Category: Sydney

All About Food Blog is currently based in Sydney, Australia. It is obviously THE place to be if you want to find food from all over the world.

Shanghai Stories 1938

Shanghai Stories 1938 Review:

Shanghai Stories 1938 is located in The Concourse, Chatswood. The building is right next to Westfield Chatswood. Their menu is more on the expensive end of the scale. There are the usual expensive Chinese dishes, such as lobster or abalone.

Xiao Long Bao – $ 11.80 – 8 pieces

Xiao Long Bao is one of the most ordered dishes in the restaurant. Since there were quite a few of us, we managed to order two sets of them.

Steamed Shrimp and Chives Dumplings – $13.80 – 8 pieces

We ordered these dumplings for those of us who did not eat pork.

Drunken Chicken – $11.80

Drunken chicken was part of the cold dish in the menu. The steamed chicken was soaked in Chinese liquor and chilled.

Jelly Fish with Cucumber – $14.80

This was another dish from the cold section. You can buy cheaper-version packaged jelly fish from a Chinese store. Obviously, this one was a bit fresher than that.

Sweet and Sour Baramundi – $43.80

Despite being one of the centrepieces, the fish was quite underwhelming.

Whole Peking Duck with pancake – $68.00 – 16 pieces

When we go to a fancy Chinese restaurant, peking duck becomes one of the units of measurement. The peking duck in Shanghai Stories despite being pretty good was pretty expensive. We only received 16 slices of duck with 16 pancakes. So, technically, it’s not even a whole duck.

Second course – Fried Noodles

This dish came at the very end. They probably have forgotten about it if we didn’t ask.

Prawn and Rice Crackers in Tomato Sauce – $24.80

When the dish arrived, it did not remotely look like the one in the menu. Instead of beautiful big prawns like shown in the picture, we received these tiny krills. Ironically, the soup ended up being our favourite for the night.

Boiled Bean Curd Slices Yangzhou style – $26.80

Personally, I think it was just tofu and greens. It should be noted that the tofu was very fine.

Salt and Pepper Squid – $28.80

It was quite an uneventful salt and pepper squid.

Chinese Milk Dough – $8.80

This perfect pairing for a mud crab dish was transformed into quite a sweet dish with condensed milk.

The final verdict for Shanghai Stories 1938

The high price point at Shanghai Stories 1938 was not met with high standards in service and food.

Did you know?

Shanghai Stories 1938 is part of a restaurant chain with the likes of Taste of Shanghai.

Rating for Shanghai Stories 1938:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 6.5 / 10

Price: $45 per person

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 4 & 6, The Concourse
405 – 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood 2067

+61 2 9412 3880

http://tasteofshanghai.com.au/brands/shanghai-stories-1938/

Apr 20, 2017
Toko Contemporary Japanese Izakaya

Toko Japanese Izakaya Review:

Our review this week came from a Japanese izakaya restaurant, called Toko. The restaurant is located in a busy suburb of Surry Hills in Sydney. We were there to celebrate one of our friends’ birthday with a set menu, Matsuri Banquet Menu. There was quite an extensive list of items in the menu.

Edamame – soy beans, maldon sea salt

There is nothing out of the ordinary to talk about here. It was just a regular edamame.

Hiramasa no usuzukuri – sliced kingfish, yuzu, chives

It was another quick munch-and-devour dish that was not memorable enough.

Koushi no tataki – venison carpaccio, nashi pear, yuzu koshu, potato airbags

This venison was the first dish that we took notice. It was quite a spicy dish. The potato airbags gave an added crunch to the dish.

Japanese salad – seasoned leaves, asparagus, cucumber, avocado, light-wafu

Some of our friends thought that Japanese salad was the best dish of the day. Although I am not a big salad eater, I actually quite enjoyed it. It was sad to think that salad was the best dish in a degustation.

Osashimi omakase – assorted fish from chef’s best selection of the day

It was supposed to be the dish that would bring the wow factor. Instead, we were given the usual sashimi: salmon, tuna, kingfish, scallop, and snapper. To make things worse, we didn’t think the tuna and scallop were sashimi fresh.

Toko signature maki – chef’s selection of maki rolls

Again, there were three ‘standard’ maki rolls: california, ebi, and kingfish.

Pirikara dofu to avocado – spicy fried tofu, avocado salsa, barley miso

Despite the word ‘spicy’, the tofu is nothing but spicy. The venison was actually more spicy than this one. The tofu was also quite dense.

Ebi tempura – crispy prawn tempura, dashi broth

It was a very ordinary prawn tempura. Each one of us only got ONE mediocre prawn.

Wafu zucchini – zucchini, waft sauce, sesame

Despite being only one stick of zucchini, this robatayaki was actually quite enjoyable.

Sake no aburi yaki – smoked miso king salmon, house pickled ginger

Personally, I think this dish was the best for the night. Unfortunately, we had to share this salmon amongst the four of us. It was just my luck that I was also the only one getting fish bone in my piece.

Ko-tori hoba oven-yaki – miso marinated spatchcock baby chicken

We wereIt was a deboned spatchcock. The glazing was almost similar to the salmon.

Dessert platter – chef’s selection of toko desserts

The dessert platter was the saving grace for us. There were quite a lot of elements on it – basically it was all of their desserts lumped into one. The desserts on the plate were rhubarb crumble, pannacotta, fondant, three types of ice cream and assortment of fruits.

Drinks

Considering that they are an izakaya place, their drink menu was pretty good.

Yuzu Martini

Lychee and Jasmine Mojito

The final verdict for Toko Japanese Izakaya

It is quite sad that this amazing venue was majorly let down by its subpar degustation selection. The king salmon and dessert platter were the ones that saved our night.

Did you know?

The group has three restaurants in Australia. One of them is also in Sydney, called Tokonoma, and the other is in Melbourne.

Rating for Toko Japanese Izakaya:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $100 with drinks

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

490 Crown Street, Sydney 2010

+61 2 9357 6100

http://www.toko-sydney.com

Apr 16, 2017
Nikuzo

Nikuzo Review:

For our review this week, we We went to Nikuzo Japanese restaurant in Bondi Junction, Sydney. Nikuzo is an all you can eat restaurant with three different buffet menu. The standard buffet is quite cheap and has your basic all-you-can-eat needs, including beef tongue. For $10 extra, you get the wagyu and seafood buffet. There are quite a lot of seafood options, including scallops and soft shell crab.

The premium buffet has more wagyu, but its true value is in the fresh oyster, salmon sashimi and sushi, and beef yukke. If you don’t eat raw stuff, the middle option would be the best for you.

Wagyu

Wagyu is obviously the biggest selling point in the menu. They have 10 different wagyu beef cuts (7 for the middle option and 3 for premium one). Choose whichever cuts you love!

Seafood

I was also quite impressed with the seafood lineup that they served. They have two different kinds of oysters: deep fried and fresh. You can only get 1 oyster per person in the premium buffet. They have unlimited salmon sashimi and sushi. You can also have salmon with butter for the cooked version.

I couldn’t get enough off their deep fried soft shell crab! If seafood is really your thing, you can also order different kinds of prawns and scallops.

Desserts

They have three different desserts: vanilla ice cream, fruits, and Japanese pancakes (Taiyaki). Taiyaki is only available if you choose the premium menu. They have different kinds of toppings for the vanilla ice cream. The premium menu gave you the kinako powder and liqueur topping options.

Everything else

There are quite a lot of other dishes that I could not specify individually.

The final verdict for Nikuzo

It was quite unfortunate that Nikuzo’s setting wasn’t that great. The food that they served was very good. It was also a good value for money.

Did you know?

Let’s just put more pictures here!

Rating for Nikuzo:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $30 / $40 / $50 buffet

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

1 Newland St, Bondi Junction 2022

+61 2 9369 3328

Nikuzo in Zomato

Mar 15, 2017
Three Blue Ducks Rosebery

Three Blue Ducks Rosebery Review:

When I first visited Three Blue Ducks in Rosebery for brunch, I saw someone in the counter that I felt was quite familiar. After a quick browse, apparently Andy from Masterchef Australia has joined Three Blue Ducks as a partner for the Rosebery venue. Being a Three Blue Ducks restaurant and ex-Kitchen by Mike venue, I placed quite a massive expectation for it. Regrettably, that first visit was forgettable.

In my second visit, I was there with my colleagues for an office lunch. Three Blue Ducks Rosebery has a different set of menu for lunch.

We ordered almost all of their starters. The two dippings were pretty good. The sourdough was the best value for money. However $20 for roasted veggie bowl seemed to be a bit too expensive. Considering that they also served vegetarian main dish for only $18.

Iggy’s sourdough with butter – $5

Sweet potato hummus, charred onions, black sesame & focaccia – $13

Babaganoush, toasted almonds, sumac, chives and focaccia – $13

Roasted veggie bowl with grains & fermented veggies & dukkah – $20

Amongst our group, we also ordered almost all of their main dishes. I wouldn’t be talking about most of them, but I’ll just show you their pictures. Personally, I ordered their special of the day. It was a rather big squid with pearl couscous, vegetables and a very yummy sauce.

According to my colleagues, the piri piri chicken was the best one. They actually got half a chicken! Charred occy, kingfish and sirloin steak were pretty good. Poke bowl was probably the one to forget. I also agreed with the justification for the poke bowl.

Poke bowl – raw fish, cucumber, avocado, radish, kimchi, brown rice, seaweed & softboiled egg – $27

Piri piri chicken, spiced yoghurt, chickpeas, parsley, tomatoes and preserved lemon – $32

Charred occy, corn, grapefruit, pickled chilli, mixed leaves & fermented radish – $28

Wood roasted kingfish on the bone, sweet potato puree, charred broccoli and corn, soy mirin – $34

400gr charcoal grilled pasture fed sirloin steak, burnt herb salsa, pickled onion & mustard – $34

The final verdict for Three Blue Ducks Rosebery

Three Blue Ducks is probably one of the better restaurants in Rosebery. However, given how good our dining experience in the Bronte one was, this one was subpar.

Did you know?

Looking at their website, there are actually three blue ducks restaurants in Australia (the other one being in Byron Bay).

Rating for Three Blue Ducks Rosebery:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $18 – $34 main dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

1 / 85 Dunning Avenue, Rosebery 2018

+61 2 9389 0010

http://www.threeblueducks.com/rosebery/home-rosebery

Mar 7, 2017
Vine Bar Double Bay

Vine Bar Double Bay Experience:

We went to Vine in Double Bay by invitation from the restaurant and I.AM.STRATEGIST. Vine has undergone a renovation for their Short Street restaurant in Double Bay. They had their grand reopening party one day before our visit.

Vine Bar have quite a simple menu. I like a simple menu because I don’t need to think hard on what I want.

Baguette | Salted butter – $3

Our kid really loved warm baguette with salted butter. I also couldn’t stop eating them.

½ roast chicken | sauce Provencal | eggplant – $26

This meal is still for the little one. However, being half a chicken, we managed to have a few bites. The semi-boneless chicken was wonderful. It was also the most complete main dish of the night (i.e. you can pretty much have this for dinner without anything else).

Oyster | Mignonette – $4.5 each

You need to order a minimum of three oysters. It’s always nice to start the night with a couple of oysters.

Terrine du jour | brioche | pear chutney | cornichons – $14

The terrine of the day was venison. We could not get enough of it!

Curiously, in this plate we received two slices of toast and not brioche.

Salmon carpaccio | yuzu & trout roe vinaigrette | marjoram | toast – $18

The idea of having salmon carpaccio with yuzu and trout roe vinaigrette was exciting to me. However, I still prefer the terrine over this.

Beef Tri-tip | caramelised fennel | pomegranate – $29

Beef tri-tip is the only red meat dish at Vine Bar that night. Personally, the portion was quite small(It must be noted that being a meat eater, I’m used to gigantic portion of meat). I love the caramelised fennel.

Goat cheese soufflé | peas | nuts | seeds (v) – $25

My wife ordered the goat cheese souffle and seemed to be enjoying it a lot. It reminded me of an Indonesian dish called macaroni schotel.

Crème Brulee | pistachio | Amarena cherry – $12

Pistachio and crème brulee… they are a match made in heaven!

Vine Bar Double Bay

We enjoyed our dinner at Vine Bar Double Bay. Most notably, it was reasonably priced – Nothing is over $30 (except for the shared desserts).

Did you know?

They have a big shared plate for dessert, called Assiette Mignardise. It looked quite tempting when searching in google. However, I had no one to share it with.

Details:

2 Short St, Double Bay NSW 2028

+61 2 9363 0010

http://vinebar.com.au/

Feb 23, 2017
La Bufala Pizzeria

La Bufala Review:

We are trying out a new pizzeria in Mascot’s new shopping precinct, La Bufala. How do they compare with the more established wood-fired pizzerias in Sydney?

Considering that they were pretty new, I was surprised that the menu already looked so old and quite unappealing. However, we soldiered on and ordered what we usually loves best from a pizzeria.

Polenta Fritta – $15 – Polenta chips with blue cheese dipping sauce

I love polenta chips. The all-powerful blue cheese dip was the perfect company for the chips.

Bufala – $23 – San Marzano tomato, fresh buffalo mozzarella & cherry tomatoes

Bufala pizza is part of the pizze rosse (red pizza) menu. I can’t really taste the texture of their Buffalo mozzarella. Also, it looked like they were added in along with the cherry tomatoes after the pizza was cooked.

Tartufo – $24 – Fior di latte cheese, porcini mushroom, prosciutto & truffle

Tartufo pizza is part of their pizze bianche (white pizza) menu. We had to take out the prosciutto because some of the guests did not eat ham. Even without prosciutto, I still enjoyed this pizza more than the other one.

Gnocchi La Bufala – $24 – Gnocchi, napoletana sauce and buffalo mozzarella

The menu was supposed to be Gnocchi La Bufala, but we asked them to switch the gnocchi with Tagliatelle. The kids usually prefer the long pasta than the dumpling-shaped ones.

Nutella crepes – $16 – with mascarpone & fresh strawberries.

I am not a big fan of the crepe. There was only a hint of mascarpone and not enough Nutella. Also instead of Pistachio, I think it would be MUCH better if they give a scoop of ice cream instead.

The final verdict for La Bufala

La Bufala is quite a decent pizzeria if you are around Mascot area. However, they still have quite a big catching up to do if they want to compete with the rest.

Did you know?

If you are having a meeting around this area, I would suggest you to take the train to Mascot station. The traffic can be unforgiving.

Rating for La Bufala:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $17 – $25 for pizza

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Shop 17, Mascot Central

19 – 33 Kent Road, Mascot NSW 2020

+61 2 8319 4090

http://www.labufala.com.au/

Feb 14, 2017