Tandoori Express

@ 581 King Street, Newtown

Look for the orange building. Covered in bright oranges, reds and purples, there is little doubt this place serves Indian food. There's a takeaway counter on the right, but why would you takeaway with atmosphere like this? Fine square tables laced in white and with a long bench on the side dressed with coloured cushions, this is a pretty place to eat.

We ordered a Beef Madras and Bhoona Lamb dish and some rice. The heat was just right for the Bhoona and the coconut in the madras was addictive and seductive. We polished off one bowl of rice between us and had to order a second to get through the lot and the sauces. To polish that off, we tried our stomachs against a Gulab Jamun, reduced milk dumplings soaked in cardamon flavoured syrup. It was delicious but oh-so sweet. Too sweet for our teeth in fact, we didn't make it all the way through. The service was a little sluggish, but I'll admit it was a long day and it was quite late in the evening. Definitely a place to go for good Indian whether it be takeaway or dine in.

Times hit: 1

Rise Bakery

@ 257 King Street

**Sadly missed. This one is now Bean In Town**

Sitting next to Franklins is Rise Bakery. It's a thin hallway of a cafe but is rich with coffee, bread and baked goods. Oh and it has some seating room too. The service here is impeccable. They're on the ball. The second you walk through that archway they greet you and ask for your order. Most of the time the customers are on a coffee-memory basis. Some of the more regulars come equipped with the exact change, which they leave on the counter as the servers take care of the rest. In this same vein, they do this for the bread. A couple of coins and they're off. It's a popular spot for early risers (sorry for the pun) and joggers on the move. Currently being renovated, it'll be interesting to see what they do to the place. In the meantime, I'll just have to wait for the return of my coffee fix. Oh, the coffee. It's good. The brownies and chocolate muffins, great. I intended to buy a brownie for one of my fello team members one day. Let's just say, it never made it to them ...

Times hit: 2

Ichioku Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurant

@ 267 King Street, Newtown

This is the only Teppanyaki restaurant on King Street (as far as I'm aware) and is organised as one big U shaped table. It's also my first time at Teppanyaki but from what I have heard, I should be afraid. On the menu, it explains that Teppanyaki is like Circus Sports. I'm really scared at this point. For this uncoordinated little girl, this is not looking good.

Thankfully the food comes first. Choosing a mixture of meats, vegetables and rice as well as the traditional miso soup, it takes a while for us to be served. I hear this is usual too, though my stomach doesn't enjoy the news. Our server says hi and welcomes us and proceeds to cook out meat. As he cooks he explains what he's doing and warning us of a fire burst or two. Adding in different sauces and wines before he scoops up the meal from the hot plate and delivers it onto our plates. One by one our plates fill up.

And then he asks us if we want to play a game. We say yes, it's all part of the experience right? He asks us how many games and we look at each other deciding. He decides for us. Three. The first is easy. Catch a raw egg in a cup. Done. The second is a little more complicated to the point where we fail. Throwing little bits of omelette our way we try our best to catch these in our mouths. Epic fail. The third. Bowl stacking. Throwing five bowls our way in succession we must catch each in each bowl, stacking to five. Sounds easy, but here's the rub. The last is filled with rice and vegies. Can we make it? Sadly no. But it was fun. He asks if we're alright (we're covered in rice and egg). We chuckle and nod and he hands us a roll of towels and our final dish. Fun, yeah? Definitely. And the food was pretty good too (try the chicken, it's sooo good!)


Times hit: 1

Gelatomassi

@ 262 King Street, Newtown

Open until the wee hours of the morning, if you've had a late one and are looking for ice cream (like we were recently) then you can't go past Gelatomassi. There's a lot of room to sit from the front stools on the pavement to a longer table down the back. A variety of ice cream flavours, as well a coffees, waffles and milkshakes will tide you over until you reach home. Quality wise, it's good gelato. Piasso Pizza even chooses to stock this as their ice cream of choice. The scoops are generous and the service is nice. Keep cool, readers.

Times hit: 2

Pizza Piasso

Note: Pizza Picasso has now moved down the road and taken over the pizza spot on the Newtown side of Sydney Park. It's new home is Shop 5/654 King Street and means extra seating space and a fancy schmancy larger logo. 
Happy pizza-ing.

Shop 5 / 503-511 King Street, Newtown

Until recently, this was much larger. It had a dining area and a takeaway section where you could order a scoop of ice cream either for dessert or to eat while you waiting for your pizza to be cooked. Now, it's been reduced to a couple of stools outside and the kitchen.

This evening I ordered a pizza on takeaway off the internet. Seems their system is still in the works however as they decided that my order should be cooked immediately instead of the two hours after I had ordered it. Needless to say, over an hour earlier than expected I heard banging on my door. Not good. At first the delivery guy was annoyed as I had made him wait (I was in the shower at the time) outside and had left a substantial number of calls at my door. When I explained to him I had ordered it for the following hour, he was apologetic. I accepted the pizza early and we both went out merry ways.

Tonight's dinner? Picasso Club. A combo of chicken, ham, turkey, swiss and bacon topped with a layer of cranberry sauce (this came in a separate tub so as not to turn disgusting). And for dessert, banana and sour cream pudding with butterscotch sauce. Despite the unexpected service, the food was magnificent. The pizza was rich and filling and the dessert was so addictive I had to pry myself away from it. With other interesting topping titles like Blue Nude and Thunder and Lightning, I'll be checking out some others in the future - just not via online ordering.

Times hit: 1

Eat Me Sushi

258 King Street, Newtown

It wants me to eat it. It's asking me to eat it. I ate it. It was good.

This tiny little eatery is tucked away just a couple of blocks from the station. It's a quick stop shop for some sushi or noodles. I made it a very quick one. In and out within seconds, I pointed at one of the Eat me Set boxes in the display and ran. To be honest, sushi is sushi to me. Perhaps I've not been spoilt with this cusine but the only time sushi ever really stands out to me is when there's some unusual combination involved or it's displayed interestingly. This was plain sushi. It was good, cooked well and was priced well. Go here on the run. If you want something a little more flash/interesting, I'd probably recommend Sushi Train closer to the station. At least you get some atmosphere and some more unusual combos.

Times hit: 1

Izote Mexican

@ 6 King Street, Newtown

Closer to the Sydney Uni end of things is this Mexican gem. Now, you can choose to go to Guzman Ye Gomez to fulfil them Mexicano cravings of yours or you can sit your pretty little bum down in Izote Mexican and give your tastebuds a real treat.

The servings here are substantial, neither of us finished our dishes. We each chose an burrito and it was packed with all the good stuff including beans and guacamole. The place was quite packed and though we sat at the front, we could see there was an enticing looking courtyard out back that will definitely have to be scouted out next I visit.

Each of our burittos set us back nearly $20 - a bit steep for Mexican compared to Guzman so be warned. If cheap is what you're after, head for the yellow sign further down the road. But if a good atmosphere, lovely service, hearty Mexican meal and night out is what you're seeking, go the extra mile (three or so blocks) and try this one out for size.

Times hit: 1