On the second night of my trip to Sydney with Scoot, we were hosted at The Star for dinner at Balla Restaurant, followed by a musical performance of An Official and A Gentleman at Sydney Lyrics Theatre.

Balla Restaurant @ The Star

The Star Sydney Casino & Hotel in Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia. This is my second time visiting and dining at the delightful Balla Restaurant.  You can read my previous review here. 

I enjoyed the food at Balla this time round too:

The menu for the day

Their delicious bread which I ate a whole lot of the previous visit

Prosciutto di Parma e Grana Padano – Parma ham with Grana Padano chunk

Polpo con patate – slow cooked octopus with potato

Giardiniera di stagione e olive – seasonal pickled vegetables and marinated olives

Grappa d’agnello con radicchio e barbabietole – wood-grilled lamb rump with pickled radicchio and beetroot

Tonno, fagioli e cipolle – wood-grilled tuna, borlotti beans and balsamic onions

Gnocchi di papate con pomodoro e mozzarella di bufala – potato gnocchi with fresh tomato, basil and bufalo mozzarella

My order of lemonade

I love the tuna steak which I ordered for my main course. The texture is really tender and practically melts in your mouth as you chew. It is a pity I have to gobble it up quickly as we had to rush through dinner to make it for the musicial performance of An Official and A Gentleman:

The musical had its worldwide premiere at Sydney Lyrics Theatre at The Star:

Based on the 1982 Academy-award winning movie of the same title, the musical was adapted for the stage by original screenwriter Douglas Day Stewart with Sharleen Cooper Cohen. The story follows working class heroes, Zack Mayo and Paula Pokrifki, as they overcome their upbringing and personal obstacles to achieve their dreams.

Gift shop selling An Officer and a Gentleman souvenirs

I have not seen the original movie, but watching the musical makes me want to catch it!

The storyline follows a cheesy boy-meets-girl all-American romance narrative with a happy ending – perfect for a  big-budget musical. Moreover, there is the sappy “Up Where We Belong” love duet by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes to induce tears:

While this musical has ended its run, Sydney Lyrics Theatre at The Star offers many other musical and theatre productions. Do check out their website for the latest update. 

Stay tuned for my next update as we head to Illawarra, Wollongong on the third day for a full day trip.

Read my other Sydney with Scoot blog posts:

Wild Life Sydney and Madame Tussauds Sydney at Darling Harbour

Sydney Harbour Bridge BridgeClimb and Lunch at Otto Ristorante

Opera House Tour and Dinner at Cruise Restaurant

Quarter Twenty One Cooking Class

Scooting to Sydney with HTC One X on Instagram

New Singapore Low-Cost Carrier Scoot launched its Worldwide Inaugural Flight from Singapore to Sydney

Alvinology is Going On Scoot’s Inaugural Flight to Sydney, Australia!