The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Koku Culture is home to one of the best brunches I’ve had all year. I’ve never been shy about my love of Japanese-fusion breakfast and brunch foods, and Koku Culture’s tiny Ashfield store fits the bill completely.
The Torched Confit Ora King Salmon Fillet with 63 degree egg ($24+$2) was sublime. Ora King Salmon is always a treat, featuring a rich oiliness and delicate mouthfeel far beyond your average grocery store Tasmanian Atlantic salmon. I try to order some Ora King salmon every now and then from the popular online fish delivery services, and even when cooked inexpertly by me at home the difference is noticeable. Koku Culture’s torched confit king salmon fillet definitely lived up to expectations – tender inside with a slight char on the outside reminiscent of aburi sushi. The miso dressing was tasty but not overpowering, and the green tea soba salad surprisingly refreshing, especially with the egg (a $2 supplement but important) and miso mixed in. This has to be a must-order dish from Koku Culture.
This Crispy Rice Cheeseburger ($15) with Chips and their secret sauce was also fantastic, but in a completely different way to the salmon. Where the salmon felt clean and healthful, this was perfect in terms of sheer debauchery. The rice “buns” were perfectly cirspy and fried out the outside, with a light but slightly sticky texture on the inside – a bit “QQ” as we would call it in terms of Chinese food. The seafood was similarly crispy, enjoyable and not merely for decoration. I opted for an extra patty ($5)(probably wasn’t necessary in this case, and I’d just stick with a single patty in the future) , and both beef patties were cooked to a delicious level of juiciness, mixed in with their special sauce and fresh lettuce. Even the chips were good.
The matcha affogato, which I can’t see on their menu any more, was pretty OK. The ice cream was good, the coffee was black. Mixed together it remained a bit black for my taste.
That’s a good Matcha Brownie right there.
COMMENTS I enjoyed Koku Culture. Definitely worth a visit, but make sure you budget in some time for the queue outside.
UPDATE These guys are now closed forever, before the publication of this review. This is part of why I’ve pushed this review far into the future in terms of scheduling – they’re not going to get more dead. Hopefully Kenji Okuda and Donna Chau can bless us once again something good.
Koku Culture 1/355 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield NSW 2131 0402 697 475
Kosta’s Takeaway is a relatively new sandwich and juice shop located nestled at the front of a smash repair shop, along the automotive district of Rockdale’s West Botany Road. They offer a staple stable of classic sandwiches, as well as a frequently refreshed specials menu. I had two sandwiches at Kosta’s Takeaway – one a quite good fish sandwich (the special), and one a generally well received but not to my taste cold cut sandwich (the classic).
This quite delicious fish sandwich ($17) was a time-limited special, though judging from Kosta’s social media it seems to float in and out in various forms throughout the weeks and months. This particular iteration featured a 10-minute dry brined ling fillet, freshly deep fried with excellent textural attributes including a warm and crunchy outer crust and moist, flaky fish meat inside. The tartare sauce was tangy and creamy, and the pickled daikon radish brought a surprisingly bright and crunchy tartness to the sandwich. Even the iceberg lettuce, now a $20/kg luxury in April 2022, brought a much appreciated freshness to each bite. I thoroughly enjoyed this sandwich, so much so that I immediately sent a photo to my friend, colleague, and Filet-o-Fish® enthusiast CJP.
The Super Deli Panini ($14.50) is a different kettle of fish, and not my kind of fish. The fillings included a number of cold cuts (ham, sopressa, mortadella), graviera cheese, and some green and red mixture of marinated peppers, eggplant, spinach, fennel butter, and salsa verde . While I think this is probably a fine sandwich for the kind of sandwich-goer who likes this, I just didn’t really find the continental flavours appealing to me – a similar feeling to when I had A1 Canteen’s famed muffuletta two years ago when I first started this blog.
A RETURN, DECEMBER 2022
In true Pegfeeds fashion, this post is being updated prior to it even being published. We went back to Kosta’s Takeaway in December 2022 to try a few of their other offerings, as well as a repeat of the fish sandwich, which has now changed.
The fish sandwich, now $18 in December 2022, has evolved since our last meeting. It is now absolutely drenched in deliciously tangy dill and tartare sauce, which is now less thick but equally delicious. The batter is now lighter than it was before, while the ling fillet remains extremely moist and delicate. The bright pickle has disappeared and has been replaced by a slice of yellow ?American cheese, bringing this sandwich closer to the Platonic ideal of a Filet-o-Fish than it was before. Still good.
Continuing on this McDowell’s trend is the bifteki ($7), similar to a sausage and egg roll with a dry aged beef patty from The Whole Beast Butchery (I felt oddly intimidated by the specialtiness and also staff to consumer intimacy of it all when I went there, even more so than at Victor Churchill), cheese, egg, an spesh (read: similar to Big Mac) sauce. This was actually very tasty – a solid breakfast muffin with good flavours, but actually very much too salty for my liking. Because of that, I think the McLovin Muffin from Happyfield is the superior breakfast muffin of Sydney (at almost twice the price – absolutely no complaints about the value aspect of the bifteki).
This lamb conbab ($18) was also very good. I loved the crispy potato that you can see spread out in the open photo, that gave it a great texture in each mouthful. The second somewhat revolutionary thing about this roll is that the lamb kafta itself has been made into an incredibly thin pancake-like shape, so that it forms an entire layer over the inside of the bread. Again, this means that there is a bit of lamb with every bite, and that no bite is left without interest. The freshness of the pickled onions, tomato, and salad as well as the quite mild toum gave this very much a kebablike flavour, but fresher and less guilt-inducing. It is a shame, therefore, that this was also very salty overall, too salty even for me right now as someone with active COVID-19.
You can’t say that I’m biased because I thought that this poached chicken on schiacciata ($13.50) with fermented chilli ($1) was actually bomb, with just the right balance and level of flavours. The chicken was poached so softly and flavoured so lightly, while the texture of the bread was just amazing, so crispy and crunchy but with none of the oral mucosa cutting that you might get from a Vietnamese banh mi. The fermented chilli was not too spicy, but a good and worthwhile and probably essential addition. One of my cats stole a bit off my plate as I was eating, which left me with just one side of schiacciata and smashed avocado on top, and so I can confirm that this doubles well as smashed avo on toast.
The double choc iced chocolate ($8) I didn’t feel was worth taking a photo of. Pretty good, but I thought it was like $4. If I had known my partner had paid $8 for this I definitely would’ve photographed it and complained about it more.
THOUGHTS One of the best fish burgers I’ve ever had, and even if not all the flavours appeal to my East-Asian centric palate, this is definitely a place to watch.
I had a very difficult time trying to actually get here within their opening hours to have this meal, but I’m glad I was able to. Sadly I came after my last in a run of night shifts, only able to catch the breakfast menu. The following fortnight I woke up from my nap too late to catch the lunch menu. Such is life.
This chilli prawn scramble ($22) was seriously good. It was the only thing on their breakfast menu that really caught my eye (the lunch menu has a number of options that I guess I’ll never have the chance to eat) so I almost didn’t go in, but I’m glad I did and I got to eat it. The scrambled egg was sweet and soft, with a very generous serving of large, juicy, and sweet prawns. The kimchi and pickles were bright and flavourful, working together with the protein to create a highly umami-filled dish. The topping to bread ratio was perfect, and again I can’t emphasise the generous serving size of all the important parts, without too much unnecessary carb (sourdough). I wasn’t the biggest fan of the tumeric mayo, and thought that it was better without it, but I’m glad that it was placed essentially on the side as I guess some people might like it more than me.
In short: A great scrambled egg on toast. I suspect their lunch offerings might be just as good, but sadly the opening hours just don’t work for me. I doubt I’ll be able to make it at an appropriate time over the next month in the Shoalhaven area.
I love a good all day food menu, and while I’ve been delving into the world of making espresso at home, it’s been a two in one action to try out cafes with their own beans to see if I manage to find something I really like for the home machine.
The Tasmanian salmon fish cakes ($22) featured two rounded fish cakes atop a bed of yuzu aioli and covered in herbed slaw and radish, with a side of poached egg. The slaw was crunchy and fresh, perfectly countering the friedness and unexpected potato-ness of the fish cakes and the creaminess of the mayonnaise bed. It was a tasty dish, kind of reminiscent of the salmon salad at A Man and His Monkey which I also enjoyed, but I wish I had been forewarned about the potato.
The green chilli scrambled eggs ($25 including extra halloumi) was solid, comfort stuff, with a huge serving of tasty eggs with green chilli, red banana chilli, cherry tomatoes and herbs on seeded sourdough. I rarely get scrambled eggs at cafes, but I actually quite enjoyed this. It was, like the salmon fish cakes, a creative dish that ventures outside of café staples.
The side of fried chicken ($5) served with spicy mayo was sadly not good in all the worst ways – damp on the outside, but dry on the inside. There are a couple of dishes on Roastville’s menu that centre around fried chicken, like their waffle dish, so unfortunately those don’t sound too promising either. No one kicks every goal.
Coffee was alright, but not phenomenal enough for me to dial in a new bag of beans.
COMMENTS: Despite being a commercial coffee roaster, Roastville’s cafe operation actually has quite a fun and interesting all day food menu, that matches the expectations set by Sydney’s top notch of cafes. I had a good meal. I’d definitely like to return for seasonal variations.
I, along with most of our party, had the Ricotta and Chilli Jam Scrambled Eggs ($14.90), with crispy bacon, sliced avocado, and grilled sourdough bread. I enjoyed the fluffy scrambled eggs, and though to date no scrambled eggs have been able to hold a candle to the perfect eggs at Dopa, these came pretty close. The chilli jam and feta added spicy, salty, and creamy flavours to the egg, the bacon was well cooked and adequately portioned, and the advocado provided a good degree of freshness and balance. Overall this dish had a high degree of cohesiveness, and I can actively recommend this.
