Stanley Street Station, East Sydney

Yet once again, planned to go to The Commons for dinner end up somewhere else !

Am I not meant to go to The Commons or what ?  Conspiracy !! LOL

So we end up at Stanley Street Station in East Sydney, just a block or two up the road from The Commons.

I sort of glad we end up here as I have "researched" their menu online and know that they have the Vivid Sydney special menu during the festival *note : ended on 21 June* :D

For lunch and early dinner, Mon - Fri, they offer a range of very reasonably priced meals. 

Look at that...1kg of mussel for $15 !! The Wagyu Burger sounds delicious too.

Mon - Fri (12pm - 7pm) Special Menu

Dining Area & Lounge 

I like how the dining area is set up, you can have your meals on proper dining table, or if you are just after some nibblies and drinks, you can seat at the lounge area at the back. A perfect place to chill and relax...

Cactus in a Jar

Unfortunately when we got there, the Vivid Sydney entree of duck terrine has sold out :(

So instead, we can choose any one of the entree from their normal menu to replace it.

I was quite pleasantly surprised when the waitress advised us to share the 3 course Vivid Menu and perhaps just order another dish or two amongst the 3 of us. The portion size we were told is quite generous. 

And so we did as she advised us to ^_^

Half kilo of SA Mussels, Coriander, Tomato, White Wine, Basil, Chili, Saffron 

The mussels were fresh but very mild, considering all the herbs and spices that is meant to be in there.

There wasn't any liquid in the bowl as well, which was quite unusual for a mussel dish I think.

Nonetheless, it was still a nice dish, a tad bland maybe, but I'm not to fuss about that.

Crispy Spicy Squid, Rocket, Mango Coulis

This dish is very good ! The squid are lightly battered and fried to golden brown, crunchy yet tender at the same time. The mango dipping sauce might be a bit weird, but it works really well and compliments the squid.

Crispy Skin Pork Belly, Sauteed Asian Greens, Dressed Charr and Apple Jus

The skin is not as crispy as we would like it to be, it was actually quite chewy and hard to cut through.

We butchered that piece of pork as we were slicing it LOL It wasn't pretty.

So far the entrees stands out more than this main dish.

Grilled Chorizo & Pumpkin Tossed with Rocket and Murray River Salt Flakes

We were still feeling a bit peckish after the 2 entrees and 1 main, so we ordered another entree...ehehehe..

Soo glad we did ! This dish was very good, the crispy salty chorizo and the sweet pumpkin....yum yum ^_^

Pink Pannacotta with Red Berries & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The pannacottta we found is too firm, it is not to bad when eaten with the berry and the vanilla ice cream.

Lemon Tart w/ Gippsland Double Cream

Love the lemon tart, the lemon creme is tangy ( >__< )  and the pastry is buttery and crumbly. A dollop of cream doesn't hurt either :P

There are hit and miss with the food, but the service is excellent. It may just be a casual cafe dining place, but they are very helpful, cheery and attentive.

Shall return for breakfast sometimes :)