Video Blog

Hey guys just a quick video to show you what we get up to on the weekends :D

Mancini’s Ristorante Italiano

Mancini’s Italian Restaurant (located in Belfield) is a gourmet woodfired pizza and pasta restaurant. From experience it is a great place for dining because of its great quality food, service and value. If you want a ‘taste of Italy’, then Mancini’s will cater to your appetite, with an extensive range of pizza and pasta dishes, seafood and desserts.

I found the staff very friendly and found you could chat to them about almost anything. Most of them are from Italy which adds to the experience. There is not much of a delay preparing the food, so don’t have to wait a long time after you order to eat your meal.

The value is reasonable, but it’s not cheap either. It’s probably worth what you get. I would definitely recommend Mancini’s if you’re curious about tasting Italian food or just love pizza and pasta. Mancini’s also do take away, delivery, functions and catering. Bon appétit – oh wait that’s French.

The Island Bar - Cockatoo Island

For those feeling like an adventure I visited the Island Bar on Cockatoo Island recently. It is located in the middle of the harbour on Cockatoo Island and is accessible by either ferry, water taxi or private vessel. It is a really interesting evening out (sadly it closes quite early due to the difficulty in getting there), and with the warmer night's we have been having in Sydney recently, the night is sure to be a great one. Decorated with deck chairs, sun umbrellas and palm trees, the bar looks like a little oasis from the hustle and bustle of the city which incidentally, it is! The bar staff are knowledgeable, attentive and always have a great suggestion for a drink. Live music is played in the evenings and the food available, a range of tapas, is high quality. One drawback you will have to note is organisation! You have to be aware of when the last ferry leaves, or how to book water taxi's so that getting to and from the bar isn't a pain! Overall an amazing night, a good place to start out an evening and then head into the city afterward perhaps!

Shelbourne Hotel

Shelbourne Hotel (Linq Bar)

I recently attended an event at the Shelbourne Hotel on Sussex St in the city. The venue is a multi-level venue with a gaming lounge on the bottom floor, public bar on the 2nd floor with dancefloor, and 2 private function areas on the top 2 floors. At the function we had a range of canape's and finger food brought around to us, most of this being the usual deep fried dumplings, spring rolls, salt and pepper squid, etc. While this was quite a basic spread it was all high quality and tasted great! Ordering a drink did seem to take forever though, and even though the bar was not busy all night the staff did not seem capable of handling a bar more than 1 deep. The music we had downstairs on the public bar was a mix of hip hop and old house tracks, and this drew in quite an older crowd, a mix of corporates and mid 20 yr olds. Overall a good night, but not one that has me raving about the Shelbourne!

Zone 3 Laser Tag Caringbah

Zone 3 is a laser tag game facility where the aim is to ‘shoot’ your opponents - it’s almost like paintball without the paint (and pain). It is played in one of their large multi-level arenas which contain walls, music, fog and lighting effects.

If you do not know the rules or how to use the provided equipment, you will be given a full briefing and safety instructions before games start. There will always be a staff member in the arena as well. Your results will be given to you at the conclusion of a game. It can be played individually or you can play as part of a team. Pricing is quite expensive (one game will cost you $13.50 per person), however there are group discounts if you’re playing with at least 12 people. Membership will also save you 20% on prices.

If you plan on going, make sure you wear enclosed shoes!

Marco Polo

Marco Polo is an event in it's 2nd year at the Ivy Pool in the city. It is a Sunday event which starts at around 2pm but extends all the way into the night. With international headlining DJs, such as Tommie Sunshine and Gigamesh last week, every week it always guarantee's a great night out. The venue always has a great crowd and vibe all night long however one drawback is the cost of entrance and drink's prices, with entry being between $15-$25 each week and basic drinks starting out at $9.50. The pool level always has huge big house and disco music pumping with the Change room (the level below) always having great hip hop, RnB and heavier house tracks so all tastes in music can be tended to! Finally it is one of the only Sunday events on in Sydney that has become worth attending, the only other possible exception which will launch this weekend being Sounds (at Greenwood).

Bankstown RSL Star Buffet

Bankstown RSL Star Buffet is a popular all-you-can-eat restaurant. It features a varied selection of both Asian and western food, catering to everybody. It really does give an expansive menu with seafood, pasta, soup, meats, salads and desserts with the aim of having as many people as possible enjoying their meals.

Whether it is a lunch or dinner, the prices are not too expensive either. For adults, the buffet will cost between $15.30 and $21.80 for lunches (depending what day of the week you go) and between $21.80 and $24.30 for dinners (depending what day of the week you go).

Although it is a popular place for families, it is also a great place to go with a group of friends for a night out. I would recommend booking before-hand though, as it can get quite busy. If you haven’t tried a buffet before, want to try something new or love big servings, then you will enjoy Bankstown RSL Star Buffet.

Takumi

Sometimes I like to eat dinner with my friend in Takumi; it is a Japanese round sushi restaurant. 

 It is cheap; one plate you just need cost $3.00. But even better, for students, if you have student ID, then you will just need to pay $2.50 per plate, yes, any things you want in plate is the same price. This restaurant is located inside the Market City shopping centre in level 3 where contains cinema, retail shops and the Paddi’s market. There are 48 seats inside and its trading hours is open 7days lunch and dinner. You maybe just need to spend $20 per each person that is enough for a good dinner in Takumi. I always like to eat there with my friends which the reason is it is cheap. Compare with other sushi restaurant, we may spend more than $30 per person to eat the sushi and still not enough full.

Strike Bowling

Strike Bowling is a great night out if you are looking for a reasonably relaxed and casual night, it has 3 locations across the city and north shore and is open till between 12 midnight and 2am depending on the day of the week. I visited the Chatswood location on a Thursday night and was surprised by the variety of things to do there, from bowling to karaoke to pool and even laser tag. As it was a Thursday night there was also $5 drinks all night and a cheap unlimited deal for bowling and laser tag. One drawback was that it was incredibly busy on this Thursday with several hundred people in the venue, making it hard to get a drink or a lane if you were looking to bowl.

I was told that there are other deals on many other nights of the week and you just have to ask or check out Strike's facebook page to see what is going on.

Event Cinemas Burwood

Event Cinemas Burwood is a popular venue for movie go-ers in Inner-West Sydney. Located in Westfield Burwood near an abundance of shops and restaurants, it is an ideal to catch that movie which you're dying to see with your friends. Personally I found the cinema theaters to be well cleaned with high quality sound and video. The lighting was appropriate and the combination of all these elements meant that I enjoyed my movie experience with my friends. It supposedly provides the "world's latest" 3D technology, and although it does not appeal greatly to me, it is quite impressive. It facilitates for private movie screenings too though they will cost you significantly more per session.


The only criticism I found was its pricing which was quite expensive. For students, it will cost more than other local cinemas (such as Reading Cinemas). This is particularly true if you choose to watch movies in 3D in the Vmax cinema (which provides bigger seats, a larger screen and more sound) - students may have to pay up to $25 for a session.

Candys apartment

Candys apartment is Sydney’s longest-standing club, it is a amazing place to have fun with people. It is attractive clubbing spot for students because there is cheaper for drink than its neighbor Soho. It is a place that you can enjoy the music, party, dance, meeting new people and the staff are pretty good and fast in pouring drinks. The Candys apartment is located in the hub of sydney’s nightclub precinct, on Bayswater Road, Kings Cross.

 In Candys apartment, the music that was danceable was fairly limited and the ratio of guys to girl was drastically uneven; it is very slim to have chances of picking up for guys. There are always have some party and you can joy in to have fun. To be a guestlist, Candy’s requires you to email them without beforehand how much it will cost, or what tome you will need to get there for it.

Chelsea Hotel

Chelsea Hotel is another nightspot located close to Chatswood station which I visit a lot as it is close for me. This bar is open every day from around midday until 12 or 1 at night. From Monday to Friday they have happy hour cheap drinks from 4 - 6pm, and all weekend tap beer and house spirits are only $5. As well as this, on Monday they have trivia from 7 – 9, which is good fun to join in on, but if you aren’t interested, I would recommend sticking to the lower level bar as it is loud and uses up the whole upper level.

As well as the bar, the Chelsea has a large range of decently priced good meals available until late, either to eat just in the bar or in the attached restaurant area. It is also possible to book any section of the bar or restaurant exclusively for functions and parties. I have been to a few 21st birthdays at Chelsea and the combination of their catering and a bar tab within the fun environment always promises a good time.