Piggy bank
Kogashi cheese Ramen
I have been a regular customer of this favorite noodle bar for couple years but I just noticed they got cheese ramen on the list, so I assumed it's a new menu then.
It's a Tonkotsu ramen topped with lots of melted mozzarella cheese, boiled bean sprout, menma (dried bamboo), and sesame. The rich broth tastes a bit salty with the melted cheese on the noodle but it's just perfect for a cheese lover like me. I will come back for this cheesy one for sure. Actually this cheese ramen supposed to be spicy but if you don't like spicy one you can ask them to make it without the chili.
Menya Noodle Bar, this best place to slurp your ramen had opened the second shop on market street in the city but never been there though, so I guess it would be my next weekend lunch!
Natsu Matsuri
Daifuku
I got the daifuku from Natsu Matsuri (Japanese Summer Festival) in Sydney yesterday, there was a food stall from Fuji Japanese Bakery selling some mochi daifuku. I bought some ichigo daifuku (daifuku stuffed with strawberry) and the assorted ones which comprises a normal mochi daifuku, roasted daifuku, and green tea daifuku.
Daifuku, literally means"great luck", is a Japanese mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with some sweet read bean paste but nowadays it varies from green tea paste to strawberry. Normally most of daifuku are covered with corn or taro starch to make them not sticky
Sushi Suma
Sushi Suma is a well-known Japanese resto for its fresh and outstanding sushi yet has an affordable price. This relatively small and normally packed dining room has opened a new waiting room upstairs to cope with the lining up folks. We tried to book the table by phone but unfortunately they don’t take reservation anymore, somehow we managed to get there before 6.30 to avoid the 30 minutes queuing as normally happened between 6.30-8.00 on the weekend.
We ordered a mix of Sushi and Tempura set for $16.50 and a Teriyaki set with the same price. Most of the menus come with a delicious agedashi tofu, a really soft tofu that melts inside your mouth.
My Sushi set served with a small bowl of soy sauce and, of course, the nostril-hitter wasabi on the side. I don’t take much wasabi though but never missed this horseradish mustard mixed with soy sauce to make my sushi just perfect!
The tempura set was so crunchy yet not too greasy so you won’t get the guilty feeling for eating that deep fried menu ;-)
Last menu served was Teriyaki set, the very tender and juicy beef sautéed in a rich teriyaki sauce. If you are Teriyaki lovers, you will be back to this restaurant for sure.
Heat wave
"However this may be mild compared to the state's west which could bake under 47C, according to The Daily Telegraph, the hottest place on the planet".
Still in 'heat wave' topic, a friend emailed me these pictures of a little Koala looking for a bit of heat relief.
Purezento
During my holiday last month, I was just hanging around some happening malls in town when I came across this small counter selling 'purezento'. They are just some small stuff like key ring, fridge-magnet, wall clock etc.. but I am always fascinated about Japanese-cute-things! so I just couldn't hold myself to buy some small purezento for friends.