Genki Ramen

Ramen and Japanese curry are some of my favourite dishes. And I am craving for both, I will head to Genki Ramen at Artarmon. It is a simple eatery famous for their Japanese noodles (ramen) and Katsu curry (curry with deep fried objects). Japense curry is quite different to other curries, it is aromatic, thick and with a sweet tone (apples are often added to the sauce to give the sweetness to the curry). Japanese curry is originated and developed from Indian curry.

We have ordered ...

Ebi Curry Rice - Japanese curry with deep fried prawns and rice

Katsu Curry Rice - Japanese curry with deep fried pork cutlet and rice

Mixed Don - Deep fried prawn and deep dried pork cutlet with rice and topped with a soy and dashi broth and egg

Chili chicken teriyaki - Pan fried chicken with a tancy spicy sauce with rice

Miso ramen - Japanese noodles with miso broth

Curry ramen - Japanese noodles with curry broth

Their curry are always good; and always gave you plenty of sauce to soak into the rice. The little side cabbage salad were slightly dressed in soy and vinegar to refresh your palette. Not to mention that the crust of the prawns and pork cutlet were crispy. Their curry is a MUST TRY!!! 

Unfortunately for the mixed don, the crust of the prawn and the pork cutlet have adsorbed pretty much all the broth, so they were quite soggy by the time it was put on our table. And because of the, there was not enough broth for the rice itself. Teh chili chicken teriyaki was another hit for the table, the pile of chicken pieces were tender and juicy, and the sauce is sweet, tangy and yet spicy.

Both ramen were average, the broth on the day we visited was actually quite salty and seems like it was missing the "kick". And the noodles were not as "chewy" as some of the other ramen places.

But I will definitely go back to Genki for their curry rice. They are fabulous ~

 Top: Ebi Curry Rice     Bottom: Katsu Curry Rice

 

Top: Mixed Don     Bottom:Chili chicken teriyaki

  

Top: Miso ramen     Bottom: Miso ramen

Genki Ramen

6 Wilkes Ave
Artarmon

NSW 2064

Tel: +61(2) 9410 3777

Ikea

This is my third time to Ikea in the last 4 weeks. Can't get enough of it.  Who can resist the bargain price of the "Billy" bookshelf? 

While I was waiting Herby to come over to Rhodes after work to join me shopping at Ikea, i went to their cafe to "kill time". lol ...

I orderd a slice of Swedish apple pie and cup of hot chocolate. Mmm ... fortunately ... the chocolate was HORRIBLE ... it was very watery and lack of chocolate taste ... more like a cup of extremely weak milo diluted with lots of hot water :( Probably the worst hot chocolate i have ever drank.

But on the other hand, the apple pie was nice (even though half of it was still frozen, must be straight from the freezer). It was full of big chucks of apples with cinnamon and the crust was buttery and sweet.

Swedish apple pie

And of course, before I left Ikea, I always visit their kiosk near the check out counters to do some Swedish groceries shopping. This time I bought a pack of potato chips seasoned with salt, raspberry jam cookies, Anna;s cappucino thins and Anna's orange thins.

Arrrr .... I miss the Swedish pickles (gherkins) ... but haven't seen it on the shelf for a while already ... hopefully they will be back soon ...

Swedish snacks :)

 

Ikea

Rhodes Shopping Centre,

1 Oulton Ave,

Rhodes,

NSW 2138

Tel: +61(2) 8002 0400

Website: www.ikea.com/au/en/



Pishon Patisserie & Cafe

Selection of cookies

Time files .... has been a week since my last post. I have been flat out during the last two weeks ... movings houses, organising wedding, doing Uni assignments and of course ... working Mon - Fri!

Took a Friday off a couple of weeks ago and met with the builder and collected keys for my new house. Yeah .... after waiting for 2 years ... it is finally done :)

After collecting keys, we went to Eastwood to do some groceies shopping and dropped by Pishon for an afternoon tea. Pishon is a little European-Korean style cafe run by Koreans. Once you stepped in, it feels like you have been into a wooden european cottage, warm and cosy. It serves a seelection of cookie, bread and cakes.



Part of the bread selections

I have ordered a cappucino to start off with. The coffee is alright, a bit too mild for my taste. Then we ordered a red bean bun, a big piece of crunchy almond cookie, profiteroles and a black sesame sticky rice crumble to share between the table.

The red bean bun looked like it has been squashed, but it was sweet and filled with a generous amount of red bean filling. The crunchy almond cookie was not as crunchy as what I was expected, I found it it was a little too thick, so it was slightly hard rather than crunchy. The highlight were the profiteroles and a black sesame sticky rice crumble. The profiteroles were soft and filled with yummy crème pâtissière. While the black sesame sticky rice crumble was more like a deep fried twisted donut with a firmer and lightly chewy texture that covered with sugar and cinnomon.

Pishon ... I will be back later to check out your cakes ~

Top: Cappuccino   Bottom: Red bean bun

Crunchy almond cookie

Black sesame sticky rice crumble and Profiteroles

Yummy crème pâtissière

Pishon Patisserie & Cafe

77 Rowe Street

Eastwood

NSW 2122

Tel: +61(2) 9858 3500

Bonga

We were staving on a Sunday night, and most of the Korean restaurants on Rowe Street, Eastwood were full ... so we tried the last one near the station end of Rowe Street ... Yeah !!! A big group was ready to go ... so we sat down as soon as the table was ready and started ordering ...  

One of the best thing about Korean food is they always give you some "Banchan". "Banchan" are some seasonal side dishes to serve along with your meal. And "kim chi" is one of the main item for "Banchan". "Kim chi" is a traditional fermented Korean dish, made of variety of vegetables with varied seasonings such as chilli and brined shrimp.

Chilli cucumber, bean sprouts, kim chi, stewed potatoes, pickled seaweed

To share between the five of us, we have ordered the ...

Bibimbap - a bowl of warm white rice topped with sautéed and seasoned vegetables, beef and a raw egg served in a hot stone bowl. It was pipping hot, and the veggies and beef were nicely seasoned with the aromatic sesame oil.

Yookgaejang - Spicy beef soup. The soup was full of flavour and full of beef, green shallots, onions and egg. Hot and yummy with a mild chilli kick.

Soondubu jjigae - Soft tofu stew with seafood. The soup was very sweet and full of silky smooth tofu and mixed seafood.

Naengmyeon - Korean cold noodle. The Stretchy noodles are made from the flour and starch of various ingredients such buckwheat, potatoes or sweet potatoes. The noodles was served in an icy cold and slightly sour broth with pickle white radish pieces, cucumber, thinly sliced beef and half a hard boiled egg. There were even crushed ice on top of the broth to keep it cold.

Beef Bulgogi - BBQ marinated beef. Beef pieces was marinated to enhance its flavour and tenderness, with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic than cooked with green shallotsm cabbage and carrot.

Bibimbap

Yookgaejang

Soondubu jjigae

Naengmyeon

Beef Bulgogi

Food were delicious and reasonable priced. But the menu is a bit small, so dishes variety is limited. As for dessert, we wandered off to a Korean grocery opposite the road to purchase some Korean iced treat. I chose a lovely chocolate ice cream cone to complete my meal. The Korean iced treat are incredibly cheap. This chocolate ice cream cone is only $1.50 and most of the ice blocks are priced form $1.00 ... you will find most of the items in the ice cream fridge are under $2.00 ... I wonder how much do they cost in Korea? Maybe $0.50?
 

Chocolate Ice cream

Bonga

124 Rowe Street, 

Eastwood

NSW 2122 

Tel: +61(2) 9874 5882

House

Pretty much go pass this restaurant on my way to work every morning, and finally went here on a windy night for dinner. Herby and I love spicy food, and Thai cuisine is definately one of our favourite. The punching hot from chillis, the saltiness from fish sauce and the sourness of the tamarind are matching with other perfectly. And House is serving Thai Northeast street food which is quite different to your average Thai food in Sydney. You will not be able to find the green curry chicken nor satay sticks in the menu. Be prepare for a tastebuds adventures :P

We were seated at the outdoor garden area; even though it was nearly 9 pm, 2/3 of the garden seating were still full. Since it was two of us, we ordered a salad, a soup, a main and some rice to share.

  

 Som Tum Pu Pla Raa

Tom Kruang Nai

Jaew Horn

I love green papaya salad (som yum), and this is one of the dish that iI always order in a Thai restaurant. The "Som Tum Pu Pla Raa" is a salad of green papaya, garlic, lime, chilli and salted crab with fermented fish.  Opps ... this was definately my mistake to order something with raw crab ... they were far too salty and fishy for me. And since Herby had a sensitive stomach, we only had a bite or two and left most of them behind.

Next was the "Tom Kruang Nai". It was a spicy mixed entrails beef soup with lemongrass, kaffir lime leafm galangal, garlic, coriander, lime nad chilli. The soup was spciy,sweet and sour at the same time; and full of aromatic herbs. The chunks of beef were meaty and the beef tripes and beef stomach were soft and tender. It was very delicious, and we enjoyed the soup til the last drop was gone. And we love the "hot pot" that the soup was serve in, it helped to keep the soup hot for quite a while.

The "Jaew Horn" was an Issan style hot pot of chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, squid, pork liver and seasonal greens. Another dish served in "hot pot" ... This was almost like a soup, and wtih bits of everything to suit everyone's taste. The soup itself was not as aromatic as the "Tom Kruang Nai", it was more sweet and mild and gingery.

Verdict? The "Tom Kruang Nai" was the best dish of the night. So ... Will I go back? Sorry ... probably NO. The amount of MSG in the food compare to others must be quite high. We got home and both drank at least 3 -4 cups of water and still feeling thirsty.

But the main reason that is holding us back is the hygiene ...  As we were sitting at the ourdoor garden area, qutie a few of cockroaches were runnning around under our chairs and table, and we spotted a group of cockroaches near the main entrance as well while we were leaving ...

But dispite all these negative experiences ... i still love their "Tom Kruang Nai".

House

202 Elizabeth Street,
Surry Hills,

NSW 2010

Tel: +61(2) 9280 0364

Website: www.housethai.com.au/

Noodles your way

Another lazy night for me. Instead of going home to cook dinner, we went for a quick and simple dinner in the city after work. I have walked pass this little eatery in World Square so many times, finally, we went in one night and give it a go. You can order from their 2 pages menu, or choose something from the pre cooked dishes at the front counter. As they are heavily advertising their noodle dishes, Herby orderd the spicy beef noodle soup and I ordered a spicy pork paste on noodle, and a little entree to share: spicy pork stomach.

The spicy pork stomach was lightly chewy and covered with a thick and salty sauce. A little bit  

disappointed with it.  

Spicy pork stomach

The noodles followed shortly. Mmm ... is this the noodle that I ordered? It looked very different from the photo on the menu. On the menu, the bowl of noodle was covered with a generous serve of mince sauce with chilli oil drizzled on top. Taste wise, it was alright. The sichuan pepper gave the soup a little punch.  Of course, more mince sauce would be nice.

The spicy beef noodle soup looked much better ...  more similar to the photo on the menu. The beef pieces was tender and the soup was red and aromatic. As we both like spicy food, we found that the soup was not spicy enough for our taste; and the noodle was not as chewy as soem of the other places .

Noodles your way is cheap and quick, and possibly cheaper than your average foodcourt. No wonder it is a popular spot for lunch.

 Spicy pork paste on noodle

Spicy beef noodle soup

Noodles your way

Shop 18, Ground Level,

World Square Shopping Centre

Sydney

NSW 2000

Tel: +61 (2) 9283 8688

Rumbles

While I was waiting my little doggy Miss Yuki  taking a shower at the Eastwood Pet Mansion, I was wandering on the street and end up sat down at Rumbles for my breakfast. Even though it was a windy and cloudy morning, I chose to set at the ourdoor dining area to catch some fresh air.

I sat down at around 10.30 am, and I was lucky to grab the last table at the outdoor dining area. I ordered a cappuccino and the French toast with bacon and maple syrup.

After about 15 mins ... coffee arrived. The cappucino was frothy but a bit dull. Another 5 mins gone .... another 5 mins  ... then anotehr 5 mins ... finally .... my plate of food arrived after 35 mins ... actually ... it could have turn up 5 mins earlier ... I saw it sitting at the counter for a while before one of the staff pick it up and brought it to me. And due to the windy weather, it was pretty cold when it arrived. The portion was good and the toasts were nicely covered with egg. But I still have no clues of the green bits that were sprinkled on the toast with icing sugar. The dish would taste even better if was hot.

On a busy day like this, I think they need more staffs. Will I be back? Maybe ... but definately not on a busy day.

Cappuccino

French toasts with bacon and maple syrup

Miss Yuki always get tired after going out ~ Sweet dream, you smell good after the shower ...

Rumbles

136 Rowe Street 

Eastwood

NSW 2122 

Tel: +61(2) 9804 6603