Saigon Queen @ Darlinghurst

I did warn you that my 40th birthday celebrations just keep on going.  Since my birthday in June I have been enjoying all the wonderful food focussed gifts my beautiful generous friends have given me.  My friends really do know me very well!

 

One such gift was a dinner for two at Saigon Queen for a 3 course meal.  Inviting said friend, L, we ventured out to Oxford St one Friday evening for a few wines at Shady Pines Saloon before heading over to Saigon Queen for a bite.

 

We were advised to make a reservation, however we were one of only a handful of people. 

 

The restaurant is BYO and we had taken a bottle of Sav Blanc to enjoy.

 

We start off with springrolls.  They are hot, crispy, a little oily but in a good way and the filling is generous.  Overall these are pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

We decide to go with a pho bo (beef pho) and fried pork chop.  The bowl of pho is massive and is steaming and wafting aromas of strong broth and herbage.   Definitely a feasting bowl!  A plate of beansprots, basil and chilli is served alongside.  Even for two people, this bowl is so huge I doubt we will put a dent in it. 

 

and we didn't..........

 

The fried pork chop is a little on the dry side but dipped in Nuoc Cham helps moisten it.  It is tasty enough though.

 

The aroma wafting from the pho bowl is enticing and I was looking forward to it.  I have big love for pho bo, however although above average, the broth was just to salty for my liking, which was a bit of a let down.  The tender slithers of rare beef melt in the mouth.

 

Even though we are both bursting at by the end of the 'main' course we cannot help ourselves to tasting the icecream for dessert.  We select the taro icecream and the cheese icecream.  Both are surprisingly pleasant (in fact I'm really not sure what I was expecting). 

 

 

 

Saigon Queen is a pleasant little restaurant on Oxford St.  The staff are friendly and it's convenient right in the heart of it all. I personally don't think I will return as I have a few other favourite Vietnamese restaurants that I would rather go to for my pho but it was a fun night out with my friend, catching up, a few laughs and getting out to try somewhere 'new'. 

 

 



Blue Fish @ Darling Harbour

Nothing beats eating prawns and drinking white wine on a glorious autumn day overlooking Darling Harbour and this past weekend was the perfect weekend for that.

Occassionally I take advantage of the many online vouchers available and there is one particular deal that I have purchased a number of times.  It's a prawn and wine deal at Blue Fish at Darling Harbour - see previous post here.

Two buckets of prawns and a bottle of wine for $33 (normally $85).  I think this is a fabulous deal and a great way to have a leisurely afternoon.

We arrived and were seated outside under the umbrella overlooking the South Steyne (the ferry boat restaurant).  We opted for a bottle of the De Bortoli Willowglen Semillion Sauvignon Blanc and a bowl of chips to go with our prawns.

Our bottle of wine is served table side in a bucket of ice ready for us to fill our glasses when needed. 

ready to be served

bucket of prawns

Today's prawns are briny and tender and bloody good. But I ALWAYS forget to ask where the prawns are from. ALWAYS!

hot crispy chips with aioli

I love me a bucket

'eat me, eat me'

Surprisingly the service is more efficient today. In the past it has always been slow and lazy and quite often found us asking for cutlery, napkins or finger bowls. Today we didn't have to ask for anything and it was fast and on form. yay.

Mr C and I on a date

We spent a good couple of hours lazing in the sun, sharing our bottle of wine and chattering away enjoying each others company and people watching.  Even bumped into a friend and her family at the restaurant who were celebrating Mother's Day a day early and haven't seen for many years.