Author: Ardi

Din Tai Fung

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7/10

Price Range: $11 – $20

Place: 7/10

Review:

Just like any other well-known Chinese Restaurants, Din Tai Fung is always packed with people. If you go there only with your partner, don’t be intimidated by the huge number of people queuing outside the restaurants. The turnover for two people is quite high, so you will only need to wait for half an hour. But if you go with a large group, I’d suggest you to book in advance.

Din Tai Fung is world famous for its Xiaolongbao (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaolongbao). It is a very soft dumpling with mince pork (or some other combinations) and gelatine soup. We normally add vinegar and sliced ginger, pop the dumpling so that the soup would come out and enjoy it all in a spoonful. This time, we ordered its variant, Steamed Green Vegetable Dumpling. It was served in a bamboo basket and a layer of white cloth. The dumpling was quite different than any other dumplings we found on a yumcha restaurant. You can actually see through it and looked soft and yet it is strong enough to be handled by chopsticks.

Similar to other fine dining restaurants, the portion of their food is pretty small, thus we ordered quite a few dishes. First one to come out was the appetiser, Drunken Chicken. It was a chilled Boneless chicken marinade in Chinese wine. It was soft and had a hint of sweetness in the chicken. Very good to build your appetite, but unfortunately, this was the best dish of the night for me.

In addition to the dumplings, we also ordered Sautéed Water Spinach with Garlic and Deep Fried Chicken Fried Rice. Although a quite staple food in Indonesia, water spinach is difficult to obtain in Sydney. It is quite nice and healthy. There was nothing special about the fried rice as well, but the chicken was quite crispy and tasty.

To finish the night, we ordered Mango Pudding and Golden Taro with Taro Ice Cream. We ordered the pudding just to be on the safe side (and I think there’s a universal standard for how you make mango pudding). It’s a pretty generous serving of mango pudding with an optional side of condensed milk. Pretty nice, yet pretty standard! The other dessert, however, was really nice. It was a deep-fried, golden brown taro on a side with a scoop of ice cream. It was very crunchy and savoury.

Did you know?

As one of Sydney’s prominent building, World Square housed several big name restaurants, shops, and nightclubs. It is also an ideal meeting place because of the ease of travel to it.

Location:

Shop 11.04, World Square Shopping Centre, 644 George Street, Sydney

https://www.dintaifungaustralia.com.au/

Sep 7, 2010
Spanish Tapas Restaurant

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7/10

Price Range: $12 – $90

Place: 8/10

Spanish Tapas Restaurant review:

Before you freak out after looking at the price range, I must tell you that the $90 is super-massive Paella to be shared with four (or more) people. Most of the tapas are in the region of $15 and the main course menu (if you don’t order Paella) would be around $25.

We actually managed to go to Spanish Tapas restaurant by pure curiosity. We always love to hang out at the café opposite the restaurant. We were surprised by the fact that it was a really nice and cosy atmosphere. The food itself was generally alright, borderline good.

Since it’s a Spanish restaurant, we ordered 3 tapas and 2 breads. The first two were the all-time favourites, Chorizos and Tortilla Española. Chorizo is the grilled Spanish sausages. The other one was Spanish omelette with a big chunk of potatoes. Very nice start to fill up the tummy to match the strength of Sangria!

The last tapas of the day was sliced smoked lambs with Olives. It is a very nice to get our tastebud going before the Paella arrives. It also came with two gigantic loaves of garlic and herb breads.

After 30 minutes, our main dish was out, Paella de Marisco. Description on the menu only listed it as Rice & Seafood. It is a lot more than that. It was served on a massive pan, a bed of rice in saffron with green veggies and tomatoes. Then, layers of calamari, mussels, clams, prawns covered it all.

For drinks, like in any other Spanish restaurants, we ordered the Sangria. This one is a little bit of a letdown because it wasn’t strong and a bit watery. We also didn’t want to get desserts and chose to go elsewhere that we were more familiar with.

Did you know?

There is a very nice Churros place in Glebe, called Chocolateria San Churro. It is actually a franchise (like any other places in Sydney), but it serves a warm and crunchy churros. I just realised that there was also a churros menu at this restaurant that I didn’t get the chance to taste. Btw, if any of you is wondering wtf churros is, then click here for the answer.

I also found that there’s a café, named Badde Manors, in Glebe that serves the best homemade Tiramisu.

Location:

26 Glebe Point Road, Glebe 2037, Sydney

http://www.spanishtapas.com.au/

+61 (02) 9571 9005

Aug 15, 2010
Kellys Grill

Rating:

8 / 10

Taste: 8/10

Price Range: $26 – $48

Place: 9/10

Kellys Grill Review:

There was much to love about Kellys Grill. Sitting atop Bondi Junction Westfield, it boasts fantastic view of Sydney’s skyscrapers and Harbour Bridge. The design of the restaurant itself is very stylish and posh. The food is, of course, exceptional without the need to queue or wait. Although, It is always suggested to book in advance to avoid disappointment.

As a fine dining restaurant, they offered a full range of cuisine from entrees through desserts, although we usually skip the dessert part in favour of Max Brenner’s. For starters, you always get a fresh-from-the-oven bread. It was a little bit sweet and the size is adjusted to the number of people on the table. Very nice bread to start off the evening!

There are several entrees that you can choose from, including their Mixed Tasting Platter. This time, for entrees we ordered Snails and Lemon Pepper Mushrooms. It is not your average slimy-looking snails. They were out of the shell, baked in a creamy garlic sauce and mature parmesan cheese. The mushrooms were also nice with a hint of olive, lemon and lime.

They have an even greater number of choices for the main course. You can choose to have grill, chicken, seafood, light meals, or even vegetarian. However, as personal favourite, we always order their Lamb Ribs (regular size). It came in as three racks of lamb ribs basted with their African basting sauce, a side of chips and fried onion rings.

The other main course of the night was Pork Ribs. I would say that Kelly’s ribs were more edible than Hurricane’s in terms of their grilling style. Hurricane’s were normally half-burnt.

Did you know?

Bondi Junction is my personal favourite place to hang out. They have all range of stores that you can visit in two 6-story buildings. They always have 2-hour free parking and you can park for free after 6 PM.

Location:

Level 6, Westfield Shopping Centre, Bondi Junction, Sydney

http://www.kellys.net.au/

+61 (02) 9389 8288

Aug 1, 2010
Max Brenner

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8/10

Price Range: $5 – $15

Place: 7/10

Review:

It’s the dessert week and I am writing about One of the best dessert / chocolate place in Sydney! They also open quite late into the night. Max Brenner is THE number one destination for quality desserts, great place, and affordable price. Since it’s all about dessert, I’m going to give you my top 5 favourites from Max Brenner:

1. Belgian Waffle

The thing I love the most about this Waffle is its customisability (Yaay! That’s actually a word). Whether you choose the all-in Tutti-Frutti Waffle – that’s 1 or 2 Waffles with 3 bowls of Strawberries, banana, and Vanilla Ice Cream – or just a single Belgian Waffle covered in warm milk chocolate. This waffle is the answer to all of your pains and sorrows. Dramas aside, the waffle is actually really crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle, creating a perfect combination with the chocolate.

2. Chocolate Fondue for Two

The ultimate self-indulgence dessert- if you decided to eat it yourself. The fondue has everything that you could ask for: two pots of heated dark and milk chocolate served with bowls of fresh strawberries, bananas, marshmallows and banana bread on top of a wooden tray with two dip sticks. Make sure you bring an extra tummy to share this with you, otherwise you might as well skip your whole meal tomorrow.

3. Chocolate Dip

Okay, seriously the top three dishes can be ordered according to the degree of enjoyment you want with the chocolate. This one was all about light and refreshing dessert. 6 luscious strawberries arranged beautifully around a small pot of milk chocolate. These are not just ordinary strawberries! They were massive, juicy and taste very sweet.

4. Chocolate Cinnamon Babka

Originated from Poland or thereabouts, Babka is a very nice and soft spongy cake with cinnamon and chocolate fillings. The cake is also served with a small pot of milk chocolate. This cake is perfect as a lunchtime menu because of its muffin-size.

5. Choc-Banana Pizza

Last, but definitely not the least, is the no ordinary pizza. It’s a very unique pizza covered in milk chocolate then baked with all the yummi-ness on top of it.

There are countless of drinks that you can enjoy, from hot to cold, and I’ve tried some of them and they’re all equally nice. However, my all time favourites are still the very basic Milk Hot Chocolate and Café Latte. Served in a hug mug, the Chocolate gives us an extra kick to the already chocolate-y night. And if you need extra caffeine, then the Latte will do the job for you.

Did you know?

There was no Max Brenner in real life. The shop was opened by guys name Max and Brenner.

Max Brenner always open their shops in premium spots in Sydney, from the CBD to the posh Bondi Junction. I personally like to go to the Bondi Junction one for the whole going out experience, from dinner to movie to dessert; it’s all available in Bondi Junction.

If you need to find something after midnight, you might as well go to Pancakes on The Rocks because that place open 24/7.

Location:

All over Sydney – Fave place: Level 6 Westfield Bondi Junction

http://www.maxbrenner.com.au/

Jul 13, 2010
Takigawa Restaurant

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7.5/10

Price Range: Rp. 90,000++ » $10

Place: 6.5/10

Review:

One of the surprise finding of my trip to Indonesia, Takigawa restaurant captured my attention with their nice display of the food, great taste, and nice ambience (they have free Wi-Fi connection too!).We typically oversaw this restaurant because of the bigger-name chain restaurants available at the mall.

On with the starters for the day… Shiitake Ball and Kawa Salad. An early surprise for me, this deep-fried shiitake mushrooms were filled with minced beef, then garnished with Katsuobushi, Japanese mayonnaise and sauce; An excellent combination of savoury starter. Kawa, deep-fried skin, salad added a nice addition of freshness to the starter.

We started the main course with a nice plate of Chahan, Seafood Fried Rice. A generous serving of seafood for its price, Chahan acted as the tummy-filling main course. My all-time favourite dish came next: Syake kabutoyaki, a.k.a. Salmon Head Teriyaki. Yes, you read it correctly… the best piece of salmon (yet, the cheapest!) grilled and salted to perfection with teriyaki glazing. Granted that this part of salmon took a bit of effort, but it’s only 1/5^th of the price of Salmon Belly and you got twice as much meat.

Our last main course of the day was Cheezy Seafood Pan. Bear a striking resemblance to Sushi Tengoku’s baked scallop, this dish was an absolute killer. Layers of grilled scallop, salmon, tuna and crab stick baked in a melted cheese and mayonnaise with tobiko. It’s just wonderful to taste, but unfortunately the portion is quite small (you might need to order two plates).

For refreshment we chose the all-too-standard Hot Ocha (Japanese Green Tea), but it was a free flow! So, you can have the tasty Green Tea as much as you like. We also ordered Green Tea Smoothies. Again, the taste of it was as expected of any other Japanese Green Tea. Chocolate Melt seemed to be the big kick to end the night, however the Chocolate Souffle was sort of a letdown in what could have been a perfect dinner experience.

Overall, it’s still a worthwhile visit to the restaurant and we’re still eyeing for the Green Tea Creme Bruleé, they were sold out when we were there. Additionally, there are like 100+ choices that you might want to explore in this restaurant.

Did you know?

As mentioned on my other review, Surabaya Town Square (Sutos) is the newest shopping mall in Surabaya. If you want to go there, don’t go on weekends since there will be crazy amount of people trying to get into the mall. Traffic management has become the main cause of chaos surrounding the venue. Lack of parking space and poor parking space design has led to congestion in every entrance and exit of the mall.

Sutos is the place to be when it comes to asking your date out. It has everything you want to do, from the only 3D cinema in town, to the best Karaoke lounge. It has nice restaurants and also a pool bar.

Location:

Surabaya Town Square Plaza Level Unit P 31-32 Jl. Aditiawarman No. 55 Surabaya

http://www.takigawaresto.com/en/home.html

Jun 26, 2010
Jimbaran Seafood Restaurants

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8/10

Price Range: Rp. 150,000++ » $18

Place: 8/10

Review:

One of the most famous dinner destinations in Bali (and possibly Indonesia), Jimbaran Seafood Restaurants. However, we always chose to eat @ Ubung Cafe or Nyoman Cafe when we went there.

There are not many choices in terms how to cook the seafood – it was mainly grilled. You would typically need to choose your live seafood from the aquariums and they would need to weigh the food, before they grilled them. We were given three condiments (yummy peanut sauce, hot and sweet soy sauce, and chilli) and a complimentary stir-fried water spinach and rice.

We ordered the most famous crustaceans, Grilled Lobster. Easily the most expensive dish in the area, the lobster came in different sizes. The lobster was really exceptional and sweet. As with all lobsters, it would be great to actually peel their shells before cutting into small pieces. Clawing into the lobsters’ meat straight away would result in difficulties in acquiring the leftover meat on its shell.

Our next dish was Grilled King Prawns. Personally, I like the king prawns better than the lobster because the meat was actually softer. The king prawns have a similar grill sauce to the lobster.

We also ordered Grilled Mussels and Grilled Squids. I was a little disappointed with the squid because apparently they took away the tentacles. However, both dishes were very nice and fresh.

There are not much options for the drinks, they are either beers, soft drinks or fresh juices.

Did you know?

Jimbaran is a very nice beach to go to. You can see the sunset while enjoying your dinner there. You can also see airplanes landing to Ngurah Rai International airport from the distance – the airstrip was actually further into the ocean. It is also an ideal destination if you just want to walk along the beach. But, there are no water sports and sunbathing at this beach.

Location:

Jimbaran Seafood Bay, Jimbaran, Bali

Jun 8, 2010