The Shire Blog

01/12/2024

02/09/2017

On this week's edition of The Shire Blog we visit Kelly's ribs and steakhouse in Westfield Miranda.

As we walk in there is a large outside dining area with slate tiled floor and plenty of heaters to keep us warm.The grill and cooking area is open to view through large glass panels.Looking in, the chefs are all happy with plenty of smiles everywhere.

Service is very quick even though they are very busy.We order a 300 gram sirloin steak with cafe de Paris butter sauce, king prawns, booreworks sausage, roquefort salad and sticky date pudding for desert.

The meals come out quite quickly given the crowd.The steak comes with baked potato,the sausage by the side,sour cream and crispy straw potatoes.The king prawns are butterflyed and lightly grilled.The roquefort salad looks like it should with tomatoes,cucumber,lettuce, creamy dressing and chunks of blue cheese throughout.

I cut into the steak, it is beautifully cooked to medium as I ordered, the baked potato is soft and tasty with a light sour cream.The sausage is nice and chunky,slightly gamey as a South African dish should be.The cafe de Paris butter sauce is a nice tasty addition to rhe steak and sausage.

The king prawns are moist and tasty and grilled perfectly.

The roquefort salad is just as a roquefort should taste like,plenty of dressing and blue cheese.It is not often you see this type of salad on the menu in Australia so I am happy to see they got it right.

The service is great throughout with regular checks to ensure we like everything.

The sticky date pudding comes out and it is beautiful, moist and the caramel sauce is perfect.

At the end of the meal I think, I have finally found somewhwhere to get a steak cooked as it should be.So if you like steak I recommend you give Kellys a try.

18/08/2017

Well folks tonight we go back to the future.No we are not having dinner with Michael J Fox or the nutty professor but returning to where it all started,The Cronulla Bowling club on Croydon st at cronulla.

Thr restaurant is laid out well but thete is no real separation from the general club area and the dining area so club noise might be an issue on a busy night.

We order oysters kilpatrick, 2 racks of ribs,lamb shoulder and chicken caeser salad. The oysters come out and look like they went through a blender and then got grilled.There are only 3 components,oysters,bacon and worcestshire sauce and I wonder how you could make it look so awful.Lucky it tastes slightly better than it looks.

The ribs come out on a bed of chips with a tangy but unexciting sauce on the ribs.Unfortunately the chips are a little soggy and under cooked.Fortunately the ribs are cooked well and fall off the bone.

The chicken caeser salad arrives quickly.When it comes to food I always think the traditional recipe is always the best and if you change it you better make it delicious.The components of caeser salad are simple,cos lettuce,parmesan cheese, egg,bacon,anchovies,croutons and a light creamy sauce.Adding chicken makes it something else.

As I look at it there is no egg,no anchovies,croutons the size of a VW a thick viscous sauce with little flavour.The chicken is dry and overcooked and almost no bacon.The major component seems to be the bread croutons.This is pretty much a failure on all levels.

The lamb shoulder comes out and looks fabulous.It presents well with roast new potatoes in a thick gravy with sour cream and parsley garnish.The meat is cooked beautifully and is moist,tender and full of flavour as it falls off the bone.

Unfortunately the lamb does not save the meal and I reluctantly pay the bill and leave to not return again.

13/08/2017

Well folks in this week's edition of The Shire Blog we bring you something different.Instead of blogging one restaurant we are doing a whole area of restaurants.We visit a relatively new area in Sydney called "Thai Town".

It is bordered roughly by Campbell st,Goulburn st,George st. and Pitt st.I have had the opportunity to have spent the last 4 Saturdays in the area for personal and dining reasons.

For lovers of Thai food this is the centre of traditional Thai food cuisine.Although there a lot of Thai restaurants in the suburbs the majority of them serve a westernised version of Thai food.If you want true home style Thai food you need to spend a couple of hours doing a food tour of this area.

The restaurants serve beautiful food at very cheap prices.If you like it hot and spicy you will get it that way but most restaurants will tell you what are the hot dishes but remember to ask.Most are quite small and still cater for groups comfortably.

Also if you see deserts advertised remember that a lot of Thai deserts are actually a sweet vegetable of some sort so always ask what the desert comprises of.Either way they are always delicious.

On a nice weekend a great way to spend the day would be as follows.Get there around 12ish,walk around and have a small dish in 2 or 3 places,walk down to Paddys Markets which is only 50 to 60 metres away,have a good shop and pick up some bargains especially in the food section and then wander home tired but very happy.

05/08/2017

In this week's edition of The Shire Blog we wander to the St George shire and and a fantastic grill called Hurricanes Grill.It is situated on The Grand parade,Brighton on the beach side overlooking Botany Bay.

As you walk in the first thing that impresses is the spectacular view that can be seen from almost every part of the restaurant.You step up into a spacious dining area flooded with natural light during the day.Tables are well laid out with plenty of room to move around for patrons and employees.

It is quite busy for a lunch time but we are given menus and water very quickly with lovely smiles from the staff.The menu is quite extensive with plenty of grills,seafood,salads and a sprinkling of vegetarian dishes.

We order a mixture of Portugese chicken, beef ribs,lamb ribs, Mediteranean salad,roast potato,chips.

There is a large range of beers,spirits,cocktails and also mocktails for the non drinkers.Not that many restaurants offer a range pf non alcoholic drinks except for the usual soft drinks.Some thought has gone into a non alcoholic dining experience.

The meals come out quite quickly and look spectacular to say the least. As we tuck in the meats are all cooked perfectly.The chicken is moist and tender with a tasty and tangy sauce.The ribs are delicious with the meats falling off the bone,moist and juicy.The roast potato is cooked to perfection and served with sour cream and chives.

The salad has a nice slightly tangy dressing somewhere between thousand island,ranch dressing and peri peri sauce.The salad is really big and could be a meal on it's own.With 4 people at the table all I hear is the sound of eating,always a good sign.Chips are crispy and served with a choice of sauces.

They cater for large groups ad well as small and couples.As I look around every group appears happy and seem to get service quickly.I dare say the night time would be just as good and after speaking to staff they look forward to doing over 600 servings.

All in all a great dining experience and if you have not tried it,I tecommend you give it a try.