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.

Cafe Mix

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $75 buffet dinner

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

Prior to this review, I’ve been to Cafe Mix at Shangri-La Hotel a couple of times before for both its buffet and a la carte dinner. However, we decided to write on their buffet dinner. Available only on weekends, they have a buffet dinner called Spectacular Seafood Buffet at Cafe Mix Shangri-La, a big and catchy name for sure. So, how was it?

The buffet was divided into four sections with the first one strategically located just after the entrance. It was a crepe station with a fondue fountain filled with loads of goodies: strawberries, churros, marshmallow, and lollies. It would definitely grab instant attention for kids and adults alike.

The second one was its centrepiece: seafood buffet bar. There were a lot of chilled seafood dishes, like Balmain bugs, crabs, oysters and prawns. There was also whole poached salmon. Squid, octopus, scallops, and white baits were made into different kinds of salad. There was also a selection of salads for vegetarians. There were two Japanese dishes (sushi plates and miso soup) fitted awkwardly next to the seafood buffet. I didn’t like the sushi and didn’t even try the soup.

The third section comprises of a mixture of hot dishes, mostly of Asian influence, like roasted pork belly, BBQ pork, and noodles. There were also some European dishes, including Arancini mushrooms, carbonara pasta and mussels in white wine. At the other end of the table, there were several Indian dishes, like Mango Chicken and basmati rice with pappadums (love the pappadums!). However, I skipped most of them (including some vegetable dishes I didn’t bother to check) to reserve my tummy space for its dessert.

Lastly, we have the dessert section. As I am a big fan of macarons, my eyes were fixated on them. They still couldn’t beat Baroque’s in terms of taste, but were more than okay for ‘free’ ones! I am also a big fan of crème brûlée, but I could only taste my wife’s crème brûlée as they weren’t available when I tried to get it! Other notable desserts include: apple crumble, some chocolate desserts, meringue and jelly.There was also a selection of cheese if you fancy them.

The final verdict for Cafe Mix at Shangri-La

There was definitely abundance of choices when you dined at Cafe Mix. However, these dishes were simply too ordinary for the listed price. I did hog on the Balmain bugs as they were pretty uncommon and quite similar to lobster.

Details:

Level 1, Shangri-La Hotel

176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW 2000

02 9250 6000

http://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/restaurants/cafe-mix/

Jan 20, 2014
Tetsuya’s Fresh Oysters Vinaigrette Recipe
This oysters vinaigrette recipe was first written by Tetsuya Wakuda, the owner of the infamous restaurant Tetsuya’s. If you are new to the website, please visit our review of Tetsuya’s restaurant.

The first part of this recipe is the actual recipe written by Tetsuya. I will then let you know each of the items we used to make our rendition of the Vinaigrette.

Happy Cooking!

The recipe is called Tasmanian Pacific Oysters with Rice Wine Vinaigrette

Here are the ingredients:
1. Ogonori
2. 12 large Pacific Oysters, shucked
Vinaigrette
1. 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
2. 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3. 1 teaspoon castor (superfine) sugar
4. 1 teaspoon soy sauce
5. 6 tablespoons grapeseed oil
6. 2 tablespoons olive oil
7. 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Garnish
1. chives, finely chopped
2. 3 tablespoons ocean trout roe
How to make the Oysters Vinaigrette?
1. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl or jar.
2. Place a little ogonori on the base of the serving plate. Put the oysters on top and spoon over the vinaigrette.
3. Sprinkle the oysters with the chives and ocean trout roe.
So, the important question here is: How do we get all of those ingredients?
1. You can pretty much grab any soy sauce you can find in your cupboard.
2. We use crushed ginger that is normally sold in supermarkets
3. Castor (or superfine) sugar should be a staple ingredient for cake makers.
4. For the rice wine vinegar, we like to use Hinode Mirin. Mirin has a sweeter taste than normal rice wine vinegar.
5. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – I don’t think you need an explanation for this.
6. Lemon Juice (you can easily squeeze it from a fresh lemon if you want).
7. Grapeseed oil might not be the thing you would normally have in your cupboard, but it should easily be available in any big supermarkets.
8. You should be able to buy freshly shucked oysters from your local fish market. They might also sell ocean trout/salmon roe.
For an added kick to your Oysters Vinaigrette Recipe:
1. Just like any other fresh seafood, please buy the fresh oysters closer to the time you want to consume it – and for the love of God, do NOT buy them a day earlier!
2. I personally haven’t tried this (because I think the vinaigrette is already awesome!), but Tetsuya advised that you infuse 10 cm of konbu in a bottle of 750 ml rice wine vinegar.
3. The vinaigrette can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator.
4. Tetsuya recommend a good-quality champagne to accompany the dish.
Dec 23, 2013
Shou Sumiyaki

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $160 or $220 set menu

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

This is our last review of the year and also last review in our Melbourne trip and we would like to wish you all a happy holiday!! For this festive season, I present you a grand banquet from Shou Sumiyaki Sake Bar and Grill. There was quite a few of us and we ordered two of its sets: Wagyu Sumibiyaki Set ($160) and Wagyu and Seafood Sumibiyaki Set ($220). So, did the ‘seafood’ bit worth the $60 extra value? You can be the judge by reading the review below.

Side Dishes

Let’s start with the boring stuff and the part with the least difference. You only received an additional Brocolli wrap for the more expensive one. The common dishes were: Steam Rice, Miso Soup, Lettuce Wrap and Mushroom Wrap.

Entrée

It was two very distinctive menus for the Entrée. For the regular sumibiyaki, you get Salmon Sashimi, Kani Tempura, Chilled Pickled Yuzu, and Octopus Salad with Daikon & Salmon Roe.

The seafood sumibiyaki offered more sophisticated names for the entrée: Shou Assorted Sashimi Plate, Kaisen Harumaki (Deep fried Japanese-style seafood spring roll) and Horenso no Gomeae (Cooked Spinach with sesame dressing and bonito shaving).

Strangely enough, I think that the regular sumibiyaki actually presented a better value when compared to the seafood one.

Sumibiyaki Dishes

The regular sumibiyaki was quite straight forward. The list was dominated by Wagyu beef: Rump, rib finger, scotch, oyster blade, and a Marble 8 wagyu chuck roll for a total of 650 gr and a pork scotch (substituted with Chicken for us – at 150gr)

There were definitely a lot more qualities in the Wagyu (according to the menu) than the regular sumibiyaki: rump cap, Marble 8 rib finger, Marble 8 scotch, oyster blade, harami for a total of 500 gr. From the cost point of view, a marble 8 beef can cost twice as much as a marble 6 or 5. In addition to those beef cuts, you also got Scallops (100gr), Salmon fillet (150gr), squid (4 pieces), and 4 large tiger prawns.

From the value proposition, the seafood sumibiyaki definitely came up top. However if you don’t really know how to cook marbled wagyu, it might be hard to judge what’s with all the fuss.

As my personal favourite, we have also ordered Wagyu Beef Yukke ($12.50).

The final verdict for Shou Sumiyaki Sake Bar and Grill

The price point might be a bit steep in Shou Sumiyaki, especially for a four-person sumibiyaki. For a non-seafood eater, it’s a no-brainer that they would choose the regular one.

Details:

160 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

03 9654 3933

http://www.shousumiyaki.com.au/

Dec 21, 2013
Akachochin

Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5/10

Price: $14 – $33 per plate

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

For the first time in our (short but eventful) history, we are reviewing a restaurant in Melbourne. To celebrate this, we will be reviewing Melbourne restaurants for the whole month of December! Since it’s such a short stay, we can rule out the three hats like Attica, Vue de Monde – we couldn’t even get into the two hats ones!

Luckily for us, Melbourne isn’t short of great food, and our first ever review goes to Akachochin Japanese Restaurant. Located strategically, just behind Melbourne Convention Centre and DFO, Akachochin is situated right by the Yarra River. In Japanese, ??? means red paper lantern. It is commonly hung outside Japanese Izakaya establishments. Being an izakaya, you are most welcome to try their sake. However, this time we will focus on their food.

Let’s start with a couple of classic Japanese cuisines: Miso Shiru ($6) and Sashimi Moriawase ($33). Two of the most common Japanese dishes that could hardly go wrong! The sashimi was quite pricey, given that there was only nine slices of fish and scallops. Although it was fresh and well-presented, I still wouldn’t order again for that price.

For half the Sashimi’s price, Hiramasa Namerou ($16) was the dish you should seriously consider. It was a Japanese-style kingfish tartare with wasabi stem and moromi miso. The interesting part of this dish was the introduction of the rice crackers. They truly balanced the strong taste of the tartare and added a crunchy dimension to the taste.

The Unagi Avodaco Roll ($14) was presented quite uniquely. Instead of the usual nori, it was wrapped with radish. The official description of the roll was: inside out roll with eel, avocado, sliced onion, masago, cucumber, and sweet soy. I wasn’t quite happy with the presentation of the Wagyu Yakimono ($18). The massive bowl of green leaves overpowered the small serving of the wagyu beef. The beef itself was perfectly grilled and was accentuated by the shimeji mushrooms.

It took a very long time for the last two dishes to arrive, but it is well worth the wait. We even ordered Unagi Dashi Chazuke ($16) – a chopped eel on rice with hot clear soup – because we thought we would need more food. It turned out that Akachochin Gourmet Chawan Mushi ($22) was quite massive for a chawan mushi. The steamed egg custard came in a large plate with generous servings of prawns, scallops, chickens, mushrooms and dressed with Kikuna leaves.

The highlight of the day came at the very end and it was actually recommended by the waitress (great job!!), Shake Miso Butter Mushiyaki ($30). It is a slow-cooked salmon steamed in miso butter and wrapped in cabbage. I was kind of hesitant when I saw my last dish of the night was wrapped in vegetables. It was quickly apparent why it was recommended in the first place. I believe I have never tasted such combinations before; it was sweet, salty, fresh, and tasty all blended into one!

The final verdict for Akachochin Restaurant

The combination of great food and great location merits Akachochin a very high score according to my standards. From the price point of view, it was pretty expensive from the average Japanese restaurant. Everything we had at the restaurant was masterfully prepared.

Details:

33 Dukes Walk, South Wharf, Melbourne

03 9245 9900

http://akachochin.com.au/

Dec 3, 2013
Agedashi Salmon and Agedashi Tofu Recipe
This week we are writing a Japanese food recipe that was passed on by our friend when they came to our place for a potluck. Agedashi tofu is probably something that is available in every Japanese restaurant in Sydney. So, we are facing a daunting task of giving you an edible Agedashi Salmon and Agedashi Tofu recipe. It is easier to prepare agedashi salmon, so I will write first about it and have a special section in the end on how to cook the tofu.

Happy Cooking!

What’s needed for cooking Agedashi Salmon and Tofu?
1. 300gr boneless Salmon (skin on or not is up to you)
2. Silken tofu
3. Corn flour (or cornstarch) that is enough for coating the salmon and tofu
4. Salt, as preferred, to be mixed with the corn flour
5. Cooking oil (anything that you want) – we like to use sunflower
6. Spring onion, sliced thinly for the garnish
Sauce recipe:

Sauce plays an important part in this agedashi tofu recipe.
1. 1.25 cup of dashi stock. Dashi stock is an ingredient commonly used in Japanese food. Please visit La Fuji Mama blog if you wante to know how to make Dashi.
2. 5 tbsp mirin. Mirin is a Japanese sauce / condiment that has a lower alcohol level and higher sugar content than sake. If you don’t have / don’t want to use mirin, you can substitute it with 5 tbsp rice wine vinegar and 3 tbsp of sugar.
3. 5 tbsp light soy sauce.
4. 1 small onion, thinly sliced.
5. 1 medium-sized carrot, grate coarsely
6. 1 garlic, finely diced
How to cook Agedashi Salmon?
1. Salmon is diced according to our preferred size.
2. Heat up the cooking oil until around 160°C
3. Put enough corn flour (pre-mixed with salt) as the coating for the salmon.
4. Fry it until golden brown.
To make the sauce:
1. Mix all of the sauce ingredients into the saucepan.
2. Cook in high heat until it boils.
3. Add a bit of corn flour (mixed with a bit of water) to thicken the sauce.
Things to be observed when frying Agedashi Tofu:

Cooking the tofu is pretty similar to Agedashi salmon. However, due to its fragile state, there are things to consider when cooking agedashi tofu.
1. Drain the water when you opened the package.
2. Encase the tofu with layers of paper towel. This will absorb the excess moisture in the tofu.
3. You might want to place the tofu on a plate before you sprinkle the corn flour.
Sep 24, 2013
Ippudo Sydney

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8.5/10

Price: $10-$20 per person

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

When I first heard people saying ‘Ippudo opened their shop in Sydney!’ I was pretty sceptical. In my mind, what’s the big fuss? Is it really that good? Then I saw it being the top restaurant in Urbanspoon for many months! Coupled that with more people saying how good it was and how people queued for it, it really got my attention. I then decided it must feature in my blog!

When I arrived at the venue, it was quite empty (I arrived quite early for lunch tho)! So, I thought it must be our lucky day. I could see a line was prepared there, presumably for later on. First glance at the lunch menu, I couldn’t find any ramen without pork! So, don’t come here at lunch time if you don’t eat pork.

Our first dish of the day was a very disappointing Ippudo Shrimp Bun ($5) – it was steamed bun with deep fried shrimp and Ippudo original sauce. It was an average tasting and looking shrimp/prawn bun with a little bit vegetable and sauce.

Akamaru Shinaji Tamago Ramen ($18) excerpt from the menu: Ippudo original tonkotsu broth enhanced with special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil. A refined, modern-style ramen served with thin noodles, pork belly, black mushroom and shallots.

As you can see from the description above, Ippudo paid very special attention to its ramen. They have three different kinds of ramen and we chose the one that sounded different to a ‘normal’ ramen. With Akamaru ramen, they used pork belly instead of pork loin and fragrant garlic oil to enhance the thick soup based. It was seriously mind-blowing, even with a very high expectation coming into the restaurant with!

Next, we got Hot Stone Unagi Rice ($10) – it was a small hot stone of grilled Japanese eel on rice with original Kabayaki sauce. Yes, you can get twice as much unagi rice in other restaurants and they tasted equal.

Our last dish of the day was Ippudo Vegetarian Ramen. My wife said it was the best tasting vegetarian dish she had ever tasted. There were quite a lot of elements in the ellipse bowl, including avocado and green vegetables.

The final verdict for Ippudo Sydney

When you visit Ippudo Sydney, just stick to the ramen! I know it commanded a slightly premium price, but you get the best quality ramen in Sydney!

Details:

Westfield Sydney Level 5 (Shop 5021)

+61 2 8078 7020

http://www.ippudo.com.au/

Jul 30, 2013