Category: Japanese

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Asian Fusion Café Japanese

Pokemeow – Rosebery NSW Cat Cafe Review

Cats are my favourite animal. Even though we have two small cats at home, we often find ourselves in wonder of cats on the internet, on the streets, and now at Pokemeow Cat Cafe.

One of the great joys of Pokemeow Cat Cafe is being able to sit outside and peer into their cat playground. Their clowder of cats, consisting of two Maine coons, a sphinx, a ragdoll, a munchkin and a very beautiful but average domestic shorthair, are an absolute delight to watch. Being able to watch them play and interact during our meal really elevated the experience. There’s also the opportunity to pay $10 for a 30 minute play session inside the playground (book beforehand online), but we chose not to as we felt it would be a bit weird to have all the diners look at us as we did so.

The overall vibe of the place is very pet friendly as well, and many of the other patrons brought their dogs along for brunch. There was, in particular, a very good yellow labrador who my partner got to pet.

While the six beautiful resident cats at Pokemeow are undoubtedly their main draw, their Asian fusion brunch menu isn’t anything to sneer at either.

I had the black sesame latte while my partner had just a normal large cappuccino. It strikes me that asking for a black sesame latte is more or less asking for fun milk please. A protip to new players, make sure to mix up your black sesame latte – there tends to be a lot of stuff that sediments at the bottom.

We enjoyed the truffle chips, which came covered in a cheesy parmesan. They were fresh out of the fryer and unfaultable.

I quite liked the six spicy fried chicken wings. I thought that they were reasonably priced (≤$10) and freshly fried and delicious. My partner thought they were not as good as the ones we had at Belle’s Hot Chicken the previous night but I thought they stood well on their own.

I felt that the earl grey pancakes were a bit dry on their own, but just fine when combined in a single bite with the provided mascarpone, berries, and sauce. I probably wouldn’t get these again, but my partner was a big fan.

The grilled salmon green tea soba salad was a bit of a weird one. The salmon was pretty standard (no better than anyone could make at home), however I would’ve liked a bit more of it. I couldn’t really appreciate the green tea flavour of the voluminous soba noodles until I had a further bite of a chicken wing to contrast against. I thought that the soba noodles perhaps were featured too prominently in the dish, however did enjoy it once the soba were mostly powered through and I could pair it better with the remaining sesame dressing, carrot, and tomato salad components. My partner didn’t really like this dish, but in retrospect and on deep introspection I did. I probably still wouldn’t get it again. Offer to pay for double salmon if they will let you.

I really enjoyed my visit to Pokemeow. Their food was pretty good, and there are a lot more Asian fusion brunch options left to try. I loved watching the cats play and interact, and would absolutely come back agian.

Pokemeow
1/8 Crewe Place, Rosebery NSW 2018
0416 668 468

Pokemeow Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
Categories
Asian Fusion French Japanese

Auvers Dining – Darling Square Haymarket NSW Restaurant Review

When my partner was a wee lass working in Concord she would always try and drag me to Auvers Cafe in Rhodes for brunch. “Why?” I ‘d ask her. “Why do you keep wanting me to go with you, even though you can go by yourself for breakfast after a night shift?” Her answer was always that she wanted to share this delicious food with me.

A few of nights ago we happened upon Auvers Dining in Darling Square. It was amazing for my partner to see her favourite local cafe all grown up into a legitimate French-Asian fusion restaurant in the big smoke. It also happened to be part of Auvers’ 1st birthday celebrations, and as such we got to have a free cocktail each.

  • Starry 75
  • Death in the Afternoon

Starry 75 – Good. Bubbly. Not too sweet

Death in the Afternoon – Quite sweet. Also good

Lobster on Souffle

I had the Lobster On Souffle ($38) with caviar, bonito creamy sauce, and black garlic. It was a dish of a few firsts for me – first caviar and first souffle. I enjoyed how light and bouncy the souffle was, and we both really liked the creamy sauce. The fact that it was bonito based was not immediately clear, as it didn’t taste fishy at all, just umami. There was a reasonable quantity of lobster for the price, as well as a sneaky serving of scallop which wasn’t listed in the menu. I don’t normally care much for black garlic, however my girlfriend liked it. I also enjoyed the kumquat – it was the first time in a very long time I had tasted it.

Piggy Roulade

My partner chose the Piggy Roulade ($28) with poached saffron pear, celeriac remoulade, apple yuzu puree, Tonkotsu sauce. You will see that the word “pork” is not listed in the menu, and my partner was kind enough to double check with our waiter to make sure there was some meat involved. The meat that was involved was juicy and well cooked, however felt a bit stagnant towards the end. There was probably just too much of it in the same style for one dish, something that was apparent even as each of us was eating only half of it. The apple puree and the poached pears stood strongly on their own, but I felt like they did not pear well with the flavour of the pork. My partner disagreed with me on this and she liked that they brought some acidity into the mix.

Overall I had a really good time at Auvers Dining. There are still quite a few items on the menu that I’d like to try, and I’d ideally like to try them this month to take advantage of their free drink offer.

UPDATE 28/9/2020 – We went back

  • Whiskey sour
  • Spring special sour

Whiskey sour – enjoyed more

Spring special sour – enjoyed less. Bit too sweet.

The Ox Tongue Soba Cabonara ($22) was quite good, and well priced. I liked the creaminess of the cabonara, but thought that the ox tongue was a bit tough. My partner didn’t mind this however and happily ate the ox tongue pieces in one bite. I did like the addition of reticulum, which I thought provided a fun texture and taste. (My partner, though Chinese, does not like weird animal parts).

Wagyu Beef Skewers

I really enjoyed the Wagyu Beef Skewers (2 for $18), although I thought the price was a bit steep. The beef was tender and juicy, and I liked that shallots and mushrooms skewered between the pieces of meat. While it was quite a price to pay for merely two skewers the taste of these skewers really sets them apart from the competition. I’m still yet to find a nice, quality but cheap yakitori place in Sydney (let me know if you have a line on one!)

The Szechuan Calamari with salted egg mayo ($15) were a reasonably priced starter with good taste. I liked that they weren’t too salty, and I think that this is actually one of my favourite salted egg dishes I’ve had recently (and boy have I had a few – I think it must be in vogue.). I also liked the half lime that they gave us to drizzle over the calamari, although I can’t figure out why they decided to blacken it.

Dragon Well Tea Creme Brulee

The Dragon Well Tea Creme Brulee ($15) I could’ve lived without. I thought it was quite sweet, and I couldn’t really appreciate the green tea flavour. My partner liked it quite a bit. More power to her.

Auvers Dining – Darling Square
Shop 4/12 Nicolle Walk, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9188 2392

Categories
Japanese

Dopa by Devon – Darling Square Haymarket NSW Restaurant Review

Dopa Toothfish Don Set (July 2020)

I met with my friend for lunch at Darling Square a couple of months ago. I had wanted to try Dopa by Devon for a while, and the weekend provided the perfect opportunity as parking was more readily available. I parked at Novotel Sydney Central, which was $9.20 for weekend parking.

I had the Grilled Glacier 51 Toothfish Don, which was $38 for the est with miso soup and some salad and pickles, plus an exorbitant Sunday surcharge. Toothfish is one of the rare and somewhat unknown treasures of the sea, and until quite recently a forbidden animal, owing to a lack of a sustainable way to capture it. It was only recently that an Australian fishery out of Heard Island has been able to apply sustainable fishing techniques to bring the joy of this fish to the table.

The toothfish serving in Dopa’s toothfish don was huge and the texture just so delicate. It really melted right into my mouth, and the taste of the marinade complemented rather than overwhelmed the fish. It was only my second time eating toothfish, and I thought it was equal to the toothfish I had at Sokyo for a much higher price. It was much better than the toothfish I had at Zushi Barangaroo.

While expensive and with a nonsensical weekend surcharge, I really enjoyed the toothfish don at Dopa. I want to bring my girlfriend here soon.

SEPTEMBER 2020 UPDATE #1

Dopa Toothfish Don (September 2020)

I brought my girlfriend here. We had the toothfish don (again) and she loved it. There definitely wasn’t as much toothfish this time, which was a bit disappointing, and I have the photographic evidence to prove it. I also thought the toothfish wasn’t cooked as well, but was still better than Zushi Barnagaroo.

Dopa Scrambled Egg and Furikake Don (September 2020)

We also had the Scrambled Egg and Furikake Don ($8). Wow. This dish really went far to show just how good and wholesome a simple meal can be. The eggs were perfectly soft and fluffy, and made for a great topping for the warm rice, and the furikake provided a great tasty addition. To use a now overused phrase, the scrambled egg furikake don really warmed me up from the inside. It was just so wholesome, and cheap!

Dopa Yuzu Green Tea (September 2020)

My partner enjoyed the yuzu green tea more than me.

SEPTEMBER 2020 UPDATE #2

Damn it, we went back. This time we were a bit too full already, having had a light meal at A1 Canteen in the morning.

Dopa Mentai Salmon Don (September 2020)

The Mentai Salmon Don I didn’t really enjoy. It was a far cry from the other light, fresh, unami dishes that Dopa serves. The spicy mentai mayo was too thick and overpowering. I liked that it helped to cook the salmon a bit, and I did really enjoy the salmon component. It was overall too tasty and I wouldn’t recommend.

Dopa Wagyu Don A5+ Shallot and Ginger Don (September 2020)

We also had the A5-7 Wagyu Don with shallot and ginger. I thought the thinly sliced beef was quite tender, however I thought that the ginger and shallot, a mainstay of Chinese BBQ cooking, did not work well with the beef. It split the meal into two components in my mind – the light Japanese taste of the beef, seaweed, and egg, and the salty and strong taste of the ginger and shallot to be eaten with rice. My girlfriend did not get to enjoy this dish as she was moving the car and by the time she got back it was cold.

Overall Dopa is one of our new favourite places. It offers well priced, homely Japanese fare. They never have any uni available when I go but I hope one day they will and I will be able to update this post. Yum.

Dopa Donburi and Milkbar
Shop 5/6, 2 Little Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 8060 4861

Categories
Japanese

Ramen Kaio – Crows Nest NSW Japanese Restaurant Review

Ramen Kaio is a new ramen restaurant that has opened up this month in Crow’s Nest. I was put onto Ramen Kaio by a guy who was previously big in the NSW HSC online forum space in 2010-11. He now works at PwC and I don’t know if he’d appreciate me putting his name on here.

The long and short of it is that Ramen Kaio has some of the best chashu I’ve ever had, and definitely the best that I’ve had in Australia. The chashu absolutely melts in your mouth, and according to their Facebook page they flame sear their meat just before serving.

I had the spicy ramen with level 3 spiciness and extra chashu. The level 3 was not as spicy as I would have liked, but I had to accommodate my partner who is less spice tolerant. The soup flavours were good, and I also enjoyed the included bamboo and bean sprouts which I thought I would have to pay extra for. I can definitely recommend getting extra chashu. It’s not that there’s not enough in the standard dish (indeed there is, they purposely cover half the bowl with it), it’s just that it’s so good.

Ramen Kiao Black Garlic Ramen

The black garlic ramen was my partner’s pick, and one that we were less enthused by. The flavour was good, with a rich cooked garlic taste, but unfortunately we found the ramen as a whole to be too oily. I suspect that’s part and parcel of getting a black garlic ramen, and if it had been less oily it wouldn’t have been so garlicky. I would not get this particular dish again, but understand that others may like it.

I found the gyoza at Ramen Kaio to be underwhelming. There were only 4 for $7 or $8, and the flavour was quite mild and unexciting.

We also had the karaage chicken at Ramen Kiao. I liked that it wasn’t as battered as most, and the large chunks of chicken, but otherwise it was not special. My partner liked it less than me.

Overall I think Ramen Kaio does one thing well, and that’s their great cha-shu. None of the other stuff we tried really stood out. I’d recommend giving the place a visit, just for their cha-shu ramen alone. Save your money and skip the sides and the $9 beer.

Ramen Kaio
98 Falcon St, Crows Nest NSW 2065

Categories
Japanese

Taisho Japanese Restaurant – Mascot NSW Restaurant Review

This is a quick review about Taisho, a Japanese restaurant in Mascot.

Chirashi don (L), Taisho Donkotsu ramen (R)

Taisho Donkotsu ramen ($16.80) was good.

Chirashi don ($16.80) was disappointing (am I the only one who finds it difficult to eat salad and sashimi and rice in one? Leave out the salad!).

Green tea was $5 for a tea bag and hot water. Why?

I think overall Taisho Japanese Restaurant is a bit overpriced for what it is. There were quite a few items that we could have had that we didn’t because it was $6.80 for a tuna hand roll and that’s just ridiculous.

Would I go back? Probably not. I’m a sucker for Japanese food, but if there’s better for cheaper then why bother?

Taisho Japanese Restaurant Mascot
6/8 Bourke St, Mascot NSW 2020
(02) 8317 6382