Author: Ardi

Jeans Chilli Chicken Steaks

Review:

Long before I set foot on Jeans Chilli Chicken, my friends have warned me that everything was super spicy. So, when I eventually got to the restaurant, I braced myself for it. There were quite a few of us, so we also got to taste different dishes that each cost around $29 – $35 per plate.

The restaurant is located on the terrace of the Eastwood Hotel. It was quite a simple establishment. Being a Korean restaurant, you are entitled of two free side dishes (banchan). You will also get rice ball – self service depending on the number of dishes you ordered. If you need more rice balls, each bowl will only cost you $7.

Their signature dish (with three chillis on the menu) is Chilli BBQ Chicken. They were really (truly!) incredibly hot! It is so hot that you can even feel it as soon as it touches your lips! … But this is coming from someone who hates chilli. If chilli is your middle name, then you’ll love this dish. If you want a slightly toned down taste, you can order the Cheese Chilli BBQ Chicken. The cheese did a good job in hampering the devilish hot taste.

Chilli BBQ Chicken – $32

Cheese Chilli BBQ Chicken – $35

There are a few dishes with only one chilli image on the menu. I personally love the BBQ Duck. It is quite different to the Chinese’ BBQ Duck. Jeans Chilli Chicken version was pretty sweet, courtesy of the BBQ sauce. They also gave quite a portion of vegetables. Similarly, its Chilli Grilled Eel was the range of hotness that I could handle (probably after numbing my sense with the chilli BBQ chicken). Instead of green vegetables, the chilli grilled eel came with cabbage.

BBQ Duck – $34

Chilli Grilled Eel – $35

We ordered Ginseng Fried Chicken and hoped that it wasn’t as hot for the kids, but I think if you want a guaranteed non-hotness, you can order the EQ Honey Chicken. We ordered the last dish, Chilli Rice Sticks ($16), because we thought we were not given the rice balls. The portion was massive!

Ginseng Fried Chicken – $32

Chilli Rice Sticks – $16

The verdict for Jeans Chilli Chicken

Capital H-O-T should be the name for Jeans Chilli Chicken. You can seriously taste the spices long before the chicken is in your tummy!

Rating for Jeans Chilli Chicken:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $29 – $35 per plate

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

The Eastwood Hotel

115 Rowe Street, Eastwood 2122

02 9874 1100

Jul 4, 2014
The Colonial Restaurant

Review:

This week we go to an uncharted territory. The Colonial Restaurant becomes the first Indian restaurant for us to review! We were quite intrigued by its concept of British Indian cuisine. I then invited my friends from the UK to join me and gave an opinion on how ‘authentic’ the restaurant was.

Tapas

Interestingly, the Colonial restaurant has a selection of Tapas on their menu. They creatively transform Indian dishes into Tapas-sized delicacies.

We ordered quite a few Tapas, especially the platters:

–          Onion Bhaji ($6) – Fritter of Onions and spring onion (Deep-fry) served with mint and date chutney

–          The Colonial Vegetarian Platter ($10) – Vegetarian samosa, batata bara, onion bhaji and Paneer Tikka, Served with Mint and Date chutney

–          The Colonial Non-Veg Platter ($14) – Meat samosa, lamb lollipop, chicken tikka and Chicken drumstick, served with mint chutney

–          Seafood Platter – Prawns, deep fried fish and calamari, served with tomato chilli chutney

So, unless you have a dish that you really like, I suggest you ordered the platter. I loved how their complementary sauces worked differently depending on the dish.

A La Carte

We ordered quite a few a la carte dishes which were mostly different kinds of curry. However, I didn’t get the chance to try the vegetarian ones.

Straight off the bat, we were quite fixated with the Railway Goat Curry. The description also reinforced our belief: goat meat cooked in yogurt, bay leaf and saffron! However, we felt that the dish was overshadowed by the others. Our next dish, Chicken Tikka Masala, was promoted as Britain’s National Dish! So, we felt we really must get that. It was a well-balanced dish with capsicum, onion and tomato sauce.

We felt that the best dish of the day was the Mango Chicken. Cooked in mango pulp liquor (you can have the non-liquor version), this dish had the perfect recipe to be my favourite: sweet, tasty and flavoursome. To round up the a la carte menu, we had Beef Dhansak, diced beef cooked with lentils and spiced.

Mango Chicken ($17) – Boneless chicken cooked in very mild spices with coco cream and mango pulp liquor (Suntory Mohala)

Beef Dhansak ($17) – Diced beef cooked with lentils and spices

The Rest

Normally, you enjoy Indian food with either bread (naan or paratha) or rice. They have quite a large selection of naan and rice. I think it is better to have the plainest tasting one because the dishes are already very rich.

You should also order Pappadums and mint chutney as they were very nice!

Unfortunately, this time around they ran out of their dessert special: The Colonial Special Creme Brulee. It might have been a great finish for our lunch. We had to settle for part of the dessert, Gulab Jamun.

The verdict for The Colonial – British Indian Cuisine

I was very impressed on how the Colonial restaurant was very well-presented. You can have the option of enjoying the usual Indian dishes or Tapas-style dishes with Indian influence.

Rating for the Colonial:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $35 per person

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

118 Crown Street, Darlinghurst 2010

02 8084 6700

http://www.thecolonialrestaurant.com.au/

Jun 27, 2014
Kazbah Restaurant

Review:

Kazbah restaurant is situated at the heart of Darling Harbour’s Harbourside shopping centre. In that place, there are dozens of restaurants for you to choose. One day, we felt like eating Middle Eastern cuisine and that’s why I am writing this review.

The restaurant has an extravagant atmosphere with dimly-lit, silky smooth vibe to it. Looking at the menu, we decided to go for a three-course meal with a simple entree. Middle Eastern main courses are normally pretty ‘heavy’.

Each of us ordered Char-grilled quail (half a quail) with pomegranate sauce. We also had Rocket and Grilled Haloumi salad. Nice and light entree, as expected.

Char-Grilled Quail, Pomegranate Sauce (each) – $6.00

Rocket and Grilled Haloumi – $10.00

Main Course

If you are new to my blog, I usually look for two things in a restaurant: something unique and a dish that the restaurant is famous for. Obviously our first main course fell in the first category: Camel Kafta. Presented in Shish Kebab style, the Kafta was grilled perfectly and I loved how the date sauce gave an extra taste to the meat. Synonym to the grand theme, the camel kafta was showered with generous serving of lentil and Tunisian ratatouille.

Camel Kafta, Brown Lentil Moujadara, Tunisian Style Ratatouille, Date Sauce, Crispy Fried Onions – $34.00

We ordered the other main, Lamb Shank, because of our curiosity. The lamb shank was stewed with prunes, carrots and kidney beans. Nevertheless, we are still trying to find a lamb shank dish as good as the one we had in Port Stephens.

Lamb Shank, Prunes, Carrots, Kidney Beans – $33.00

Dessert

Since my wife is a massive fan of Baklava, we must order one everywhere we go. For this one, this one was not too sweet and quite enjoyable. We also had Turkish Delight but it was pretty sweet.

Baklava (each) – $3.50 and Turkish Delight

The second dessert was rather extravagant and very pleasing to see, Date and Walnut Linzer Tart with carob mascarpone. Two tempered chocolates decorated both sides of the tart with little droplets of butterscotch accentuated the plate. However, I would not recommend you if you already had a full tummy. This dessert was incredibly heavy with a rich taste!

Date and walnut linzer tart with carob mascarpone, butterscotch cream – $14.00

The verdict for Kazbah Restaurant

Kazbah Restaurant delivered a nice Middle Eastern feel with well-presented Middle Eastern dishes.

Did you know?

There was one dessert that really stood out when we were there but we did not order. It was called Kazbah Bomb for Two. Flamed with Kurrant Vodka, this dessert should really excite everyone around you.

Also, for some reasons UrbanSpoon’s reviewers think that Kazbah in Balmain is a lot better than the one in Darling Harbour.

Rating for Kazbah Restaurant:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $50 for three courses

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

Harbourside Shopping Centre

Shop 284 / 2 – 10 Darling Dr, Sydney 2000

02 9555 7067

http://www.kazbah.com.au/

Jun 20, 2014
Alchemy Restaurant and Bar

Review:

How many times have you seen chef prepare the dish in front of you in a restaurant? Possibly not that many.

How many times have you seen chef use liquid nitrogen in that preparation? Possibly almost none!

Alchemy restaurant did just that and with a pretty high standard! They call it the ‘Nitro Bomb’. For just a fraction of your total bill ($9), you can enjoy liquid nitrogen sweet gastronomic nibbles. The nibbles were also quite varied (but they were strictly adult-only): Honeycomb, vodka meringue, tia maria meringue, and blood orange ice cream.

‘Nitro Bomb’ liquid nitrogen sweet gastronomic nibbles – $9

Alchemy restaurant is located in a nice riverside walk in Brisbane. You can opt to choose from the usual menu or their daily specials that were explained by the waitress.

I had a couple of dishes for the Entree: an oyster and pork belly. It was a pretty simple oyster with some slices of cucumber and a hint of yuzu. The pork belly was originated from Northern Rivers with diced eggplant (aubergine), apple salad and crackling. My pork belly was still pretty hot when served.

Oysters with compressed cucumber and yuzu – $4.5

Northern Rivers Pork Belly with Yoghurt Spiced Aubergine, Apple Salad and Crackling – $28

For the main course, I ordered braised beef cheek. The beef cheek was accompanied by silky smooth mashed potatoes, diced bacon, and mushrooms with red wine reduction sauce. The beef cheek was near perfection! You do not really need to use your knife because the meat was so delicate! It was a beautifully balanced dish. However, this main course was also pretty hot when served.

Braised Beef Cheek – $44

Feeling already a bit full, I pushed myself for a dessert, because the waitress told me that the Nitro Bomb was just nibbles. My choice fell to my personal favourite, Souffle. Their unique rendition of the soufflé involved mixed berry inside and outside the pot. It gave a very rich berry flavour for the souffle. For an even added flavour, you can mix almond crumble into the pot. Depending on how you normally enjoy a soufflé, you can either have the white chocolate ice cream infused or have it on its own.

Mixed Berry Souffle with Almond Crumble and White Chocolate Ice Cream – $17

The verdict for Alchemy Restaurant and Bar

I left Alchemy Restaurant and Bar with a very full stomach and very happy feeling. Obviously, the highlight of the night was its nitro bomb and the beautiful display of craftsmanship.

Rating for Alchemy Restaurant and Bar:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: $90 for three-course meal

Place: 9.0 / 10

Details:

175 Eagle Street, Brisbane 4000

07 3229 3175

http://www.alchemyrestaurant.com.au/

Jun 10, 2014
2014 Tasty Takeaway Awards | Menulog

Awards for fine dining are great – but most Australians don’t eat at expensive restaurants every day. What about some recognition for the little guys? What about your neighbourhood Indian restaurant, the local pizza place or the Chinese takeaway down the road?

Menulog’s annual Tasty Takeaway Awards aim to share some much-deserved glory with your favourite takeaway restaurants. The awards aren’t decided by an exclusive panel of culinary judges but directly by the customers. The food doesn’t need to be fancy or complicated; just good, comforting and consistently delicious.

Each year a national winner is chosen along with a handful of local favourite selected from a range of cuisines – which make the awards an excellent guide to the best takeaway restaurants all across the country. Here’s a quick dining guide to a handful of last year’s winners across Sydney.

Eastern Suburbs

Chilled Out Thai, Maroubra

Thai food is one of Australia’s most popular takeaway cuisines and this local favourite delivers with excellent and colourful curries, stir fries and noodle dishes.

Inner West

Erskineville Turkish Pide & Kebabs, Erskineville

As well as the must-try range of Turkish pide and kebabs, this main street restaurant also does classic hamburgers and pizza – and don’t miss out on the fantastic baklava.

Sydney City

Saigon Bay Vietnamese Restaurant, Darlinghurst

Healthy, flavourful Vietnamese has taken off in Sydney and this is one of the places leading the charge with fresh rice paper rolls, Vietnamese salads and mouth-watering hotpots.

South

Antonio’s Pizzeria, Caringbah

In a crowded market it takes a pretty amazing pizza joint to rise above the rest. Antonio’s uses quality ingredients to bring life to simple, delicious flavour combinations.

North Shore

Bay Tandoori, Waverton

Beautiful curries and vegetable dishes make Bay Tandoori a winner. The food is wonderfully spiced and hearty – as good Indian should be.

2014 Tasty Takeaway Awards

The full list of winners from the 2013 Tasty Takeaway Awards can be found here. If you want to see your favourite restaurant on the list this year – and have a chance to win $10,000 – voting for the 2014 Awards is now open.

Jun 2, 2014
Mr Wong

Review:

Mr Wong is located in a hidden back alley of Bridge Lane just near the corner of George and Bridge Streets. Although it can seat 240 people and is considered a pretty expensive place to eat Chinese, Mr Wong is always pretty busy.

They put a lot of efforts on the decoration of their two-level restaurant and they have quite a number of dishes in their menu. You have a choice between having small dishes of dim sum or a big dinner.

Small dishes (Dim Sum and Entree)

We ordered quite a few dishes in this department (as it should in a Yum Cha place):

Scallop and prawn shumai (3 pieces) – $9.8

Prawn har gau – $9.8

Chinese mushroom dumpling (3 pieces) – $9.8

Xiao long bao (4 pieces) – $12

Prawn toast with foie gras and almonds (4 pieces) – $12

Prawn and crispy dough rice roll (8 pieces) – $15

They made each dish as we ordered them. As a result, it took quite a while to get what we wanted. However, you can actually taste that freshly-made dim sums beat trolley ones any time! The dish of note was the scallop and prawn shumai. Even my son wanted to order more of this! The prawn rice roll was a bit tricky as they cut 2 long rolls into eight small pieces.

We also ordered a couple of entree: Drunken chicken and Peking duck pancakes. The addition of goji berries in this dish accentuated the taste. I found that the duck pancakes were just okay.

Drunken chicken – $18

Peking duck pancakes (half – 8 pancakes) – $45

Big Dishes (Roast Meats, Meat, Live Seafood, Tofu and Veggies, Rice and Noodles)

Since we were mainly concentrating on the dim sum and small dishes part, we only ordered a couple of dishes from this department. The first dish, “Mr Fong’s” stir fried chicken, was my least favourite of the day.

“Mr Fong’s” stir fried chicken, water chestnuts, shiitake, lotus root and Chinese sausage – $27

However, the large King crab and sweetcorn fried rice was pretty amazing. I think this was the most posh fried rice ever! A tip: If you are a rice eater like us, please make sure that you ask the dish to be made first because rice and noodles usually come last!

King crab and sweetcorn fried rice, trout roe and crispy conpoy – $29

Dessert

When I looked at the menu and saw deep fried ice cream and butter scotch, I was sold! Mr. Wong’s deep fried vanilla ice cream was a dessert to die for. How can you handle crunchy, hot and cold, sweet, salty and tasty all in one spoon?

Mr. Wong’s deep fried vanilla ice cream served with butter scotch sauce – $14

Shamefully, I forgot to take picture of the last dessert, Mango pudding, passionfruit granita, pomelo and pearls – $14. Instead of the heavy tasting pudding you usually get from a Chinese yum cha restaurant, you got this refreshingly-balanced mango pudding.

The verdict for Mr Wong

Yes, Mr Wong is expensive… but if you are thinking about going, you should already know that. It took quite a while for each dish to come out, but every one of them was executed perfectly. I would certainly come back for its shumai and deep fried ice cream!

Did you know?

Mr. Wong is part of a large hospitality group, known as Merivale. They have several hats restaurants. Mr Wong received the 2014 Good Food Guide award for new restaurant of the year.

You can only reserve a table for dinner if you have six or more people. For lunch time, you can book it with any number of people. They also serve banquet-style menu and mud crab.

Rating for Mr. Wong:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $300 for five people

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

3 Bridge Lane

02 9240 3000

http://merivale.com.au/mrwong

May 28, 2014