Category: Asian Fusion

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Japanese Korean

Mint & Aoshiso – Sydney Olympic Park NSW Restaurant Review

Mint & Aoshiso is a Korean/Japanese-fusion cafe and pizzeria, set in Sydney Olympic Park’s high-rise residential district, surrounded by 5, 30, and 60 minute street parking spots. We visited on a quiet morning in February 2021, patting ourselves on our backs for having found a coveted 1 hour parking spot. Our meal that day was served no less than 39 minutes after our receipt was printed reflecting payment made for our order, just as I had left in dismay to move my car. Despite this, I will review the food served in an objective fashion.

This yakiniku beef pizza ($24), part of Mint & Aoshisho’s specialty fusion pizza range, was quite the disappointment. Though being differentiated from Korean BBQ marinated pizza offerings on their menu, I would characterise the taste of the sauces and meats on this pizza as more Korean BBQ than Japanese BBQ in flavour. Though allegedly woodfired, the base on this pizza was too moist and bready, and considering that $24 is enough to get very good pizzas from very good pizza restaurants anywhere in Sydney, I can’t anti-recommend this particular pizza enough.

The first thing you should know about these Takoyaki Chips ($9) is that there is absolutely no Tako, nor is there any Yaki. Lacking any actual octopus, these chips are merely inspired by takoyaki – essentially normal potato chips that have been loaded with bonito flakes, mayonnaise, and a sweet okonomoyaki sauce. We ate these chips out of hunger and sadness at our wait. I would not order these again, even if I somehow found myself stranded in Olympic Park in a thunderstorm.

The Smoked Chicken Poke ($22) was the last to come, and the best of the lot. It was served under cling wrap which when removed released a small amount of smoke. The chicken was very tender and along with the rice, edamame and cabbage had a strong smoke flavour. Whilst I wasn’t the biggest fan of the smoke flavour and worry sometimes about the health implications, each component of this poke bowl was otherwise delicious.

A microdose of freshly-squeezed sugarcane juice did not make up for the experience.

A large latte, at $4.30, was sharply priced.

VERDICT
The smoked chicken bowl was the one good thing that we had at Mint & Aoshiso, and unfortunately in this case I don’t think one good thing makes up for the rest of the visit.

Mint & Aoshisho
Shop 2/1 Brushbox St, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127
0452 438 807

Categories
Asian Fusion Bakery Café Korean

10000 LAB (TENTHOUSAND) – Silverwater NSW Restaurant Review

2022 EDIT: It is possible that at the time of publishing they are no longer open at this location, but still have a location in Eastwood NSW.

I was first introduced to the concept of the eggified Korean toastie through Toastiesmith’s launch on social media in mid 2020. Living on the wrong side of the bridge to their Chatswood store, I watched and I waited and I watched and I waited for their September opening in Darling Square, only to find that this particular outpost would only be open Monday-Friday, breakfast and lunch (read: inaccessible from a parking perspective alone, even though I was working a week-on, week-off roster at the time).

It’s been almost a full year and I still haven’t made it to Toastiesmith. My move to Western Sydney has meant that it’s not so simple to make a quick trip into the city for a feed, even if their Darling Square store is now open 7 days and into the evening. Where I have been able to eat is 10,000 LAB, a kind-of similar cake, coffee, and Korean toastie establishment based in Silverwater and Eastwood.

I had the Egg, Cheese, and Spicy Chicken Toastie ($10), as well as the Egg, Cheese, Avocado and Sausage Toastie ($10). The guy working there double checked to make sure that I wanted both, and in retrospect this should’ve been a sign that one toastie would be enough for one man.

Both toasties shared the same fluffy and sweet bread, lightly toasted on the outside. They had excellent filling to breading ratios, each absolutely stuffed with ingredients. The scrambled egg in each toastie was cooked well, and would be able to stand on its own as a non-toastie option if 10,000 were to ever want to branch out.

The egg, cheese, and spicy chicken toastie was the weaker of the two, with a strong spicy sauce taste that I felt overpowered the flavour of the delicate eggs. I had expected some kind of diced chicken breast or thigh filling, however reality did not match with my expectation as I found some kind of ham-like processed chicken protein inside instead. Unfortunate.

The egg, cheese, avocado and sausage toastie was quite a bit better. There was no overpowering sauce flavour, meaning that I could actually taste each of the toastie’s constituent ingredients. The mildness and slight sweetness of the cheese, egg, and avocado combined well and contrasted with the saltiness of the sausage to hit a good balance. This was definitely the better of the two.

This was actually a very good soy latte ($4.30).

VERDICT
Lured by the promises made by their (admittedly more expensive) competitor’s social media campaigns, I think I expected something a little bit more from 10 000 LAB. It’s not their fault.

10 000 LAB Silverwater
135/79-87 Beaconsfield St, Silverwater NSW 2128
0480287755

Categories
Asian Fusion Indian

Don’t Tell Aunty – Surry Hills NSW Restaurant Review

Revenge meal (noun): the action of having a meal without someone in return for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands.

Several months ago a member of our merry band of colleagues was left out of the invite list to a work gathering at Don’t Tell Aunty, one of the inner-city’s foremost “Modern Indian” restaurants. In retaliation for this unceremonious snubbing we put the restaurant on the hit list for a future visit – it’s just unfortunate that the next time we found ourselves in Surry Hills that same friend was packing his bags, ready to board a flight to visit his partner interstate. I guess he’ll never know. (Unless he reads this post)

Parking in Surry Hills on a Thursday night was quite easy, with plenty of 2-hour free street parking around. We entered the restaurant at opening to the tunes of the Tokyo Drift song, a harbinger of the modern, Western musical theme that would persist throughout the night.

Aunty’s Balls of Happiness ($12) are tangy and creamy shots of chutney encased within puffs made of semolina. They came strongly recommended by BC via an esteemed professor of intensive care medicine, though were not so well received around the table. Though the puffs themselves were light and inoffensive, the chutney shot filling was, in my opinion, too strong tasting. The balance of filling to pastry was absolutely not achieved, and within our band of four diners we each had one, except for BC who had to have three.

The Papadi Chaat ($18), billed as “the motherland’s version of nachos and salsa”, was truly only okay. It featured a too-flavourful salsa over some flour-pastry chips. The flavour was, in my opinion, again too strong – erring on the tangy side, almost more of the same as the balls of happiness but different. I wouldn’t get this again.

The cheese naan ($8) was my personal highlight of the meal. Unlike most cheese naans, Aunty’s cheese naan is made with blue cheese, with a sprinkling of oregano. This blue cheese flavour – not too strong to be overpowering, but just there enough to taste – was a flavour that I had never experienced before in naan, and very enjoyable. Don’t go without trying this.

The basket of naan ($12) was a basket of three different types of triagular naan, cut in the middle. The garlic chive naan (left) was good, though my girlfriend missed out. The onion sesame naan (right) was also good, as was the plain naan (not pictured). Each of these three naans were quite oily, especially the plain naan, and quite thin compared to the spectrum of naans that I’ve had in the past. I guess you can’t go wrong with bread and oil.

The Unauthentic Butter Chicken ($30), was really just fine. There was nothing special about this butter chicken, except for the price, which I thought was quite extreme for such a small serving. You can compare the serving size with this normal sized spoon. It’s quite ridiculous.

The Short Rib Korma ($30) was also just fine. Unlike Korean BBQ, this short rib was indistinguishable from any other red meat – it wasn’t served on the rib, nor was there any rib-like display. The size of this serving was again minute for the price, and neither of these curries were any better than what you’d get at your local Indian restaurant in Western Sydney for half the price.

Mango Lassi ($6) was good.

VERDICT
Don’t Tell Aunty is in a difficult spot to like. The only real standout of meal was the blue cheese naan, which is not something you can really get elsewhere. The curries were extremely expensive for their serving size, and had no special elements at all to justify their pricing. As a Wentworthville resident with the entirety of Western Sydney’s South Asian offerings at my doorstep I would have extreme difficulty in recommending Don’t Tell Aunty to anyone.

Don’t Tell Aunty
414 Bourke St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 9331 5399

Diners JW, PX, WKS, BC

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Korean

Cafe Elation – Gladesville NSW Cafe Review

Though moving to Western Sydney has greatly limited our pegfeed options, Gladesville’s Cafe Elation had been kept in the back of my mind as a sort of consolation prize to the loss of easy access to high-feed areas. Cafe Elation’s core offering of what is essentially Asian Fusion Brunch fit well with this blog’s focus, and so the 25 minute drive down A3 was made.

Pork Belly Poke Bowl + Slow Egg

The Pork Belly Poke Bowl with Slow Egg ($21) was an unfortunate let down. The execution of such a poke bowl with meat rather than raw fish was far more like a bibimbap than a poke bowl. The carrot, kimchi, cucumber, cabbage and enoki mixed with the quinoa, brown rice and gochujang in exactly the same way a bibimbap would, though we felt that it was too wet. We like our bibimbap dry and crispy, served in a claypot, and felt that though this was a bibimbap was all but in name the texture and consistency of it left something to be desired. We were also disappointed by the pork belly, as we had expected cubes but instead got strips. I think we were just envisioning something completely different to what we got.

The Eel on Egg ($24) was actually quite good. Though the serving size of the omelette, eel and nori could have been larger, the taste and contrasting mouthfeels of these elements were quite pleasing. The crispy nori was a particular delight, followed by the delicate French omelette. The soy glazed eel wasn’t as oily and melt-in-your-mouth as the eel that we had had the previous day at Hukuya, but still up to standard. Quinoa and brown rice once again made an appearance – ingredients that I don’t usually expect or like in Asian dining, where white rice reigns supreme.

For drinks we had a fairly run-of-the-mill soy cappuccino ($5) and an Iced Choco Meme ($8). The meme was ordered based on name alone, and I was not at all expecting this huge monstrosity of whipped cream and chocolate and sesame flavours. I also didn’t expect for our waitress to pronounce it “me-me”, which is the memey way to pronounce meme.

VERDICT A hit and miss 3.75 Asian brunch affair. I wouldn’t go too far out of your way, unless you’re also going to the Ryde City Council public toilets that are helpfully co-located.

Cafe Elation
226 Victoria Rd, Gladesville NSW 2111
02) 8592 7188

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Indonesian

ASLAN Coffee Roasters – St Peters NSW Cafe Review

The first thing my partner said upon reviewing the choices on Aslan’s all-day menu was “I really appreciate you always looking for places for us to eat, and I know it can be hard to always pick winners”. Though technically Indonesian-inspired, the majority of items on Aslan’s menu are classic brunch fare. As pursuers of the fine art of Asian fusion cuisine we opted for the two Asianmost looking items available. It was with these two choices that I would, over the next half hour, make her eat a great meal and also her words.

The Hot Smoked Salmon Kedgeree ($16.50) was an aromatic dish of tumeric rice with slaw and salmon mixed in, topped with an egg and a trail of shichimi and served with a small pot of curry sauce. Despite her initial misgivings my partner came to enjoy this dish. She really liked that the slaw was mixed into the rice, providing a crisp and crunchy texture with each bite. The hot smoked salmon provided a good umami flavour without being too salty, and the lemon added an element of freshness to balance out the otherwise quite substantial meal. The little pot of curry came with a warning from our waitress – “be careful, it is very spicy” – though was very good and just the right amount of spice for us to add all of it in.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the multicoloured ?prawn crackers in the Beef Rendang Indonesian Style ($16.50) way more than I should have. They were just warm, freshly fried, crispy crackers filled with umami goodness – far more addictive than they had any right to be. The stated star of the show – the beef rendang, was very generously portioned, with a mixture of melty fatty bits as well as healthier leaner bits. The turmeric rice and salad, though similar to that in the kedgeree, was not as good owing to the discordant placement of its ingredients. We much preferred to have the salad mixed in with the rice. There was adequate sauce for all of the rice, salad, beef, and crackers.

Our soy cappuccino came with an apology – soy is hard to work with to make latte art, though this wouldn’t have even registered with us had it not been mentioned. ASLAN prides itself on its specialty coffee, and their house blend as pretty alright.

VERDICT
Though ASLAN’s St Peters menu is pretty light on original Asian fusion dishes, what they do have is pretty good, as well as pretty cheap. I’d recommend a visit if you’re in the area. Just look out for the giant lion’s head mural.

ASLAN Coffee Roasters – St Peters
1 Council St, St Peters NSW 2044
0488 827 526