Category: Pyrmont

Pyrmont is known as the venue of the biggest casino in Sydney, The Star. It is also home of Sydney Fish Market that All About Food Blog authors love to go.

Gojima

Gojima Review:

Gojima is a Japanese ‘fast food’ burger joint located at The Star in Sydney. It was created by Chef Chase Kojima from Sokyo. The unique selling point for this restaurant is that they use rice instead of the usual burger bun!

Their menu is predominantly rice burger, made from Japanese sushi rice and nori… in other words: a gigantic sushi! The difference is that the rice would not fall apart like a normal sushi.

Gojima Stack – $16.90 – cheeseburger and Crispy Katsu Mushroom with tomato, pickles, onions, lettuce and special sauce

When I read the description, cheeseburger and crispy mushroom, I instantly knew I had to try it!

This burger is actually quite big and probably bigger than your usual portion for lunch.

Salmon Miso – 14.90 – Tasmanian Salmon, cheese, lettuce, cucumber, radish, pickles, scallions and Gojima Miso sauce

The second rice burger is more like a ‘normal’ sushi: salmon with miso sauce, except for the crunchy rice and cheese on it.

Size-wise, it is also quite a normal portion for lunch.

Small – 2 Pieces – $8.90 – Japanese-style Southern Fried Chicken

As part of the ‘side’ menu, Gojima offers Japanese fried chicken. You could easily have that for your main if you are not a big fan of sushi. Their chicken was super crunchy and pretty tasty.

Miso Soup – $3.90

Their miso soup was very good and pretty cheap for what they put in it!

Large Fries – $6.90 – Shoestring fries with Umami salt.
+ Japanese Mayo $0.9

If you want the complete experience, you should also order their shoestring fries and Japanese mayo.

Thick Shake – $7.90 – Strawberries & Cream

To close out a nice lunch, strawberries and cream milkshake is the obvious choice.

The final verdict for Gojima

Quite a lot of top chefs open up a burger joint these days with Gojima being one of them. However, their rice burger offering is very nice and exciting.

Do you think I should go?
If burgers and Japanese food are your things, then you must visit this restaurant!

Rating for Gojima:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $11.90 – $16.90 per burger

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Level G, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont 2009

https://www.gojima.com/

May 22, 2018
Sokyo

Sokyo Review:

Our review this week is for a special occasion and the venue of choice was Sokyo. Sokyo is a one-hat restaurant (based on Good Food Guide) with great reputation for its quality and Omakase. However, some of my friends also told me how the experience was somewhat ruined by patrons of ‘questionable personalities’.

On this occasion, we went there for quite a big lunch and tried a few different options for the two of us.

Sashimi Platter – 60 – Chef’s choice 24 pieces of mixed traditional sashimi

When you are in one of the best Japanese restaurants in Sydney, you just have got to order sashimi platter. On this occasion, we have the three regulars (salmon, tuna, kingfish), scallops, snapper, and aburi salmon.

They put a little theatrics for the Sashimi platter. It sure made a lot of people looked. The interesting thing about this was the four condiments included on the plate. I’m not really sure what they are, but I’d call them soy sauce, ‘yum’, ‘super yum’ and ‘omg yum’.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgkaMauFgMD/?taken-by=aaf_blog

Alfonsino Kinmedai – 6 – Sushi

The last time I had Alfonsino was so memorable that I was always on the lookout for the fish in a restaurant. I know it looked like just a regular sushi in the picture. However, it tasted so much better and the pickled ginger was strong and aromatic.

Octopus Salad – 16 – Confit potato, Wakame, Avocado Wasabi, watermelon, smoked bbq sauce

Can I just say ‘the octopus salad is yum’? It is hard to describe the complex nature of its elements.

Aylesbury Duck Breast – 40 – Goma ponzu, brussel sprouts & baby cos, wafu dressing

The duck has got to be one of the best we have had in a Japanese restaurant. The skin was so crunchy and the meat was so tender.

The wafu dressing is quite interesting for us. It reminded us of an Indonesian sauce for Pecel, but much more subtle. It worked really well with the brussel sprouts and baby cos.

We were super happy eating this dish.

Japanese Barbeque – 24 – Karubi short rib, umami shiitake sauce, cucumber

If the karubi short rib came before the duck, we probably would have appreciated it more. Unfortunately, it was massively overshadowed by the duck.

“Not Tuna Sashimi” – 12 – Compressed watermelon, coconut sorbet & aomomo

If you look at the picture below, I wouldn’t blame you if you really think it was tuna sashimi. I am not a big fan of not-fresh coconut and after this dish, I am still not a big fan.

Sokyo “Mochi Ice Cream” – 9 – Yatsuhashi kyoto mochi, frozen strawberry milk shake

This is the next level of mochi. Lucky there were 2 mochis for the two of us. Otherwise, we would have to fight for them.

Sayuri “Little Lilly” – 30 – 300ml Unfiltered Nigori sake. Slightly cloudy, lychee and coconuts

It is probably the cheapest sake in the menu. But I like the sweet and refreshing taste of it.

The final verdict for Sokyo

We had such an amazing lunch at Sokyo. It is definitely better than some of the one hat restaurants we have ever been to.

Do you think I should go?
Without a doubt! It was quite rare that we enjoyed every single one of our meals.
.

Rating for Sokyo:

9.0 / 10

Taste: 9.0 / 10

Price: $250 for two people

Place: 9.5 / 10

Details:

Level G, The Darling, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont 2009

Sokyo at The Star Website

Mar 22, 2018
Willis Canteen

Review:

One day a friend of mine asked me a question: Do you want to eat gado-gado? At first I admired his courage in offering me something that I don’t eat that often (vegetables) and obviously my subsequent question ensued: What’s so special about this one?

He said “This is the best one in Sydney and you even need to call them up in advance or be prepared to wait for an hour”. I was really tempted to say: are you mad? I’m not going to wait for an hour for my meal!

However, there was that ‘call in advance’ method (I still had my doubts at that time) that we can utilise so that we don’t need to wait for an hour.

We went on a Sunday afternoon and the restaurant was quite packed (good indicator of a nice restaurant!). Willis Canteen is the name of the restaurant. There were no big dramatic sign boards and no fancy decors. It was a plain and simple canteen!

As we were a bit late (because somehow we went to a different location!), my friend was already there with the gado-gado my wife ordered already on the table! She pointed out that this gado-gado was very similar to the ones in her city. Gado-gado literally translates into mishmash or mixes. It is a mixture of boiled vegetables with homemade peanut sauce. This peanut sauce is the very reason the preparation time was long. It wasn’t from that pre-packaged stuff you get from Asian groceries. They were passionately (and freshly) made by the chef.

Gado-gado – $12

I ordered another variant of peanut-based dish, Ketoprak. I will let you read the description in Wikipedia for ketoprak. Ketoprak is slightly different than gado-gado, but if you get the elements wrong it will be called something else. Their ketoprak was fabulous!

Ketoprak – $11

We also ordered Iga Penyet and Rendang. Iga penyet was a lot simpler in presentation. It was beef ribs with just a couple of vegetables and a small stone mortar with spicy sambal (chilli). In Indonesia the term ‘penyet’ is actually used for smashing the sambal with the main (usually soybean cake, eggplant, or chicken). The beef rendang was the icing on the cake on the already nice lunch.

Iga Penyet – $12.50

Rendang – $12.50

The final verdict for Willis Canteen on facebook

Willis Canteen surprised me in many good ways! I can feel the owners’ passion for food in every dish they served.

Did you know?

Seriously, if you are told that you will be waiting for a long time for your gado-gado, it means you WILL be waiting for a long time. If you want to order the peanut-based stuff, please call them in advance!

Rating for Willis Canteen:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $10 – $15 per dish

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

197/392 Jones Street, Ultimo

+61 2 8040 8372

Willis Canteen on facebook

Feb 26, 2015
Ribs and Burgers

Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10

Price: $10 – $29 per main course

Place: 7/10 (well it’s still a food court, even if it’s a nice one!)

Review:

My love for anything ribs landed me to Ribs & Burgers. The restaurant was opened at the same time of the launch of the renaming of Star City to The Star. The Star branch of Ribs and Burgers is located at the café court. It restricted me from giving a higher point as the ambience is pretty much ‘food court’.

Straight off the bat, my eyes were directed to ‘The R&B Succulent Ribs Range’ and saw the Lamb Ribs for only $22 (with a choice of chips or cabbage salad)! To be honest, I was quite sceptical about it at first, considering most ribs places would charge in excess of $35 for a plate of ribs. My worries subsided as soon as I saw the wooden board with two racks of lamb ribs. From the taste department, they were also not beaten when compared to our regular ribs joints! Simple and delicious!

If lamb was not your culinary preference, you could have an option of Beef Ribs ($21) or Pork Ribs ($29). Both are still equally affordable, but instead of two racks, you only got one rack. Seriously, two racks of these would be overkill! For this, I only tasted the beef ribs. It was too thin to my liking, but it packed the same punch as the lamb ribs.

For a cheaper alternative (and less ribs) you can choose the Korean Ribs, a great value of $14 and you can choose between Beef or Pork ribs, cut and basted Korean-style. $14 ribs… seriously!

As the restaurant was named Ribs and Burgers, tasting the burger was a must! My choice went to Wagyu Burger (225gr, $18) from their ‘R&B Butchers Choice Burger Range’. When I saw the burger, it was big and appetising! The lower bun looked quite crushed (presumably by the heavy wagyu beef meat). The burger was a bit pink in the middle, because of the wagyu beef, so you might need to ask for a ‘well done’ if you dislike medium-grilled meat. Chock-full of goodies, including crunchy onion rings, I think the burger would be more than enough for lunch but barely met my requirements for dinner. It was a nice alternative if you didn’t want to eat the heavy ribs.

Ribs & Burgers also served the kids range with a complementary side of chips. We ordered Beef Burger ($7) for this one and I think the size was quite okay.

The final verdict for Ribs & Burgers

We were actually quite surprise that Ribs & Burgers delivered fantastic dishes! Best-priced ribs you can get for a weekend outing with friends and family.

Did you know?

You might want to go to Ribs and Burgers Neutral Bay branch for the restaurant experience.

The Star’s café court used to look very dark and boring. The refurbishment made The Star looked pretty vibrant now. The list of restaurants occupying its directory list includes a three-hat, a one-hat and several other highly regarded restaurants in Sydney.

Details:

The Star, Café Court

Level G, 80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont NSW 2009

+61 2 9518 8825

http://ribsandburgers.com/au/

Feb 25, 2013
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
Sushi Samurai

Rating:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 6.5 /10

Price Range: $13 – $20 per plate

Place: 6/10

Review:

This week, we are going to explore one of the restaurants in Pyrmont that was recommended by my friend, Sushi Samurai. The restaurant looked kind of small but it’s full of people. I guess we wouldn’t make it if we hadn’t booked in advance. It’s a nice sizable restaurant but unfortunately my friend failed to tell us that there was a special menu that could be ordered one day in advance. It’s a kind of preset menu with an optional lobster.

Casting our disappointment aside, we ordered several dishes that I am going to write in the order of the timing appropriateness. I dislike the fact that our main Sashimi Platter was the first one to be served. We would have been happier if our Deep-fried Lotus Roots, Agedashi Tofu, and Tofu and Seaweed Salad were the first ones to arrive. The lotus roots were crispy but it’s kind of tasteless and bland, except for a bit of salt. Agedashi Tofu was nice, but unfortunately it’s too little of a portion for the six of us. The salad on the other hand was very fresh with silken smooth tofu. There were a rich variety of vegetables in it and it had a big portion.

On with the Sushi dishes… We ordered two sushi rolls this time, the classical California Roll and my all-time favorite Soft Shell Crab Roll. California roll was o, regular 8 pieces, but lacking in the actual quantity inside the rice. The other roll was much better presented and tasting, but it lacked the number of pieces.

In the grilled department, we ordered Teriyaki Wagyu Beef and Grilled Fish Head. The beef was certainly one of the best dishes of the day. Sizzling wagyu cuts on top of a bed of bean sprouts. Perfectly combined with the sauce! The fish on the other hand was a nightmare. It’s true that you got three gigantic fish heads, but they were really plain. I’d advise you to order additional teriyaki sauce for them.

The only other dish that’s worth mentioning is the Sashimi Platter. It was pretty, it had great assortments, and they were fresh! If it was the only dish we ordered, our judgment could’ve been slightly better.

The final verdict: There was nothing that made me want to return to the restaurant. Everything was a disappointment, except for the Sashimi platter. However, I am curious about the special menu that they offer.

Did you know?

Sushi Samurai is part of a restaurant chain, called Excellent Group, and there are several restaurants owned by this group all over Sydney. I had a glimpse of the one in Neutral Bay and it looked so much better and more spacious than the Pyrmont one.

Location:

Shop 1/16-30 Bunn St Pyrmont 2009

Website:

Feb 22, 2011