Eating at the Astral restaurant was quite an interesting experience. I don’t mean this in a bad way – however, Sean Connolly has changed the meaning of your 3 course fine dining to Tapas Fine Dining.

First off, we started with drinks at the Astral bar. This is a great place to unwind at the end of a working day with a couple of glasses of wine, bubbles, or select your poison from their cocktail list. Better still, take a seat, and let the friendly staff attend to your requests. I would also recommend a few selection from their nibbles menu. I can highly recommend the twice cooked pork served with a spicy dipping sauce. Also try their warm olives with sliced bread and marinated feta. Already had dinner? Then try their chocolate pavlova with ice cream or selection of European cheese.

From the cocktail section I can recommend the watermelon martini or perhaps the Bueller (rose flavoured vodka with lime, orgeat and some Ruby Red) – but they have a 3 page list to select from. From their wine list, I loved their Otago Sauvignon Blanc by the glass or ask the bartender to pour you something they can recommend.

The Astral Bar is divided in two sections. As you walk in you have a bar along the wall, then the inside seating area with live or chill out music followed by doors that open to more space with outdoor seating. The view is amazing with the harbour bridge on one side and Sydney’s west on the other. I had my birthday here a couple of years ago, and it was fantastic – somehow they had Katie Noonan playing live too.

After a few nibbles and drinks, our reservation time for the restaurant was soon approaching. We were seated to our table where you actually had arm rests on your chair. You knew this wasn’t informal dining – but things changed for the better. Our man of service was Jean Baptis (I believe it’s spelt this way) – a cheerful man with a thick noticeable French accent.

He served us some bread with French butter and requested for the sommelier to our table. This guy looked like he was in his mid twenties, but the man knew what wine to suit your thirst and preference. He had something to say for almost every bottle on the menu. We initially went with an Australian Pinot Noir at $90, but he came back saying that he has a French red wine which he hasn’t seen many people order that usually retails at $155, however he’d give it to us for $90 – bargain! That was perhaps one of the best tasting red wine which perfectly suited our meal.

As Jean started to explain the menu, I was taken aback. I expected to order my first 2 courses and after than order my dessert if I had room. However, Astral Restaurant has turned into formal Tapas. You and your guests order a few dishes from their selection of ‘Cold’, ‘Warm’ and ‘Hot’ dishes. Things started to get complicated as some really want to order something that the others didn’t like – but a consensus was agreed. Mind you, you can still order the one dish for yourself – but the waiter suggests that the dishes are presented for ‘sharing’.

From the Cold section we ordered half a dozen Oysters along with a serving of two types of beetroot salad with goats custard, grapefruit and rosemary dressing. We skipped the ‘Warm’ section and went for a dish of shredded lamb with a layer of sliced potatoes, along with strips of angus sirloin and finally Partridge with faggots. Faggots was new to me, and I doubt it’s something that I will take to again.

Overall, the food was incredible. The service was brilliant and they were highly attentive all through out. Above that, we always had a view of the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour and the city – a fantastic setting!

Finally, it was time for dessert. And Jean was very knowledgeable with his understanding of the various cheese on offer. You can select up to 6 different cheeses that come with a variety of biscuits. Jean explained each of the cheese, their history and level of maturity. After that, he then plated your selections in order of what you should start with first till the end. I on the other hand, ordered the Apple and Blackberry soufflé with custard ice cream – you didn’t have to share desserts (woohoo!). My soufflé was simply perfect – a soft apple flavoured soufflé with blackberry jam at the bottom gave it that surprisingly soft, airy and jammy texture all in the one spoonful.

Sean Connolly has indeed deserved his chef’s hat (be it only 1). The service was impressive, but yes, you do pay for it. So, be prepared for a 3 digit bill per person (and make that closer to $200).

So will I go back to Astral? The food was nice (I wouldn’t say amazing other than the dessert), the wine was impressive and the service of Jean Baptis was impeccable. For me, it was those three that were the highlight of the evening.

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

Recently, menulog.com.au and I have entered into an agreement where both parties are promoting one another.

In the near coming future, I will set up competitions and surveys where a winner will win vouchers giving them discounts when ordering on menulog.com.au

Also, if you follow me on twitter, I’ll send you a link to some exclusive specials that menulog.com.au have from time to time.

To follow me on twitter, simply click this link – http://twitter.com/vlalwani and click the ‘Follow’ button once you’ve logged in.

Meanwhile, if you’re feeling hungry, why not order at menulog.com.au =)

Note: you can also book a table on menulog.com.au saving you the hassel of finding the restaurant’s number, calling up, getting put on hold blah blah blah!

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