Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Janus, Sydney CBD

One of Westfield Sydney's positive attributes would have to be their choice of eats in their food court. There's so much more than your standard fast food joints on offer. For those of you who don't like the hustle and bustle environment of food courts, you can even venture up to level 6 where they have Xanthi Restaurant, Chat Thai, Chinta Ria, Sky Phoenix, Max Brenner, and Janus, where I made a particular visit this time around with Miss Dentist-In-Training and my other friend E.

Thornclarke pinot gris, $38.00
This was an occassion of celebration, so we decided to order a bottle of wine. Hailing from South Australia, with its flavours of Nashi pears and apple puree, this white wine finished on a clean and crisp note. Can't say I know too much about wines, but this one wasn't bad.

Spicy chorizo, $20.00
Couldn't resist ordering a pizza with chorizo on it. They were quite generous with the chorizo pieces, and bits of fennel, rocket and capsicum added a punch of flavour that made this pizza quite delicious.

Pumpkin, haloumi & pinenut salad, $15.00
I was looking forward to the lemon and oregano vinaigrette that would dress this salad but unfortunately we didn't get any of that. Instead, we got a very oily dressing that didn't have much flavour and only added grease to the palette. Much like when you forget to shake those Praise salad dressings you can buy at the supermarket before you drizzle it onto your salad. The saving grace of the plate was the roasted vegetables themselves - butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, eggplant and zucchini. I quite enjoyed eating them with the saltiness of the grilled haloumi.

Pappardelle al ragu di agnello e pecorino sardo, $18.00 for entree size
It sounded so promising with its slow cooked lamb shoulder ragu and pecorino sardo. When I see slow cooked lamb on the menu, I'm expecting a meat that's extremely tender, with the flavours infused right in from all that time that's spent cooking. What we got instead was quite a bland pasta dish, where the pasta was a tad slimy and the lamb itself was quite stringy. And where, may I ask, is the pecorino?

Choc-nut fudge brownie, $5.80
We decided we needed a little bit of a pick me up after that mediocre-at-best lunch, so we headed next door to indulge in a piece of intensely rich fudgey brownie. That chocolate sauce cheered us right up!

So do let me know, do you try to save the day after a not so awesome meal by treating yourself to a little something extra afterwards?

Janus
L6 Westfield Sydney
188 Pitt Street
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 11:00am - 9:00pm (closed from 3:00 - 5:00pm)
Saturday - Sunday: 11:00am - 9:00pm

Janus on Urbanspoon

22 comments:

  1. O WOW!
    I love the pumpkin and haloumi salad and I absolutely would have finished with the chocolate brownie too!
    YUM!
    Gourmet Getaways

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    1. Roasted veggies and grilled haloumi in general is pretty yum! Can't go wrong with those two :)

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  2. been seeing this restaurant popping up a few branches around sydney cbd lately. shame that the pasta was bland though

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    1. I've noticed quite a few Janus's around in the city too though can't say I'd go back if the chance arose.

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  3. A shame about the disappointing meal. The salad did look promising, especially with those chunks of haloumi!

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    1. The haloumi itself was nice though! Hard to go wrong with cheese :D

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  4. I haven't seen this space since Spiedo... but I guess I'm not missing too much? A tough spot probably.

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    1. I really wanted to try Spiedo but unfortunately I didn't get to before they closed down :(

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  5. Interesting that the previous tenant (Spiedo), which did Italian, is replaced by another Italian restaurant! Hope this one fares better!

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    1. They do have multiple chains around the Sydney CBD so looks like they are! Can't say I was too impressed by their food though. Maybe it's better at their other restaurants?

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  6. We usually go to Xanthi when there and we love the free valet parking there on Sunday to Wednesdays. I don't know if I'm in a hurry to visit this place from your review though :) As you say there are a lot of good options. Hopefully the food improves.

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    1. I adore Xanthi too! And with all the other choices, I would much rather go and eat there as opposed to here again. I will have to make note of the free valet parking - thanks for the tip :D

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  7. What a shame the parpadelle was a disappointment. I'm glad the brownie made things a little better.
    Lovely to meet you over the weekend. Hope you enjoyed the high tea!

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    1. I'm glad I got to meet you last weekend too! The disappointing parpadelle makes me crave a good pasta now :P

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    2. I recommend panzerotti cafe on Margeret Street Cnr York, it is my favourite pasta place in the city. Reasonably priced too. Just open during working hours though. You won't regret it!

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    3. Thanks for the recommendation! I will really have to keep that in mind :D

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  8. This post makes me wish I worked in Sydney again! Aside from the disappointing parpadelle, you're so lucky to have it there. Sadly, when I worked in the city (and I'm going to show my age here) in the late 1980s to mid 90s all they had was ordinary take-away places. Though I have to say I used to buy delicious hearty homemade soups like potato and leek, pumpkin etc, almost every day in winter, for about $1.50 a cup and they were so warming. I also bought fresh sushi for $5 in summer that was made to order. I was so excited to see the new Westfield when we returned to Australia a couple of years ago - so used to shopping food courts of that quality in Asia but was pleasantly surprised to see them Down Under. You've made me hungry!

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    1. Oh wow fresh soups for only $1.50 a cup! You make me wish I was living in that time :D

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  9. Shame about the salad and pasta. The pasta looked like the best thing!

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    1. Both looked so good when they arrived at the table too! But upon closer inspection, the parpadelle was all stuck together as well :(

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  10. Shame the meal was disappointing. That pizza looks alright though. The base looks thin and crisp, just the way I like my pizza. And can't say no to a nice spicy chorizo either

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    1. The pizza was pretty good! Definitely the most enjoyable out of the entire meal :) And I agree - chorizo on pizza is simply delicious!

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