Category: Japanese

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Asian Fusion Café Japanese

Cool Mac – Kirribilli NSW Cafe Review

As huge fans of Kurumac, my partner and I have been looking for an excuse to eat at Cool Mac for some time. We finally found ourselves on the fancy side of the bridge during our annual leave, and stopped at Cool Mac on the way to the zoo for a quick breakfast.

Service at Cool Mac was not as good or friendly as at its younger brother. Perhaps we didn’t fit in with the suited up business and government types that frequent Cool Mac, but we didn’t really feel like we were paid much attention. There was not really much table service. There was a menu printed outside the restaurant, and ordering was at the counter. This made it difficult as my working short term memory is apparently very poor. Payment was expected at time of ordering.

The Crumbed whiting, miso salmon, egg, pickles, cod roe, rice ($18) was the better dish of the two we had. I really enjoyed the crumbed whiting and egg, and thought that they went well with the preserved vegetables and rice. I did think, however, that the salmon was too overcooked and dry, and let the bowl down as a whole.

I had mixed but ultimately negative feelings about the pork belly, seaweed, coriander, soy broth, dry ramen ($17). While I enjoyed the flavour, the huge amount of coriander, and the noodles mixed in with the small quantity of soup, the headlining element – the pork belly – was a massive letdown. Similar to the salmon above, the pork was dry and tough.

Barley tea, cappuccino

The barley tea with huge ice cube ($4) was good, as was the large cappuccino ($4.80).

I’m ultimately quite disappointed by cool mac. We went in having high hopes after absolutely enjoying our time at Kurumac, but our none of the food we had at cool mac was very good.

3.5 eggs/5

Cool Mac
2/34 Burton St, Kirribilli NSW 2061
(02) 9955 3087

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Japanese

Kuki Tanuki – Erskineville NSW Japanese Restaurant Review

Intrigued by the promise of aburi scallop and steam sake fish, we drove to and parked in Erskineville to eat at Kuki Tanuki. Unfortunately when we arrived we encountered a menu significantly different to what was posted online on Zomato (no doubt we had seen an old one). This is our story.

Wagyu Beef Bowl ($25) – The wagyu beef bowl was the most expensive dish that we tried. It was a large bowl of rice topped with seared beef and a low temperature egg. I personally found the beef to be very raw, and did not think it was seared enough. Chewing on the raw beef I could really imagine the life that Daisy had led in the fields and under the sun. The beef was so raw that I could still taste some of her emotions. My partner did not find the beef so raw as it was difficult to see in the lighting just how raw it was. I did however really enjoy the egg and how it mixed into the rice. I wonder if these guys could take some inspiration from bowlsoc, and their illustrious leader the Meat Master.

Chicken Yakitori with tare (3 for $9). I really enjoyed the yakitori. My partner often confuses yakitori and yakiniku and doesn’t let me eat it very often. One of the negative aspects of the yakitori and I guess the meal was that all of the dishes were served concurrently. The yakitori therefore had time to rest on the counter while waiting for the cow to be slaughtered and put directly onto the rice. In doing so, the yakitori cooled down and ended up a bit lukewarm by time of eating.

The sashimi nachos ($13) were a lot more deconstructed than I had anticipated. In my short lifetime all nachos I have had have had the tortilla chips mixed into the salsa/dip. In this case we were served discrete tortilla chips and a bowl of sashimi and salsa mix and given no instruction. Using my keen sense of innovatoin and drawing on my past experience I was able to scoop some of the nacho mix onto these chips. They were ok. The chips were crunchy. The filling was fine. I wish they had just come as tacos.

Tasmania Roll ($17). My partner is a big aburi salmon fan, and even though she was outside making an important call and I had to choose all of the dishes by myself I knew that she would like this. The Tasmania roll basically had some aburi salmon on top and avocado and cucumber in the middle. My partner quite liked it but in my humble opinion I did not like that the middle was only green. It was a field of wasted opportunity.

The Soft shell crab mini burgers (2 for $13) were good though a bit oversauced.

The Yuzu sake ($10) was expensive but very good. My partner is a big fan of sour things, and liked it so much that she asked them if she could buy some for home. The answer was no.

Overall we ended up spending $81 for a dinner for two but weren’t able to have the two things I really wanted. This makes me quite sad. We will try and come back if the scallops reappear.

Kuki Tanuki
 63 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville NSW 2043
(02) 8084 7438

Categories
Japanese

Fugetsu – Haymarket NSW Restaurant Review

I won’t bore you with all the details of our visit to Fugetsu. Instead, I will provide a few photos as well as a list of similarities and differencesin comparison to Sushi Hotaru.

Similarities
Both reasonably priced sushi trains within the same geographic region
Hand rolls are good and perhaps represent the best value
Touchscreen ordering system which negates the need for unwanted human-on-human contact
For FugetsuAgainst Fugetsu
Free parking in Market City after 6PM until the following morning, permitting other CBD baseda ctivitiesMore expensive than Hotaru – $3.95 a plate for most things and more for premium plates
A selection of alcohol, including $6 tap beer during happy hourAburi nigiri is universally drenched in mayonnaise
Wide range of non-sushi foodsNon-sushi foods experienced including the takoyaki and wagyu skewers were either not good or quite expensive
Open until later than Sushi HotaruQuality of sushi in general is probably a little lower than at Hotaru

VERDICT
I think that overall if you’re keen for a cheap but good quality sushi train meal in the Sydney CBD, Sushi Hotaru is still hard to walk past. Other factors like free parking after 6PM however are significant, and the difference in quality between the two places is small enough that saving $10 on parking may or may not sway the decision one way or another.

Fugetsu
Shop R3, 16 Level 3, Market City, 9-13 Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9211 6128

Categories
Japanese

Ichiro’s – Mascot NSW Japanese Restaurant Review

This is a limited, relatively low effort review of takeaway ordered from Ichiro’s in Mascot.

Egg on Salmon Don ($17) – This was a donburi consisting of diced salmon, plenty of tobiko, and a poached egg on rice. The fish to rice ratio was adequate, and the egg was creamy. It was not bad.

Octopus Karaage ($11). One thing I’m learning about my palate is that I quite like octopus Octopus – not in the minced-up or cut-up takoyaki form, but actual pieces of bite sized, chewable octopus. I really liked this octopus karaage, and can give it a strong recommend.

3.5/5 – it is not the best, but there is not much to complain about

Ichiro’s
14 Etherden Walk, Mascot NSW 2020
(02) 9669 2299

Ichiro's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Categories
Bakery Café Japanese

Café Cre Asion – Sydney CBD NSW Japanese Bakery Review

Manned by four people in a small industrial kitchen, Cafe Cre Asion is a hidden gem tucked around the corner behind about 16 security cameras. We went after a recent brunch for a sweet treat. They’re currently takeaway only, however it’s hard to imagine how they would manage to seat people on a normal day given their tiny footprint.

Raspberry Macaron
Chocolate Macaron

Sadly they were out of yuzu macarons, so we settled for chocolate and raspberry. I didn’t think these were very special.

Chocolate Cookie
Vanilla Cookie

Cafe Cre Asion’s cookies had a strong shortbread quality. They were very buttery and smooth, but had different textures and mouthfeels between the outer crust and the inner cookie, acting almost as two desserts in one.

Apple and cinnamon muffin

Wow. I really enjoyed this apple and cinnamon muffin. Without a hint of exaggeration this was the best muffin I’ve ever had in my entire life. Like the cookies, it felt like I was having 6 muffins in one. Each bite gave me a new experience, as I tasted the various components and textures separately. The muffin itself was very moist and light, while the muffin top had a nice and caramelised surface. Within the muffin there were pockets of cinnamon and apple which I found truly delightful. I cannot stan for this muffin enough. Please have one.

Second Visit

I returned in the middle of December 2020 to try some more baked goods after a disappointing visit to nearby Paramount Coffee Project.

All four cookies at Cafe Cre Asion

The Matcha cookie was dense with matcha flavour and not too sweet. I think it is suited more to an Eastern palate.

The Caramel and Walnut cookie is their only cookie that has “bits” in it. It is quite good, and I particularly enjoyed the walnut pieces.

Baked cheesecake

Baked cheesecake not good. Don’t get.

Swiss roll

Fruity swiss roll is pretty fruit. Light sponge roll with lots of cream. Quite nice and it almost feels like you’re not being bad with all the fruit.

Third visit

This chicken, mushroom, and wasabi mayo toastie ($13) is actually amazing. The chicken breast is so tender, complemented with the exact scientifically perfect amount of creaminess from the mild wasabi mayo. I shudder to think of just how much trial and error would’ve been neede din the lab to perfect the ratios, but it all just works so well. The lettuce, each leaf individually perfect, adds a nice fresh crisp to the sandwich, while preventing the juices of the sandwich soaking into the base layer of bread. The enoki, also great. This is sandwich science in action. I’ve never had a more perfect toastie in my life.

VERDICT
Despite not having any of the matcha or Japanese stuff that Cafe Cre Asion is known for, I’ve really enjoyed my two visits to date. I’d like to come back and would encourage you to do the same.

Try the muffin. It will change your mindset on muffins.

Café Cre Asion
(02) 8021 1629
101/21 Alberta St, Sydney NSW 2000