Author: Ardi

Manmaru

Manmaru Review:

There is a little cafe in Dulwich Hill that has recently been transformed to a Japanese-inspired cafe called Manmaru by its owners. Their menu heavily features vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. The fun part is: they don’t have a fixed menu. They change the menu according to the fresh produce they could find on the day. Interestingly, they managed to combine Japanese ingredients with your usual Australian brunch options.

Miso Beef Brisket – $10 – with asian slaw shichimimayo

The burger might be the cheapest and simpler item on the blackboard that day. However, the brisket was so tasty and worked really well with the asian slaw.

Koji scrambled egg – $16 – with miso butter mushroom

The koji scrambled egg looked like a simple egg, mushroom and a few slices of toast. However, that mushroom is anything but simple. They are jam-packed full of flavour!

Organic lamb with sweet potato – $13 – with housemade tomato chutney and salad

There were four different pies that day. They ran out of our first choice, chicken leek and mushroom. Considering that we are not big on black beans and vegetarian option, our pick went to organic lamb. The pie had a more middle-eastern influence.

White chocolate matcha latte – $6

Considering it’s quite a cold day last week. The white chocolate matcha latte really suited the occasion. The cold weather did not stop the kids to try their rose lychee milkshake tho!

The final verdict for Manmaru

I like a little variety for my brunch. Manmaru delivered a Japanese-inspired brunch that was quite a rarity in Inner West, or even Sydney.

Did you know?

Manmaru also has little cakes and pastries if you are looking for a more bite-sized treat.

Rating for Manmaru:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $10 – $18 per dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

495 Marrickville Road, Dulwich Hill 2203

+61 4 1456 6624

https://www.manmaru.com.au/

Jul 21, 2017
Sate House Bogowonto

Sate House Bogowonto Review:

This week’s review is from my hometown back in Surabaya, Indonesia. The restaurant is called Sate House Bogowonto. As the name would suggest, their menu heavily involves meat on a skewer.

Sate Kambing Muda (Daging) – Rp 37.5k / 5 skewers – Special lamb satay in Sate House Bogowonto style, most favourite menu

The lamb satay was the hero dish in this restaurant. It comes with either peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce with chilli, or a combination of both.

Sate Kambing Muda (Campur) – Rp 70k / 10 skewers – Special mixed lamb satay consists of meat, served with soya / peanut sauce

Basically this is still the lamb satay. However, instead of just the meat part, you get an assortment of ‘other’ things like liver, kidney, or even lamb fat.

Quite a lot of Indonesians actually enjoy this option more than just the meat, including myself.

Sate Ayam – Rp 37k / 10 skewers – Chicken satay

It’s probably not the best chicken satay in Surabaya. However, it was quite acceptable.

Gule Kikil Kambing – Rp 56k – Lamb leg Gulai cooked with special recipe from Bogowonto served with Mlinjo crackers

When you are eating a lamb satay in Surabaya, gule is usually its pairing. Gule is a kind of Indonesian curry with a consistency in between a clear soup and a thick curry paste. Seriously, warm rice + satay + gule = happiness!

Jamur Tiram Goreng Crispy – Rp 22k – Deep fried oyster mushroom with chilli sauce

I must say this is quite an unusual dish to be served at a satay house. However it’s a welcome addition for me as it added the crunchy element to my dining experience.

The final verdict for Sate House Bogowonto

Sate House Bogowonto serves quite a nice chicken and lamb skewers. However, their price is more on the expensive scale for a satay in Surabaya.

Did you know?

There were two items on the menu that we were really interested in ordering: oven-baked lamb and goat head curry. Unfortunately (or probably fortunately for you), they were not available at that time.

Rating for Sate House Bogowonto:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: Rp 37k / 10 skewers for chicken and Rp 70k / 10 skewers for lamb

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Jalan Musi No 37, Surabaya

+62 31 9901 4963

Sate House Bogowonto on Facebook

Jul 18, 2017
Izakaya Goma

Izakaya Goma Review:

Our colleagues and I dined at Izakaya Goma in Maroubra quite regularly for lunch. They are probably the only Japanese restaurant in the area that does lunch for under $10. The catch is you can only have at most three options a day and it varies depending on the day you visit the restaurant. It is also a simple bowl of something with miso soup.

For a more elaborate lunch, they also have other options available from their menu. If you don’t fancy any of the lunch menu, you can always go back to their regular menu.

Oden – $1.50

This is an irresistible factor when having lunch at Izakaya Goma. For only $1.50 a stick, you get to choose from a variety of Japanese Oden. I usually like to have the konyaku jelly and fish balls.

Kaisen Bara Chirashi Zen – $14.8 – assorted raw and cooked seafood on sushi rice

I always love eating chirashi (basically it’s a bowl of sushi rice with sashimi cuts)! It’s probably not the cheapest, but it has quite a variety in the bowl.

Teriyaki Salmon Yakimono – $18.8 – grilled salmon basted with teriyaki sauce

The teriyaki salmon yakimono comes from the main menu. The portion is obviously a lot bigger than the lunch menu.

Tendon – $13.8 or $9.80 – assorted tempura on Japanese rice

It is your usual tempura pieces on a bowl of rice.

Chicken Katsu – $10.80 or $9.80 – breaded chicken cutlet with egg and onion on Japanese rice

It is another of your usual chicken katsu on a bowl of rice.

Sushi

They have quite a lot of options for Sushi and Sashimi.

The final verdict for Izakaya Goma

Izakaya Goma has a good value option for a quick lunch.

Did you know?

They used to have free fairy floss for the kids.

Rating for Izakaya Goma:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $9.8 lunch specials

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

693 Anzac Parade, Maroubra 2035

+61 2 9349 1945

http://www.izakayagoma.com/

Jul 11, 2017
Braza Leichhardt

Braza Leichhardt Review:

We visited Braza in Darling Harbour back in 2013. Braza has been one of our favourite all you can eat restaurants in Sydney ever since. Our review this week is from its main branch (if I’m not mistaken) at Leichhardt in Sydney. Braza Leichhardt has been around for longer than the Darling Harbour one. It is located near the entrance of Leichhardt in Norton Street.

The best thing about Braza Leichhardt is their ability to rotate the supply of meat. Most of the time when you go to have dinner in this kind of restaurant, you will get the cheap cuts… but not Braza. They are able to give you variety of cuts throughout the course of your dinner.

Their menu is still the same. It is plain and simple $49 and you can eat as much as you want.

Side Dishes

Braza has quite a few different side dishes for you to choose from. However, instead of presenting them all on your table, you have to order. There is an exception for the cheese balls where you can only have a limit of one cheese ball per person.

Beef

There are way too many cuts to remember. Obviously being in a Brazilian restaurant, you want to get your hands on their most famous beef cuts: Picanha (or Rump Cap).

Chicken

It is easier with chicken as you can only have chicken thigh or breast. However, in addition to those two, you can also get chicken hearts, chicken drumsticks and sometimes chicken with bacon!

There are also a whole assortments of pork like pork belly and chorizo.

Ribs

This is the bit that I love the most about Braza Leichhardt: the ribs! I love good ribs! What about unlimited supply of good ribs? Even better!

Seafood

Seafood is also probably one of Braza’s strongest offerings. Despite only having two types of seafood, fish wrapped in leaf and prawns, they are still two more than most churrasco restaurants.

Desserts

They are not really sophisticated desserts. However, it is enough to end the night with. Obviously, you could also end the night with a couple of caipirinhas!

The final verdict for Braza Leichhardt

I’m sure you know how my verdict will be considering that Braza is one of our favourites! The Leichhardt branch is no different… or probably slightly better than the Darling Harbour one!

Did you know?
Just in case Leichhardt and Darling Harbour is too far for you, Braza also has restaurants in Manly and Miranda.

Rating for Braza Leichhardt:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $49 all-you-can-eat

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

13 Norton Street, Leichhardt 2040, NSW

+61 2 9572 7921

https://www.braza.com.au/

Jul 7, 2017
Saigon Summer Street Food

Saigon Summer Street Food Review:

Our review this week is from a little shop in Summer Hill called Saigon Summer Street Food. You might be able to quickly figure the restaurant out as a Vietnamese restaurant. The restaurant is located in the shopping area of Summer Hill.

They have the usual suspects of Vietnamese street food: Vietnamese roll, pho soup and vermicelli or rice dishes.

Beef in Betel Leaf Vermicelli (Bun Bo La Lot) – $13.50

I like the vibrant colors of this vermicelli dish with beef in betel leaf. It is so refreshing!

Beef Pho (Pho Bo) – $12

Beef pho is the traditional Vietnamese soup. The beef is usually served rare and served on top of the bowl of soup.

The beef pho in Saigon Summer was quite clear and the beef was pre-cooked with the soup.

Lychee Lemonade – $3

I love lychee and I love lemonade. This drink is a no-brainer, right?

The final verdict for Saigon Summer Street Food

Saigon Summer Street Food is a pretty decent restaurant for your daily dining needs.

Did you know?

Saigon Summer also has this nice bite-sized dishes. They all have the same price – 1 for $3, 3 for $8, 5 for $12.

Rating for Saigon Summer Street Food:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $6 – $14 per dish

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

12 Lackey Street, Summer Hill 2130

+61 2 8387 5621

http://saigonsummer.com.au/

Jul 5, 2017
Yakitori Jin

Yakitori Jin Review:

A few weeks ago, we heard about a restaurant in Haberfield, Sydney, that served Japanese Yakitori. Yakitori Jin is the name. We were quite amazed in so many levels. When people talk about Haberfield, it is synonymous with Italian restaurants and ricotta cheesecake. So, opening a Japanese restaurant that predominantly serves yakitori, aka Japanese chicken skewers, was quite a bold move.

We managed to visit Yakitori Jin last week. The restaurant looked pretty unassuming from the outside. There were only a handful of tables inside. We were quite lucky we got a table without a booking. Their yakitori came with two choices: salt and tare (basically you want either salty or sweet). In addition to the Yakitori, they also serve a few rice and noodles dishes.

Smoky Edamame – $8

It has become our custom to start Japanese dinner with edamame. Instead of just a boiled and salted edamame, they also add an extra element to it!

Omakase – $24 – 6pc Chef’s selection

Because there were way too many to choose from, we decided to leave it up to the chef (omakase). Their omakase is a selection of six yakitori. I love a good element of surprise in my dining experience.

Our first three yakitori are Okura (Okra), Perino tomato with camembert cheese, and Kokoro (Chicken Heart). You might not be able to judge from the picture (it looked like a regular sticks), but these three were amazing!

The next three were the ‘normal’ chicken skewers: Mune Chicken breast, Momo Chicken thigh, and Negima Chicken thigh and breast with leek. Again, you can’t really justify how it tasted from the picture. They were very good!

When you work on the Maths, it ends up being $4 a stick… not a bad deal!

Wagyu line meat – $6

Yakitori Jin also has a couple of specials in the menu. We were interested in one of the specials that night: wagyu line meat – Gyu suji Kushiyaki. It was so good that even our little one wanted one!

Artery – $4

At the bottom of the menu, they mentioned ‘some rare parts of yakitori are limited in stock’. One of the rare parts was chicken artery. Obviously the rare parts might not be for everyone. But for us, it was such a treat!

Yakitori don – $9.90 – a bowl of rice topped with yakitori tare

When you go to a restaurant, usually they don’t really take good care of your kids or they thought that chicken nuggets or fish and chips would do for these young ones. Yakitori Jin managed to present quite a nice rice bowl. I was just curious what happened to the kids who don’t eat chicken skewers.

Yaki Onigiri – $11 – A grilled rice ball with Jin soup (rich chicken soup with meat balls)

From the face value, $11 might be a steep proposition for a rice ball and a bowl of soup. But I think this is the dish that you don’t want to miss out… seriously! The soup was super rich and yummy… and did I mention grilled rice?

The final verdict for Yakitori Jin

Throughout the process of writing this review, I can’t stop thinking about when I will visit the place again. It’s just that good!

Rating for Yakitori Jin:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $82 for 2 people

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

101 Ramsay Street, Haberfield 2045

+61 420 565 101

http://torijin.com.au

Jun 30, 2017