Asadal is a restaurant that successfully married Japanese and Korean cuisine and served them in beautifully made dishes. Not every Japanese-Korean restaurant can do this, but with Asadal, they’ve perfected both cuisines that’s why they’re recognized as one of the best restaurants in Sydney Metro.

Once we entered the restaurant, we saw the sushi train on the left and the dining area on the right. We asked to be seated in one of the tables and just grabbed a few plates from the sushi train.

The prettiest water jug we’ve seen so far. How very Korean, aye?

The Husband ordered the Sizzling Teriyaki Chicken. It had the right balance of salty and sweet which is a winner in my books.

We took our time and savoured the Husband’s birthday lunch. This restaurant was perfect for us because we love Korean and Japanese cuisines and we’re so glad that Asadal makes them both so well.

Asadal Restaurant (Korean Japanese Cuisine)
Shop 1, 76 Phillip Street, Parramatta NSW
Phone: (02) 9633 4765

Coco Cubano is a cafe and restaurant in the heart of the Parramatta CBD. Together with friends, we met up on a Saturday morning to have brunch here. 

About Coco Cubano:

Coco Cubano takes the best of Cuba, mixing hedonistic espresso, chocolate, cocktails and food to bring the experience to life. The cafe and bar takes the creation of pleasurable and comfortable environments seriously and blends with the best in customer service and delivery. (source)

The restaurant is a sight to behold. Lots of attractive paraphernalias that will amuse from their couches, table number and photos on the wall.

They offer breakfast until lunchtime but we ordered lunch instead. Us ladies started off with a jug of Sangria. Just the ladies because the husbands were driving hehe. The Sangria tasted great with its refreshing fusion of lemon, orange and red wine. 

The Husband had a glass of fresh Orange Juice. So good and healthy. 

Our friends ordered a big plate of Nachos. A great partner to the Sangria.

The Husband had a hearty and massive Wagyu Burger. The meat was juicy, tasty and flavourful. It had bacon, cheese, onions and a few greens. It came with perfectly cooked chunky chips.   

As for me, I savoured the goodness of their Grilled Chicken Breast with Quinoa Salad and Chips. Such a healthy option but comes with great flavour.  

We started dinner by having drinks.  The Husband had Asahi Japanese Beer. Smooth and not as bitter as other beers.

While I tried there Japanese Mojito. A classic Mojito turned Japanese! Shiso ‘Japanese mint’ and fresh limes, muddled with white rum sugar and covered in crushed ice. Refreshing and cool to the taste.

Vodka Lemon Sorbet. To cleanse the palate as we move on to eating beef.

Wagyu. The Chef cooked two dishes with the Wagyu beef, one was made into a vegetable wrap and the other dish was grilled Wagyu with a siding of vegetables.

Crepe Suzette for dessert. Teppanyaki-style, freshly-made Sapporo beer crepe, flambeed with Grand Marnier, then glazed with Orange caramel sauce. Served with French Vanilla gelato.

The dessert creations at Cheeky Chocolate were designed by the famous pastry chef Adriano Zumbo so my expectations were a bit high. Coming here turned out to be so worth it as the coffee was strong and well-made and the cakes tasted exquisite. We had Salted Caramel Macarons and Salted Dark Chocolate Mud Cake. Both rich and very indulgent. The Husband being a dark chocolate fiend loved this cake. It was a great fusion of bitter and salty inside the mouth.

A night out with friends will never be complete without dessert. So after dinner at The Bakehouse Garden we took our friends to Cheeky Chocolate for some tea and dessert.

Since we had a filling dinner, we only tried two cakes. The Chocolate Hazelnut Dome is to die for. It became an instant favourite of mine as it had the right amount of sweetness and nuttiness.

The Raspberry Meringue Tart is a balanced concoction of fruity, sweet and creamy. The meringue was soft but the raspberries provided that chewy texture.

This is one great dessert experience and we’ll definitely come back here again.

Cheeky Chocolate
11 George Street
North Strathfield NSW
Phone: (02) 9764 5966

I’m slowly catching up with all my restaurant adventures so bear with me with all the food porn. 

We conquered North Strathfield in Winter with friends. The Husband and I have unconsciously aimed to visit different suburbs, particularly those with Koreatowns because of our love for Korean Cuisine. We’ve been to the Koreatowns of Sydney, Chatswood, Strathfield and Eastwood. Whenever we learn of a place that has a good Korean restaurant, we bookmark them and plan to one day dine there. It didn’t take long before we found ourselves in the quiet neighborhood of North Strathfield.

The Bakehouse Garden is a Korean BBQ Restaurant located not too far away from North Strathfield train station. It’s been operating since 2006 and have been known for their delicious barbeque meats. The staff were all warm and accommodating. We arrived with no reservations (only because we knew that we will arrive early) and they seated us at a more private area of the restaurant.

We ordered a variety of meats to barbeque: chicken, pork and beef. A plate of meat is good for two persons so take note when ordering for a group. Some Korean BBQ restaurants have big servings but The Bakehouse Garden is more of a minimalist. The meats didn’t disappoint as all were good quality, tasty and juicy. 

They gave two sets of Banchan Dishes (side dishes) for our group of six. 

To give us more warmth, we ordered a bowl of Galbitang (beef short rib soup) and Sundubu-jjigae (spicy soft tofu stew). Both were delicious and comforting. 

The soup and stew went well with cabbage-wrapped rice, meat and kimchi.

Finished off by shots of Soju.

The Bakehouse Garden
Shop 4, 9-11 George Street
North Strathfield NSW
Phone: (02) 8746 0299
Open from 11:30 am til 10pm Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 am til late Friday-Saturday