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.
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 Fugetsu
Against Fugetsu
Free parking in Market City after 6PM until the following morning, permitting other CBD baseda ctivities
More 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 hour
Aburi nigiri is universally drenched in mayonnaise
Wide range of non-sushi foods
Non-sushi foods experienced including the takoyaki and wagyu skewers were either not good or quite expensive
Open until later than Sushi Hotaru
Quality 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
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
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
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
COOH’s Bourke Road restaurant has long been on my list of places to eat at this year. We’ve driven past it countless times on our way to the other restaurants, but it’s taken us over nine months of living in the area to finally pay a visit.
COOH is situated in a high-ceilinged warehouse on Bourke Road. There is no parking available, and minimal street parking in the area, so we did a sneaky and parked at Grounds of Alexandria around the corner. It is a beautiful, large room setup, with a large bar and kitchen area on show. We had lunch on a Wednesday, the same time as what appeared to be a local mum and bubs group.
The potato chips with aioli ($8) were salty and ultimately unsatisfying. It is difficult to pinpoint what was wrong with them, and it was probably more a constellation of things that did not quite meet the mark. We found that we were quite aioli dependent with these chips, and ran out of the aioli early. Luckily we were able to get additional aioli at no charge.
I ordered the seared tuna with a spice crust, spiralised salad, jalapeno salsa, and avocado puree ($26). This was a dish I was quite excited about – there are some beautiful photos online of essentially sashimi tuna with a seared crust, and that’s what I thought I would be getting. I was wrong. The tuna that I ate today was almost fully cooked through, nowhere near as rare or raw as expected. While I enjoyed the flavours in the spiced crust I felt like the overcooking lead to a strange and unpleasant texture – no better than what I could make by myself at home. I enjoyed the spiralised salad, as well as the avocado puree, and thought the plating was quite nice. I could not identify any jalapeno salsa, and indeed didn’t realise it was meant to be part of it until I took another look at the menu whilst writing this review. I would not recommend this dish.
The Morrocan lamb and quinoa ($28) I enjoyed even less than the seared tuna. Most disappointing was the inexplicable lukewarm temperature of the lamb, almost as if it had been cooked and left to rest for far too long. The quinoa was also cold, which I just don’t feel goes well with a meat such as lamb, which is meant to be served hot. I enjoyed every other element of the dish – the plating, the mint yoghurt, the sweet potato, currants, and pomegranate seeds, but unfortunately the two title ingredients were a let down.
My trip to COOH was ultimately a let down. I didn’t really enjoy anything we had, despite the restaurant having generally good reviews online. My partner had good things to say about the space, and even considered it for some kind of formal occasion in the future, however the food was such a let down that it would be a veto.
