Blancharu - Elizabeth Bay

On the night of the blazingly hot 41° day, we had arranged to meet an old friend at Blancharu, a one-hatted restaurant at Elizabeth Bay. Expecting a wave of coolness as we stepped inside, we were met by nothing other than stuffy humidness *sighz* Their aircon, like the aircon at every other place in Sydney on this day, was struggling to spit out cool air.

Nonetheless, we sat and we ordered and we ate and we had a great time :)
We had options - a 7 degustation ($85), 4 courses - entree, pasta, main and dessert ($75) or a-la-carte. As we had all partially lost our appetites due to the heat, we'd settled for 2 lots of 4 course meals, and one a-la-carte main to share between the three of us.

Shortly after being seated, we were served with freshly baked bread. A choice of french onion or white. I opted for french onion (and regreted). Being a french-fusioned restaurant, I didn't like their bread too much. Lacking in onion flavour and a bit too dense, it wasn't really my type of bread. Though, being fresh out of the oven, it melted my butter quite well.

french onion bread

One of the two entrees we had ordered was the ocean trout. Lightly seared slices of trout was served on a bed of red cabbage and accompanied by 'egg yoke zuke', tomato compote and garlic foam. The trout was pretty awesome. Light and tasty. The truffle foam and the eggy sauce complimented the fish well :)

aburi ocean trout with red cabbage, 'egg yoke zuke', garlic foam

I didn't appreciate the second entree as much. This was a pea and eggplant layered mousse topped with shredded bits of king crab and caviar with a tomato vinaigrette. to me, the mousse was slightly plain and boring. It was just dense and over-poweringly pea-y.

King crab and Eggplant caviar Tower, Pea mousse, Tomato vinaigrette

On to the pasta options, we had opted for a squid ink risotto and a soba. The risotto dish looked kind of cute - with the calamari rings forming like 2 eyes and an 'O' mouth :P I have to say, being excited by the looks of it, it wasn't really my type of dish. The risotto was cooked well. Flavoursome. Creamy. The calamari's batter was a little bit too much for me too. Not crispy enough. Just a lot of dough surrounding a small ring.

squid ink risotto with deep fried calamari rings

In contrast, I couldn't get enough of the organic soba tossed in cream sauce and topped with truffle aroma foam. It was soooooo creamy and sooooo nice. I was in creamy pasta truffle heaven. There were little seaweed bits throughout. The soba was cooked al-dente. Deliciousness!

organic soba, cream sauce with truffle aroma foam

Now onto the mains. My friend decided on the spatchcock. This was bought out in it's original form first. The spatchcock was surrounded by a "en croûte de sel a la Haru" - that is, salt-crusted with rosemary. It was sooooo aromatic. Just smelling the artistic looking outer layer made saliva build up in my mouth. Not to be eaten though - it was soooo salty. Lucky they give you a look at the encrusted layer - because if you were just served with three slabs of white spatchcock pieces, you're bound to be disappointed. Having said that though, the meat was stupidly tender, smooth and tasty.

Spatchcock en croûte de sel a la Haru

My partner chose the fish of the day. On this particular day, it was John Dory with witlof salad. The fish was cooked just right. The witlof salad sitting under was average. And the sauce wasn't anything too flash. The dish on the whole was OK.

John Dory with witlof salad

I decided on the seafood Bouillabaisse. The seafood stew incorporated a variety of seafood bits - clams, calamari, fish, scallops. It was really really tasty and aromatic. Bits of truffle oil was drizzled on top. Wish it was cooler weather coz I think this would have been enjoyed even more.

Seafood bouillabaisse

Last but not least, we were up to desserts. We ordered the crème brûlée and the panna cotta. The Crème Brûlée was pretty awesome. A good toffee to brûlée ratio. It was YUM. The coffee icecream accompanying this dish was also a welcome on this hot day.

Traditional Crème Brûlée with coffee ice cream

The panna cotta had an extremely distinct lemongrass taste to it. Maybe it was in the sauce. I thought it was average - nothing too exciting. I liked the accompanying coconut sorbet more :)

Lemongrass Panna cotta with coconut sorbet

All up, the service was good. The waitress was extremely patient when we took 10 years to pick our order. The food was pretty good. But the air con definately needs a kick :P

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 30/40

Blancharu
21 Elizabeth Bay Road
Elizabeth Bay
NSW 2011
Tel: (02) 9360 3555

Kantine - Surry Hills

It was 41°C. I had arranged to meet up with my high school friends for a friendly brunch.
Only problem was, the aircon was struggling. I split system trying to fuel cold air for the cafe - which had it's doors wide open.

We were all melting in the cafe and hence, cold drinks was on order all round. I opted for a Mango mania frappe ($6.50). At first look, my frappe with mango and strawberries looked overwhelmingly strawberryish. Luckily, upon tasting, you can still get that distinct mango flavour. On a hot day like this, my drink was smashed in no time.

mango mania frappe - $6.50

My partner opted for a chocolate milkshake ($6.50). Less refreshing and not quite thick enough or chocolately enough for my liking. With cold drinks all round, it was a bit hit and miss. Some drinks were good - some were quite bland (according to my friends). One thing we all agreed on though - drinks would probably have been better if they were colder and with more ice.

chocolate milkshake - $6.50

Foodwise, we had a good variety of meals. One of my friends ordered the Acai granola ($15.50). Coming with a good amount of oats and nuts and fruit and agave syrup, it seemed to be a refreshing start to a hot hot day. I think my friend said that yoghurt would have gone extremelly well with the plate.

Acai with Spelt and Agave Granola - $15.50

Another cold option ordered by my friends were the salads. One friend ordered a beef salad, another ordered a 'super protein me up' type salad. The beef salad seems to be more interesting. A good mix of greens and avocado and tomato topped with slices of beef. The chicken salad was HUGE but rather bland. Just tons of Chicken really. Our waitress was surprised that my (relatively skinny) friend was able to finish the whole thing. She said that big body building type people often struggle with polishing off the dish :P

beef salad

chicken salad

Onto the cooked options - one of my friends decided on the beef burger ($16.50). This was EXTREMELY juicy - the meat juices were just dripping down as she chomped on the massive burger. With a super thick patty, the beef was slightly too pink in the middle, but other than that, she said that it was a good mix of flavours. In the burger, there was a good heaping of greens, smoked mozzarella, tomato, gherkins, and tomato chutney. Shoestring fries came on the side. She seemed to enjoy this thoroughly.

beef burger - $16.50

Two of my friends decided on the Kantine Lot ($16.50) which is essentially their big breakfast. This comprised of 2 eggs (cooked however you want), a good serving of bacon, a sausage, mushroom, roasted tomato, hash brown and sourdough toast. No complaints here either.

Kantine lot - $16.50

For a bit of a sweet difference, one of my friends decided on pancakes ($15.90). Looked like pretty decently sized pancakes of good thickness. Odd bits of fruit included and maple syrup on the side.

buttermilk pancakes - $15.90

My partner decided on the Corn and coriander fritters ($15.90). I tried these, and I thought they were rather nicely corny. My partner thought that they were no where near as good as the ones from Mart 103 in that they weren't crispy or crunchy enough. So OK - they were a bit soggy. Still tasty though! Came with a serving of bacon and a spoonful of spiced avocado salsa.

Corn fritters - $15.90

One of my friends and myself ordered eggs benedict. My friend got the ham, I got my usual - the smoke salmon. I was surprised at the sheer amount of smoked salmon I got. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the sauce... Mmm... definately appreciated the sauce. It was deliciously yummy and I gobbled mine up in no time.

eggs benedict with ham - $12.00eggs benedict with smoked salmon - $15.50

All up, the service was friendly enough. The food was generally OK ish. The drinks were touch and go. But the temperature in the cafe? We were all ready to die. I guess it's not really the cafe's fault but it did affect our appetite and patience.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28.5/40

Kantine
185 Campbell St
Surry Hills
NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9380 8585

Jin Yan - Castle Hill

I believe that my parent's have developed a new found love for the Chinese restaurant Jin Yan - which is located within Castle Hill RSL. Proximity may have something to do with it. The fact that you get 10% if you are member (5% at lunch) may have something to do with it. Food being decent may have something to do with it. And the fact that my dad sees the bosses when he goes to Y2K gym may have something to do with it. All these factors combined - it feels as though every time I'm eating out with my parents, this is the place it's at.

One of the many many times we've been here, we ordered the following:

Oysters with vermicelli and XO sauce. The oysters were not super huge but they were decently sized. Plump. Juicy. Flavoursome from the XO sauce but not overlly chilli. And since vermicelli is one of the things I love, and this was topped with vermicelli, I rather enjoyed my oyster :)

Oyster with XO sauce and vermicelli

We also ordered a coral trout - cooked two ways. A lighter version with the fillet bits - with snow peas, shoots and carrots. The fillets were sweet, succulent and fresh (which I guess is what you'd expect from a fish fresh out of the tank). You can add more taste to it by dipping the fishy into the oyster sauce - but I think it tasted better without.

fish cooked 2 ways

The more boney bits of the fish was deep fried and served with bok choi and tofu. It was more heavy on the sauce. Extremely tasty - it got my partner's tick of approval.

Fish cooked 2 ways

Crispy skinned chicken was also ordered. Nothing too special. Crispy skin, deep fried garlicy bits on top and your average chicken really.

Crispy skinned chicken

Mixed chinese veges and fungi and mushies were drowned in sauce. A bit too drowned for my liking but my company seemed to enjoy this.

mixed asian veges

The last dish took YEARS to come out. I think they left it off the order. It was black pepper beef cubes with honey roasted sesame topped walnuts. The beef was average - even slightly on the tough overcooked side. But the walnuts were AWESOME! Honey coated nuts are the bomb! :) I could eat plates and plates of just the honey coated walnuts.

black pepper beef with honey roasted walnuts

Overall, the service at the restaurant is variable - it depends on how busy and how short-staffed they are. Some waiters are nice, some less so. The food is also decent (most of the time atleast). However, it probably doesn't warrant the frequent frequency of which my parents visit this restaurant.

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28.5/40

Jin Yan
Castle Hill RSL
77 Castle St
NSW 2154
Tel: (02) 8858 4848

Shanghai Night (3) - Ashfield

It's been so hot lately. It seems to have zapped away our appetite. So when deciding where to eat, my partner and I opted for something simple and cheap.

Hence, Ashfield we went!
Pleasantly surprised to find Shanghai Night to be packed FULL of people yet to be at a decent arctic temperature, we settled in quickly and ordered a few dishes.

Shanghai Night

One was my partner's favourites (he does have many favourites though) - Chicken and corn soup. He decided to go for the one with seafood ($4.80). This was chicken and corn soup cooked to a nice consistency of chicken broth, corn and egg bits, with seafood extender, small prawns and scallop bits scattered throughout. It was very much quite sweet and quite yum.

chicken and corn soup with seafood - $4.80

I decided to be daring and ordered the fish dumplings ($6.80). I ordered the small size (comprised of 12) and I ordered them steamed (as opposed to fried). This was interesting. Kind of like eating fish balls inside a slightly too thick flour wrapping. To be completely honest, it was kind of floury gooey ishly dense and hence, didn't taste very nice on its own. However, it does redeem itself somewhat after you dunk it in the vinegar.

Fish dumplings (small) - $6.80

Last but not least, we had the mini steamed pork buns ($6.80). The skin to this was again, a bit thicker and more floury than I would have liked. The meat this time was a bit coarse tasting but the flavour was there. Again, tastes better with the vinegar :)

Mini steamed pork buns - $6.80

So the food wasn't awesome this time. But the price! We got out of there - both full, and got change for $20. Awesome!

Ratings:
Food - 6.5/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 8.5/10
Overall - 27.5/40

Shanghai Night
275 Liverpool Road,
Ashfield
NSW 2131
Tel: (02) 9798 8437

Wagaya (3)- Haymarket

My partner and I had just finished watching a movie and he made the fatal mistake of asking me what I wanted to eat. "Jap food" I replied.

I swear I wasn't deliberately trying to be difficult, but at 9 something at night, a Jap restaurant is slightly hard to find (well, an open one atleast). That is, until my partner remembered that Wagaya was open til 12midnight. Hence, there we headed.

We decided to order a salad. My partner chose the mentai potato salad ($7.20) which is essentially a big salad with a pile of cold mashed potato mixed with roe. It was quite tasty. Not too heavy but a good mix of greens and starchy substance.

mentai potato salad - $7.20

I really wanted sushi and so picked the rainbow roll ($10.30). It's smaller than most rainbow rolls. Less filling. But yummy all the same. (Maybe it just satisfied my sushi craving).

Rainbow roll - $10.30

Next up, my partner put on the order the oyster and mentaiko gratin ($14.60). Four oysters topped with roe and cheese and more cheese. Oyster and cheese, what can go wrong with that? :)

Oyster and mentaiko gratin - $14.60

Last but not least, to satisfy my partner's need for chargrilled/deep fried food, he chose the assorted yakitori ($12.50). Prawn, salmon, chicken and beef tongue. The beef tongue was nice and chewy and the salmon was tasty. The other two were very average though.

assorted yakitori - $12.50

It wasn't the best Jap food we've had. Nor the best service. But it was what's open at that time of the night when I wanted Jap food.

Ratings:
Food - 7/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 6.5/10
Ratings - 27/40

Wagaya
Level 1, 78-86 Harbour St
Haymarket
NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9212 6068

Honda Ya - Taipei

This was actually our first meal in Taipei. On Christmas night when we arrived in the city, our friend took us to this Jap restaurant. Only problem is, I was sleep deprived, the menu was in Chinese or Japanese, and my ability to decipher Chinese in a sleep deprived state was minimal.

Hence, we opted for the next best option - a set menu. There were set menus of different prices. I think we opted for one that was around AU$50 ish? This is what we got.

Super fresh sashimi small prawns with wakame on the side. These tiny sashimi prawns were super subtly sweet. It was that fresh sweetness. The sweetness kind of lingers on in your mouth. Could have more than just this little plate of this.

sashimi little school prawns

The next was tiny little fishy sashimis. Lots of little fishy - eyes and bones and all. All see through and in this brothy sauce thing. This was not as appetising nor as sweet as the prawns. I don't know if it was partly psychological - but eating it eyes and all RAW... hmm... not too sure about it.

raw fishi

Next was sashimi. Squid, snapper, kingfish and errmm... something in the bowl. I don't remember anymore. What I do remember, however, was that the sashimi was definately decent and fresh and sweet and yum.

sashimi

Next was a surprising dish. Barbequed HUGE scallop in a sweet sauce sitting atop super super crunchily fresh seaweed. It was like, awesome! Scallop and seaweed definately go together. I would have liked my scallop just a few seconds rawer, but really, it was quite good already.

Scallop and seaweed

Next came an oyster. Apparently oysters are slightly expensive in Taipei - hence we get one. A big one though. In a vinegaretty sauce. Again, the main ingredient was freshness~

Oyster

After all the raw stuff came some deep-fried goodness. Tempura fish, deep-fried wonton and deep-fried asparaguses. It was all kinda average. Nothing spectacularly good or bad about it.

tempura

The chiwanmushi (steamed egg) was quite awesomeness! Smooth. Tasty. Cooked with stock. With seafood bits and shitake mushroom. YUM. I could down a few of these too!

Chiwanmushi

Sushi aburi came next. Lightly flame-grilled on top and lightly salted. The sushi had a good punch to it. Not bad at all.

aburi sushi

After the lightly flame-grilled one came another sashimi one. This sushi was also very yum. Fresh. The rice was a good consistency, good amount of vinegar, and just a good portion.

sushi

California rolls came next. California rolls with REAL crab meat (not the imitation ones). Super super fresh and crunch seaweed. My friend thought it was really quite awesome.

california rolls

What came next was a huge bowl of soup. Fish soup with tofu. Mixed shallot, chilli, sweet sauce for dipping the rather big chunks of fish in. I think I was slightly too full by this stage to appreciate it properly.

fish and tofu soup

Miso soup - standard. Not overlly excellent. Not too shabby. I think there was a rice after this as well. I don't actually know what happened to my photos but from memory - there was actually a few more courses after this. (in my sleepy state, maybe I just thought I took photos but didn't really)

miso soup

And last but not least, red bean sweet soup. This is actually really really concentrated red bean sweet soup liquid - such that with each spoonful, you're getting lots of that red bean dissintigrated grain stuff, with whole red beans in it too. Hectic red bean flavour~

red bean soup

We all left the restaurant feeling extremely extremely full. I was extremely full AND extremely tired and although some Christmas festivity (which in Taipei seems to comprise of either being at a bar or club - or both) followed, I was well and truely ready for bed with a super filled stomach :)

Not a bad welcome to Taipei food though.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 32/40

Honda Ya
No. 1, Alley 7, Lane 303, Section 3,
NánJīng East Road,
Songshan District

Taipei City, Taiwan

Get Directions

Tel: 02 2545 8828