Kasalong Thai, North Ryde

This is a delayed blog post. On a particularly lazy weeknight, Matt and I decide to go out for some thai. We have decided to check out Kasalong Thai in North Ryde which is located on Cox Rd. We walk up the stairs and are seated.

Plage Restaurant, Cremorne

Plage Restaurant is casual fine dining with Japanese flavours infused with European taste and technique. This venue is fabulous as it show cases fine dining technique at a reasonable price point. I've been here several times and intend on having a function here. They regularly update the menu so let's see what's new. 

I am a big fan of Tomoyuki Usui's work, he's such a talented chef, very much worthy of the hat from the Australian Good Food Guide.

Stoneage Korean BBQ, West Ryde

Korean BBQ is big business in Eastwood and in recent times has spread to West Ryde. Stoneage Korea BBQ seems to be very popular so I head there for a local eat.

Swanson Hotel, Erskinville

Swanson Hotel in Erskinville is a great place for dinner with friends.

Waqu, Crows Nest - CLOSED NOW

 I tried Kappo dining for the first time at Waqu (a bit of posh). Check out my experience.

Tree House, North Sydney

Treehouse is very popular with the suits in North Sydney. I was a regular when I worked in North Sydney. I loved it! Check out what I ordered.

The Wooden Whisk, St Leonards Crows Nest

The Wooden Whisk has an army of fans with a rating of 4/5 on Zomato.

Hayes St Wharf Bistro, Neutral Bay

 Hayes St Wharf Bistro is a cosy little restaurant for you to tuck into, nearby Neutral Bay Wharf.

The Botanist, Kirribilli

The very popular watering hole in Kirribilli - The Botanist

Create your own taste, McDonalds (How very unlike McDonalds)

Maccas are advertising it with the tagline "So Very Un McDonalds" - and its true. Get ready to customise your burger and make it as fancy or as simple as you want. 

St Malo Bakery, Crows Nest

Great pastries and coffee @ St Malo Bakery in Crows Nest.

Takeru, Chatswood

I love Takeru in the city. For a change, I thought I would give the Chatswood outlet of Takeru a go. The 71% like rate on urbanspoon for Chatswood v.s the 86% like rate on the City Takeru is probably a fair comparison. The Chatswood was good but not quite as well put together as the city version. I love ordering off the touch screens to the side of each table.

My normal favourite Kaisen Don (half version is $8.20 below) was a nice mesh of fresh sashimi of Tuna, Salmon and Kingfish on a bed of rice but it was not the tasty concoction that I am used to. The ratio of rice, sashimi, wasabi, mayonnaise and soy was not to my usual preference like there is in the city.  It's still a nice dish to order.

The Japanese Fried Chicken (above, $11.20) was crispy and cooked well. I love Karaage chicken with the mayonnaise. You will get about 4-5 decent sized chicken pieces.

My regular favourite dish at Takeru in the city is the Japanese Pizza (below, $10.90) and while it was super tasty, I missed the regular textures and consistency of the pizza in the city.  The Japanese Pizza has chicken, flour dumpling topped with mayonnaise and if you like.. some tabasco to cut through all the cheesy flavours.

Prices: $15-$20 per person

Location: Right near Chatswood Chase, walk inside the arcade at 369 Victoria Ave, Chatswood. 

Sushi Train, Neutral Bay

Sushi Train in Neutral Bay is special and differentiates itself from the rest of the Sushi Train franchise. The difference is the upmarket decore and ambiance with jazz music in the background. More importantly, you can purchase alcohol along with special dishes that you can only purchase at Neutral Bay. Some of the unique dishes that you can only get include the duck nigiri, chicken volcano nigiri and prawn miso garlic miso rolls.

All the dishes are reasonably priced. Here are some of my favourites.

I quite enjoyed the freshly cooked Karage chicken ($5 on the purple plates) that I ordered below. Japanese Fried Chicken is delicious when dipped into a generous mound of mayonnaise. Definitely order the chicken.

Are you tempted by some sake? These bottles above looked very tempting. You can order 180mls of sake from $7.80-$8.80. For the more thirsty, you can also order the larger sake, 360mls from $12.80-$13.80. I actually went for the Cho-ya Plum wine on the rocks for $7.80.

If you are a Washoku Lovers member then you can get a free glass of sake by showing your members card.

The Wagyu Beef Salad ($8.80 above) had a generous amount of dressing. The salad of wagyu beef, lettuce, grated carrot and crunch fried onion bits is a nice side dish to share.

My favourite dishes of the night were the volcano chicken (above, $5.50 for green plates). The chicken was warm and juicy with a nice lashing of sauce. Red plates are $4.50 and below. the freshly ordered gyoza was really nice, You can tell the gyoza is authentically Japanese because the skin is thin with a moderately crunchy bottom. Delicious! Definitely order these two dishes. 

Above is the garlic prawn and miso roll at $4.50 which was something different. Worth a try given you can't get this at any of the other sushi train franchises.

Ken is the head chef and owner of the Sushi Train in Netural Bay. It's been operating in the area for about 5 years and he brings the warmth and friendliness of the Japanese people. Say hello to Ken if you see him, he's such a nice guy!

Before you go, I would suggest you sneak in a dessert ($4), the chocolate fondant is a nice treat to finish the meal.

So how many plates can you handle? Check out the Sushi Train in Neutral Bay for reasonably priced sushi with the posh decore.

Location: 308 Military rd, Neutral Bay

Prices: $20-30 per person

Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm everyday. Get in early as they don't do table bookings

Note: I dined as a guest of Sushi Train and SD Marketing Global. All words and photos are my own. If you hadn't noticed; I go to many Japanese Restaurants so I love trying new places. Make sure you join Washoku Lovers for freebies when you dine at the many Japanese Restaurants in Sydney.

Olive Bar and Grill, Hornsby

66% is an appropriate like rate for the Olive Bar and Grill. Breakfast is at a very reasonable price and is a good alternative if you don't feel like cooking yourself. There was nothing amazing but sometimes you just need a consistent eatery at a reasonable price. You can get your classics so I got toast, two poached eggs ($6.50) and a hash brown ($extra $1.50). Everything was cooked well and the poached eggs were perfectly running on the inside.

For the more hungry, you may opt for the big brekkie. At $12.90, I thought this was a very reasonably priced breakfast. With fried eggs, bacon, baked beans, grilled tomato, mushroom and toast. The bacon could have been more crispy but all the other components were well cooked.

Prices: $10ish for breakfast

Location: Just outside Hornsby Westfield, Shop 2031 Florence St, Hornsby

Bacino Bar Il Caffe, Kirribilli

Bacino Bar Ill Caffe is perfect for a casual lunch in Kirribilli and the is best coffee around (a big claim by one of my friends who is a local). It's well deserving of it's 93% liking rating.  With the Harbour bridge a short walk away, it was a really nice and relaxing area to have lunch.

It's a small cafe with some chairs and tables at the front. The food tastes fresh and the sandwiches are full of flavour.  No stale, flavourless sandwiches here.

The Italian Meatball sandwich was full of herbs and was well rounded with a nice blend of cheese and meatball on turkish bread. Equally, the roast beef sandwich with onion relish, tomato and lettuce was delicious. I quite enjoyed this lunch.  I felt like a lady of leisure.

Try it out and let me know what you think?

Prices: Sandwiches are $8.5 to $10, Coffees are about $3

Location: 31 Fitzroy St, Kirribilli

Street Market Asian Tapas, Kirribilli

Street Market Asian Tapas is the ultimate Asian Fusion for yuppies. Street Market Asian Tapas is located in Kirribilli, not far from the station. A favourite of a lot of foodies is nem nuong which is the Vietnamese meat skewer.  At $9, the Vietnamese style pork minced skewer was delicious! A little bit pricey but delicious.

Next up was the Char-grilled Eggplant with soy miso glaze. which was not bad. It doesn't quite compare to the eggplant at Chinese Noodle Restaurant in China Town but that particular eggplant is perfection. The egg plant at Street Market Asian tapas was still nice with smokey miso flavours which was very soft textures at $8.

For the main dish, the ox tail was nice. At $27 the Kare-Kare was really nice. Described as the slow cooked ox tail in clay pot with ground toasted rice and peanut with egg plant, string beans and green leaf, the Kare-Kare was melt in your mouth meat. Give it a go!

Prices: $20-$30 per head

Location: Upstairs, 12 Fitzroy St, Kirribilli

Bluefin Sushi, Chatswood

The 74% like rate on Urbanspoon is too generous unfortunately.  It's probably the second worst sushi train that I've been to but it does have convenience on it's side - being located right near the cinemas in Chatswood's Westfields. My worst experience is here.

I don't think the sushi is fresh and the rice is a bit stale. I think maybe the sushi stays on the train for too long. As I was limited on time before my movie, I thought I would try one of their mains. I saw the chefs microwaving the eel before putting it on the rice. The eel tasted very much like it came from the microwave. I ate a few spoonfuls out of desperate hunger and went to my movie!

Give this one a miss if you can.

Kirrakaze, Kirribilli

Kirrakaze is a little hole in the wall Japanese Eatery located in Kirribilli. Many office workers pop in and out ordering sushi, Teriyaki rice dishes and dash back to work. I was looking for something light but filling but I sat down to take a breather.

I ordered the Takoyaki Balls ($7) below which were exactly how I love them.  They were crispy and slightly crunchy on the outside filled with soft filling of potato and octopus topped with some Japanese mayonnaise. 

I also ordered the Teriyaki chicken with salad.  The salad was pretty abysmal to be honest. Random chunks of lettuce, big pieces of tomato and cucumber don't particularly make it appealing to eat but it still provided a side of refreshment to the chicken.  The chicken was luckly fabulous and saved my meal. Packed full of flavour and perfectly cooked ($8). 

If you have time, go for a walk along the coastal line or sit under the Harbour Bridge!

Prices: $10-15 for a main

Location: 9B Broughton St, Kirribilli 

Makoto Sushi Bar and Restaurant, Chatswood

Fresh from the fish markets each day, Makoto Sushi serve up a train full of delicious sushi and sashimi treats.  Boy did I miss that fresh sushi and sashimi.  They usually have a long queue for lunch despite all the competition in Chatswood. There's a lot of great food in Chatswood too.

Seared Salmon

Fresh Salmon

I think I would have to say this is one of my favourite sushi bars.  I like the variety of fish they have beyond the conventional - Salmon, King Fish and Tuna Trio. This particular lunch (due to allergies of my company) was salmon focused with an array of seared salmon, fresh salmon nigiri, my favourite - eel, bonito fish, salmon sashimi with some egg nigiri.  It was all washed down with hot green tea.

Eel

Bonito Fish

It's been almost 9 months since I've had the pleasure of visiting Makoto.  As I enjoyed my lunch, it made me relive what I love about Sushi trains.  I love the variety, the fresh fish and friendly customer service.

Prices: About $20 per person.  Red plates are $4, Gold plates are about $7, Blue Plates are  $3.50, Light blue is $3.00 and Wood coloured plate is $2.5

Location: 336 Victoria Ave, Chatswood, NSW, 2067

Fresh Salmon Sashimi

Salmon Nigiri

Egg Nigiri

Avo, Salmon and Rice