Yasaka Ramen - Sydney CBD- Sydney, Australia

I'll be off to Melbourne this long weekend and I can't wait! It's been a number of years since I last went. Will be eating lots of delicious food, sightseeing and watching the tennis at the Australian Open with a lovely bunch of friends. Hope the weather will be kind to us, as I hear it will be cold. Watch this space for upcoming posts! 

Yasaka Ramen is the new ramen joint in the Sydney CBD, located near World Square. They go by the motto 'No ramen, no life'. I totally agree with them on that. Japanese ramen has always been one of my favourite foods since university because it's cheap, filling and flavoursome. The city undoubtedly has the best Japanese ramen, even though some may say the outer suburbs have the better variations.

What differentiates them from other ramen eateries is the 'home made noodle' concept. Just before you enter, there is a whole section at the front dedicated to noodle making. I don't think I've ever see ramen freshly made in house. Now that's amazing! Even though we couldn't catch them at the time of making the noodles, we did glance into the window where the machines and utensils were stored. 

After perusing the menu outside, it's simple yet broad if that makes any sense. They've got many variations of ramen, curry rice, don (rice bowls) and side dishes available. Their specialisation is ramen with only one kind of soup available, the Tonkotsu in varying forms including miso, shio and shoyu.

We are seated at the benches, in front of where the action happens, as this is the open kitchen where the chefs prepare and cook. There are also more tables and seats upstairs.

We start off with 'Pork Gyozas ($6.50)' filled with pork mince.They are pan fried to a crispy base and steaming hot inside. This is the perfect accompaniment to the ramen. 

The 'Tonkotsu Shoyu Egg Ramen ($15.80)' includes a perfectly soft boiled egg with an oozing yolk. The noodles made in house are topped with the standard including chashu (pork), bamboo shoots, black fungus, shallots and a seawood sheet. This sits within a pork bone soup blended with a soy sauce paste. The broth is thick, but not as thick compared to Gumshara Ramen. Yasaka's version is rich and intense. Together with the springy noodles, it was delicious. 

The chasu, with striking ribbons of fat and meat, is grilled and then charred with a blowtorch. It's soft, tender and melts in the mouth. Though this seems to alter the taste of it as my dining companion, didn't seem to like it. I, however, enjoyed it very much. 

A great place for a bowl of authentic Japanese ramen. The staff are friendly and the service is prompt, though a little too much. There were queues forming outside on the Friday we went and the wait-staff were extremely eager to clear our plates a number of times even though we weren't finished. Despite this, we would love to try out the other dishes on offer. 

For those in Australia, Happy Australia Day for the coming Monday!

Where?
126 Liverpool St
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: (02) 9262 9027

Opening Hours
Open Monday - Saturday 
11:30am - 10:00pm
Sunday
11:30am - 9:00pm

Website
www.yasakaramen.com.au

One Clementine - Kingsgrove - Sydney , Australia

One lady at work said that she went to a really good Vietnamese restaurant in Kingsgrove. In Kingsgrove I asked? A very random location given that there aren't many around that area of Sydney, with the exception of Marrickville. I love Vietnamese cuisine and even though my mum cooks it really well, I do enjoy eating it at restaurants as there is much more variety.

One Clementine is a Vietnamese restaurant located within a complex of new apartment blocks in Kingsgrove, on the first floor together with other stores. It's airy, modern and very spacious. Upon entry, we could smell the different aromas released from the cooking and it smelt amazing. We went during lunch hour on Sunday and it wasn't very busy, but I've read that it is much busier at night, sometimes with queues.

One Clementine serves authentic Vietnamese food but they have also ventured out with modern Vietnamese inspired dishes. They specialise in beef noodle soup, boiling beef bones for many hours to achieve the complex broth. They also have assorted baguettes and rice paper rolls. For those craving dumplings, selected dumplings are handmade on site, though it appears the prawn dumplings are not after confirming with the waitress. The prices are a bit higher than Bankstown or Cabramatta, but there isn't much competition around the area.

We start off with a 'Vietnamese Iced Black Coffee ($3.00)' which looks like how it is served in Vietnam, drip coffee over ice. Unfortunately, the coffee lacked the punch and hit that I'm used to. The taste of the coffee was faint and diluted by the excess water used to filter the grind coffee. I noticed that there was very minimal coffee put into that filter which may have deterred the overall taste. Won't be ordering this next time around.

The 'Pork and Chive Dumplings ($8.00)' are made fresh in-house. Even though it's not a typical Vietnamese dish, this extra addition to the menu is welcoming. The dumplings are filled with juicy meat and chives which may not be suited to those with sensitive noses, as these vegetables let off a pungent smell. A nice entrée with the sweet soya sauce on the side.

In a steaming bowl, the much awaited 'Pho Tai and Bo Vien ($14.00)' arrived at our table. It is essentially medium rare beef and beef meatballs in a beef broth. I asked for the beef to be fully cooked as I don't like eating rare meat. The beef tasted fresh and we could tell they didn't use the cheap cuts. The noodles were silky smooth to the palate.

I very much enjoyed the piping hot broth that had an amazing depth of flavour and the perfect balance, in terms of not being overly sweet nor too salty. It was just delicious and made me sweat buckets. However, they were missing one essential garnish, onions, which are found in most beef noodle soups I've had, as it gives it that extra sweetness.

The 'Pho Tai ($12.00)' is a medium-rare beef noodle soup. Cooked perfectly and like the one above, very tasty.

Fresh herbs and condiments to go with the Pho.

A great place that serves modern Vietnamese food at decent prices. Service is friendly and food comes out reasonably quick. The beef noodle soup is definitely worth having. We do miss the complimentary Chinese tea that we get at the traditional Vietnamese restaurants. Nevertheless, we will be returning to try other dishes in the near future. Thanks for the recommendation N!

Where?
Shop 1, The Pottery,
11 Mashman Ave,
Kingsgrove NSW 2208

Phone no: (02) 8060 7122

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday
Lunch 11:00am - 4:00pm
Dinner: 5:00pm - 9:00pm
Closed Tuesday

Website
www.oneclementine.com.au

Burger Project - Sydney CBD - Sydney, Australia.

Hope everyone had a great festive season and indulged in lots of good food.

Christmas Day was a family day at my place as everyone gathered together for a family BBQ. I love these events as I get to see my relatives who I haven't seen in a while. We all chatter loudly, play board games and eat so much food that our stomachs nearly burst. As we get older and as the commitments add on, the time spent with one another gets less and less. I'm ever thankful for these moments spent with loved ones and it's one of my favourite times of the year.  Yeps, I'm in need of a new Christmas tree.

The next day was Boxing Day and that meant one thing, shopping! My best friend and I joined the masses and went to the city for a day of shopping. It was so crowded to the point of being squished but being a person who likes crowded places, I actually didn't mind it. Unfortunately, there were queues for most shops and the sales were rather disappointing. As previously mentioned, the city is like home to me and working away from the city is challenging. I don't get to meet my friends as often and I really miss the good food that is readily available at nearly every corner. I do hope that this year 2015 will bring some positive changes and my goals and aspirations will be met. Hopefully this year will be a great year for you all too!

Lunch was at Burger Project by Neil Perry, the latest addition to the Rockpool Restaurant Group. This fast food restaurant strives on offering affordable and high quality gourmet burgers at reasonable prices to cater for the masses. Located within the World Square Shopping Centre, the eatery occupies a huge space near Din Tai Fung.

We were expecting a queue but nope, no queue. That was surprising as we've been told there are always queues during peak times as customers want to get a taste of these gourmet burgers. So off we went and ordered our meals at the counter. You place your order, grab a buzzer and then take a seat. Once it's ready, the buzzer will beep and your food is ready.

The open kitchen allows you to view the action that is happening behind the scenes.

Self-serve cutlery, tissues and sauces.

The inside is modern, fresh and clean, offering a casual dining atmosphere. 

The menu is diverse, offering a number of different options, even for those who do not eat beef. Though, their speciality are the beef burgers made with 36 month Cape Grim grass fed chuck, made fresh in house. They also have fried chicken and shakes! These appeared to be a popular item ordered by many but we restrained ourselves and decided to go with the fries.

I had the 'American Cheese Burger ($8.90)' filled with beef patty, cheese, onion, pickles, secret sauce and rose mayonnaise, encased in a grease proof paper bag. I was expecting some lettuce but I read the menu wrongly. The bun was soft and fluffy, going well together with the juicy patty. I couldn't taste the rose in the mayonnaise and didn't notice that it was in there till I re-read the menu. While some others have noted that the rose flavouring was rather strong. With the sauce, it was a delicious burger that had volume to it unlike those burgers that are advertised as looking big but then when you go to order it, it turns out to be much smaller than expected.

The 'Classic Burger ($7.90)' is filled with a beef patty, onion, pickles, tomato, lettuce and secret sauce. Tin Tin found the burger to be mediocre and on the salty side. How good does that burger look?

'Chips with Salt ($4.90)', though ordinary, was crunchy and crispy. It wasn't laden with oil and these were very addictive. Couldn't stop at 1.

I'm a big fan of iced tea so the must order drink was the 'House Made Iced Tea ($3.50)'. Though, I don't recall it tasting any different to regular iced tea.

I really enjoyed the burgers and fries here. At these prices, it's really a steal considering you are getting above-standard burgers at minimal prices. Do give it a try and I know I'll be back for more.

Where?
World Square Shopping Centre
Shop 1106, 644 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: NA

Opening Hours
7 Days a Week
11:00am - 9:00pm

Website
www.burgerproject.com

Happy New Year 2015!