Category: Cuisines

Categories
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
Korean

DonDon City – Sydney CBD NSW Restaurant Review

I remember it like it were yesterday, however this review has been sitting in my drafts since July 2020. I will first set the scene. I had eaten Korean BBQ with my colleagues from work the night before, and my partner had gotten jealous and demanded that we eat Korean again. We had tried to secure a last minute reservation at a number of Korean restaurants in the city, however due to quite strict COVID-19 regulations the only one we could book was DonDon City.

My partner made the choice adult decision to get a bit tipsy prior to even leaving home, leaving me to be the responsible adult for the night. Above is a photo of banchan as well as the soju ($15) she consumed at the restaurant, atop of her pregame.

Korean fried chicken ($24) was not bad, but not finished. A bit on the tasty side for me, but my partner liked it and subsequently finished it the following day at home.

Seafood pancake ($19) was again, not bad, but not the best I’ve had and nothing to write home about.

Bibimbap ($18) I thought was a bit below average. Visually good but the meat was dry.

I honestly can’t remember how this short beef rib soup ($20) tasted. It was eaten and promptly forgotten.

Overall I think DonDon City was a nonmemorable and middling meal. There was nothing wrong with it in particular, but also nothing very good about it. I remember being full, but not happy. I will do my best to not return (unless I can be promised bossam).

3.5/5

DonDon City
1/636-638 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9261 0023

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
Asian Fusion Vietnamese

Bang Tang – Potts Point NSW Restaurant Review

Bang Tang is a small South-East Asian fusion eatery in Potts Point, located unfortunately close to Ms G, a somewhat more famous and upscale competitor.

While it’s my understanding that there is usually lots of outdoor dining space, we ate lunch on a very rainy day in Potts Point, and internal seating was limited to only a few small tables. The small interior room really gave the place the vibe of a small diner. The service was good, and the food was served quickly. We finished our meal within 50 minutes, which was good as the nearby street parking is limited to 1 and 2 hour spots.

Cigar roll (2 for $6)

The cigar roll (2 for $6) is one of Bang Tang’s specialties. It is a thick, crispy chicken spring roll with a characteristic dry internal filling structure. It was quite large, fresh, a nd delicious, although I couldn’t help but feel that the skewer on which it was served was superfluous. It was much easier to eat with fingers, and chopsticks would have been fine as well.

Prawn and scallop dumpling (2 for $12)

The prawn and scallop dumpling (2 for $12) were a daily special, and quite delicious. We were disappointed when they were served, as they looked flat and unappealing, however this all changed when we tasted them. The filling had a great scallop taste, and the pastry wrapping was also delicious. Unfortunately we weren’t told the price of the dish, and in fact I did not realise they were $12 until writing this review and I took a look at the receipt. $6 for a single dumpling is far too much. But yum.

The Bang Broth Noodle ($17) was basically a chicken pho but with rice noodle rolls instead of rice noodle strips. I liked it. I enjoyed the clear broth and the voluminous serving of fresh bean sprouts and herbs. My partner, who does not like chicken, did not like it as she thought that the roast chicken could’ve been any chicken that was roasted and split up. She is a chicken hater.

The Duck It Up bowl ($24) was a mixture of strongly marinated duck breast, rice, hoisin sauce and maple syrup, tofu, nuts, bean sprouts, herbs. My feelings about this dish were quite mixed. I thought that the fresh bites of vegetables, herbs, and bean sprouts were deliciously fresh, and that the nuts and other crunchy bits provided a great variation in texture. On the other hand, I thought that the duck and the rice and sauce components on the bottom of the bowl were too tasty and oversauced. It was basically two meals in one – one that I very much enjoyed the freshness of, and one that I thought was too bogged down in sauce. Even when mixing the bowl together I found that the entire bowl was too sauced. I particularly didn’t care for t he duck, which was too sauced, however my girlfriend enjoyed it.

Overall I quite enjoyed the food at Bang Tang. Everything ranged from good to great. I did think that the expensive prawn and scallop dumplings were a bit of a price shock, however their good taste almost made up for it. I would definitely recommend Bang Tang for a quick dinner, however I don’t know how the logistics would work for a long date or dinner with a group of friends as parking is quite limited.

4/5

Bang Tang
2/145 Victoria St, Potts Point NSW 2011
(02) 8542 0133