I remembered spying their tiramisu in the dessert case when I was last dining in Moore Park (about a year earlier) so made a beeline for Dolcetto when I was in the area one winter day.

The tiramisu tasted as good as it looked! Unfortunately the latte and chai latte we ordered were on the small side. I was impressed with the dessert menu and its prices weren't bad, either, however when we returned to Moore Park two weeks ago, all I wanted was another crack at that tiramisu. I can't tell you how disappointed I was that there were only cakes and biscuits in that dessert case! I went home on an empty stomach, sad to say :(

Despite two less-than-impressive recent "high tea" experiences there, I called Gledswood earlier this week with the intention of taking my family to their Colonial Day either today or tomorrow. My enquiry was about tickets I was about to pre-purchase online (the price was listed as "per person" however I was unsure whether I should purchase a ticket for both my two-year-old and my newborn and neither the website selling the tickets nor Gledswood's website cleared this up for me). The phone switched over to voicemail so I left a detailed message describing my query and apologising for having to contact them by phone (I explained how my search through their website didn't give me any answers so this was my last option).

I am still awaiting a call back, so obviously we did not visit Gledswood this morning, nor will we be able to go there tomorrow. I am so glad that when I asked my daughter if she wanted to go to the farm that I made no promises of "this week"! Now I have to find another farm experience with similar activities so I don't feel like I'm letting her down the same way Gledswood has disappointed me. Again :(

The Cafe's website had a menu including many meals on the expensive side so I was expecting it to be a rather fancy venue for my Dad's early Father's Day lunch. Unfortunately, when we arrived they only had 3 lunch options (burgers or steak sandwiches). They also didn't know we had a reservation through the online booking service that links to their website and there was a great deal of confusion when the waitress seemed to want to turn us away though there were several available tables (my husband told her we were a little early for our booking which was for 12 - he meant 12 noon and she seemed to think our party of four = a dozen people!)

As for the food, they mixed up the ingredients on our burgers/steak sandwiches; we discovered after leaving that my missing horseradish cream ended up on my father's lunch (no wonder he hated his chicken burger!)

Besides this awful experience, my husband and I found our meals very nice but very overpriced. We certainly were not paying for service and I don't like the idea of queuing to order your meal at the best of times but certainly not at these prices! I was glad we didn't sit inside as the queue wrapped around the tables in the tiny dining room.

I am in no rush to return to The Weir Cafe but I guess I'd give them another go if I ever ended up in the Royal National Park without a picnic lunch (which is not likely). If they present some temporary menu that looks like they printed it up that morning, I'll run for the hills, though!

The new trendy cafes were packed so we tried this old-fashioned coffee shop which I had visited just once before, a few months back. I like the vibe of this place (reminds me of the cafes of my childhood) plus the menu also resembles the cafes of the 80s. We both ordered the hamburger, chips & salad and were both as unimpressed as the other. First, there was no salad (there was lettuce, tomato & cucumber on the burger but that falls under the "burger" description, surely?). Second, there was almost no meat on the burger (a thin bland patty that was a long way off from covering the bun). Third, each burger was topped with a slice of beetroot about the size of a 20 cent piece. Why bother? It wasn't that the burgers were bad. They were just not good. And who would bother returning for a not-good burger when there are so many other eateries serving burgers only metres down the road? I felt the same way about the vanilla milkshake.

I got the impression they were scrimping on food in order to keep their prices down so they could remain competitive among the many new restaurants, cafes & bars nearby. That is probably what will make tgem go bust in the end.

Approximate cost: $11

I was having trouble finding a salon to get my hair and make up done at the same time in the Illawarra region (I'm not from the area) so started looking for someone who does wedding/special occasion work. Jody from Make Me Over had good reviews where I could find them and I liked what I saw on her website. She could accommodate me and her prices were standard, even better value for money than some because her $70 make up fee included single false eyelash application. Her hair and make up work was very good and lasted all day (even after a windy picnic on the beach). She was very friendly and made me feel very comfortable.

Approximate cost: $140

My family have been going to Chan's Tea House since before I can even remember (we're talking about 25 years here! Back when it was a few doors down the road.) Chinese is not my favourite cuisine choice when dining out - I grew up eating in Chinese restaurants maybe 3 or 4 nights a week so I don't feel like I'm missing out if I don't go to a Chinese restaurant every year.

Having said that, every time I eat a Chinese meal I automatically compare it to the quality and flavour of the corresponding dish available from Chan's Tea House. Honesty, I cannot think of another Chinese restaurant that has lived up to the flavours of my childhood! Chan's appears to be #1 in this district, though I must admit I take it for granted - I have never actually dined there without my parents and I haven't been a child for 15 years now!

The staff are very friendly and familiar with a lot of their customers who, like us, have been going there for so many years.

I had read so many great reviews about Chilli Joe's in the In Macarthur (lifestyle) Magazine that I eventually, after all these years, made my way to the Campbelltown City Bowling Club to check it out. We didn't really order anything I'd call traditional "Thai restaurant food" but what we did order we enjoyed.

The Crispy Prawns were yummy (and I don't really like prawns) but we weren't really fans of the sauce in the accompanying mixed vegies. The garlic pork was pretty good, though and the spring rolls tasty but rather small. You order your drinks from the club's bar so will need to sign into the club if you plan to leave the dining area to do this. This is easy enough as they have a self-sign-in book at the entrance to the restaurant.

The restaurant was fully booked (it was a Saturday night but very early so the tables were not yet filled) so I guess enough people know about Chilli Joe's and there were plenty of people coming in to collect takeaway.

The ambience of the Bowling Club is terrible so we plan in future to go the takeaway option ourselves (plus there's a 20% discount on takeaway at dinner time). The prices, even at full price, are very reasonable and the serves are decent. Plus, unlike most trendy Thai restaurants I've come across, there's a healthy amount and variety of vegetables in the dishes which I find important when eating out (especially as we have a young child).

We'll be returning to Chilli Joe's but wouldn't go out of our way to get there since there are so many restaurants with a similar menu much closer to our home.

Approximate cost: $13

My husband announced on Monday that we are boycotting Big W at Macarthur Square due to yet another awful customer service experience.

Once again, we went in to purchase a catalogue item and as always, there is no way of the staff knowing whether that item will ever come in during the two week catalogue period, they cannot raincheck the item at the advertised price and they cannot tell you when to expect stock.

One woman in the customer service area (fitting room, not service desk) told us she would call Narellan, the other local store, to check on stock (but didn't use the phone in front of us. We took her word for it that she made the call). Having told us Narellan didn't have stock either, we were sent on our way.

We asked another staff member we found working in the relevant department and she said there certainly were ways to check if stock is coming or can be ordered or to bump-up a request for stock by making such a query. It wasn't guaranteed it would arrive during the catalogue period but at her discretion, they could offer the advertised price when the item came in stock. Great! So we were promised a call the following day when she would find out the status of the item.

That was 13 days ago and still no call. Meanwhile, we tracked down the item in Menai (NOWHERE near where we live!) and made a trip out there to purchase it, only to later discover the item had been sitting in Narellan's Big W store all along (which is closer to where we live than Macarthur!).

What a wild goose chase, and not completely uncommon when it comes to the service skills of the staff at Big W in Macarthur Square!

Unless I hear extremely good things about Hooters in the future, I will never be going there again! The reason I eat out is a) to enjoy great food and/or b) to enjoy good company and from my experience there, neither is possible at Hooters in Campbelltown. I don't know what it is like at lunch time but I really do not have the inclination to find out.

We ate out very early (arriving by 6.30pm) because we had a toddler with us and the music was already too loud to hold a conversation over. The music got even louder as the evening progressed, especially after the Hooters girls got up to do their dance.

Between three adults we had an overcooked barramundi and two dry, tasteless burgers. The starters weren't so bad but they were also our daughter's meal so there wasn't that much to go around.

When asked how our meals were, when paying at the end, it was so loud that the cashier could not hear our feedback. Likewise, when speaking to our waitress, she just could not hear us ordering more drinks, etc.

We knew going in what sort of restaurant we were heading to but had heard from a few people that the food there is good and it is very family-friendly, with the Hooters girls fawning over young kids. We didn't see this side of the restaurant at all (and later feedback from friends is that the food "used to be good") and found more things to be put off by than attracted to (such as the televisions at the end of every table constantly flashing advertisements at us). These TVs certainly didn't subsidise our meals which were not good value for money. Yes, the prices were as expected but the quality did not match the price tags.

Hooters is best left for people going out to get drunk at a noisy bar with people they really can't maintain a conversation with. The music is a good excuse for not having to speak to anybody in your party.

AFTERNOON DISCOVERY CRUISE. We purchased $19 discounted tickets from Groupon so our disappointment wan't as great as it would have been had we forked out $49 each. Also, if you plan on paying in advance for the open bar (we didn't), consider whether you will get you money's worth. At the moment it is discounted to $22 for the 90 minute cruise that we took but the "bar" (esky!) is open for about 70 minutes and the alcohol is otherwise $6 per glass and soft drinks $3. Maybe you'd only want 2 or 3 $6 drinks in that short amount of time.

The Soren Larsen was a beautiful tall ship however we barely moved once the motor was shut off and the sails were partially-set and besides the short introduction before we left the wharf, there was no commentary to keep us interested or entertained (though Fort Denison was pointed out and a mention of the cannon being fired daily at 1pm). Sure, we have sailed/cruised on Sydney Harbour dozens of times but the commentary is always interesting and pretty much vital when half of your itinerary keeps you within the same tiny area of the harbour (we were stuck under the bridge for most that time)

The snacks served on board were obviously ploys to get you thirsty to buy drinks - they just kept bringing around the same tray of sliced (very salty) chorizo sausages until it was empty then a tray of spinach-ricotta pastries. That was all.

There was nothing bad about the cruise - it was just boring and could have been so much better, particularly since they had a tour-guide/host on board. With so many other tour operators offering trips on the harbour (and actually getting beyond Circular Quay!), these guys really should lift their game!

Approximate cost: $49