Baby Octopus Teriyaki

It’s really a hot day with 35 degree on the top! Looks like summer is just around the corner!

Rushing with weekend busy hours at work, trying to get outta there on time at 5 pm and can’t wait to have Japanese food for dinner.

It only took about 10 minutes by bus from the city to Kyushu Japanese Restaurant located at 9 Grosvenor street in Neutral Bay, arrived at 6.30 pm and got the reserved table ready for us. It's one of most popular Japanese eateries on the North Shore and sometime could be difficult getting a table so booking is recommended.

I ordered Baby Octopus Teriyaki, Wafu steak, Prawn tempura and a glass of Japanese plum wine. I picked baby octopus teriyaki since it's not an everyday Teriyaki you could find in Japanese restaurant, quite rare and was really yummy. The wafu steak was quite tender and the sauce tasted a bit like 'satay' sauce which is my favorite sauce for grilled dishes. They have an outstanding and inexpensive menu, even still above average price though, but the food quality is really good and overall service is really great! The sweet Japanese plum wine tastes good till the last sip, makes me want to grab another glass.

Kimono Doggie

You might have seen these picture somewhere on the net but I just wanna share these cute doggie pictures especially for those who love dogs.  One of my best friends knows that I really love dogs, she sent me these pictures by email and they remind me of another friend in Penang who really loves her dog. I'd really like to get one of this dog's kimono, anyone ever seen or got this kimono?

Okonomiyaki

Today I really want Okomiyaki for my brunch, unfortunately my favorite Okonomiyaki in town closed on Sunday so I went to a Teppanyaki Resto in Sussex Street, Chinatown. I knew it’s not an authentic Japanese Resto as soon as I got there, reading the menu and looking at some photos outside the resto, I asked my self “should I just find another Japanese restaurant?” but I still walked down the stairs and grabbed my seat though! I ordered beef okonomiyaki and seafood okonomiyaki, one of each, as soon as the chef finished cooked and served both of them, I asked “which one is the seafood one?” surprised by my question but then simply said “dunno..“. Surprised with that unexpected answer, I decided not to expect much from this restaurant run by unauthentic Japanese chef. The okonomiyaki itself wasn’t too bad, but their way servicing customer is just way too far from the way they should be.

The authentic Okonomiyaki I had in Osaka last december was really different from the one I got this morning as you can see below:

This is today's Okonomiyaki:

This is my yummy Okonomiyaki in Osaka:

King Prawn Laksa

Today's special menu: King Prawn Laksa served with ketupat (rice cube)!

It’s a wet and windy day so I reckoned it would be nice to cook something hot and spicy for dinner. If you like Singaporean Laksa, you could try my recipe: 

4 shallots, 5 clove garlic, both chopped,1 fresh red chili, 1 tbsp dried shrimp. Broth: Prawn, 3 tbsp vegetbale oil, 2 tbsp of Laksa paste (you can find in Asian grocery), 1 tbsp sugar, fish sauce, salt to tase, juice of 1 lime.

Finishing touches: Rice vermicelli or egg noodles, boiled eggs, bean sprouts, spring onions (chopped), corieander leaves, deep fried shallots.

Process in blender, shallots, garlic, chili, dried shrimps until it forms a smooth paste. Fry the paste till fragrant, add prawns for about 1 minute untill they turn red, add the laksa paste then pour some water. Bring to the boil and then add coconut cream. It' s always good to allow time to simmer  for the flavours to come out. Add fish balls and fried tofu, sugar, fish sauce and salt to taste and bean sprouts. This time I didn't use rice vermelli but rice cube instead. Garnish with spring onions, coriander leaves and fried shallots, squeeze in the lime before eating.

Itadakimasu...

The coolest experience in Sydney

The coolest experience in Sydney!

It’s my second time for me visiting this minus 5 bar, literally it’s minus 5 degree inside the bar! It’s a very unique lounge with everything made entirely from ice, just everything, from the walls that enclose you, the seats that you sit on, the amazing sculptures that surround you and even the glasses that you sip the famous vodka-based cocktails from. It’s located at shop 18 Opera Quays, East Circular Quay, just stroll walk from the famous Opera House in Sydney. You need $35 for the entry fee and they provide all gears needed to enter this ice-cold lounge including the coat and you will be allowed to enter the lounge for 30 minutes only. The entry fee included a glass of vodka-based cocktail, the mandarin cocktail I sipped from an iced glass was really nice, trust me it’s worth a shot!

Friday Night Live!

No, it’s not Friday Night Live Show from Big Brother program! It’s just me chilling out after work this evening. 

7 pm Friday night, nice weather in the city, fresh breeze, it’s just a perfect time to relax and recharge, walking towards Sydney Opera House, passing by Opera Bar just tucked right beneath the famous sails of the Sydney Opera House.The bar packed with the crowd enjoying the drinks and stunning view of Harbour Brigde at dusk. In this city, when the weekend starts people start their weekend habit too, hanging out with friends, going to the pub to have some schooners. I like drinking occasionally but I’d rather drink wine or spirits than beer.

Australian Slang

G'day mate!

That's one of most common slang words you will hear in Australia. I found this Australian slang dictionary website has slang words from A-Z and is very useful . If you plan to visit Australia and want to learn some Aussie slang words, just click on the link above.

What do you reckon?

Hot Doughnut

This 90 cent hot doughnut is quite famous for people in Melbourne especially among shoppers at Victoria Market. It's just a small doughnut sold on the American Doughnut van parked at the back of the famous Victoria Market but some people still queueing though. Frankly speaking, nothing's special about this doughnut compare to my favorite Krispy Kreme doughnuts :-)

The taste is ok but without the 'hole' it's more like "Odading" in Bandung ha..ha..

Tessalaar Tulip Festival in Mebourne

I’ve been a bit busy these days so haven’t got chance to write my trip to Melbourne last weekend. It was long weekend and I thought it would be boring to stay at home and got nothing to do for the whole weekend so.. visiting Melbourne will do! 

Arriving at Southern Cross Station on Sunday morning then bought the Sunday Saver ticket for only $2.90! Couldn’t believe it! The $2.90 Sunday saver ticket valid for traveling by train, tram and bus within any section for the whole day! While it costs you about $16 for a Day Tripper ticket in Sydney! Well then.. continuing my trip to Lilydale station by train and changed for special bus to The Tessalaar Tulip Festival.  The $15 admission included the return bus service to Lilydale station.  Entering the garden with some stalls selling Dutch food like poffertjes , the staffs dressed in Holland traditional costumes, small windmollen and of course the tulips! Just felt like entering  a tulip garden in Amstedam! Claimed to be more than a million spring flowering bulbs and 65 varieties of tulips spread over the large garden look like a large beautiful rug made from tulips. 

Wagaya Restaurant

Last Friday, it was a hot weekend in the city, walked around Chinatown after 5 looking for a nice place to chill out and get something for dinner. The Friday night market in Chinatown has started along the Dixon street and getting crowded, so took detour towards Entertainment Centre, passing Ajisen Ramen and Ramen Khan then came across to Wagaya Japanese Restaurant, looked at the menu and found Toro Sushi on the list! 

Table for two please.., no booking? Asked the waitress, lucky she managed to find a table for us but for a limited one hour only. It’s really a nice place for having dinner or just having drinks with friends, nice ambience, cozy and unique with a hi-tech touch screen on every table so we don’t need waiter to order the meal. You can choose the menu in some different categories from noodle/salad to deep fried dishes, from sushi to grilled dishes and from cocktail to sake for the drinks, and even the free water is on the menu as well. You just press whatever you want to order on the screen, confirm the order quantity and once you confirmed the order, a message telling that your order has been sent to the kitchen pop ups on the screen. You can order your dish one at the time, checking your order and the bill on the screen which is good if you don’t want to spend too much or when sharing with friends. When you need the bills just pressed the screen again and the waiter will come within a minute.

The food was ok and the service was fast and courteous, but better book the table first since you can book this restaurant by sms, what an easy way to book!