Category: Global Cuisines

All About Food Blog loves trying different cuisines from all around the world. Sometimes food has the same name but completely different look and taste.

Don Don

Don Don Review:

We were walking around in Melbourne CBD one day. I opened up the usual food advisor app and surely enough it showed me all of the high ranking ones around the area. When we were walking down the street towards one of our options, we spotted this neon sign in an alley way, Don Don. Somehow we decided to ditch our previous option and walked towards the sign… sounds like a mosquito approaching that purple neon light, eh?

When we arrived, there were quite a few people outside. Apparently they were waiting for their takeaway orders. In the restaurant, you are required to pay at the counter first and they will deliver the food to your table. You have to do everything else yourself. There was only one person at the counter and I believe only one chef.

What’s so amazing about this place is the price. Nothing is over $10… I repeat: NOTHING! Their bento box is only $9.4!

Sukiyaki Don – $6.9 – Thinly sliced beef on rice

Who is not happy to have a big bowl of sukiyaki don for only $6.9? To give you a context how big it is, my wife managed to have a portion of the bowl for takeaway. Additionally, the taste was very acceptable.

Takoyaki – cheap – Japanese Squid Balls

A whole bunch of takoyaki for (what seems to be) next to nothing. Despite the price, they were still made next to perfection.

Sashi Don – $9.8 – raw salmon / ocean trout slices on rice

Sashi don is their most expensive dish. In addition to the raw salmon slices, you still get salad, pickles, and tamago (Japanese omelette) slices. Although it’s probably not the freshest raw salmon, it’s still better than quite a lot of restaurants that charges more for raw salmon.

Okonomiyaki – $4.8 – Japanese Pancake

For less than $5, their okonomiyaki is humongous! The perfect addition if you are still hungry. Although, I seriously doubt you are still hungry after eating their main dish.

The final verdict for Don Don

Don Don Japanese restaurant has a great value for money and good quality dishes.

Did you know?

There were quite a few Don Don restaurants in Melbourne. Obviously with the cheap price and lightning speed, they have to compromise on other aspects, such as maintenance. However, It really doesn’t matter that much if you have the food for take away.

Rating for Don Don:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: It’s so cheap… seriously!

Place: 6.0 / 10

Details:

26 Francis Street, CBD, Melbourne

Don Don in Zomato

May 8, 2017
Kabuki Shoroku

Kabuki Shoroku Review:

We had a special occasion this week and decided to have a nice dinner at Kabuki Shoroku Japanese restaurant in Sydney CBD. Their restaurant had an old feel to it (according to them, they have been around for 25 years!).

They have a degustation menu called Kaiseki – autumn. It was priced at $88 per person. It is predominantly seafood dishes, highlighted by lobsters cooked in two ways.

Chef’s seasonal selection of appetisers
There were four different appetisers: slow cooked tuna, bamboo shoots, cheese and squid with fish paste. They were quite small but full of flavour.

Assortment of various fresh sashimi
Three of the most common kinds of Sashimi for each of us: salmon, tuna, kingfish. The cut was rather thick but it was so fresh.

Lobster tail grilled in two ways – mornay & soy
I usually was not a fan of lobsters. They carried a premium price but less tasty than a tiger prawn. Kabuki Shoroku served their lobsters beautifully. I wouldn’t mind a second serving.

Slow cooked duck and seasonal mushrooms served in clear starchy sauce topped with spinach and yuzu
The duck was probably our favourite for the night, just by a small margin from the lobster. I would also definitely go back to the restaurant for this dish!

Pacific saury seasoned with sweet soy and lightly fried, sansho pepper, lime
Saury is a kind of fish (yes, I had to google it when seeing the menu). It was quite an oily one, especially after being fried. Despite its small look, it was actually pretty heavy.

Sushi chef’s best selection of today’s nigiri sushi
We had three very fresh sushi. I couldn’t quite remember what they were.

Miso soup
Instead of the usual cloudy soup, the colour was actually quite dark. The flavour was pretty intense. It is interesting how they served the soup at the very last.

Chef’s special dessert selection
The dessert of the day was green tea mousse with strawberry and cream. It was quite a thick dessert to end the night.

Additional dishes
The following dishes are not part of the kaiseki menu, but came in as extras for the little one (or mine).

Saute Salmon with soy butter – $28
The soy butter for the salmon was pretty salty. It needs to be enjoyed with a bowl of rice.

Sushi – Scampi and steamed oyster
Scampi is my personal favourite in a Japanese restaurant. I usually order it when they are available. I actually also ordered sea urchin, but they were not available that day.

Tofu Rare Cheesecake with Ice cream – $12
Tofu cheesecake was so interesting that we just had to order it.

The final verdict for Kabuki Shoroku

You know you had a very nice dinner when you left the restaurant feeling nourished and happy. That’s how we felt upon leaving Kabuki Shoroku. Their service was impeccable.

Did you know?

Kabuki Shoroku has a sister restaurant for a more informal dining called Sakuratei. It is located right in front of the restaurant.

Rating for Kabuki Shoroku:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: $88 per person

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Ground Floor 31 Market Street Sydney 2000

(202 Clarence St)

+61 2 9267 4552

http://www.kabukishoroku.com.au/

May 2, 2017
Delhi Streets

Delhi Streets Review:

Our review this week is an Indian street food restaurant in Melbourne called Delhi Streets. We went there with my friend (he was the one recommending the restaurant) who used to live in Sydney. The restaurant was pretty full that day but my friend somehow managed to secure a booking. Apparently, quite a lot of them ordered the food for takeaway.
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Pani Puri – $9 – ‘Hands-on’ street food! – Crispy cracker balls stuffed with potatoes, chickpease, tamarind/mint/yoghurt chutneys and served with spiced water. MUST TRY!

You must pardon me but this was my first ever pani puri dish. I was very impressed with the dish.

When you combined the spiced water with the crispy cracker ball, the result was this explosion of flavours in your mouth. It was quite a mouthful tho!

Chicken Biryani – $13 – Indian Paella – Rice cooked with chicken, saffron, aromatic herbs & spices. Served with fresh Raita yoghurt

Chicken biryani is one of the staples we always had in an Indian restaurant. The rice was so flavoursome!

Mixed Grill – $12 – A succulent selection of tandoori chicken, chicken tikka & seekh kebab all char-grilled in the tandoor.

They served quite a lot of pieces for the mixed grill. I think the mixed grill and chicken biryani can be shared by three people for lunch. My friend and I could barely finish them.

Butter Chicken Thali – $14 – Butter Chicken heaven – large serve butter chicken served with rice, naan, pappadum and pickles

Butter chicken is my son’s favourite Indian dish. The serving plate for the butter chicken was actually bigger than our dishes. I would have enjoyed if it were the only dish that I had for lunch.

The final verdict for Delhi Streets

Delhi Streets is quite possibly one of the most exciting Indian casual dining restaurant I have ever been to. They served good quality food, fast and cheap!

Did you know?

Just like anything good in Melbourne, Delhi Streets is located in quite a small alley way, barely visible from the main street.

Rating for Delhi Streets:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $10 – $16 per main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

22 Katherine Place, Melbourne 3000

+61 3 9629 2620

http://www.delhistreets.com.au/

Apr 25, 2017
Shanghai Stories 1938

Shanghai Stories 1938 Review:

Shanghai Stories 1938 is located in The Concourse, Chatswood. The building is right next to Westfield Chatswood. Their menu is more on the expensive end of the scale. There are the usual expensive Chinese dishes, such as lobster or abalone.

Xiao Long Bao – $ 11.80 – 8 pieces

Xiao Long Bao is one of the most ordered dishes in the restaurant. Since there were quite a few of us, we managed to order two sets of them.

Steamed Shrimp and Chives Dumplings – $13.80 – 8 pieces

We ordered these dumplings for those of us who did not eat pork.

Drunken Chicken – $11.80

Drunken chicken was part of the cold dish in the menu. The steamed chicken was soaked in Chinese liquor and chilled.

Jelly Fish with Cucumber – $14.80

This was another dish from the cold section. You can buy cheaper-version packaged jelly fish from a Chinese store. Obviously, this one was a bit fresher than that.

Sweet and Sour Baramundi – $43.80

Despite being one of the centrepieces, the fish was quite underwhelming.

Whole Peking Duck with pancake – $68.00 – 16 pieces

When we go to a fancy Chinese restaurant, peking duck becomes one of the units of measurement. The peking duck in Shanghai Stories despite being pretty good was pretty expensive. We only received 16 slices of duck with 16 pancakes. So, technically, it’s not even a whole duck.

Second course – Fried Noodles

This dish came at the very end. They probably have forgotten about it if we didn’t ask.

Prawn and Rice Crackers in Tomato Sauce – $24.80

When the dish arrived, it did not remotely look like the one in the menu. Instead of beautiful big prawns like shown in the picture, we received these tiny krills. Ironically, the soup ended up being our favourite for the night.

Boiled Bean Curd Slices Yangzhou style – $26.80

Personally, I think it was just tofu and greens. It should be noted that the tofu was very fine.

Salt and Pepper Squid – $28.80

It was quite an uneventful salt and pepper squid.

Chinese Milk Dough – $8.80

This perfect pairing for a mud crab dish was transformed into quite a sweet dish with condensed milk.

The final verdict for Shanghai Stories 1938

The high price point at Shanghai Stories 1938 was not met with high standards in service and food.

Did you know?

Shanghai Stories 1938 is part of a restaurant chain with the likes of Taste of Shanghai.

Rating for Shanghai Stories 1938:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 6.5 / 10

Price: $45 per person

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 4 & 6, The Concourse
405 – 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood 2067

+61 2 9412 3880

http://tasteofshanghai.com.au/brands/shanghai-stories-1938/

Apr 20, 2017
Toko Contemporary Japanese Izakaya

Toko Japanese Izakaya Review:

Our review this week came from a Japanese izakaya restaurant, called Toko. The restaurant is located in a busy suburb of Surry Hills in Sydney. We were there to celebrate one of our friends’ birthday with a set menu, Matsuri Banquet Menu. There was quite an extensive list of items in the menu.

Edamame – soy beans, maldon sea salt

There is nothing out of the ordinary to talk about here. It was just a regular edamame.

Hiramasa no usuzukuri – sliced kingfish, yuzu, chives

It was another quick munch-and-devour dish that was not memorable enough.

Koushi no tataki – venison carpaccio, nashi pear, yuzu koshu, potato airbags

This venison was the first dish that we took notice. It was quite a spicy dish. The potato airbags gave an added crunch to the dish.

Japanese salad – seasoned leaves, asparagus, cucumber, avocado, light-wafu

Some of our friends thought that Japanese salad was the best dish of the day. Although I am not a big salad eater, I actually quite enjoyed it. It was sad to think that salad was the best dish in a degustation.

Osashimi omakase – assorted fish from chef’s best selection of the day

It was supposed to be the dish that would bring the wow factor. Instead, we were given the usual sashimi: salmon, tuna, kingfish, scallop, and snapper. To make things worse, we didn’t think the tuna and scallop were sashimi fresh.

Toko signature maki – chef’s selection of maki rolls

Again, there were three ‘standard’ maki rolls: california, ebi, and kingfish.

Pirikara dofu to avocado – spicy fried tofu, avocado salsa, barley miso

Despite the word ‘spicy’, the tofu is nothing but spicy. The venison was actually more spicy than this one. The tofu was also quite dense.

Ebi tempura – crispy prawn tempura, dashi broth

It was a very ordinary prawn tempura. Each one of us only got ONE mediocre prawn.

Wafu zucchini – zucchini, waft sauce, sesame

Despite being only one stick of zucchini, this robatayaki was actually quite enjoyable.

Sake no aburi yaki – smoked miso king salmon, house pickled ginger

Personally, I think this dish was the best for the night. Unfortunately, we had to share this salmon amongst the four of us. It was just my luck that I was also the only one getting fish bone in my piece.

Ko-tori hoba oven-yaki – miso marinated spatchcock baby chicken

We wereIt was a deboned spatchcock. The glazing was almost similar to the salmon.

Dessert platter – chef’s selection of toko desserts

The dessert platter was the saving grace for us. There were quite a lot of elements on it – basically it was all of their desserts lumped into one. The desserts on the plate were rhubarb crumble, pannacotta, fondant, three types of ice cream and assortment of fruits.

Drinks

Considering that they are an izakaya place, their drink menu was pretty good.

Yuzu Martini

Lychee and Jasmine Mojito

The final verdict for Toko Japanese Izakaya

It is quite sad that this amazing venue was majorly let down by its subpar degustation selection. The king salmon and dessert platter were the ones that saved our night.

Did you know?

The group has three restaurants in Australia. One of them is also in Sydney, called Tokonoma, and the other is in Melbourne.

Rating for Toko Japanese Izakaya:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $100 with drinks

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

490 Crown Street, Sydney 2010

+61 2 9357 6100

http://www.toko-sydney.com

Apr 16, 2017
Naughty Nuri’s Warung

Naughty Nuri’s Warung Review:

During our visit to Melbourne at the end of last month, we went to eat at an Indonesian restaurant with our friends from Melbourne. Historically speaking, Indonesian restaurants in Melbourne are never on par with Sydney ones. So, I did not put any expectations to this week’s restaurant, Naughty Nuri’s Warung.

A lot of the dishes in Naughty Nuri’s Warung are spicy… like really spicy by non-Indonesian standard (and by my standard). So, please be mindful of the two chilis icon.

Naughty Nuri’s 1995 signature BBQ pork ribs – $29 half rack – Nuri’s signature marinated pork ribs with Balinese spice, grilled to perfection.

BBQ pork ribs is the signature dish for Naughty Nuri’s. The difference with all of the other pork ribs in Australia is that this one was very spicy.

Ikan Bakar Jimbaran – $28 – Grilled barramundi fillet topped with Makassar hot sauce (made from ginger flower, lemongrass, shallot and chilli), served with placing kangkung, sambal hijau teri asin and sambal matah.

The grilled fish was also quite spicy. Somehow I could still eat it. It is wise to order the optional steam rice $2 or Coconut rice $3. Rice lessens the spice level.

Nuri’s Dirty Duck (half duck) – $29 – Nuri’s signature duck marinated then simmered in traditional Balinese spices, then deep fried until crispy.

Along with the BBQ pork ribs, this duck is why people visit Naughty Nuri. Please be mindful that this dish is for half a duck. So, it is quite a big dish!

This dish along with the next two also came with three chilli sauces and a choice of vegetables: plecing kangkung, Balinese lawar and plecing terong goreng.

Crispy pork belly with rice – $16 – Pork belly steamed and coated in our secret marinade. Served with pork crackling.

One of our friends ordered the pork belly dish. It looked quite small when compared to the ribs, fish and dirty duck.

Ayam betutu gilimanuk – $14 – Whole chicken maryland marinated in traditional Balinese spice, braised till tender and full of flavours.

My friend commented that the chicken in the Australian version was quite large when compared to Indonesian chickens.

Monster Bakso – $8 – Giant beef ball in traditional pepperish clear soup served with a side of sambal tomat terasi.

The monster bakso was my son’s order. Unfortunately they came in last and was probably forgotten until we asked them. It was quite different when compared to our usual Indonesian bakso.

Truffle fries served with sweet chilli mayo – $6

We ordered some fries to appease the little guy because of the monster ball fiasco.

Es Teler – $9 – The classic Indonesian fruit cocktail of avocado, coconut, nata de coco and jackfruit.

Es teler is probably an all-time favourite dessert for Indonesian people. Its literal translation to English is ‘Drunken Ice’.

The final verdict for Naughty Nuri’s Warung

Naughty Nuri’s Warung is one of the best Indonesian restaurants I have every tried in Australia. They could probably be amongst one of the best in my list. Unfortunately, their service is letting them down considerably.

Did you know?

Naughy Nuri’s Warung is originated from a small warung in Ubud, Bali. I have been to its original site, but I ironically I enjoyed the one in Melbourne better. It just lacks the Balinese scenery.

Rating for Naughty Nuri’s Warung:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $14 – $59 per main dish

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 317, Level 3, Melbourne Central

+61 3 9650 6828

http://www.naughtynuris.com.au/

Apr 10, 2017