Takeru - Haymarket, Sydney

Ebi sarada
Prawn salad

-> This salad alone is worth coming back for. Made with two dressings (God bless multiple salad dressings) - wafu (Japanese) dressing on the base and mayo + togarashi (chili powder) on the top. For those of you who thought that the ordinary shrimp cocktail is so last millennium, this one should please you.

Rating: 7.5/10

Ikasumi Pasta
Pasta with squid ink sauce

-> Basically a pasta al nero di seppia tweaked to suit Japanese tastebuds. I am very pleased with this dish. Why? simply because it's so pretty. Let's face it, squid ink is tasteless. Well, not entirely tasteless, but when cooked with cream etc you won't notice the flavor. It's the color that makes this dish so desirable. Kind of like a black Chanel caviar quilted bag (It's so irresistible even guys secretly wish they can carry one of these around) I have this unexplainable fetish on black-colored food. That's the exact reason why I enjoy Jajangmyeon (Korean noodle with black soybean sauce), Guilinggao (herbal jelly), and caviar so much. LOL. Gothic food.

Rating: 8/10

Chicken nanban

-> Best in town. Although, I notice that Azuma restaurant has this on their menu, too, but since I haven't tried Azuma's chicken nanban, it's safe to say that this one from Takeru is the best I've tasted so far.

Rating: 8/10

Suminoya - Sydney

One word: FEAST!

Ready...set...stuff your face!!
Fill up 'till the food reaches your nose! Stuff 'till you sweat meat broth!!

Okay, enough with the corny hyperbole. Earlier today, my friend had this brilliant idea that we should skip breakfast, lunch, and in my case, afternoon tea... (Gotta have afternoon tea. Can't help it. Habit from upbringing. My mom is one of those interesting creatures that religiously have to have afternoon tea every day when the old Junghans longcase clock strikes three. She's practically the frickin' Duchess of Bedford for all we know. And when she's having tea, she drags us, her children, with her. Afternoon tea is compulsory in my house. That's why, I'm pretty sure that among all the households in my area, mine is the most well-stocked with Lapsang Souchong, Pickwick Blueberry tea from Holland, Earl Grey, etc along with selections of Harrods all-butter shortbreads, M&S Jam-and-cream biscuits, Dutch almond fingers, Speculaas, Fortnum & Mason's Chocolossus Biscuits, and many more artery-clogging diabetes-inducing treats. Even instant Teh Tarik mix! Funnily enough, my mom always STRICTLY forbids me to eat anything sweet because my family from my dad's side has a long history of diabetes!!)

...and go STRAIGHT to dinner at Suminoya! I was excited, I mean I actually vowed to singlehandedly bankrupt the place by inhaling as much food as possible in one night!


Suminoya is part of the I'S holdings, a group that owns several popular Japanese restaurants across the country including Menya, Rengaya, and Koh-Ya. These restaurants serve good quality, authentic Japanese food, and therefore one of my favorite Japanese restaurant group along with the likes of Masuya group (which owns Masuya, Musashi, Makoto, etc)


The good thing about Suminoya is that they use charcoal hibachi. In fact, charcoal is a very prominent theme in the restaurant (heck, the place is called "Suminoya" - lit. "house of charcoal"). There's even a very busy (and sweaty) ojisan constantly preparing charcoal in a huge brazier. Very nice - kind of puts you in a good mood.


The place is very scarcely decorated - but still tasteful. The thing is, decoration doesn't matter in Suminoya - I bet a hundred bucks people won't even bother to look around the place, they're too busy eating! Atmosphere meant almost nothing in this place - as long as it's air-conditioned, bright enough, and have nice seats, everything else is kind of moot. Food is the main focus - and what a focus it is. Hordes after hordes of mortals seem to be hypnotized by those red, juicy, bloody fresh cuts of beef, and before you know it, you've probably eaten a whole cow by yourself.

Service was excellent - prompt, friendly (thank the LORD for the Japanese - bless their hearts, they do know a thing or two about hospitality), and unlike other order-type all-you-can-eat establishments, Suminoya is quite generous and does not resort to cheap tricks and gimmicks to make customers eat as little as possible. Food comes very quickly and promptly, doesn't matter if you order 10 plates of beef and 10 plates of sashimi at a time. Iced water constantly re-filled. We were very delighted. Also, as you will see on the reviews below, they serve quality food, too. All in all, it's hard to look for faults in this restaurant.

Gyu-tan shio
Beef tongue with salt

-> Ooh, blissful. Note that there are two different all-you-can-eat packages, the cheaper one (basic items only) and the more expensive one (basic+sashimi, etc). The cheaper package only allows one order of beef tongue per person, but the more expensive package allows unlimited order. I would highly recommend the more expensive package (it's only 8 bucks difference), in order to have unlimited beef tongue!

Rating: 8/10

Ebi no ninniku yaki
Garlic prawns

-> Oh, joyful. Succulent tiger prawns marinated in butter and garlic sauce, slowly grilled on the hibachi. Very fragrant, highly addictive.

Rating: 9/10

Gyu-fire (note: pronounced 'fee-ray')
Beef fillet

-> Must-order. Juicy and plump. The good thing about this cut is that you can really really cook it to your desired level of done-ness.

Rating: 8/10

The Sashimi: Sake (salmon), maguro (tuna), hamachi (kingfish), and gyuniku (beef)

-> I had doubts at first, but their sashimi is good and fresh. Very good value for your money. Tip: to save time and energy, when ordering sashimi at Suminoya, order like, 5 plates at a time, as one plate only consists of 3 slices of sashimi.

Rating: 7/10

Ika
Squid

-> They've got a sauce to marinate the squid which is different from the rest of the menu items. It's tender and juicy - best eaten with a splash of lemon.

Rating: 7.5/10

Yukhoe
Korean-style spiced raw beef

-> The Japanese simply pronounce it as "yukke". A very popular Korean dish in Japan - this one from Suminoya is just delightful. The original Korean version is somewhat stronger in the spice department, but this one is somewhat milder and therefore you can eat LOTS of 'em. LOL

Rating: 8/10

Ebi sarada
Prawn salad

-> Actually, it's prawn plus salmon salad. It's very nice. They've got lots of different types of salad at Suminoya, but being a kiasu Asian (wikipedize the term ye who are not in the know), we tend to choose items that are worth the most money. LOL

Rating: 7.5/10

Saamon fureiku gohan
Salmon flake rice

-> Don't look at me. I didn't order this one. Rule number one in an all-you-can-eat restaurant: Avoid your carbs (rices, potatoes, pastas, breads, etc). No, no, not because everyone should be in a low-carb diet, it's because carbs are fulfilling but CHEAP - you don't want to fill up your tummy with cheap stuff!
Anyway, apparently, one of my friend is so dependent on rice, it wouldn't feel like a meal without having some rice. Oh well.

Rating: 7/10
(I tried just a teeeeeny tiiiiiny piece of rice plus a speck of the salmon. Definitely want to make the most room for the good stuff, a.k.a. beef and sashimi)

Nakaochi karubi
Beef rib finger

-> One of my favorite yakiniku cuts. Fragrant, good fat-to-meat ratio, slightly chewy in the middle. Excellent.

Rating: 8/10

Buta karubi
Pork rib

-> Surprisingly good. Also, it's definitely not as fatty as a Korean Samgyeopsal. It's lightly seasoned with salt, and combined with the dipping sauce, it's just heavenly. The pork is so tender and sweet.

Rating: 8/10

Hotate
Scallops

-> Plumpy scallops that burst in flavor and juice as you sink your teeth in them. I love to grill them until they're just half-cooked, to preserve the juice inside. Add a dash of lemon juice and you're good to go!

Rating: 7.5/10

Unagi no kabayaki
Grilled eel

-> You have to grill them yourself, of course. It's heavenly. And considering that unagi is rather expensive when you order them ala carte, it's a good chance to stuff your face with as much unagi as possible, at least until you're sick of them that you don't crave for them for at least two months! LOL

Rating: 7.5/10 + 0.5/10 = 8/10
(extra 0.5 points because it's freshly grilled above a charcoal hibachi. Heavenly!)

Tori no nankotsu
Chicken gristle

-> Apparently, lots of people like it. I, for one, thought that it's quite appalling at first. However, when I tried it, I get the idea why some people like it so much. It's not about the flavor (it's a gristle. It's like, soft bone - it's tasteless), but it's about the texture.
Still, it's somewhat a weird part of chicken for me. (but who am I to talk - I do love more disgusting parts of chicken like the feet and tail)

Rating: 5.5/10
(just because I don't particularly like gristle)

Maccha aisu
Green tea ice cream

-> Another surprising delight. At first, I didn't expect much on the dessert department, but this maccha ice is probably one of the best among all the all-you-can-eat restaurants. Nice, thick, and clearly homemade.

Rating: 7.5/10

Koohii zerii
Coffee jelly

-> The 'holy' chalice is a bit, er, dodgy (why can't they use normal glasses???) but the jelly is delightful!! Nice, strong coffee aroma.

Rating: 7/10

Lemon Sorbet

-> Only available on the more expensive dinner package. And for a reason, too. Very nice sorbet, just the way I like it (not too sour). Will make you crave for more and more (tip: order 2 per person!)

Rating: 8/10

Epilogue:
It's been a hell of a 'battle'. We ate so much, beads of beef broth practically ran down our necks. LOL. But still, my friend L.Y.C. the economist, calculated that the restaurant still makes a profit of $60 even after having a greedy, kiasu customer like ourselves. LOL

Din Tai Fung - Sydney

Chao p'ai hsiao ts'ai
Cold appetizer of tofu, and seaweed in vinegar dressing

-> Must order #1. Delectable, delightful - will make you crave for more.

Rating: 9.5/10

Suan la t'ang
Hot and sour soup

-> It's nice and thick, with all sorts of delicacies inside. Tasty!

Rating: 8/10

Hsieh fen hsiao lung pao
Steamed crab meat and pork dumpling

-> Must order #2. I usually order the normal hsiao lung pao (xiao long bao, in hanyu pinyin romanization), but this one is damn good as well. The restaurant's raison d'etre - world famous. Somehow, the ones in Jakarta or Singapore is better compared to Sydney's.

Rating: 9/10

Hsia jen jou ssu tan ch'ao fan
Prawn fried rice

-> Better than expected. very fragrant.

Rating: 8.5/10

Chi p'ai mien
Noodles in soup served with fried chicken

-> The chicken could be a little bit crispier, but the noodle is very nice. Perfect texture. The soup is simple yet delectable.

Rating: 7.5/10

Hsia jou cheng chiao
Steamed shrimp and pork dumpling

-> Delightful. The pastry is firm yet tender to the bite, and the soup inside the dumpling is simply sumptuous.

Rating: 9/10

Strawberry ice

-> Just okay. Basically it's just shaved ice + condensed milk + strawberries + strawberry ice cream + strawberry jam. That's a lot of strawberries.

Rating: 6.5/10

As you might have heard, I'm crazy about Taiwanese food lately.
...and notice that I used the Wade-Giles romanization for the food names instead of the Hanyu Pinyin? (for romanization of Chinese characters, the archaic Wade-Giles method is still used in Taiwan - although now it's mostly replaced by the new Tongyong Pinyin, while the Hanyu Pinyin method is used in China and rest of the world)

First thing I would like to praise about Sydney's Din Tai Fung is the service. It's exceptional. Smiling faces, polite gestures, and enthusiastic even though the restaurant is EXTREMELY busy - and they're all Chinese!
How weird, right?
Seriously, the staff are so well-trained and courteous - in fact - you can't find Chinese people that behave this way outside...Hong Kong Disneyland.

Everybody knows that services in Chinese restaurants, especially in China, aren't the most courteous around. But we're kind of used to it, anyway. Even in nice restaurants, the waitresses may be extremely professional, but friendly they are not. Not always, anyway.
Services in Chinese restaurants in Australia are no exception. Remember those horrible yum-cha ah-ma waitresses? Jeez louise, they're rude. Caucasians might be very irritated by this, but being Asian, I'm used to it. I'm always a bit pompous towards those rude waitresses, because my restaurant rule: if you're rude, then I'll be rude.

As always, the queue is horrendous, but don't let that deter you from dining there. The wait is usually not that long - 15 minutes maximum if you're willing to share a table (don't worry, it's quite fine - the rectangular tables are spacious). They set up a free self-service Chinese tea stand for queuing customers (aw, thoughtful!), and you can even decide what you'd like to order while you're queuing, so your food will come faster. Once in awhile, those friendly, cute waitresses will check up on you with smiling faces, offering recommendations, etc. Very nice. And did I say they're cute? heeheehee they are! Very pleasant xiao jies (young ladies), very courteous and polite. Heeheehee. *smitten*

...also, I was quite taken aback when they refer to me as xiansheng (sir). I mean, it's RARE to see a Chinese restaurant staff who would call people 'xiansheng'. Most other Chinese restaurants staff would normally just avoid calling you. They also replied 'hao' when called, or after taking order. 'hao' means 'good', but in this context, it means 'yes, certainly'. How polite!

Maybe some of you thought that I'm making too much of a big deal out of this, but it IS a big deal! Chinese waitresses are good people, really, but courtesy and politeness is just not in their blood. The thing is, some Caucasians would mistakenly attribute this apparent rudeness to having a bad nature, which is not always the case. Chinese waitresses are just....like that. They're a bit odd. But we Chinese customers are used to them.

However, there are some exceptions when things become inexcusable, such as discourteous-ness in 5-star restaurants and hotels in upmarket areas / cities. If they're rude, their manager would get an earful from me.

All in all...I love Din Tai Fung. The Jakarta and Singapore ones are better in terms of food (compared to Sydney), though. The Jakarta and Singapore branches has twice as much menu items...and more interesting desserts...

Sizzler - Kogarah, Sydney

First of all, 4 words: what was I thinking.

Look, I haven't been to Sizzler for a Looo-ooong time (last time I went there was when Sizzler was still up-and-running in Jakarta's Pondok Indah Mall - twelve years ago. It was my birthday party with some of my friends). Then, Sizzler was THE place in Jakarta for great all-American salad bar, thick hormone-infused tenderloins, and fluffy waffles and pies with saccharine-sweet syrup just like dear Aunt Jemima made 'em.

Look, back then, Sizzler was awesome. I used to go there with my family at least twice a month. My dad hated it - said it was crappy, and back then, I couldn't understand why. I mean how could a place that lets you self-serve your own sundaes with UNLIMITED amount of M&M's topping possibly be crappy??

Fast forward 12 years later - Sydney, Australia.
Had a BRILLIANT idea to revive a family tradition by going to Sizzler. When I asked my brother if he wants to get a bit of nostalgia by re-visiting the very place that we used to look forward to visiting as children, all he said was "Sizzler? is that thing still around?"

Granted, my insensitive brother is not one of the most sentimental person around when it comes to nostalgia. However, he did agree to the proposal. Sydney has a couple of Sizzler restaurants, and the closest one from the city (where I live) is at Kogarah. This place is like the middle of nowhere. Local Sydneysiders may have heard of the area before, but for us expats, Kogarah sounds like it may as well be near Timbuktu.

So anyway, we went there, walked 20 minutes from the train station, and finally discovered a very American-looking restaurant. Seriously, this Sizzler outlet looks like it's been hand-picked from Anywhere, USA and dropped right at a Sydney suburb.

Mega Bacon Cheeseburger
-> Cold buns. Beef: dry as a bone. VERY salty bacons (hello, high blood pressure and clogged arteries!). Totally inexcusable. I mean, it's HACKED FLESH for goodness sakes, how on EARTH is it even possible to make a DRY burger???

Rating: 2/10

Continuing the story...
As we entered the restaurant, I felt uneasy straight away. For a start, it's filled with obese people constantly hovering around the salad bar. They don't even look like Australians. They REALLY looked like Americans, with their oversized novelty tees, loud sweaters, and trucker caps. And oh, don't forget their equally obese children gobbling up some chocolate sundaes with mountainous amount of M&M's topping.

Look, I'm not saying that I'm skinny, but these people really ARE big. Seriously big. And they don't eat their food, they INHALE their food with wondrous speed. My brother and I got full just by looking at their mounds of food. They're really serious eaters. I turned to my brother, and asked him, "My goodness, did we look like these people when we used to go to Sizzler all the time back home??"
My brother answered, "No - don't be silly. We used napkins when we slurp our spaghetti and eat our sundaes. But I kind of understand why dad hated this place now..."

Oh, dad...bless his heart, it must've been tough on him.

Mini Seafood Platter
-> It's cold, sad, and DRY. The only redeeming part is that I liked the bite-sized calamari. Australians tend to serve those hugeee slices of calamari rings that's just damn hard to eat. Don't you hate oversized calamari rings? I mean, it's not like you can BITE through calamari rings - it's way too chewy and you can't bite it off against the grain.

Rating: 3/10

BTW, the salad bar was HORRIBLE.
Processed chicken, soggy pastas, artificial blue cheese dressing, watery ice cream, bland pumpkin soup. HUGE Croutons the sizes of TEXAS (yeah, like those big people would be stupid enough to fill up on BREAD). And the pièce de résistance...the NASI GORENG SALAD. Sweet Jesus, I can't even imagine how WRONG that is - on so many levels.

...and oh - they put RAISINS on the nasi goreng salad.

By all means, I'm not judging American cuisine here - but I can't help but be reminded of how BAD American junk food can be. No wonder Sizzler has been ridiculed everywhere. It's one of the many faces of obese America.

Now that's one less family tradition that won't make its way to MY family in the future.

I just hope my kids would appreciate going to Sushi Tei or Tonkichi because that's where I'm taking my kids for 'fun weekend brunch with daddy' in the future (mmm...gourmet...).

Man, they're going to have a SUCKY childhood, aren't they...

*come on son, eat your wakame salad with yuzu dressing!*
*No, dad, I want chocolate sundaes with M&M's!!!*

Sakuratei - Sydney

Kabuki Shoroku's sister restaurant (located just across)...the menu is basically same with Kabuki Shoroku (cheaper items only), but the environment is much more casual and are usually frequented with lower-caste Japanese salarymen and OLs (compared to Kabuki Shoroku, in which their bosses lunch...LOL)

Ebi Fry
-> Plump, fleshy & satisfying. The panko is a little bit too fine to my liking, but the generous size is a good compensation.

Rating: 7/10

Teriyaki Chicken
-> Feels like reheated stuff. Dissapointing. However, the fact that it's nicely glazed salvaged it just a bit. BTW, the salad is in a thousand island dressing with cracked pepper.

Rating: 6/10

Ramen-Kan - Haymarket, Sydney

Cheese Curry Ramen

-> Another addition to the bizarre (yet sometimes tasty) cheese curry series.

Long time ago, during the westernization of the Japanese society in the Meiji era, the Japanese are very keen on mixing western ingredients to local Japanese food. During the 80s, when I was little, the notion of mixing mayonnaise and tare (Japanese sweet sauces) seems awfully weird to me, and I had no idea when did the Japanese started creating bizarre dishes that involves mixing up Japanese food with mayonnaise. Back then, I thought that Japanese people are weird people that mixes mayonnaise with everything (sesame dressing, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, ebi fry, you name them).

To my knowledge, the Japanese has been obsessed with mayonnaise ever since Kewpie produced bottled mayonnaise in the 1920s. Ever since, they put mayonnaise in literally every savory dishes. There's even a term in Japan that describes a mayonnaise lover: "Mayoler"

In fact, if I am to sum up the taste of a typical, everyday Japanese dish in a few words, I'd say: "Tastes like Shoyu, Dashi, Mirin, and Mayonnaise".

Anyway, enough about mayonnaise - let's talk curry.
Continuing the bizarre "Cheese Curry" series (tonkatsu cheese curry, karaage cheese curry, etc), I give you - the Cheese Curry Ramen.
Akin to mayonnaise, the Japanese seems to put cheese in everything. And I mean, everything. If the Indonesians add eggs to "pimp up" some dishes (congee, noodles, fried rice, etc), the Japanese would add cheese (and mayo, of course). It's somewhat risky, I guess - it depends on what type of cheese you add to the Japanese curry.

I guess the idea of adding dairy products to curries isn't that bizarre after all - the Indians add lots of yogurt to their curries since, forever. However, coming from Southeast Asia, where the notion of mixing dairy products (a "white men food" in local colloquialism) and local food seems like a taboo, the cheese curry ramen is quite a hard concept to fathom.

Don't get me wrong - I loved the cheese curry ramen. However, savoring this particular dish is a rather peculiar adventure - the tongue agrees but the mind boggles.

Rating: 7.5/10

Ebi Chilli Ramen

-> The soup is thick and rich, it almost seems gelatin-ish. Kind of reminds me of a thicker version of Singaporean Hor Fun or Indonesian-Chinese Kwetiau Siram. This item is part of Ramen Kan's winter menu - and it really is suitable for the wintry season. It's piping hot, thick, substantial, and fulfilling. The ebi chili (chili prawns) is quite sumptuous - crunchy, juicy and spicy. The addition of shaved spring onion julienne and bean sprouts complements the whole medley in a right tone. On top of it, a dash of Raayu (Japanese spicy oil) really ties up everything nicely.

Rating: 7.5/10

Note: Service in this restaurant is horrible. Some of the rudest Japanese waitresses I've ever encountered. Had to ask 3 times for water even though the restaurant was not at all busy.
The cashier is nice, though.