Category: Cities

This is a category for cities. All about food have reviewed restaurants in cities like Sydney, Singapore, Bali Island, Surabaya, and Bandung.

Ahmet’s Licensed Turkish Restaurant

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7/10

Price: $46 per person

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

Welcome to my first review on Brisbane’s restaurant. I was lucky that I stayed in South Bank, a suburb known for its restaurants. It is also my first review on Turkish restaurant. The restaurant is simply known as Ahmet’s.

Since we didn’t quite know what to order, we’ve decided to order Ahmet’s King Feast (whoa!! Such a grand name, eh?). Ahmet’s King Feast is an 8-course share plates for the whole table (I list the food descriptions at the very end). Interestingly, you don’t need to order with the number of people on the table. I suggest you only order four when you come with a group of five (they are massive!!!). Let’s get the show on the road…

I am glad they decided to bring freshly baked Turkish bread & Turkish garlic bread served with dips (eggplant and hommus) as the first one as we were quite hungry then. The second was Kisir. It was very spicy for my taste and I am not sure where the spicy taste came from as the ingredients were only bulgur, parsley, tomato on a lettuce.

According to the menu, the third one was Ege Bogrek. They were deep fried cheese balls with sour cream on the side. Another quite filling dish (my tummy was quickly filling up just on the third dish!). Luckily the fourth was a simple Falafel with Hommus. Another type of carbs comes in for the fifth dish, Kiymali Pide! At this stage, some of us have already started feeling the pressure and it wasn’t even the main dish.

After waiting quite a long time with tummy almost at a capacity, the main course arrives. It was Mixed Grill Platter (a massive one!!) with Yesil Salad on the side. There were five kinds of grill on this one and they were all cooked perfectly!

Last, but not least, we have a petite dessert of Turkish Delight. Obviously a lot smoother than the ones you bought at the supermarket, but didn’t taste more special.

The final verdict for Ahmet’s Turkish Restaurant

Phew! That would be the first word we said at the end of the day at Ahmet’s. We were indulged by the grandeur of Ahmet’s King Feast and for a price that won’t drain your pocket!

Details:

Shop 10 / 168 Grey Street, South Bank, Brisbane

07 3846 6699

http://www.ahmets.com/

Descriptions:

Kisir – Bulgur, Parsley & tomato wrapped in lettuce

Ege Bogrek – Filo Pastry hand rolled with three cheeses, parsley, shallots & dill

Kiymali Pide – Turkish pizza with lamb mince, tomato, onion, parsley, red capsicum, green chilli, sweet chilli & garlic

Yesil Salad – Green leaf, tomato, Spanish onion, cucumber, parsley, sumac, fetta and lemon dressing

Mixed grill platter – Lamb cutlets, prawns, chicken, lamb & adana skewers

Jul 4, 2013
Jumbo Seafood Restaurant

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8.5/10

Price: S$208++ set menu for four

Place: 7/10

Review:

Jumbo Seafood restaurant is one of the household names in Singapore. They even had the motto ‘The big name in Seafood’ to illustrate how famous they are. Last year when I visited Singapore, I wanted to go to Jumbo restaurant but they didn’t open in the afternoon. Hence, this time around I must go!

Jumbo seafood have quite a view branch and we went to the one in Riverwalk, a nice river-side location in Clarke Quay, Singapore. When we saw the menu, there were a whole bunch of seafood dishes to choose from and it was quite hard to decide. In the end, we chose the set menu for four people, priced at S$208++. There are five dishes (with optional mantou that we took) and a dessert.

Our first dish of the day was Superior Seafood in Thick Pumpkin Soup. This was the first time I ever tasted a pumpkin soup combined with a whole lot of seafood goodies and mushrooms. It quickly built up my appetite and expectations (a good thing considering it was already sky high!) through the roof!

The second dish Jumbo presented us was Fresh Scallop & Squid Fillet in XO Sauce. Unfortunately this one was a bit spicy to my liking and I was kinda worried that the chilli crab would be this spicy! In terms of presentations, they had a balanced combination of seafood and vegetables on a deep fried noodles ‘plate’.

Our next dish fell in the category of ‘as expected’. It was the traditional-looking Roasted Duck. Although it was in the ‘nice’ end of the scale, it was still a regular roast duck with sauce, tender meat and crispy skin.

Then came the dish that I’ve been dying to try for ages, Jumbo Chilli Crab. It was presented in a wok, possibly not the one they are cooking it from as the crab was too immersed in the soup. I was extremely pleased that the Singaporean chilli crab wasn’t actually as hot as I would have imagined them to be.

Jumbo seafood’s signature dish came with an optional deep-fried mantou which I strongly recommend to take (or add some more!). The mantou really enhanced the chilli crab’s taste.

Similar to other Chinese restaurants, they served the rice last. In this case, it was Seafood Fried Rice with Silver Fish. It was staple food good to fill up tummy that wasn’t really full, like mine 🙂

It was a really yummy dessert to end the night, Chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo. It was condensed milk on crushed ice with toppings of mango sago and pomelo.

The final verdict for Jumbo Seafood Restaurant

I must say I am very pleased with my visit to Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. They might command a slight premium value to the average Singaporean Restaurant, but it was thoroughly justified with the dishes they presented. Its Singaporean Chilli Crab also lived up to my expectations.

Details:

20 Upper Circular Road #B1-48

The Riverwalk, Singapore 058416

+65 343435

http://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/

Jun 11, 2013
Restoran Sederhana – Masakan Padang

Rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7/10
Price: Rp 10k – Rp 35k per plate
Place: 7/10

Review:

Let’s kick off our holiday reviews with this uniquely Indonesian restaurant, Restoran Sederhana. This restaurant is now a well-known franchise throughout Indonesia and each restaurant has a pretty similar dishes. They serve ‘Masakan Padang’ (Padang-style) which originates from Sumatera and is known for its distinct spices that are almost curry-like (they called it ‘gulai’). I should probably tell you how the restaurant works first.

As soon as you sit on your table, there will be people coming over to your table delivering all kinds of things, like rice, various dishes, hot tea, even desserts. Your table would end up like the picture below.

‘It’s shocking!’ might be the usual response for first-timer, because within minutes all kinds of dishes are ready in front of you. You don’t need to be afraid as you are not obliged to buy all of them. The way it works was that you eat what you want to eat and leave the ones you don’t eat untouched (except for the purpose of moving the plates around).

The two dishes I loved in this place are Gulai sotong (Curry of Whole Squid) and Gulai kikil (kikil is a meat between cow’s hoof and leg). I would never miss either of them whenever I visit a restaurant with Masakan Padang. In a decent restaurant, the squid should be easily shredded and not chewy, the same goes with the kikil.

They have quite a few vegetable selections, like the hot and spicy potato and eggplant, quite a few seafood and chicken options. I think it’s better to refer you to Wikipedia for the relatively complete list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padang_food.

If you can read Indonesians, there are literally dozens other dishes on the menu and you can order like you normally would in a restaurant. I would suggest Sate Padang (Skewers of meat with special Padang-style sauce) with rice cakes. There is also the infamous Ayam Pop (not a big fan, personally), it’s a pale-coloured chicken that is said to be boiled, then fried. If you feel a bit more adventurous, perhaps you can try its Gulai Kepala Ikan (Fish Head Curry). I really love it but it gets too expensive to my liking.

You might then be compelled to ask ‘What about hygiene and stuff?’… well, if you have ever eaten from a buffet bar, I can’t see the difference.

The final verdict for Restoran Sederhana

The best thing about Restoran Sederhana is its uniformity. It can deliver delicious Padang dishes in all of its restaurants. It also features a unique presentation in which all dishes are displayed in front of you.

Did you know?

For those of you Indonesian readers, I suggest you read this article about the founder of Rumah Makan Sederhana. I think it’s pretty inspiring in his will to continue on and say no to giving up!

Restoran Sederhana in Indonesian means a simple/humble restaurant. It might be true 30 years ago, but I think it’s more for middle (or even mid-upper) class people.

Details:

Multiple Locations

We went to the one on the highway rest area between Jakarta and Bandung.

May 31, 2013
Societe Food and Wine Bar

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Unfortunately, Societe has closed its doors for good.

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Rating:

6.5 / 10 Taste: 6.5/10

Price: $15-$25 for breakfast

Place: 7/10

Review:

Societe Food and Wine Bar is the latest upmarket, modern Australian restaurant. We went there for breakfast, towards lunch time. I can see they have a lot of tapas, but we didn’t order them.

Let’s start with my order: Societe BIG benny. Along with Societe big breakfast, it was the biggest and most expensive serving dish on the menu at $ 25.5. Directly taken from the menu, it was smoked salmon, haloumi, poached eggs, avocado, spinach & hollandaise sauce on Turkish bread… a whole lot of stuff for a breakfast! It was beautifully presented and pleasing to see. The salmon and eggs were nice but forgettable hollandaise sauce and pretty salty haloumi cheese.

On a lighter note, there was Euro Bruschetta for $15.9 or $3 more for one poached egg. Without the egg, it would be a nice vegetarian dish consisted of avocado, basil, tomato, grilled haloumi and drizzled with olive oil on Turkish bread.

Not so very different than these two, my friend ordered B.L.A.T. ($16.5). It stands for Bacon, green Leaves, Avocado and Tomato. It was prepared on a wooden chopping block with aioli on Turkish bread with chips.

Breakfast is incomplete without a cup of coffee, I ordered Latte like I always did. The best thing of the day came in the form of babycino. It was frothed over the top and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands.

The final verdict for Societe Food and Wine Bar

There was really nothing outstanding for Societe Food and Wine Bar to command such a premium price on their breakfast menu. The only redeeming factors about the restaurant were their dishes’ presentation and my son’s happy face looking at babycino.

Details:

1/ 9 – 15 Danks Street

Waterloo NSW 2017

+61 2 9698 8899

Apr 16, 2013
Braza Churrascaria

Rating:

8 / 10

Taste: 8/10

Price: $47 All you can eat

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

I wanted to say Braza Churrascaria is just another all you can eat Brazilian restaurant that’s been flooding Sydney over the years… but I just couldn’t!

Why?

I’ll skip the part of explaining what Churrascaria is (you can look at the ‘Did you know?’ section) and let you know why I think you MUST visit this place. Look at the menu below or in this link and see an extensive list of things you can eat (including side dishes).

Let’s start with the obvious Rump Cap or Picanha. Seriously, if a Brazilian restaurant doesn’t serve a great picanha, don’t return! Picanha is the core element of a churrascaria. Still in the beef department, they also have flank, rump, hump and Scotch Fillet. The meat quality in Braza restaurant was incredible.

I have limited knowledge of food from the pork department. They have an assortment of Neck, Leg, and Belly. From the look of it, they were the least appealing in the restaurant. Strangely enough, you also got a chance to see a whole pig / pork meat sitting on the wooden trolley. They only have two lamb dishes: Leg and Rump. Both were nice and cooked correctly (i.e. no smelly lamb taste).

We’re now on to the white meat of chicken. They have a decent range from chicken with bacon to chicken hearts. They also have Chicken Drummetes and fillet. Personally, I love chicken hearts and can easily have a dozen of them.

Braza’s seafood range was extensive on easter with the addition of mussels and octopus. However, they were only limited to Fish and Prawns in a normal day. However, if you see the fish plate, please ask as much as you can. They were heaps good! I am not a big fan of the Chorizo in Braza. I think they were quite dry and tough.

So now we are on to the best part: Braza Churrascaria’s ribs. They prepared the ribs in a slightly different way. They would wheel around gigantic slab(s) of ribs on a wooden trolley and slice the meat in front of you. The ribs were really the highlight of the day. They were succulent, juicy, and best of all, not burnt! You can have an option of Beef ribs, Pork ribs, or Lamb ribs.

They have Halloumi Cheese, Pineapple and Garlic Bread as the main churrascaria offered. I had no less than five slices of fabulous pineapple throughout the night. You might want to slow down on the cheese and bread if you didn’t want to be full too fast.

They handled the side dishes quite differently. Instead of circling around the table, you will need to order them specifically. My favourite was Polenta chips. They were really nice and crunchy. We also always have a supply of Brazilian Chilies, Farofafa, and Tomato Salsa because I like a bit more flavour on my meat.

The final verdict for Braza Churrascaria

Braza Churrascaria is hands down the best Brazilian restaurant in Sydney. The assortments and quality of meat are unrivaled to those other Brazilian restaurants in Sydney. The only downside to their otherwise excellent review was the unavailability of complementing sauce. It’s a very minor item but unfortunately I like sauce on my meat.

Did you know?

When we were there on Saturday at around 8 PM, they had a Brazilian dance a la Carnaval de Rio with very loud Brazilian drums.

For those of you new to the concept, Churrascaria is a place where meat is cooked in Churrasco style. The meat is grilled to perfection with an iron skewer on a fireplace. The waiters and waitresses would then go around the table offering those meats and you could decide whether you wanted it or not (no obligation to take everything they offered!).

Details:

1-25 Harbour St, Darling Quarter

Darling Harbour NSW 2000

+61 2 9386 9534

http://www.braza.com.au/

Apr 8, 2013
Garyu Art and Dining

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Unfortunately, Garyu has closed its doors for good.

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Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10Price: $8.5 – $18 for lunch

Place: 7/10

Review:

Just in time for Easter, I present you Garyu Art and Dining. Garyu Art and Dining is located in the former site of Chikyu-Ya in Bondi Junction. For some reasons, the owner is still keeping Chikyu-Ya’s sign board outside the restaurant.

We went to Garyu for lunch as they have the daily lunch special for a bargain price of $8.5. Every day, they have a different daily lunch special. Since we came on a Friday, the daily special was Chicken Katsu. In addition to the usual main dish + rice dish, you will also receive salad with miso paste, miso soup, and three side dishes. The chicken katsu was nice and soft in the middle with crunchy, golden brown batter. It was definitely the best $8.5 meal deal you can get.

One of the more interesting items on Garyu’s menu was its One Plate Lunch ($11). The set didn’t include rice but you were given eight sushi rolls. You can choose between Salmon Avocado, California or Vegetarian rolls. You also needed to choose from Salmon Teriyaki, Kara-age Chicken, or Sashimi as your main dish. The non-optional part of the One Plate Lunch was its salad and miso soup. It was a seriously tough task to choose for just a ‘One Plate Lunch’.

There was a side dish worthy of a special mention at Garyu. It was their Okonomiyaki. It wasn’t like any ‘normal’ Okonomiyaki you found in any Japanese restaurants. These ones were shaped like a kebab stick and deep fried to perfection. The ingredients were just like any other okonomiyaki with squid and cabbage. How does it taste? Because of its shape, it actually had a lot more crunchy taste. Granted that it might not be as big as the normal okonomiyaki, but it was certainly enough to build your appetite.

The final verdict for Garyu Art and Dining

It was certainly value for money, having lunch at Garyu Art and Dining. Its daily lunch special is more than just rice and main dish.

Did you know?

Before Garyu opened in Bondi Junction, we were invited to a birthday party in its old site in Bondi Road. They had a special baby food for the occasion.

Details:

106 Ebley St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022

+61 2 9386 9534

Mar 31, 2013