Brother and sister Pauline and Luke Nguyen along with Pauline’s husband Mark Jensen are the minds behind Red Lantern.

Through family recipes, skills and cooking techniques, this family owned restaurant produces some very good quality Vietnamese food in Sydney.

Now I have been to Phamish before and found their food impressive – however, Red Lantern is a few levels above the quality of service and presentation. But does that matter? Well, read on to find out.

I called up Red Lantern on Tuesday, to reserve a table for 4 that same week Friday. I was told the last table available was at 8:30 – “I’ll take it!” was my reply.

After a couple of drinks at the Dome Lounge at the Crown Hotel (just around the corner from Red Lantern) – we strolled along and arrived in time – worried that even a few minutes delay could make us to loose our table. As we took our seat, a waiter with a French accent was assigned to our service, and presented us with a extensive, but not overly confusing wine list and food menu.

As we ordered our wine, we immediately looked at the menu to humour ourselves by attempting to read the dish names in Vietnamese (the alphabets were in English). To start off, we ordered 3 entrees – a vegetarian rice paper roll with glass noodles (Cha Gio Chay – $15), and another of the same but with roast duck instead (Goi Vit Cuon – $16.5). Along with the rice paper rolls, we also ordered a salad of papaya with crispy tofu (Goi Du Du Chay – $17).

I must say that the tofu and papaya salad left and impression on me and is one that I highly recommend. Don’t get me wrong – the rice paper rolls were great, however I believe I’d had better at Phamish.

Our mains included a whole snapper shallow fried (Ca Chien Don – $38), beef cooked in lemon grass and Asian sauces (Bo Luc Lac – $29), Vietnamese marinated crispy skin chicken (Ga Chien Don – $32) and tofu with Asian vegetable in sesame and soy sauce (Dau Hu Voi Nam – $23) – all this served with Vietnamese red rice.

The food in itself comes with some very bold and authentic Vietnamese lemongrass citrus taste. Add that to the various textures of soft meat, crispy skin and well cooked vegetables and you have a mouthful of some very tasty Asian food.

The food felt decently light even after a reasonable second serving, so much so, that I was looking forward to dessert – banana fritters coated with coconut shavings, served with vanilla ice cream (Chuoi Chien – $14). The ice cream was my favourite element in that dish, while I found the fritters a little too crunchy for my liking. The coconut crème caramel would be my recommendation.

Overall, the service was impressive, the food had some memorable tastes, and the interior decor kept simple. Two bottles of wine ($60 and $75) with the above mentioned food (only 2 servings of desserts ordered) comes to about $90 per person.

So let me answer my above mentioned question of whether Red Lantern makes it over Phamish. In my opinion – it didn’t.

You see, there is that impression of Vietnamese food that you have tried before – it’s tasty and it’s cheap. At Red Lantern – it tastes almost the same but it’s more expensive. Phamish allows BYO of your preferred wine (with a corkage fee) and it’s food, while limited in options, is very well priced (mains under $20). Sure you have to wait for a table at Phamish and can’t book in advance – but getting a table at Red Lantern requires a good few days notice.

At Red Lantern, you pay for service, you pay for their margin on wine, you pay for the reputation of it’s chef.

At Phamish, you pay for the quality of food – period.

If you wanted a more comfortable dinning experience for a group of friends and can fork out the extra cash – then go to Red Lantern.

Otherwise, don’t regret waiting that extra longer for a table at Phamish.

Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 8.5/10
Staff – 6.5/10
Value for money – 7/10

When I heard that we were heading to Glebe Point Diner – I took the word Diner literally and thought, “Great, I’m going to end up eating RSL Club food! Must come up with escape and backup dinner plans”

But, it turns out that Chef Alex Kearns’ aim is to provide simple and comforting dishes to please your palette. Was I pleased? Well, just about. This wasn’t a place that wowed me! But neither was it a place that reminded me cheap diner service.

The restaurant is well laid out, it’s well presented but it can get a little too cosy. And by cosy I mean, if you try to move your seat a few inches back, you’ll hit a customer behind. A little claustrophobic for my liking. On the flip side, there is alfresco dinning with a few 2 seater couches. With Glebe Point DIner, you need to book in advance, and they are only open for dinner from Wed – Sat. It’s not a few mins wait if just turn up, be prepared with a newspaper and a cup coffee if that’s your intention.

Upon our arrival, we were asked to wait a few minutes before our table was ready. In the meantime, that gave us the opportunity to review the specials on the board. Shortly, we were shown to our tables and they had run out of menus – “Please try and share” is what we were told after 2 copies were given for the four of us. 5 mins later – 2 more copies of the menu arrived, and we were no longer tilting our necks to the corners of the table.

Glebe Point Diner boasts that they like to make everything in-house. Including their bread and butter too. Look, I have no issues with a restaurant churning their own butter – but please, even if you gave me a butter bowl with Western Star, I wouldn’t be complaining. A lot of effort for a small highlight. But the bread was nice and moist, and I can appreciate restaurants baking their own bread.

Alex Kearns’ cooking style is producing simple food – and I can see why. To start, I ordered the Duck and Pork Sausage served with rocket and grapes salad ($18). Good flavours, and simple salad – but I felt like I was at a mate’s BBQ. However, one of the my companions at the table dared herself with the Crispy Pig Ears salad – I don’t think she quite savoured that taste the next morning and vowed never to repeat.

Main course time and I tried the waygu with vegetables and horseradish mash ($34). The meat was good and the vegetables cooked well – simple is what I got from Alex Kearns. But the mash over complicated a few things. The horseradish was a little powerful and became the main element of taste – but the carrots, potatoes and spinach were cooked to perfection. However, it felt like meat and 3 veg.

Throughout the meal we shared 2 bottles of red amongst four of us. A Tempranillo from Spain and a bottle of Cabernet Merlot by Maverick Twins – each were approx $45. Their wine list is quite a impressive. I would assume they had about 40 to 50 to select from for white and about another 40 to 50 for Rose / Red – which is great, don’t get me wrong, but pretty challenging too!

For desert, we had all had the Chocolate pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice cream ($15). Rich, but flavoursome. This, like most 3 course meals, was my favourite part of the night.

The end the damage was $90 per person + tip. Not bad for a 3 course meal and 2 bottles of wine shared by 4.

Look, overall Glebe Point Diner is all about simple and comfort food – and they did what they can to present that. But is it a place I would recommend? Well, no. It takes an effort to book a table, for the price I would recommend L’etoile or for a bit extra, go to Verde. But if you’re looking for a nice restaurant in Glebe – then this or the Boathouse would be on my list of recommendations and hence why they are always busy. It’s one of the best in Glebe.

Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 7/10
Wine/Cocktails – 7.5/10
Staff – 7/10
Value for money – 7.5/10

Located on 407 Glebe Point Road, Glebe

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