Joshua Edwards' mind was firmly on his stomach when he appeared in Port Kembla Local Court to be sentenced for shoplifting a bottle a vodka from a Woonona liquor store earlier this year.

As magistrate Michael Stoddart carefully considered a fair penalty for the 20-year-old, who was in custody on an unrelated matter, Edwards made an impatient request.

"Can you just hurry it up, I want to get back to my lunch," he said.

Magistrate Stoddart complied, immediately fining Edwards $500.

While exactly what menu item had Edwards salivating on Wednesday remains a mystery, it was vodka that took his fancy on March 3.

He and another man entered the Woonona Liquorland store just after 5pm that evening, each grabbing a one-litre bottle from a Smirnoff display stand.

A witness spotted the men running from the store and noticed the bottles still had security caps in place.

The man spoke to the store manager and a short time later, while driving nearby, he again saw the pair and took a photo with his phone.

While patrolling the area, police discovered the men near Woonona Beach, but when the pair caught sight of the officers they took off running, stripping their shirts off and tossing them in nearby scrub before heading south.

Officers later retrieved two shirts and two bottles of vodka from the bushes.

After identifying the men from store CCTV footage, police on patrol about 8.20pm spotted them outside a Rothery Street address.

Edwards was wearing the same distinctive red and grey shorts, and sporting the same black bum bag as seen in the footage.

He pleaded guilty to one count of shoplifting on Wednesday and was fined $500.