Thai Riffic Randwick

46 Parouse Road
Randwick
NSW 2031

BYO

We'd been to Thai Riffic in Randwick a few years ago when visiting the in-laws and decided to try it again on a Saturday while staying down the road in Coogee. It was pretty packed when we got there with our BYO beers from around the corner.

We kicked off by sharing the tofu satay, which was fresh out of the fryer and super hot. The exterior chewy rather than crisp, with a tender and soft interior. The satay sauce was suitably peanutty.

The veggie and tofu green curry was good without being exceptional.

The better half had the Chicken Pad Thai which came with some unusually large slices of meat and more veggies than I'd normally expect.

The bill for our food came in came in around $45. The service was OK given how busy it was. Our table did have a whiff of having been cleaned with dirty water which was a bit off putting. Overall the experience wasn't amazing and I don't think we will be rushing back.

Royal Albert Hotel

140 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010

While visiting Sydney for work, a friend from school, Neil suggested meeting up at the Royal Albert Hotel on the corner of Commonwealth and Reservoir streets in Surry Hills.

It looks like a classic Sydney Hotel from outside and inside plenty of traditional touches remain. The bar taps though, with their selection of craft beers and distinct absence of modern Aussie standard brews are amongst the clues of recent changes. We didn't venture into the Bamboo Dumpling Bar, but did sample the Young Henrys Real Ale, which reminded me of the UK beer in a good way, and very appropriate for the occasion.

I decided to take a look at the burger menu, and decided on the soft shell crab. After a short wait it arrived with its asian 'slaw and wasabi mayo. The serve of crab was generous and the flavours worked nicely. The crinkle cut chips came with a red sauce, which in the dim light could have been tomato, fortunately I was warned about the spicy chilli before dipping!

A little later Neil went for the spiced up Royale with cheese featuring a Jalapeno mustard!

The burgers were around the $16 mark, and perhaps took a little longer than I'd expected to arrive, although the re were a good number of orders from the bar area, along with a reasonably busy sounding dumplings section. The bar staff were friendly and the vibe relaxed. The Royal Albert lives up to its billing as a crafty little corner joint and is well worth seeking out for the burgers as well as the beers.