YAY: Holy Basil Sydney CBD

Home Made Spring Rolls

Satay Chicken Skewers

In February, we celebrated our friend's birthday at Holy Basil at the Shark Hotel, a Laos- Thai restaurant in the Sydney CBD. I had previously eaten at the main branch at Canley Vale and was eager to see how the newer addition stacked up against it. This time round, I had a panel of expert critics (or silly schoolboys and schoolgirls who think they know about good food) who helped me critique each and every dish and helped me come up with a score for each dish out of ten!

For entree, we had the Spring Rolls, which was not your standard sort of spring role; it was stuffed with vermicelli, which we found to be quite pleasant (7/10). The Fish Cake, by itself, would have been rather bland and unpleasant to eat, but the lemon and sweet chili dressing saved it (6/10). The Satay Chicken was dressed with coconut sauce which was nice, but not superb (7/10).

Fish Cakes

Pad See Ew (Veges)

For mains, we started with the Pad See Ew, which was absolutely delicious. The vegetables and the noodles worked together harmoniously, but we found an eyelash in the dish...(9/10). The Roast Duck Curry (Red) had an amazing flavour for sure. However, personally, I found the texture of the duck to be fairly unpleasant (my opinion dragged this one down to a 5/10). Now, this was the dish I was looking forward to as I was blown away by it at Canley Vale. The Laos Charcoal Chicken did not disappoint. It was absolutely devine. The charcoal/smokey flavour in combination with the yummy dipping sauce left a taste never to be forgotten. It could have easily rivaled the one I had at Canely Vale (10/10). Last, and DEFINITELY LEAST, was the BBQ Beef. It was tough, dry and bland (T,D&B), and I have nothing nice to say about it (3/10). We also tried some of the other guys dishes, such as the Pad Thai (Chicken), which tasted like a typical pad thai and the Ox tongue which was actually pretty good (7/10).

Laos Charcoal Chicken

Now dessert was something I was really looking forward too. Holy Basil is famous for their deep friend ice cream, which is vanilla ice cream wrapped in filo pastry which does not have the disgusting doughy taste of the ones at your Chinese takeaway. The presentation was amazing, and it looked stunning like the one at Canley Vale. Digging in and taking the first bite was phenomenal, however, it went downhill from there. The ice cream melted rapidly and failed to hold its shape, unlike the one at Canley Vale which didn't melt even though it took me 60 years to finish its yummy goodness.

Marinated BBQ Beef Cuts

In all, Holy Basil @ the Shark Hotel in the City definitely does not match with its mother branch at Canley Vale. For authentic food, there is no better place than at ethnic enclaves in metropolitan Sydney. Canley Vale is Sydney's little Laos, and holds the crown for best Laotian food in Sydney! But nonetheless, the CBD branch did not disappoint, and I am confident I will be returning soon! Also, I have to admit that the service was superb. It is not easy to meet the demands of rowdy school kids, and their patience and hospitality was a big positive.

HolyBasil Fried Ice Cream

Food: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 8/10
About:

NAY: Bavarian Bier Cafe Parramatta

Converted church... Brilliant!

Deli Platter

I am currently doing a national study on Germany in Modern History, which prompted me to try the German cuisine! The first thought which came into my head was: beer; and lots of it. This expectation was met, as jugs of beer lined the table. As I was underage, I was required to wear a wristband, which I found to be rather absurd as I could have easily taken it off. Anyway, the Parramatta branch of the Bavarian Bier Cafe is located in a converted church, which I found to be simply exquisite.



We quickly ordered our meals, only to be faced with an unreasonably long wait. Granted that it was packed to the brink, but nonetheless, time management could definitely have been better. For entree we ordered the Bavarian Delikatessen Platter, which comprised of various cured meats, pickles, pork belly, house baked bread and pate as well as Haus-Made Bavarian Pretzel. They forgot to bring us our bread, which required a subtle reminder from us, but this did not annoy us just as yet. I can confidently proclaim that everything on that platter was delicious. The hams were great, the pate was yummy and the pickles were quite pleasant. However, it must be acknowledged that the platter was simply various cured meats thrown onto a plate, but regardless, was delicious. The pretzel was also among one of the best pretzels i've had.

Bavarian Tasting Platter

The wait for main ensued, and we became disgruntled customers. The orange juice that we ordered sixty years ago never arrived, once again, needing a subtle nudge to the waitress. For mains, we ordered the Bavarian Tasting Platter, the Roasted Pork Belly and a Swiss Schnitzel. I only tried my Swiss Schnitzel, which I ordered with a side of potato salad, and I can honestly say, that this was mediocre at best. The local pub does better schnitzel, the potato salad was not even a salad and a huge piece of lettuce just lay they whispering "don't even bother eating me". My other diners rather enjoyed their meals, especially my cousin who had the Tasting Platter, which allowed her to taste everything from schnitzel to pork belly. Also, the side of onion rings was delish!

Swiss Schnitzel

Roasted Pork Belly

We then decided to eat dessert elsewhere. In all, I was initially fairly pleased with the restaurant, but after a few moments of reflection, I have to say, I was rather disappointed. I guess I had high expectations, and they just weren't met. I will be going to another German restaurant in the near future, and hopefully, it restores my faith in the German cuisine.

Food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Ambiance: 9/10

About:

Address: 2-8 Phillip St, Parramatta NSW 2150

Phone:(02) 8836 1400