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

Kimama Kitchen - Eating World Haymarket, Sydney

Chicken katsu curry

-> Just delightful. Generous portion, crispy katsu, sweet curry with a hint of apple and honey - just perfect! In addition to the katsu, they've also added tender beef cubes in the curry sauce, which is such a nice surprise! It's really similar to curry rices in Japan. In fact, this is how good curry rice should be made - no matter what the main meat is (katsu, karaage, hamburg), the gravy should always be cooked with beef - it does wonder to the aroma, plus, provides a good overall texture. And oh, the katsu is served with tonkatsu sauce, which makes this dish even better. In fact, I can't find much flaw in this dish, but just one disappointment - they don't serve fukujin-zuke on the side (which I think is inseparable with curry dishes)

Rating: 9/10

King Curry

-> For huuuge appetite. It's seriously big. I definitely can't finish this by myself. In fact, share this dish with someone else even if you're quite hungry. So, this dish is basically a glorified katsu curry, with curry fried rice (a.k.a. 'dry curry rice') covered with a thin omelet a la omurice, and finally topped with a huge chicken katsu and splashed with curry sauce on top. It's delicious, but the portion is just too much and it would be better if they put more curry sauce on top because after awhile, this dish can get pretty dry and tiresome.

Rating: 7/10

Note:
This place has just opened a few weeks ago, and it already becomes one of my favorite lunch spots in Chinatown. I just love this place (it's at Eating World in Sussex St.), the staff are very nice and sincere. Let me put it this way - it's good and 'homey' enough for me to say 'gochisousan' (thanks for the meal) to the staff & cooks before leaving the place after the meal. It was a nice, wholesome and uplifting dining experience. Recommended!

Hero Bento - Westfield Bondi Junction, Sydney

A hurried lunch in the midst of Thursday shopping fiesta in Westfield Bondi. Actually, Westfield Bondi has lots of nice restaurants, but since I was alone, I felt kind of sad dining at a huge place by myself.

Tori no misoyaki

-> Good, but took loooong to cook. Seriously. It's surprisingly good for a kitschy-looking place (with equally kitschy-sounding name).

Rating: 7/10

Ichiban Boshi - The Galleries Victoria, Sydney

Karaage Cheese Curry

-> The word 'cheese' and 'curry' have become a common compound word nowadays - seems like the Japanese always mix cheese and curry these days. Ah, but the question is, what type of cheese to mix with the curry? I've tasted many cheese curries - from curries baked with shredded mozzarella or curries with chunks of feta in it (Ew!?!). This karaage cheese curry is simply karaage curry sprinkled with powdered parmesan. Kind of uninspired but it does the job - the curry indeed becomes cheesy (pardon the pun).

Rating: 6.5/10

Pondok Selera - Dixon House, Sydney

Nasi Kuning Rendang
(Indonesian yellow rice with beef rendang)

-> It's mouthwatering-yummylicious, but I wish they would update their plates...it's so very last millennium...Anyway, with the closure of famed Indonesian food stall "Yuni's Kitchen" last year, there are officially only TWO places you can get Indonesian nasi kuning / nasi Padang in Chinatown - this Pondok Selera is one, and the other one is the very unappetizing-looking stall at Eating World Food Court near Sussex St (the one that's semi-underground). There's actually another one, which is the Nasi House at Sussex Centre food court, but I think they don't serve Nasi Kuning.

With this one, it's still my favorite Nasi Kuning in Chinatown - the rendang is oh so tender and juicy, and the sambal (chilli relish sauce) is really good (you have to ask for the sambal otherwise they won't give you any - only Indonesians know this!)

Rating: 7.5/10

Party Cafe & Restaurant - Sydney

A tiny-ish, unnoticeable Korean restaurant just off George st (along the road where Cafe C'ya is) that specializes in donkasu (that's Korean for tonkatsu). (that's Japanese for pork cutlets). (that's English for schnitzel). (That's German for...ah what the hell).

I think it's a new restaurant, and apart from their uninspired name, the decor of the place is rather uninspired as well. See, they're going for the 'party' theme - balloon murals, whimsical colors, but alas, the lighting is very, very dull, tables too far apart and sombre music creates the image of a party that nobody would care to stay.

Cheese donkasu
served with red rice and salad

Rating: 6.5/10

-> Again with the 'slapping cheese in everything food philosophy'. This time, it's the Korean who made the abomination. Well, actually, it isn't that much of an abomination to slap some cheese on a schnitzel - after all, the French does it (Chicken Cordon Bleu, etc). Also, it isn't fair for me to call every non-French food invention an abomination.

Oh, by the way, this cheese donkasu is quite delicious. The sauce is rather predictable Korean western-style sauce / gravy (basically made of tomatoes, capsicum, sweet with a hint of sourness), but the Mozzarella is melted to perfection. The cheese doesn't overpower the donkasu, but on the down side, the donkasu is rather bland. I love the red rice (perhaps Westerners aren't familiar with this variety of rice - the rice in its raw form is already reddish in color, and when cooked it becomes white with a hint of redness on the edge of the rice grains). Although known as 'poor people's rice' in my native Indonesia - red rice is actually very beneficial health-wise, and very fulfilling.

BTW, the portion is hu-uge. two large slabs of pork cutlets. Suitable for the hungry.

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...

Pho LV - Sydney

Cơm sườn chả trứng
Pork chop, fried egg, and pork cake with tomato rice

-> The 'pork cake' (shocking name, BTW) is kind of like a terrine with minced pork, some kind of offals, egg, mushrooms and glass noodles. It's a French influence on Vietnamese cuisine, obviously. It's nice. The tomato rice, however, is rather insipid. I was expecting more of a Japanese type tomato rice (you know, like the inside of the omurice).

Rating: 6/10

Cơm sườn gà
Crispy-skin chicken with tomato rice

-> The crispy-skin chicken is exceptional. Certainly the best I've tasted so far in the Sydney City/Chinatown area.

Rating: 6.5/10

This was the day I finally knew where Pho LV is (ha ha Cla)
'twas a really quiet night - they're almost closing, but my stomach was rumbling and it seems that the only interesting dining option within 1 minute walk from the cinema (yes, I'm THAT lazy) is either Pepper Lunch (Ironically, opens till 11 pm) or Pho LV at the same building. My brother HATES Pepper Lunch (Cla - he can become your friend) for whatever reason, so Pho LV it is.

Speaking of Pepper Lunch, I can't figure out how on EARTH can someone dislike it, let alone HATE it. It's cute, it's Japanese-western fusion (a.k.a. the PERFECT species of food), and it's damn hi-tech. Patented electromagnetic automatic hotplates, hello!
...and don't get me started on the gloriously melting, dripping herb butter above a perfectly-cut tender bite-sized steak combined with lashes of tantalizing Pepper Lunch hot and sweet sauce - as the aroma wafts in the air with thick, sensuous smoke, I knew I have reached heaven...

Mmmkay. Maybe I'm getting a little bit overboard with Pepper Lunch.

Anyway. Pho LV.
No, apparently they aren't in any way affiliated with Maison Louis Vuitton (ha. ha. very funny), but it doesn't stop VIPs and dignitaries from dining at their humble place. Guess who sat across my table - the Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Sydney with 5 other serious-looking VIPs. I recognized the Consul-General because I've seen him at some social events.

The food was just okay - borderline, acceptable. Maybe I should try the Pho next time. After giving the Consul-General a nod and a smile, We left the place, looking for....desserts.

(and we went for some Gelati from Gelatissimo)

Gelati = Gelato (prural)