Meat & Wine Co. in Sydney: Trying Kangaroo Steak

2015-05-18 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Holiday Inn Potts Point

I woke up groggy this morning after my sleep was interrupted by some guy screaming outside last night. I get being drunk and excited, but I hope they understand my urge to track them down and beat them up. Still, if you're visiting from Korea on business, I think this is the best place to stay. It's surrounded by an entertainment district, making it easy to entertain your boss with plenty of places to drink and hang out. Unlike other areas, it's full of energy even at night. It's exactly the Korean style. Personally, I prefer peace and quiet and am perfectly happy drinking alone in my room as long as there's enough alcohol, so it's not that appealing to me.

City street view with an intersection crosswalk and a Fitness First building — Unlike the night, the morning is almost perfectly still.

Inside a fitness center where people are running on treadmills or exercising, seen through blue glass windows — I was looking out the window naked and got totally startled when I saw guys running on treadmills in the building right across from me, staring in my direction.

Display case filled with various types of pies and sandwiches — My hotel didn't include breakfast, so I went to the building right across the street to buy food. They had a lot of decent-looking sandwiches.

Toasted bacon and lettuce sandwich wrapped in paper packaging — My love, a bacon sandwich. The staff suddenly asked in English, "Would you like that toasted in the oven?" and I just blurted out "OK," but it turned out so much better.

Work!

Harbor with several yachts docked and an outdoor terrace on a cloudy day — A photo taken at the company where we had our meeting. The yachts might make it confusing, but this really was taken from the "office."

Heading to Darling Harbour

After 9 hours of babbling in broken English, showing people what I brought, and checking issues... ugh... just doing this leaves me drenched in sweat. On top of that, I had left something behind in Korea because I rushed out, but thank goodness Department Head Yang was sitting next to me and helped me get through it safely. I was completely drained and groaning as I got off work and started writing my report, but I was so hungry. Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten a proper meal in two days. Suddenly feeling a bit wronged, I called a timeout and went for a walk to Darling Harbour—a spot recommended by a coworker—to grab dinner.

I detoured a bit, but I roughly walked this route.

There was a reason I stubbornly walked the 30-minute distance. First, there are a lot of restaurants open late near Darling Harbour (though the catch is that where I'm staying, Kings Cross, sells food almost 24 hours a day), and second, it was highly recommended for having great food, so I chose it for dinner. Walking 30 minutes through an unfamiliar neighborhood might seem dangerous, but as you can see in the photos below, the night streets were as bright as those in Korea and there were plenty of people around, so I didn't feel in danger at all. In fact, since I was moving from one of Sydney's most notorious high-crime areas to a tourist spot, you could say I was evacuating to a safe zone.

People walking on a city sidewalk and street at night with streetlights and building lights on — The streets were brightly lit and crowded, so I wasn't really worried.

Exterior of a large, antique building with a dome roof shining brightly under night lights

Antique building entrance and shop windows with a sign that says Queen Victoria Building — The Queen Victoria Building in the middle of my walk.

Seeing the Queen Victoria Building and St Mary's Cathedral after sunset is so beautiful that it literally stops you in your tracks. On the way there, I only took pictures of the Queen Victoria Building. It's a shame the photo doesn't capture the full scale of the building. A single building takes up an entire large city block. But it's not just huge; as you can see in the picture, the lighting and the antique architecture blend together perfectly. Still, my goal right now was to eat, so I stopped there and kept moving toward dinner.

The LG IMAX I saw on the way, looking like the lighthouse of Darling Harbour.

Red directional sign pointing towards Darling Harbour and Sussex Street — Arrived at Darling Harbour.

Night view of the harbor showing brightly lit buildings and a Marina sign

Night view of the harbor and surrounding buildings with colorful lights reflecting on the water

People sitting or walking on a wooden deck path next to the water illuminated by purple lights

Two pink heart-shaped lights floating on the dark night sea waves — Honestly, when I just heard the name Darling Harbour, I didn't think much of it and assumed it was just a place name. But after arriving and seeing couples holding hands tightly and sweet items everywhere, the meaning of "Darling" finally hit me. It made me feel lonely for no reason, so I figured I should just go eat.

Meat & Wine Co

Before heading out, I Googled some good restaurants and surprisingly found a lot of blogs talking about kangaroo steak. I knew kangaroo was sold as an ingredient, but I didn't realize it was something you could eat as easily as beef or pork. My curiosity was fully piqued, so I went to "The Meat & Wine Co," which is a bit pricey but rumored to be the best place for kangaroo meat.

Dish of roasted potatoes and meat topped with plenty of thinly fried onions

Roasted meat, potatoes, and fried onions on a black plate — Kangaroo meat. It tastes like beef with all the fat removed.

Yellow cocktail in a martini glass garnished with a cinnamon stick — A cocktail I ordered because I wanted to dine elegantly despite being alone. I just ordered whatever, so I don't even remember the name.

Plate of meat, a cocktail glass, and a fork and knife on a wooden table — The meat was incredibly tough. I spent some alone time chewing the rubbery meat and taking pictures of my food.

Chef preparing food in a dimly lit restaurant kitchen — The chefs had a seriously intimidating presence.

I was really curious about what kangaroo tasted like, but it wasn't as good as I expected. There's almost no fat, just lean meat, so the texture is completely different from beef. I like the tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture of beef, but this was so tough I had to chew it forcefully like gum. When they asked how I wanted it cooked, I played it safe and said medium rare, but there's probably a better doneness that brings out the flavor. If I lived here, I'd try it a few times to find that sweet spot, but if I come back for a business trip or vacation, I'll probably just order a beef steak since I'd want to try other things too.

The Walk Back to Kings Cross

Sydney Tower seen behind a Darling Harbour Market Street sign on a night street — Sydney Tower.

Entrance to St James subway station and a park walkway lit by streetlights at night — People started to disappear from the streets.

Illuminated cathedral building at the end of a park path lit by streetlights at night

Gothic cathedral building shining under lights beyond a park lawn at night — I didn't want to take the same route back, so I returned to my hotel through Hyde Park. St Mary's Cathedral is up ahead.

Cathedral building with pointed spires seen behind an illuminated fountain and statues at night

Large trees lined up on both sides of a wide paved road brightly lit by streetlights — Walking back to the hotel through unfamiliar trees.

#Hard to call it a must-visit just for the taste #Maybe because it's a high-end restaurant #Beef is better than kangaroo #Beef and wine is the truth