Sweet as Plum: Restaurant Review: Pony Lounge & Dining, The Rocks

Just yesterday I celebrated my 30th birthday. I was not looking forward to celebrating this milestone, but a few things happened to me during the week leading up to it, which made me a bit happier to turn the big 3-0. The first was being presented with a letter on New Years Eve by my 2 sisters, Lisa & Kristen and good friend Courtney that on Saturday night they would be surprising me and the only information I was given was to pack an overnight bag, bring something dressy to wear, party feet and my ID (in case they didn't realise I was nearly 30 ;-)). The second was buying a brand new car, the third was starting this blog and the last was finally getting off my P plates, and getting my full license (I was a late starter on the driving front).

The surprise turned out to be a night at Rydges in North Sydney, dinner at Pony in the rocks, and a night out dancing with a few surprise guests.

Dinner at Pony was amazing, so I thought I would share some pictures with you. Oh and we saw Angela Lansbury who is Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote, and the voice of Mrs Potts in Beauty & the Beast (among other things) which just added to our excitement for the night! Sorry the pictures are a bit poor, it was pretty dark.

Steamed edamame, murray river pink salt $4.10

The girls kicked things off with a bottle of wine, they decided on the 2010 Entourage Estate Shiraz from the Barossa Valley ($55). Me being a non-wine drinker stuck with a vodka cranberry ($10).

Sydney rock oyster, lemon and vinegar condiments $3.80 each

We began the meal by sharing some entrees or 'small plates' as they call them. Lisa, Courtney and I started with the edamame, but Kristen being an oyster lover decided she wanted to try out their oysters and so ordered 2 for herself. I had a taste of the vinaigrette that was served with the oysters and it was delicious!

All of their small plates sounded great, so we ordered 4 more of them:

Clockwise from top left: Grilled chorizo, tomato and chilli jam, coriander $9.80,

Citrus cured salmon, cucumber, dill and avocado salad $13.50, Baked tartlet, balsamic onions, goats cheese, watercress, celery $12.40, Duck liver parfait, sourdough, red onion and currant chutney $13.50

I'm a great lover of goats cheese, so my favourite was probably the tartlet, but they were all fantastic from the smoky spice of the chorizo, the gamey parfait slathered onto toasted sourdough bread and the fabulously light cured salmon.

Chicken is not something that I order very often in restaurants, I tend to go more for lamb or beef, but the description of the chicken dish really caught my eye. We all ordered different mains as well as sides of leaf salad and chips.

'Thirlmere' chicken breast, wilted greens, pancetta, salsa verde $34.00

'Mirrool Creek' lamb rump, kipfler potatoes, tomato jam, olives, aioli $36

Risotto of king prawns, shellfish nage, tomato, chives and parmesan $29.50

Linguine with sauteed zucchini, chilli, basil, green olives and ricotta $24

My chicken was lovely, very tender and full of flavour and the salsa verde accompanied it really nicely. I also tried the lamb, and it was beautifully tender. All of us were very happy in our choice of mains.

Purely for the sake of the blog to give a well rounded impression, I had to try dessert so Kristen and I shared the Creme Brulee, the sugar on top had a nice crack to it when we smashed out spoons through and the berries and biscotti accompanied it really well.