August 2006 Archives

Chocolate is a girl's best friend... So suffering from Tuesdayitis, my chocoholic workmates and I power walked to the Lindt Concept Store and Cafe at Martins Place during another lunchtime adventure, with the hope of reviving our mentality. The store emphasized the royal nature of chocolate with glass cabinet displays, marble columns and sky high ceilings. The windows reached far up and created a heavenly atmosphere. I thought I was fantasizing, but perhaps this explains the glowing menu.

Lindt Cafe - menu

Iced Milk Chocolate

The cafe was filled with black power suits... and very little staff. As a result, the waiters/waitresses barely addressed our existence! However, once a table was available, I found that the service was very swift, maybe even a little too hurried.

I ordered the Chocolate and Caramel Poire.

Chocolate and Caramel Poire

Light, creamy and exotic... the poached pear was matched perfectly with the sweetness of the mousse and a rich textured base.

The Opera cake looked disappointing but the rich layers of chocolate and coffee was ecstatic!

A tiny serving of the schiacciata of roast beef, pumpkin chutney and rocket.

The temptation took over as we stopped by the chocolate and cake displays on our way out. I felt like a little kid in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... but this was the place for adults to indulge (in moderation ofcourse).

Lindt Concept Store and Cafe
53 Martin Place, Sydney
Tel: 02 8257 1600

Early Sunday morning, crowds gather amongst the steps of this restaurant to wait for a seat. Towards the busier afternoon, numbered tickets are handed out to ensure that it's a smooth process (yes, hungry yum-cha goers can sometimes make a scene if the queue is unjustified). Once our number is called, we feel a sense of pride... as though we've just won exclusive entrance to a celebrity fested event. I felt everyone's envy as we were hushed into the busy restaurant.

Immediately, we begun pointing at dishes we'd like order. Today, my yum-cha companion is Zen. With both of us speaking poor Chinese, we naturally order in English. I found that the majority of waitresses were able to describe the dishes with 2 words or less. I was often told that the food was "different" or "very nice".

Combination seafood and vegetable dumplings. These are my all-time favourite.

I love the light twist of the coriander...

Taro Puff
My second most favourite yum-cha item is the taro puff. I was extremely disappointed with this version, which looked bald in comparison to the normal thick lacy & crispy exterior.

Inside the taro puff reveals a contrasting soft interior of pork mince and shitake mushroom.

Scallop dumplings

... which are filled with lots of whole scallops! As you do, I love my yum cha foods with lots of chilli sauce.

Har Cheung Fun, which translates to prawns rice noodle.

Prawns hide inside these sheets of rice noodle... The soy was nice and sweet, and the rice noodle sheets were soft and silky. But inside, there were prawns... when I truely had wanted to wait for the ones with the deep fried batter.

The notorious prawn dumplings.

The inside goodness of whole prawns and bamboo shoots.

Chicken feet (aka. Fung Jao). These too were a miss. The marinade was overpowering... and it was too glutinous for my liking.

Pork and shrimp dumplings (Siu Mai). Too meaty and too dry... but Siu Mai have never been a hit with me.

Egg tart... just the way I like it... with a flaky puff pastry exterior.

And inside the restaurant...

Overall, we were charged a little over $40... which I thought was pretty pricey for the quality and quantity! I'll be sure to post up the over-due entry on Emperor's Garden - Yum Cha soon...

Crystal Seafood Restaurant, Strathfield
Shop 29/11 The Boulevarde, Strathfield.

Opens for Yum cha from 11am - 3pm on weekdays and from 11am - 3pm on weekends.

With special thanks to my brother & Accor, Zen and I enjoyed a free scrumptious seafood buffet at the Baygarden restaurant. On a Saturday night dinner, this was worth $62 per person! Novotel Brighton Beach offers panaromic views of the airport and seaside. The restaurant captures this stunning environment with outdoor seating and a tropical interior design.

Desserts included mini fruit flans, a very luxurious sticky date pudding, mini orange and chocolate cakes, tiramisu, carrot cake, fruit salad, bread & butter pudding and lots of other tiny delicate things.

Mini Fruit Flan

The Sticky Date Pudding was smothered in a rich butterscotch sauce. The sweetness was indulging and every bite was so moist. Yum...

Mini Orange and Chocolate Cakes

Another Chocolate Cake

Other desserts...

This was my plate of dessert, which featured the fruit salad, carrot cake, tiramisu and a yummy sticky date pudding.

Roast Pumpkin and Olives with Rosemary... lovely when dipped with the freshly baked sourdough loaf.

Stir-Fried King Prawns

Salads

The seafood section consisted of smoked blue lip mussels, smoken salmon with capers, Nambucca oysters, balmain bugs, king prawns & blue swimmer crabs.

A refreshing salad of rockmelon and mixed seafood.

Selections of cold meats and terrines.

The hot food was slighly disappointing. It was made up of farfelle pasta with blue cheese sauce, grilled chicken thigh with red wine sauce, roast potatoes which were cold and dry, roast pork, char-grilled vegetables and others.

However, who can complain of a free meal? The salad offering and endless flow of fresh seafood was overwhelming... luckily I had come prepared with a larger-fit shirt which hid the extra bulge :-)

Thanks again Roland... and happy birthday Zen.

Baygarden Restaurant
Level 3, Novotel Brighton Beach
Cnr of The Grand Parade & Princess Street
Brighton Le Sands
Tel: 9556.5111

Another day gone, means another day for Jap! Further to my consistent cravings for true Japanese food, my sister took us to Ramen Kan. These noodle houses are plentiful in Japan and are found almost as often as any chain fast food outlet here. As soon as you enter from the shabby elevator (where I'm informed of its tendency to break down), you're immediately exposed to a tight well-decorated space. The decor consists of pebbles, bamboo shoots and wooden furnishings... an absolute contrast to the fugly entrance.

Ramen Kan is known for its casual dining and of course -ramen. The service was pretty average, as they squashed our table for 6 onto a small table for 4. I found this relatively hard to enjoy my meal whilst elbows and chopsticks were colliding. Nonetheless, I happily slurped up my spicy Tan Tan Ramen. Ramen Kan overall offers casual dining and decent Japanese food at a fraction of the cost.

Tonkotsu ramen

Tempura Udon

Spicy Tan Tan Ramen
The soup base was a little on the salty side, but was full of the fatty pork flavour. The sliced leeks were refreshing and cut through the richness of the chilli's, garlic and fried shallots.

Seafood Ramen

Condiment of chilli with fried shallots and garlic

Miso-based Tonkotsu

Gyoza and Salad which was served with the Miso-based Tonkotsu as a set.

Chicken Karaage Ramen

Ramen Kan
Level 1, 90 Hay Street, Haymarket

Eyeblaster has finally made the move. That's right... we are in the city! This means more shopping, more food and more importantly, better food. So for our first Friday Lunch, we strolled down to Masuya. The restaurant was full-to-capacity. Note to self: must make booking next time! The waitress politely handed us a menu each, and informed us of a 5 minute wait. I salivated at all the nicely presented food that was being brought out. While the staff was welcoming, they weren't very attentive, and we must've waited at least 10 minutes before anyone caught an eye on how eager we were to order. Another 20 - 30 minutes later, our food arrived.

I really wanted to order the Shogun set which featured Wagyu Yakiniku beef, teriyaki chicken, tempura, sashimi, nigiri sushi, California roll, miso soup and rice, but after I saw my Tempura and Tonkatsu Bento Box, I was really glad I hadn't been too greedy. Generous servings and good quality food. The tempura was light and crispy... and the deep fried tonkatsu had the perfect crunch. The glossy tonkatsu sauce was rich and boasted a distinctive (and addictive) zing. I'll be back for the Wagyu :-)

Lunch Bento Box - Tempura and Tonkatsu set, $19.50

Tonkatsu

Tempura

Masuya set of teriyaki chicken, tempura, sashimi (in this case, was replaced with an additional serve of tempura and a few pieces of sushi), rice and miso soup, $22.50

Vegetarian Bento Box - vegetarian sushi roll, vegetable tempura, agedashi tofu, salad, miso soup and fruits, $17.50

Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant
Basement level, 12-14 O'Connell Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9235.2717 / (02) 9231.0038
Website: http://www.masuya.com.au/en/masuya/index.html

How cool is this online mag?

Red Zero - Online Mag (first issue)

Red Zero
http://www.redzero.com.au/magazine/1/virtual-magazine/

I've heard lots about Ichi-Ban Boshi. Some friends would rave on about the value for money and others loved the quality of the soup base. Then there's the talk of collagen in the Tonkotsu... I had to try it for myself!

Zen ordered the Udon Set, which featured a salad, a mini katsu-don, and the udon ($13).

Tonkotsu Ramen, $8.90
The soup was so rich, fatty, and very satisfying.

Red pickled ginger, served with the Tonkotsu Ramen.

Ichi-Ban Boshi
http://www.ichibanboshi.com.au

Bondi Junction - 360 Oxford Street
Town Hall - Level 2, The Galleries Victoria, 500 George Street
Strand Arcade - Level 2, Strand Arcade, 193 Pitt Street

This is ultimately my favourite Korean restaurant! The service is excellent (I love how they cook the food for you), the staff are super friendly and they really care about their customers. I walked in on a Sunday afternoon after the lunch operating hours and they were more than happy to re-open for just a table of two!

Condiments of bean sprouts, kim chi and pickled vegies

Prawn pancake

Spicy Octopus and Beef Hot Pot

Try the traditional floor seating, or the western tables & chairs at this homestyle restaurant.

Se Jong
68 - 72 Evaline St, Campsie
Phone: (02) 9718-4039

Back in March this year, Zen and I had dinner at the James Squire Restaurant. I remember feeling very agitated... this being fuelled by the slow service, stiff wooden chairs and my grumbling stomach. Our order was a little overpriced and lacked the extra 'oomph'. However, ordering the desserts was a battlefield in my mind! I was tempted with the Warm Caramelised Pear & Ginger Cake with Honey Fig & Ginger Ice-Cream... all my favourite flavours tumbled in one! But in the end, I ordered the Coffee Brulee. It was rich, awakening and very creamy.

Black Tasmanian mussels with spicy chorizo sausage and roasted tomato & basil sauce, $16.50

Marinated grilled chicken breast on moroccan vegetable couscous and green tomato chutney, $23.50

Confit duck risotto with baby peas and fresh chilli, $19.50

Coffee Brulee, $10

White Chocolate with a coffee flavoured toffee centre (accompaniment to the Coffee Brulee)

James Squire Brewhouse and Restaurant
22 The Promenade, King Street Wharf
Phone: (02) 8270-7901

My family has been regulars at Auburn Chinese Restaurant for almost a year now. Before that, we never really tried any local restaurants. But this place has restored our trust! Now, it has become our alternative to home cooking. The Auburn Chinese Restaurant offers simple hearty Chinese food, with BYO. It is great casual dining for those lazy days. Be sure to turn up early though, because it gets packed by 7pm. This night... I went with Zen.

House soup of pork bone, lotus seed and carrot.

Steamed oysters with shallots, ginger and soy.

Deep fried pork chop in spicy salt

Combination vegetables with vermicelli in a hot pot

Auburn Chinese Restaurant
138 South Parade, Auburn
(Opposite Auburn Station)
Closed on Tuesdays.

It is hard to miss Stra Pocha- a smokey red building opposite the Strathfield railway station (on the quieter side). At 6.30pm, this Korean BBQ restaurant was packed with locals. When we ordered the 'special hot sauce BBQ chicken' the waitress whom had limited-english, warned us that it was very hot and we weren't allowed to make a complaint if it was unedible. This was enticing enough for us to order without hesitation. I love my food fiery hot.

The menu - most dishes were $30.

Condiments of kimchi, pickled radish, and others

The special hot sauce BBQ chicken, $30
The hotness of this stunned us. Our mouths were on fire and our tongues were stung with numbness. It was perfect!

Pork bone with potato hot soup, $30

Stra Pocha
Everton Road, Strathfield (opposite Strathfield Station)

Thanks for the b'day card and these scrumptious chocs, Eyeblaster team!

Better than Sex chocolates are all about passion and satisfaction.

"Imagine pure white chocolate smothering soft creamy marshmallows with cranberry kisses, making the toasted coconut and crunchy cashews very jealous, as they are all drizzled with smooth dark chocolate."

Chocolate is Better Than Sex because... you can make it last as long as you want. So, I'm not sharing these!

On the 31st July 2006, I turned 22.

All week, my 4 year-old brother Bryan, has been asking me to draw a picture of a cake I'd like for my birthday. I was later surprised with this Green Tea Mousse Cake from Breadtop, which Christina helped him buy.

The green tea was so refreshing! It was matched perfectly with some white chocolate and red bean.

Here's me with Zen... and a cheeky Bryan.

Family photo :-)

This was Bryan in the morning... punching Roland!

Christina and Roland's pressie to me!

Zen's gift to my sore back... thanks babe! I love you *muah*

Zen's constant craving for Peking Duck drove him into taking me to Sydney Beijing Restaurant, at Ashfield. We chose the Sydney Beijing Restaurant because after a quick search in Google, we couldn't help but notice the number of Chinese bloggers commenting at this restaurant's similarity to the authentic flavours in Beijing.

This must be the worst tasting salt and pepper squid ever! Way too much batter, the squid was overcooked and tough, and it wasn't tossed in any seasoning!

Sizzling Beef and Vegetables on a pan. I was expecting this dish to be served on a hot pan... but it was literally served on a cooking pan! As with most traditional Chinese restaurants, the food was far too oily. However, Zen and I still fought for the braised eggplant.

The duck soup was compliementary with the Peking Duck. There was plenty of salty goodness from the duck's marinade... but was unfortunately also filled with MSG.

15 minutes after the dishes were served, out came the Peking Duck. It was served with sliced cucumber, a mixture of hoisin sauce and plum sauce, slivered shallots and steamed pancakes. What can I say? I came here for an authentic meal! Did the original Peking Duck really have this much meat still attached to the skin?

I don't know why Zen and I always over-estimate the amount of food we eat. As pretty as these noodles look, I was too full to eat any.

Sydney Beijing Restaurant
333 Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Phone: (02) 9716 5523

We didn't do anything spectacular after leaving Japan except for shop and eat! Here's Winnie and I after a full night of shopping in Mongkok. Winnie... come back to Sydney!

Last day in Japan! This is the Asakusa Kannon Temple, which is also known as Sensoji. It is a Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo.

For lunch, we went to a BBQ Buffet. Our tour guide helped us order large abalones and Grade A and/or Grade AA Kobe Beef. Kobe beef cattle are hand massaged and fed beer to reduce their stress levels, maintain tenderness in their muscles and to increase their appetites so that they have a higher level of stored fat. As you can see below, the fat has a lovely marbled texture. The taste was amazing!

We spent the majority of today in queues... though a 1-hour wait is supposedly quick for a theme park. A great thing about Tokyo Disneyland in comparison to Universal Studios Japan is that the fast-pass is free! The limitation being that you're only allowed to take 1 fast-pass at a time, but each pass gives you an hour's duration to return to the venue.

Entrance of Tokyo Disneyland

Me infront of the Tokyo Disneyland castle

Bashful from the 7 dwarfs

Here's my mum with Grumpy, whom actually got grumpy at me because I ran out of memory on my camera, and took a while deciding on which photos to delete!

Mum and I at Tokyo Disneyland

Mickey (orange flavour) and Minnie Mouse (apple flavour) ice blocks

Mum with one of the Three Little Pigs

Aboard the Tokyo Disneyland train which connects to Tokyo Disneyland Sea and the Tokyo Disneyland Resort

The Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade...

Beauty and the Beast

Pete's Dragon

Buzz Lightyear

Tokyo Disneyland Castle at Night

Our tour guide arranged for these freshly boiled (delivered defrosted) Hokkaido Crabs to be delivered to our hotel rooms for supper. Hokkaido crabs are also known as Tarabagani or the Red Sea King Crab. The crab's meat was sweet and put a new meaning to the size of "king" crabs... very satisying indeed!

Eejanaika is the new steel 4th dimensional roller coaster, that was opened days before I had arrived in Japan. It supposedly translates to "ain't it great".

Mum and I at the entrance of Fuji-Q (Fujikyu) High Land

The Fujiyama roller coaster at Fuji-Q (Fujikyu) High Land when opened in July 1996 was the world's tallest (at 78.9m) coaster, and also had the highest drop at 70m.

The ghost house at Fuji-Q (Fujikyu) High Land. This was super scary! There are REAL humans dressed as ghosts / freaks that literally grab and chase you!!! I've never ran faster...

Japan is filled with vending machines for food, drinks, toys... you name it!

TOYOTA Universal Design Showcase @ Mega Web, Tokyo

The sexy Lexus LF-A concept

TOYOTA Universal Design Showcase

Giant Ferris wheel at Palette Town, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan

Odaiba Venus Fort is a theme-park like shopping mall with a 18th century European street interior.

Ferris wheel at night

The rainbow bridge, Tokyo

Related external sites:
Mega Web (Toyota & Lexus City Showcase, History Garage, Universal Design Showcase)
Fuji-Q High Land
Odaiba Venus Fort
JAL Places to See in Japan

Tonight, we stayed at the Royal Hotel Kawaguchiko, which had its own hot spa and was only 10 steps from Kawaguchi-ko Lake.

At the Royal Hotel Kawaguchiko, we had a breakfast of fish cake, salted fish and egg with congee, miso soup, and daikon (white radish) with pork in an oden.

We slept in a traditional Japanese bedroom with Tatami mats and futons.

Mum and I dressed up in the Yukata robes the Hotel had provided.

Dinner of smoked whitefish, pickled shallot, tempura and a donabe of octopus and vegies.

Wearing a yukata robe at dinner...

The hotel was walking distance to Mt Fuji!

This is the Peace Park at Gotemba. Also known as the Scent of Natural Civilisation garden.

A lovely Japanese garden inside the Gotemba Peace Park.

At lunch, we were taken to a random restaurant. We were served tempura with...

Udon

The rest of the day was spent at the Yunessun hot springs spa resort which is located in Hakone. Too bad I couldn't take photos inside...

And to end the day, I had the green tea soft cream, and Mum had the mango flavour. If only McDonalds had these flavours in its soft-serve cones.