Author: Ardi

Sakae Japanese Kitchen

Review:

One evening, we cannot decide which restaurant to go for dinner. So, we have to ask for a help to our friends, collectively known as Zomato. I saw one restaurant in Marrickville that pretty stood out. It was a Japanese restaurant, named Sakae Japanese Kitchen, which had a rating of 4.3. Marrickville is universally known for its Vietnamese restaurants. So, we were pretty curious about this Japanese restaurant.

The restaurant looked unassuming from the outside and the décor was quite minimalist. The staff was very friendly and we were happy to see that none of the mains cost more than $20 on the menu.

Salmon Nigiri Sushi – $4 and Salmon thin roll – $4.50

Obviously these two are the indicators of a truly great Japanese restaurant. Our little one finished it and we were pretty pleased about their size and taste.

Beef Tataki with Sakae special sauce – $9.80 – Thinly sliced rare beef

$10 for this beauty? We’ll take it anytime! Seriously tho… portion was big and taste was great!

Natto thin roll (6 pcs) – $4.00 – Japanese traditional fermented sticky soy beans

I ordered this out of curiosity. Natto is one of those things that need an acquired taste to enjoy. This was my first exposure to natto and I could understand why a lot of people hate it. Personally, I don’t mind the taste and managed to adjust my palate to accommodate the ‘natto’ taste.

Agedashi Eggplant & Prawn Wonton – $7.50 – Deepfried eggplant and prawn wonton in Agedashi sauce

This dish was on the ‘special’ section. It is the lesser known sibling of Agedashi Tofu and another ‘first try’ for me. I actually liked how they combined the eggplant and prawn wonton. You just need to add rice for the dish to be a ‘complete dish’.

Yakizakana Entrees – $9.80 – Grilled half mackerel lightly salted

We ordered this because of the picture on the menu was pretty inviting! Despite being pretty interesting, the mackerel lost out in the battle to become our favourite dish.

Sakae Special Sashimi – Scampi – $5.80

Scampi sashimi at special price? who wouldn’t want that! What’s the catch? You have to order it with a main meal.

Spider Roll – $7.80 – Soft shell crab and vegetables with mayonnaise

The spider roll was pretty big. They were generously sprinkled with fish roe.

Mixed Katsu Don – $12.80 – Specially cooked fish, prawn and pork cutlet with onion and egg on top of rice

Katsu don is generally the dish that I use to fill up my tummy in a Japanese restaurant, considering that the sushi and sashimi are generally enjoyed in small pieces.
In Sakae Japanese Kitchen, the katsu don was pretty big and the mixed katsu don was even better with a variety of cuts on a plate!

Note: You can swap the tonkatsu with chicken katsu.

Tempura Udon / Soba – $14.80 – Noodle with tempura prawns and veggies.

I did not order the dish and had no capacity to try it either. It looked pretty good tho!

The final verdict for Sakae Japanese Kitchen

Sakae Japanese Kitchen was a pretty small restaurant with incredibly friendly staff! The food was cheap, the portion was pretty big and ,most importantly, the taste was surprisingly good.

Did you know?

Sakae has two other restaurants in Eastwood with a slightly different concept: as a Yakiniku House and Japanese Dining Bar.

Rating for Sakae Japanese Kitchen:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $10 – $18 per main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

303 Illawarra Road, Marrickville 2204

02 9559 7873

http://www.sakae.com.au/

Aug 25, 2015
Chophouse

Review:

I wanted to take a couple of VIPs from overseas to enjoy Australian beef. I have heard that Chophouse was one of the best steakhouse in town. So naturally, Chophouse was our choice for enjoying the beautiful Australian beef.

Looking at the menu, they have cuts that you will most likely not find in your local butcher. So, we were pretty happy with the prospect of having quality food for dinner.

The night started off wonderfully with two beautiful starters:

Crisp Zucchini Flowers with prawn mousse, and Romesco sauce – $21.90

There were three golden zucchini flowers with beautiful prawn fillings.

Flash Fried Prawns & Calamari with Aioli – $17.50

Despite looking like an ordinary salt and pepper calamari, they were nothing but ordinary.

Something Fishy

It is actually one of the names for the kid’s menu. It was a deep fried fish fillet with steamed greens. The fish was way too overcooked. The little guy did not want to finish it (and I didn’t blame him). The good thing about it was that it was FREE of charge!

After quite a long wait, with a few guests that came around the same time as us already paid their bills, our main course arrived. On a side note, the complimentary bread actually managed to keep my tummy busy while waiting for the main course.

The Glazed Beef Short Rib with house made BBQ sauce (350gr) – $36.00

Obviously when you are at one of the best steakhouses, you will want to try the best item (usually the most expensive one?) on their ‘signatures’ range. This short rib was the one. It was the dish I originally ordered (and was subsequently halved and traded with the rump cap below).

The meat was incredibly tender and the BBQ sauce was nice.

Double Double Lamb Chops with mint jelly (2x180gr) – $30.90 – from Amelia Park, WA

I must admit that the double double lamb chops sounded very intriguing! However, my tummy said ‘no’ to the weight listed on the menu.

Wagyu Rump Cap, MB6+ with harissa and jus (200gr) – $39.00 – from FI, AACo, QLD

Wagyu rump cap was the best dish of the night for me. It was the smallest portion for the night and wasn’t the one I ordered (unfortunately!), but the steak was beautiful.

The final verdict for Chophouse

Quality was definitely there when it comes down to the steak they served at Chophouse… as expected from quality meats! However, a very long break between the two courses and the fact that no one told us the steak did not come with any side dishes made our experience somewhat less satisfying.

Did you know?

I was quite interested in their Tomahawks. However considering it weighed in excess of 1.5 kg, none of us dared to order it.

The side dishes cost from $9 to $25. So, in order to have a complete meal, you might need to add that cost into your main dish.

Rating for Chophouse:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $20 – $55 per main dish

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

25 Bligh St, Sydney 2000

1300 246 748

http://chophousesydney.com.au/

Aug 17, 2015
Voulez Vous Experience

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Unfortunately, Voulez Vous has closed its doors for good.

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My Voulez Vous Experience:

This week’s review is about a brand new restaurant in Surry Hills named Voulez Vous. Even if it’s technically still Surry Hills, the restaurant is actually located closer to Hyde Park, so parking is not a problem around the area! I dined as a guest for #ZomatoMeetUp event, invited by Nick from Zomato.

There were two sets of three-course dinner for the night. I managed to try the other set from Thang of Noodlies.com.

Meat Entrée

This entrée was not on the menu, but instead was created so that we could taste the range of meat entrées at Voulez Vous. It is a mixture of traditional Serbian and Mediterranean dishes.

It was a balanced mix that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I think I would love to have this kind of entrée permanently on the menu as it showcases what Serbian cuisine is about. Especially for us who are not accustomed to the cuisine.

Fish Entrée

This was the fish (or seafood) entrée that I did not get the chance to taste. The dishes were not designed to be shared.

Lemon and golden quince sorbet

This was a pretty good palate cleanser.

Sesame coated tuna steak with steamed vegetables

To be honest, I am not a big fan of tuna. However, their steak was grilled perfectly. The sesame and red bits added a crunchy texture to the tuna. It was nice and refreshing.

Saach

Saach was the dish that the owner talked about more and was considered as the national dish of Serbia. It was a stew of veal and lamb with vegetables and herbs.

Pear poached in red wine

When the poached pears arrived on our table, we could not hide our delights on how nice it looked. Then we had a taste…

The combination of red wine, chocolate and vanilla ice cream (although it tasted more like aerated vanilla mixture) was amazing.

I did not say this because I was invited to Voulez Vous, but that Pear dessert was awesome! I actually had to come back to the restaurant a few days after to ensure that what I got wasn’t just made especially for us… and it was still awesome!

It was definitely one of the best desserts I have tasted this year!

Nutella Torte

In a way, I was pleased that I did not get the Nutella torte, because I am not a big fan of chocolate. Opinions were divided amongst our group and some of us did enjoy the Nutella Torte.

A few interesting things about Voulez Vous

One thing that got talked about a lot on the night was Quince-flavoured Rakija. Rakija can be considered as a fruit brandy with 40%+ alcohol content. According to the owner, it is best served at 40°. Voulez vous is also a good place for you to try Serbian beer, Jelen Pivo.

Details:

6 Hunt Street, Surry Hills 2010

+61 2 9211 3880

Other pictures of Voulez Vous on the night

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Aug 10, 2015
Chat Thai Westfield

Review:

I have been wanting to write about this week’s restaurant for years. It was one of our favourite late night destinations (retired from nocturnal activities four years ago). Chat Thai has a few restaurants in Sydney. On this occasion, we went to Chat Thai Westfield in Sydney CBD for dinner.

One of the interesting thing about Chat Thai is that they have different menu for different time of the day: Lunch, Dinner, and Supper. Supper menu is only available in Chat Thai Haymarket (Thaitown).

Padt Thai Chicken – $14.00 – stir fried thin rice noodles with chicken, dried shrimps, bean sprouts, galic and chives in a tamarind and palm sugar sauce

If you google ‘National dish of Thailand’, Google will tell you that it is Pad Thai. However, it is not something that we normally look for in a Thai restaurant. We ordered this because other people in the party love a good Pad Thai.

Som Dtum – thai-bpu – $14.00 – Green papaya salad with peanuts and dried shrimps with the addition of pickled crab

People generally judged a good Thai restaurant based on its Pad Thai. For us, som dtum is the dish that we’d like to measure how good a Thai restaurant is. Chat Thai Westfield’s som dtum was one of the best we have ever tasted! It was fresh and had a lot of punchy flavours, especially from the pickled crab.

If you are not sure about pickled crab, you can order the normal Som Dtum Thai.

Gai Yaang – $14.00 – Char grilled turmeric and lemongrass marinated chicken with smoked chilli and tamarind relish

Crying Tiger – $14.00 – Char grilled beef tenderloin with smoked chilli and tamarind relish

Gai Yaang and Crying Tiger are the two dishes that my Thai friend always ordered when dining at Chat Thai Westfield. These two are also staple food in Thai restaurants. Both dishes were cooked to perfection. They were juicy and full of flavour!

Gai Yaang

Crying Tiger

Mussamun nuea – $16.00 – Mussamun curry of slowly braised beef shin and potato

This is a curry my partner love to order in a Thai restaurant. You can tell Chat Thai Westfield’s mussamun is great by the quality of its meat. The curry was thicker than other massamun curries we have tried and the meat was so tender that you can actually fork it off!

Suki Chicken Soup – $14.00 – braised chicken and glass noodles with water spinach

This is a dish that is rarely seen in a Thai restaurant. It resembles Chinese hot pot dish.

You can opt for a soup or dry suki.

Padt Si-ew – $14.00

The little one always orders Padt Si-ew when we go to a Thai restaurant. This dish is probably the most generic out of all Thai dish and the little-known brother of Padt Thai. It was a simple dish of rice noodles, chicken, vegetables and sweet soy sauce.

Bpla Dtom Som – $24.00 – steamed blue eye cod in caramelized palm sugar, turmeric and tamarind sauce.

I ordered this dish because of the picture in the menu. Being the most expensive dish of the night (and the last to be served) definitely put some pressure on this dish to deliver. All I can say is that it did not disappoint. Despite looking a bit overcooked, the fish was still perfect. The combination of sweet and sour sauce (a different kind!) was also very good!

The final verdict for Chat Thai Westfield

Chat Thai is one of my favourite Thai restaurants in Sydney! Should I really say more?

Did you know?

Unfortunately we had to skip on the desserts as we were pretty full at the end of the dinner.

With that said, I can create a whole post for Chat Thai dedicated solely for its desserts. They have a nice range of desserts. My personal favourite is Pa Tong Go – deep fried donuts with pandan sauce. I glanced at the dessert menu in Chat Thai Westfield and could not find it there, but they are definitely available in Chat Thai Haymarket.

Rating for Chat Thai Westfield:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $14 – $24 per main dish

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 6002, level 6, Westfield Centre Point, 188 Pitt St, Sydney 2000

+61 2 9221 0600

http://www.chatthai.com.au/

Aug 4, 2015
Silvas Portuguese Traditional Charcoal Chicken

Review:

The dish on the picture above seriously turned every head in the restaurant (ours as well when we first visited the restaurant). However, this Petersham restaurant, Silvas Portuguese, is actually famous for its traditional Portuguese charcoal chicken.

We were a bit confused when we first came to the restaurant. We joined a line which eventually turned out to be the line for takeaways. If you want to dine in, you should proceed straight away to the sit down area where it was full-serviced.

Entrée – Polenta ($1.50 per slice), Garlic Bread ($4.50), Garden Salad ($5.00), Olives, Bread ($3.00), Rissoles ($3.00)

They give you free bread and olives for the entrée. However, you should also try their polenta… it was really good!

They also gave out some elements of the entrée for free for the dishes that you ordered. So, make sure you don’t order too much of them!

Goat Casserole – Special menu

The goat casserole is not always available and it was the Special item on the blackboard. The portion was quite gigantic and you also received vegetable rice and a slice of polenta. The casserole was full of flavour and very rich.

Chicken Roll meal – $12.50 – Silva’s traditional charcoal chicken in a roll with homemade mayonnaise, served with chips

If you want a simple and quick bite, Silvas Portuguese also served the charcoal chicken in a roll. It is a handy option to have if you don’t want to get your hands dirty.

Steak Sandwich meal – $13.50 – Grilled veal fillet on a Portuguese roll with a light spread of butter, served with chips

The steak sandwich was sub-par when compared to the rest of the dishes we enjoyed that night.

Espetada a Madeirense – $26.90 – Traditional Madeira-style diced aged rump on a skewer cooked over charcoal with rock salt and served with home-style garden salad and garlic bread

So, this was the dish that we went back for! The way it made an entrance to the table is a spectacle on its own. It was brought out on a very long skewer and hanged in the middle of the table with fat still dripping down!

The aged rump steak was very salty, courtesy of generous amount of rock salt. However, it actually worked beautifully for steak that was cooked medium rare.

Whole Chicken – $26.50 – Whole charcoal chicken served with chips and vegetable rice

This dish is what the majority of customers came to Silvas Portuguese for. We have tried four famous charcoal restaurants around the area and agreed that Silvas was the best of the four.

The final verdict for Silvas Portuguese

If you have a dish that turned heads and made people think “I should have ordered that one”, then you are in a good place! Silvas Portuguese restaurant did just that with their Espetada a Madeirense. Their Portuguese Chicken also deserved a mention!

Did you know?

My Brazilian friends always go to Petersham to buy Brazilian Rump Cap. The place is called Portuguese Spanish Butchery.

Rating for Silvas Portuguese:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $11 – $36 per main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

82 New Canterbury Road, Petersham 2049

+61 2 9572 9911

http://www.silvas.com.au/

Jul 27, 2015
Why Thai Restaurant

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Unfortunately, Why Thai has closed its doors for good.

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Review:

We went to Why Thai for a random weekday dinner. Since there were only three of us, we could only order a few dishes. The restaurant wasn’t that busy with quite a lot of people ordering for takeaway (including someone coming in in onesie). Service was also nice and friendly.

Web Spring Rolls (5 pcs) – $6.50 – Mixed minced prawn and crab meat in spider web-like wrap served with sweet chilli sauce

For the price, the portion was actually pretty decent. The spring rolls were actually pretty big and had a nice crunch.

Tamarind Infused Prawns – $17.80 – Deep fried light battered prawns tossed in WHY THAI signature sweet tamarind sauce with mixed vegetables

We were obviously drawn into this by the word ‘signature’ on the description. Generally speaking, anything with ‘signature’ is more special than the ones with the word ‘special’. However, it might be pretty beneficial to include ‘crispy egg noodle’ in the description.

I love how the dish was pretty colourful. The combination of tamarind and pineapple was also pretty refreshing!

Crispy Egg Noodle in Gravy Sauce with Seafood – $14.80 – deep fried egg noodle topped with Thai style gravy egg, oyster sauce and vegetables.

We ordered this dish because we were craving for a similar dish that is called ‘i fu mie’ in Indonesia. It is a tale of the halves: half crunchy, half soft, half dry, half soupy. However if you don’t eat it quickly enough, it will all be pretty soggy.

The final verdict for Why Thai Restaurant

We ended up having three deep fried dishes at Why Thai Restaurant. Granted that it might be better to have a curry or stir fried dish, but I quite enjoyed all of them. Service was also pretty good at the restaurant.

Did you know?

Thai restaurants often have eye-catching names like Why Thai Restaurant.

Rating for Why Thai Restaurant:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $12 – $19 per main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

52 Belmore Road, Randwick 2031

+61 2 9398 9552

Jul 21, 2015