Friday, June 27, 2008

Ju Ju - Kings Cross, Sydney


Yakiniku bento

-> Pretty good. The meat is a little bit on the tough side (expected, from the 14 bucks price tag), but the side dishes are nice (agedashi tofu, jagaimo salad)


Chicken teriyaki bento with cha-soba

-> Very recommended. This is exactly what chicken teriyaki should taste like. broiled, then slightly barbecued with skin on, leaving the skin slightly crispy and the sauce infused under the skin. Top-notch.


Pork Yakisoba

-> Very nice. I can tell that the sauce is homemade. Not too strong and tart like the ready-made ones, with the prefect balance of ingredients.


Cream Croquette

-> The piece de resistance, as far as I'm concerned. The main reason why I come here. Prefect cream croquette with ragout and bits of chicken and vegetables inside, just like in Japan. For those of you familiar with regular korokke (potato-based croquettes) and the Dutch Kroket, this is like the cross between the two. Think korokke, but lighter (since it contains no potatoes), but denser than the kroket. I don't even know how to describe the delectable taste of this thing, so just try it!


Further comments:

Great izakaya. Ugly name, ugly logo, and somewhat ugly place, but great izakaya-style food. I've seen many, many Australian celebrities hanging out at this place. This place used to be frequented by Japanese people only, then the Asians started to fill up the place, and then the Indonesians started to come in hordes (in Sydney, good Japanese restaurant under $20 pp = Indonesian hangout spot). Then, Australian celebrities discovered the place, knowing that they won't get noticed as much among predominantly Asian crowd, but now that non-Asians started to fill up the space, the celebrities are gone completely. LOL

The restaurant had its peak (of business) around 2 years ago - they didn't even accept reservations on weekends (including Fridays). But now, they started to accept reservations on weekends, perhaps a sign of business slowing down. However, the place is still always packed, and the food quality doesn't decline, so I still love dropping by this place every now and then.

As with many izakaya-style Japanese restaurants in Sydney, don't expect all your orders to arrive at the same time. That's why Ju Ju recommends food sharing, which is basically the very concept of izakaya dining. Food will arrive haphazardly, but service is really good (considering how busy the place is). Unlike restaurants such as Fujiya, the waitresses at Ju Ju are very professional, prompt, friendly, and reliable. The restaurant is never understaffed (unlike stupid Fujiya), food is always excellent no matter how busy they are (unlike stupid Fujiya), portions are very generous (unlike stupid Fujiya), and prices are reasonable (again, unlike stupid Fujiya).

So yeah...Ju Ju. nice place. Unlike stupid Fujiya. Too bad it's quite far away from the city (unlike stupid Fujiya).

"goody and delicious". WTF.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A Great place to come too, my japanese friends favourite place and i can see why, reasonably priced, good food and karaoke if you wish!! Its a great experience

Sydneyguyrojoe