A great little bakery. I had the ginger creme brûlée and a croissant. The creme brûlée was not too sweet and the top was hard. The ginger was a nice addition and just made it superb! The croissant was very buttery and nice. All of this is very filling too! Service wasn't special and you get yelled at by waiters as they try to pass you by with hot coffees (it is cramped inside). Pretty of sitting outside though. Overall, a great bakery.

Approximate cost: $5

A great place to have brekkie! We came here to have congee (or rice porridge). We had the preserved egg with pork one and it was amazing. Just like how mum makes it! The deep fried breadstick went very well with the congee. One congee is good enough to share with one other person (unless you are really hungry!). Service isn't special and the interior was a bit tacky. But the congee is great!

We had a take away dessert. We had the mango sticky rice with coconut milk. And I must say, it was one of the best things I have had in a very long time. The rice was so fragrant. I could have just savoured it forever! And it went so well with the mango and coconut - I was in heaven! You MUST try the mango rice!

I felt like I was back at my old cafeteria in Japan! And to find this in Sydney, I was so happy! Service is good. I tried ordering in Japanese, but the person couldn't understand me at all. Damn. But it was like a really Japanese kitchen, shouting orders at each other. You order what you want. Then you walk along, picking out the other things to go with your meal such as tofu, bean curd skin, tempura etc. Tey have dessert options as well, such as mochi. My udon were nice, but I wasn't a big fan of the sauce. But my friend had the 'white lover' and it was really tasty! Apparently their soft boiled eggs are excellent, but I didn't try them. They have green tea slushies too, which were really good as well. With your meal, you sit yourself down. We were here about 9-ish on a weekday night and it was half full. The place has a nice Japanese feel inside and you even put away your tray, as you would do in Japan! Overall, a really nice experience. And I must say, very, very great value as well! :D

Approximate cost: $7

A nice place to eat out with friends. I came here with two other people and we were seated at a long seat. They offered to place your bags in this cloth construction, which means your bag doesn't touch the floor! You order from the iPad and it was fairly easy. A nice Japanese atmosphere, almost felt like I was in Japan again. The waiters constantly greet all new customers and shout out to each other in Japanese as well. Very typical, Japanese service. We ordered periodically and our food generally came in 5-10 minutes. My okonomiyaki arrived in 5 minutes. It was a bit weird for me. There was a lot of salty sauce at the bottom and made the dish a bit soggy. The addition of bean sprouts was a little odd too. But this may be a regional difference in regards to the dish, but it was a bit of a disappointment. But the takoyaki was nice and the tofu was good as well. My friend had the tempura udon. The udon was okay, but the tempura vegetables was served on a separate plate. This means your tempura won't get soggy in the soup (and apparently, the tempura is light and crispy too). Overall, a great Izakaya experience in the heart of Sydney.

This is a busy restaurant. Very cramped for space upstairs, but downstairs there is more room (toilet is also downstairs). We were seated very quickly. There are a lot of options on the menu and I got very confused (it took me a while to select). After a while, I selected this rice noodle soup with a side of chicken breast. The chicken had coriander and some sauces (one was pesto-like and the other was chilli). The soup was nice and light, but it didn't have as much flavour as I hoped. Chicken breast was very moist. Service wasn't anything special and you had to get your own cutlery from these containers, which could be on another person's table (it was a little awkward). But overall, a nice dining experience.

This is an amazing place to eat! We got there when it opened and within half an hour, there was a queue to get inside. And no wonder! The food here is great! The dumplings are great. Could have been a bit hotter, but popping one into your mouth and tasting all that delicious soup... there is nothing better than that! We also had a hot and sour soup, but it didn't taste sour at all (we added more vinegar at the table). But the other stuff we tried was great - the fried rice, more dumpling, tasty side dishes. Service was great as well. You would even look in the direction of a waiter and they would come straight to you. No waving your arms around like an idiot to grab someone's attention. Food was relatively quick as well. Overall, a wonderful experience! Yum yum!

It was a good dining experience. We came in early to have yum cha. The service was really lacklustre. It took a while to get anyone's attention. The food was mostly good. One dish (a curd dish) was a little burnt and the tea (which you do pay for) was terrible. But the other food was good. The chicken feet and prawn har gao were great! Reasonable prices too. We came first thing in the morning and saw a lot of Chinese people there - evidence that the cooking is on par with what is served in Asian countries and not dumbing down to flavour to suit the Australian palate. Overall, excellent food!

My friend and I stayed here for 3 nights in a twin bed room, shared bath.

The room was extremely basic and no frills, with no decorations or anything, but quite clean and surprisingly comfortable. Pillows were plump, and mattresses were springy and firm but not hard. The room had the two beds, a cabinet, wall-mounted TV, standing fan, small fridge, sink, small mirror, and kettle, with two sets of cutlery, bowls and plates. To our surprise we got a computer as well, old (windows vista) but very usable and great because none of us had brought laptops on our short trip to Sydney. Extra blankets were also provided, which was a pleasant surprise since we both get cold easily at night.

The free wifi was good - it did keep turning on and off intermittently, but was quite fast when on. LOTS of powerpoints, BUT rather patchy power for some reason. Seems to turn on and off too, and some devices can't charge while others can.

There was only one unisex shower and toilet, which seemed to be shared between 5 rooms. However we never had to wait for the shower, and only a couple of times for the toilet. Everything was clean and the hot water was good. Tall people may find the shower head a little low though. It was just nice for me at 170cm, but anyone above that may have to bend over to wash their heads.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the hotel is old. The stairs are creaky and the paint on the skirting is chipping, but the rooms are well-maintained and look to be freshly painted. There are only stairs, no lifts, but only 3 floors in any case so not a great problem. The staff are very friendly, all seem to be Korean, and are very helpful. We arrived too early to check in but they offered to take care of our bags, and even brought them up to our rooms for us.

House keeping is minimal. They empty the bins and can provide fresh towels daily, but that's it. We found this pretty good, considering the price!

Our room was quite quiet, there was some noise from other guests at times but that is not something the hotel management can control, and happens at every hotel. The doors are a bit thin, so light sleepers may want to avoid this place.

Location was very good. Easy walk to Central Station, Chinatown and Darling Harbour. Also right on the fringe of the lovely suburb of Surry Hills, which although is not touted as a tourist attraction is a cute place with lots of boutique shops plus the famous Bourke Street Bakery.

Ring them up to get cheaper prices when booking. We got a better deal than wotif (which gave us $46 per night), $40 per person per night with minimum 50% deposit.

CONS: No bedside lamp for some reason, which is slightly annoying but not a big deal. Also not many hooks on the walls - could have done with more. All quite minor.

OVERALL: Extremely great value for money and priced at almost backpacker rates.

I love this place. It has the most amazing atmosphere. Closely located near the ANU, it is a great hang out for students. But last time I was here, there were business people and families with very young couple - all seemingly catered for. I don't drink coffee, but their Chai is great! A bit gritty at the end, but shows that they are not using powder! A bit 'spicy', as I like it. Good service, good value for money and the quality is great! A great hangout :)

Approximate cost: $12