Author: Ardi

Hogs Breath Cafe

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5/10

Price: <$35 main course

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

My experience with Hogs Breath Cafe was a long and turbulent one. I have tried a lot of Hog’s Breath locations, including Hobart, Tasmania and some were less nice than the rest. For this particular review, we went to Cronulla. This one was a nice beach-side venue with your familiar Hog’s Breath interior design.

For the starters, we always ordered its Finger Food Combo. I think it has got the most value for your money. It consisted of calamari, potato skins, spring rolls, chicken tenders and two mouth-watering dipping sauces (honey sweet chili and honey mustard).

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When it comes to the main course, I would strongly recommend Prime Rib. This is Hog’s Breath signature dish and it was slow cooked for 18 hours. They recommended (and I do too!) to take the medium rare one as it was the most ideal serving condition. I’ve tried the longer cooking ones and it tasted nowhere near the medium rare one.It also came in 3 cuts with Mega Cuts being the biggest one.

The one I chose was Garlic Prawn Prime Rib. The steak came with a choice of Hog Tail fries or mashed and veggies. I particularly liked the garlic taste on this succulent prime rib.The prawns further accentuated the steak with a fresh ocean taste.

For those who wished to have a lite meal, I would suggest their burger range. This time, we tried Boss Hogg Double Burger. It was the perfect bite-sized burger with a nice touch of blackened seasoning. There was also the Chicken & Rib Combo, but I wouldn’t recommend ordering it.

The final verdict for Hogs Breath Cafe

Just one simple conclusion: Prime Rib.

Did you know?

Hog’s Breath is an Australian chain steak restaurant. Unfortunately, they are not available in two of the biggest Australian cities.The closest to Sydney is this Cronulla branch or Parramatta.

However, there are some items in the menu I’d suggest you not to try, primarily the Tex-Mex Combo. Secondly, I wasn’t sure whether it’s because of the cooking level, but some restaurants were not as tasty as others.

Details:

Lot 1, 8-18 The Kingsway, Cronulla NSW 2230

02 9544 0644

http://www.hogsbreath.com.au/

Nov 29, 2011
Aseana Food Village

Update: Aseana Food Village has closed its doors for good and I haven’t heard about the Chef reopening somewhere else / some time soon.

Southeast Asian Food Cuisine

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7/10

Price: <15 per person

Place: 7/10

Review:

Aseana Food Village offered us a ‘casual street side dining’ experience according to their website. They did deliver the experience by its restaurant décor, hospitality, and most importantly authentic Singaporean (+ Malaysian and Burmese) Cuisine.

To illustrate the price range, we didn’t have shared plates like in the usual South East Asian dining but instead we ordered individual rice dishes. In the Mains menu, Beef Rendang is definitely the dish that you should try.

Also available as a main menu, our first dish of the day was Lee’s Stewed Duck. This was the only dish that has a person’s name on the menu, so I guess it must mean something to them – I couldn’t find it in Google. The duck was served on a bed of green veggies. It was incredibly tender and came off the bone easily. It also had a very unique taste to it.

Then, Nasi Lemak was brought in a wonderful leaf-like green plate. This is a traditional Malaysian dish with coconut rice and a mixture of condiments (pickles, anchovies, sambal, and egg). You could also have a choice of three add-ons to it. Nasi Goreng Kampong came up next. It was fried rice with anchovies, prawn crackers and a fried egg. Both dishes were just spot-on. They delivered a combination of complementary tastes in each of its elements.

For the dessert, I had the Aseana Toast Set. I absolutely love this set, although it was supposed to be enjoyed as breakfast. It was a set of traditional toast (with a choice of three toppings – Butterkaya for this occasion), soft boiled eggs and kopitiam drinks (I chose hot Teh Tarik). They provided you with a full guideline on how to enjoy the set and condiments to enhance the taste to suit yours. There was also Es Bandung (no affiliation to the city in Indonesia!) that was made of Rose syrup and condensed milk.

The final verdict: Aseana Food Villageis a perfect place to savour wonderful and authentic Singaporean dishes. All of my dishes (and some that I have also tried but excluded on this occasion) were really nice. My most favourite would have to be the Aseana Toast Set.

Did you know?

As a point of reference, my Singaporean friend has made Aseana’s Bak Chor Mee his personal favourite in Sydney. He said that this was as close as he can get to the original taste in Singapore.

Details:

Shop 1/149 Alison Road, Randwick NSW 2031

02 9399 7010

http://www.aseanafoodvillage.com/

Nov 2, 2011
Sushi Tei Restaurant

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7/10

Price: $150 for 4 people

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

Sushi Tei Restaurant is one of the few success stories in Japanese chain restaurants. To be honest, when the Sydney branch opened I did not give the credit they deserved because I felt the Indonesian branches were an average and with the slightly more expensive price tag in Sydney, I thought the fee was not justifiable. Luckily, compared to my first visit, this one was so much better Japanese Cuisine.

In this place, you can order boxed sets or Donburi-style plates. However, the best feature of this restaurant is its diversity of choices. You literally choose from more than 100 types of dishes here. It ranges from fresh Sashimi, grilled gyuniku, to soup-based ramen. To illustrate this, we ordered 10 different dishes from (almost) each of its menu pages.

We started off with a simple Chawan Mushi, soft boiled white eggs with a chockfull of fillings, including the ever-present Naruto (fyi, it’s not a manga title!). Next was Salmon Maki, six mini rolls of Salmon Sushi wrapped in nori. These first two were staple dishes in a lot of Sushi places around town. Unfortunately, my knowledge of good Sushi rice is limited, thus I can only say it was rightly vinegared.

Our next two dishes were Chuka Kurage and Chuka Iidako. It is a little bit difficult to explain, but essentially they were Jellyfish and baby octopus. However, some people might not like the slimy and squishiness of these dishes. Shortly after came Wakame Salad. It was a sea of greens.

Our first main attraction of the day was Shiretoko. 6 kinds of Sashimi Moriawase were beautifully arranged in a shell-themed plate. The main attraction of it was the Swordfish and Sea Urchin. There was no better compliment that a Sashimi could get except by saying they were incredibly fresh.

If you think that last one looked nice, you will be evenhappier with the next one. Aso Sushi was one hell of a Sushi Moriawase. 19 slice of Sushi (granted that 6 of them were the same kind) in pleasingly pretty colours. It was the most comprehensive sushi moriawase on the menu but unfortunately sea urchin was excluded from it. I would also really love to have scampi on the menu.

We also ordered, the always in good standard, Unagi Yanagawa. It was essentially, eel and eggs with burdock roots. It’s great when accompanied by rice. Meanwhile, there was another dare-to-be-different dish of Zaru Chasoba. It was an ice-cold, green tea soba with its clear soup. I liked the freshness that it brought to the mixture.

We saved the best for last, Gyuniku. Three lightly-grilled beef slices wrapped up generous serving of Golden Mushrooms combined in perfectly yummy teriyaki sauce. These elements gave us a crunchy mushroom texture and soft, tender beef. They were so good we actually ordered a second plate, enough said!

The final verdict: There are hardly any Japanese restaurants in Sydney as comprehensive as SushiTei. They could cater to just about everyone. In addition to that, the taste also did not disappoint, they were actually surprisingly better than Ithought. It could be a little bit expensive if you are not careful with what you order. Lastly, the one dish that you should always order is Gyuniku.

Did you know?

Sushi Tei originated from Singapore and is one of the most well-known restaurants in Indonesia. They provide nice and fresh seafood in a country where the products are notoriously hard to get.

Details:

1 Chifley Square, Cnr of Elizabeth St and Hunter St, Sydney 2000

+61 2 9232 7288

http://www.sushitei.com.au/

Oct 20, 2011
Assiette

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Unfortunately, Assiette Restaurant has closed its doors in January 2013.

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Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5/10

8-course Degustation: $105

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

After last week’s record low, I will take you to one of the best restaurants there is in town. Opened in 2005, Restaurant Assiette has never missed a hatted status within the Australian culinary world. They serve 8 courses of French Cuisine.

Seasonal Oyster with Vietnamese dressing and baby coriander

It was a simplistic dish to start off the night. The crispy, fried shallot gave a different accentuation, but the dressings failed to present a notable taste. They also gave the option to use lime if you needed more sourness, although I would not advise you to.

Kataifi Quail Egg with mushrooms, duck consommé and crispy pig ears

The dish might look tiny but it packed a few punches. First sip of the consommé already blew my mind, so delicate and lovely. The quail egg was perfectly soft-boiled and blanketed with the crispy kataifi. The additionof brown mushroom paste made the overall dish to be more savoury with a hint of sweetness.

Sashimi Tuna with crustacea cream, pickled octopus, hibiscus and almonds

It was a straight-forward sashimi Tuna with a dried nori.There was a funny combination in the pickled octopus. I think it threw the balance off a little bit. The crustacean cream made the overall taste to be a bit too fishy. I reckon this one was the oddball. The sweet hibiscus and almonds actually saved the dish from the octopus.

Seared Mackerel with avruga, cucumber, cauliflower puree and dill emulsion

In contrast to the last one, a perfectly seared mackerel set our mood back in place (and further!). Crispy on the outside and soft in the inside, the mackerel tasted delightfully refreshing with the cauliflower puree, cucumber and dill emulsion. To top it off, avruga and crumbs introduced the savoury taste into the dish. It was simply fantastic.

Ballotine of quailand foie gras with croustillant of confit leg, braised salsify, walnuts and date puree

This scrumptious dish also had a great combination of taste.The combination of tasty outer ring of the ballotine with quail and foie gras was incredibly soft and smooth. Confit leg was cooked to perfection with a layer of golden brown croustillant. Walnut and date puree complemented the overall taste.

Roasted Denver leg ofvenison with boudin noir, dauphinoise potato and heirloom carrots

This was the final savoury dish of the day. The taste of medium-rare venison leg was wonderfully enhanced by the sweetness of beetroot puree. The softness of dauphinoise potato and sweetness of heirloom carrots complemented the strong taste of boudin noir. The addition of roasted rice gave an accentuation and an extra complexity for the dish.

Pre dessert of Lychee and Pineapple

Presented in a small cup, highly refreshing lychee combined with sweet pineapple gave such a clean feeling to the palate after series of savoury dishes. An extra hint of freshness was delivered by the sweet-sour lemon sprinkles, balanced by a nice serving of cream on top.

Strawberry and raspberry salad with yoghurt sorbet, vanilla doughnut and mint emulsion

This dessert closed what turned out to be a fantastic night.Yoghurt sorbet provided the sourness and refreshing taste of the dish with. It was made better with fresh strawberries and raspberries. The vanilla doughnut gave us the warm and soft feeling to the plate. There were also some delicious home-made marshmallows. The overall combination with the mint emulsion created a nice mixture of taste.

The final verdict for Restaurant Assiette

Assiette certainly delivered one of the best dining experiences for us. The degustation worked wonderfully, since they gradually gave us dishes that were getting better and better through the course of the night. The last meal of the day was fantastic and the dessert was noticeably big and delivered quite a range of fantastic taste.

Did you know?

Assiette is a French word forplate.

Unfortunately, Assiette lost its 2-hat status for the 2012 Good Food Guide. They were downgraded to 1-hat. Personally, I think they are equal to or better than some of the 2-hat restaurants in this year’s list, in terms of the food taste.

Details:

48 Albion Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

+61 2 9212 7979

Oct 12, 2011
New Shanghai

Rating:

5.5 / 10

5 for its service!

Taste: 6/10

Price: $16per person

Place: 6.5/10

Review:

My first impression of New Shanghai was a very positive one. There were plenty of people willing to queue up, given the restaurant status of only residing in a food court. The décor inside was equally brilliant. It was made to resemble a street-side restaurant with an open kitchen theme. It reminded me of the other Chinese Restaurant I’ve reviewed, Din Tai Fung, mixed with authentic dining experience.

My good impression was short-lived. The waitress was pretty impatient and she actually walked out on us in the middle of order. She might have assumed we wouldn’t order any drinks or other food. We ordered hot tea from a different waiter.

The first dish arrived was Stir-fried Spinach with Garlic. It was a very plain water spinach dish with garlic. The second dish also followed suit of being plain. It was the Lamb and Leek Dumpling. It’s kind of reminded me of the frozen dumpling from Coles, with the additional vinegar and soy sauce (which can be obtained from the supermarket as well!).

Their hints of excellence came in the form of Deep Fried Calamari in Salted Egg Yolk. I would recommend you to enjoy this dish with a bowl of rice since it can be salty. Despite the egg yolk, the calamari was still crunchy and easy to chew. They also did ok in terms of its presentation.

Next dish to come was their specialty, Pan Fried Bun. This was the first time I enjoyed a bun, half fried at the bottom with meat filling and tasty broth inside. You might want to take it easy in enjoying the bun since the broth was quite hot when it was first served. You can also add soy sauce, chilli sauce and/or vinegar according to your taste. It was a mixture of sweet and crunchy bun with savoury filling.

We had to ask for the next dish (twice) before it eventually arrived. It was Drunken Chicken. It is a classic Chinese Dish served chilled and is supposed to be served as an entrée. However, this particular dish was bland and did not look appealing (and most certainly not an entrée). Furthermore, it turned out to be our last dish of the day since another waiter told us that our Deep fried chicken with special garlic & chilli sauce was not on the list of things we ordered.

The final verdict: They might have a nice Calamari and Pan Fried Bun, but their service was one of the worst I have ever experienced in my life. Not only the waitress left us before I finished ordering, she actually forgot one of my orders. Considering the queue, I was astonished that it wasn’t met with at least a decent service.

Did you know?

There are several branches of New Shanghai all around Sydney. The one in Bondi Junction is more of a food court stall rather than a fully-fledged restaurant. I think this setting actually works better for them at least they don’t use the terrible service. I’m sure I would’ve given 0.5 or 1 point more.

Details:

Shop B-038, Chatswood Chase, Chatswood, NSW 2067

02 9412 3358

http://www.newshanghai.com.au/

Oct 2, 2011
Fiesta on Oxford

Update: Fiesta on Oxford is currently closed for an unspecified time.

Rating:

7 / 10

8 for its nachos!

Taste: 7/10

Price: $21per person ($38 1-lt Margarita)

Place: 7/10

Review:

This was my second visit to Fiesta on Oxford restaurant, but it was the first time that I got to eat there. For my first visit – colleague’s farewell party, I had to leave early because of other commitments that day. This time, I got the chance to taste the Mexican food my colleagues been talking about.

It was a great place to have a gathering. They have private rooms for office parties and a whole lot of party stuff (Pinata included!). You might want to unwind with a bottle of Sangria or fruit Margarita. This time, we ordered Strawberry Margarita. It was a little bit too sour for my taste, but it was the right punch.

We were supposed to have the tapas for our entrees. Since there was an unavailable one, our first course was served first. It was called Sizzling Hot Fajitas – Chicken. The good thing about Mexican foodis you can have your dish with any meat, in this case chicken. It’s basically a DIY meal. You get to choose how much vegetables, rice, sauces, and meat you want to put in. The rice and meat were served in a hot plate.

For the second one we got Nachos – Regular Beef. It was the perfect size for the three of us. It looked incredibly ‘guilty’ (i.e. tasty) like all nachos supposed to be, but this one also tasted great. The combination of chips, salsa, and cheese was awesome. The beef was so tender and juicy (and tasty). Guacamole was fresh. I think the beef was really the element that made this dish so yummy.

The tapas were the last ones to arrive. It was a combination of Fish Tapas and Soft-shelled Crab Tapas. The fish had sauce all over it. It was an okay dish. The soft-shelled crab was so crispy and it was accompanied by a spicy sauce. They were still pretty, but I guess it was just too simplistic to be the last dish we saw for the day.

The final verdict: We were really impressed with the Nachos. It was tasty, nice size for three, and fantastic guacamole on the side.The strawberry margarita was a bit too sour for us, but when I tasted the other ones they were okay.

Did you know?

This restaurant might be in the vicinity of Bondi Junction, but it was actually a bit further away from the main shopping malls.

Details:

306 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, NSW 2024

02 9389 3665

http://www.fiestaonoxford.com.au

Sep 13, 2011