Rocksia Hotel Bistro, Arncliffe

My sister will be leaving to teach English in Japan under the JET Program very soon, so she's been wanting to go to the food places she has had fond memories of before leaving. Rocksia was one of them because she went there once before with her colleagues when she still worked at Hurstville and she said their portions were really generous and it tasted good and off we went! 

Located at 299 Princes Hwy, Arncliffe, Rocksia Bistro had plenty of seating for lunch on a weekend with relatively quick service. It has a nice lively atmosphere perfect for a relaxing lunch with a friend or the whole family with your kids. However, contrary to my sister's memories of long ago, it seems that the food has become rather disappointing.

Ribs w/ chicken wings drenched in BBQ sauce + chips and salad

My sister's boyfriend ordered this and although the sauce was pretty nice, the ribs and the chicken wings were simply too dry. The chicken wings were the better part of the deal since they weren't as dry as the ribs but still wasn't up to par for being succulent at all. As for the ribs, they were extremely boney lacking greatly in the meat area and also extremely dry to the point of being crunchy dry. My sister was really sad about this one since she said these used to be really good and a great value for money.

BBQ Chicken Pizza ($18)

Mexican Spiced Chicken, Streaky Bacon, Green Capsicum, Mozzarella, House BBQ Sauce

Pizza was quite average in taste, I liked it but the crust was quite burnt as you can see which made it have a really strong burnt taste so I just skipped the burnt crust. Pizza was also surprisingly smaller than I thought considering the price. Not very family friendly in that area!

Lamb Shanks in Red Wine and Rosemary

The only complaint my sister had with this one was the smaller portion but I guess it's relatively decent if she didn't have expectations of the old. Sauce is not one I'm fond of since it's quite sour but my sister said that's how it should taste like so I guess the sauce is still as good! I'm just not a fan of it haha. I don't like sour food very much. Oh, on another note, the chips are good! Fresh, crunchy and soft on the inside and they're pretty big! Thumbs up!

Overall, restaurants can really change in a few years and I guess this was one that didn't keep up to the good reviews my sister had of it once before. It's not a very convenient place for me to get to as well so very unlikely I'd come back but I do think this place is better enjoyed for the atmosphere of a nice break and soothing relaxation time with the kids or just a casual lunch or dinner. Just don't order the ribs loll.