Kujin is our go-to place for dinner if we’re catching a show at the Hayes Theatre nearby. It’s great-quality, reasonably priced and delicious Japanese food. I was a little worried when we arrived that the service might be a little confused, as the waitress seemed quite tentative about taking our order and responding to our requests for wine and water.
But as the evening went on, I was very impressed (especially as a friend had had a terrible experience of service earlier that day at a high-end restaurant). The many dishes were paced perfectly; dishes were cleared; they were always available if we wanted something. So, well done on the service, Kujin.
Now for the food, this time I was able to exert control and decide on the menu. I ordered a sushi roll with wagyu beef (which didn’t quite hold together but was delicious), a weird eggplant with miso and cheese (delicious!), and some juicy pork gyoza. The mushroom tempura were perfection, as was the chicken karaage. The tofu salad was more average, as was the grilled miso kingfish, which I imagine was an effort to do miso black cod, a favourite dish of mine, but that fish is near impossible to find here in Australia. The kingfish was a little dry, not a perfect substitute. We also had an okonomiyaki, which was delicious, the traditional filled pancake-omelette sort of thing. Five dishes great, two dishes average, two bottles of nice enough white wine, and four happy diners. All for $200, about $50 a head.
Definitely recommended.
It’s Cremorne week on my food blog! Just by chance really: one night at Taronga zoo and the next at a movie at the amazing Cremorne Orpheum, and needing a meal both evenings. Dai’s Golden Crown is a humble and simple little place, serving up Chinese and Malaysian food.
We had deep-fried wonton to start with, as well as san choi boy. Our mains were some delicious mussels in black bean and chili sauce and steamed duck in crab sauce. After our meal, I thought: simple, basic Chinese food, tasty with no surprises. But in fact with a little reflection, the quality of the dishes was high. This was a very tasty meal, and at less than $80 for two of us, each with a glass of wine, a reasonably priced one (we got a further discount with my Entertainment card).
If I try to figure out how I haven’t blogged or reviewed Muum Maam, it’s that I first went long before I started to do food blogging. In fact, as the restaurant opened just below my old apartment on Holt Street in Surry Hills, I was one of their first customers, and I am surprised every time that they recognise me as such.
Muum Maam makes consistently delicious and interesting Thai food, on the elegant end of the spectrum. I think it’s as good as the more famous Thai eateries: Chat Thai, Home and Spice I Am… but you don’t have to fight for a table. And in fact, it’s definitely more elegant than any of them (except I haven’t tried the new upscale Spice I Am in Potts Point).
It seems like this cosy new cafe, at the end of King Street, is new. It’s barely got a Yelp listing, and now I’ve flagged it for Zomato. We just happened to stumble upon it, after going orchid shopping on the Prince Highway.
I’ll try to stop back in to try other treats, but we couldn’t go by the sticky rice, with a bit of steamed chicken, ginger and shallots, a perfect little snack for five bucks.
So, we’re heading back from Vivid at the Taronga Zoo on a Tuesday night and my better half says he’s so hungry he could eat the crotch off a low flying duck. For y’all foreigners, that’s Aussie talk!
My handy Entertainment Guide (a family legacy, we had this coupon when I was a kid, forty years ago) guided us to Dancing Zorbas in Mosman. Hey, I love Greek food.
Matched with two $6 glasses of wine (mine was a dry Greek white; I always try to have Greek wine in Greek restaurants).
Couldn’t resist having dessert, splitting a generous piece of baklava and a custard filled bougatsa, both warmed up. I think the highlight of the meal.
So, among the various things that I like about Arcadia Liquors in Redfern are:
One of our party makes this her regular, and for anyone in the area, if you’re wanting inexpensive and delicious Asian food, it’s hard to go wrong here.
My pho was spicy beef, and was very spicy. I got it with an extra order of crisp spring rolls. Shawn thought his raw wagyu beef (which was then cooked in the broth) was tasty but a small serving. I heard no complaints from the others in our table of 6. Ah, the crispy pancake is really fantastic. And everything is served up with plates of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lettuce, and lots of various tasty sauces. 
In some countries, fine dining can’t be found in shopping malls, but these days in Sydney, there are some pretty swanky choices. Lotus, in the shopping centre, the Galeries, at George and Park Streets, is upmarket and chic with very modern furnishings. It all looks very shiny and new. The menu is modern Chinese, and it was hard to decide what to order. It all looked pretty interesting.
The occasion was a casual lunch with fellow foodie, Lai Heng, and the food was really very delicious. The oysters, with a very light Asian-inspired vinegrette were perfect.
