Category: Ashfield

Koku Culture Cafe

Koku Culture Cafe is located at the far end of the Ashfield shopping strip towards the junction to Croydon. This little Japanese cafe is always very busy… and I think we know why!

Coffee By Single O

While you wait, you might want to order the coffee that they are serving.

Ice cream and honey on toast – $8

This is a big hit for the kids. The bread was a thick cut Japanese milk bread from Azuki Bakery in Enmore. If you add a scoop of ice cream, a sprinkle of 100s and 1000s and a dash of honey, you get an instant favourite.

Torched Confit Alpine King Salmon Fillet – $19 – with Koku miso dressing & green tea noodle salad.

I love the fact that they put an effort into making the skin crispy. The salmon itself was perfectly cooked.

They were giving you an option to add a 63-degree egg for an extra $2. This is almost a no-brainer… you just had to add the egg.

Crispy Rice Burger with Chips – $15 – Cheese Burger with Koku Secret Sauce

I love rice burger ever since I tasted one a few years ago in Sydney. They are always super crunchy!

The shoestring fries at Koku Culture Cafe made this dish a crunch fest!

Extra Corn Fritter – $5

The corn fritter wasn’t actually part of our original plan. We ordered it upon seeing one passing our table. We knew we just had to order it.

The final verdict for Koku Culture Cafe

Koku Culture Cafe serves us quality food with amazing hospitality.

Do you think I should go?

You are almost likely needing to wait for your table at the restaurant. However, the food there is sure worth the wait!

Rating:

Silvester’s

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $10 – $23 per person

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

1/355 Liverpool Road, Ashfield 2131

+61 402 697 475

https://www.kokuculture.com.au/

Nov 14, 2019
Daijobu Japanese BBQ

Daijobu Japanese BBQ Review:

Daijobu is a new-ish restaurant on the frontcourt of Ashfield shopping centre. Their menu offering is somewhat a mixture of Korean and Japanese dishes with mainly BBQ dishes. Later on, they added sushi to the menu.

Daijobu DoMoDaChi Set menu – $65 – Special Wagyu Karubi Plate (14.9), Premium Wagyu Rib Finger(12.9), Pork Toro (9.9), Hot Pot Bibimbap (13.5), Assorted Kimchi (9.9), Edamame (6), Corn with Butter Foil (4.9)

The set menu is quite a nice option to have if you don’t know what to order. They have three different kinds of meat and three different kinds of vegetables. Interestingly, the set menu also comes with a hot pot bibimbap.

The set menu can probably be enjoyed by two or three people.

Hot Pot Bibimbap bowl – $13.5 – Assorted veggies and teriyaki beef on top of rice in a hot stone pot

Special Yukke – $9.9 – Fresh Raw Beef sashimi served with homemade soy sauce and egg yolk

Since I first started tasting it, I have always been in love with yukke. I usually will try to order them whenever I get the chance. Unfortunately, the yukke served at Daijobu was frozen.

Bento Box – $13.90

If BBQ is not your thing, they also offer the bento box menu. The teriyaki chicken bento box has quite a lot of variety on it.

Lobster Sushi Roll

This menu was not available when we were there the first time. It is actually quite a nice addition to the menu. However, it’s not technically in the spirit of ‘Japanese BBQ’ theme.

The final verdict for Daijobu Japanese BBQ

Daijobu Japanese BBQ offers a decent Japanese BBQ option to the suburb of Ashfield. However, they have a long way to go if they want to compete with top BBQ restaurants in Sydney.

Do you think I should go?
You probably wouldn’t choose to specifically go to Daijobu to try their food.

Rating for Daijobu Japanese BBQ:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $25 – $35 per person

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop F2 Ashfield Mall 260A Liverpool Rd, Ashfield 2131

+61 450 873 898

Daijobu Japanese BBQ on facebook

Jun 13, 2018
Beijing Impression

Beijing Impression Review:

Beijing Impression is a relatively new restaurant in Ashfield. In the last few months, you wouldn’t be able to get a seat at the restaurant without queuing for hours or booking it a month in advance. They built up a reputation on their Peking duck. They put on a bit of show when serving the duck.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, we did not try their Peking duck as there was only our family dining in. There are quite a lot of unusual items on the menu. They are not your typical Chinese dishes found in Chinese restaurants.

Fried Beef and Crispy Mushroom – $16.80

I am quite pleased with the fried beef and crispy mushroom. It was probably the most ‘normal’ dish on the night.

Special Fried Rice in Honeycomb Briquette Look – $12.80

I thought we ordered fried rice. Apparently, it was a black sticky rice dessert with fruits. They also lit the fried rice up like a bonfire.

At first we thought it was a normal blackened fried rice in honeycomb shape… then we realised they put fresh and dried fruits on it… then they did this 🔥🔥🔥 So many surprises at Beijing Impression, Ashfield #dinner #chinese #ashfield #desserts

A post shared by All About Food Blog (@aaf_blog) on Feb 28, 2018 at 12:26am PST

Three Delicacies (Blood, Palm and Gizzard) of Duck in Hot Chilli Oil – $18.80

Skip this if you don’t eat chilli. This dish was very hot with quite a lot of chilli oil, chilli pieces and Szechuan peppercorns. If the heat doesn’t put you off, then the duck’s inner parts might. They have blood jelly, duck feet (palm) and gizzard.

I actually quite enjoyed it despite the heat.

Peking Style Cheese – $5.80

Again we made a mistake ordering this thinking it was a savoury dish. It turned out to be a sweet cheese with jam. It reminded me of Indonesian tapai (fermented cassava) with slight alcoholic flavour.

Creamy Fried Cake – $9.80

This is the actual dessert that came out as a dessert. Unfortunately, the little one loved it so much that we were only given a tiny portion.

Crispy Prawns – $12.80

Considering that we actually ordered three desserts on this occasion (somebody was really happy about that), we had to order an extra main dish. It was a very nice and crispy prawn with a hint of sweet and spicy sauce.

Steamed pork with rice flour – $12.80

It tasted like the sticky rice in lotus leaf but without the lotus leaf and with a lot more meat. As if you are still lacking carbs, they also throw in a few buns for free. You could technically eat just this and be really full.

The final verdict for Beijing Impression

Despite our inabilities to choose the right dishes, we enjoyed our dinner at the restaurant.

Do you think I should go?

If you do not have to experience the queue at this restaurant, the food is actually pretty decent. Obviously, you should be aiming to get their Peking Duck.

Rating for Beijing Impression:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $90 for 3 people (without the Peking Duck)

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

11-13 Hercules St, Ashfield 2131

+61 2 9798 5288

Apr 10, 2018
New Shanghai Ashfield

New Shanghai Ashfield Review:

Early days of my blogging, I wrote about New Shanghai in Chatswood. To say the least, the experience was not memorable. We went past New Shanghai Ashfield a few times and it is usually extremely busy with people lining up outside the restaurant at dinner time.

As per the other New Shanghai restaurants, they put a slightly premium price compared to the other Chinese restaurants around the area.

Roast duck with plum sauce – $26.6

I love a good roast duck. Unfortunately in this restaurant is just literally a small plate of roast duck with plum sauce served on the side.

Crispy tofu with salted egg yolk – $17.8

In theory the soft tofu with the tasty salted egg yolk would be perfect. Although the tofu was soft and fluffy, the egg yolk wasn’t salty enough.

Spring Onion Pancakes – $7.2

We ordered this because we saw this flying to tables around us. I love its extra crispy texture and flavorsome taste. It was probably the best dish we had for the evening.

Deep fried ice cream

The deep fried ice cream was super doughy. Some people might like it that way, but I like more ice cream and crispier and thinner coating.

Super massive and doughy deep fried ice cream from one of the busiest restaurants in Ashfield: New Shanghai #icecream #dessert #ashfield #innerwest #shanghai #strawberry . . . . . #instalove #instafood #yummy #healthy #hot #instapic #instagram #foodporn #instagood #nofilter #foodie #igers #instadaily #picoftheday #photooftheday #instagood #love #allaboutfood

A post shared by All About Food Blog (@aaf_blog) on Aug 20, 2017 at 7:55pm PDT

The final verdict for New Shanghai Ashfield

Service at New Shanghai Ashfield is definitely better than the one in Chatswood, but still quite low when compared to the Australian dining standard. The food is also better than the other venue.

Did you know?

New Shanghai is famous for its Pan Fried Bun and Xiao Long Bao. We did not order that this time around to see what else they have.

Rating for New Shanghai Ashfield:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $35 pp

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

273 Liverpool Road, Ashfield 2131

+61 2 9797 7284

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

Sep 11, 2017
Kreta Ayer – Ashfield

Kreta Ayer – Ashfield Review:

I have to warn you in advance that the restaurant that we review this week, Kreta Ayer, only accepts cash. It is quite troublesome especially when most of their dishes are in excess of $15. Some of the prices are even marked as “market price”, like those mud crabs. The closest ATM is the Ashfield shopping centre.

Their menu is quite similar to high end Chinese restaurants in CBD with the likes of Moreton Bay bug and coral trout on offer. Being a Singaporean/Malaysian restaurant, they have a different way to cook the dishes. If you are looking for the authentic Singaporean dish, you need to choose their Singapore Chilli, Black Pepper or Salted Egg.

Boneless Hainanese Chicken – $15.8

Hainanese chicken is one of the parameters of a good Singaporean restaurant for me. It goes without saying that when ordering this you really need to order chicken rice as well.

Crispy Noodles with seafood – $13.8

Our family loves eating crispy noodles. Kreta Ayer’s crispy noodles has quite a lot of seafood in the dish. I guess you can see it yourself below.

Being warm and soupy, this dish is a nice dish to have in winter.

Cereal Prawn – $24.8 – Deep fried prawn with sweet cereal

I call this double crunchy prawn. When you coat deep fried prawn with fried cereal, you get this super crunchy prawn. It is so crunchy that you can eat pretty much everything.

The final verdict for Kreta Ayer – Ashfield

Kreta Ayer in Ashfield is a decent Singaporean/Malaysian with premium price. The cash payment method is also a pain to deal with. If they can accept other payment methods, I might be inclined to try their Singapore Chilli Mud Crab.

Did you know?

They have quite a decent package for lunch on weekdays. For the same price, you get a selection of dishes, but you also receive complimentary selection of iced teas.

As you can see from the picture below the lunch special crispy noodles with seafood is actually the same size as its dinner counterpart.

Rating for Kreta Ayer – Ashfield:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $20 per person

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

339 Liverpool Road, Ashfield 2131

+61 2 9797 8688

http://www.kretaayer.com.au/

Jun 7, 2017
Japanese Dining Bar by Shinsen

Shinsen Review:

Japanese Dining Bar by Shinsen is a new-ish restaurant (I’m pretty sure they were just opened at the beginning of the year) in Ashfield. Interestingly, they opened up the shop right next to another, and more established, Japanese restaurant in the area.

They have quite an assortment of Japanese dishes in their menu

Teriyaki Salmon dinner box – $12.80 – comes with edamame, salad, deep fried, sushi rolls, inari, Japanese pickles, miso soup and rice

They have a special menu, a variety of bento box for dinner. They charge a flat fee of $12.80. It was a very good value for money considering you got a few tempura pieces, sushi and the main dish.

It is seriously the best value for money for any bento box I’ve ever ordered in Australia.

Crab Don – $11.80 – Crispy soft shell crab with cod roe cream on rice

Soft shell crab is generally served in Japanese restaurant as entrée. I love how they combined the crab with others to make the main dish. The portion was bigger than your normal Japanese dish.

Sukiyaki Nabe – $14.80 – Sliced beef, fresh vegetables, taro noodles, and tofu in sukiyaki sauce with udon

Their sukiyaki nabe was also quite large and could probably share it with a friend. It is a great winter dish or if you want something warm.

Sushi

They have quite a large selection of sushi. A lot of them are fusion-type sushi. The following images are the sushi that we have ordered from our previous visits to Shinsen. They were quite comparable to good sushi restaurants in the city in terms of price and taste.

Aburi Salmon

Volcano

Salmon and Ikura

Dragon Roll

Crunchy Salmon roll

The final verdict for Japanese Dining Bar by Shinsen

Japanese Dining Bar by Shinsen is a great place to have your daily fix of Japanese food.

Did you know?

Ashfield is more famous for the many Chinese restaurants in the area. They are also the place of one of the more famous kebab shops in Sydney.

Rating for Japanese Dining Bar by Shinsen:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $12.80 Bento Box for dinner

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

215 Liverpool Road, Ashfield 2131

+61 2 8021 8051

Nov 17, 2016