Monthly Archive for April, 2007

Sushi-ya, Artarmon

Published
by
Teresa
on April 13, 2007
in Eating Out
. 1 Comment

Why Japanese food again, you ask. Because I love japanese food! Also, my parents feel sorry for me and think I don’t get to eat in Canberra. So what more could you want after my long drive from Hawks Nest and a sunday night on a long weekend?! SUSHI! Sushi ya is located on the quiet side of Artarmon station (and Adrian, it’s near Genki ramen). This side of Artarmon has all ur japanese needs: 2 jap grocery stores, jap video store, jap second hand book store, ramen store and sushi/jap food store.

Now back to the food. This place has more the japanese traditional food, and quite tasty too!

First up!

Sushi ya
Special Sashimi - a platter of mixed raw fish. Very fresh!
Sushi ya
Tempura - deep fried prawn and assortment of vegies

Sushi ya
Salmon Fish Head - entree size! This was the weakest link to the night’s food. (I had a whole salmon the night before so totally sick of salmon!)

Sushi ya
Tropical Roll - sushi roll. California roll style but just had raw fish on the outside and made it all very colourful!

Sushi ya
Salmon and Salmon Roe Don -Raw Salmon topped with Salmon Roe on a bed of rice mixed with sesame seeds. I love this rice because of the salmon roe!!!

Sushi ya
Sushi Ya interior. Very squishy. Typical Japanese style…

sushi ya
A satisfied customer’s plate.

We also had chicken kaarage and grilled eggplant but who cares! Sushi is what I came here for!

I was a satisified customer.

Prices: Reasonable. For 5 ppl = ~$100
Service: They might need some better english speaking japanese waiters/waitresses. Our waitress struggled but survived in the end (we got all the right food!)

Location:

Sushi-Ya, 10 WILKES AVENUE, ARTARMON, TEL: (02) 9411-1377

Sushi Suma, Surry Hills

Published
by
Teresa
on April 5, 2007
in Eating Out
. 2 Comments

After a grand and expensive weekend in Melbourne, I decided to top off the weekend with a gi-normous meal at Sushi Suma. Due to the lack of good (or if any) japanese food in Canberra, this place will surely satisfy those sushi cravings for a year (although I want some sushi now).

This is one place you should try if you feel like japanese food, have a big appetite, and poor. Located in the inner city suburb of Surry Hills (known for its great food), Sushi Suma is a place you hardly see a empty seat. Bookings are highly recommended but even with a booking, you may be faced with a long wait.

Sushi Suma is known for its LARGE portions and servings. I’m 100% sure you will come out of this restaurant with an enlarged tummy.

Feeling very hungry after the flight and only a short distance from the airport (and also on the way home!), we decided to order a Sushi dinner set. This included sushi, sashimi, chicken skewers, miso soup, and dessert. We also ordered an ENTREE seasweed salad (includes seaweed, cabbage, jap mayo, jap salad dressing, and other vegies) as I felt that the Sushi dinner set pictures made the set look small. I wanted to hightlight the word ENTREE as I can’t believe my eyes how BIG the salad was. Another wonderful thing about this restaurant is the agedashi tofu you receive at the beginning of your meal. Being very hungry (and not that you have to wait a long time for your food!), this is a great and tasty tummy filler.

Sorry I do not have any photos to show for the amount of food we got for $40 (for 2 people + leftovers) but I’m sure there will be one in the future as I know I will be coming back to this place again and again and again. Apprently, lunchtime is cheaper! I don’t understand how it can get any cheaper for such great food! I hope and wish Sushi Suma moves to Canberra within this year sometime. That would be so great! I hope my words has done Sushi Suma justice.

Check out the website for their pictures!
Sushi Suma

kokoBlack http://www.kokoblack.com/

Published
by
melicious
on April 2, 2007
in Eating Out
. 2 Comments

As a self confessed chocoholic, kokoBlack was one of the stops I had to make when visiting Melbourne.

After hearing about how good the handmade chocolates were, I dropped by the Royal Arcade store in Burke Street (a little arcade that looks like Sydney’s Strand Arcade) just off bustling Burke.

After walking into a tiny store that was probably not big enough to cater for the loads of clientelle and tourists, we were seated upstairs by an extremely attentive hostess.

Making our way up the wooden staircase I noticed the deep wooden stairs and furniture - matching the colour of the chocolate, decorated by the felt orange pattern wallpaper. It was deligntfully authentic of a fine chocolate boutique.

Options we chose from the cafe included the Koko Black Hot Chocolate, Belgian spoil (see picture), chai tea (warning: the chai tea tasted disgusting and did not go well with the chocolates, make sure if you ordered the tea that it came with honey), and chocolate selection.

Belgian Spoil

After asking for the chocolate selection, we were presented with the koko black range of chocolates in a glass box. Our host then went into descriptions of each chocolate, and it was hard to only pick a few. We could then select which chocolates we wanted, and these were taken out of the box with white cotton gloves.

I dont think words could explain how good the chocolates were. They seemed to melt in your mouth, with textures of nuts and flavourings that were recognisable from the descriptions of the chocolates.

Overall, I think it was a lovely place with great service. If you can beat the tourist lines (I think the store is a tourist stop) then its worth visiting when in Melbourne.

Website Menu: http://www.kokoblack.com/ourSalons/menuKB.pdf

Service: Awesome, indicative of a fine chocolate cafe

Food: Chocolate and cafe beverages

Overall: A definite experience when visiting Melbourne

And?: The ambience of the environment is certainly representative of a Melbourne cafe boutique