Himalayan Char Grill, Crows Nest

I seem to be a spree. A reader recommendation spree in fact. I treasure each and every reader I have and when they take the time out to recommend a place to eat to me I take it seriously. When I was recommended the Himalayan Char Grill from reader Audrey after posting about a particularly good Lamb Shank at Fort Denison, I put it in the moleskine. My trusty, reliable little black book not full of phone numbers of the opposite sex but phone numbers and addresses of restaurants I want to visit.

It's housed inside a small, brightly lit shopping centre and on this Sunday night we take our seat and peruse the menu with M and the boys. We know the Lamb Shanks are a no brainer - on the menu there are two lots of Lamb Shanks: a single shank with potatoes (Aloo Shank) for $15.90 and a double serve of Lamb Shanks without potatoes for $23.90. Goat curry is also a must have as others haven't tried it. We also try the Wagyu beef and some chicken wings and order some roti along with rice to help soak up all of that meaty goodness.

Starting off with mango lassis, they're thick but not particularly mangoey. They pour these from premade lassi bottles in the fridge into a glass packed with ice.

The chef's speciality, the Wagyu beef arrives on top of delicious cumin spiced potatoes. The beef is lightly pink in the centre and cut into strips and is deliciously char grilled and soft and tender. I could imagine eating the whole thing for my main and being very happy.

The chicken wings arrive and they're said to be coated in a chickpea batter and then deep fried. They taste like regular fried chicken wings from a takeaway shop - not that that's a terrible thing but there's nothing particularly Himalayan tasting or unusual about them.

The usually vegetarian S comes around and eagery spoons some onto his plate whilst the meat loving In is a little more reticent. The goat curry is delicious and aromatic and full flavoured with the meat being incredibly soft.

The lamb shanks arrive as two meaty shanks covered in a rich, tomato based gravy. They fall off the bone and are sweet and deliciously meaty and are as good as you'd ever want a shank to be. And when I think no-one is looking, I pick up the bone and start nibbling at it - it simply begs to be nibbled on. There's no delicate way to nibble on one of those gigantic shank bones and at that moment the waiter comes up to our table and asks how everything is and laughs when he sees me grappling with the dinosour sized bone.

The roti here is similar tasting to Naan rather than a Malaysian roti but it's thinner than a regular Indian naan. Still, it does a great job of soaking up the delicious sauces.

We discuss where to buy goat meat whilst chewing on the Minties that come with the bill. We leave and walk past their grocery store next door where we spy a sign that advertises "Goat Meat". Question asked and answered!

So tell me Dear Reader, what is the most unsual food you've ever eaten? :)

And because it's Hump Day that means it's Wallpaper Wednesday! Today's wallpaper features a Winter favourite: Chestnuts!