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

Tenda - Haymarket, Sydney

A new-ish Indonesian restaurant just a teeny tiny bit outside Chinatown (I honestly have no clear idea of the exact boundaries of Sydney's Chinatown - as far as I'm concerned the whole Sydney City CBD is in fact, Chinatown) LOL. Anyway, I really think that the term "Chinatown" should be gradually phased out and changed into "Asiantown". It's kind of unfair to call them all Chinese since there are so many Asian ethnicities in Chinatowns...LOL

Any new Indonesian restaurants in the City should be warmly welcomed, IMO. Most Indonesian restaurants in Sydney are concentrated in the Randwick-Kingsford-Kensington-Maroubra area (also known as the Indonesian Colony or Indonesiatown). Kind of make sense, really, since most Indonesians live in those 4 suburbs in Sydney. However, for us City / downtown kids (what the...how corny and ostentatious) it's such a hassle if we have to travel 30 minutes just to grab a bite of ridiculously overpriced, somewhat fake-tasting Tempe (soybean cake). Note: Tempe in Sydney costs a whopping 15 - 20 times more expensive than in Jakarta.

Gado-Gado
Steamed vegetable salad with peanut sauce dressing

-> Words cannot describe how BAD this Gado-Gado is. I'm really sorry, but even I can make a much better Gado-Gado. Heck, even my servant in Jakarta (who's notoriously bad at cooking) makes a better Gado-Gado. To make things worse, this dish costs 9 bucks. Oh well, I guess rent in the City is expensive.
BTW, this is a Gado-Gado Siram (a type of Gado-Gado in which steamed vegetables are arranged on a plate, then splashed / covered with dressing) as opposed to the IMO superior Gado-Gado Ulek (the whole dish, including the sauce, is prepared on a large stone mortar and the sauce is made from fresh peanut & herbs / ingredients ground with a pestle)

Rating: 2/10

Mie Ayam
Indonesian Chicken Noodle

-> A quintessential Chinese-Indonesian dish. The original fusion food that preceded any fusion Indonesian food. Whatever. Served with a tiny bowl of bakso (meatball) soup. Funny thing: on the menu, this dish is described as "Indonesian Ramen". What the?? Well, even though it's TECHNICALLY correct, I don't think they should use that description. Kind of SAD, really - Indonesian food is so unpopular in Sydney they have to use that sort of description to attract customers.

Rating: 7/10

Bakso & Pangsit Goreng
Fried meatballs & fried wontons

-> Comes with the noodle set. My foreign friend was so reluctant to try the meatball thing because it resembles nothing he's ever eaten before.

Rating: 6/10

Sate Ayam, Sate Sapi, Sate Kambing
Assorted satay (chicken, beef, lamb)

-> Ah, finally a decent dish. Averaging at around $1.70 per stick, I STILL think it's a tad pricey (sizes are small-ish). But it's good nevertheless. I especially like the lamb satay - I almost NEVER eat lamb in Indonesia because for some people...Indonesian lambs can be very strong in aroma (or should I say odor). That's why some Indonesians consider lamb as 'dirty' meat.

Anyway, that's not the main point. The main point is, Australian lamb comes from those cute fluffy and not-so-odorous-depending-on-the-situation SHEEP. Indonesian lamb comes from those skinny, dirty, catastrophically-odorous GOATS. Sheep's meat tend to be more tender and less odorous than goat's meat. Also, Indonesian goats have bad image compared to Australian sheep, and let me explain why. You see, the only chance you can see a live goat in Jakarta is around the Eid-al-Adha, which is an important festival in the Muslim calendar. During this celebration, people would buy a hewan qurban, which are live animals for offering, usually goats (for the middle-class people) and cows (for the moneyed). These livestocks are displayed on various spots in the city, usually near market complexes or open fields transformed into makeshift livestock display areas. Every Eid-al-Adha, whenever I'm driving around the suburbs passing at those poor goats waiting for sembelih (to be slaughtered), I can't help but feel terribly sorry for them. I can't bear looking at those melancholic eyes, and looking at their skinny bodies, it's not like they've had a GREAT life, they should just die naturally, I reckon.
Whereas in Australia, the only chance I get to see live sheep is at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, a festival in which farmers from around Australia compete to show their fattest, greatest, cutest, plumpest, stoutest, most beautiful and prized livestocks. Looking at those cute, fat, smiling sheep makes me feel hungry. They've had a great life. It's okay to eat them.

Rating: 7.5/10

Ikan Goreng
Fried fish

-> Someone please ID this fish...this...overpriced tiny fish. It tastes okay, but look at that face! So annoying...

Rating: 6/10

The Argyle - The Rocks, Sydney

A quick solo lunch - one day before my B-day.

Went shopping today. I usually prepare what I'm going to wear on my B-day well in advance, but this year, I was stuck. I have this nice grey Maison Martin Margiela shirt I've been dying to premiere ever since I bought it in Hong Kong a couple of months ago, and I couldn't find a nice jacket to go with it. I searched everywhere - from Paddington, to the City, and finally back to Paddington again when I finally found the ONE. (the ONE Jacket to rule them all) <- LOTR reference ;)
From Paddington, I had to come all the way back to the City because I had to pick up my B-day cake on The Rocks area. This year, I get to choose my own cake because...well...let's just say that the previous ones bought by my friends were not...'adventurous' enough (whatever that means!!)

Anyway, before picking up the cake, I stumbled upon this awesome bar-slash-restaurant I've been dying to check out since last year. It's called 'The Argyle'. It occupies a historical building called The Argyle Stores - completely renovated of course - but the remains of the old world is still very apparent. I've been meaning to come here for some late weekend drinks, but since I was in the area that afternoon, I might as well check it out.

Marinated salmon with salad leaves, blanched asparagus, herb olive oil

-> Is it just me or this dish is totally YUMMY??? The salmon is juicy and delicious (Cla, your notion on salmon should never be served cooked has an exception now), and the asparagus is just perfect.

Rating: 9/10

The venue is awesome, even on broad daylight. It's hard to find a bar that look that awesome with that much natural light. It should be fantastic at nighttime with blaring music and pretty people. They also cater to private functions, and they've got tons of high-profile clienteles comprising of who's who in Sydney social scene. It's quite a posh hangout on a posh neighborhood. Will definitely come back to check it out some more.

Kabuki Shoroku - Sydney

Late lunch with Aditta. Haven't been here for awhile and glad to find out that they're still doing fine. Actually, this restaurant is known just as "Shoroku" among the Japanese community, and I have no idea why did they add the "Kabuki" in the English transliteration. Heck, even the logo just read "Shoroku" and there's no Kabuki anything in there. After checking their website, I found out that they intend to attract customers (most likely local Sydneysiders) by claiming that they serve meals in a Kabuki-style environment. Well, pardon me for saying this, monseiur - but apart from the wooden floor, there's nothing remotely Kabuki-anything in the restaurant! This place is considered upscale Japanese restaurant in Sydney, however, it is really sad to note that most upscale Japanese restaurants in Sydney is absolutely crappy compared to upscale Japanese restaurants in Jakarta or Singapore in terms of decor, ambience, and food presentation.

Sashimi moriawase
Sake (salmon), Maguro (tuna), and what seems to be Suzuki (Sea Bass). The basic three-color sashimi served outside Japan.

-> Shoroku is famous for their exquisite sashimi. It's fresh, delicious, and served on a bed of crushed ice for lasting freshness. Very nice.

Rating: 9/10

Salad
...in cracked black pepper and mayonnaise dressing

-> So-so. They should have served something crunchier like shaved cabbage because the dressing is rather runny.

Rating: 5.5/10

Tonkatsu
(deep-fried pork cutlets)

-> Good Tonkatsu should be infused with a little flavor on the inside, which is not the case for this one. Quite understandable, really - most people aren't aware that Tonkatsu, although looks simple, in reality requires great skill to prepare, and only chefs with wide experiences in making Tonkatsu should attempt to cook it. In Japan, Tonkatsu is a specialty food and REAL Tonkatsu is only served in Tonkatsu-ya, which are restaurants specializing in Tonkatsu dishes only. This is something that I very much believe - being a Tonkatsu enthusiast since I was in middle school. Even Kitchen OEC, a small, affordable Tonkatsu stall in Sussex Centre foodcourt (in Sydney), serves much better Tonkatsu because they specialize in it.

Rating: 7/10

Grilled Oysters ~Kabuki Style~
...grilled Tasmanian oysters dressed with Mornay sauce

Rating: 9/10

Kushiage platter
...Buta-negima (pork skewered with leek), Uzura-no-tamago (quail eggs), Green Asparagus, Ebi (prawn)

-> Very nicely done. I like the shape of the Uzura-no-tamago, and I think that shape is somewhat hard to achieve when frying. Anyway, everything is perfectly fried, and my absolute favorite one would be the asparagus. The asparagus is amazzzing...it's really sweet (makes me think whether or not they soak the asparagus in syrup), crunchy yet tender, and goes well with the blue cheese sauce. Yum yum.

Rating: 9/10

Barbecued Unagi

-> Portion's a little bit disappointing but the look is perfect. Nice utsuwa (dish).

Rating: 8/10

Chicken Teriyaki

-> Now this is what I call the perfect teriyaki. Perfect taste, perfect texture, perfect sauce-to-meat ratio. Generous portion, too. So far, I have only tasted 2 perfect teriyaki in Sydney - the one at Ju Ju and this one. Two thumbs up. Subarashii!

Rating: 10/10 (yaay!!)

Fågelbo by Erique Fat Owl

Fågelbo
-> is it a salad? is it a tapas? is it a bird? is it a plane? no, it's Fågelbo!

Hej, Sverige! I was in another Sveedish craze (again) after watching so many Bergman films lately. Fanny och Alexander, anyone? Anyway. I was really in a Swedish mood, so I roamed around the city looking for some Swedish foodstuff. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any. It wasn't until the following week when I had to go to IKEA at Rhodes (to stock up on some special Sveedish light bulbs for my special Sveedish IKEA lamps) that I dropped by the food section and bought some Sprat fillets. I've never tried Sprats before (FYI, Sprat is a type of fish), and I'm always curious of exotic canned seafood, so I grabbed a can. These Sprat fillets are some kind of anchovies, hence it is also known as Swedish anchovies.

Taste-wise, the Swedish anchovies are nowhere as salty as normal anchovies. Now in my understanding, normal anchovies are 'cooked' by being preserved in heavily-salted brine or oil, hence the texture appears to be 'cooked'. However, Swedish anchovies has significantly lower salt content, so it appears to be raw. (I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, BTW).

I wasn't really pleased when I opened the can and tasted some of the Sprat fillets. It doesn't taste bad, but it's absolutely unfamiliar to my palate. I later discovered that Sprat fillets are marinated in mixture of sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and sandalwood. Hence the peculiar taste. I decided that I won't be able to eat this stuff by itself, and tried to find recipes that use these Sprat fillets. That's when I found the recipe for Fågelbo.

....fågelbo, tossed.

'Fågelbo' literally means 'bird's nest', and judging by its appearance, it isn't hard to figure out why it is named that way. It's served as hors d'oeuvre, as a part of a smorgasbord, or as a snack to accompany beer-drinking. The main part of the dish is the raw egg yolk, and this is followed by rings of Sprat fillets, minced onion, capers, pickled beets, and minced parsley. After served, this neat arrangement (that took a grueling 10 minutes to assemble - I wonder how those nice restaurants manage to assemble complicated dishes in practically no time) will then be mixed and tossed - the idea being that the egg yolk binds all the ingredients together.

The resulting taste is quite pleasant - the strong taste of the Sprat fillets are subdued quite nicely by the other ingredients - especially the parsley. However, the dish is still a strong-flavored concoction, so I totally see why this dish is best served as a snack accompanying a tall, frosty glass of beer.


P.S: I know I planned to cook Adobo after attempting the Beef Rendang, but I guess Adobo will have to wait until my Swedish fever subsides...