22 August 2009

Had to Happen, North Sydney, and all-you-can-eat fajitas!

One Saturday night in August, a large group of people clad in pink for Fi's pink-themed birthday turned up at Had to Happen in North Sydney, with empty bellies ready for a Mexican feast! An all-you-can-eat fajitas feast as well! And who should I bump into there but FFichiban from Here Comes The Food who was more than ready to participate in said Mexican feast ;)


Chile con Queso: Melted cheese dip with a rich tomato flavour (house specialty) - $10.80 or included in the $28 party menu

We arrive to a very colourful room complete with faux cacti and sombreros, and friendly waitstaff who take drink orders and orders from people not participating in the all-you-can-eat fajitas. Whilst we wait for everyone to arrive, we snack on Chile con Queso - a house specialty dip made of melted cheese with tomato flavour.


Enchiladas Rancheras: Corn tortillas wrapped around shredded chicken, smothered in red sauce, garnished with sour cream and cheese - $18.90

Now, let me tell you that it is an extremely rare occasion that I pass up the opportunity to an all-you-can-eat offer. But tonight was that rare occasion since I just simply wasn't that hungry and fancied trying something other than fajitas. So instead I decide to order the Enchiladas Rancheras, which is creamy and delicious with the sour cream. It comes with a side of rice and vegetables and I'm usually a bit wary of Western-style rice but this time it is soft and light and cooked perfectly.


Ultimate Nachos: Layered frijole, chicken breast, chilli con carne, salsa, jalapenos and topped with sour cream and guacamole - $16.80


Sir D shares the enchiladas with me and also orders Ultimate Nachos to share. This was actually quite disappointing seeing as their specialties include nachos - the frijole, chicken and chilli con carne dip under the corn chips is quite dry, and there is also a lack of melted cheese which is disappointing for Sir D who was hoping for the stringy cheese as he pulled a corn chip away from the masses! We end up leaving most of this behind and tasting some of the fajitas instead =D


Tortillas


Cold fillings for fajitas: (clockwise from bottom) frijole, guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce, grated cheese and some sort of ground nuts? Salsa in centre


BBQ strips of chicken and beef for fajitas


A sizzling platter of meat accompanies the tortillas and other cold fillings for the fajitas and I particularly enjoy the chicken which is tender and has a nice smoky flavour. You can continue requesting for as much meat, cold fillings and tortillas until your stomach is content, and while most people were full after ordering 2nds or 3rds, FFichiban and his fellow fajita feasters (each platter is for 4) ordered 5 plates of meat I think! Nice work!


Everyone was stuffed to the brim and very satisfied, when the people at Had to Happen were lovely and presented the birthday girl with a complimentary crème brûlée and ice cream. Happy birthday Fi!

Had to Happen
107 Walker Street
North Sydney NSW
Ph: +61 (02) 99226590
Lunch: Thursday and Friday, from noon
Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday, 6pm til late

View Larger Map
Had To Happen on Urbanspoon
at
Labels: , , , ,

13 comments:

  1. Anonymous23 August 2009 at 13:05

    Hee hee that was a pleasant surprise but sorry we didn't get to talk haha! Maybe we can get a fooding outing happening sometime hee hee ^^!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella23 August 2009 at 14:04

    Looks like lots of fun and how funny that you bumped into Ffichiban! We used to go here when I worked in North Sydney and it was good and reliable :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jacq @ Penguin says Feed Me!24 August 2009 at 00:26

    Hi FFichiban - It was good to meet you! A fooding outing sounds fantastic haha

    Hi Lorraine - It's a pretty good place for a big group, especially with the fajitas. Good to know that they're consistent with their food =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Betty @ The Hungry Girl24 August 2009 at 11:16

    It looks like a fun night out for a big group! Can't go wrong with all-you-can-eat fajitas!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous24 August 2009 at 17:34

    Booo my photos are so fail... shoulda flashed like u haha

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jacq @ Penguin says Feed Me!25 August 2009 at 00:08

    Hi Betty - Thanks for the comment! It was a pretty good place to have a birthday celebration and everyone loves an all-you-can-eat deal =D

    Hi FFichiban - I thought you were using flash! I don't usually like to use flash in restaurants and stuff but I figured Fi was taking photos with flash so I might as well use it too hehe

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fefifofum25 August 2009 at 22:47

    Oh wow!!! I get a mention in your blog!
    Yes I agree to the non use of flash. Flash makes everything all white and yukky. But in this restaurant it was sadly necessary. A bit too dark. Props to FFichiban for eating all those fajitas!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jacq @ Penguin says Feed Me!26 August 2009 at 11:46

    Hi Fefifofum - Of course you get a mention... It was your birthday! I was also super impressed at FFichiban's fajita eating ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. shez26 August 2009 at 16:04

    How nice of them to let you do part-all you can eat and part a la carte! Most places put the kibosh on that idea fairly quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jacq @ Penguin says Feed Me!26 August 2009 at 19:35

    Hi shez - Thanks for the comment =) I was pretty surprised that they didn't force us all to order the special party menu as well!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yas @ hungry.digital.elf.31 August 2009 at 02:09

    Woohoo great coverage!
    I'm debating myself if I should go this place or flying fajita sistas for my mexican craving. Seems like this is definitely a great place for large number of people :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jacq @ Penguin says Feed Me!31 August 2009 at 18:31

    Hi Yas - Thanks! I haven't been to Flying Fajita Sistas so I can't tell you which is better but Had To Happen is pretty good for big groups because they don't seem to get too busy... which means more waiter attention for your group!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fefifofum31 August 2009 at 22:31

    Hi Yas,

    I've been to the Flying Fajita Sistas. It's pretty small so if you have a big group you most likely won't fit. You must book there though cos it's very busy all the time. Price of food is similar to Had to Happen but they don't have all you can eat fajitas. I personally prefer to build my own fajita wheras at Flying Fajita sisters they're ready made.

    Hope that helps!

    Anyways, Penguin, you make me feel FAMOUS!!! LOL! Well... famous by association =)

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)