Teishoku

It’s another favorite dining out in the city: Miso Japanese Restaurant, located at Shop 20 Holden Arcade World Square. Their concept is based on “Teishoku” style (set meal menu). Teishoku normally consists of rice, some meat (or fish), salad, pickle and some dipping sauce. Last weekend I got a chance to catch up with an old friend and having dinner at this restaurant, lucky that we didn’t queue for long, but as soon as we grabbed the seats we saw people start lining up outside the restaurant.

We ordered their special Tonkotsu loin set and the fish teriyaki orange which combine soft texture and a tangy teriyaki sauce that create a special flavor! Their price is above average but their ‘teishoku’ has top quality and the service was great.

Death Note

Death Note is a Japanese series based on manga and anime series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. I heard about this series two years ago and finally watched it last week, yes.. I am so outdated since this movie was released for the first time in Japan mid 2006 and and topped the Japanese box office for two weeks. The film ended up earning $41 million US dollars in Japan, $1.9 million USD in Hong Kong, and $1.6 million USD in the Republic of China.

No doubt, it's one of my favorite Japanese manga based movies! I found this flash intro about L, one of the main character on the movie, is really cool! If you want to replay the above flash please hover over your cursor on the picture, right-click then 'play'.
Actually, this flash is for the sequel of The Death Note movie called L-Change The World.
If you wish to see this movie trailer, you can click the Death Note official site.

Harry Potter Building

If you’ve been to The Sydney University building in Camperdown and enter the main quadrangle, you will know why some of the students here call this building as “Harry Potter Building”.

I went to this ‘Harry Potter Building’ last weekend to enjoy the impressive display of purple flowers of Jaracanda trees, which bloom in mid spring for approximately six weeks.

The city of Grafton in the north coast of NSW is also famous for its Jacarandas, they have a Jacaranda festival during the period of full bloom. Jacarandas are also very popular and can be found in cities all over Israel, they were introduced to this country over 50 years ago.

Ramyeon & Omurice

Sunday Morning!
Went to the church at 7.30, got back to the City around 9 am, it's a bit chilling morning so wanna have something hot and spicy for breakkie.
Came across to this authentic Korean Restaurant on Liverpool street just the opposite of World Square building, never been here before so wanna give it a try. This restaurant got a unique name: "Heaven, Earth, Star & Earth" it's sound more like a title of Jacky Chan's or Jet Lee's kungfu movie for me.. ha..ha. .well, picked the Ramyeon (Ramen in Japanese) and Omurice (omelet with rice). The ramyeon came with a tasty hot and spicy soup and 4 side dishes. One thing makes me comeback to a Korean restaurant is their side dishes, not only because they are free and you can top-up as many as you wish but I do like the unique taste of kimchi, pickled bean sprout, dried anchovy, steamed potato, etc.

If you wanna have some deliciously tasty light Korean food in affordable price, this place is worth a try.

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.