Restaurants Archives | Page 5 of 20

Chanoma Cafe (A Japanese Cafe in Sydney)

3 June 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Restaurants

Was supposed to go to my usual Korean cafe for some coffee after work when I suddenly felt the urge to pass by inside the Regent Place. I noticed in the past months that there are new restaurants that has opened recently there so I thought to have a look.

I was taken at the sight of a pretty Japanese cafe called “Chanoma Cafe” that takes pride in their matcha shakes, floats and desserts. I was more convinced to have a meal when I read the menu that said “Japadogs” a.k.a Japanese Hotdogs. Hubby and I learned about Japadogs in one of the Jdrama we’ve watched (I know right, if we’re not watching Kdramas, we are watching Jdramas haha) and since then we’ve always been curious to have a taste. So I messaged the Hubby, “I’ve found a place where we can eat Japadogs!”.

Chanoma Cafe‘s brown and green motif gives you that clean and refreshing feel. I like that they’re trying to be eco-friendly that all their cutleries are made of wood.

Chanoma Cafe (A Japanese Cafe in Sydney)

_12Chanoma Cafe (A Japanese Cafe in Sydney)60683

As much as I would love to try one of their matcha offerings, I needed coffee last Friday as we were to shoot Vivid Sydney that night. Hubby and I had a cup of coffee each, a large Long Black for me and a regular Iced Mocha for him. I hoped that they’d serve Japanese coffee but instead, they used an Australian brand. Oh well, it’s not entirely a bad thing but, I wish someday they’d offer coffee from Japan too (since they are a Japanese cafe anyway).

While I waited for the Husband, I started with dessert. Their Cheesecake was wonderful. It seemed like a fusion of the New York Cheesecake and Japanese Cheesecake. It was smooth, light and wasn’t cloying.

As soon as Hubby arrived, we ordered two Japadogs: Tonkatsu Dog and Kim-Mayo Dog. I’d like to say that both were tasty and a must-try when you visit.

The Tonkastu Dog is a hotdog wrapped in thin tonkatsu. The tonkatsu gives that extra crunch for when you bite into that delicious hotdog.

The Kim-Mayo Dog is a Chorizo hotdog with a sauce made of Kimchi and Mayonnaise. I ordered this because I wanted to try the Kimchi and Mayo sauce. It was a lovely combination! It wasn’t hot at all, it just had the right heat in it to make you realize that there’s Kimchi in it.

The best thing I love about their Japadogs is the size. Compared to other hotdogs we’ve encountered, their ones are good enough to keep one full especially if you will eat it with chips and dessert after. Plus, they’re reasonably priced.

We are definitely coming to try out the rest of their Japadog offerings.

Chanoma Cafe

Ground Floor, Regent Place

501 George Street, Sydney

Phone: 02 9266 0667

Jamie’s Italian (Sydney, Australia)

30 May 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

It’s been a long wait to have the opportunity to dine at Jamie Oliver‘s restaurant in Sydney. Jamie’s Italian has been open for quite a while and luckily my friend invited me to have dinner there two weeks ago.

We arrived early so we got a good table. The place is darkly-lit in the evenings and even becomes darker as the night progresses. The ambiance is perfect for intimate dinners with loved ones.

We started with the complimentary selection of Italian bread: house-made focaccia, sourdough, ciabatta, tortano and wafer thin carta di musica. The bread is drizzled with basil olive oil and it came with an EVOO and balsamic vinegar for extra dipping. I enjoyed this bit as I do like munching on good bread.

For our antipasti, we chose to have the Stuffed Risotto Balls made of smoked mozarella and porcini arancini. Arancini is the Italian equivalent of fried rice. In Italian homes, they turn their leftover risotto into balls coated in flour (and sometimes in egg too) before going into the deep fryer. Our Risotto Balls came well-coated and hot, with smokes oozing out as we cut the ball in half. The risotto is smooth and glides easily on the mouth. However, I find this dish a bit bland even if I dipped it on the fresh tomato sauce that came with it.

The wait for our pasta dishes took a long time to arrive. So long that I wish I ordered wine so I can savour it while catching up with my friend.

For my pasta dish, I chose the normal serve of Spaghetti Vongole. I commend the al dente pasta and the fresh cockles of this dish. However, the flavours were a bit lacking that I had to put salt and pepper twice. The flavour of white wine and chili underwhelmed my tastebuds. The Husband wasn’t supposed to join us but since the pasta dish took awhile to arrive, he was able to catch up with us and eat half of my pasta.

The highlights of our meal were the desserts. I enjoyed their Poached Winter Fruits which came with Vanilla ice cream and honeycomb. So fresh! It was a mixture of sweet and tangy inside my mouth. I loved this!

Jamie Italian’s Warm Brownie was another hit for us especially to my Husband. It’s rich in chocolate flavour and the sweetness was just right.

While I wasn’t totally blown-away with our dining experience, it wasn’t also a let down. I did enjoy dinner because I was with great company. The quality of food was good and staff were accommodating to us. There were just a few misses that had to be noted. Will we come back? Yes. I wouldn’t mind trying out their other offerings in the future. But maybe not too soon.

Jamie’s Italian
107 Pitt Street, Sydney
Phone: 02 8240 9000
Booking a table is highly recommended

KOFOO Korean Food (Sydney, Australia)

29 May 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

The Husband treated me to Korean dinner on my first week back at work. We passed by this Korean restaurant named KOFOO in Sussex Street before we went on vaycay and as always, we got interested.

It was a Thursday night but the place was not busy. We found it to be one of the biggest Korean restaurants in Sydney so even if there were a few customers, it didn’t look cramped.

Upon seating, we learned that KOFOO is a franchise brand from Korea, where they have more than 200 branches. They take pride in offering 120 dishes, made fresh daily.

The place is hip and young but still observed how the usual Korean cuisine is enjoyed–with Banchan dishes!

I ordered the Spicy Pork Belly (Jeyuk Deopbap) which consisted of rice with pork belly marinated in spicy sauce and a siding of vegetables. This dish was very spicy. Not for the faint-hearted. The meat was soft and the flavour lingers even if you have drank lots of water.

The Husband had the Bulgogi Bento which came with rice, egg, potato wedges and stir-fried kimchi. We enjoyed this more than my dish. The Bulgogi was sweet and tender.

KOFOO is a place where people can enjoy well-prepared food at reasonable prices. Other than their food, the rustic and yet warm ambience gives us that modern Korean feel which we find comforting.

KOFOO Korean Food
347-353 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: 02 9261 2465

Miss Chu (Vietnamese Tuck Shop in Sydney)

13 March 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

The highlight of our Fridate last week was lunch at Miss Chu, a Vietnamese Tuck Shop located inside a building at Regent Place. We passed by the restaurant a couple of times before but can never get seats. We arrived at exactly 12 noon for lunch on Friday and lucky us! We got ourselves a decent table.

The table was actually an ironing table which has cutleries and condiments and two sets of list for ordering food and drinks.

The Husband pointed out immediately that they serve Iced Vietnamese Coffee because he knew how fond I am of their sweet and milky coffee.

We started off with Tiger Prawns and Green Mango Paper Rolls. It was so fresh and filling.

The Husband had Lemongrass Beef with salad and brown rice. This was delicious as the beef was tender and had the strong taste of Lemongrass. I loved this.

I had the Caramelised Pork Belly Stew with Asian Greens and Brown Rice. Another beautiful dish, the flavour of the pork left a wonderful taste on my mouth. It had a bit of chili but it was only mildly spicy.

My rice dish came with an egg that seemed poached and fried at the same time. It’s perfect!

This was a wonderful dining experience. I loved our food and enjoyed every bite of it. I’m very glad we found a Vietnamese restaurant in the city that serves great food.

Miss Chu
501 George Street, Sydney
Phone: 02 9283 0357

Forte Room (Liverpool, NSW)

7 March 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

I attended a training program related to work last week and it gave me a chance to have coffee and breakfast at a cafe near the training venue.

Forte Room has a modern but cozy ambience with warm lighting that will relax you while you enjoy your meal.

The walls are adorned with quotes about food, a good backdrop for photo ops.

They have a breakfast offering of coffee and a sandwich of your choice for only AUD$7.00. I had a cup of long black (they charged me an additional 50c) and a huge Bacon and Egg Sandwich. The meal was good and comforting as it was freshly-cooked after I ordered. Their coffee was strong and leaves a bitter aftertaste, more than enough to wake up my senses in the morning.

I noticed a shelf full with magazines and board games. A sign that they like patrons to linger and have fun while in their cafe.

Other than cafe food, they offer lunch, dinner and catering. The place can also be rented for private events.

Forte Room
3/107 Moore Street
Liverpool NSW
Phone: (02) 8798 6460