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.

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
Gloria’s Cafe

Gloria’s Cafe Review:

Gloria’s Cafe is said to be the oldest Portuguese restaurant in Petersham, or even Sydney. We were pretty curious about the restaurant because that’s the only one we haven’t been to.

Their menu is pretty old fashioned and offering either tapas-style or main-sized dishes.

Plain bread w/ butter – $2

Before you even start ordering, order the bread. They are so warm and good!

Cogumelos com natas a casa – $14 – Creamy mushrooms

Rissois de Camarao – $3.5 each – Savoury shrimp Portuguese empanadas

The mushroom seems to be on the high end of the scale for a tapas. It was pretty good tho. The empanadas was pretty crunchy and savoury.

Rojoes – $17.5 – Pork chunks cooked in red wine, topped with cooked onions

I did not get the chance to taste this but the portion was pretty small.

Bowl of hand-cut fried round potatoes – $6

This potato is a must order. We had to order an extra bowl because it was so worth it!

Espetada a Casa – $27 – Large chargrill rump skewer served with chips and salad

Given that this is supposed to be the main attraction, the beef was pretty decent but it was pretty thin.

They do come with chips and a bowl of salad.

Guisado de Carneiro – $27 – Lamb stew cooked in red wine with potatoes, mushrooms, beans and carrots.

I liked the lamb stew more than the espetada. This one had a lot more flavour and could fill you up pretty quickly.

Desserts at Gloria’s Cafe

Apologies I didn’t get the names of these desserts, but the middle one was super light and airy with the sweet yellow sauce.

Judging from his expression, the chocolate mousse seemed to be decent as well.

The final verdict for Gloria’s Cafe

Gloria’s Cafe has a very good bread and chips. However, the espetada fell short compared to restaurants in the area. They have a bit more variety compared to the others.

Do you think I should go?

If you are tired of Portuguese chickens and want to try something else from the region, you might want to visit Gloria’s Cafe.

Rating:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $14 – $30 per dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

82 Audley St, Petersham 2049

+61 2 9568 3966

http://gloriascafe.com.au/

Jun 25, 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
Ellenborough Market Cafe

Ellenborough Market Cafe Review:

When I went to Singapore last month, we went to a buffet restaurant called Ellenborough Market Cafe in Swissotel Merchant Court. The dining area was nicely decorated with a little pool of water in the middle. We also could see a couple of chefs hand-rolling our dumplings. It was a very nice first impression to the restaurant.

Before I start talking about the food, I just want to say that the review below did not include every available menu on offer at the restaurant. There were just too many of them!

Bain-Marie

The list was quite extensive in the bain-marie section as it tries to cater to almost every demographics in Singapore. The ones in the slide below are: lobster (however it looked more of a Balmain bug in Sydney), otak-otak ( a traditional dish from the region), and babi pongteh (slow braised pork).

Seafood

The seafood options were very extensive. It is probably even more than some Japanese restaurants in Sydney. You can find 2 different sashimi, 4 sushi, baby octopus, seaweed. There are also cold seafood dishes like prawn, crab, mussels and escargot. In addition to the fresh seafood area, they also provided hot and cooked versions.

Others

There is a dish that I’m not familiar about but sit at a very prominent location. The dish is called Kueh Pie Tee. It was more of a DIY station than a complete set. They also have the roast meat section, cheese and salad.

Desserts

One of the most amazing things about this restaurant is the availability of (not just one, but) two durian dishes! I always thought you could not bring durian into the hotel. But then again, the durian in the restaurant wasn’t exuding that lovely (or horrible, depending on whether you are team durian or not) smell.

One was more on a creamy side and the other, deep fried!

If durian is not your thing, they also have a whole display full of desserts.

The Final Verdict for Ellenborough Market Cafe:

All you can eat lobster and durian? and did you also see that sashimi and fresh snails? I’m sure you know what my verdict is.

Do you think I should go?

When you are ever in Singapore and are in needs of a buffet, Ellenborough Market Cafe will be a good fit for you!

Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: S$68 dinner buffet

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

20 Merchant Road, Level 1 Swissotel Merchant Court 058281

+65 6239 1847

Ellenborough Market Cafe at Swissotel

Jun 3, 2019
Kafeine Balmain

Kafeine Balmain review:

It was a pretty uneventful Sunday and we just happened to be in Balmain. We decided to try a cafe called Kafeine. The cafe itself was quite busy but we managed to get a seat there.

I was actually quite surprised when I browsed through the menu. The menu consists of a few Asian ingredients here and there. When I checked with the people at Kafeine, they mentioned that they were all from Indonesia. Some of the combination was quite interesting and we decided to give it a go.

Kafeine Balmain – Menu

Breakfast Tasting Plate – $22.90 – Corn fritters, eggs benedict, smoked salmon& black sticky rice porridge

This is the one plate-fits-all approach at Kafeine. You basically don’t need to order anything else. You pretty much get entree, main and dessert in one plate. It is also the fastest way to try a lot of the menu in the store.

I would like to mention that the black sticky rice porridge is actually pretty heavy. Make sure you save some space for that dessert.

Salmon Paradiso – $22.90 – Grilled Atlantic crispy skin salmon, 65-degree Za’atar egg, pickled ginger, asparagus, currants, pecans & brown rice salad

This is another pretty substantial dish that was available at Kafeine. They gave us a bucket load of brown rice. The dish itself reminds me of Hawaiian poke bowl but with grilled salmon.

Volcano Dog – $18.90 – Fried egg, beef sausage, chili con carne, cheddar cheese on a croissant

Chili dog on a croissant? who doesn’t want to try! It was a little bit harder to hold when compared to a hot dog as the croissant is notoriously flaky.

Having said that, I actually quite like the combination. It was very filling but without the ‘stuffed’ feeling.

Ice Chendol Flavour Pancakes – $17.90 – Pandan coconut pancakes, fresh cut fruit, coconut flakes, coconut palm sugar sauce and vanilla ice cream

Ice Chendol is an Indonesian/Malaysian rice flour dessert that was usually served on glass with ice. They deconstructed this and made pancakes instead with vanilla ice cream and a few cuts of fruit. They keep the palm sugar sauce element intact.

Chia Pudding – $15.90 – Soaked chia seed in coconut & strawberry juice, mango puree, toasted coconut & fresh cut fruits

I love the chia seed pudding.

Latte – $3.80

The final verdict for Kafeine Balmain

We went to Kafeine in Balmain out of convenience. But we left the cafe already thinking about when we should go back!

Do you think I should go?

Definitely!

Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: $15 – $23 main dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

260 Darling Street, Balmain 2041

+61 2 9555 1140

http://www.kafeine.com.au/

May 19, 2019