Neptune palace: review

[baybers]

I thought that this might be the right place to slip in a restaurant review.

Neptune Palace
Circular Quay
Sydney (thats one in the eye for the rurals south of the border!!)
chinese & malaysian
Gateway Building
Level 1, Cnr Pitt & Alfred St
Circular Quay NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9241 3338

Neptune palace is remarkable and unusual for a place that serves halal meat. Its clean, in the center of town, nice to visit and not staffed by sullen middle eastern types who would rather cut off one's head then serve you lunch.

That said, it is run by non muslims and serves alcohol in abundance. Whether one trusts such an establishment to serve halal food is open to personal preference.

It goes without saying that one sits at a table, sitting on the floor is not an option. I'm sure the middle-management-cheap suit types who inhabit the place would fall of their perch if one were to take their lunch on the ground.

The chinese food is superb, astonishing, best that I've ever tasted (ie the only chinese food I've ever eaten). No wonder their civilization has endured for so long. I cannot remember what exactly I ordered which was several dishes , but I vaguely recall some lamb, chicken, beef, satays. The service is impeccable although one chappy quite rudely asked when my friend was coming to help me finish what I had ordered.

Neptune palace is not the sort of place one goes regularly, the price ensures that. Its not cheap, in-fact it is eye wateringly expensive. So expensive that receiving the bill often has digestive consequences. Lunch cost me $90. I often wonder how these australians remain alcoholic for so long, if the price of a meal is about $100 with only coca cola.

An essential part of the halalness of food and its baraka is related to how the establishment conducts itself morally. Does it waste food? does it feed the poor in its area. As it is run by non muslim people I'm not sure if they have ever thought of these things. But I would be very surprised if they had.

Neptune palace serves delicious chinese food fit only for an emperor or for a corporate hospitality account. I enjoyed it immensely but it lacked something of the naturalness that one feels when eating at a well run place of a brother muslim.

[baybers]

what do people think about this sort of thread? should there be more reviews of halal restaurants ?

Amir your quite the foodie.

[aussiemu]

assalamu alaikum

I've actually been wanting restaurant reviews because I know for myself I like hearing from other people how they found a place and how the food was. My favourite part of NY Times is actually the dining section and I used to read nearly every single review for the past two years (as sad as that may sound).

I think also when a restaurant is good its good to review it to send more Muslims there. The more we support good restaurants the more we can have more of them! Especially those that focus on cleanliness and good customer service.

[dijma]

Unfortunately I never understood nor do I appreciate the social satisfaction of eating out. Infact I find it quite uncomfortable. I guess its just another mild form of entertainment.

I rather eat at ease at home or at other more comfortable settings.

[baybers]

not at all

I'll only write about the ones that I like.

[baybers]

the point is that if i have reviewed it then one should take that I recommend it. If I have not reviewed a place then they should take their chances.

I am very happy for you to paste places that are horrible and are run by muslims. However Islamic adab would dictate that you should put your full name to it and inform the owners of your review and give them sometime to cleanup their act before publishing.

To do otherwise would compromise your duty of care to your brother muslim.

I do not hold the view that Islamic culture can be authentic if it is merely western culture with "Islamic " embroidery in the margins. We have certain responsibilities to our fellow muslim that AA Gill does not.


And anyway the reviews are also intended give muslims an idea of what good food they can eat around the world that is halal.

Most muslims do not eat halal meat. The reviews are therefore partly to promote halal eating.

I am looking forward to you casting a critical gaze over some rat infested establishment and publishing your findings.

[muslimsistar]

The brother who owns "Pamir" restaurant/take away feeds approximately four poor people a day, I hear. Mashallah.

The Morrocan Soup Bar won best restaurant (or something of that sort). They don't sell meat there, but I don't know if the owner is a Muslim, I think she might be...she knew the word 'haram'. :D

[aussiemu]

Does the Moroccon Soup Bar have take away? Two of my friends go there and I remember they really liked it.

[SuBMiSSioN]

The Morrocan Soup Bar won best restaurant (or something of that sort). They don't sell meat there, but I don't know if the owner is a Muslim, I think she might be...she knew the word 'haram'.

The owners are Muslim, Alhumdulilaah. My friend's aunt owns the shop..

[muslimsistar]

La Paella
By Matt Preston
April 5, 2005

Where: La Paella, 217 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9380 6955.
Prices: Entrees, $5-$11.50; mains, $17.50-$19.90; paella $22.50pp
Cards: BC MC V Eftpos
Open: Tues-Sun, 9am-11pm
Unlicensed

Are amateur triathletes really aliens? Certainly they seem to think differently from the rest of us.

I don't know about you, but I have never in my life turned down a dinner date because I was in training, or refused to bath the kids because I had a 50 kilometre ride to do.

Tempting though the prospect might be to slip into figure-hugging bike shorts and swap family hell-hour for an evening of slicing up my thigh muscles with tiny lactic acid crystals.

Still at least there is one thing that me and my triathlete mates can agree on, and that's the subject of carb loading.

They embrace it as a way to store extra energy.

For me, and the dining partner I eventually find, it's more like thumbing our noses at Dr Atkins.

And where better to carb-load than at a restaurant like La Paella.

A long-running Brunswick feature, La Paella passed into the hands of new owners seven years ago and subsequently the menu has drifted a little over to the other side of the Straits of Gibraltar.

Influences on the compact menu are from Spain, Morocco and Planet Weird - OK, so chef Adbul Fadil calls that New Moroccan.

Ginger chicken with banana and pineapple, anyone? We choose something Moroccan and something Spanish.

First, a beef tagine with a little terracotta bowl of couscous. The meat, which peels apart easily, has been cooked with prunes, a handful of almonds and some sesame seeds.

Its gravy is sweet and meaty and wonderful spooned over the little grains of steamed semolina.

The next dish we've ordered comes with a 45-minute wait. That's always a good sign when you order a paella.

When this one arrives it's good. Fat golden grains stained from saffron and tasting richly of well-integrated chicken stock (they don't use any wine because this is a halal restaurant), little crusty green peas and across the top a rumble of seafood, including wide strands of calamari, clams and blushing mussels in the shell.

There are earthy hunks of brown chook meat on the bone and a few prawns.

It's a lot of protein and rice for two. To drink, we sip some of their shakes, which marry flavours like almond, cinnamon, orange blossom water and apple in a surprisingly refreshing manner, although they might be a little too perfumed for some.

The decor continues the collision of Africa and Europe.

Bare brick walls are now covered with tagines and intricate ceramics for sale, alongside the more predictable tourist bullfight posters and paintings of coyly flirtatious flamenco dancers.

The front wall of windows opens to the street from a welcoming cavern of a room lined with cushion-strewn banquettes and lit by cart-wheel chandeliers.

It's an easy place to linger. And linger we do, until we are the last pair there and move to a pavement table to drink sweet, mint tea from ornate glasses and pick at some little squares of orange blossom and semolina cake.

Full bellies, family-style service and the knowledge there's no 10-kilometre training run beckoning at 6am tomorrow make this a perfect end to a good meal.

Found a great spot you'd like to share?
Tell Matt Preston at mpreston@bigpond.net.au
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Reviews/La-Paella/2005/04/04/1112489393005.html

[Sunshine]

Any places with seperate rooms??

[aussiemu]

What is a seperate room?

[aussiemu]

Would they be suitable for a niqabi (meaning is it properly closed off so people cant see in)? And does it cost extra to hire it? I like how the restuarants here have the seperate booth/room things and so you can eat in privacy.

[Sunshine]

Masha'Allah i know Nila i ahve passed it alot, Insha'Allah thats a good start.... I heard that the city one needs a fair amount of ching ching $$$$$$$$