bruschetta which was wood fired sourdough bread with cherry tomato, boccochini cheese and oregano. Initially I was a bit sceptical about $18 for a few slices of bread but after seeing other tables ordering it, we had to give it a try. And it was goooooodddddd.

How do they get the bread so crispy and thin? So I guess they must cut it first and then toast it, SO SMART. I wouldnt have done that. But now I know! This was delicious.

They also have a decent wine list in case anyone is interested. I liked it :)