We popped into Ramen Kan at Bondi Junction for lunch today. It’s a nice and cosy Japanese restaurant, and I remember wanting to go to the one in China town a while back. It was pretty busy when we first sat down at ~3 PM, but was quieter by the time we left half an hour later. The menu was mainly of udons, ramen, and rice dishes, and they had pre-packaged drinks. Prices were very reasonable.

We ended up ordering these:

Deep Fried Prawns With Tartare Sauce

Teriyaki Beef Udon

Ramen Kan Shoyu Ramen

The deep fried prawns were really nice; light on the inside and crispy on the outside, seasoned well, and tastes great!

My udon was fanastic, I was very pleased with it! Great teriyaki taste, silken udon noodles, and the beef had a seared flavour to it. The salad accompanying my udon didn’t look like it’d be my thing, but when I tried it, the sauce was quite flavoursome, and I liked it! I ended up finishing it!

The ramen  had pork, egg, mushrooms in a pork broth with soy sauce. It was nice too (the pork pieces were few but it was very tender), but I think I prefer my udon.

Overall, it was a good experience; tasty food that was great in value. We will be back =]

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

Map:

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Daddy made bun rieu tonight!

It’s a Vietnamese vermicelli soup dish with tomatoes, meatballs, on a dried shrimp soup base (with beaten egg), served with lemon juice, pepper, and mint.

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but to me, it’s delicious!!

When I tell people that I eat rice with a few dishes for breakfast on most mornings, people find it a little strange that I eat a full-blown dinner meal so early on the day, especially if they’re not used to eating breakky at all…

Well, I had toast for dinner tonight. Yes, toast…

Actually, this was meant to be last night’s dinner, but I came home from uni late and didn’t get to have it. So I had it tonight; salmon, poached egg, and onion on toast!

Yum!

Come Sunday, and another perfect day for soaking up the vibrant sun either shopping, listening to music, or just chilling somewhere…

But instead, I didn’t know what I was doing in the morning (okay, I do know; I threw the laundry into the machine and then bludged my morning away), was almost late to my pole lesson at 1 PM (which is quite a poor effort considering I couldn’t sleep after getting up at 7 AM), and just didn’t know what was going on after pole.

I did meet up to Mr AG in the City afterwards though, and he was really good at steering me in the right direction (rushing me when I lagged… just in case shops close and all).

First stop was to the Alannah Hill boutique at the Strand Arcade. I was served by a very sweet and patient lady there, carefully helping me with this and that even though the store was busy with customers waiting pay for their items (which she excused herself politely to do so before coming back).

I wanted these boots in the black in size 7, but she told me she only had that size in the pale pink (which was super cute as well). I asked her to let me try the pink for size, and if it fits well, I’ll hop online to buy the black pair if it fitted well. She did not hesitate to continue her great service, and didn’t judge, seeing that I was dressed in semi-workout clothes (for pole).

After trying it on, walking around to try for comfort, and doing random things, the lady came back apologetically and told me she has found a few more boxes of the boots, and that she’ll check for my size. She returned with a pair of size 7.5, and asked if I wanted to try them on. I was really wanting to get the boots in store, so I gave it a shot.

At the end, because of her brilliant service, and also because I really like the boots, I ended up getting them from her =]

Oh, Perfect Star boot

And then there was food! I was starved but content… but starved. So before my haircut, I had to get some food! Ahh, sweet food! We had some Japanese “fast food” at Ton ton (since we didn’t want to go to restaurants for a while…).

Ton Ton: My spicy miso ramen, Mr AG’s vegetarian udon, and a drink

And the last stop of the day was to Takeshi and Team for my long overdue haircut. I was served by Takeshi himself, and he was very pleasant, polite, and skilled. At first, I asked him for ideas, but he was giving me ideas for a normal kind of cut, so Mr AG told him to do something “weird” with my hair. At that point, he chuckled, and got the point, and told me his plans.

After I was happy, he proceeded to dry cut my hair until I was happy with it, gave me a wash and blow dry, and fixed little things here and there (and he did so for quite a while, being meticulous about every strand). The end result I was very happy with; it was exactly what I wanted a hairdresser to do – do something different/borderline drastic that suits my needs, and without having to shave half my head off (I’m daring but not THAT daring!).

So once again, I ended up with another asymmetric haircut!

It shouldn’t have been like this! Thinking about it makes my blood boil!!!

Mr AG and I had a relatively okay day (apart from the busybodies on the Ferris wheel) up until being seated for dinner. We went to Din Tai Fung, a restaurant we were very satisfied with the first time we went.

So, what happened?

Din Tai Fung is usually very busy, so when we arrived there, we had to wait for a table. The lady gave us the option to have our own table, or to share. Getting our own table would’ve been double the time, so we opt for sharing.

Never again!!!

Mr AG and I got seated next to a man and a woman. The lady seemed alright, but the man was seriously a super loudmouthed busybody… That man spoke about everyone and everything all through dinner, in CHINESE! Mr AG couldn’t understand, and I was left to hear all the things… It shouldn’t have, but that man really made my blood boil!

Some examples of what he was saying about me/us:

There she is, taking pictures of all the food.

They order so much food *rolls eyes* We order the least amount *blah blah blah*.

And what he was saying about everyone else:

Wow, look at those two, they’re having 2 soft drinks each.

They eat so much. Look at all they’ve ordered.

*Pretending to be posh, after a waitstaff covered his jacket with a protective bag* Whoever can make me happy will get my liking.

I mean, what the hell? What’s it to him?

Okay, this may sound a little hypocritical, because arguably, what’s it to me that he’s saying all these things… But I was there to enjoy my dinner, not listen to this loudmouth! It was seriously distracting, and irritating!

I was that close to losing it… actually, I did, I slammed something down, and “whispered” something to Mr AG in a not-so-subtle manner. I regretted it immediately after, because I think my response have given him the satisfaction of knowing that he sent me in a bout of fury.

But once again, I couldn’t help but let it get the better of me!

So, without criticising the restaurant at all in any way (because the waitstaff were impeccable), I possibly had the worst dinner out tonight! I lost my appetite completely, ate the minimal, and just wanted to be out of there. ASAP! I even cancelled my sorbet (which they were only so happy to comply) I was really looking forward to!

Anyway, here are some snaps of my uneventful dinner. I didn’t even have a good taste of the food to even comment on it (in case I don’t give it justice).

Lychee mint juice

Pork dumpling

Prawn pork shao mai

Vegetable pork jiaoze

Vegetarian jiaoze

Cha jiang noodles

(Ok, I know for a fact that I did not like this one! It was very bland…)

Hot sour soup

Phew, rant’s over… that made me feel better!

Anyway, after tonight’s experience, Mr AG and I decided not to go out to restaurants for a while… But I don’t know how long that’d last…

Din Tai Fung
644 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9264 6010

Map:

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Had an impromptu meetup with Ag buddy and RC buddy!

We went for sushi train at Takumi (no pics for this). Incidentally, we sat next Ag buddy’s friend but hadn’t realised it until a few plates in. The sushi was good, though we noticed a couple of things after a while. (1) Everything was supplemented with mayo (and I avoid mayo out of paranoia). (2) The same thing kept coming around. (3) We kept making a grab for the seaweed salad ship (but it’s yummy!)…

We ended up downing 30 plates of sushi altogether, and ready for dessert! (Actually, I lie, we were pretty full but wanted to catch up more, so dessert was the way to go)!

And then we had herbal grass jelly at Meet Fresh, while teaching Ag buddy Cantonese… I taught her how to say “eat banana” and “bad boy” among other things, and she made the funniest combos with those words, and they made perfect sense as well. She picked it up fast…

Takumi
Market City, Shop R3.02b, 9-13 Hay St
Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9281 7200 ‎

Map:

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Meet Fresh
13 Goulburn Street
Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 8339 1031 ‎

Map:

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Mr AG and I met up with Mr MI and Mr CW at North Strathfield for dinner. We couldn’t decide on which restaurant to dine at, and came across a nice-looking Thai place called Thai Paragon, and decided to settle there (as it was starting to get cold from being out too much).

The place had a nice interior design, was dimly lit (with flickering table candles), and was warm. It was a busy restaurant, and it got a little noisy sometimes, but the ambiance was good.

We decided on what to order, and one of the waitresses came to take our order. It literally went like this:

Mr MI: Can I have some fish cakes?
Waitress: Anything else?
Mr MI: And a Massaman lamb?
Waitress: Anything else?
Mr AG: Can we have the chiken pendan?
Waitress: Anything else?
Mr AG: And a  Tom Yum Prawn?
Waitress: Anything else?
Mr AG: And a chili basil noodle with rump beef.
Waitress: Anything else?
Mr CW: Can I have a Pad Thai chicken?
Waitress: Anything else?
Mr CW: And a coke?
Waitress: Anything more drinks?
Mr AG: I’ll have a coke as well.
Waitress: So 2 cokes.
Mr MI: And I’ll have a pure blonde.
Waitress: Anything else?
Me: And water for the table. That’s all for now.

Excusing that, the food came out in a timely manner, and was well-presented (check out the flower plate under the tom yum soup!). The servings didn’t look too bad either for the noodles (though the rice had to be ordered separately at $2.50 per person).

Fish cakes and chicken pandan

Tom yum prawns

Massaman lamb

Chili basil noodle with rump beef

Pad Thai chicken

In total, the food was pretty good, and we were pretty happy about it. My chili basil noodles was tasty, not too chili, and the rump beef was tender. The tom yum food had a great flavour, though the prawns were obviously frozen, and there were too few of them (not that I’d eat them).

The service up to this point was good… a red flag presented itself when the waitresses kept coming over and taking our plates, briefly mouthing a “finished?” while taking it away. We had to stop them a few times because we were NOT finished with it. The same deal when the waitress actually took our fish cake away with the same “finished?” attitude… I mean, I guess I didn’t have a choice but to BE finished!

And when our table was cleared (and they did so pretty quickly), I had suspicions that they were wanting us to leave. My suspicions were confirmed in less than a minute when one of the waitresses came to our table, handed us the bill (we hadn’t asked for it yet)… and pretty much told us that the table was for someone with reservations, and indicated that we should leave.

Yes, people are waiting for the table, but the way she did it was not very polite… I mean, if she had made a small talk, and said it in an apologetic manner, I would be so happy to comply. But it wasn’t like that at all.

On the way out (after paying the bill), I have a habit of saying “thanks” to waitstaffs. Usually, they would smile back, and say thanks as we leave… but this one passed either unnoticed or unappreciated… or both really. That said, we all walked out of the restaurant feeling a little bit annoyed.

So in short, good food served by people lacking in communication skills = a “could be better” experience that could have easily been “a great experience”.

That ends my mixed review for Thai Paragon Restaurant, North Strathfield.

Thai Paragon Restaurant
Shop G2, 24 Bakhouse Quarter, George St
North Strathfield NSW 2137
Phone: (02) 9746 7005

Map:

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Just came back from a dinner date with my 3 girls (and their boys)… minus Mr AG as he didn’t want to leave Little L, his mischievous pup, home alone… because he did that yesterday for a short while, and came home to a MASSIVE mess inside and out of the laundry room… and from his description, it was NOT pretty! So that pretty much leaves me as a 7th wheel, which is the most I’ve ever had (thanks Mr AG).

It was pretty much unplanned for us to have dinner at Burwood (it was originally at Ryde at 5:30, changed to City, and then Burwood… then it was changed to 6:30!)… We had wanted to catch up in George’s cafe, but it was pretty much packed out and booked out… so we tried Bello (inside Westfield shopping center), and there weren’t seats for 7. It was getting a little difficult so we settled for a cafe across George’s cafe called Sidnees cafe as the seated area inside was relatively empty (more people outside).

Everyone called for their food while I was still making a decision. After chit chatting for a bit, I went to order my drink and main. Guess who’s food and drink arrived before everyone else’s? Hehe.

Anyway, we had a good catch up (though it’s alittle hard for 7 people to be talking to each other around a rectangular table)… But moreover, the food was really mediocre; somewhat standard cafe food. And it wasn’t just me!

I ordered a veal schnitzel sandwich, and the veal schnitzel was very dry and plain, the chips were soggy and vapid, and the salad was had no taste. I didn’t end up eating most of it… I also had a fruit frenzy (which sounded cute), and it was fine, but a little too sweet!

Miss FR and Mr R ordered a chicken schnitzel and Miss FR thought it was very dry (Mr R did not touch his plate at all!).

Miss NM ordered a lasagna, and thought it was comparable to the ones you buy at the supermarkets and heat it up in the microwave…

Miss KZ got a carbonara (I think), and she told me that it was absolutely covered in cream… it got a little too much for her.

Fruit Frenzy

Veal schnitzel sandwich served with salad and fries

Chicken schnitzel (traditional)

Lasagna di carne

So anyway, mediocre cafe food… probably won’t be going there again.

Sidnees Cafe
53 Burwood Road
Burwood NSW 2134
Phone: (02) 9715 7466 ‎

Map:

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This is the second time we’ve been to Fat Panda sushi experience at Canley Heights (see this post), and it happened to be more packed this time around. We haven’t made a booking, so we waited a little while for seats, which they were apologetic about.

After a bit, we got seated at the sushi train area, which was good as I was getting hungry and could just pick up some sushi nigiri to eat while watching the sushi chefs skillfully rolled up the sushi, thinly cut salmon and king fishes for their carpaccio (looked so simply when they did it!!), and also scorching some of the nigiri platters!

Overall, we had another great experience. Whilst it was busy (their staff were constantly running around), their service was again impeccable; very friendly, and they made sure we were getting served and that we were happy with everything. Importantly, the food arrived at a timely manner and was delicious! It was also presented very well as well! That’s always a plus! =)

01-06. Various sushi from the sushi train

07. Takoyaki

08. One of the specials, Scallops.

09. King fish carpaccio

10. King fish salad

Last time, everything was salmon; salmon salad, salmon belly carpaccio, seared salmon… this time it was king fish time! I think I do prefer the salmon carpaccio over the king fish, and maybe slightly the salmon salad over the king fish salad… but again, these were great dishes, and there are no complaints!

Fat Panda
233 Canley Vale Road
Canley Heights NSW 2166
Phone: (02) 9755 4888

Map:

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I think dad’s fianlly gotten used to me snapping at people not to eat before I snap pictures of the food… hehehe :3

Anyway, these are some home foods of late… yummy =]

1. Chun choy (春菜), literally means “spring vegetable”.
   Doesn’t look all that appetising, but as a non-vegie lover, this is one of my favourite vegie dish.
   
   
2. Ga xe phai: Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad.
   This one has marinated cabbage, different types of mint, and freshly steamed succulent chicken pieces. As always, anything my dad makes, served with fish sauce usually gets my appetite going =9
   
   
3. Gai lan (芥蘭), Chinese broccoli served with oyster sauce.
   Dad gives the stem part of the vegetable to us while he eats the leaf himself… Chinese vegie enthusiasts enjoy the stem more than the leaf… and Chinese restaurants such as yum cha sell only the stem, and sometimes charge $8+ for it. 
   
   
4. Ca kho to: Vietnamese braised fish in claypot
   Best one dad’s made yet, go dad! =) It’s meant to be both sweet and savoury, but I think I don’t like overly sweet (unlike “authentic” Vietnamese people)… 
   
   
5. ?? choy
   I forget what this particular choy is called… but it’s apparently very difficult to get some that is in-season, so we rarely eat this dish. These are very… for lack of a better word, “young baby-like”. Very sweet, and has a lovely texture. 
   
   
6. Bun ga: Vietnamese style chicken with vermicelli
   Dad’s style garlic steak seasoned chicken vermicelli, served with onion, 3 different types of mints, cucumber, lettuce, red onion fried oil, and fish sauce.