Everything Malaysia, Darlinghurst (6 Nov 2018)

129 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010

A bit of everything buffet

When I read 'Everything Malaysia' I immediately think of all the classics like satay, char kway teow, laksa, chicken rice, har mee, assam laksa, ayam goreng, hor fun and beef rendang which I love to order. But upon arrival to this simple eatery there's a selection of 12 bain-marie options, 6 of which are vegetarian/vegan. They do have a beef rendang although with bones and I didn't try. The tempura crab uses the fake crab sticks. I also didn't try the sweet chilli fish. The lamb curry had nice flavour although was mostly bone and rubbery cartilage which unfortunately made it pretty inedible. Chicken curry at least had some meat but very boney as well. In the end I actually preferred the vegetarian options with the flavoursome spicy eggplant being my favourite along with the vegetarian curry to enjoy with the rice. $8.80 will get you a one plate with the lot, and $10.80 for an all you can eat option which is pretty reasonable for a feed although keep in mind the choices are limited and they seem to be using the cheaper cuts for the meat so expect lots of bones to contend with. It's early days and there's some bain-marie spots which aren't being used so I'm hoping they'll extend the daily menu to some fried chicken ayam goreng and a noodle dish like char kway teow. On the self serve table of sauces there was some fresh sambal belacan for those who want to give their dish some extra authentic flavour. Service was friendly although with only one person serving at the time did make the process a little slow.

Don't Tell Aunty: Indian, Surry Hills (24 Oct 2018)

414 Bourke St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.donttellaunty.com.au/
https://www.instagram.com/donttellaunty/

Hello $10 Lunch Buffet

Bye Bye 4fourteen, Hello Don't Tell Aunty looking very colourful with the ultramarine seating. The $10 Lunch Buffet advertised on the outside chalkboard was the first attraction for me. Keep in mind it's not exactly a 'buffet' as in all-you-can-eat for $10 but you can put as much on your large plate as you're willing to eat without wastage. If you need more then it's an extra $10 I believe. I managed to get a bit of all 7 curries on offer with a good amount of rice in the middle of my plate and some of the sides, relishes and raita. My tip would be to make sure you put enough rice to start. There's nothing worse than running out of rice for your curries on the plate. Pappadums were included but could benefit from being more crisp. I suspect they might have been prepared too far in advance and have lost some of their lovely texture as well as those colourful fun cheezel looking tubes. But for $10 it's great value for the variety and flavour and a great concept for the lunchtime locals as a cheap eat. Make sure you get some of that red lime pickles you see in the middle of my plate for some extra flavour kick and chilli heat. Service was friendly and welcoming. Decor pretty cool with lots of natural light and colourful surrounds. There's also a self service wine bottle fridge. So if in need of another bottle of wine. Just go up and get one for your table. It's like a liquor shop with dining tables hehe. I spy wine prices range from $48 to $190 per bottle.

Sydney Harbour Marriott Icons Brasserie: Seafood Buffet, CBD Sydney (9 July 2012)

Level 2, 30 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.icons.sydneyharbourmarriott.com.au

Eating your money's worth

A tempting $29 Seafood Buffet Lunch promotional special available Monday and Tuesday brought me to try Icons Brasserie. The key in my books to getting your money's worth is to hit the seafood hard and avoid the breads, salads and too much of the hot dishes although I usually try and sample everything. I managed 36 Sydney rock oysters, 12 prawns, 2 salads, smoked salmon, 5 hot dishes, 1 chilli prawn stir fry, half a slice of bread with butter, 11 desserts (shared), 4 pieces of cheese with crackers and a few jelly beans. The oysters were very small and missing most of their brine you'd hope for but still sweet and quite nice. Timing is everything with the oysters so I recommend waiting for the tray to be replenished then swooping in to get the best pick of the tray. Prawns were surprisingly decent sized and pretty fresh. There was quite a good range of salad to choose from or make your own but seriously who makes friends with salad at a buffet although it's good to probably fit in a few greens. The cooked fish and chicken were my preferred hot dishes of the day and for dessert the Panna Cotta with berry compote, Crème brûlée and Double choc mousse cups were the favourites I'd happily have again. Table service was friendly and polite (Michael) and the shell bowl and dirty plates were taken away in a timely manner. Wine by the glass was expensive so I think the wine buffet could be a better option for diners thinking of having more than two glasses.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Promotional Lunch Special is reasonably priced, Good range of dish options, Quality was better than I expected, Nice decor and open space, Table service was friendly and polite (Michael), You can eat as much as you like, Dishes were replenished in a timely manner

CONS: Eating too much can cause indigestion, Oysters were very small, Wine by the glass is expensive, Only one hand bowl provided on the table (not the nicest thing to share)

MUST TRY: Avoid eating bread and go straight for the oysters and prawns but don't forget to leave room for desserts

VERDICT: A better than expected experience that suits small or larger groups looking for a pleasant dining experience that provides lots of dish choices — and no arguments about bill splitting

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Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ ($11/glass) — quaffable but not cheap

Dish 1: I always start with oysters and prawns. Oysters are very small but sweet and quite nice although mostly missing brine. Prawns are large and easy to peel and pretty fresh.

Dish 2: A second lot of oysters and prawns is my usual tactic with a bit of salad to tick the healthy box.

Dish 3: If the oysters and prawns are pretty good I'll go another round but the hot dishes tend to make an appearance too.

Dish 4: I spotted a fresh batch of oysters replenished so thought I'd pick the best ones at the time.

Dish 5: I spotted the stir fry station with Chilli Prawns as the special of the day. Already peeled for easy eating and were quite flavoursome.

Dish 6: Now that I've tried all the hot dishes I wanted I usually go back for another plate of oysters before dessert. It's one of those moments where I get my money's worth I think.

Dish 7: Dessert time — the cannoli was a bit dry and crumbly but the Panna Cotta with berry compote, Crème brûlée and Double choc mousse cups were good.

Dish 8: All steam ahead with desserts — jelly as expected, carrot cake quite nice, pavlova good but more ratio of meringue would have better and cheesecake surprisingly nice and not too heavy.

Dish 9: Final run of dessert with a nice enough Chocolate croissant pudding with creme anglaise, too firm Crème caramel, quite rich but decent Chocolate mud cake helped along by freshly whipped cream. Not sure why I got the jelly beans — maybe because they were just there.

Dish 10: For those that don't like desserts they usually go for the cheeses. The brie was the best of the lot while I found all the other cheeses quite uninspiring on flavour. No sign of a blue cheese — perhaps too expensive for a buffet.

Little oysters just means you can eat more of them

Decent sized prawns

Smoked salmon, anti pasto and salads

Salads and bread — probably the stuff I tend to avoid at an all you can eat buffet

Hot dishes — the cooked fish was very nice and roast tender enough

More hot dishes — the chicken tulips in teriyaki sauce were tasty but the pie was a bit short on meat and the potato gratin not as flavoursome as hoped

Desserts

Breads and cheeses

Bread and butter — sometimes you just have to try it, but not too much or you'll get too full from it and then they have won!

Shell bowl — was collected and emptied quite often which was a good sign service was doing their job properly.

Friendly service at the stir fry station — Would be great if they could add a Salt & Pepper Squid to the menu

Glasses of wine start from $10 which isn't cheap

Wine buffet is $24 at lunch and $29 at dinner so if you're thinking of drinking more than 2 glasses of wine this would be a winner for the drinkers

Not much of a view outside but it's a nice light and open space

Tables aren't too squashed together giving ample room to stack on a few extra kilos during the feasting

Table supports get a tick from me — nice and flat

Impressive open foyer space

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