Category: Japanese

Japanese combines the best of raw and cooked food. Its Sushi and Sashimi are known worldwide for its distinct way to present food.

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
Neon Pigeon – Singapore

Just a few minutes walk from the MRT station in Chinatown, Neon Pigeon can be quite hard to spot from the outside. The restaurant concept was Japanese izakaya with a little fusion twist.

The menu at Neon Pigeon can be enjoyed in either small or large plate, except for one curious prime rib that would cost up to $500.

For our visit, we ordered everything on a small plate.

Neon Pigeon – Birdfeed

I would assume they called it ‘birdfeed’ because of their inherently small portions. However, as you read through this, it’s not necessarily the case.

Tokyo hummus – $9 – edamame, curry chips

The night started off with a bang! I don’t know how they make this hummus. IT WAS AWESOME!

We didn’t mind paying an extra $2 for the chips to dip into those goodies!

Hamachi tartare – $16 – tofu-miso dressing, daikon, quail egg, sesame crisps

One of my dining mates didn’t quite like the tartare as it tasted a little too fishy.

Seabreem sashimi – $18 – tamari cured, green apple, yuzu kosho, tempura seaweed

The seabreem dish, on the other hand, was pretty good. The crunch of tempura seaweed and the tartness of the green apple complemented the fish nicely.

Roasted bone marrow – $19 – furikake seasoning, crispy garlic, toast

I got to finish the whole dish because none of my dining mates found it appealing.

I have always loved bone marrow and this one was very nice!

Neon Pigeon – Vegetables

Spicy baby corn – $12 – red miso, corn creme

I’ve had two amazing corn dishes this year. While this baby corn was nice, it was obviously not as superior.

Crispy brussels sprouts – $15 – mirin glazed bacon, karashi

This was a nice little side dish for our otherwise meaty affairs.

Miso roasted eggplant – $12 – eggplant puree, mint, fried lotus chips

The baba ghanouj-style eggplant was one of the favourites for this dinner.

Seafood

Pan seared scallops – $21 – smoked tofu, wakame, ponzu, yuzu sago

The portion for this dish was pretty tiny. It would probably have been more enjoyable if we each received one bowl.

Meat N Poultry

Fried chicken wings – $18 – burnt miso & garlic dressing, preserved carrots

We didn’t originally order this. However, one of my dining mates couldn’t eat quite a lot of dishes we had ordered. The preserved carrots weren’t exactly a big hit.

Smoked baby back ribs – $23 – sake barbecue sauce

If you went with 3 people, it would mean 1 tiny rib per person. The rib itself was pretty tasty. However, the portion could be better.

The final verdict for Neon Pigeon

The drinks and the small dishes at Neon Pigeon were very good. However, the substantials could probably be improved… or removed.

Do you think I should go?

It’s a nice izakaya place to wind down after a hectic day in Singapore.

Rating:

tomodachi

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: s$9 – $48 per dish

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

1A Keong Saik Road, #01-03, Singapore 089109.

+65 6222 3623

https://www.neonpigeonsg.com/

Aug 16, 2019
Tomodachi

We went to Rhodes to meet up with a friend from the area. We decided to go to Tomodachi Japanese restaurant in the shopping centre for ease of parking. Tomodachi has the option for quick sushi train or the more sit-down bento type.

My little one quickly snapped up a couple of plates from the sushi train before we even ordered anything.

Tomodachi Japanese restaurant in Rhodes

Goma Usuzukuri – $15.8 – Thinly sliced king fish, yuzu and goma dressing

Fresh king fish with a squeeze of yuzu… nothing can go wrong with that combination!

Salmon Sashimi – $13 – 7 pieces

This was another safe bet that the little one love. They were nice cuts of sashimi.

Age dashi tofu – $8.8 – Deep fried tofu with bonito, spring onion, dried seaweed and sauce

I actually quite like this ratio tofu-to-sauce. It enables us to still taste the crunch but at the same time enough soup to enjoy.

Salmon Yakiba – $18.8 – Grilled salmon seasoned with salt and pepper, served with ponzu sauce and steamed asparagus

The ponzu sauce added an extra dimension to the salmon.

UNA bento – $24.8 – marinated bbq eel

It was quite a generous portion of bento box. It was a nice surprise to find that there were quite a few different side dishes in the box.

The final verdict for Tomodachi

Tomodachi is quite an okay restaurant in Rhodes.

Do you think I should go?

It’s a pretty decent place to have lunch or dinner.

Rating:

tomodachi

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $15 – $20 main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 74, Level 1, Rhodes Waterside, 1 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes 2138

+61 2 9736 1764

Tomodachi on Rhodes Waterside website

Aug 8, 2019
Restaurant Nouri – Crossroads Cooking

When I was working in Singapore last week, I managed to have dinner at one of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. Sitting at #39, Restaurant Nouri has only been opened for a couple of years. However, they have already had a Michelin star under their belt.

Chef Ivan Brehm and his team gave us this very interesting dining concept called ‘crossroads cooking’. The dining room is also where the chef prepared all of our meals.

They served four pre-dining dishes. They also advised that we could re-order sourdough bread as many times as we want. This is a very good idea as you would want to soak up all of those nice sauce!

The first two that came with the bread was their rendition of silken tofu and vegetable broth. The tofu was more like a dipping sauce for the bread!

The next two was cold kimchi made from abalone with daikon and nashi pear and Chinese bitter gourd salad. I can understand why the two had to be consumed side-by-side as the bitter gourd was really bitter. It accentuated the kimchi cold and sour taste.

The 7-course ‘Omakase’ from Restaurant Nouri

They had an option of 5- or 7- course menu as well as set or omakase. I could see some of the omakase menu was pretty similar to the set menu.

The first course was Hamachi sashimi with caviar and chilled onion consomme. It was a nice and fresh sashimi with very nice vinaigrette… the reason why you should keep asking for bread!

The second course was their rendition of prawn bouillabaisse with saffron jelly. They used the reduction from the prawn head to make the thick soup.

Their rendition of cheong fun (or rice noodles) was one of my favourites on the night. Not only they used black truffle, underneath that green cheong fun there was Alaskan snow crab! Even the foamy bit was very nice!

The second last main dish was kimedai fish with scales and black pepper sauce. Yes, they prepared the fish with its scaled. The scales were very crunchy and almost like crackers The fish was perfectly cooked and went really well with slightly hot black pepper sauce.

I wouldn’t blame you if you think this next dish as a chocolate cake with truffle. They did incorporate chocolate but only as the powder around the plate.

This dish was actually wagyu rib eye with Mexican’s mole sauce. However, they used the traditional ingredients called ‘keluwak’ to darken the colour.

Desserts at Restaurant Nouri

Before we started with the desserts, there was a bowl of Gooseberry granita with peach and champagne. It was very nice and refreshing!

The first dessert looked quite simple but it was actually pretty sophisticated. The dish was Japanese ichigo with azuki beans, sansho pepper and kinome leaf with strawberry sorbet.

The dish was sweet, sour, cold, crunchy… and hot! Every now and then there was this kick from the sansho pepper that made the dish very lively.

The last dish was 48-hour baked orange with assam tea ice cream, cream and some jelly that tasted quite bitter.

I have never tasted something quite like this before.

The final verdict for Restaurant Nouri

Restaurant Nouri clearly deserved its Michelin star and the #39 spot in the Asia’s Best 50 restaurants. They have a unique table arrangement and impeccable service.

Do you think I should go?

Definitely! Chef Ivan will surely treat you well!

Rating:

Nouri

9.5 / 10

Taste: 9.5 / 10

Price: $225 pp for 7-course Omakase

Place: 10.0 / 10

Details:

72 Amoy Street, Singapore 069891

+65 6221 4148

http://nouri.com.sg/

Aug 1, 2019
Kid Kyoto

Kid Kyoto review:

I went to Kid Kyoto with a friend of mine from overseas. You need to venture into the alleyways of Sydney CBD to find this Japanese izakaya.

Since we were not in the mood of choosing dishes, we opted to go for the big set menu of $75 per person. There were 10 dishes for this menu.

Lotus chips, wasabi salt – $6

Red snapper, tiger’s milk, pickled fennel, persimmon – $24

These first two dishes really set the expectations for the night. The chips were really crunchy and nice. The red snapper was very nice and acidic.

Wagyu beef tartare, black sesame dressing, pickled beetroot – $22

Tacoyaki croquette, Katsuobushi mayo, tonkatsu sauce – $17

Grilled King Prawn, lime miso tare – $16

This is when things get really exciting. The image for wagyu beef tartare didn’t really capture the essence of how good it really was.

Creating takoyaki as a croquette brought a different dimension for this Japanese snack.

There was a hint of spicy taste on the prawn but it brought out the smokey flavour of the prawn. The only downside was we only got one each.

The highlight of the night at Kid Kyoto

Corn ribs, smoked chilli miso, rice puff, togarashi – $15

This is the second time I got really excited about eating corn in a degustation. The corn was pretty spicy… but we did not mind that!

It was perfect.

The main

Sake miso chicken, sticky burdock, lotus root – $28

Brussel sprouts, seaweed butter, yuzu – $9

‘Chahan’ Japanese fried rice – $16

While the mains were pretty decent, in my opinion, it failed to lift up the expectation we had during the small dishes.

The miso chicken was nice, but it felt like a regular teriyaki chicken. The Brussel sprouts was a side and fried rice was probably a bit too substantial for being the last three dishes.

Matcha ganache, puff rice chocolate crumb, apple sorbet – $14

Having had a pretty heavy main course, I was glad that the dessert was pretty light and refreshing.

However, it wasn’t spectacular either.

Kunizakari Jousen Jonjozo | Aichi 65% – $45 – Light bodied, crisp and clean finish

Yuzushu | Nara – $45 – Made with fresh yuzu juice & premium sake. Deliciously sweet & sour

We ordered the first sake at the beginning and the yuzu-flavoured one towards the end of the service.

The Final Verdict for Kid Kyoto

The price of the set menu is 75 pp. If we calculate the total cost of individual dishes, it is a saving of $17. Having said that, the dishes that they served were high quality. However the main was a tad underwhelming.

You might want to consider a la carte, if you don’t eat that much (aka drink more) at Kid Kyoto.

Do you think I should go?

If you are looking for an izakaya that is unlike the others, but still served very good dishes, then you should try Kid Kyoto.

Rating:

9.0 / 10

Taste: 9.0 / 10

Price: $75 per person set menu

Place: 9.0 / 10

Details:

17 – 19 Bridge St, Sydney 2000

+61 2 9241 1991

https://kidkyoto.com.au/

Jul 8, 2019
Kubota Japanese Cuisine

Kubota Japanese Cuisine review:

We were walking down Audley street in Petersham when my son saw this little Japanese restaurant called Kubota Japanese Cuisine. We didn’t go in the first place but promised him we would be back.

After researching about the restaurant, I found out that it has only been recently opened. The price listed on the menu was actually pretty reasonable for a Japanese restaurant.

Age Mochi – $7.5 – Crispy deep fried Mochi in sweetened soya sauce

We were pretty curious when we saw age mochi on the menu. I always thought that mochi is only good for desserts. However, they made sure when they coated that mochi with agedashi it is as tasty as its tofu sibling.

The dish is quickly becoming one of our favourites.

Japanese Sweet Omelette – $1.2 per piece – Sweet Japanese-style omelette

I like a good and simple Japanese omelette. They are pretty light, fluffy and slightly sweet.

Deep-fried Crispy Squid tentacles – $7.5

Geso karaage is another staple snack that we usually ordered in an izakaya. They went pretty well with a pint of beer or sake.

Karaage (main size) – $18.5 – Japanese style deep fried chicken

The karaage at Kubota is pretty old-fashioned. Instead of the usual ‘Western’ style that is slightly sweet. This was plain old crunchy and savoury.

Grilled Salmon in foil – $19.5 – with spicy miso butter sauce and variety mushrooms

Our last dish came from the ‘today’s special’ board. They could work more on the presentation and title. However, the taste was amazing. It wasn’t really spicy as advertised. However, it’s already very different than most Japanese dishes.

The final verdict for Kubota Japanese Cuisine

Kubota is a pretty decent restaurant in Inner West.

Do you think I should go?

We like the restaurant because of the vicinity with our place. However, it is probably not a destination you would specifically go to for a Japanese cuisine.!

Rating:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $15 – $20 main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 1 & 2 98-106 Audley St, Petersham 2049

+61 2 9569 7774

Kubota Japanese cuisine on facebook

Jun 17, 2019