Author: Ardi

Mappen – Japanese Noodle and Rice Bowl Bar

Review:

If I have to pick the best restaurant to have cheap casual eat out, I would pick Mappen Bondi Junction. It is probably the restaurant that I visited the most in Sydney. It is also happened to be pretty close to where I work.

The restaurant is like a school canteen. You get a tray, order up and move along towards the cashier. In the middle of it there is an abundance of Fried Toppings and Tempura. The temptation is always there to pick quite a lot of them!

Chicken Katsu – $3.30

I have tried quite a few dishes in their menu and I think the top two are the ones below:

Ontama Stewed beef was my ‘go-to’ dish. The regular size (with a couple tempura) is usually enough to get me through the day.

Ontama Stewed Beef – Half boiled egg on Plain Stewed Beef Bowl (lots of stewed beef & pickled ginger on rice – $6.90

Its chicken counterpart is Ontama Teriyaki chicken. It is also quite a simple dish.

Ontama Teriyaki Chicken – Half boiled egg on Teriyaki Chicken bowl (grilled teriyaki chicken & dried seaweed on rice – $6.90

They also serve a few noodle dishes, the cheapest that you can get was Bukkake. It is noodles with Bukkake sauce, shallot and lemon. For only $5.5, you get a very large bowl of noodles. You can choose between soba and udon.

Soba Bukkake – Hot noodle with Bukkake Sauce, shallot & lemon – $5.5 (Large)

So what’s ontama? Ontama (or onsen tamago) is egg boiled in onsen hot springs temperature (just about 70 degrees). The egg has quite a unique property as it’s just about cooked.

The last item that I purchased from Mappen was its Curry, I didn’t take a picture of it because it was for takeaway. I think it’ll be my new favourite there!

The final verdict for Mappen Bondi Junction

Seriously, what’s not to like about Mappen Bondi Junction?

Low price tag? Check. Great taste? Check. Fast and friendly service? Check.

Did you know?

Mappen is part of a Japanese food business that includes Suminoya, Koh-Ya and Rengaya. Unlike its siblings, the restaurant is catered for a daily casual dining.

Rating for Mappen Bondi Junction:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $3.90 – $15.90 for main course

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 5, 183-193 Oxford St, Bondi Junction, NSW 2022

+61 2 9388 0609

http://mappen.com.au/

May 7, 2015
Otto Ristorante

Review:

Otto Ristorante is probably not your average everyday restaurant. Most of us might only come here on a pretty special occasion. They are also listed as a one hat in the 2015 Good Food Guide.

You can choose to have a la carte menu or degustation. However, if you want to try its most famous dish, Spaghetti all’Aragosta, you must order a la carte.

Carpaccio di Manzo – $29 – Grainge Angus beef carpaccio, truffle dressing, aioli, capers, parmesan, baby rocket.

We are actually sharing the antipasto as our main is pasta heavy. The beef carpaccio was nice, but there was really nothing exciting about it. Quite a few restaurants in Sydney have a similar dish.

I also ordered an oyster for the main, but it wasn’t on the fresh side.

Risotto – $29 – Aged acquerello rice, assorted mushrooms, gorgonzola foam

My wife ordered the risotto and we ended up swapping the risotto with my spaghetti (reviewed below). The risotto was very nice, but it was very heavy. The gorgonzola cheese was prominent in the dish. The mushrooms managed to partially balance the cheese flavour.

If you want the main dish size, you need to add an extra $10 for it. However, I recommend you to order as is. The main dish portion was massive for a rice dish!

Spaghetti all’Aragosta – $106 – 650g Tasmanian crayfish, spaghetti, brandy, napolitana sauce, cherry tomatoes, baby basil

Spaghetti all’Aragosta is the cream of the crop for Otto Ristorante. It costs twice as much as the next most expensive main dish in the restaurant.

I wasn’t too excited about the napolitana sauce, but the lobster was fabulous. It was cooked perfectly! I have never been a big fan of lobster as I thought it was an over-priced giant prawn. Having to finally taste lobster that was in line with the price tag made me really happy!

Insalata di Rucola – $13 – Rocket, radicchio, apples, walnuts, parmesan and Fir tree honey vinegar dressing

The salad was a perfect addition to the spaghetti and risotto. It gave us the fresh feel to our otherwise heavy dinner!

Spaghetti Con Sugo di Formaggio – $35 – Spaghetti with white cheese sauce

Gelato Vaniglia – Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce

They have quite a variety of kids menu. On this occasion, my son chose his favourite ‘Spaghetti with white sauce’. He was quickly destroying the spaghetti. I had a chance to taste it as the portion was a bit too big for him. The spaghetti was the same as the much more expensive counterpart above. I also like the simple white cheese sauce. It was heavy and in abundance!

Brulee – $20 – Amaretto brulee, Amarena cherries, candied almonds, meringue, sour cherry sorbet

Looking at the description for the brulee, it was thick with Italian flavour from the amaretto and candied almonds. The Amarena cherries and sour cherry sorbet provided a multi-dimensional approach to the brulee. You can taste sweet, crunchy, sour, bitter, warm and cold all in one bite!

The final verdict for Otto Ristorante

When you see one item is twice as much as the rest of the menu, you expect great things from it. The Spaghetti all’Aragosta from Otto Ristorante had the nicest lobster I have ever tasted.

Did you know?

There are a few one-hat restaurants in the vicinity.

Rating for Otto Ristorante:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $29 – $106 for main course

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

Area 8, 6 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo, 2011

+61 2 9368 7488

http://ottoristorante.com.au/

Apr 30, 2015
The Cellar Restaurant

Review:

This week, we were in a pretty rare occasion that we actually decided to stay, rather than having a return trip to Hunter Valley for the weekend. After some discussions with the family, we decided to eat at The Cellar Restaurant in the Hunter Valley Gardens. It’s also because not a lot of restaurants are opened on Friday night.

House sourdough roll, Olio Mio olive oil, dukkah and beetroot relish – $3

The sourdough roll was accompanies by Hunter Valley’s Olio Mio olive oil. The usual suspects (dukkah and beetroot) completed the dish.

Yorkshire pudding with braised Wagyu skirt and horseradish crème fraiche – $6

We ordered the Yorkshire because a lot of people have been talking about it in Urbanspoon. The portion is pretty small, so sharing is NOT an option. All I can say is: It is awesome and it is a must-order dish!

Indian spiced kangaroo with sweet potato and onion bhajis, pickled carrots, lentil dhal and coriander yoghurt – $26

I am pretty sure there is no kangaroos in India. So, having an Indian spiced kangaroo was sort of interesting. What’s more interesting was that the taste actually worked!

Free range duck confit with beetroot and eschallot tart tatin and Seville orange marmalade sauce – $39

I only tried a little piece of the duck and my wife said it was lovely.

300gr Cape Grim grass fed sirloin with anchovy and parsley butter – $32

It was a bit of a gamble for me ordering this main dish considering that I am VERY particular about my steak. The sirloin steak that came out was beautiful and juicy. The anchovy and parsley butter enhanced the flavour but just enough that I could still taste the quality of the meat.

350gr Angus rib eye cutlet with Café de Paris butter – $36.50

My brother ordered the rib eye but he wanted more on the medium side.

In addition to the types of butter listed above, you can choose ten other sauces.

Brandy snap “taco”, lime and mascarpone parfait and spring berries – $16

When I am in a new restaurant I always look for something unusual to try. The dessert “taco” was something that I had my eyes set on since the start of the dinner.

My curiosity paid off early, the brandy snap “taco” was very pretty. The taste was also not disappointing.

Apricot sorbet, little meringues, candied oranges, kaffir lime and toasted coconut – $16

The apricot sorbet is actually more refreshing than the taco, but I am not a big fan of the apricot.

The final verdict for The Cellar Restaurant

Anyone who can cook the steak according to what I like is automatically in my good book and The Cellar Restaurant is one of them!

Did you know?

Hunter Valley is the wine country tourism for the state of New South Wales.

Rating for the Cellar Restaurant:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $32 – $39 for main course

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Hunter Valley Gardens, Broke Road, Pokolbin NSW 2320

+61 2 4998 7584

http://www.the-cellar-restaurant.com.au/

Apr 24, 2015
Martabak Cafe Australia
Review:

This week, I will review one of my favourite Indonesian desserts, Martabak Manis (Sweet Martabak). Traditionally, martabak (or better known as murtabak) is a savoury dish that resembles pancake. The Indonesian version of martabak is differentiated into regular martabak and the sweet martabak (East Java people sometimes called it as terang bulan – translated literally as ‘bright moon’).

I was introduced to Martabak Cafe Australia by my friend. His ‘sales pitch’ was that their sweet martabak was similar to the famous martabak joints in Indonesia. I have never tasted martabak in Sydney that is remotely close to the taste of the ‘real deal’ in Indonesia. So, hearing the word ‘similar’ makes me happy!

Looking at the menu in the restaurant, half of it is reserved for its martabak manis and the other half is for five other meals in the restaurant. So, you can tell that martabak manis is clearly its champion dish. The grid-like menu might seem a bit too challenging, but it’s actually very easy:
- Choose your base (pandan, or original) and the following combination of flavours: Peanut, Chocolate, Cheese, and Durian
- Choose to have half or full with five or 10 pieces respectively
Their martabak manis was gorgeously sweet! It was fluffy with loads of toppings and big! It truly feels like eating martabak manis in Indonesia.

While we were there, we also ordered the savoury Martabak with Chicken Curry. It is quite an interesting version of Martabak as I usually enjoy martabak in Indonesia without the curry bit. They also have Martabak with beef rendang!

We also had Mie Goreng Udang Bawang (stir egg noodle with garlic prawn, tomato, meatball, garlic chives in special sauce) and Nasi Goreng Ayam (Indonesian fried rice with Chicken). The noodles were nice and had a decent proportion of prawns. My guest told me that the fried rice was a bit too ‘colourful’. There were too many flavours at play.

Mie Goreng Udang Bawang – $12.95

Nasi Goreng Ayam – $10.95

Siomay Bandung is an Indonesian-rendition of dumplings. Instead of soy sauce, we use peanuts and sweet soy sauce (kecap manis).

For those of you who really love Durian, they also have Ice Durian Drink.

The final verdict for Martabak Cafe Australia

Martabak Cafe Australia has by far the best Martabak Manis in Sydney! We actually do not mind paying the slightly premium price.

Rating for Martabak Cafe Australia:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10 (or 8.5 if you just eat their martabak!)

Price: $15 – $22 per martabak

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

439 Harris Street, Ultimo 2007

+61 2 9566 4178

http://www.martabakcafe.com.au/
Apr 17, 2015
Japanese ChaShu Recipe

Traditionally speaking, Japanese uses pork belly that are rolled into a log to create the perfect Chashu. We are now trying to make Japanese Chashu beef! You can also make chashu chicken using this recipe, but make sure you use its thigh.

I will also write how to cook Chashu beef using conventional oven (this is the recipe I got) and using Slow Cooker (my ‘cheat’ mode).

What do we need to make Chashu Beef?

1. 2 Kg Beef Chuck Steak or you can also use beef brisket
2. 1/2 cup soy sauce
3. 1 cup cooking sake
4. 1 cup mirin
5. 1/2 cup sugar
6. 6 Spring onions, roughly chopped
7. 1 1/2 tbsp of garlic (or 6 whole garlic cloves)
8. 1 1/2 tbsp of ginger (or 5 cm knob ginger, roughly sliced)
9. 1 whole shallot (or you can substitute it with half Spanish onion)

The preparation for making Chashu Beef

Nothing! Just get all of the ingredients and follow the steps below.

Mixture for making Japanese Chashu Beef

How do we make the Chashu Beef using conventional oven?

1. Preheat oven to 135 °C.
2. Heat 1 cup water, soy sauce, cooking sake, mirin, sugar, spring onions, garlic, ginger, and shallot in a medium saucepan over high heat until boiling.
3. Add beef chuck steak. Cover with a lid left slightly ajar. Transfer to oven and cook, turning beef occasionally, until beef is fully tender and a cake tester or thin knife inserted into its center meets little resistance, 3 to 4 hours. Transfer contents to a sealed container and refrigerate until completely cool.
4. When ready to serve, remove beef and strain broth. Reserve broth for another use (like making ajitsuke tamago). Slice beef into thin slices (it might help to cut it in half lengthwise first).
5. Reheat beef slices in soup broth with noodles and other garnishes. Alternatively, heat a small amount of reserved broth in a skillet and heat beef slices in broth until hot or reheat with a blowtorch, charring its surface. Serve.

Refrigerated Japanese-Style Chashu Beef

How do we make the Chashu Beef using slow cooker? – My Personal Take

1. Add all of the ingredients above into the slow cooker.
2. Set the slow cooker to cook on ‘high’ for two hours.
3. Set the slow cooker to cook on ‘low’ for three hours.
4. Put chashu beef into a sealed container and refrigerate until completely cooled.
5. When you are about to serve it, carve up your desired amount, put some of the broth in and reheat the chashu beef in microwave.

A little tips to make your perfect Chashu Beef

1. For the cup measurement, I use the standard kitchen cup (possibly something around 237 ml).
2. You can mix the beef and all of the ingredients a day in advance to marinade it.
3. The chashu beef is obviously best served with Ramen. However, we like to eat them just with a warm jasmine rice.

What is the difference between Chashu and Char Siu?

According to Wikipedia, Japanese Chashu is prepared by rolling the meat into a log and then braising it at a low temperature. It is also cooked without using the red food colouring and five-spice powder.

Apr 9, 2015
Old Thanh Huong

Review:

I seemed to be hanging around Marrickville these days and this week’s review is also from Marrickville! It is an interesting Vietnamese restaurant called Old Thanh Huong.

The interesting bit was that we were not there for its Vietnamese dishes. We went there because a colleague recommended a very good Indonesian dish from this restaurant (Yep, an Indonesian dish!).

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were a little bit sceptical. It was far away from hip or modern and the menu consisted of letters and numbers (no shiny pictures, etc). To compound our worries, the restaurant serves Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian food. It is usually never a good sign when you see quite a variety of dishes in a restaurant.

Nevertheless, we soldiered on and proceed with ordering the recommended dish: Chicken in Indonesian-Style Mentega Sauce. Indonesians usually refer it as Ayam Goreng Mentega. To our surprise, the portion was pretty decent and the chicken was awesome! It had a hint of chilli in it but they really nailed it. We also ordered the same mentega sauce but used rabbit as the other meat. Suffice to say, it did not work.

Our next dish was Crispy noodles with duck. It was quite a decent portion and probably the only non-spicy dish of the day. We also ordered XO Sauce Chicken fried rice. To my surprise, it was actually pretty spicy! My Indonesian friends loved it.

We also ordered Vietnamese Pancakes. This was our first time eating Vietnamese pancakes and we were very excited to see the size of the pancake (or technically more like an omelette). The pancake was filled with chicken, seafood and bean sprouts. You also need to eat it with lettuce and the Vietnamese fish sauce. It was very refreshing!

We closed our quite a big lunch with fried banana and ice cream.

The final verdict for Old Thanh Huong

Despite our early worries, Old Thanh Huong’s Mentega Sauce is the dish that will make us want to go back for more!

Did you know?

I know I did not write much about Vietnamese dishes. Chopin and My Saucepan actually ranked Old Thanh Huong the second best pho in Sydney! I actually tried it on my first visit there, but I didn’t take any pictures at that time.

Rating for Old Thanh Huong:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $11 – $20 per main course

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

356 Illawarra Road, Marrickville 2204

+61 2 99558 0863

Apr 7, 2015