I can’t remember the first time I went to this restaurant, but I can never forget the way it’s food taste. One thing about Chinta Ria that I love, is consistency!

They always have that same great flavour and aroma, and never have I felt the need to return a dish back. Overall, it comes with a reasonable price tag – a little pricey, but reasonable.

The menu stocks a good variety of Malaysia style food, and it appeals from vegetarians through to seafood lovers. The curry puffs, tofu quartets and fried Lohbak (mince chicken wrapped in bean curd) are great entree choices. For mains, I have previously had the Red Temple chicken (red curry), Curry lamb, Ayam Ria (stir-fried chicken with spices and veg) – and they all taste amazing. I suggest you try them with coconut rice for a change. I hear the Beef Randang isn’t bad either.

The wine list isn’t short and it gives you a good variety of reds, whites and sparkling. My favourite from their list is - Juniper Crossing Margaret River Chardonnay (Margaret River) and Boat O’Craigo ‘Rob Roy’ Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley).

I haven’t had dessert at this restaurant, because I don’t know if they actually have a menu for that course.

Located at Cockle Bay wharf, near the Darling Harbour in Sydney, the ambience hasn’t been sacrificed in order to provide good food. Their interior is dim lighted and calm, and a large Buddha statue at the entrance almost amazes everyone who comes in for the first time.

One thing that I noticed when I last went to Chinta Ria, was the background music. It’s not pop, nor techno, nor anything commercial – instead it’s repeated chants that Monks listen to when praying. I think it subliminally calms your mind.

Now there are couple of things that disappointed me:

1) You cannot make a reservation. It’s first come, first serve
2) The place can get very crowded and you can end up close to another table
3) It can get loud depending on where you sit, making it a little hard for friendly conversation.
4) A busy night means lack of service – we waited a while before we could place our order and another again before we received our glass of wine
5) The food came out very quick, almost too quick where I felt we were being asked to eat up and leave

Overall, I love dining here and its always had great memories. It is a great experience in itself and I would highly recommend it.

Food: 8/10
Wine: 7/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Staff: 7/10
Value for money: 8/10

Over the weekend, I spent time at the Hunter Valley – and Robert’s restaurant is one that you shouldn’t miss to have lunch or dinner at.

We stayed at the Peppers Convent, and the restaurant is no more than 5 mins walk from the accomodation on Halls Road, Pokolbin.

Originally started up by Robert and Sally Molines, we hear that they are no longers the one running the show. They have apparently started a restaurant of their own called Molines.

This beautifully decked out restaurant has a more intimate style dining experience and the service is of good quality.

The difference I noticed about this restaurant compared to your standard, is the fact that you have a flat $90 set menu (drinks and sides are extra). $90 includes an entree, main and dessert.

I started off with a beetroot and cheese filled puff pastry which had such beautiful flavour. However, towards the end of the dish, I felt that the pastry started to feel very heavy.

My main course was a rack of lamb which to be honest was very meaty and I felt quite full by the end of it. It wasn’t as flavoursome as the menu described it.

Dessert was strawberry mousse in a fancy shaped martini glass. I felt that it was a lot thicker than your average mousse, however the berry flavours did leave a refresh taste in my mouth.

We had a bottle of Bremerton Verdelho during dinner, and it was actually quite an easy wine to drink with both my entree and main.

Compared to my last trip to Roberts in December 07, I feel that the quality of food has now somewhat dropped. Possibly because Robert Molines no longer works there and that the new chef needs a bit more training from the man himself.

Atmosphere – 9/10
Food – 7/10
Wine – 8/10
Staff – 7.5/10
Value for money – 8.5/10

Having been there before, I can’t remember much of the events during my first visit, possibly due to unknown amount of cocktails and wine consumed. The second time however, I was determined to remember the events.

The restaurant is split into 4 levels. You enter on the 1st level and go down to a nice white lounge bar. The 2 level above the entrance is where you have your meal. Good interiors and a nice place for a date.

As Maia and I waited for a our table, we started off with a glass of champagne and ordered the prosciutto with buffalo mozzarella and breadsticks. Though the finger food did cost $25, it’s well worth it.

We were shown our table which was at the end of the restaurant close to the window with views of the city, Opera house and the Harbour bridge. Let’s just say that this was the only highlight of the night. Services slipped when they gave us the menu but didn’t mention any of the specials. Until it came time to order, the waiter asked if we were told about the specials. I knew what I wanted to get from the menu, but asked anyways – big mistake! The guy had to disappear to refresh his memory about the specials to then narrate it back to me – it wasn’t anything special.

He took our orders and said he would get some bread while we wait for our entree. The Entrees came before the bread. He asked if we wanted pepper on our entree – and we said yet. We waited 5 minutes – no pepper. I started to eat my venison carpaccio (not worth the portion for the money) and was then surprised with some bread. Oh, and he had to make the remark about the two types of salt (one from blah blah blah and the other from blah blah blah – frankly, I didn’t care).

Our mains turns up and he asked if I wanted pepper, to which I said “Yes, if you can remember to bring it this time” – with a fake smile. He apologised by smacking his head and got the pepper.

Dessert wasn’t tempting and I wasn’t prepared to wait. We asked for the bill and they got a 5% tip (more than they deserve).

The title suits this restaurant, as the people who work there do have a big ego!

I would only recommend this place for its cocktails and finger food.

Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 7/10
Wine / Cocktails – 7/10
Staff – 5/10
Value for money - 7/10