KuraKura

Kura haymarket Sydney, one of my favourites for casual dining in the city just opened the new KuraKura. I believed they are under the same management. The new KuraKura is located on the same corner of Ultimo road in Haymarket, with the same great service and affordable menus, but this new KuraKura takes place on the second and third floor with more spacious and cozy atmosphere. They have exactly the same menu with Kura plus new ones and some drinks from cocktail to hot sake.

My favourites from Kura are aburi salmon and salmon don, but this time the Hokkaido Udon on the menu is really tempting, comes in cream and cheese with pork and onsen tamago (half boiled egg) and served with baby spinach. The Hokkaido udon looks more like a pasta and tastes really yummy but quite heavy though. 

 (Hokkaido udon)

  

(salmon wing)

For healthy choice, the tofu salad is really light and refreshing.

 (Tofu salad)

Wanted to try the Umeshu jelly for dessert but unfortunately sold out so I picked ume-apple from the cocktail range as I always love umeshu.

 (Ume-apple)

The mini okonomiyaki comes with crispy skin which is nice and the combination of okonomi sauce and mayo is perfect. 

 (Mini okonomiyaki)

 

Menya Super Rich Tonkotsu Ramen

It's officially summer now but it's only 15 degree Celsius when I left home yesterday morning, well .. it's just an excuse for myself to have a bowl of hot and tasty ramen. 

Menya serves a new 'Super Rich Tonkostu Ramen' a while ago but never got a chance to taste it before since it's only available from 5:30pm and they only serve 10 dishes a day. The tonkotsu broth really is rich and tasty and the taste is just great, worth a try for tonkotsu lovers.

Bounenkai

I called my best friend in Japan last weekend and he was attending a 'bounenkai', and yesterday I got an email from another friend in Japan and she said she is having 5 bounenkai in the next few weeks. Five bounenkai? Yes, it's normal she said, if you are in Japan you will be invited to 'bounenkai' parties by friends, family, company, the division you work for, etc. Lucky you! I said, for me I normally have one 'bounenkai' only which we call it Christmas party and for me November - December are the busiest months at work, can't afford to have five parties.

'Bounenkai', literally means 'forget-the-year party, or you can call it year-end party where people get together at an izakaya, eat and drink, forget the bad things from the past year and expecting the better one to come, have fun and get ready to be drunk!

Travel Japan by Film

The 15th Japanese Film Festival is on! With the special guest appearances in Sydney  by director Hideyuki Hirayama and actor Yutaka Takenouchi, two films by Takenouchi Oba, the Last Samurai and A Honeymoon in Hell have already sold out, lucky I've got my ticket for this afternoon :)

The interactive map Travel Japan by Film really is a unique and creative way to explore Japan and this year's film festival!

Canberra-Nara Candle Festival

The Canberra-Nara Candle Festival on 22 October marks its 18th anniversary of the Canberra-Nara sister city relationship. I took three-hour ride by bus from Sydney especially for this event and booked a hotel two months ago, and all paid of yesterday afternoon! It's the biggest Japanese Festival I've ever attended in Australia, thousands folk enjoy the Japanese culture, food and thousands of candles lit up by the mayor of Nara city when the sun goes down. 

The event starts around 5pm and features live Japanese entertainment, origami, ikebana, lantern making, mochi making demonstration, and surely the food! The weather was perfect at Lennox Garden just behind the Hyatt Hotel, enjoying the performances including the Nara University High School students singing and dancing AKB48 songs, tasting the freshly made mochi, amazed by the spectacles of 2,000 shimmering candles, there were lots of fun.

(The performances)

(The stalls)

(The mochi-pounding team)

(Sake tasting)

Fuji Pan

Pan in Japanese means 'bread', this Fuji Pan and Fujiya restaurant  are under the same management and they are located in the same building just on the corner of Goulburn and George street in Sydney CBD. I tried the crab and cheese, chocolate and melon, and chocolate croissant and love them all! This Japanese bread has a smooth texture but much firmer than the typical Asian bread.

I didn't get the chance to take picture of each breads since I finished them all on my way home.. Yakitate! :)

updated with new photos:

(I love this Snow white choco..)

Oiden

If you are a regular customer of Menya Mappen, you might have noticed its new 'sister restaurant' just opened last month right next door, Oiden.

Oiden serves more rice bowls while Mappen specializes in udon and soba, they both have lots of tempting tempura and small serve of side dishes in affordable price, both offer cozy atmosphere of Japanese eateries in the 70's (or earlier?) and same great hospitality. It's a bit hard for me to choose either to go the the left side for soba or to the right one for rice bowl.

(Oiden set meal comprises rice, miso sup, pickles and coleslaw)

(Potato salad)

(Tuna tataki bowl)

(Eggplant)

(Eggplant and barramundi tempura)

Matsuri in Sydney 2011

Matsuri in Sydney 2011 is coming soon!
Set your reminder on October 15 at Palm Grove Darling Harbour!

Tulip Time

It was Sydney's gloomiest weekend since February, according to weatherzone, with less than an hour of sunshine all weekend, but it doesn't stop me from going to Bowral for Tulip time! The weather was much cooler on the highland but the beautiful garden blanketed by colourful tulips is worth the visit.