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.

Juju’s Restaurant

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Unfortunately, Juju’s has closed its doors for good.

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Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7 /10

Price Range: $15 – $20

Place: 8/10

Review:

There’s nothing better to close off the year with one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in town, Juju’s. This is a really nice place to have dinner with friends and families. They also have karaoke on weekends. There are no chairs in this restaurant. They try to emulate a tatami with a twist. You will still be sitting on wooden floor, but there is legroom under the table.

Getting a decision on which food to order is not a simple task. There are a huge variety of dishes on the menu and we decided to have some that we can compare the taste with. They have quite a few options for beverages, but this time I sticked to the good old Hot Green Tea, Genmaicha. We also ordered Grapefruit Yakult.

For the first dish we had Yukke. It is raw slices of marinade beef with egg yolk. Unfortunately the beef was a bit warm and did not taste fresh, but it wasn’t disappointing. Then came the Sushi Platter. It was the exact opposite of the Yukke. It was a decent-sized platter with nice assortments of Sushi.

The unexpected dish came next, Okonomiyaki. It was massive! Okonomiyaki is kinda like a savoury pancake with some vegetables and any kind of meat, then sprinkled with shredded seaweed and generous pour of Japanese Mayonaise. It might be too big for one person to finish.

The Bentos are definitely value for money as well. Whether it was Chicken or Beef Teriyaki Bento, they come with a big bowl of rice, miso soup, a portion of mashed potatoes, salad, agedashi tofu and Japanese pickles. The teriyaki was really nice. However, apparently we didn’t try the chef’s signature dish, Mentaiko Basa.

Last, but definitely not the least, are the dessert. First one was the all-time favourite, Green Tea Ice Cream. You’d expect that in any good Japanese restaurants, the ice cream and red bean would taste pretty similar. Our next dessert was rather unconventional, Tempura Ice Cream. I’ve never seen a dessert like this before. Green tea and vanilla ice cream covered in tempura batter with a hint of coconut put over raspberry sauce. It was a combination of hot and cold dessert.

The final verdict: It was a really nice place to have a good meal, and possibly go to one of the nice bars nearby afterwards. The dishes were nice and there was a quite innovative in Tempura ice cream, with the exception of Yukke. It was nice, but unfortunately I’ve tasted a much better one in a similar restaurant.

Did you know?

JuJu is located in Sydney’s red-light district, Kings Cross. The restaurant is located at the same block as the big Coca-Cola sign (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca_Cola_Billboard,_Kings_Cross), one of Sydney’s infamous landmarks.

This restaurant is also pretty famous for a waiter who looked like Brad Pitt (seriously!), although when we were there the last time, he wasn’t there.

Location:

82-94 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross NSW 2011

Website:

http://www.jujus.com.au/ (it doesn’t seem to work tho!)

Dec 30, 2010
Yuzu Restaurant

Rating:

8 / 10

Taste: 8/10

Price Range: $15++ per dish

Place: 8/10

Review:

One of the finest recommendations by my colleague, Yuzu restaurant surprised me with their simplistic-yet-classy decoration and not-your-average-yet-very-tasty Japanese food. They have a very simple selection of food, which were served according to the season. This review took place in wintertime. Before we start the review, I must warn you that this is not your average dine out restaurant as each dish cost in excess of $15 and ideally each person would order around 3 dishes. Also as usual, please book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Similar to Tetsuya’s style, Yuzu served a combination of French-style Japanese cuisine. The dishes came in a degustation-style plate. First dish that came out was the Aburi Salmon Sushi. We were not given soy sauce for the Sushi because the Salmon were already pre-soaked in the sauce before they aburi (seared with blow torch) them. It’s definitely one of the better sushi that I’ve tasted, since I couldn’t really differentiate between great and excellent sushi.

For the second plate, we had Shiitake Tempura. Judging by its presentation, it’s the least interesting dish of the night but it packed a few surprises. Firstly was its accompanying green tea salt. Then, inside the tempura, there was also stuffed beef. The green tea salt accentuated the shiitake and beef flavour.

Next one on was Deep Fried King Prawns. I must say that the picture did not justify how big the prawns were. In addition to its size, the prawns were also very crunchy and golden brown. The green tartare sauce added a whole new dimension to their flavour.

Our main dish of the night is Alfoncino Nimono. According to Wikipedia, Alfoncino is a pretty rare red fish that are found in deepwater of a temperate ocean. Nimono is a kind of Japanese simmering technique that can also mean boil and season. The fish was cooked perfectly but yet still retain its juiciness. The nimono technique drew out sweet flavour from the fish and the shiitake with green vegetables were complementing the fish.

Last but (definitely) not least is the drink, the Yuzu tea. This drink is the best non-alcoholic drink I have ever tasted. It looked like a lemon tea, but instead of lemon, they put Yuzu’s (which is a kind of Citrus fruit) zest and peel. It tasted very sweet with a hint of bitterness, but at the same time very refreshing. Again, it’s not our regular cup of tea and unfortunately they don’t do refill.

Did you know?

Pyrmont is the home of some of Sydney’s famous places. The Sydney’s Fish Market is a place to be if you want good, fresh seafood. It’s also cheaper to buy the fish here. Star City casino is also located in this suburb. The casino has a one-hat restaurant, Lyrics theatre, and several other entertainments.

Location:

1/7 Scott St, Pyrmont NSW 2009

Oct 17, 2010
Takigawa Restaurant

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7.5/10

Price Range: Rp. 90,000++ » $10

Place: 6.5/10

Review:

One of the surprise finding of my trip to Indonesia, Takigawa restaurant captured my attention with their nice display of the food, great taste, and nice ambience (they have free Wi-Fi connection too!).We typically oversaw this restaurant because of the bigger-name chain restaurants available at the mall.

On with the starters for the day… Shiitake Ball and Kawa Salad. An early surprise for me, this deep-fried shiitake mushrooms were filled with minced beef, then garnished with Katsuobushi, Japanese mayonnaise and sauce; An excellent combination of savoury starter. Kawa, deep-fried skin, salad added a nice addition of freshness to the starter.

We started the main course with a nice plate of Chahan, Seafood Fried Rice. A generous serving of seafood for its price, Chahan acted as the tummy-filling main course. My all-time favourite dish came next: Syake kabutoyaki, a.k.a. Salmon Head Teriyaki. Yes, you read it correctly… the best piece of salmon (yet, the cheapest!) grilled and salted to perfection with teriyaki glazing. Granted that this part of salmon took a bit of effort, but it’s only 1/5^th of the price of Salmon Belly and you got twice as much meat.

Our last main course of the day was Cheezy Seafood Pan. Bear a striking resemblance to Sushi Tengoku’s baked scallop, this dish was an absolute killer. Layers of grilled scallop, salmon, tuna and crab stick baked in a melted cheese and mayonnaise with tobiko. It’s just wonderful to taste, but unfortunately the portion is quite small (you might need to order two plates).

For refreshment we chose the all-too-standard Hot Ocha (Japanese Green Tea), but it was a free flow! So, you can have the tasty Green Tea as much as you like. We also ordered Green Tea Smoothies. Again, the taste of it was as expected of any other Japanese Green Tea. Chocolate Melt seemed to be the big kick to end the night, however the Chocolate Souffle was sort of a letdown in what could have been a perfect dinner experience.

Overall, it’s still a worthwhile visit to the restaurant and we’re still eyeing for the Green Tea Creme Bruleé, they were sold out when we were there. Additionally, there are like 100+ choices that you might want to explore in this restaurant.

Did you know?

As mentioned on my other review, Surabaya Town Square (Sutos) is the newest shopping mall in Surabaya. If you want to go there, don’t go on weekends since there will be crazy amount of people trying to get into the mall. Traffic management has become the main cause of chaos surrounding the venue. Lack of parking space and poor parking space design has led to congestion in every entrance and exit of the mall.

Sutos is the place to be when it comes to asking your date out. It has everything you want to do, from the only 3D cinema in town, to the best Karaoke lounge. It has nice restaurants and also a pool bar.

Location:

Surabaya Town Square Plaza Level Unit P 31-32 Jl. Aditiawarman No. 55 Surabaya

http://www.takigawaresto.com/en/home.html

Jun 26, 2010