Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas filled with lots of eating and celebrations with loved ones!!!

Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant - Sydney - Sydney, Australia

Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant

 

It was Miss A's birthday a few months back and we couldn't decide on a place to celebrate her birthday. She suggested Masuya Japanese as she really enjoyed the food on her previous visit so Masuya it was. I've heard a lot about this place and their amazing seafood, especially their sashimi. I, however, do not like raw seafood but there were a few other things I wanted to try.

 

Located towards Wynyard, the area is awfully quite on weekends. I'm so use to the busy work crowds that line the street on weekdays, that I got an initial shock at the lack of people.

 

We booked a few weeks ahead and there were two evening sessions on offer. It was either 6pm-8pm or 8pm - 10pm, we chose the former. A packed restaurant upon arriving at 6pm, and we couldn't help notice that the restaurant was full of Asians, predominately, Chinese. It's not the casual Japanese style of dining but more upmarket with higher prices to match.

  

Their special spin on the 'Lemon Lime Bitters Royal Mocktail ($6.80)' is refreshing with fresh Thai lime, fresh lemon, bitters and Sprite. 'Marco Polo Mocktail ($6.80)' is comforting and soothing for a hot day, filled with raspberries.

 

I'm a big fan of Japanese tempura. In general, the batter is very airy and light. Just absolutely divine. We order an entrée  of 'Tempura Seafood ($14.80)' which I think is delicious. An assortment of seafood and vegetables including two prawns, seafood stick, fish and an onion. I don't know what the onion was doing there but this dish was definitely my favourite regardless.

 

'Salmon Caparccio ($14.80)' is shared by my two best friends. They love their raw fish and usually get the raw salmon, but decide to try something different on this occasion. Thinly sliced salmon topped with salted konbu, dashi ponzu and lime juice. These two enjoyed it so much they saved a piece for me and forced to me eat it. I couldn't stomach it very well unfortunately.

 

'Wagyu Beef Teriyaki ($34.80)' is a 230 gram piece of sirloin steak that has been pan-fried and topped with vegetables, mashed potato and teriyaki sauce. The menu says it has a marble score of 7 which I can't really distinguish between a normal steak and the expensive cut. We opt for it to be cooked medium, but usually it is had as medium-rare. I didn't mind this but I couldn't find anything special about it.

 

'Tonkatsu Pork Loin ($20.80)' was surprisingly good. A special kind of pork called Kurobuta was used, fried to a crispy, golden exterior and served with mashed potato and Tonkatsu sauce. The pork was still so succulent and moist. Yum!

 

 

Had a great dinner despite some minor negatives but will definitely be back to try some other dishes and that steamboat I saw on a few tables. If you're a sushi or raw fish lover, then this is definitely the place for you. Fresh, fresh and fresh. The 'Boats' looked absolutely amazing.

Where?
Basement Level,
12-14 O'Connell St.
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: 02 9235 2717

Opening Hours
Lunch: Mon - Fri 12:00 - 14:30
Dinner: Mon - Sat 18:00 - 22:00

Website
http://www.masuyainternational.com.au/'
 

Petaling St Malaysian Hawker Food - Haymarket - Sydney, Australia.

Petaling St Malaysian Hawker Food

I’m a big fan of Malaysian cuisine as I love how the food is not only tasty, wonderfully flavoured and extremely easy to eat, but there is just an endless choice to choose from. 

Petaling Street Malaysian Hawker Food Restaurant is located on busy George St in Haymarket, the fourth branch, with this being the first in Sydney and the rest located in Melbourne. Petaling Street is a famous street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, well known for the abundance of restaurants specialising in hawker-style food and that is where this restaurant gets part of its name from. My friend C from Penang is a big fan of this place, choosing to dine here anytime she finds a chance to as it reminds her of the food she gets back home.

The food here is the real deal. You’re getting authentic Malaysian dishes at reasonably cheap prices. Please note their portion sizes are much larger than average so do not over order like we did. The good thing about this restaurant is you don’t have to queue as they've got plenty of seating inside. If there is a queue, the wait time is not long, but I've never have had to queue here.

Their menu is spread over two huge A3 sheets of paper and there are even additional sheets containing specials! The options seem endless. From the popular Malaysian dishes such as the Hainan chicken, satay chicken, bak kut teh to more adventurous dishes such as Marmite ribs. We tend to order food that we have tried before and on this occasion it was no exception.

‘Satay Chicken Sticks’ is grilled. Not sure what cooking technique they used here but unable to see or smell any char. 

'Roti Canai Chicken' was spot on. Superb buttery roti was absolutely scrumptious with the chicken curry. One of my favourites for the night.

‘Roast Chicken Rice’ is a winner. My favourite of all and the item I tend to order when I come here. The skin has been roasted to perfection giving it a crispy skin and tender, juicy meat within.  The rice here is not soft like it usually is but has a crispier texture from the garlic bits. Soup has a nice chicken flavour.  Not bad but not the best either. I liked how they served the traditional chilli and ginger sauce on the side.

The ‘Hainan Chicken Rice’ is the most anticipated but is unfortunately a letdown. Everyone is scared off by the pinkness of the chicken meat fearing it may be undercooked. It barely gets eaten. 

‘Mee Goreng’ is nice but not as good as the version at Mamak. To me it lacks that flavour hit. Shockingly, Tutor Girl has never tried this before and prefers the packaged Mee Goreng in instant noodle form.

The ‘Nasi Goreng’ is basically fried rice with the addition of sambal. At this point we’re just too full. I forced myself to try this for the sake of it. Nothing special as it lacked the flavour hit once again.

Various drinks including 'Iced Lemon Tea', 'Ribena with Lemonade' and 'Coke with Lemon'.

The food is good here with some dishes being better than others. Rather than having to travel all the way to Malaysia, you can have it here, though it may not be as cheap or great as the actual fare in Malaysia. We all enjoyed the dinner but might have been too full to fully savour the taste of each dish and the added heat from outside usually deters one from eating too much.

Where?
760 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: 02 9280 1006

Opening Hours
7 Days a Week
11am - Late

Website
http://www.petalingst.com.au/

Noodle Town - Hurstville - Sydney, Australia.

Noodle Town

 

This restaurant has been open for many years. I've walked past on it on many occasions, regularly stopping at this station on my way home. It is located within Hurstville Central Shopping Centre, which houses Hurstville train station. Finding any information on this restaurant on Google has been a major struggle as there is basically nothing on it, hence my delay in going to the place.

 

As their name suggests, they specialise in noodles but also have a range of other Chinese Cantonese dishes and options such as dumplings, rice, wonton and spicy duck. Most customers order from the bain-marie as they have specials, but the prices are very reasonable for other dishes which are made to order.

 

The interior is a classic example of what you can find in China. From the wooden furniture to the decorations, it feels like you're in a restaurant in China. The cuisine here appears to be Sichuan influenced, an area known to use spicy sauce in nearly everything. The most popular dish here is the 'Braised Beef Noodle Soup ($8.50)'.

 

 

The 'Dan Dan Noodle ($7.50)' is not like the one you would find at places like Din Tai Fung. Huge portion of noodles which have a nice bite to it, topped with minced pork, bok choy, preserved vegetables (mustard stems) and the essential chilli oil sauce. Absolutely delicious and the stock is just so flavoursome. Reminded me of the noodles I had in Taiwan as they also use a lot of preserved vegetables in their noodles.

 

The 'Pork with Preserved Cabbage and Bamboo Noodle Soup ($7.95)' is very similar in flavour to the above except there is the addition of shredded pork instead of the minced, and extra preserved vegetables. Both are equally as good.

 

For those chilli lovers, there are also little containers of chill if you want to add extra. Look at those chilli seeds!

They use different seasonings for their dishes and it is different to the Chinese food I am use to having. The pictures don't do the noodles any justice. It looks rather unappealing but is packed with flavour and oh so cheap.

Will return to try other items on the menu next time.

Where?
Shop 20B, 225H Forest Rd,
Hurstville NSW 2220
Australia

Opening Hours

Monday	9:00am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9:00am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9:00am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9:00am - 9:00pm
Friday	9:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday	9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday	10:00am - 4:00pm
Public Holidays	10:00am - 4:00pm

Website
http://hurstvillecentral.com.au/