Mortadella

Taste

No matter what they say, and more importantly, who makes it, I still am not a fan of Mortadella. I think it's too processed. It's nice enough if you pair it with some nice bread, but I won't go out of my way to eat it. I think this particular one is nice enough, but I am a bit prejudiced.

Rating - 5

Look

Pretty and pink, with studs of fat and other ingredients. All fake really!

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

Certainly cheaper than other meat but you can tell the quality is not as good either!

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 7.5

Ingredients

milk solids non-fat, soy concentrate, preservatives, antioxidants, food acids, active regulator, flavour enhancers, water

Available At

Lamonica's Fresh Supermarket
155 Ramsay Rd
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Phone (02) 97984105

Prosciutto Dorsogna

Taste

Nothing can probably taste as good as the prosciutto from Italy, but this came very close. This was salty, but also has a nice layer of fat, and more importantly, more than just seasoning! You can taste the smoky aged meat.

Rating - 7.5

Look

They slice it thinly for you, as they should. The prosciutto is a dark red, verging on brown, and looks beautiful with its side of white fat.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$45/kg. Actually I think it's more expensive in Italy, so this was perfectly acceptable. I heard the new imported Parma hams costs up to $120 a kilo, so this is nothing really!

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

pork, salt, sugar, spice, spice extract, antioxidant, sodium nitrate

Available At

Lamonica's Fresh Supermarket
155 Ramsay Rd
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Phone (02) 97984105

Smoked Salmon

Taste

I haven't bought fresh smoked salmon for a long time. I was surprised at how different it tastes! The quality of the salmon was pretty good, but this has been treated to more herbs and spices than usual, so tastes completely different to packaged smoked salmon. It's nice to have something different for a change.

Rating - 7.5

Look

A fiery pinky red, with flakes of red and green from the marinate. One thing about fresh smoked salmon though is that it doesn't travel very well. The oil came out of the side of the package pretty quickly.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

$40.50/kg is expensive, but at least you can buy as much or as little as you like!

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

salmon, salt, natural wood smoke

Available A0.5

Lamonica's Fresh Supermarket
155 Ramsay Rd
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Phone (02) 97984105

Salami Casa Mild

Taste

These actually were a bit milder than I wanted. Don't get me wrong, they are full of spices and who knows what else goes in the salami. I actually quite like it mild as I can taste the meat instead of just overwhelming hotness.

Rating - 7

Look

A deep blood red, right up my alley. Small bits of fat are scattered all around.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$25.99/kg, not bad for good quality goods.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

selected port, salt, selected spices, dexantioxidant, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, starter culture

Available At

Lamonica's Fresh Supermarket
155 Ramsay Rd
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Phone (02) 97984105

Semi-Dried Tomatoes

Taste

These were much more juicy and sweet than other tomatoe products - most notably the ones you can get at Woolies or Coles. Again, the oil let it down a bit.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Glossy red tomatoes and a sprinkling of herbs.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

$27/kg, about on par with antipasto products.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

semi-dried tomatoes, canola and olive oil blend, garlic, salt, herbs, sices

Available At

Lamonica's Fresh Supermarket
155 Ramsay Rd
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Phone (02) 97984105

Marinated Mushroom

Taste

These were a mix of huge caps and small white button mushrooms, marinated in a slightly spicy and sweet mix of spices and oil. The mushrooms were meaty and juicy and sucked up all the oil. I only wish the oil is of better quality.

Rating - 6.5

Look

juicy milky caps, specked with green and red. All packaged in plastic container. A bit messy, but worth it.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

$23.50/kg. Kinda expensive, but it's the price you pay for fresh produce.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

mushrooms, canola oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, parsley, oregano, red bell pepper, granulated garlic

Available At

Lamonica's Fresh Supermarket
155 Ramsay Rd
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Phone (02) 97984105

CioMod NeroPuro dark chocolate

Taste

Yum! Why is it that chocolate from European countries taste so much better than the stuff from Australia? This one was ultra smooth and bitter, just the way I like it. CioMod is very famous in Italy. You can only eat a little at a time, which is also a good thing.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Super sexy packaging as you would expect from the Italians. The box is black with embossed logo. Small writing in white declare the contents of the box, not that I know what it says...

The chocolate itself is divided into small blocks, reflecting that you should only get a little at a time I suppose!

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

100g for a lot of Euros!

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

cocoa mass (min 55%), cane sugar

Available At

Italy!

Josephine's Chunky Dips

Taste

We picked up teh Macadamia chilli & Ginger, as it seemed like an intriging combination, and I loved it. I wonder why no one has done this before, but a ginger dip is very refreshing and gives it a kick. It'll be a great dip to add to cooking, especially white meat.

Rating - 7.5

Look

A beautiful yellow colour without much oil, otherwise the packaging is of a top class dip. I'm a fan.

Rating - 2

C-factor

150g for around $3, not bad at all.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

arrots, canola oil, glace ginger (11%), macadamias (9%), cashews, ground coriander, garlic powder, parsley flakes, lemon juice concentrate, salt, chilli
(.05%), preservative

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Truffettes de France

Taste

These babies, made by Chocmod, are the best packaged truffles I've ever tasted, in fact, they taste better than some specially made ones. Made with premium dark chocolate, the filling is soft but not runny. It has the most beautiful aroma, and is lightly coated in chocolate dusting.

Rating - 8.5

Look

Beautifully packaged, then seal in gold foil. Each one looks perfect with their brown coating.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

These are very expensive chocolates, as befitting the quality. You can buy them in bulk to save some money though.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 12.5

Ingredients

partially hudrogenated vegetabel fats, sugar, low fat cocoa, whey powder, cocoa powder, emulsifier

Available At

specialty stores

JellyBelly Jelly Beans

Taste

Jelly Belly are an upper class jelly bean. They certainly taste a lot, and I mean a lot, better than your average supermarket variety. I sampled:

• peach - just like those peach lollies you can get
• juicy pear - tastes like a sweet william pear, absolutely divine!
• coconut - beautiful, sweet coconut fragrant!
• raspberry - a bit too artificial and too sweet
• green apple - tastes more sweet than tart and sharp, not the best
• lemon - an intense burst of lemon flavour, quite nice
• orange - pretty ordinary and boring
• tangarine - quite tangy and fresh, much better than the orange
• red apple - much better than the green apple and more the apple flavour I was expecting
• wild blackberry - kinda sweet, taste a bit more like grapes than blackberry... or maybe that was grape...
• grape - like the fake grape lollies you get at the Asian stores
• blueberry - a subtle berry flavour and very pleasant, not too fake but beautiful
• plum - very similar to the blueberry but a bit sweeter and sharper
• banana - like those banana lollies I hate. People really should stop making things with that banana flavouring. It doesn't taste like bananas at all!

Now I want to try them all!

Rating - 6.5

Look

Love it. My sample came with a "recipe" where you can make all these food by combining different jellybean flavours. e.g. tiramisu = cream soda + cappuccino + cappuccino + coconut
banana split = top banana+chocolate pudding+crushed pineapple+strawberry jam+very cherry+cream soda

They come in the cutest packaging, with the cherry Jelly Belly logo. Each jelly bean is very small, and colour coded to represent the different flavours. They have the coolest names too!

Rating - 3

C-factor

I got all my samples for free but they are a bit exy when you buy them normally.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

sugar, glucose syrup, modified cornstarch, grape juice concentrate, peach concentrate, blueberry puree, raspberry puree, banana puree, citric acid ,plum juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, coconut, colours, fumaric acid ,alctic acid ,acidity regulator, glazing agents, malic acid ,tapioca dextrin

Available At

specialty stores

Asuka

People at work have been raving about this place for ages, so I was very eager to check it out, unfortunately, half of Sydney also decided that this was a good place to have lunch...

Food

We took us ages to order, but once we did, the food arrived promptly. I've had a thing for Tonkotsu/tonkatsu (depending on which way they want to spell it) ramen ever since I spied it on the menu at Ichi Ban Boshi. When I saw that this was on the menu, I went for it. Asuka's Tonkotsu Rahmen ($9.80) was described as "rahmen noodles in special white soup and vegetable on top". The noodles were the best of any noodles I've had, springy and tasty, the broth was pretty good too. What I wasn't so happy about was that they only gave me 3 small, and I mean small pieces of pork (which was nicely done), a few seaweed sheets and some corn. It was definitely not worth my $9.80.

We had to order the Chicken Bento ($9.80) as takeaway, as it took so long before we could order. The menu described it as "assorted chicken (teriyaki & schnitzel". Four compartments arrived including a teriyaki on rice, which had a nice sauce but only ok chicken. Another contained one lone broccoli with sesame. The broccoli was crunchy but I don't see the point of it except to look pretty. The chicken katsu was the pick of the four, a satisfying schniztel with a nice coating and top-rate sauce, lying on top of the ubiquitous coleslaw with mayo. The last compartment had a deep fried chicken which wasn't worth mentioning at all...

I have to say, disappointing, but maybe we ordered wrong as some of the other stuff look pretty good...

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

Situated beneath the BT office tower at Darling Harbour, it's an out of the way place, akin to an alleyway in Japan. Unfortunately this place has been discovered. People have packed out all the wooden tables and all the other room taken up by people waiting for a table or waiting for takeaway. The walls have Japanese written menus and Japanese beer advertisement. There's a bit of Japanese decoration also.

Because of the people, this place certainly has a buzz, if you have the time and patient to wait, or come at a less busy time, and you will probably be in for an almost authentic treat.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Ok, I had heard that this place was popular, but not this popular. No one greeted us when we walked in, and the staff didn't even appear. We just took a seat when some people left, and I had to fight through the crowd to get my own menu. After that I had to go up to the counter to order and pay. We couldn't attract the staff attention at all. If they are that run off their feet, they really should consider hiring some extra staff. It was ridiculous having to wait for so long just to order.

The staff were all Japanese, so I was expecting more service, but they did apologise and I guess the staff can't do anything if they are just over busy.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

The food was good, but the serving and the service definitely don't justify the price. It's cheaper for takeaway so maybe I'll go for that option next time.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

Shop 2,
1 Market St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9261 4337

Vasandha Bhavan

Instead of going back to our usual haunt, Janani again, we decided to give another place a go. Vasandha Bhavan is situated right opposite Homebush station, and specialises in Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine.

Food

The item menu look very similar to Janani, with a few new items and some old favourites. We decided to try out a favourite at Janani for comparisons. The Eggplant Curry ($9.50) - eggplant cooked in spice tomato sauce, was very nice indeed. The eggplants soaked up all the tomato sauce, and there were fresh curry leaves and fresh tomatoes in the sauce. It was just the right level of hotness. The only complaint is it's a bit oily, but most eggplant curries seem to have this problem. The Butter Naan ($2.50) we ordered to accompany this was disappointing. It was limp, flat and had none of that flakiness of fresh Naan. I know we ordered butter naan, but it was extremely oily. Good think we only ordered one to try first. Besides, the size of the curry wasn't that big that we needed to order another one.

I LOVE the dosais at Janani, so I decided to try one here, but one that is not on the menu at Janani. The Bangalore Dosai ($6.90) is described on the menu as "Dosai (lentil and rice pancake) stuffed with spicy potato/sesame masala". It's an interesting concept. The dosai is thin and expertly executed. The stuffing mix was a mix of spicy potato with coconut. The sweet and hot combination somehow works. It's a bit different but I really enjoyed it.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

Instead of Indian chic, this place is your more conventional Indian. There's a takeaway section, with a cabinet to display their takeaway offerings, a cabinet with drinks and desserts. The next room is the eat-in, with tablecloths and service! The decoration is quite plain but pleasant enough. The most important thing though were the people eating there were of Indian descent. However, on a Sunday lunch time, only one or two table were occupied.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The service is a notch above, but that's what you get in a restaurant with not many patrons right? Our waiter was friendly and helpful, and after we ordered, the chef came to explain that the dosai was a bit hot and if we were ok with it. They came to make sure everything was ok and replenish our waters, but otherwise they left us alone.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

This was more expensive than Janani. The curry was expensive for such a small serve, but the dosai was quite good value. I guess we have to pay a little extra for table cloth!

The all important question though is, would I come back? If there was no Janani I would say this place was great, but it just can't compete with Janani I'm sorry.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13

Info

19-20 The Crescent
Homebush
NSW 2140
Phone (02) 9746 5530

Azuma

I bought a voucher to Azuma some months back and had been waiting for the opportunity to use it. We decided to go the day before Valentine's Day, and it seemed, so did half of Sydney.

Food

We were here for the Omakase Menu ($110 p.p), 10 specially designed courses to show off the chef's skills. Before that though, we thought we would complete the whole experience by ordering some drinks to match. Slokky got the Green Tea ($3.50), which was very tasty, made from the real stuff, and was a bottomless glass, although when they got busy you had to ask for it to be refilled.

I went for the good stuff, the Sake Set ($12) - Sake Tasting Set - 3 glasses, 60ml each of a selection of both Japanese and Australian sakes ranging from semi-dry to super dry:

• Go-shu Dry - Semi dry from Penrith NSW. This was the sweet tasting one, good for the non sake drinker, but not one that I prefer.
• Otokoyama 'Junmai' - dry from Hokkaido JPN. This was your "vanilla" drink. Not too sweet and not too dry, pleasing to everyone.
• Tsukasa-Botan 'Senchu-hassaku' - super dry from Kochi JPN. Surprisingly, this one was my favourite. It wasn't that nice cold but once it warmed up, has a clear taste that is like premium vodka. It paired with the Japanese food beautifully.

The courses started coming, each on some beautifully designed, and more importantly, functional, plates and bowls:

• Japanese potato jelly with sweet miso & vinegar sauce - 3 slivers of jelly in green tea, black sesame, and chilli. You can only detect a hint of their flavour, otherwise they are quite tasteless. The genius of this dish comes after you've dipped them in the exquisite sauce, after which you get the aftertaste of their individual flavour.
• Assorted sashimi, served with soy sauce and wasabi - we were served tuna and salmon. It was fresh and fatty, but I wish there were more variety to try as afterall, this was supposed to be a tasting menu and meant to be adventurous.
• Amuse-bouche, Azuma's style- A plate came with Pacific oyseter & salmon roe with ponzu sauce (nice but I like my oysters natural), Prawn Nanban with tartare sauce (ummm, taste like fried prawn, nothing special), Smoked salmon with daikon radish (a very mild taste, didn't set anything on fire), Grilled silver code fillet marinated in Saikyo miso (my favourite of the 4, with a beautiful sauce and reminds me of Japan).
• Azuma unique sushi - We were served smoked salmon and soy marinated tuna, not your average sushi. The fish have been marinated and cooked, so no raw sushi there. Because they've already been cooked you don't need to dip it in anything either. In fact, the waiter advised us not to dip the sushi in anything. The rice was exquisite, making me want to try their normal sushi offerings. I think I prefer the classic sushi to the cooked ones though.
• Steamed egg custard with prawn and chicken - the egg custard was so silky smooth, the technique was excellent. I wish there was more exquisite ingredient used though as the prawn and chicken were both ordinary and kind of an anti-climax.
• Assorted tempura prawn and vegetables - I identified eggplant and yam. The batter was well done and I enjoyed this dish, even though again, it was more average than adventurous.
• Wagyu sirloin steak, served with garlic soy sauce - I was looking forward to this as it was the "main dish". When it arrived I was disappointed. It was presented on a sizzling hot plate, but the sauce was too overpowering for the beef and I couldn't taste very much "beef" taste.
• Seared tuna and daikon with citrus soy sauce - also not what I expected. This was about 2 slices of tuna with a very pleasant sauce, but it's not that adventurous either.
• Udon noodle - I wasn't really full up to this point as the servings had been very small. In a way this was a good way to finish the meal (and fill you up for a cheap price!). This taste just like the soup noodles I had in Japan! It was very good, especially with some chilli flakes added in the broth.
• Assorted desserts - a tasting plate of 3 desserts completed our meal. The creme brulee was very well done. Again, silky smooth with a crunchy caramel top, green apple sorbet was refreshing, slightly alcoholic, the chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce was nicely executed, nice and airy, but I wish the chocolate was more bitter.

Half the fun though is of course in the presentation. Azuma didn't disappoint in this department. All the dishes were presented on beautiful ceramic bowls and plates, everything was artfully arranged, and they all looked good too! Overall, the food was executed very well, I just thought that the dishes would be more adventurous, instead, they are classic (to Westeners anyway) Japanese dishes executed well.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

This place is beautifully decorated. The furnishing is pretty modern but somehow retains a sense of Japan. There are some beautiful artworks displayed all around. A plasma plays a video of Japan in its various seasons. And of course, the Japanese waiters. Maybe it's the dimness, but somehow all of this adds to the surreal atmosphere.

One thing I was quite surprised about though, on a Tuesday night the restaurant was actually filled to capacity! There were all kinds of people dining, Japanese entertaining guests, couples, tourists.

The entrance has a little Japanese display that you should check out. There are also several function rooms (which were all full), and the sushi bar where you can watch the experts at work.

Rating - 2.5

Service

I LOVE their service, and I will come back again just for that hospitality. When I first went to buy the voucher, they were so nice to me. They actually printed me a personalised voucher, beautifully wrapped in Japanese paper, and the owner came to thank me especially for the purchase.

The staff handled the crowd, as well as the takeaway trade from the finance people in Chifley Tower, mostly very well. One of two times they were run off their feet, but they always apologise. Plus, it's the kind of place you want to linger and enjoy your food anyway.

Our waiter had a bit of trouble with explaining the food in English, but I love to hear his accent ;p

Rating - 5

C-factor

It's a little expensive for this meal, the price being on par with the top (i.e. 2 or 3 hats) restaurants. You could probably order a-la carte and try more of the menu, but you really come for the whole experience, including the ambiance, the presentation and the staff, so it's a small price to pay really.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 15.5

Info

Level 1, Chifley Plaza
2 Chifley Square
(Cnr. of Phillip & Hunter Street)
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9222 9960
Website

Tasmanian Pate Christmas Pack

Taste

I got a special Christmas Pack, which means I get turkey, a heavenly pate that's a bit of a change from the boring old chicken liver that's usually available. The flavour is more delicate. The smoked salmon brings together the Christmas theme with seafood. This is is a bit less successful than the turkey, with a heavy hand on the cream cheese. Still, it's quite a good product. I wish you can get this at other times besides Christmas.

Rating - 7.5

Look

A twin pack. They look beautiful presented together, but it means it's much harder to store. Each pate is topped with its distinctive topping, they will look beautiful on any cheese platter.

Rating - 2

C-factor

150g for $1.99, a total bargain!

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 11.5

Ingredients

Turkey

turkey liver, lard, onions, gelatine, herbs, juniper berries, chives, almonds ,bell peppers, salt, pepper, preservatives, water

smoked salmon

cream cheese, smoke salmon (30%), tomato paste, gelatine, taroma (smoked flavour), salt, citric acid, bell peppers, chives, caramel flavour, water

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

South Cape Red Pesto & Cream Cheese

Taste

This dip from South Cape was quite yummy. A little bit salty a little bit creamy. It is less boring than normal.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Quite spectacular, the dip is in two layers, you can mix it or eat it separately.

Rating - 2

C-factor

150g for $3.50, a fair price.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

cream cheese (70%), (milk, cream, salt, milk solids non-fat, vegetable gum, cultures), lemon juice, salt, white pepper.Topping: cashews (20%), vegetable oil, sundried tomato, capsicum (11%), water, red chilli puree, parmesan cheese (7%), olive oil, vinegar, garlic, white pepper, food acid, salt , preservative

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Tasmania Heritage Camembert

Taste

I've tried a few products from Tasmania Heritage before, but the Camembert is not one of their best products. It doesn't taste quite ripe enough, even though the expiry date was very soon. It is only slightly better than the plastic tasting cheese on offer at the supermarket, with none of the creaminess and nuttiness I was expecting. Very disappointed, considering some of their cheese are first rate.

Rating - 4.5

Look

We got this from the factory, so it came with minimal packaging. The cheese itself is covered in the white mold, with the inside a creamy yellow.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

120g round for $1 at the Lactos factory. A bargain considering it costs about $6 from the shops.

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

milk, cultures, salt, rennet

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

41º South Hot-Smoked Baby Salmon

Taste

We tasted the hot-smoked fillets in the 41º South factory, and it was a heavenly intense smoky experience. We decided to try the whole salmon as this was described as being milder in taste...and that skin...True to word, this salmon was much less enhanced by herbs and spices, allowing the natural sweetness of the salmon to shine through. The flesh was firm but easily flaked. The skin was slimy, slightly caramelised around the edges, and divine. This is definitely better than the fillet.

Rating - 7.5

Look

A whole baby salmon looks very impressive, it is vacuumed sealed for freshness. The skin is glossy with a soft pink flesh.

Rating - 2

C-factor

You will have to pay a lot more than our $13 to get this quality in Sydney.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

Tasmanian grown Atlantic salmon, wood smoke, brined in water, sugar, salt selected herbs and spices

Available At

323 Montana Road
Deloraine
TAS 7304
Phone (03) 6362 4130
Website

La Casa Del Formaggio Bocconcini

Taste

There are several varieties available from the La Casa Del Formaggio:

• Fresh traditional - big blobs of almost fresh bocconcini, not as creamy as the best available. Better to use in cooking
• Cherry - little bite sized blobs, tasting just like the traditional, but looks good in salads
• Fresh marinated - coated in an oil mixture that makes them taste much better. My only complain is that the oil is not of the best variety, you rely on the herbs for flavour

Rating - 5

Look

A tub of this is handy to throw in cooking, salad, or just for a snack. It comes in a clear resealable container you can just keep in the fridge.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

350g and 220g for 99 cents! But the R.R.P is $3.59.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 7.5

Ingredients

Fresh marinated

bocconcici 60% (milk, salt, non animal rennet, starter culture), canola oil, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, herbs, spices

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Ashgrove Farm Traditional Cloth Matured Cheddar

Taste

This signature cheese from Ashgrove Farm is very labour intensive, requiring constant rubbing and turning, and has won a string of awards, including a gold medal and named Champion Cheddar of the 2002 Royal Hobart Show.

For all of that, I found it quite easy to melt, but it is a bit salty to be used as just an eating cheese. It tastes nice in a melt but I wouldn't eat it as is. The texture is quite hard and not crumbly, it doesn't quite melt in the mouth. There is a hint, but only very slight, of nuttiness to it. The cloth does give it a different flavour which I quite like.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Beautiful in its cloth bound ashy outer layer, I'm afraid it's a case of looks over function. All Ashgrove farm cheese are usually sold vacuum sealed instead of cut from the wheels.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$26/kg from the factory, it's their most expensive product, one I think is not really worth the money.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 8.5

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Maisys Cafe

Taste

After our dinner at Totoya, we stopped here for dessert since the gelato shop was already closed. I sampled the iced coffee ($4.50), which is served with a dash of cream. It wasn't too icy and wasn't sweetened so you can mix it with the cream. The coffee itself is slightly bitter and watery. The problem was that the place was freezing that I didn't feel like drinking anything cold at all.

Rating - 5

Look

Maisys is a 24 hour cafe, so at times when other shops are closed, you'll find it packed with people on a late night food haunt. It's a split level fitout, with seating downstairs, a kitchen upstairs, and an alcove on the split in between. We sat in the alcove as the downstairs and outside tables were all full. As mentioned before, they had the air-con on full blast, and when we asked the waiter to turn it down, he said he didn't have the remote. What a stupid answer. Someone must be able to turn that thing on and off, I don't believe they get the air-con run all the time right? (or maybe they do since the place is never closed). There are only about 6 or so tables in the alcove. It's a much more secluded spot. One advantage of sitting there is you get to watch the kitchen send down all their food via a dumb waiter. It seemed a bit dangerous sitting where we were, as they pull and lower this thing at lightning speed.

We didn't order any desserts but apparently they are the highlight of the whole menu. They certainly looked appealing. The rest of the menu is supposed to be pretty bad. I don't think I need to come back to find out.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

The prices are quite expensive for coffee. For other food the portions are supposed to be very small for what you pay.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 6.5

Available At

Shop 1,164 Military Rd
Neutral Bay
NSW 2089
Phone (02) 9908 4030

Totoya Japanese Restaurant

We were off to another birthday party, and another Japanese in Neutral Bay in 2 weeks.

Food

This is the favourite haunt of a few in the party, so we let them do the ordering. We started off with some skewers (yakimono) since we've been smelling them from the kitchen.

• chicken skewers with chilli roe - the chicken was a bit bland but the chilli roe was interesting, salty and hot, I think it's more a novelty than a culinary breakthrough
• pork skewers - well done, with a subtle sauce and the fat still on the meat, adding flavour
• chicken and shallots skewers - again bland chicken, a little tough too, the sauce a bit too strong and overpowering.

Our other entrees were:

• beef tatarki - beautiful slices of meat marinated in a fresh citrus sauce, but it was covered in shallots and onions, not a good date dish ;p
• deep fried oyster - I still don't see the appeal of frying oysters when you should have then au naturel! The batter was a bit thick and the sauce a bit too strong, masking the natural flavour of the oysters
• soft shell crab - which were meant to be the highlight on the menu, was good, but the size of it is quite small, meaning you are eating more batter than crab. This was done better at Kansai.
• agedashi tofu - again, the batter a bit thick and the tofu was very firm, but the sauce, laden with bonito flakes, was quite good.

By that time we were quite full, and our mains hadn't arrived yet! Never fear, when they did, they looked and smelled so good we found room for some more:

• grilled eel on rice - one of my all time favourite dishes. Soft pieces of eel laid on top of a bed of rice, all coated in a divine sauce. I just can't figure out why there are a bucketload of shallots and wasabi! in the bowl. It was certainly entertaining watching people accidentally swallowing chunks of wasabi...
• gyoza - pleasant enough with a good filling, the skin was ok but not the best
• sushi and sashimi boat ($25) - presented beautifully but arriving last meant that we were struggling to finish it. The sashimi slices were thick, fatty and fresh. The nigiri were good, with a perfect slice of fish on top of some ok rice. The maki and rolls were ok, but a bit tasteless, and the rice a bit hard. There were also pieces of eggs presented, which were sweet..

We washed all that down with some green tea, which was the proper stuff and tasted great.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

Totoya is situated inside a shopping centre, so it's a bit hard to find. The decor is somewhat dated and very simple, Our tables were loosely banged together. There's a fish tank with some pretty tropical fish in the entrance, other than that, nothing special.

You don't come here for the decor though, as the restaurant bean filling up. Mainly families, some celebrating Chinese New Year. It's not somewhere to go if you want an intimate dinner for two, but for simple, honest food, it seems quite popular.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The service was...ok. They were a bit slow removing our dishes and clearing the table. We had to ask them to refill the teapot. But it's a cheap kind of place, so we didn't expect too much. According to the regulars though, they often get orders wrong so we actually kept tabs on what we ordered.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

$30.20 per person for our feast. We were all full by the end of it. There are so many Jap restaurants at Neutral Bay you know you won't get rip offed, and these prices are certainly fair. It's just that you can eat better and for cheaper at Kansai.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 10.5

Info

The Grove, Shop 13
166-174 Military Road
Neutral Bay
NSW 2089
Phone (02) 9908 7045

Serigo Espresso Coffee

Taste

My cappuccino ($3.50)is a bit more bitter than I am used to, but it's definitely strong! They use LavAzza beans which explains their bitterness. The cap was served in the proper cup with a heavy hand with the cocoa powder. The coffee wasn't too hot. Since this is now my new local I am getting used to the taste.

Yes I am usually a cappuccino drinker but I also tried the iced frappe ($4), which surprisingly was a shot of coffee, milk and ice, with no sugar. I actually quite like it, even if it does taste like drinking cold coffee...

Rating - 6.5

Look

Yet another cafe situated in the plaza of an officer tower. This one is actually quite big inside, with booths and a large selection of reading material. They have outside seating, which is only great if you don't want to talk, as the construction site across the road as well as the traffic makes conversation virtually impossible.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

It's pricey, especially the frappe, which is served in a very small glass.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 8

Available At

101 York Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9279 3050

Bar Biscotti Coffee

Taste

They have committed the ultimate sin, inconsistency. We ordered 2 cappuccinos, and even when made by the same person (the girl), one was much better than the other! The one that was well made was not too hot and was smooth, the other one, hot and bitter! They use Caffe Molinari beans which I quite like. I've had coffees made by the guy there before, and he is quite good, so, I might give this place another shot, as long as the girl is not making the coffees.

Rating - 5

Look

Another one of those to fit the mould of the typical cafe. White tables and chairs, with a modern fitout. They have displays of cakes and biscuits, lots of newspapers and magazines, and Al-fresco dining.

Rating - 2

C-factor

The prices sure beats the city. $2.50 for a small sized coffee is pretty good. Just make sure you get served by the guy.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 8.5

Available At

24 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW
Phone (02) 9746 7333
Website

Chrysler Coffee

Taste

I've only ever been to the branch of this chain that's in Martin Place. I always thought their coffee is pretty average. It's usually not bitter but I always found it's a bit watery. I would put it as slightly above average. They have their own blend of Columbian and Brazilian Arabicas bean. One good thing though is that I find they are usually pretty consistent.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Chrysler is all dark chrome and moody. I really like their staff uniform and their lettering. Their coffees? They don't do latte art but it's quite nice. The chain at Martin Place has mostly outdoor seating (but undercover) which can get quite cold on a windy day.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

The standard price around this side of the city. $3.30 for a standard sized coffee.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 9.5

Available At

60 Martin Place
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9232 2355
Website

Bond Cafe Coffee

Taste

I have been going here for awhile since it's my development coach's favourite hangout. They use Allpress beans which is not quite as bitter as Segafredo, but the quality of their coffee is quite varied. The cappuccino is usually served hot and in the right hand, is smooth and creamy, but in the wrong hand...And we all know that consistency is very important for this product.

Rating - 7.5

Look

I've described the look of this place before...

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

$3.50 for standard sit-down and $3 for take-away. Ok for the city.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 9.5

Available At

111 Phillip St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9223 9332
Website

Coffee Club Burwood

I've had their coffees before, but I'd always been fascinated by their displays of cake, so we gave them a road test.

Food

We chose the New York Baked Cheesecake ($5.20), which is always a good choice to test cheesecake skills. I thought it was better than average. The base was quite firm and the cheese sweet, with a hint of lemon, but I thought it didn't taste that fresh, the edges of the cake was starting to harden. There's a dollop of cream on top and sweet chocolate to finish it off. The Cookie & Cream Cheesecake ($5.20) is more of a novelty. The base is thicker than the New York Baked, and is of course made from Oreos! The cake itself does not have much cheese taste but is more like a Cookies and Cream ice-cream. There's a good ratio between the cookies & the cream, and the little Oreo in top is yum!

Slokky ordered another Cappuccino ($3.10), made from their own "The Coffee Club designer blend", which incidentally tastes better than the one on the Gold Coast. I decided to try something different and went for the Chai Latte ($3.30). I have had some pretty decent Chai Latte before, but unfortunately this is not one of them. It was sickingingly sweet, and instead of a complex blend of fragrant spices to enhance the tea, all I can taste is cinnamon.

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

Yup, this one is in a shopping centre. We actually sat on a table right next to a set of escalators. It's kinda weird but kinda has its charms. All Coffee Clubs look the same, with dark wood and black the colour schemes. Their most attractive feature is their excellent display of daily cakes and savouries, which always draw me in to have a peak.

Our cakes look adorable, glossy and decorated with chocolate bits and Oreos. Too bad they were served in plastic containers with plastic forks as they were cleaning up.

Rating - 1.5

Service

We went to ask the girl what time they closed, a simple question we thought. She went on about all these other things irrelevant to the question, like the kitchen was closed but you can have coffee...etc before we finally got an answer out of her. She also couldn't handle our order request very well. In terms of service, well, you pay first, take a number, and they deliver your food, so really, it's not that difficult. Like I mentioned before, we had to eat off plastic takeaway containers and drink from takeaway cups... but the cakes still look cute!

Rating - 2

C-factor

I don't go out for cakes that often, preferring to make my own. I feel that $5.20 is a lot for a piece of cake, considering you can prob buy a whole cake for about $30 max. I am surprised that they don't have some coffee and cake deal going on though.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

K23 Westfield Burwood
100 Burwood Rd
Burwood
NSW 2134
Phone (02) 9715 3844
Website

Sun Ming Coffee Lounge

This place has been a franchises in the Asian belts of Hurstville and Parramatta forever. I used to frequent the one in Hurstville quite a bit, as it was "the place" to hang out. Let me say before I review that Asian coffee lounges is not one of my favourite style of restaurants, but for those who haven't had the experience before, it's definitely worth checking one out to see how Asians interpret "gwo luo" food.

Food

We decided to order one Coffee Lounge favourite, Portuguese baked chicken rice ($10.40) with scallops and tomatoes and one special BBQ duck noodles ($8.90). Before we dug in, the complementary soup arrived. I actually didn't expect that especially for lunch. The soup was a warming carrot and chicken soup, and was a great way to start the meal. Before long, the noodles arrived. The noodles were quite silky and had great texture, however the sauce was just ok, and there wasn't much of the duck (which was a bit tasteless) at all.

The Portuguese rice was much better. For those unfamiliar. This is basically rice, covered in a creamy and coconutty cheese sauce, then baked. The aroma is beautiful. I found the sauce a bit sweet and not fragrant enough, but otherwise perfectly acceptable. I washed all these down with a hot lemon tea, which was...ummm, a hot lemon tea and not very special at all.

The food is quite acceptable at this place, but I still don't like Asian coffee lounges, as I've never had a good deal at one. Other offerings you are likely to find at a typical lounge include "doll" noodles, pasta, chicken wings, spam and toast, that basically sums up why I don't like coffee lounges.

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

It's actually quite spacious as far as Asian eateries go. The tables are still bare laminex, with menus stuck up around the wall. In the corner there's a BBQ section hung all with the daily roast selection. All part of the experience really.

Rating - 1

Service

Typical Asian eatery. The ladies were nicer to me since I spoke Chinese. They took our orders quickly, rattled off the list of availabilities, bought us bowls and spoons for sharing, all delivered efficiently and impersonally. You pay at the counter.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

It's more expensive than takeaway but it's not outrageous as the servings are pretty big.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 10

Info

4/125 Church Street
Parramatta
NSW 2150
Phone (02) 9689 2178

Taro Milk Tea

Taste

At first I thought it tasted great, not too sweet and with a deep taro flavour, then some of the ice started melting and I realised there is no flavour at all! The pearls are standard and tastes of pretty much nothing, but I love their chewy texture, and of course sucking them up in that big straw! This one has been pre-made from powder, and just like all drinks that are pre-made, is not very good at all. I won't be coming back here.

Rating - 3

Look

Very cute. A light purple colour, with black pearls floating around the bottom. The top has been vacuum sealed, and you poke those big straws right through the middle. Half the fun is in the packaging really.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

A standard size for $3. You are really just getting ice and pearls, which in my eyes are a big rip off.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 5.5

Available At

Viva Bakers
Shop 1153, Zone G Westfield
Parramatta
NSW 2123
Phone (02) 9687 0405

Black Swan Dips

Taste

This was part of a Christmas Entertainer collection from Black Swan and included 2 dips. The Gourmet Hommus uses top grade ingredients and it shows. This is unlike all the cheaper quality hommus on the market. Instead you get a very nutty and not so oily hommus. The colour is also more natural too.

The Basil with Chilli and Pinenuts is also of top quality, but I found the basil a bit more bitter than I like. However, this dip is not as oily as some others out there so I like that. All in all, some pretty decent stuff for a very reasonable price.

I recently got the opportunity to dry the "normal" hommus for comparison, and apart from it being a little bit too lemony, was also very pleasant, not as good as the "gourmet" mind you, but you do get what you pay for. I was very interested in looking at the ingredients list which used canola oil and thickeners instead.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Great Christmas packaging, but it means they can't sell this after Christmas. The colour of the dips do look fresher.

Rating - 2

C-factor

2 150g dips, plus a dipping bowl, for the bargain price of $3, bought after Christmas. I should have got more!

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 11.5

Ingredients

Gourmet Hommus

cooked chickpeas (76%), sesame seed paste, extra virgin olive oil (7%), garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, sugar, food acid (2%), herbs & spices

Basil with Chilli and Pinenuts

cashews, vegetable oil, spinach, basil (12%), pinenuts (10%), parmesan cheese (milk microbial rennet, lactic culture), extra virgin olive oil, garlic, chilli (1%), vinegar, salt, sugar, food acid, herbs & spices

hommus

cooked chickpeas (60%), vegetable oil (canola), sesame seed paste, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, sugar, herbs and spices, food acid, thickeneres

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Dried Black Beans

Taste

These were like one of the weirdest thing I've had in Japan. It's basically a bean that's been cooked then dried as far as I can tell. The outer skin is black and crunchy, but the inside is kinda like eating bean paste. It has a natural sweetness rather than being very sweet.

Rating - 8

Look

Like all things from Japan, the look is superb. Each bean is like an individual cracked egg, with little lines running along. The packaging is very cute, a white rice paper looking pouch contains these little beauties. The writing is all in Japanese so I don't know what they are saying either!

Rating - 2

C-factor

100g for a lot of money! Even in Japan these are expensive. I think they are like rare or hard to produce or something. Or maybe it's just the latest craze...

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 10

Available At

Japan!

McCain Ratatouille Vegetable Mix

Taste

This frozen meal from McCain tastes overwhelmingly of tomatoes. It's obviously been sweetened quite a bit. The tomato base actually masks the tastes of the other vegetables. And frozen vegetable never taste good.

Rating - 4

Look

Overwhelmingly red! Besides that, like squish vegetables you can't distinguish. Well, they win on the convenience front. You pop it out of the fridge, out of the box and straight into the oven. And viola, it's ready to eat.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

350g for $2 on special. I think I'll buy some real vegetables instead, even if I do have to wash and cut them.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 6

Ingredients

tomato sauce (58%)(tomatoes ( tomato, tomato puree, acidity regulator, firming agent, water, tomato paste, onion, white wine, sugar, vegetable oil, thickener, salt, garlic, spice, herbs, vegetable (42%) (potato (potato, vegetable oil), capsicum, zucchini (zucchini, vegetable oil) eggplant

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Aida Valley Blue

Taste

This is saltier than other blues, but it's not really that strong. It has a pretty creamy texture though. I think this will be more suitable in a blue cheese sauce rather than to eat straight.

Rating - 6

Look

Like mouldy cheese! Cut into wedges and wrapped.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

$24.99/kg. It's probably a bit on the expensive side for a cooking cheese, there are much better blues out there.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

pasteurised milk, starter cultures, salt, non animal rennet

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Arnotts Emporio Cafe selection

Taste

I've tried a few of Arnotts's Emporio Cafe selection. My favourite is definitely the Melting Moments. I really like that melting buttery crumbly and thick biscuit base and the sweet passionfruit crunch.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Like they say, just like the ones from the cafe really. Maybe a bit more yellow, but otherwise superb. The packaging is pretty nifty too.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

They are fairly exy compared to your run of the mill "family" biscuits, but they are cheaper than going to the cafe I suppose.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

wheat flour, sugar, butter, vegetable oil, milk solids, salt, natural flavouring, emulsifier, food acid, colours

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

SunRice Thin Rice Cakes

Taste

I have never been a fan of SunRice's plain rice cakes, but the barbeque and chicken flavours aren't all bad. It's a bit like eating chips, only it's less crunchy. I am sure this stuff contains loads of salt and msg but I'm sure it's better than eating chips. I don't think you need to put anything else on them as they are basically coated with seasoning, perhaps to disguise the plain taste!

Rating - 5

Look

A very thin rice cakes. These came in an individual pack and is very convenient for a snack on the go, as I found out.

Rating - 2

C-factor

22g. I don't know how much it costs though.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

brown rice (min 81%), seasoning,vegetable oil, antioxidants

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Outback Steakhouse

Walking home every day, I always get to smell that fume of burning meat. Since it's a local, I put my prejudices aside and stepped into this place for lunch.

Food

Unfortunately, they have decided to stick to the cliche. There are your standard steaks, ribs and burgers on the menu, as well as that lone chicken and fish dish for the semi-vegetarians. The dessert conform even more to the cliche, mud cake, cheese cake, ice-cream...

Since they call themselves the "outback" steakhouse, I decided to go for the "Aussie" thing on the menu, so we ordered their "famous" Bloomin’ Onion ($8.95), an "Outback original". This came as whole onions cut so that it looks like an echidna, coated in bread crumbs, and fried. It arrived looking very dramatic. All the golden tendrils surrounding a pot of creamy orange sauce. I'm afraid that's the only good thing about this dish though. The onion was raw inside, instead of having onion chips, we ended up having chunks as the onion wasn't cut properly. The batter was lumpy, greasy and salty, and I actually had to drown it with sauce to make it taste better. As a result, we ran out of sauce, but no matter, as there was no way even I who does not like to waste food, couldn't bring myself to finish this.

After that disappointment, we were looking for better things. The The Big Bugger ($13.95) - A ridgy didge works burger, served with bacon, egg, cheese, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, grilled onion & Outbacks special BBQ sauce didn't deliver. I should have known better than to order this when it says on the menu that "burgers are cooked well through and served with chips". The pattie was made with terrible meat, it was chewy, fatty and tasteless, dare I say it, even worst than Macca's patty. Their buns was also of the macca variety. The only difference is they seem to have toasted the bun. The rest of the ingredients was kinda forced down and not worth mentioning. The chips were the only thing that they did well. Crunchy and soft at just the right places...

Rating - 3

Atmosphere

All timber furnishing, booths and big tables. There are "Aussie" decorations around the wall. It's a blokey kinda place. I can see when this place is filled it would be quite atmospheric, if cliche. I think this is more of a family eat out rather than a foodies diner...the bar also serves some cliche drinks and classic cocktails. After the miserable meal, I don't think I can bring myself to try any of them.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Our "waiter for today" was a pimply faced 16 year old. He was a lot better than lots of older people. Even though he lacked experience and his timing was off, I could see he was trying very hard and was quite genuine. Here's hoping he get a job at a better place than this.

Rating - 4

C-factor

I can't believe I paid so much money to eat essentially Maccas! The only redeeming grace is that I get to tell Slokky off for wanting to order that disgusting onion dish.

Rating - 0

Postscript

I just learnt that this is actually an American chain, now that explains things...

Brownie Points - 8.5

Info

Level 1,
3 George St
North Strathfield
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 8756 5741
Website

Kansai Japanese Restaurant

Food

There are several all you can eat menus available, ranging in price from $25 to $45, where you get the whole hog of sashimi and seafood. For that you get to order anything you like off a standard list. We decided that the cheapest one would do. We started off with some miso soup, which was much better than I expected. We ordered some hot dishes to share. The teriyaki chicken was standard. The strips were a bit thin so the chicken was kinda try. The pork katsu was fried golden, but the sauce was dull and it was again a bit dry. Never fear, we weren't really here to eat that stuff, we want the sushi! (For those who like it, there are other hot dishes available too). We ordered a large sushi platter which had the standard salmon, tuna, egg, prawn, octopus, kingfish nigiri. The rice was soft and slightly sweet. The fish was not the freshest I've ever had but it's not bad either. The wasabi is quite mild too. We moved onto the various special Maki sushi rolls. The dragon roll, made up of eel, cucumber, avocado, was beautiful. The seaweed was a bit damper than I like but otherwise it was great. The volcano roll consisted of a shrimp tempura roll topped with eel and spicy sauce, and looked spectacular, if a bit messy. In terms of flavour it's a bit undistinguished. I surprised myself that I actually like the Italian roll, which had cheese and avocado. It must be because of that yummy Jap mayo they smothered on the whole thing!

We gave the rolls a break and ordered individual hand rolls. The soft shell crab was very yummy, even though you can't really taste crab. The tempura prawns had a very hot prawn. The batter is a bit thick but otherwise it's lovely. At this stage we were quite full, but it's an all you can eat and I wanted to try everything, so we put in some orders for:

• scampi - my favourite for the night, basically a raw prawn atop some rice. It's so smooth and slimy. All prawns should be eaten raw!
• scallop - also raw and fresh
• salmon roe - just to finish off. This one is a bit too wet and not salty enough

All in all, a very good meal. We didn't go in expecting top of the range sushi, but these are very good for the price.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

It's a dingy little place at the bottom of the Hunter Connection. I'd walked past the entrance a couple of times and it looked kinda dodgy, but once you're inside, that all changed. The decor is still sparse, but you can actually watch the sushi chefs at work, and the setting is quite pleasant.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The owner came to serve us personally and delivered our free bottle of Sake. Sometimes the service can be a bit slow and it's hard to attract the attention of the staff. The owner knows how to please his clients though, and offered us a bottle of sake to share (we found out later that it's on offer for everyone if you bring in the ad from 9to5).

Rating - 3

C-factor

$25 for all you can eat is pretty good. Just don't go expecting top class sushi, but these are definitely better than your average takeaway.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

Shop B1, Hunter Connection
7-13 Hunter St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9231 5544

Ssamnara

There are loads of Korean restaurants in Strathfield, but this one has one distinguishing selling point that the others don't, that is the roll your own roll or "Saams". This is how the menu describes it: Cook at your table make yourself style rolls. Served with large basket of fresh veggies and side dishes. The place was packed so we took that as a good sign.

Food

As well as the "Saams", there are other more conventional Korean dishes on offer, but we decided to go for the specialty, the big bang. The Saam Nara Set ($25 p.p) - Menu Bul go gie Dwen jang jil gae Veggies Fish Etc.

Before the main meal of course, the side dishes arrived:

• Zucchini mushroom egg - oily, coated in eggs and fried
• Fried fish - has lots of bones but otherwise bland
• Pancake with shallot - don't know how to describe this but it was chewy and yum
• tofu soup - tastes like reconstituted miso
• Stir-fried beef - hot and chewy
• kim chi - less cabbage and hot as hot as usual
• Veg salad - yum
• Bean curd sheet - I love these
• Sesame rice cake - the cakes are plain but the sauce is fragrant sesame
• Dried octopus - yum, but you can't eat too much of it
• Whitebait - good and crunchy
• Pickled veggies - stock standard
• Vermicelli salad - I like these too, sweet and fragrant with sesame
• Dried preserved veggies - I don't see the point of these, the fresh ones are better
• Chilli crab - my favourite - there's not much meat but the sauce is excellent

It was quite funny watching them fit all our dishes on the table, together with our jug of water and bowls of rice. If that wasn't enough, they soon bought out a portable stove, which they then filled with water on the side. In the middle they tipped a whole pile of raw meat. A huge bowl of lettuce and whole chillis and some sauces followed, then they left us alone. We weren't' sure what we were supposed to do with all these stuff, and we couldn't quite see what other tables were doing, so we took some lettuce, wrapped it around some cooked meat, smeared on some sauce, skipped the chilli, and bit into it. Besides half the stuff falling out of the wrap, the meat was tender and marinated very well, and the lettuce was crunchy. At this stage we were already getting quite full so we didn't even manage to finish all the meat, but it was a very satisfying meal.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

The room was decorated in aesthetic Korean style, with a traditional table, some bells and a bamboo screen framing the entrance. There was both traditional floor seating and the more comfortable tables and chair. Otherwise the room is pretty sparse. This little extra at the entrance does seem to add a bit of calm and peace to the chaos the waiters are creating. Maybe it's because they have to do so many dishes!

The clientèle is mixed, from big Korean groups, big non Korean groups to couples of all nationalities.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Well, like more than half of Strathfield, the waiters hardly spoke any English. They were juggling many many things at the same time, and looked very frantic. We couldn't get them to explain much to us, but they all acted very sincere. I give them credit for trying, but learning a little, just a little English would help a lot.

Rating - 3

C-factor

$50 for 2 for a meal that even Slokky couldn't finish. It's pretty good value but next time we will go for the $35 option that doesn't include the fish and veggies.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

121/20-34 Albert Road
Strathfield
NSW 2135
Phone (02) 8756 5775

Pringles

Taste

You know what they say about Pringles, "Once you pop, you can't stop", and I can't agree more. Recently there's been some sales, so we bought up big. Our stash included:

• Sour Cream & Onion - the most popular. This flavour made their name really. I find the new ones a bit too salty, but that flavour is addictive!
• Light Sour Cream & Onion - my favourite. Not as salty as the normal ones, but still has the flavour.
• Tomato & Mozzarella - which I haven't tried before but is excellent. Good balance of sweet and salty.
• Smokey Bacon - I can't taste smokiness and I can't taste bacon, but it was kinda salty and sweet too, and not too bad
• Salt & Vinegar - too salty and not enough vinegar, a pet hate of mine
• Light Greek Style Cheese with a touch of avocado oil - tastes pretty much like the light sour cream flavour, so it's ok. They must have very light touch as I couldn't taste any avocado flavouring at all.
• Light Spicy Thai with a touch of Coconut Oil - I love this one, it tastes very very different. You can taste the spice and the chilli, and even that touch of coconut. It's different and won't be do everyone's taste, but it reminds me of Asian style chips!

Rating - 7

Look

Well, the Pringles moustache man has had an update, and some of the colours have been refreshed, but otherwise it's the same old chips in a can that we've all come to love and everyone else has copied. And they should too. It's a great idea, and you can store the chips for later, if you ever get any left over that is...

Rating - 2

C-factor

R.R.P is $3.99 for a tin of 170g (160g for the lights - is that why they're less fattening?), which is quite a price to pay actually. That's why it's always so long between pops...

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

Smokey Bacon

dehydrated potatoes, vegetable oil, corn flour, bacon flavour, wheat starch, maltodextrin, emulsifier

Spicy Thai

dehydrated potatoes, vegetable oil, wheat starch, maltodextrin, cornflour, spicy thai flavour (sugar, wheat bread, coconut oil (0.39%), flavour enhancers, paprika powder, citric acid, chilli extract, ginger extract, lemongrass extract, milk proteins, spices, flavourings, garlic oil), emulsifier, salt, rice flour

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Emperor's Choice (Bond St)

Another day, another farewell, another yum-cha. I haven't been to this place for about 2 years, so I was very keen to see what has changed.

Food

Well, they have the usual suspects. Most food were fresh, but there was not that much choice, with the same 3 ladies pushing the same trolleys round and round.

We ordered quite a few dumplings. I can report that the fillings are generous, if somewhat bland. The wrapping however, was thick and chewy, a big no-no! The fried food had pretty average batter and were more on the cold side. Last time I was here the food was on par with Sky Phoenix, but it seems like the quality has deteriorated since. Their vegetables seem out of sorts and their BBQ offerings are nothing compared to Phoenix's...sigh, looks like another yum cha place that will be crossed off my list... there's nothing left in the city. I'll just have to venture to Chinatown every time.

Rating - 4

Atmosphere

On a Monday lunch, the restaurant was half full, which is not bad. This place follow the conventional method for decoration. The tables are closed together, there is an overwhelming feeling of pinkness. As I will mention in Service, those pushy people really annoy me, so I can't even eat in peace.

Rating - 1

Service

I couldn't believe how rude and pushy the trolley ladies were. They would literally take stuff off their trolleys, place it on our table until we had to tell them no. They came up every single time and kept going "fantastic food". I think they should let us be the judge of that.

The waiters weren't much better. Even though the restaurant was half empty, they didn't really come to refill our water, they left all these empty plates and steamers on our table. We had to stack everything ourselves and get them to remove it. When I tried to get one of the trolley ladies to take some of our stuff so we could fit more on the table, she was really rude to me and told me to hold on. Yeah, yum chas are meant to be rude, but in all my years in Australia, I've never had it that bad!

Rating - 0

C-factor

$20 p.p. so much more expensive than Chinatown, but for substandard service, a squish space and only passable food, a rip off!

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 5

Info

20 Bond St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9231 5032

Kenta

I have tried Koume Japanese House next door, which was pretty average. That's why, on any particular lunch time, you'll see Koume almost empty and everyone packed into this little eatery on busy Military Road, and with good reasons.

Food

Lunch Special ($9.90) which consisted of:

• sashimi - 4 slices of fresh fatty salmon
• chicken teriyaki - beautiful sauce, tender chicken, and plenty of it!
• deep fried flounder - a generous slab of flounder, lightly coated and fried to golden, I crunched this with greed!
• rice - ummm, it's fresh rice?!?
• miso soup - with nice tofu cubes and not too salty

The Lunch Set A ($7.90) had:

• tempura tofu - again, fried to golden and coated in a sweet and salty broth sauce
• chicken katsu - coated in bread crumbs and fried then paired with a nice sweet soy
• fish teriyaki - I love this one, the sauce was sweet, the fish was not the mushy mess and tasted fresh
• salad - standard mayo stuff. Japanese mayo tastes so good!
• rice - see above
• miso - see above

The food is extremely generous. You certainly won't go hungry here.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Busy and buzzy. As well as diners, they also do a roaring takeaway trade.

Everything is basic and functional. There's a specials board with their daily specials as well. The decor is simple, there are only a few tables. The shop is taken up by the kitchen. If you really want you can watch the chefs at work. There are a bunch of Jap mags you can read too, which is always a good sign.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Hey, they're Japanese, so service was top notch! They actually apologised to use because they took too long before they came to get our order, but we'd only been waiting about 30 seconds! It's pretty casual, so you go and pay at the counter and all. If everyone had manners like the Japanese the world would be a much better place.

Rating - 4

C-factor

The servings are huge, the food of great quality for the price. I guess they'll have to with so many restaurants to choose from along Military Rd, but this one comes highly recommended!

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 15

Info

Shop 4, 81-91 Military Road
Neutral Bay
NSW 2089
Phone (02) 9953 5422

Bean Drinking Coffee

Taste

Bean Drinking is actually a Coffee Club that sells beans to customer. Recently they branch out into coffee making with a shop in Wynyard. They use their own blend of "medium roast" beans. The result is a smooth and non-bitter coffee. One thing I really like about here is that they don't make their coffees too hot, but it's still hot enough.

Rating - 7.5

Look

They took over the DMC site at Met Centre. Nothing special about the shop, but the service is first rate, if a bit slow. Once they get into the run of things they might start adopting the couldn't care less let's pump out the coffees attitude.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$2.40 for a small, $3 for a regular. Great prices for great service. Plus, as an opening specials, they are having free coffee promotions.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

Available At

Shop T12, Metcentre
Cnr George & Margaret Sts
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9247 0840
Website

Golden 28

Taste

My prawn laksa ($7) was choked full of prawns! Granted the prawns were of the small school, frozen variety, but I think I ate a whole school of them in my bowl! There were also a fairly large amount of rice noodles. The other ingredients, bean sprouts and 2 fried tofu, were more for garnish I think...Now, we all know the soup base make or break a laksa, so here's the verdict. Their soup is not too hot or too coconuty, but there's no special "wow" factor, unlike their prawn mee ($7.40) which has the best tasting soup base I've had.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Situated on the Pitt St level of the Imperial Arcade, a shopping centre that's past its use-by date. This is significant because you are actually sitting in the middle of the corridor. You go there for the food and not the decor. This place is very popular. You have to fight for a table. You order and pay at the counter, then they give you one of those raffle tickets. Then they bring out your food to you by calling your number very loudly. The bowls are plastic, the chopstick old, but the laksa looks orange enough!

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

Pretty cheap for Pitt St Mall. Can't compare with Chinatown or somewhere like Hunter Arcade.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Available At

Imperial Arcade
Pitt Street Level
168 Pitt Street Mall & Castlereagh Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9231 1920

Ruiz Passionfruit and Mango Gourmet Spread

Taste

I'd never heard of "gourmet spread" before. Ruiz actually makes a range that includes chocolate and hazelnut, a bit like fresh Nutella really. I was curious so picked up this one to try. The serving suggestion is to spread it on toast, scones, pancakes or cakes. I found it a bit strange. It has the texture of a spread, is thicker than a dip, but tastes like a yoghurt. I thought it was a bit sweet and not really that suitable for its purpose. The chocolate is prob a good idea but I don't know about making a spread out of passionfruit and mango.

Rating - 5

Look

It comes packaged like a dip, in a tub with foil and plastic seal. The spead itself looks kinda strange. white with a tinge of orange and with bits of passionfruti pulp sticking out.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

200g for $2.39. I'll prob buy some fresh mangos instead.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 6.5

Ingredients

blended vegetable oils, passionfruit & mango (26%), light cream cheese, skim
milk powder, salt, vegetable gums, preservative, sugar, milk powder, food
starch-modified dextrose, preservative, natural colours

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere