Tag Archive for ‘Eating Out’ at gourmandonline

Tag Archive for 'Eating Out'

Lenotre cafe, Bangkok

Published

on November 27, 2007

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I was sooo excited when I found this cafe in Bangkok. I first heard about Lenotre from one of the food blogs about high tea. Lenotre is a famous French culinary school whose certification is highly regarded in pastries/desserts. Read more about it here.

This cafe is one of the many shops in the gourmet hall on Siam Paragon, a very posh mall in Bangkok. Everything looked soo delicious.

Brulees, pannacottas, eclairs, tiramisus, tarts…

And look a mountain of macaroons!!

I was contemplating between macaroon pannacota or Emeralda, but chose the latter, a fruity sponge cake with mousse, jelly, strawberries and lots of cream. I didn’t take pictures but it was quite good! Prices were a little expensive for Bangkok but still around AUD5 per dessert. Wish they have this in Sydney

Shoya - Melbourne

Published

Adrian

on October 28, 2007

in Eating Out

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Went to Shoya for a birthday dinner on the weekend.

The Food:

A group of 8, we ordered the shoya degustation which included 8 courses of modern japanese food. Highlights included sea-urchin and egg topped with salmon roe, sashimi served in a bowl of ice, wagyu beef tataki cones and scallops wrapped in salmon topped with salmon roe.

Not only was the food delicious, but well presented as well. A great example of this was the fresh sashimi served in a bowl made out of ice. See pictures below:

Sea Urchin & Egg topped with Salmon Roe

Fresh Sashimi served in a bowl made of ice! (looks like a goldfish in a bowl from a distance)

Scallop wrapped in Salmon topped with Salmon Roe

The Drinks:

Along with the food, Shoya has an extensive Sake list, with dozens to choose from. Being relatively new to the whole Sake, scene we asked the staff to recommend a few bottles which we had warmed. The recommened sake was good and complemented the food well.

Summary:

Overall, dinner @ Shoya was an enjoyable experience, the food was delicious and the service was professional and friendly. At $130/person (including drinks) it’s definitely a place for special occasions and best experienced with a group.

Thanks to melicious for the photos.

Shoya Japanese Restaurant - 25 Market Lane, Melbourne VIC

Sushi-ya, Artarmon

Published

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!

Tempura - deep fried prawn and assortment of vegies

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!)

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

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 interior. Very squishy. Typical Japanese style…

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

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

Bills@Surry Hills

Published

jenn

on March 22, 2007

in Eating Out

. 1 Comment

OMG - I’ve found a place that makes THE BEST scrambled eggs I have ever tried! It’s so good I’ve been back another 2 times Bills at Surry Hills is a definite recommended place for brekkie and brunch. They only sell organic foods (wherever possible), so it’s healthy and tastes YUMMMM!! A bit pricey (they charge an extra 10% surcharge on the weekends and public holidays) - but soooo worth it! Check out their website here: http://www.bills.com.au/restaurants/surry.htm

My brekkie fav’s were the organic scrambled eggs, organic fresh tomatoes and organic dough bread, oh and their pancakes are also nice + the coffee was also good! Two Thumbs up!

~Jenn

Sakana-Ya

Published

jenn

on March 19, 2007

in Eating Out

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Had dinner with four friends on Saturday at a casual Japanese restaurant recommended by a work mate - “Sakana-Ya”. This place is located at: 336 Pacific Highway Crows Nest. Phone (02) 9438 1468

Being an addict for Jap food and pretty much trying all things Jap - this place has got to be one of my top 5 places! The food was absolutely fresh and delicious with the right Japanese flavours. The service was perfect, very positive and attentative. The place could do with a bit of improvement (it has a downstairs and an upstairs area), but I was happy it was clean =).

We started off with Deep Fried Chicken and Chicken Skewers - Very Yum!:

Then off we went with a Salmon dish that contained smoked Salmon, Salmon Roe and challots:

We also ordered a “Nimono” style Swordfish belly dish - very tasty and juicy:

Our biggest dish and long anticapted was the Barasushi (consisted of fresh sashimi, fish roe, egg and vinegar rice - it was so huge, we couldn’t finish it and took some home. It was fresh and delicious:

And of course finished off the meal with green tea icecream, green tea pudding and some unique Japanese dumplings (filled with sweet red bean):

Who can forget the SAKEEEEEE ->>>>

~Jenn

Degustation@Peppers

Published

jenn

on March 16, 2007

in Eating Out

. 3 Comments

Yes I know - I’ve become a degustation addict! See crazy me below. Peter and I just went to another Japanese fusion degustation restaurant in Balmain on the weekend. Oh and another thing you need to know about me is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jap food - so expect more Jap Food blogging to come =)

- Addicted Crazy Jenn -

Ok so back to the food, honestly it wasn’t that great - it could have been a lot tastier. The ambience was great and this place is super tiny (only seats about 30ish ppl), so I advise to book ahead. We got there 20min earlier (6:40pm) than booked and the food started rolling out without delays (10min/dish). However 1 hr into our degustation, people started flocking in and food productivity just died to a painful 25-30min per plate (thank gawd we were up to our second last dish by then!). I could see the cranky looks on the people’s faces. Overall - I don’t think I’ll be coming back to Peppers, it’s definitely a “First time try” for me. Check out their website here: http://www.restaurantpepper.com.au

Continue reading ‘Degustation@Peppers’

Degustation@Rise

Published

jenn

on March 16, 2007

in Eating Out

. 1 Comment

This month Rise is having a sale - 30% off their 7 course Degustation menu (normally $60/person) on Tues, Wed and Sun. A must for all Sydney-siders + visitors to try this place out if you haven’t already! Located in Darlinghurst, it’s a gorgeous boutique Japanese restaurant. Bookings a must - More info here (http://www.riserestaurant.com.au/)

The taste of each dish is absolutely gorgeous, with meals created in Japanese traditional flavours. I’m a HUGE fan of Japanese food and this place has got to be on my top 5 Jap Retaurant list. It’s not a place if you’re expecting unique flavours, but one where you want to taste the best of what you already know. My most favourite meal was the main, “Steamed Rudder Fish wrapper in Banana leaf served with zucchini flower tempura”.

Ambience was perfect for a place to go on a date and the service was perfect! Ok here are the pictures to tell the rest of the story….

chicken & tofu salad with sesame miso sauce

Continue reading ‘Degustation@Rise’

Kani Doraku - Dotonbori

Published

Bobby

on February 26, 2007

in Eating Out

. 0 Comments

Osaka, the official kitchen of Japan, is home to the Kani Doraku crab restaurant. It’s located in the famous street called Dotonbori and is easily identifiable by its big ass mechanical crab at its entrance.

Getting straight to the point, if you ever visit there, get their crab banquet. For 4600 yen (approx AU$46) per person, you get:

* half a dozen crab legs
* half a dozen crab claws
* 3 crab tempura
* half a dozen crab sushi
* crab soup
* crap load of vegies and tofu
* crab fried rice
* green tea ice cream

But that’s not the reason why this place is gracing the cover of gourmandonline. Look closely at the above pic.

Each crab leg and claw has half its shell perfectly cut off, leaving you only needing to lift the succulent juicy crab meat up, dip into the 5 different sauces and insert into mouth. Ever since I first tasted crab, I’ve always wanted to be able to shove in a mouthful of crab without having to deal with the technicalities of extracting the meat. For a lazy bum like me, this place is heaven.

For the first time in my life, I got FILLED UP on CRAB. Who said Japan was expensive?

If you’re ever in Dotonbori, look for this restaurant.

On the same street we found this Fugu restaurant. Fugu is those Japanese fish which can become poisonous (leading to instantaneous death) if not cut properly. If prepared properly, it is a heavenly feast. When we saw the place, it wasn’t a matter of us being scared of dying, it was more like we couldn’t afford to die this way. AU$200 per plate.

Ottoman Cuisine - Take 2

Published

Adrian

on February 18, 2007

in Eating Out

. 2 Comments

Went to Ottomans again for a birthday dinner. This time had the degustation (with wine). Thanks to Jen, I have photos this time so I’ll just let the pictures do the talking: