Category: Cities

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

Sydney Fish Market

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 /10

Price: $15 – $30 per person

Place: 7/10

Review:

We will not take you to a particular restaurant this week, but instead it’s the infamous Sydney’s Fish Market. You have two choices here: one is the posh oh-so-expensive restaurants outside, or the big ‘food court’ type bargain shop.

Somehow, I never get enticed by the ‘fancy’-ish restaurants outside and always opt for the ones inside the big dome. We also have the same sets of restaurants to go to: Grill shop second from the left and Sashimi shop second on the right. You can also get a nice grilled eel from the third shop on the right or bargain scampi on the left hand side towards the end of the building.

In the grill shop, there are a variety of platters for two, including the one with Lobster or the cold cuts. This time, we ordered Seafood Platter and Fried Platter for Two. For the seafood platter we got, grilled octopus, 2 scallops, Killpatrick and Mornay Oysters, Deep fried prawns, fish, and calamari on a bed of chips (or you can also get rice). The fried one consisted of Soft-shelled crab, king prawns, octopus, calamari and fish. This is what I called the staple food to actually fill up the tummy. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still really good and, like I said, you can also get an optional lobster.

From the same restaurant, you can also get all kinds of Grilled fish they have. This time we tried Grilled Salmon. If you really want a grilled fresh Salmon that are still light pink on the inside, this will be the one for you.

The Sashimi stores only have three most common Sashimi: Tuna, Salmon, and Kingfish. They also have an assortment of Fresh Oysters, Sea Urchin, and Seaweed. No matter which shops you go to, that are the only selection you’d get. All of them are equally nice and fresh, but the difference is only in the price, so I reckon you should shop around to see which shop offers the best price for the day.

One of the rare products sold in fish market is the Scampi. Technically, they are still crustacean and are actually more related to lobster than prawn. Size-wise, they are more of a shrimp, but they have a distinct sweet taste. One piece of Scampi Sushi is usually sold at a price of $4.5, but in this place you get 25 scampi for $15… It’s a really good bargain! I must admit that you must de-shell the Scampi yourself which is a bit of a challenge if you don’t have any scissors handy.

The final verdict: It’s a really nice place to get bargain and fresh seafood products. You just need to find out which restaurants offer the lowest price on that day. But if you don’t mind $1 difference, you can go to any restaurants without a problem. All fresh and all good…

Did you know?

There’s a seemingly good Yum Cha Restaurant on its second floor. I’ve been recommended to try but can’t seem to get past the irresistible first floor’s choices.

Location:

Sydney Fish Markets, Bank Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009

Website:

http://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/

Apr 21, 2011
Kobe Jones

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 /10

Price: $69 per person

Place: 8.5/10

Kobe Jones review

This week is another special week, because we are going to travel to one of the nice places in Sydney and it’s also a specially limited menu that they offered only for a day (maybe in the future they’ll do it again). Kobe Jones had this ‘Sentou’ banquet menu consisted of 12 dishes and a dessert platter. Minimum of three people must be present to enjoy this menu. Without further ado, here are the 13 of them, along with their formal descriptions. FYI, this 2 – 7 were served at exactly the same time, thus making our table looked like a total chaos. Then dishes 8 to 11 came at also the same time.

Number One Special – Crab salad with avocado wrapped in kingfish and baked with Kobe Jones’ secret sauce

I know the title might be a bit cheesy, but I think it opened the night with a bang. It resembled a big white chocolate with slightly burnt top.

Anago Scallops – Tempura Hokkaido scallops stuffed with crab salad and asparagus, drizzled with a bittersweet soy sauce glaze

This time, there was neither crab nor sweet taste, because of the overpowering bitterness of the sauce. It was really a dish to forget.

Sashimi Salad – Garden greens topped with fresh sashimi, crab salad and drizzled with ponzu dressing

They omitted seaweed from the list here. It’s a nice and refreshing salad with overabundance of greens.

Wagyu Tenderloin Tataki – Seared and chilled, served rare with garlice, ginger and ponzu sauce

I kinda dislike the combination of tataki and ponzu, it created a sense of uncooked beef satay.

Seafood Poke – Hawaiian-style sashimi cubes marinated in poke sauce

Another funnily named dish and intentionally left seaweed out of the description. This one was nice tho. There was a hint of sesame in the sauce and tasted kind of Yukke sauce, without the egg yolk and the beef.

Sizzled Scallop Carpaccio – Scallop sashimi, sizzled with heated extra virgin oil, and drizzled with wasabi pepper sauce

My favourite dish of the first wave of food!Fresh-tasting sashimi with a hint of wasabi were a great combination and a must for scallop lovers!

Hawaiian Roll – Prawns, cucumber, burdock root and pineapple chilli jam topped with tuna and avocado and drizzled with poke sauce

It was an ok dish without any visible ‘mistakes’

Volcano Roll – Oven-baked scallops layered on a crab salad and avocado roll, with our special cream sauce and a sesame seed and shallot sprinkle

Another crab salad in a sushi, but this time it was covered by baked scallops. This was more decent than any of the previous dishes.

Chicken Kara Age – Do I really need to explain??

Well, not the best kara age I’ve ever tasted… ‘nuff said…

Alaskan Crab – Grilled to highlight the sweetness, then chilled and served in the shell with fresh lime

Finally… A dish truly worth to mention! Described perfectly, the meat of this crab could pop out easily from its shell. It had a nice sweet taste and great to be served chilled.A little bit of advice for you: Do not use the sauce if you don’t want to lose the sweet taste.

Vegetable Tempura – Seasonal vegetables served with dipping sauce

We kinda feel full at this point and I reckon they were just another vegetable tempuras.

Wagyu Hot Rock – Self-cook your wagyu just the way you like it, served with seasoning and two dipping sauces

At this point we already lost hope of actually getting something special out of this place. Then came this solid and sizzling black rock (witha caution from the waiter: DO NOT TOUCH). He then demonstrated how to cook the meat ON the rock! For a real connoisseur, you should be well aware that wagyu beef is best served lightly grilled. The sauce just accentuated the great taste of Wagyu.

Ama Ozen – Kobe Jones’ famous selection of dessert samplers with chocolate chopsticks

The platter was served while the Brulee was still flaming. If we go clock wise from the top we had: Strawberry Cheesecakes, Dark Chocolate cake with Green Tea Ice cream, Berry Yoghurt, Mango Sago, Green Tea Brulee, Strawberry cream with fairy floss, Green Tea macaroons, and the Dark Chocolate Chopsticks. Most of them can be rated as better than the other dishes (except for the crab and Hot Rock)

The final verdict: I must admit that I was thinking of putting off writing this review, because for the first 7 meals, they were all pretty average. However, after the Alaskan Crab onwards, I was convinced that I needed to write this straight away. Highlight of the night at Kobe Jones was definitely the Wagyu Hot Rock. Best dish of the day (or maybe the Ama Ozen for the ladies).

Did you know?

King Street Wharf is located next to Darling Harbour. They have a big selection of upper-market restaurants. However, you might want to be careful not to be trapped in an overpriced-yet-not-tasty restaurant. Best way is to research these restaurants before you make the reservation.

Location:

King Street Wharf, 29 Lime Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Website:

http://kobejones.com.au/locations/sydney/

Apr 12, 2011
Layar Seafood Restaurant

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8 /10

Price: Rp. 75,000 – Rp. 150,000 =$8 – $17

Place: 7/10

Review:

We concluded the month of Indonesian food journey with one of the best seafood restaurants (in terms of taste) in Surabaya,Layar Seafood Restaurant. I put the bracket there because its table was poorly set; in fact it was only covered with layers of plastics for their ease of cleanups.

Although they have gained considerable amount of fame, Layar still managed not to charge exorbitant price for its menu. You can either pick your food straight from the fish tanks outside, or choose from the plenty choices on their menu. We started the night with the drinks, Lychee Juice and Iced Tea. As with any other Indonesian dinner, we had share plates for tonight as well.

The first two starter-ish dishes were Garlic steamed oyster and Deep fried eels. The oysters are sold individually because of its size. One massive oyster was served on a heated aluminium serving plate. It had a nice taste, although it lacked chewiness due to its size. The other dish was extra crunchy and the dipping sauce created an extra taste of yumm!

The two vegetable dishes that we ordered were Ca Kangkung (loosely translated into stir fried water spinach) and Sambal Eggplants. The water spinach added a touch of freshness to our otherwise ‘greasy’ night. The eggplants were served in a sizzling hot plate with a hint of chilli taste, though not overpowering. They were sort of twice cooked and were quite soft – unlike the hard, grilled eggplants from BBQ.

I must say that the highlight of the night came from the next two dishes. First one was Salted egg yolk Soft-shelled Crab. I must admit that even with the lettuce garnish, it still didn’t look appealing. However, when you had them with your steaming hot rice, they were perfect. The crab’s crunch and coarseness of the egg created a nice combination for us to enjoy.

Then came the ‘actual’ crab, Crab with Padang-style sauce. This was actually a work of art. The aroma, the presentation and the taste were all appetising. Even with all the difficulties of eating a crab, this was still the dish to order. You will be able to choose between, small, female (with egg), or Jumbo (they might sometimes call it Super) crab. Personally I like the ones with egg, because of the added taste of the egg, but if you want value out of your crab, I suggest you order the Jumbo ones. They were all massive and meaty.

The final verdict for Layar Seafood Restaurant

Their Padang-sauced crabs and Soft-shelled crab in egg yolks were dishes to die for. They were absolutely amazing. Feel free to explore the different kinds of fish they have, especially the steamed ones, because unfortunately we didn’t order any this time around.

Did you know?

Layar is possibly the fastest growing seafood restaurant in Surabaya this 00’s decade. It started off as a tiny off-the-street restaurant and grew over the last decade to have two restaurants on major streets of Surabaya. They simply provide one of the freshest seafood with great taste.

Location:

Jl. Manyar Kertoarjo No. 62, Surabaya, East Java

Apr 4, 2011
Boncafe Steakhouse

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 /10

Price: Rp. 100,000 pp = $11

Place: 8/10

Review:

This week we’ll visit (possibly) the oldest and most well known western restaurant in Surabaya, Boncafe Steakhouse. It manages to survive amongst the elites due to its ability to reinvent itself over the years and bring in new and attractive menu to its customers. This improvement is apparent in its renovation of the building and a change in its fries and some other new food.

You will always start your lunch/dinner with complimentary bread when you order the steak. I chose to go heavy on the drink by ordering a mixture of coconut and avocado juice, named Snow on the Desert. I love avocado juice in Indonesia because of its soft and sweet taste. The coconut was sort of sprinkled on top with coffee syrup sprayed over it.

For starters we ordered two of Boncafe’s originals: Kulit Ayam (Crispy Chicken Skin) and Butter Corn. Although it might not be the healthiest starter, the skin was incredibly crunchy. Combined with their special sauce, it became one of my favourite starters of all time. The butter corn was boiled corn with a hint of butter and a sprinkle of grated cheese served in a petite corn-shaped bowl. It was also sweet and nice.

Before we move on to the steak, I must tell you that unless you stated otherwise, it will always come with Boncafe’s legendary mushroom sauce. I would also recommend you to have the steak medium well, considering the meat products of Indonesia.

The steaks were served in sizzling hot plate and I personally love the sound of the sizzling when the waiter pours the sauce onto the plate. The first one we ordered was the original Sirloin Steak. It was a decent-sized steak with a little extra side dish. Then came the new food on the menu, BBQ Lamb Ribs. Slightly bigger size than the Sirloin, but I guess it was due to the bone part of the Ribs.

However I would still recommend you to taste their original collection: Cordon Bleu, Spring Chicken, or Mixed Grill.

The final verdict: Old favourites like Spring Chicken and Cordon Bleu are still better than the new additions. Unfortunately this time we didn’t order them. Otherwise, It’s a decent restaurant with a local taste.

Did you know?

The one I visited was actually the branch. The main restaurant is located in Kertajaya. Boncafe is one of the rare few restaurants that manage to withstand local Surabaya’s harsh food climates. People continually crave for innovative new choices in restaurants or they’d face the inevitable decline of patrons.

As with most restaurant in Indonesia, unfortunately they do not have a website that we can go to.

Location:

Jalan Raya Gubeng 44 – 46, Surabaya, East Java

Mar 22, 2011
Kafe Halaman

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 /10

Price: Rp. 15,000 – Rp. 55,000 per dish = $2 – $6

Place: 7/10

Review:

For my first review in my home country, I will take you to one of the only few good things in Bandung, Kafe Halaman (translated into ‘backyard café’). This café gave you the feeling of having a meal in a patio on our backyard.

Before you start, you might want to familiarise yourself with the menu, since there are literally 100s of things to choose from. Feel free to explore the variety of menu in the restaurant, as I will only list a fraction of it that we actually ordered.

Our first starter was this funny looking dish called Rambutan Prawn. Derived from the Rambutan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan) image, the noodle-coated prawns were deep fried till they’re golden brown. Enjoyed with condiments of Chilli and Tomato sauce, it was really crunchy. The other starter was Lumpia (Spring Rolls). Another deep-fried menu, but this time was too similar with the regular spring rolls, with the exception of their tiny bite-size.

We also ordered some share plates of Siomay (Chinese Shumai) and Ceker (Chicken Feet). I will pass on the description of the second one since its admirers are so little. The first one is an Indonesian adaptation of Chinese Shumai. They were slightly more sturdy and solid in appearance and usually more flour than meat.

We had two main courses to try with and both of them had the same seasoning. One was Buntut Bakar (Grilled Oxtail). It came with the unique Melinjo crackers and vegetable soup. Again, not anyone will enjoy this kind of treat. The second one was a bit ‘neutral’, Iga Bakar BBQ (BBQ Ribs). Unfortunately, these are not those gigantic Sydney’s Hurricane’s ribs. Quite the opposite, they were pretty tiny. I think it’s fair enough, considering the very low price of it. They did come in a nice old-fashioned hot plate, with sides of fries and veggies + additional yummy BBQ sauce.

The final verdict for Kafe Halaman:

The best thing about Kafe Halaman is its variety. You can choose from Chinese, Western, to traditional Indonesian food and they’re all decent (except maybe the exotic ones – for preference / distaste). It is also one of the few restaurants that open past midnight.

Did you know?

There are at least two Kafe Halaman restaurants I know of. This spot is definitely not better than the main one. In terms of taste, it’s not really different. Getting to the mall, on the other hand, is a mammoth task. Paris Van Java is one of the hottest spot in Bandung and considering traffic generally is already pretty bad in Bandung, it is worse at this spot.

Location:

Paris Van Java, Bandung, West Java

Mar 16, 2011
Tea Room

Experience:

It’s a night to remember for our newly wedded couples, Jun Guo and Endre Kollo. They found this amazing site for their wedding, at the far end of Mosman, called Gunners’ Barracks. Stonewall building right by the sea, overlooking the panoramic Sydney, it was truly a sight to treasure.

There were three pre-dinner canapés and regretfully I missed taking picture of the first dish, which was the Aburi Salmon Tempura-coated Sushi. The second one was Grilled Scallops in Cheese. The last one was a Risotto mushroom.

There were two alternating sets of dishes presented and like any other French menu, this one was really a pain to explain. For the entrée, I got Berbere spiced Poussin, basmati rice, confit leg tortellini. Poussin is a very tender 28-days-old chicken simmered in Ethiopian’s Berbere sauce on top of basmati rice with side of duck confit. The other dish was Prawn Cannelloni, spiced Calamari, sauce Vierge. The prawn and calamari were very smooth and the sauce vierge – aka Virgin Sauce (consists of olive oil, lemon, tomato, and basil) really complemented the seafood and created the refreshing taste.

The main course was equally mouth watering. My share was Pan fried barramundi, potato gnocchi, tomato, feta and basil. Perfectly juicy barramundi on top of ultra soft gnocchi was a new combination for me and it was great. The other main was Saffron and cumin marinated rack of lamb, capsicum, roast eggplant. It was a quite colourful plate with generous servings of lamb.

After some speeches from both sides, came the desserts. Caramelised apply tarte tatin, hazelnut ice cream, calvador sauce was really an eye candy. It was an upside down caramelised apple with pastry base topped with hazelnut ice cream. I was also fortunate enough to taste the Passionfruit brulee, sable biscuit.

Their Tea Room signature came in when the coffee and tea were served. It was a flowery mug with silver milk jug.

Did you know?

There are two The Tea Room venues in Sydney, but the gunners’ barracks is by far the prettiest. On any other day, The Tea Room serves high tea and other dining menu.

Location:

The Tea Room, Gunners’ Barracks

End of Suakin Drive, Georges Heights, NSW 2088

Website:

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Mar 7, 2011