Also, having a bit of a competitive streak, I wanted to see who could make better-looking sushi (despite knowing fairly well who’s the more adept cook).

It took a while to get into gear to book in the class, as there was always something cropping up, but every time I tried, the class was always booked out! Finally, I managed to secure a date… way out in August.

Waiting for class to begin

(...)
Read the rest of Sushi Class, Surry Hills (935 words)

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Post tags: Seafood

Happy Belated Independence Day!

Yes I know it was back in July and now it’s August. Independence Day in the US reminded me of how we spend Australia Day. It started off with a breakfast of homemade margaritas (with my new blender), sitting on the rooftop with my feet burning on the hot roof, beer and rice paper roll lunch then a night of burgers, cheese, wine and fireworks! As you see in the photo above, it feels like NYE in Sydney.

So for the past few months, I have been hard at work eating my heart out. Luckily I don’t own scales so I cannot say whether my body size has been affected by this, but I’m pretty sure it has. That’s one thing to watch out in NYC… the heaviness of the food!

Happy Independence Day!

(...)
Read the rest of Hello from NYC #2 – My Food Trail (1,898 words)

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Post tags: Hello from NYC, Momofuku

Unlike me, they both were dutiful and timely bloggers and have already posted up their take on Kansai. My bad – I actually have no excuse really and it’s all really a bit of a mystery why this hasn’t gone up earlier.

Kansai offers an all-you-can-eat dinner for $28 per person (excludes hotpot and sashimi, or $18 for kids) or $38 per person (includes hotpot and sashimi, or $28 for kids). We figured with such an extensive menu, we could do without the hotpot and sashimi and opted for the $28 all-you-can-eat.

Agedashi Tofu

The agedashi tofu wasn’t too bad, being a bit more firm than expect and slightly chewy, but the sauce saved it.

Gyoza

I had to laugh when I saw the gyoza, as it reminded me of my shock on seeing just how big the Korean dumplings I had at CeCe’s were; these gyozas were a lot bigger than I’m used to seeing… and more deep-fried. Though I can’t complain, they were crisp and tasted quite decent.

Salmon Skin Roll (Grilled Salmon Skin and Cream Cheese); Volcano Roll (Crabmeat, Cucumber and Avocado filling topped with Baked Salmon, Tobiko, Spicy Sauce and Mayonnaise)

I have a bit of a love-hate thing with salmon skin: I love the crispy texture, but its slight fishiness puts me off a bit. However, the addition of cream cheese pushes me more towards liking it, as I think it helps cuts through the fishy flavour.

My worry that the volcano roll would be a bit too spicy for me was unfounded as the “spicy sauce” was merely a mild sweet chilli sauce. While I rejoiced, Ffichiban lamented on the (almost non-existent) heat. Though to be honest, with such a name, one would expect to see an explosion of flavour or heat, so I can see where he’s coming from. I really enjoyed its creaminess and crunchiness topped off a hint of spiciness (for me anyway, I don’t think the guys even experienced any heat! Haha).

Chicken Karaage

When Ffichiban ordered the karaage, he chortled at Ninja’s obvious discomfort and I hoped Ninja wouldn’t cave into the temptation of chowing down these crispy morsels. I felt slightly bad for eating them, but they were rather good and I couldn’t help but assist Ffichiban in polishing them off.

Yakitori

The guys absolutely adored this dish and ordered it several times! I can’t say that I was immune to its deliciousness and suspect that its addictive nature lies in that amazing yakitori sauce liberally drenching succulent chicken pieces.

Soft Shell Crab, Scallop Tempura and Spicy Tuna Handroll

Salmon Roe, Scallops, Scampi and Salmon Sushi

The handrolls and sushi seemed to have more rice than filling and the fillings we had weren’t too bad, but it also wasn’t that great either. I think subconsciously, we all moved onto better things on the menu. Except for the scampi, that is; the guys seemed to be really taken with it and was the only sushi that was re-ordered.

Tonkatsu

Deep-fried, crispy, succulent pork – I don’t think you just can go wrong with Tonkatsu! And I think to make up for not being able to eat the kaarage, Ninja ate this with gusto.

Dragon Roll (Avocado and Deep Fried Prawn Filling with Eel, Tobiko and Kansai Eel Sauce) and Rainbow Roll (Crabmeat, Cucumber and Avocado filling topped with Seasonal Sashimi)

Contrary to Ninja’s description of my reaction to both dishes when I first clapped eyes on them, I did not squeal – I oooh’ed. With such colour and decorativeness, you can’t help but appreciate! Both were really delicious and I wished I had a bigger stomach… or four to fit more of them in.

Italian Roll (Crabmeat, Cucumber and Avocado filling topped with grilled Mozzerella Cheese, Spicy Sauce and Mayonnaise) and Salmon Skin Roll (Grilled Salmon Skin and Cream Cheese)

The Italian roll was something I haven’t seen before and glad that I didn’t have to beg the guys to order it. They seemed a bit hesitant because it sounded so strange, but that was the very reason why I wanted to try it!

The grilled cheese really added a different dimension to the roll in a very scrumptious way, as well as the roll being wholly warm. We all wanted to order another Italian roll, but by this stage, I think we were completely and utterly stuffed.

Putting aside that I find it odd that there is a restaurant open at night in the Hunter Connection (right by the escalator heading towards Hunter Street) when everything else is closed, it is definitely a “cheap and cheerful” place with friendly and quite attentive staff. The food comes out with little delay and while the quality varied with each dish, I thought there were more hits than misses. I think if I ever feel the need for all-you-can-eat sushi, I’ll be sure to come back.

Rolling out the door, and despite how full we were feeling, we went looking for a place to have dessert. Deciding against Lindt at Cockle Bay for its distance, we found ourselves at Max Brenner located in the Metcentre just around the corner from Kansai.

Dark and Milk Italian Thick Hot Chocolate ($6)

The chilly night made me yearn for something hot and also wanting something sweet after dinner, the Italian thick hot chocolate really hit the spot. Ffichiban told me that he likes getting the dark version over the milk because the milk tend to get overly sweet after a while. I thought I’d get the milk hot chocolate anyway as I prefer milk to dark chocolate (blasphemy I know to those who don’t think milk chocolate is proper chocolate). He was right though – halfway through, I found myself needing a glass of water to combat the cloying sweetness; the thickness of the hot chocolate didn’t help things much, but oh! It was wonderfully scrumptious at first. Next time I’ll get the dark version, as I felt terrible not being able to finish my drink.

Chocolate Souffle ($10)

We all wanted something sweet to eat as well, but none of us had space for a dessert alone – so we opted to share a dish: chocolate soufflé with an oozing chocolate-y centre. Oh! It was absolute bliss and we easily polished it off, leaving only chocolate sauce scrapings on the plate.

We definitely rolled home after that. I was so full I thought I was going to pass out on the way home! I think that will teach me to try and keep up with the guys. Tsk.

Kansai
Shop B1, Hunter Connection
7-13 Hunter Street
Ph: (02) 9231 5544
Web: www.kansai.com.au/

Max Brenner
Shop MG 24, Metcentre,
273 George Street, Sydney, NSW
Ph: (02) 9251 7788
Web: www.maxbrenner.com.au/

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2010. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dessert, Seafood

Tramping down the narrow staircase, we found ourselves bidded by the wait staff to take our shoes off and into the plastic bags offered.

Ju Ju is exactly how I remembered: the warm, wooden decor and the pits! I love how the tables are basically sunken and you have to sit on square black cushions.

We poured over the various laminated menus provided, taking quite a while to decide on what to get. We were so spoilt for choice – it was so hard to choose!

Yukke - Fresh Raw Beef and Egg Yolk with Special Ginger Sauce ($9.80)

(...)
Read the rest of Ju Ju, Kings Cross (1,188 words)

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Post tags: beef, Seafood

Now in saying that, every now and then there is a reason to come out of financial hibernation. This evening I am at the new-ishly opened Tokonoma Shochu bar and lounge with Shez and Fiona and Sian from Mark Comms . It’s right next door to the old Toko, which still rakes in a healthy crowd. It’s a Thursday night and Tokonoma is buzzing, the after work office crowd is slowly trickling in and I spot a cougar with a mid 20′s bloke looking very nervous while drinking his Yebisu beer.

I’ve been here a few times with my friends. It’s a great restaurant to chill out while sharing plates of food over a few drinks. This is one place which does wallets justice not just with the food, but with their extensive drinks menu. They have some of the most interesting combos of cocktails I’ve seen in a while. Oh, and the booths are handy. We often find ourselves in the booths, you get that extra bit of privacy so other people don’t hear you yapping away about the latest episode of Glee.

Now if you are hungry, the tasting menu is a good option. It’s a Chef’s selection of ‘signature’ dishes ideal for sharing, were they any good though ?

gyu niku no tataki seared beef, pickled onions, mizuna, garlic chips

This is what ‘seared’ is supposed to look like. The amount of times I’ve had ‘seared’ turn into ‘overcooked’ in my kitchen has been way too often. Slightly cooked on the outside and rare on the inside, melt in your beef. The pickled onions and garlic chips help cut through the meat too. Four pieces ? I could do with eight myself.

watari-gani kara-age crispy soft-shell crab, wasabi mayonnaise

Soft shell crab, the token item which is on nearly every Japanese fusion menu. It’s one of those things which have a ‘must order’ tag on it, even though I know how easy it is to make at home. Tokonoma’s version ? Lots of crab meat, light on the coating and the wasabi mayonnaise is a killer combination with anything that is fried, let alone the crab.

maguro no miso taru taru : tuna tartar, baby shiso leaves, barley miso dressing

Tartar, great in moderation but not so great when you have to eat it all by yourself. I recently had that problem with a beef tartar because Linda doesn’t eat meat anymore. At Tokonoma, they shake things up a bit with the barley miso dressing. It’s interesting and unique and is a welcome change from tuna and avocado combinations I’ve had at a lot of other restaurants.

omakase zushi assorted selection of toko rolls and nigiri

Ever since having sushi and nigiri in Japan, I refer to it time and time again as a benchmark. They keep things so simple with the freshest and best cuts of fish with sushi rice so good that the individual grains can be tasted. The assorted selection here has clean and sharp flavours, thankfully with no overpowering mayonaise to mask the freshness of the ingredients. I like my sushi and nigiri simple and for a restaurant who’s menu features kingfish paired with truffle oil and pork crackling, I find it welcoming that they don’t tamper too much with it.

omakase zushi assorted selection of toko rolls and nigiri

piri kara dofu to abogado : spicy fried tofu, avocado salsa, barley miso

A lot of people I know feel intimated when cooking tofu, it’s deemed ‘boring’ and ‘tasteless’ which I can understand to a certain degree. How to overcome this ? fry those mofos into submission. The tofu was piping hot and crispy on the outside but soft and moist once you bite into it. Brave combo of flavours and textures too, the avocado salsa and barley miso is a great combination.

hotate no jalapeno amazu zoe robata : grilled scallop, sweet pickled apple, jalapeno garlic

This was probably my favourite dish, you can smell it from the kitchen almost. Perfectly grilled scallops with an intense and flavoursome jalapeno and garlic sauce. To balance it all, sweet pickled apple sits on top. We all one-shot these into our mouths and there was a collective response of ” damn this is good ” .

ami yaki ro-su niku to : wafu sauce scotch fillet steak, wafu sauce, garlic crisps

They say that an unexpected gift at an unexpected time is the key to a woman’s heart, I firmly believe a good steak is the key to a man’s heart. As long as it’s cooked medium rare, or medium at most you can’t go wrong. Tokonoma makes this interesting with the wafu sauce and crispy garlic chips. Sadly, I can never make scotch fillet taste this good at home.

zucchini no wafu yaki : zucchini, wafu sauce, sesame

A day is not complete without at least one serving of vegetables. I can’t say zucchini makes it way into my fridge that often, but if it’s grilled in wafu sauce and sesame I ain’t complaining. Simple once again, yet enhances the sweetness of zucchini.

dessert plate : chef’s selection of desserts

First of all, I suggest you share this with at least one other person. The variety is amazing and I had no clear cut favourite, but I was slightly leaning towards the chocolate fondant and the yogurt pannacotta. From memory (after a schochu or two) the plate had : yoghurt pannacotta, green apple, rockmelon sorbet, pistachio brittle, warm dark chocolate fondant served with vanilla-miso ice cream, ice cream and sorbet and a trio of creme brulee.

At the end of our dinner we were luckily enough to have a brief chat with the head chef Regan Porteous. He’s a well built bloke, fairly young and you can sense a great appreciation and respect for Japanese food and culture when he speaks. He regularly travels to Japan for ideas and inspiration and even has his pottery custom made somewhere in Japan. We both agree that while Sydney is great for food, it is missing the hole in the wall ramen joints where you can just rock up and eat bowls of ramen elbow to elbow with other diners.

Right, so where do I start. I guess, Tokonoma for me is a breath of fresh air for decent modern/fusion Japanese or whatever you wan’t to call it. They nail it spot on in terms of service, ambience, design, food and drinks. It blends in perfectly with it’s sister store Toko on Crown st and is a great place to catch up with friends if you start a tab and not have to worry about the bill until the end. Keep an eye on the tab though, the shochu and cocktails start to add up after a few. Also if you want a booth, I suggest booking ahead.

es&t dined as guests of Mark Communications.

Tokonoma shochu bar & lounge

490 Crown St
Surry Hills, 2010

Ph : 02 9357 6100

Web : http://www.toko.com.au

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2010. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cocktails, fusion, modern

Hidden away in one of many dark alleys in Sapporo, Japan, it’s a hard restaurant to find and even more hard to find since it is off the beaten track. We somehow managed to find it on our recent trip to Japan, but I suggest you get someone who speaks Japan to make a booking or find directions if you ever decide to go here.

Picchu symbolises what is great about Japan, hole in the wall eateries. Restaurants which are off the beaten path, away from the masses and where people naturally come to the restaurant regardless of it’s distance. Picchu is around twenty minutes from the main area of Sapporo, away from the loud bars and flashing lights of the main tourist trip. The illuminated sign you see there is a godsend, without it I wouldn’t of found the restaurant. From the outside, it looks more like someones house or even a small bar. Little did we know, it’s home to one Chef, his assistant, twelve bar seats and the some of the finest Italian inspired food I’ve eaten outside of Sydney.

View from outside window

The restaurant fits about 12 people and is extremely cosy. There are no tables, only bar seats in plain view of the chef and his kitchen. The Chef has roughly 5 to 6 metres of space to work with and mans the kitchen by himself. There is a younger gentleman who plays the role of a waiter, translater and dish washer quite admirably. Serving plates are stacked neatly near our bench, they are constantly re-filled as the younger bloke washes them as each customer finishes their meal. All the Chef’s equipment is on display too, it really was an awesome restaurant to eat in if you are into seeing how your meal is prepared.

We don’t speak Japanese, therefore ordering was a bit difficult. We asked for an omakase which helped a little bit, but had to use hand signals to show how hungry we were so that the Chef knew how much to serve us. We had a big lunch so we only wanted a few dishes. The chef was more than happy to cater for our unusually weakened appetites. I think it worked out to around $40 AUD per person with a bottle of wine, which was pretty good value for a four course meal.

The Chef looks like he is in his mid 30′s, he barely spoke during the dinner, even to his Japanese speaker customers. He was as cool as a cucumber when preparing all the meals and I noticed he discarded a few of his creations on a few occasions after taste testing them. This is not something I normally get to see as a customer, maybe he had the luxury to do so because he only gets to serve a maximum of twelve customers at any one time, but it was reassuring none the less to see and know a chef is making sure what he sends out is up to his or her standards.

The wine list is pretty decent, with a large and affordable range to choose from. We decide to take it easy and order a bottle of prosecco.

We had a bit of a communication breakdown when this dish came, neither of us (the waiter and Chef ) had any idea what the type of fish was called in English. It tasted a bit like kingfish, but I’m not sure. Anyone have any ideas? Either way, it was a refreshing and fantastic start to the meal. At the bottom of the dish is a carpaccio-like layer of fresh raw fish, topped with lemon rind and graited daikon (oroshi). Flavours were clean and minimal, allowing the freshness of the fish to dominate.

Home made crab sausage w/ crab reduction

The crab sausage was surprisingly good. I was worried that it would be too ‘fishy’ for lack of a better term or that it would be a mix of crab meat and some sort of filler ingredient. Instead, the sausage is made up almost entirely of crab meat and sat on top of what tasted like a crab reduction. It’s not much to look at, but the highlight really is the crab sausage. Sausage is such a simple piece of food which you rarely see on a menu unless it’s a cafe or pub, but the Chef here manages to make the sausage the focal point of the dish.

Crumbed pan fried cod sperm (shirako)

I’ve had cod sperm a few times now, at you know, restaurants. Cod sperm, also know as shirako is regarded as a delicacy in Japan. On both occasions which I’ve had it, it was with sushi, so it was interesting to see how it was prepared here. It is crumbed sparingly and pan fried until golden brown, served on top some sort of reduction which I couldn’t exactly pin point what it was. The taste of shirako is hard to describe, it’s very soft and creamy but has the same effect on me as foi gras. I love the taste of it, but only in small portions because the flavour is too strong and overwhelming. I guess the fact that it was pan fried made the dish more enjoyable than usual, the crispy exterior balancing well with the creaminess of the cod sperm.

Spaghetti w/ fish roe, garlic

We finish off with a spaghetti tossed in olive oil, garlic and parsley and with a generous portion of fish roe. The dish is simple, not outstanding, but I can appreciate a well cooked pasta dish especially when cooked al dente.

Hokkaido milk ice cream w/ cracked black pepper

We still had a bit of room for dessert and we could only make out the words ‘gelato’ on the dessert menu. I asked the Chef whether he had anything with hokkaido milk in it because I became addicted to the stuff whilst I was in Hokkaido/Sapporo. He recommended the vanilla ice cream, which I presume was made with hokkaido milk. It was totally worth it, unbelievably rich and creamy and tasting like something from a box of premium ice cream such as Maggi Beer or Connoisseur. What was interesting was the black cracked pepper which the waiter put on top of the ice cream, it gave the ice cream a bit of a kick and is something that has grown on me in desserts.

It’s funny how some of my favouritr meals in this recent Japan trip were from non-Japanese restaurants as the primary cuisine. Picchu is certainly one of them, the fact that I traveled halfway around the world to Sapporo and spend a good ten minutes trying to find the place with the taxi driver and still walk out very happy with my meal is a testament to the food and the restaurant. I love it’s cosy and warm feel, some people might regard it as claustrophobic considering how close you are to the person next to you. But to me, Picchu is everything great about Japan when it comes to making use of small spaces on serving great food in great ambience. Here is a Chef who has never been to Italy, yet can churn out amazing Italian inspired food with the finest Japanese ingredients. It was a bloody good meal and experience in the most random of places in Sapporo, but it’s these type of experiences which make me constantly want to travel, explore and eat.

Picchu

Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
南三条東1-chome, 5-1-2 011-222-6144

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Tokyo

We spent our first two days in Tokyo before heading to Sapporo. We wanted to take it easy and have a quick bite to eat while enjoy the laid back atmosphere of Ginza on a weekend. It seems that they close off the entire main street, equal in size to George St in Sydney.I was walking through from alley to alley checking out stores selling suits which were way out of my price range ($5000 to $10,000 AUD) when I saw six business men walk into this restaurant. Without even thinking I dragged Linda with me into the restaurant and much to our relief it was a restaurant specialising in tonkatsu with english menus.

Left to right: Ginza, Typical restaurant layout, Tonkatsu sandwich, Tonkatsu w/ rice

They offer different types of pork, we chose the most expensive one on the menu which is a type of veal which takes 15 minutes to cook. The result is a moist and very thick piece of pork, covered lightly with a panko crust. The crust was very thin, but very crunchy. The rice set meal cost us 2700 yen which was roughly $32 at the time, so it’s not exactly on the budget eats side of things.

Las Meninas, Koenji

I’m not lying when I say that I’ve had some of the best Spanish food in Tokyo. What makes this statement even more ridiculous is that the restaurant is in a suburb called Koenji, which is considered to be in the “burbs” and not to mention the restaurant being run by an English man from Newcastle in the UK.

This restaurant is very hard to find amidst the narrow alley ways all occupied by hole in wall eateries and bars. But once you walk inside you realise that this is the type of place which Sydney is missing. It’s small and simple, but has a warm and ‘hole in the wall’ atmosphere. It feels almost as if you are walking into someones kitchen in an apartment as there is one long communal dining table in the middle and low slung tables and chairs towards the side. At the very front of the restaurant is the bar which barely sits six people.

Up there is owner-chef Johnny Miller, an absolutely top bloke who whips up every single dish on his menu behind a tiny open-kitchen in front of the bar seats. There is a menu with the usual Spanish food such as chorizo and paella, but if you want a good feed all you have to do is tell Johnny how hungry you are and he will create enough dishes to fill you up based on whatever he could pick up from the market on that day.

Left to right : Jamon, mixed plate, seafood paella, koenji alley way

The jamon is freshly sliced, you tell him when to stop when he is slicing it. We wanted to try a few things so he created a sampler dish consisting off marinated egg plant, Quiche with kewpi aioli and slices of some sort of salami. The flavours were amazing, the most simple combination of food had me in heaven. Linda and I could sit there all night just eating the sampler dish and knocking down a few jugs of sangria.

Tokyo is a long way to travel for Spanish food. But Johnny Miller produces awesome food regardless of whether it is a bar snack or a main dish. I’ll definitely come back with a few more people next time to try out what else he has up his sleeve.

Henri Charpentier

Left to right : Plaque, mini petit fours, disection picture of desserts, toilet entrance via secret door

In Sydney, we are still missing a dessert salon which is open till late. In Japan, there seems to be a few and one of them is Henri Charpentier. They call themselves a boutique dessert salon and they not only sell cakes for takeaway, they also have a downstairs restaurant for dine in off an ala carte menu.

Bombe Alaska

I thought it was pretty neat when they cooked the bombe alaska at the table.

Left to right : bookshelves, creme brulee, bombe alaska, hot chocolate

Scattered around the dining area are shelves with books for your reading disposal. They also have a larger bookshelf with so many books that they need a ladder with wheels to reach some of them.

In terms of the desserts, they were bloody amazing and on a different level to dessert which you find on most restaurant menus.

Pierre Hermé

left to right : espresso, millefeuille, vanilla tart

No visit to Tokyo is complete without  a visit to Pierre Hermé. My favourite thing to buy every time is the vanilla tart, an absolute winner every single time.

Aoyama

Aoyama was on my to-go list because of the A.P.C, one of my favourite clothing brands. We didn’t expect to eat anything because we had already planned to goto the Spanish place above. True to form, we stumbled upon a very cool looking coffee cart which churned out impressive coffee for Japanese standards. I say Japanese standards because the coffee I’ve tasted is generally poor, we have it pretty lucky in Australia for good coffee.

On the way to A.P.C we stumbled upon a le cordon bleu cafe where we stopped for a coffee break. To go with our espresso we had duck liver pâté with freshly baked baguette. The café looks like an extension to the actual school as there were classes being run right next door to where we were eating.

Sapporo

Sapporo is famous for their King Crab, therefore it is a must try. The claws are huge, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Each claw cost nearly $30AUD each, but there is enough meat in each claw for a main meal. There are numerous restaurants which serve this local delicacy, we asked our hotel and they recommended Sapporo Kani Honke Susukino.

If you are into Ramen, make a visit to the ESTA shopping centre where they have a level dedicated to ramen restaurants. They call it the hokkaido ramen hall of fame and I can see why because the ramen I had there was one of the best I’ve had in Japan.

Left to right : Typical izakaya, smoked bacon in cherry blossoms, bakery, yakitori

Japan has an amazing array of food ranging from michelin star places to hole in wall izakayas.  Even though I’ve visited three times, I’ve barely touched the surface of Japan and I’ll most likely find myself back in the near future. But in saying that, my next travel priority is Europe. I’ve traveled to most parts of South East Asia, I need a change.

My next two posts will be at a few restaurants I went to in Sapporo and Tokyo, one of which hurt my wallet but made my stomach very happy. Stay tuned.

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You may have noticed that we really love japanese food. Between the five of us we’ve attempted to cover most of Sydney’s Japanese restaurants and the Azuma restaurants have definitely not been missed. A last-minute invitation from Taryn from the Azuma restaurants asking if we’d like to attend an ‘Introduction to Japanese Food’ session at the Azuma Kushiyaki restaurant found Teresa, Myself and Lorraine in the Lumiere building on a rainy weekend.

Our Japanese lunch has been organised by Gourmet Safaris, a company which hosts a number of Gourmet walking tours both locally and internationally all designed by Maeve O’Meara.

(...)
Read the rest of An Azuma afternoon at Gourmet Safari with Maeve O’Meara (1,209 words)

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Quite possibly.
Nested in the back streets of Elizabeth Bay, near the back of Kings Cross, Blancharu is another gem worth trying in this area. Around the Kings Cross, Potts Point & Elizabeth Bay area, you will find most cuisines to your desire, and the quality is top notch. Specialising in Japanese-Franco cuisine, chef Harunobu Inukai (formerly of Galileo & Bilsons) has expanded his horizons and opened up his own culinary experience for those to not enjoy his one-hatted restaurant quality dishes, but also to escape the flurries of the city and cook in a non-pretentious space.

For the past few months, my dear friend Mandy had completely hyped up Blancharu, and when it was time for me to FINALLY pay Blancharu a visit, her last words were “I hope it lives up to your expectations… I’m scared now!”(...)
Read the rest of Blancharu, Elizabeth Bay (792 words)

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It took us a while to figure out what we wanted. We had an hour and a half to eat as much delicious meat as we possibly can, where the last order for meat and other dishes was an hour into our session. So we had to be smart and efficient with our ordering to maximise eating time without over ordering (though we did kind of get a word of caution from our waitress that we were over ordering haha).

Seaweed Salad and Edamame

The seaweed salad wasn’t quite what we expected. Lynda thought that perhaps they had given us the Lettuce with Home-made Miso Dip by mistake because she couldn’t see any seaweed in it, but upon ordering it again, we got exactly the same thing. We found the seaweed, after picking through the salad, and it was undeniably not what Lynda was thinking of when she ordered it (she was thinking of that stringy seaweed salad with sesame seeds). Despite that, I quite like what tasted like soy jelly sitting on top of the mound of lettuce.(...)
Read the rest of Iwa, Chatswood (587 words)

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, chicken, pork, Seafood

As we move into the hot weather, I crave for Japanese food more and more. The lightly-flavoured dishes offered by the japanese cuisine is a great refreshing touch to balance out the heat. So whenever this heat looms, I call my bubbly eating chickadee, B, for a cleansing dinner. There is an abundance of Japanese restaurants in Sydney, which makes deciding where to eat a tough choice.

I enjoy eating around the Surry Hills area due to its quiet and easy-going environment; less crowds, less traffic, less everything but eateries! As a last minute choice, I decide to go for a japanese-style cafe/restaurant called Emon. Located on Cleveland St on the next block from one of my other favourites, Sushi Suma, we walk into Emon welcomed to a warm, cosy atmosphere, filled with a japanese homely decor, an open kitchen and sake bottles of all sizes lining the kitchen counter. (woohoo Sake!)

Cute table decorations

Sake Bottles

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Read the rest of Emon, Surry Hills (603 words)

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Pepper Steak has been a staple on George St for about 2 years, it’s hard to miss the yellow awnings as you walk past on George St. To those unfamiliar with the concept, Pepper Steak specializes in meat dishes which are served raw on their own sizzling platter. The platter is super heated thus cooking your food for you at your table.

I’m not totally unfamiliar with the concept and have had something very similar in Akihabara a number of years ago, on my recent return to Japan I was devastated to find that my favourite food court had actually been demolished! Oh sad days. With only two of us at the table we aren’t going for quantity with this round. Squishies, a seasoned pro (complete with loyalty card!) goes for her usual, the “Tokusen” Rib Eye Steak, after much scouring of the menu I go for the aptly named, ‘J-Curry’.

"Tokusen" Rib Eye Steak - $15.80

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Read the rest of Pepper Lunch & Azuma Cafe (442 words)

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The problem with having been to Japan is that I’m always comparing the Japanese food we have here to there. We have it pretty good here in Sydney, we can find pretty much any cuisine we want and it can be as authentic or ‘western’ as can be. With Japanese food and especially sushi, nigiri and sashimi it is hard to eat anything else if you have tried what is available at tsukiji fish market in Tokyo . Everything is just on another level of freshness and craftsmanship.

Now with the news of a new Japanese restaurant opening in The Rocks I was curious as to what direction it would go in. Authentic or modern? With Shaun Presland being executive chef, things are off to a good start in terms of who is in the driving seat.

The menu is a mix of traditional Japanese and contemporary twists. We don’t order too extensively from the menu this evening, but we get a bit of a feel of what is available.

Butter Fish - South Australian butterfish ponzu, ginger & chives seared with hot oil

Has anyone ever tried butterfish before ? It was the first time for me and I was hooked. It’s soft, smooth and has a melt in your mouth texture. Perhaps there is a high oil content in it ? Either way, it’s a nice change from the usual tuna and salmon. While ponzu seems like a staple addition to any dish lately, the seared chives and hot oil give this dish a kick which takes it up a notch.(...)
Read the rest of Saké Restaurant & Bar, The Rocks (445 words)

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Thankfully, Teppanyaki at The Ivy is not your usual Teppanyaki restaurant.

Ever since Merivale decided to get a bit more serious with their food, Teppanyaki has been a quiet achiever while the likes of est. take the spotlight. They have received some positive thoughts from several blogs as well as being full with patrons every time I dine there. This years Let’s do Lunch as part of SIFF gives me another opportunity to see what Teppanyaki is up to.

One thing to note before dining here is that Teppanyaki’s food is not predominately Japanese. The flavours are actually more Asian fusion, as you will see with one of the dishes that I ordered. But anyway, enough of my rambling. As you might have noticed, our SIFF posts are short and sweet. With so many options and posts, hopefully less is more.

West Australian marron, crushed cherry tomatoes, fresh herb salad

I ordered the Western Australian marron and Thai herb salad with the hope that it would suffice as my omega 3 and vegetable daily intake. The dietitians of the world would disagree with my justification, but at least my stomach was satisfied. The entire serving is more than generous, with the marron coming in two huge pieces with plenty of succulent meat. They are grilled or seared with a bit of seasoning, I think I could taste some hints of garlic. The Thai herb salad was a circus of colours and flavours, the perfect spring salad. It was a bit confusing to have a Thai salad in a Japanese named restaurant, but everything these days seems to be a mashup of different cuisines.

Wagyu striploin, marble score 5+, wok tossed shitake, buckwheat and soybeans

One word, amazing. I’ll start with one very minor setback, the wagyu was a tad over cooked. But fear not, the flavours more than made up for it. The shiitake mushrooms, buckwheat and soybeans are a great combination. Not only do they go well together in terms of flavour, but their textures all compliment each other very well. The wagyu had nice strokes of marble and if cooked a little more underdone it would have been perfect.

Well there you have it, another Let’s Do Lunch. You still have about two weeks to check out what is on offer on www.siff.com.au . The $35 offerings from Teppanyaki are great value, they all come with a bowl of rice and miso soup as well as the glass of beer/wine/sparkling water. While the flavours are a bit of a cross between Thai and Japanese, the flavours are spot on.

Note : These two dishes are part of the SIFF Let’s Do Lunch which runs throughout October 2009.

Teppanyaki at The Ivy

330 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph : 9240 3000
w : http://www.merivale.com/ivy/teppanyaki

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A couple of weeks later, he came up to me and quite seriously started to say, “So, I went to Waqu last night… *dramatic pause* AND IT WAS THE BEST JAPANESE FOOD I HAVE EVER EATEN!!” Mind you, he lived in Japan for most of his life so I would most probably add “in Australia”. Blown by his endorsement I endeavoured to go, but we all know how most of the time that turns out. He did warn me that the Winter menu was going to end soon, so if I were to eat what he ate, I should go within the week.

Of course, that didn’t happen, but I did get to sample their Spring menu. The $55 menu is broken up into 5 courses: Amuse, Sashimi, Entree, Main and Dessert, where the amuse, sashimi and dessert course are set and you have a choice from three dishes for each entree and main course.

Amuse - Spicy Softshell Crab Taco; Sweet Corn Vichyssoise, Crystal Bay Prawn Pincho; Kabayaki Roasted Eel Fillet on Sushi Rice; Agedashi Taro Potato Fritter, Sweet Sesame Spinach

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Read the rest of Waqu, Crows Nest (1,342 words)

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, Dessert, Seafood

Japanese Garlic Prawn (11.90)

To start of our night, a plate of flash fried garlic prawns was on order. I loved the sweetness of the sauce accompanying the prawns, but was a little dissapointed by the use of frozen prawns.

Seafood Tempura ($20.90)

Next up were the seafood tempura. Beautifully crispy with minimal oily residue, this was easily one of my favourite dish.

Sushi and Sashimi combo (Deluxe $34.90)

Whilst eating and chatting away, the arrival of the sushi and sashimi platter stopped us on our track. A large variety of fresh kingfish, tuna and salmon sashimi acompanied by some nigiri and maki. I’m ashamed to admit, but I probably ate half of the items on the platter, too good to resist.

Nasu Dengaku ($10.00)

I’m usually not a huge fan of eggplant, however rave reviews on eatability tempted me to try it, I’m glad they did. The eggplants were grilled to a degree where the flesh was rich and creamy and simply flavoured with sweet miso.

Beef tataki ($20.50)

Next up was the beef tataki. This dish for me is a little hit and miss. I wasn’t a big fan of all the sprouts, lettuce and red onion mix, as I thought that they detracted the natural flavours of the beef.

Green Tea ice cream ($6.00)

A meal is never complete without dessert. Green tea ice cream is a requisite for any restaurants offering it. You can’t go wrong with green tea ice cream, needless to say, we fought for the last bite.

Our final dish was the strawberry tempura and black sesame ice cream. I loved the contrasting texture and feel of the strawberry tempura. Dipped in the black sesame ice cream, pure bliss.

Simizu is another gem in an overcrowded Japanese restaurant market in Sydney. The good thing for us diners is that so many choices mean so many more opportunities to find the right one which suits our needs.

What’s your favourite Japanese restaurant in Sydney ? I get a different response from everyone which is great!

Simizu
152 Liverpool Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Phone 02) 9360 0057

© Linda for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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I wish I’ve been to Spain and had proper Tapas.  When I think of Tapas I think of Encasa. Sure, it’s a mainstream Spanish restaurants in Sydney, but you gotta start somewhere right ?  To those cultured in Spanish food, it probably shows my ignorance of what real Spanish food is. But to me it doesn’t matter, I love the concept of tapas because of the small portions and how it allows everyone to order copious amounts of dishes to be shared at a table. Order a few drinks with a group of good people and all the sudden you have a great night without breaking the bank.

Enter Japaz, a fusion of Japanese and Spanish inspired dishes by a man with credentials oozing with class. Hiro has worked for Joel Robuchon and plied his trade in Michelen Starred and Hatted restaurants such as Tetsuya’s. Having done his time at some of the most highly regarded restaurants in the world, Japaz is his brainchild of two cuisines which have been been embraced with open arms by Australia palettes, Japanese and Spanish.

My first visit to Japaz is courtesy of an invite from Yas, the hungry digital elf. He has kindly invited a few friends a long to have a good old catch up over some great food. Thanks again Yas!

After a long day at work, I skip the wines and hit straight for the beer. Sapporo beer is a bit on the light side for me, but this means it is crisp and refreshing. It’s quite an easy beer to knock back with any type of food which is why I like it. While I was admiring the can, I noticed the beer is brewed in Canada of all places ?

Tasmanian oysters with wakame dressing

Big, plump and juicy, not words which you would normally associate with oysters served as entrees (They are usually small from my experiences). The wakame dressing is seaweed based and adds a subtle twist to the sweetness of the oyster.

Razor clams w/ rocket & preserved lemon jus

The razor clams tasted unique in the sense that it tasted like meat, even though it was seafood. Texture was very similiar to squid, but it had a hint of a pork taste.  Yes, I’m a bit confused , but the mixture of flavours and textures makes this a great starter to our meal.

Jamon Serrano

Served raw and thinly sliced, jamon serrano is one of my favourite types of jamon due to its softness and sweetness. This stuff is usually quite expensive, but I could easily eat a leg myself without getting sick of it. Jamon to the Spanish is the national equivelant to our Vegemite, the stuff is amazing, I wish I could cure my own.

Fried Eggplant with Honey & Balsamic

Hiro achieves the perfect balance of moistness and crunchiness in this dish. The eggplant is lightly fried but the guilty pleasure of the deepfriedness is offset by the sweet and sticky honey and balsamic sauce.

From left to right : Soy marinated chicken with pesto mayo and Patatas bravas

The chicken was good enough to serve on it’s own and was probably better off without the potatoes. Bite sized and juicy pieces of chicken tasted amazing with the home made pesto mayo, the mayo had a real kick to it. The potatoes were not as inspiring, they were a bit on the bland side but were cooked to al dente with a bit of crispness on the outside.

Ajillo - Shiitake, Enoki, Woodear Mushrooms & Chick Pea

Now this is what I am talking about, a Japaz rendition of a tradtional Spanish tapas dish called ajillo. Ajillo is usually just mushrooms in garlic sauce, but Hiro adds some fantastic mushrooms such as shiitake, enoki and woodear. You can really taste the individual flavours of each mushroom and the chickpeas roundoff a whirlwind of textures and flavours.

Spring cabbage, mince beef, mushroom & carrot

The great thing about this evening was Hiro churning a few dishes which he was experimenting with, this one being parcels of cabbage stuffed with beef. This dish wasn’t on the men

Lamb meatballs w/ winter vegetable Sauce of tomato

When I think tapas, I think of meatballs served in a rustic pan like this. The meatballs are tender and have sucked in all the aromas of the vegetable sauce. This is a realy winter warmer dish, it would of been perfect with some hot crusty bread too.

Cucumber pinchos with seafood paste (crab, scallop, prawn), yuzukosho + miso

This dish reminded me of my visit to Itaru in Japan. Chilled and refreshing pieces of cucumber were topped with a generous dollop of seafood paste. Despite the heavy presence of seafood, it wasn’t too overpowering at all and went down well with my Sapporo beer.

Crumbed Portabello Mushroom

The great thing about the fried dishes so far is that they are not too oily. The portabello mushrooms are lightly crumbed and then fried, resulting in a juicy and sweet mushroom inside which bursts with flavour and juices on first bite.

Grilled quail with quail jus served on tortilla Japaz

This was another crowd pleaser. The quail was grilled perfectly, still tender and falling off the bone. The japaz tortilla filled with alot of onion was quite random, but it went along quite nicely with the quail jus.

Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek & Almond Sauce

Collective sighs of ” oh my god ” were heard with each bite of the wagyu beef cheek. It was amazingly tender and fell apart with the slightest bite or movement. The sauce was full of good richness and was infused into the beef cheeks.

From left to right : Strawberry w/ lime infused coconut cream, Peach Sorbet & Apple Cider Jelly w/ Vanilla Infused Olive Oil, Vodka infused Crema Catalana

I’m surprised we had room for dessert, but apparently everyone has a second stomach for dessert. My favourite was the most simple of the trio, the strawberry with lime infused coconut cream.  The coconut cream had me going back for more, so much that I was finishing everyone elses. The peach sorbet was fantastic, very smooth. I found the crema catalana to be a bit heavy on the vodka, but it gave a nice kick to finish off the fantastic meal we had.

A happy team means a good experience for the customers, and it seemed everyone loved what they were doing. The great service and food reflected this too.

Japaz is an interesting foray into the fusion food category. Hiro has a real knack of blending flavours and textures from the two cooking genres in Japanese and Spanish, resulting in some very interesting dishes and flavours.  I found it to be a great privelege to be eating the creations of Chef which such a high pedigree of training and experience, I wonder what his next vision would be for Japaz or beyond.

Japaz

165 Wycombe Rd
Neutral Bay NSW 2089
Ph : 02 9904 0688
Web : www.japaz.com.au

eatshowandtell dined as guests of Japaz.

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I know what you’re thinking: “Sushi? In Penrith?!” I had my misgivings as well the first time I went, but thought I shouldn’t really judge until I tried it.

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it and several weeks later found myself oddly enough craving for sushi… in Penrith. Only it took me months to come back here, this time properly armed with a camera. Yay!

We ate quite a bit, so I’ll try to keep comments short and sweet.

Salmon Sashimi ($7)

I adore salmon sashimi and while I might not know how to spot a good sashimi cut like Howie does, I know what I like and I fancy that I can decently gauge its freshness. That said, this salmon sashimi was quite fresh and we finished it embarrassingly quick.

Crumbed Ebi Tempura ($5)

Nice and crunchy though there wasn’t nearly enough sauce as there should have been. *sigh*

Pink Lady - Fresh Salmon and Orange, Tuna and Avocado ($3.50)

I grabbed this because it looked a bit unusual. There was a nice zest to the sushi roll where the orange touched it and the tuna was wonderfully creamy. I wanted another one straight away, but thought I should save my stomach for other goodies.

Salmon with Avocado and Flying Fish Roe ($5)

Tastes pretty much how it looks: yummy! The roe (I quickly learnt) was only there for show as when I picked up one roll, most of it fell on to the plate. I resorted to squishing my roll over the fallen roe to pick them up. Hehe

Unagi - Marinated Fresh Water Eel ($5)

F’s never had eel before and was feeling game enough to try it “just this once”. While he didn’t dislike it, it’s not something he’d voluntarily pick up again citing that it tasted a bit too “fishy and weird”. I liked it though with the sweetish marinade and soft-yet-crispy texture.

Sweet Corn Salad ($2.50)

What wasn’t on the train could be ordered from the menu. F had to have the sweet corn salad and while I love corn, this didn’t quite hit the spot for me as I felt it was missing something but couldn’t quite put my finger on what.

Lobster Salad ($3)

The lobster salad wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t taste as fresh as some of the other ingredients in the previous dishes we had.

Egg Salad ($2.50)

What you would expect from an egg salad (only in a sushi roll form): creamy from the mayonnaise and egginess! Mmmmm yum.

Crumbed Chicken and Avocado ($4.00)

The chicken was a bit hard, but the flavours were really complimentary to each other.

Tobikko - Orange Flying Fish Roe ($3.50)

I remember the first time I had fish roe: it freaked me out and only ate it to shut my goading friend up. I’m glad for his goading though as I fell in love with the popping sensation when eating roe followed by a light salty taste. F, on the other hand, thinks that eating roe is too weird and I happily ended up eating both.

Takoyaki ($3.50)

People who have been to Japan keep telling me just how amazing takoyakis are over there. I still haven’t been so I have to make do with what Sydney has to offer (or in this case, Penrith hehe), which I thought tasted pretty darn good.

California - Crab Stick, Avocado, Cucumber, and Flying Fish Roe ($3.50)

I hate it when the avocado pieces or slices are hard in sushi rolls – I find it a bit unpleasant to eat. So I was glad that the avocados I have had here have been soft and wonderfully buttery. Though I think I mainly like california rolls because they look pretty – all that colour!

Grilled Hotate (Scallop) ($4.50)

The scallops were barely grilled so they were almost raw (and last time I had scallop sashimi, it didn’t quite agree with me), but I think the sauces saved it. It was so good. I wanted to have seconds, but I was feeling rather roly poly by this stage. I think the sauces used were Japanese mayonnaise, wasabi mayonnaise (or mustard? There was a sharpness to the sauce) and that dark sauce you get with takoyakis.

Crab Claw ($5)

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad crab claw and this is not an exception to the case. Mmm deep fried goodness, though again I wished there was more mayonnaise to go around.

The damage

I twisted around to look at how much the plates were priced (they had hung them on the back wall) and noticed that the group of four behind us only had about 6 plates between them. I turned back to our table and was a tad bit embarrassed when I realised we went through about 15 plates between just the two of us.

Outside Sushi Bay

One of the dishes I was looking forward to eating again was the croquette. Sadly, we were informed that they had run out for the day.

Sushi Bay is a franchise with 8 restaurants in Sydney (mostly located out west) with one in Chatswood being built (or so their website says, I’m not sure how up-to-date it is). I don’t think there’s many sushi places way out around the Penrith area and I’m glad that there is at least one decent place to sate one’s sushi craving.

Sushi Bay
Shop R1, L01 Westfield Penrith Plaza, Riley St
Penrith, NSW, 2750
Ph: 02 4731 8788
Web: http://www.sushibay.com.au/

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Seafood

I have a habit of always returning to the same places to eat even though there are so many other places to dine at. When you’re begging for a pay rise but also struggling to figure out what you want to do in your career, keeping an eye on your wallet when satisfying your stomach is a tough ask. It also doesn’t help that over the years I have developed a finer appreciation for good food, hence the start of this blog. Sure the food has to taste good, but there is also a sense of enjoyment when marvelling the aesthetic brilliance of food. It seems Sepia is one of those restaurants which delivers on both fronts.

Sepia is located on the Northern end of Sussex St which does not attract a huge proportion of the CBD crowd on a Friday night, but judging by the packed house this evening it seems one of Sydney’s best kept dining secrets won’t be a secret for too much longer. There is a nice relaxed ambience when walking into Sepia despite the huge crowd as we were seated promptly by our Waiter. You know your evening is off to a good start when the waiter is happy as well.

Before dining here I did a bit of research and was amazed at the pedigree of the Chefs who worked here. Martin Benn was the Executive Chef at Tetsuya’s and Daniel Puskas was the Head Chef of Oscillate Widly. Surely we were in for a treat ?

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Read the rest of Sepia Restaurant & Wine Bar, Sydney (2,364 words)

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: CBD, Degustation, Dessert, Dinner, sepia, Sydney