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.

KoFoo Korean Food

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Unfortunately, KoFoo has closed its doors for good.

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Rating:

6.5 / 10 Taste: 6.5/10

Price: $7 – $33

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

We were actually quite interested in coming to KoFoo Korean Food restaurant because of the ad they put up outside. They have a massive $6.99 number in front of the restaurant… and for a Korean restaurant, it’s cheap! So, how did it turn out?

The restaurant has a nice industrial feeling to it and the usual Korean stainless cutleries and plates… oh and a gigantic stainless cup. KoFoo also had nice assortments of Kimchi. Our first dish was Seafood Shallot Pancake ($18). The picture didn’t do justice here, but the pancake was massive and it was overflowing with fillings.

The next two dishes were my favourites of the day, Honey Crispy Bulgogi ($20) and Cheese Tteokbokki. The bulgogi was undoubtedly the best dish of the day. It was quite a generous portion with heaps of beef. I quite liked the Cheese Topokki. There was an abundance of melted and chewy cheese and an extra chewy rice cake. The sauce was sweet and spicy.

I had a high hope for the chickens (Sweet and Spicy Boneless Chicken and Soy Chicken). However, they failed quite miserably on the taste department when compared to the other Korean restaurant I reviewed. If I had to pick, the sweet and spicy had more punch than the soy but it was still a mile away. The interesting part here is that you can opt to have half a portion for $18 or the whole portion for $33.

We also ordered Kimchi fried rice but we had to cancel because it wasn’t ready half way through our lunch.

The final verdict for KoFoo Korean Food

KoFoo Korean Food restaurant might have been slightly cheaper than most Korean restaurants in Sydney, but it did have a massive deficiency in taste. From the ones we ordered, its Honey Crispy Bulgogi was the only one to stand out against the rest.

Details:

Shop G02 / 35 – 39 Liverpool Street, Sydney NSW 2000

02 9690 1611

http://www.kofoo.co.kr/

Nov 4, 2013
First Drop Cafe

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5/10

Price: $15 – $20

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

This week we are visiting First Drop Café because of my coffee aficionado friend. It is a quite homey corner cafe with such a believable waitress. She convinced us with a story that the New York Style Peanut Butter Shake ($5.50) was the people’s favourite and swayed me away from my original Summer Juice ($5.90)! (Watermelon, Pineapple, and Mint) It wasn’t quite what I expected tho. The shake was quite savoury and it could use a bit more sweet in it.

Since it was not quite afternoon yet, we decided to order from its breakfast menu. They have quite a few choices with mouth-watering descriptions. Check out their Harvest Benedict ($15.90): Sauteed spinach and grilled asparagus on a bed of thyme infused oven baked field mushrooms… fancy! On this occasion, they did forget to put the asparagus on the plate, but it was quickly rectified.

They also have Schwarzenegger Omelette ($16.90), but you must be prepared to quote Arnie if you order this: ‘I’ll be back!’ It is a meal truly for Arnie: High protein egg white omelette with atlantic salmon, asparagus and capers.

I was tempted to order Homemade Beans ($17.90) because it had the in bracket ‘Our Signature Dish’. However, I didn’t really fancy beans and my friend actually ordered it. It was actually quite a nice combo of beans, chorizo and poached egg, with extra sour dough for the kill! Taste wise? It didn’t disappoint but still not my cup of tea.

I ordered Rustic Chorizo Breakfast ($15.90) that I thought had the best description on the menu: Scrambled eggs with free range chorizo, sprinkled with paprika, sitting on a bed of fresh spinach, topped with an onion jam, served with Sonoma sourdough. I’m not quite sure how free range chorizo would look like, but that’s another matter J they had a generous serving of chorizo and onion jam which I think is going to be my new favourite breakfast dish!

The final verdict for First Drop Cafe

I was very happy with the food and service at First Drop Cafe. If it wasn’t for the shake, I would have given them an 8.

If you want to see their lunch menu, please visit this page.

Details:

69 Baptist Street, East Redfern, 2016

02 9690 1611

First Drop Cafe on Facebook

Oct 24, 2013
Grandma’s Little Bakery

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Grandma’s Little Bakery has moved out of this location.

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Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $10 – $20

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

I’m not quite sure when this restaurant was opened however its facebook page suggested that it was created in 2012 (Confirmed by them: they’ve been in Sydney for a year and a half). Grandma’s Little Bakery is a nice little café in Alexandria with quiet cheerful polka dot table cloths. They have shiny iPads for its menu (although you can’t really order from it). You can also have a buffet bar lunch and even vegetarian buffet bar (if you wish).

Let’s start off with something easy and always delightful: scones. The mistake we made was thinking that it was light! Quite the opposite, the scone was actually filling. The home-made butter and jam added the smooth and sweet dimensions.

We also had Celery and Lamb with grandma’s turmeric rice. The lamb and celery stew had a well-balanced flavour and went really well with the rice. Beef and mushrooms Vol-au-vent was also good (and best priced at $10) with over-flowing fillings! Even for a big guy like me, the dish was enough for lunch.

If you think you can handle a big breakfast or lunch, maybe you can try their Shakshuka Bolognaise. According to Wikipedia, shakshuka was originated from Tunisia. It’s quite an interesting dish (and large!) as it was served in a pan! Two eggs poached in bolognaise sauce would be enough to entice meat-lovers to enjoy this dish. There were also a side of organic bread slices if you must eat your carbs.

The unexpected came in last: Malabi. ’Delicious rose cream dressed with fragrant rose syrup, pistachio nut and coconut. A must try!’ – That was the menu description and we did try! It was a very rich and sweet dessert. I love the way the coconut and pistachio balanced its richness. Enter the pistachio biscotti and you got yourself a treat!

The final verdict for Grandma’s Little Bakery

You know it is a good restaurant, when at the end of the meal you had a dessert you can remember for a long time. Grandma’s Little Bakery did just that. I still cannot forget about its Malabi!

Did you know?

If you still think the dishes we reviewed were too small, you still can order its buffet bar for under $20 (I think it was $25 for Saturday)! There are quite decent healthy selections.

Details:

42 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria 2015

02 9690 0069

http://www.grandmas.com.au/

Oct 9, 2013
Sinma Laksa House

Rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7/10

Price: $401 for 8 people

Place: 6/10

Review:

For those of you looking at the price tag on this week’s restaurant, Sinma Laksa House, it might seem very excessive, especially if you know the restaurant inside out. Truth be told, I actually took quite a gamble when I invited my close group of friends to have a dinner here.

The main reason why I wanted to eat in this restaurant was this solitary dish, Singapore Chilli Crab. I am comparing this dish with the original one in Singapore, chilli crab from Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. There were quite a few differences between the two. In Sinma, they use Mud Crab for the dish (at around $86 / kg). Ours was 2.6 kgs of Mud crab and it was gigantic! They also dumbed down the spice. I guess it would make it edible to the local tongue. I was actually very pleased with the crab (until I received the bill ^_^).

The second dish was a dish recommended by the waitress, Fried Chicken (?). It’s a very ordinary looking deep fried chicken dish with prawn crackers. The portion was also quite big tho. In contrast, the third one, Beef and Chicken Satay, was very yummy. They were grilled perfectly with sides of rice cake, pickles and onions.

Our next highlight (and second most expensive dish) is the Steamed Barramundi with Ginger and Shallot. Together with the crab, they contributed to 2/3 of the total bill! However, they were really the top two dishes of the night. The soup base of the fish was fantastic, and the fish itself was succulent.

As you might know, I am not a big fan of the green stuff, but I think these next two were okay. Long Bean Belachan is a staple food in many Asian restaurants in Sydney. There was really nothing wrong with it, but nothing special as well. I quite like the Stir fried garlic asparagus for its crunchy and tasty asparagus.

Last but not least, we ordered a dish that might need an acquired taste: Sambal Prawns and Petai. Petai (known also as stink bean) has a very unusual smell and was a perfect match for the sambal prawns. The only downside for this was the dish was brought out very-very late in the service (when everything else was practically finished).

The final verdict for Sinma Laksa House

Sinma Laksa House has a very nice Singapore Chilli Crab. Is it worth the value? It would if the restaurant and waitresses were nicer. The rest of the dishes were also nice and presentable.

Did you know?

Without the chilli crab, it would only cost us around $20 per person!

Details:

391 Anzac Parade, Kingsford 2032

02 9313 7663

Oct 1, 2013
Ola Lola Café

Rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7/10

Price: $10 for lunch special

Place: 7/10

Review:

This week we go to a relatively new café in Alexandria (there seemed to be loads of them opening in the last year or so!), Ola Lola cafe. Looking at their brand new website, Ola Lola café was opened on the 12^th of May 2013. It’s a very lively café with lots of bright colours.

One of the owners recommended our first dish, Empanadas. The website also stated that Empanadas was Ola Lola’s signature dish. There are four choices to choose from: beef, chicken, tuna or spinach and at $4.50 each (or 3 for $11.50) I think they were quite a bargain. I’d say the chicken and the beef are the better two. They are served with fresh salsa and I recommend you try it with Chipotle sauce on your table!

Our second meal was the meal of the day that they have for a fix price of $10: Albondigas de la Abuela – meatballs in tomato/Chipotle salsa with cheese and chilli. We were quite amazed when the dish arrived as we got FOUR giant meatballs with a side of salad and two slices of bread. They were pretty good and definitely worth the price!

The final verdict for Ola Lola Cafe

Ola Lola Café is a nice every day café if you happened to live or work around the area. The cafe brings fantastic Latin American hospitality in its service.

Did you know?

In some parts of Southeast Asia (especially Indonesia), empanadas is known as pastel. It is crispier than empanadas and has sweeter taste with chicken and potato as its main fillings.

Details:

39/101 Doody St, Alexandria 2015

02 9317 4687

http://olalola.com.au/

Sep 16, 2013
Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2014
Sepia is once again the top restaurant for this year’s Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2014. The restaurant won this award in 2012 and was a three hat last year.

Other Awards in this year’s Good Food Guide 2014

Ross Lusted from The Bridge Room has won the Chef of The Year award. The Bridge Room is a two-hat restaurant.

Louis Tamayo (Claude’s) won the Service Excellence Award.

Young Chef of the year award was given to Louis Tikaram from Longrain.

New restaurant of the year is Mr Wong.

Award of Innovation went to Kylie Kwong.

Guillaume Brahimi received the Legend Award.

List of restaurants with hats

Three hats

There are five restaurants awarded with three hats as listed in the Good Food website:
- Sepia – Winner of 2014 and 2012 Restaurant of the year award.
- Guillaume at Bennelong – This iconic restaurant will close its doors permanently at the end of the year.
- Momofuku Seiobo – This restaurant has been a three hat ever since it opened its doors to public!
- Quay – 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2013 restaurant of the year. Quay is the only restaurant in this year’s list that I’ve been to.
- Rockpool – The group has several restaurants including two two-hat restaurants, Rockpool Bar and grill and Spice Temple.
As listed from the website, the rest of the hats are as follows:

Two hats

Aria, The Bridge Room, Buon Ricordo, Claude’s, est., Four in Hand Dining Room, Gastro Park, Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Longrain, Lucio’s Italian Restaurant, Marque, MoVida, Mr Wong, Ormeggio at The Spit, Pilu at Freshwater, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Spice Temple, Tetsuya’s.

One hat

Aki’s Indian Restaurant, Ananas Bar & Brasserie, The Apollo, Arras, Balla, The Bathers’ Pavilion, Berowra Waters Inn, Billy Kwong, Bistro Moncur, Bistrode CBD, The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Bodega, buzo trattoria, Cafe Sopra, Catalina, China Doll, Clareville Kiosk, The Devonshire, Flying Fish Restaurant & Bar, Foveaux Restaurant & Bar, Glass Brasserie, Gowings Bar & Grill, Hartsyard, Jonah’s Restaurant, Kepos Street Kitchen, Monopole, Ms.G’s, Oscillate Wildly, Popolo, Porteño, The Restaurant Pendolino, Saké Restaurant & Bar, Sean’s Panaroma, Sixpenny, Sokyo, Three Blue Ducks, Tomislav, Uccello, Ume Restaurant, Xanthi.
Sep 3, 2013