Hurricanes, Darling Harbour

Coke ($3.85) and Mojito mocktail ($8.80)

Mammoth T-bone Steak 650 grams ($48.40) + Monkey Gland Sauce ($2.75)

Combines two premier cuts in one delicious steak

Hurricane’s Beef Burger with chips ($20.90) and monkey gland sauce ($2.75)

Made with 100% pure beef, prepared fresh daily, packing 300gm of lean beef into every burger, basted and char-grilled

…

Pics at Seafood bar, Bondi Beach:

Salmon with side chips

Steak burger with side chips

…

Pics at Bondi Beach

Hardly the weather for going to the beach…

Mr AG’s masterpiece in burying my feet

…

Miss Fera, Miss Jamie, and I had a date night for a catch up since (A) we haven’t seen Miss Fera a lot since she finished, and (B) we haven’t done it for a while. We settled on going to Bondi Junction (rather than Randwick again) with no plan in mind, but the night couldn’t have worked out any better!

We wandered around and I suggested to have Ramen Kan. While Miss Jamie had it before and didn’t like it, she was willing to give it another shot since she didn’t order ramen last time. So we beat the busy time and got a table straight away, but weren’t given a menu for a while (which was even better since we had SO much to talk about and weren’t in a rush to order).

When we got our menu, we got soft shell crab and agedashi tofu to share. Miss Fera got the Crispy fish noodles, Miss Jamie the tonkatsu shoyu ramen, and I ordered a teriyaki beef udon rather than the other beef udon (I thought I had that one before, but checking back on my previous Ramen Kan post, I realised I had it twice in a row!).

Soft shell crab

Agedashi tofu

Teriyaki beef udon

Tonkatsu shoyu ramen

Crispy fish noodle

The food was a bit on the salty side (especially the crispy fish noodles), and Miss Fera didn’t end up finishing her meal. However, we did enjoy the (very filling) meal!

Ramen Kan
3/25-33 Bronte Road
Bondi Junction NSW 2022
Phone: (02) 9387 5691

Map:

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After food, we went into Bondi Junction Westfields with an intention to walk it off… We ended up window shopping (everything was closed), mostly stalking shoes for Miss Fera’s yellow and navy dress. After a funny encounter with one of the securities (who probably think we’re weird or suss or both), we ended up sitting in the shopping center and chatted the night away… it was heaps fun, and like a slumber party without the pillows, jammies, or location. We called it a night approaching 11 PM.

At long last, we hear from the busy AC (who if not caught the travel bug, has been busy with work), and even offered a breakfast outing with the rest of us RC members (Ag buddy, ZW, and I). So even though a 9 AM start was quite early for a Saturday, we looked forward to catching up over bacon & eggs, of course.

And early I was, subconsciously waking at 5:30 AM thinking I was late, slept again, and still had excess time by the time I got up (I’m not even that early for uni!). Apparently, I was not the only one who was early; Ag buddy was also early… she even turned up to Central station 20 minutes early, despite having trackwork on her train line.

Anyway, due to good reviews, we decided to have our breakfast at Cafe Ish, an Australian/Japanese cafe at Surry Hills.

At first, we didn’t head in because between Cafe Ish and the neighbouring shop, there appears to be a video shoot of some sort. And we thought we’d wait outside a tiny bit since ZW hadn’t arrived yet.

After a while, we walked in but weren’t served a seat, so we randomly resided at a table. The waitress came by and asked if we were ready to order, and we told her we wanted the menu. And then she came by 2 minutes later to ask if we were ready to order drinks, to which we replied that we hadn’t decided yet. Two minutes passed, and she walks by to ask if we wanted to order yet, so on impulse, we ordered our drinks (Ag buddy and I ordered an orange juice each, and AC an English breakfast tea). Another waitress came by, and we told her we ordered our drinks, and that we also told her we were waiting for a friend. So, they relocated us to upstairs to accommodate the 4 of us, which was a lot comfier!

By that stage, I was feeling a sense of urgency and unwelcomed by the place.

Anyway, ZW finally arrived, and the waitress saw this as an opportunity to ask if he wanted to order a drink, and he just replied no. We sat deciding on which “breakkie ish” meal we wanted to order. At the end, AC decided on a Little ish, whilst ZW, Ag buddy, and I went for the Big ish.

We had to tell them our preference of bread (white or whole grain), and the way we liked our eggs. Somehow, I remembered to ask them to cook my meal with extra virgin olive oil rather than butter (lactose-issues), but completely forgot that scrambled eggs are often cooked with milk (argh!)… Until it came out looking creamy (commented by Ag buddy). So we clarified with the waitress, and they tried to accommodate for intolerance. In the end, Ag buddy agreed to do a swap with me (she had poached eggs), but her toast was buttered, so the waitress offered us another piece of toast. Everything worked out, but man was I in the mood for some scrambled eggs!

Orange juice ($5.5)

AC’s Little ish (fried egg)

Quattro Stelle bacon, 1 egg, roast tomato and toast ($13.5)

Ag buddy’s Big ish (poached eggs)

2 eggs, bacon, tomato, croc sausage, mushroom, beans, toast, fried potato mochi ($24)

ZW and I ordered Big ish with scrambled eggs

2 eggs, bacon, tomato, croc sausage, mushroom, beans, toast, fried potato mochi ($24)

Aside from previous issues, we all had an awesome meal! The orange juice tasted fresh, the food tasted and looked lovely. My poached eggs were cooked perfectly, the croc sausage tasted very different (it was quite spicy actually), the bacon, oh what can I say to bacon… I just love bacon! Not a fan of beans, so I just ignored it and can’t comment. ZW was yet again the lab rat and tried the potato mochi for me, and to his suspicions, it did contain cream/cheese. So that was something I also didn’t eat. But everything else was great!

And! The waitresses practically left us alone to the point where we actually found it hard to grab their attention. Complete 180 degree, but I liked it better this way!

We had the most random talks, which were often accompanied by loud laughter. One example… we had dubbed one of the doors “the jump of death”… because it looked like you had to jump down when exiting that door (click on picture and you’ll see why).

Door (see back story)

Anyway, we had a nice and filling meal, and continued our journey out the door by walking for about an hour, burning the food off while having more random chats and soaking up the lovely sun (by the way, how beautiful was the weather today?!).

Cafe ish
82 Campbell Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 9281 1688 ‎

Map:

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So so so!

So excited about this I had made a new post about it.

Last Friday night out with the girls, after saying bye to NM, we popped into Gelatissimo for a quick treat as I know for sure there’s always sorbet for my poor lactose-intolerance self (haha, self-pity). Self-pity pretty much ended there when I spotted a new flavour that looked FANTASTIC!

Chocolate sorbet.

Chocolate sorbet.

Chocolate sorbet.

I had to order it! And it was fantastic!! I think due to the lack of milk, it turned out more like dark chocolate, but I’ve pretty much gotten too used to not having milk that this chocolate was normal to me. Instant favourite! On the other hand, the strawberry flavour I ordered to accompany my chocolate was just okay.

Princess KZ (left) and my sorbet (right; strawberry and chocolate sorbet)

So the next day (Saturday) at Burwood, Mr AG and I popped into Gelatissimo again… This time I didn’t hold back and ordered two scoops of chocolate sorbet. Yum! ♥

Double chocolate sorbet:Indulgence!

And today, after AC had to leave for work, I suggested to go Gelatissimo again to get more of the chocolate sorbet (just can’t have enough!) and lychee sorbet as my other scoop… ZW got a lychee sorbet as well and whilst he really liked it because it was really sweet, I thought it was overly sweet but quite tasty. ZW’s green tea didn’t gt a mention, but I think he liked it. Ag buddy got a scoop of white chocolate, and she said it was really creamy and indulgent.

ZW, Ag buddy, and my sorbet.

So, spring has just started (despite today’s warm warm weather), and already I’ve had so much dessert (mostly sorbet)! I feel like such a glutton! But I love it!

I have seen many positive reviews on Gumshara (including an article from the Sydney Morning Herald a while back, and Grab Your Fork which features an elaborate review on Gumshara), and this place is often deemed as a hidden gem for some authentic Japanese ramen. So of course, Mr AG and I had to try it!

It wasn’t too hard to find, but I understood why it was “hidden” gem; it is tucked away in one of the food courts of China Town, which I admit to not normally visiting food courts. If elsewhere, it may have more potential.

We arrived at 3:30 PM, and apparently their famous thick soup wasn’t available until dinner (5 PM onwards; they needed to prepare new stock/soup), so we decided to wait it out, bumming around until then.

Came 5 PM, and I ordered a token tonkatsu ramen with soft boiled egg and a gyoza side, and Mr AG had a pork rib ramen (since they only made 20 a day), both ramen with thick soup.

Tonkatsu ramen with soft-boiled seasoned egg

Pork rib ramen

Gyoza

Before giving us our ramen, the chef tasted the ramen with disposable spoons to check out the flavour and threw out the spoons immediately. Also, written on a sign was that if our soups were too salty or thick, the chef can adjust it according to how we tell him to. That is customer care! =)

Anyway, we dug in. The ramen was nice and had a good texture, and the soup was indeed thick and flavoursome (both Mr AG and mine were the same flavour). My thin tonkatsu pork was very tender and lovely, but few (3 slices), I loved the seaweed and the egg. Mr AG’s pork ribs were a bit harder to get off the bone, but it was also lovely, and the fat just melted in your mouth!

I read that people found it difficult finishing the bowl of ramen, especially the thick soup since it was very filling. I guess I saw that as a challenge… so, challenge accepted!

And… yes, I finished it. I even beat Mr AG in finishing it faster at the end! Triumph!

Overall, I liked Gumshara, but I don’t think it can be a regular thing with me, especially with the soup (I know I can get bored of it easily, and it’s just a personal thing). However, I will definitely visit it again, or even have it every so often.

Gumshara
209/25-29 Dixon St
Haymarket New South Wales 2000

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A meetup with my girls was due a while back, though it kept getting rescheduled due to unexpected things coming up. Finally, we decided on having dinner tonight, and quickly made up our mind to dine at an Indonesian restaurant called Delima due to good reviews. Princess FR said she’d bring her guy friend along, so Princess KZ and I decided to bring ours as well. And then FR had an emergency work shift, resulting her not being able to make it. So then it was Princess KZ (and DC), Princess NM, Mr AG and I.

Rushing from uni, Mr AG and I found it a tiny bit confusing to find (so we took the easy way out and phoned KZ to ask for directions). Apparently, it’s in the alleyway of China Town, in one of the shops, upstairs. Inside was ambient and looked very nice (with some nice decors). My first thought was that this place was perhaps one of those a hidden gem. As we approached, the waiter asked, and we told him we had a table with KZ, and he led us to our table… this was funny because apparently, KZ had not made reservations under her name (or told them her name when she got a table)… So how they guessed (and so sure about it), I did not know.

Hellos were exchanged when we arrived. Our table (and surrounding ones) had a thin layer of tassel-like curtain (not sure what they’re called)… you can see through it completely, but because it was segregated by a physical barrier, it felt discreet (which I enjoyed; I like feeling like I can put my bag down without someone coming and stepping on it).

Because Mr AG and I were late, they already had ideas on which dishes to order… and since we weren’t too fussed (as long as there’s no lactose, I’m game… and Indonesian food should be pretty safe with that), we just went with whatever they ordered. In the end, we got these 5 dishes, and had rice with them.

Coconut Rice ($4 per person)

Ayam Kari

Old times favorite Sumatran curry chicken ($15.95)

Garlic Shoot Cah Sapi

Stir-fry garlic shoots with beef tenderloin, salty fish, and chili shrimp paste ($15.95)

Ikan Bakar Bali

Grilled whole fish with Balinese sauce ($29.95)

Ayam Panggang Kalasan

Grilled chicken with sweet and soy-based Javanese style sauce ($15.95)

Kwetiaw Goreng

Stir fry flat rice noodle with seafood ($14.95)

I honestly didn’t think I’d like the ayam kari (I’m not too big on curries), but I liked the flavour of this one, though I couldn’t have too much of it at once. The garlic shoot cah sapi was nice; I really liked the beef tenderloin. The shoots also had a different flavour to the beef, which was interesting. The fish had a good flavour, but we thought it was slightly dry (fair enough, it is a dry dish); we should have tried one with a sauce or something. The fried chicken was pretty good, and I guess it was the easiest to fit into the palate of someone who isn’t too used to Indonesian food. I really liked the noodles as well, and it actually reminds a lot of us of Thai pad see ewe (noodles like that can’t go wrong for me). Being Asian, we had our dishes with coconut rice; it smelt really fragrant, it was quite nice, but methinks $4 per person is a bit much, especially compared to the other dishes we ordered. Apart from that, I thought the food was reasonably priced for what it was.

Overall, Mr AG and I enjoyed the food moderately and would go again… NM thought it was okay but wouldn’t personally make effort to dine here again (unless friends requested). I think we feel the way we do about the food because we’re actually not used to the taste as much. I’ve only had Indonesian food about twice… and my palate needs to adjust accordingly, so I am definitely willing to try more Indonesian food in general.

Food: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Value: 7/10

Delima Restaurant
69/1 Dixon Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9267 7045

Map:

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Met up with two RC buddies (Ag buddy and Mr ZW) for dinner. After a long time wandering around and deciding, we went for a cafeteria-like Japanese restaurant called Menya Mappen. They serve udon/soba/don (which are apparently hand-made?), side dishes such as seaweed salad and various tempura, and drinks too.  They carry a simple concept, offer convenient value meals (udon from $3.90!), and are efficient/have a high turnover rate of customers (a policy of theirs is that you can’t take seats before ordering).

Hungry, I made up my mind on what to order when I saw this beauty on the menu…

That’s right, I wanted a “large hot bukkake udon”.

Because this was my first time, I had Ag buddy lead my in the self service line. When it was my turn to order, I just couldn’t be mature and order my bukkake straight, so I pointed to the menu. Moving along the self-service aisle of goodies (I took a chicken breast tempura, 2 seaweed salads, and a soft-boiled egg), we got to the end where the guy at the counter calculated the price (mine was $8.80 all up!). It was then that was when I realised I had forgotten to order my udon in the large size! At the end, I was right; if I hadn’t messed up and remembered to order the larger udon, it would’ve been a filling meal. Nevertheless, it was tasty and affordable, and I would definitely go there again (perhaps to try a kake next time… with pics).

Menya Mappen Noodle Bar
11/537-551 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9283 5525

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Next stop was dessert! We headed to LNC Dessert House for a proper catch up (since it Menya Mappen wasn’t quite the place for such things), and to fill any excess space in the stomach (which I had a bit of).

I ended up ordering a scoop of green tea sorbet and a mango sorbet… which I enjoyed but I won’t order together in the future (they didn’t go well together on the same plate… though I doubt many would go with green tea sorbet!). ZW’s tofu wasn’t as soft and fluffy as it appeared (which I remembered when I had this last time), and Ag buddy ordered a milk dessert (we joked that it was heated milk), which was apparently like custard and was light and fluffy. It sounded yummy!

Tofu with mango sorbet (Mr ZW’s)

Green tea and mango sorbet (mine)

LNC Dessert House:
12/339 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9283 3823

Map:

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We ended the night but not before taking sticker photos (purikura). As always, that was pretty fun! ♥

Finished lab unexpectedly late on Tuesday. I had to ask Mr AG to pick me up from uni, and because I was starved, we decided to look for food that will “fill me up to half full”. I didn’t want to have Thai again, so we were on the hunt for something else.

Alas, next to The Taste of Thai lived a humble restaurant called Sushi Fusion serving sushi train dishes as well as menu stuff.

Honestly though, I had never noticed this one…but I’m glad we caught on, especially if I ever needed a quick sushi fix in Randwick (happens a fair bit actually). And we went in a timely manner; Tuesday was the winter special night with a $3 deal on all sushi train dishes. Everything on the menu was between $3 and $5.50, so that proved a good deal for what it’s worth.

Sadly, I took some poor effort iPhone pictures that night…

Chicken Schnitzel

Dragon Roll

Edamame

Jellyfish and shark fin nigiri

Mini Salmon Rolls

Scallop Aburi

Seaweed Salad Ship

Cooked Tuna

Mini Udon

Banana, Chocolate and Red Bean Roll

So we ended up having 11 plates (we doubled on some dishes) and a mini udon… and I was full by the end of it (so much for “half full; so couldn’t resist!)! I liked the food, though I didn’t have a couple of them in fear of lactose. So out of the ones I had, my favourites were the chicken schnitzel roll, dragon roll, seadweed salad nigiri, and the jellyfish nigiri. I wasn’t a big fan of the edamame and the mini salmon rolls; a bit lacking in flavour. Oh, and we were seated comfortably, unlike some sushi train places we’ve gone to, which is always good! Anyway, I enjoyed it, and would be happy to pop back for some more!

Sushi Fusion
7 Belmore Road
Randwick NSW 2031
Phone: 9399 5388

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Being a good little girl, I went out with my parents and grandpa to Burwood today.  We wandered around the shops, and browsed clothes, boring my grandpa in the process.  I bought a cropped tee from Target (Free Fusion) to go with my maxi, and mum and I bought a couple of Giordano basics for $10 each!

Mum had an appointment, so grandpa headed off while I went to mum’s appointed place to accompany her.  However, we got there 45 minute early (sigh, early birds!), and I got bored within 10 minutes of waiting…  So mum asked dad to take me to a place to have lunch.

So we wandered into Kwok Doo half an hour before they closed up to prepare for the dinner session.  It was a very quiet restaurant with background music.  We received great service; the lady there was lovely and always made sure we were okay.

We ordered two dishes and a lemonade (which wasn’t super awesome; I thought it’d be Sprite).

The first dish was a stir fried rice noodle dish (Cantonese: Wat dan har kou gai kou chow hor).  Though a smallish plate, it was very lovely, we enjoyed it, and I would have it again.

The second was the century egg porridge/congee (the photo looks ghastly since it is so white).  This one lacked flavour and ingredients (so I had to mass season it with salt and pepper), but taste wise wasn’t bad.  I guess I wouldn’t order this dish again if I can help it.

Chicken and prawn stir fried rice noodles with egg gravy

Century egg porridge

Overall, it’s an average place for lunch; I left feeling full but light and comfy.

Kwok Doo
185C Burwood Rd
Burwood NSW 2134
Phone: (02) 9747 3592

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