Went to Gus for dinner after a 5 month absence. The food was good - the pastas were tasty but the smoked salmon sandwich was kind of bland. For some reason, the salmon was pretty tasteless. Fortunately, our delicious mortal sin cake made up for it...it came with both cream and ice-cream. Service is also much friendlier than before.

Approximate cost: $15

Came here for dessert drinks and baklava. The Turkish coffee was nice and strong while the apple tea was pretty good too with a hint of lemon. The baklava was quite soggy but I enjoyed it as it wasn't tooth-achingly sweet. Service was a bit brusque and slow - we waited quite awhile before even getting to place our order as there was only one guy at the counter taking orders and making kebabs.

Update 2/2/2010: After revisiting this place, I'm chalking down my previous experience to an off-day for them. I recommend the roast pork, soy chicken (with the tasty ginger-scallion sauce) and char siu. The complimentary soup is also a highlight. It's not the best BBQ place I've tried but IMO, it rates above its Sydney peers and it's good value to boot.

I was eager to check out this place as I've read that it has some of the best chinese barbecue meats around. Unfortunately, I can't agree with this assessment at all. Sure the portions are huge but I'd prefer a smaller mountain of rice with better quality meat. We had the char siu rice and roast chicken rice. The char siu was a little greasy but passable. The chicken, however, was dry and tough (and it wasn't breast meat so can't blame the dryness on that). Overall, a letdown.

Approximate cost: $8

Had lunch at the bistro a couple of times - the food is quite good albeit slightly pricier than the Crocodile Farm Hotel down the road. The staff here are really nice and friendly. Overall, a pleasant lunch spot - plus, dining in the outdoor courtyard will be an added incentive come summer.

Approximate cost: $15

Can't speak for their ala carte menu but the yum cha here is excellent. Rhodes Phoenix has a pretty good variety of items, along with the yum cha staples (eg. har gow, siu mai, char siu pau) and they're all done quite well. The egg tarts are in a class of their own - a not-too-sweet egg filling encased by light, flaky pastry...delish. Service is ok - if a particular trolley isn't heading your way, you can ask the staff to get you the dish you want but large groups might find themselves waiting a long time for seating.

Approximate cost: $25

CeCi makes a great bibimbap - the chili paste they serve with it is excellent. Also recommended are the spicy chicken soup and the chili tofu soup. Full of flavour and not just salty spiciness you get in some Korean places. However, steer clear of this place if you want a leisurely dinner. The staff can't wait to get rid of you - everytime you put your cutlery down, they'll ask if they can clear the table. Even when your plate is barely 1/4 finished. Guess it's a trade-off for the tasty food.

Approximate cost: $15

My parents stayed here last year and were satisfied with their experience. The hotel is cosy and generally well-maintained (they had to send someone to fix the room's leaky air-conditioning). The staff were friendly and accommodating. We got the studio room at a special rate (less than AUD 130 per night) and it was well worth it. Huge plus point was its close proximity to the ANU, the city and the bus interchange.

Approximate cost: $130

Tried their quesadillas (pork chipotle and d.f. steak and onions). Although tasty, you'd be better off ordering elsewhere if you're hungry and on a budget. The servings are surprisingly meagre for what is essentially a fast food joint. Two quesadillas barely made a dent in my hunger levels (and I'm not usually a big eater) and I had to fill up on dessert in Buzzzbar.

The quality of food and service here was great. We shared the grilled haloumi entree and the kleftiko. The haloumi was ok, nothing special while the kleftiko was beautiful. The slow braised lamb was so tender and just about melts in the mouth. Our waiter was attentive and friendly.

Approximate cost: $30

This branch of Newtown Thai is next to Guzman Y Gomez. We went there for lunch and ordered their specials...awesome bargain at $6 for a hearty portion of pad thai and pad khee mao. The meals were delicious and had a good ratio of meat and veg to noodles. Timing was a bit off though - my chicken pad khee mao came early, quickly followed by the pad thais for 2 friends. The last order however (lamb pad khee mao) came almost 15 minutes after the 3rd order with no explanation from the waitress.