Best restaurants in Sydney: Grand Duk

Photo: Market Fish Dish

Since starting Sydney Chic, just over two years ago, I have met fabulous people, and eaten at some of the best restaurants in Sydney. The blogging world is a fun place to be and, many of us in this space become good friends. I think it is because we appreciate the time and effort that goes into each post plus the social media marketing involved as well. In fact, this post has taken me over 6 hours if you include the time getting to and from the restaurant, being at the restaurant, taking heaps of photos, sorting and editing the photos, and writing up the post.

One such blogger, who I have been following for a long time, is Simon Leong. Simon is a fabulous photographer, blogger and foodie. It took a while until we eventually got to know each other, and now we bump in to each other regularly. If you don’t already, please follow Simon Leong on Instagram because you will be taken on a Sydney foodie journey like no other.

So this brings me to this post. Simon was doing a photo shoot and review for Grand Duk in Sydney. There was a lot of food to be photographed; far too much for one man to eat by himself, so Simon called on a few of his mates to come and enjoy the meal with him. I was one of the mates.

I was very impressed with Grand Duk. The food was brilliant, so I thought, I would share this experience with my readers also.

MARKET FISH (GF) (pictured up top)

pan roasted market fish served with green papaya salad & chilli, lime dressing

This dish was superb. The fish was cooked perfectly and the salad was a brilliant side.

PANKO CRUSTED LAMB

heirloom carrots, minted pea puree & red wine jus

It was a toss up in the end of the Market Fish or this dish. I have decided the Panko Crusted Lamb is the winner. Just typing this makes me drool wishing I was eating it right now. As you can see the dish is beautifully presented, and the combination of flavours is spot on.

SLOW COOKED BEEF (GF)

served medium with celeriac puree, braised chinese cabbage, lotus root crisps & red wine jus

I can't comment on this one because I never tasted it....I was getting a bit full at this time. However, my fellow diners assured me that it was tender and tasty.

SPICY EGG FRIED RICE (V)

baby corn, snow peas & pickled carrot with shallots, ginger & soy

Rarely will I eat fried rice, however this dish looked so good I had to try it. It didn't feel oily, and was fresh with a bite to it; thanks to a little chilli. A nice vegetarian dish.

CRISPY SKIN PORK BELLY (GF)

with oyster mushrooms, green peas, sprouts & bok choy with vietnamese broth

This was another dish I didn't taste, only because I was starting to get full. I am a big lover of pork belly if it's only a small entree. Again my fellow diners assured me it was delicious. There was nothing left on the serving plate!