Now I am rarely one to dislike a place, but I think this restaurant disappointed me in more ways than one. Firstly, it hardly qualifies as a bar and their drink list is minimal. Secondly, the food was extremely average and not worth coming back for. The Buffalo mozzarella cheese and prosciutto ham topped with truffle mayo was the worst of the lot. Do not be deceived by the photo, it looks more beautiful than it tastes. The mozzarella was poor quality and I could barely taste any truffle in the truffle mayo. In fact, the mayo was rather liquidy and turned everything into a soggy mess.

The Yellowfin tuna chunks topped with lemon avocado was this restaurant's only saving grace. Besides the tasty avocado, there was also a light, sweet sauce coating the tuna which really enhanced its freshness.

Lastly, and the biggest disappointment of all, was the awful service which was not what I would expect from a small, new establishment.


For full review and more photos, please visit https://treatsandmeats.squarespace.com/blog/2013/7/25/east-8-new-york-fusion

I had incredibly high hopes for db Bistro Moderne, especially after seeing all the gorgeous photos online of their burgers exquisitely cut down the middle. Unfortunately, the restaurant didn't live up to our expectations.

For starters, we ordered the steak tartare. It was delicately plated with a perfectly poached egg on top and some greens and bread on the side. Disappointingly, the taste didn’t match the presentation at all. It was in fact, quite tasteless.

For mains we got the New England Casserole with seafood and fennel sausage. I feel like it’s my duty to forewarn you all that the New England Casserole does not, I repeat, does not come with carbs. I clearly am not atas enough to know that casseroles come in different variations and was flabbergasted when we were presented with a huge bowl of seafood in only broth! Anyway, once we got over that surprise, we started enjoying the dish for what it was and it ended up being our favourite of the night! The seafood was nice and fresh, and the soup was incredibly flavourful, yet still light.We also got the Frenchie Burger, which consisted of a beef patty topped with pork belly but was wrongly given the Yankee burger which consisted of only a beef patty. It was pretty dull, but we were too ravenous to bother and ask them to change it. Sadly, the beef was undercooked and not seasoned enough, and overall, the burger was a bit dry.

For full review and more photos, please visit http://treatsandmeats.com/blog/2013/8/22/ioicbzvmmkn9ux1mltovx6xfkqkiek

I am a tapas fiend but unfortunately wasn't impressed with what Sabio had to offer. It was an average tapas bar that didn't boast any dishes which would keep me up at night salivating. We ordered a fideau which was basically a noodle paella. I like being adventurous but when it comes to paella I figure it’s much better to stick to the traditional rice version. The fideua basically tasted like spaghetti in tomato sauce. The only consolation was that there were heaps of clams, mussels, squid, shrimps and fish which all went straight to hub’s belly since I’m not a massive fan of seafood.

We also got the patatas bravas which tasted like frozen wedges purchased at a supermarket. However, the chorizo al vino, was quite yummy. Then again, can you go wrong with sausages fried in booze??

The ambience was this restaurant's saving grace, as it's a cute, vibrant eatery located along the trendy Duston Hill.

Find out what I have to say about their unique "paella" dish and the surprise I got when I ordered their marinated capsicums in the link above!

For full review and more phoots, please visit:
https://treatsandmeats.squarespace.com/blog/2013/7/17/sabio

I must say I was rather disappointed with my experience at Tippling Club. My husband and I had gone for their drinks and bar snacks, so I can't make a fair assessment on their food considering we didn't have their lauded tasting menu.

We'd heard such great things about their drinks but unfortunately didn't find them very palatable. To make matters worse, I wanted a drink with champagne & gin but it wasn't on the menu and the waiter refused to customise one specially for me. A bit rigid for a high class establishment, don't you think?

Their bar snacks were definitely the best part of the night. We ordered polenta fries, fried haloumi and bacon croquetas. The bacon croquetas were probably my favourite as the taste of smoky bacon permeated the little, crunchy potato balls and enveloped my mouth as I bit into it.

For full review and more photos, please visit my blog at:
https://treatsandmeats.squarespace.com/blog/2013/7/15/tippling-club

I've heard such amaaaazing things about this place from colleagues, friends and magazines that I was absolutely dying to try it. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed and didn't think it lived up to the hype at all. The food was good, but it definitely wasn't mind blowing. The avocado wasabi tuna tartare was definitely the most satisfying dish on the menu as the tuna was fresh and nicely complimented by the creamy texture of the avocado-wasabi mix. However, the crispy squid had way too much batter on it causing it to become soggy really fast. In addition, the 12 hour roasted pork belly wasn't as succulent as I'd hoped it be and the pork cracklings which accompanied it were too big to bit into!

I didn't quite fancy the decor which was rather raw and minimalistic and their cocktail menu left much to be desired.

To find out more of my thoughts on their dishes as well as what interesting concoction arrived when we ordered the gyoza, please visit my blog above!

For full review and more photos, please visit https://treatsandmeats.squarespace.com/blog/2013/7/17/kilo