Poporo japanese fusion @ top level market city, sydney

Ask anyone where to find weird and wonderfully interesting jap food in sydney and the odds are good that you'll be directed to Poporo. There is one big reason that Poporo trumps the deck - and that reason is the black squid ink spaghetti with tomato and calamari rings



Oh shudder at the blackness, have you ever seen such noodles before?
How fantastic is the deep, dark inky blackness.....



....which is only matched by the $2 Charcoal buns from Breadtop bakery (they taste like garlic bread!) The blackness of black sesame icecream is pretty fantastic too, and the dark rye sandwiches that sometimes feature at work functions deserves a mention.

Also from Poporo, try cheesy cheesy doria with tomato rice and chicken:




The doria after it was partly demolished by the chinese-speaking walrus:



In conclusion, the blacker your food, the more interesting it is! Buy a pepper shaker, notch up the temperature on that oven, and experience for yourself the wonders of black food next time you sit down to your morning eggs and toast.


Still hungry?
spaghetti & chocolate cake @ poporo
shio ramen, ebi curry, katsu curry and green tea latte @ ichiban boshi
cloudy tiramisu cake, asian lattes, fruity taro icecream and takoyaki @ norita

Cakes, Icecream and Other Sweet Things at Norita Board Game Cafe

Stumbled into Norita Cafe with Lychee one cold and rainy evening after work


Tiramisu coffee cake was all cloudy chocolate and fluffy sponge


Green tea latte and hot taro drink. This is when I first discovered Norita's Taro Drink, aka. the one thing more comforting than your mama's bear hugs. I do rate this Taro Drink. It really hits the spot, perfect for a cold gray day where you need some sweet, soul-warming purple fire to ooze its way down into your belly, mmmmm.


Eastern taro icecream whipped cream & assorted fruit salad bowl


Something savoury - takoyaki octopus balls and salad
This was pretty decent both in taste and value, 8 pieces for $5.90 satisfies my cheap gene
I love the bonito flakes and the way they dance around on top! Argh, the takoyaki is alive!


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Nazimi Japanese Restaurant, York St Sydney, giant moon cake and more

These days, when we go out for dinner, there seems to be a sort of established pattern to the night
1) dinner in the city
2) obligatory dessert/drinks
3) walking around aimlessly in the city for hours (this also happens before dinner actually)
4) karaoke/bar

We've been trying to branch out to non-city locations recently (hurrah for food blogs) but the city's just too convenient. I mean what can you do when your friends are inconsiderate enough to live all over friggin Sydney =p

Sydney offers a lot of great restaurants, and a fair number of the ones around Chinatown / Town Hall side are Japanese and Korean.. so those are normally our top picks. When we're planning dinner, you're pretty much guaranteed to hear someone complain (in an exasperated sort of way), 'No jap or korean food please! Especially not jap! We ALWAYS eat jap food.' And when I say 'exasperated' that is because, well, we usually end up going to a jap restaurant anyway. haha. but that is because jap food is fantastic.

Sashimi Salad $8.80

Nazimi is one of those gems that feel like a private, exciting discovery. You just can't wait to tell your friends about it. The restaurant is below street level, kinda like Madang in chinatown. Located on York St behind QVB, there's al fresco dining available on street level, but step past and down the polished wooden stairs and a small cosy space opens up, with candlelights on tables and polite and smiley waitresses. They have this whole romantic & exclusive vibe going on, without being overly posh. It's a friendly restaurant.

And a big plus with jap food is presentation! The chefs know how to arrange their food. It's like being served a work of art AND a meal at the same time, so you're getting double value :]

Nazimi doesn't disappoint. The colourfulness/presentation kinda reminded me of wagaya.
From memory they had similar menu options too, with your typical ramen/soba/udon dishes (dry and with soup), rice (don) and curries, salads, and sushi platters like rainbow rolls and volcano rolls.

Chicken Katsu Curry $13.80

LOL at this review on eatability:
'Because the place is quite small, when I had my dinner, I was distracted by the smell of other people's dishes. Luckily the smell was good which only made me want to come back and try different dishes there.'


Anyway, Random ginormous mooncake at market city!
And it's famous now lol en saw it on gyf

Ichiban Boshi Visit #3, TGV Town Hall

Mengxi the Gay at Ichiban

Shio ramen, with lots of beansprouts =D ($9.30)

Japanese green tea comes with a teapot and pretty cups $3-

I don't know if it's because we're asian or what, but we seem to eat at Ichiban Boshi a lot. Like the time Wendy organised dinner (as usual) and it started raining (as usual) and we were all standing outside town hall Woolies wondering where to go until somehow we ended up at Ichiban Boshi.

Maybe it is because eating at Ichiban makes you feel superior to everyone else in the city. because you're not just slurping delicious ramen noodles, oh no, you're slurping delicious ramen noodles while sitting three levels above the heads of everyone walking down George St

And the food is really good. The ebi curry, oh man, I like.

The one the only the fantastic Ebi Curry, $13-

Too delicious not to zoom in more

Or maybe it is because you get free miso soup

Complementary miso soup

Katsu Curry ($11.50)

In the next photo, notice at the bottom there is a cup. That little cup is filled with the most delightful substance imaginable, aka sugar syrup!!!!!! and as soon as it arrives, watch as Mengxi lunges forward protectively and embraces it. She will caress it as if it were Haoming's head. She will snarl at you if you come too close. She will dribble the clear viscous liquid into her Green tea as if she was back in year 10 drooling over a certain dude haha//

Apparently you're only supposed to add about half of the syrup to your latte. I normally add the lot. Wendy adds about a drop. Mengxi pours the whole cup in and then tries to steal more off everyone else.

le magnifique Iced Green Tea Latte

I am going to accuse Lisa of being the first to discover the Fantastic Iced Green Tea Latte at Ichiban, back in high school ....this was back when QVB could have been in Cabramatta for all I knew, and back when ten dollars for a bowl of noodles was A LOT since my total weekly allowance was around $5.... so it was a long time ago. Anyway the mengxi is now severely addicted to it (might have something to do with the amount of sugar she adds)



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Last Days for White Apple Dessert Cafe, Regent Place

WHITE APPLE at Regent Place has CLOSED DOWN

If you happened to be walking down George St when they opened last year you may have scored FREE SAMPLES of their special green tea or original frozen yoghurt from the asian girl with a tray - to promote their grand opening! Ever since then it has been on my oh-please-visit-me list but somehow never got round to it until the other night when Lychee and I noticed the sign below =o

If you had yet to visit the 'well-being' dessert cafe, don't worry! because all signs point to it reopening somewhere else in the city

White Apple specialises in Frozen Yoghurt, with both original and green tea flavour on offer. You can pick up to three toppings (kinda reminds me of a malaysian ice kecang hawker stall! Although with options like Tim Tam chunks it's probably more like Cold Rock)

Kiwifruit, rockmelon chunks, berry sauce, passionfruit
We saw a dude ordering Belgium waffles with cookie chunks, passionfruit and chocolate sauce drizzled all over it, and frozen yoghurt on the side

They also had a nice selection of teas from classic green and black tea to floral and golden oolong. There were no hot teas on offer though! so poor Lychee had to go to Starbucks to pick up something warm (it was absolutely raining buckets of cats and dogs and er rain outside haha) anyway hopefully the new store will have some hot drinks on their menu!

Cookie chunks on the left, sesame snaps on the right


More options ~ mango puree, passionfruit, sweetened red bean, watermelon bits and Tim Tam chunks

Green tea frozen yoghurt with kiwi fruit, berry sauce and sesame snaps ! so good

I think it was $3.80 for frozen yoghurt + $1.50 for three toppings

There was a form at the front of the store where you could suggest new store locations, and it was pretty much dominated by World Square, Chinatown, Haymarket etc so hopefully it'll be re-opening somewhere nearby!



--

In other news, if you happen to play restaurant city
these are the ingredients I need

Pumpkin, flour, sugar
Noodles, onion, pork
Tomatoes, basil, bread

If you have them, LET US TRADE <3


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Ajisen Ramen, Haymarket Sydney

Tenderous Ribs Ramen at Ajisen Ramen ($12.80)

APPARENTLY, Ajisen Ramen is a huge Japanese franchise serving ramen worldwide. In Sydney, it presents itself as a fairly modest restaurant sitting across the tram tracks from Market City, with Emperor's Garden yum cha & seafood restaurant on the right and Ramen-kan, Wagaya and the Entertainment Centre close by on the left.

Ajitsuke Octopus (marinated baby octopus) $6.90

Pieface, mendoza and I arrived in search of relief from ahem hardcore studying so it was nice to find the friendly waitress running forward with menus. We each ordered ramen and mendoza shouted us two entrees/ haha I think because I owed him fifty bucks and he wanted it back in food >D

The baby octopus was good, tender and not rubbery at all
Came coated in a slightly sweet, delicious sauce

Seaweed Salad, $6.50

In the same way this was very good. Slightly sweet, delicately flavoured with sesame, crunchy, savoury, mmmm. This dish totally got me hooked on seaweed salad!

Rose Jelly Frappe, $4.50

Gyoza Ramen, $11.80

I walked into Ajisen craving curry, and almost got a curry ramen but I think mendoza shotgunned it first since I took so long checking out the menu... sooo I wound up getting this!

The gyoza dumplings were good but that's all that can really be said for this dish. The ramen noodles were supermarket quality, and the soup had about as much punch as tap water... very bland. This is not worth ordering :(

Karaage Curry Ramen, $11.80

I tried the karaage curry ramen and ANNOYINGLY ENOUGH, it tasted fantastic! The noodles still flopped around and had no texture but the curry soup was flavoursome and smelt damn glorious! If we ever get over how crap the noodles are and go back I'd probably want to try this one, and apparently for Ajisen, the tonkatsu (pork) based ramens are a better bet than the lighter shoyu (soy) broths.

Haha TEAM FROG accounting consultants!
hott.. =________=

More Ichiban Boshi, The Galleries Victoria Sydney

TODAY INSIDE Ichiban Boshi it is busy and bright. Not only are the lights on inside, but one entire side of this Jap restaurant is panelled with glass so the sunlight shines down on the happy eaters.

Peer over the edge and you can see the rest of The Galleries Victoria - the Sunglasses hut, Mooks and other funky random clothes shops :)

Tokyo ramen for $9.30

Curry is a wonderful thing, but if like me you're not terribly good at handling your chilli (my mouth explodes into flames and I can't taste anything else for the rest of the meal) and you usually try to avoid dishes with the words 'chilli', 'spicy', 'Thai' or 'curry' in the name ... well I have some good news for you~ Japanese curry is fragrant, a bit sweet and just mildly spicy.

Ebi curry at Ichiban ($13) is actually even tastier than the ebi don I had the last time we came. Check out the big fat prawns with crunchy coatings that you can pick up with your fingers and dip into the lovely brown curry sauce

Fresh chopped salad hides under the ebi pieces, and if you're not a salad person you can go for the yummy pickles on the side, orr alternatively smother everything in curry sauce hehe :D

And if your plate is not licked 100% clean, fear not. There is plenty of fluffy, yummy rice to mop up any leftover sauce with, and a bowl of hot miso soup that makes you go 'I'm lovin' it!' at the end.

--

Ichiban Boshi
The Galleries Victoria, 2/500 George St (02 9262 7677)


View Food in Sydney in a larger map

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Sushi Rio, Japanese Sushi Train, Sydney

Tempura Prawn Sushi Rolls

Are your feet worn out from pounding the city streets? Take a turn down Sussex St and enter Sushi Rio, a calming nirvana that offers beautifully presented, East-meets-West sushi, on the same street as Kobow Korean BBQ and French Riviera Ice-creamery.

Outside Sushi Rio

An interesting black-and-white light fixture hangs near the front, casting a pretty glow over the elegant, low-lit interior.

Irrashimase! greets you upon entry as you take your seat alongside the sushi train tracks. These run around an island in the middle of the restaurant, where the sushi chefs stand, deftly shaping and slicing the sushi right before your eyes

Seaweed Ship and Salmon and Avocado Sushi Rolls

Background music was sweet and pleasant ~ Sushi-Rio is totally designed for chillaxing in style! Order piping hot, smoky green tea, then sit back and wait for something tasty to chug-chug past.

Here we have some more photos of the sushi train passengers that we abducted (bahaha)

Deep Fried Chicken Sushi Rolls

Mmrmm, these were tasty passengers >D

Black and Green Roe Sushi Ships

Fish roe is so fun to eat! Crunch crunch crunch
And I've never seen green fish roe! So pretty lahh

Shark Fin Sushi Ship

Prices are mid-range for a sushi train, with most dishes ringing in at $3-3.50.

Sushi Rio is a conveniently located, almost therapeutic escape from the CBD rush - all that's missing is a statue of Buddha at the entrance and a few joss sticks (..but for that you can go to Chinta Ria XD)

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You're eating your sushi all wrong!

Ramen-kan Japanese Restaurant, Sydney

Ramen-kan. Funnily enough, this stylish Japanese noodle restaurant is located on the same strip as Wagaya and Cold Rock - but without an address or a friendly guide, you might never find it.

To enter Ramen-kan, you must SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF as you walk into a dingy tin-box lift, press the button for Level 2, and wait for it to slowly grind its way up.

If you make it this far, you will be pleasantly surprised by a prettily-furnished, medium-sized restaurant with polished wooden tabletops and real sheaves of dried wheat hanging from the walls.

The Crab and Corn Ramen comes in a large bowl and is hearty and flavoursome. Like the ramen at Ichiban Boshi, it comes with generous amounts of shallots, fried onions and sesame seeds thrown on top.

Chicken Teriyaki Dinner Bento Box

The chicken was very good - just the right balance between the slightly sticky sweetness and the crispy crunch that teriyaki should have. Typically, the bento box came with a compartment of Japanese short grain rice. This rice is easy to overcook, and it is the mark of a good rice-cooker (and therefore, of course, a good restaurant) when the rice comes out perfectly done! Tick, tick.

I didn't get to try the salad but my mum said it needed more dressing (although my mum always likes her food super-flavoursome... I'm always hearing 'you need to add more salt/oyster sauce/garlic to those veggies lah!' when I'm cooking). The spring rolls were delicious though, nice and crunchy.

Omu-soba (Omelette with Soba noodles)

I love both omurice and soba noodles, so when I noticed omu-soba on the menu, I had to try it! The soba noodles didn't disappoint - they were firm and just a bit chewy the way soba noodles should be :).

Close-up of Omu-soba!

Be warned however - the serving portion for this dish is fairly generous, so get ready to chew chew chew your way through this dish if you order it! Respite from the (delicious) soba comes in the form of the large omelette, which had a smattering of herbs on top, but it was interesting because it was actually very thin... probably the thinnest omelette I've ever had! Those Japanese chefs in the kitchen out back must have been very skilled with their skillets! Oh and this dish also comes with miso soup to help you slurp down those noodles :)

Anyway, as much as I complain about its dodgy street store front and dingy lift, Ramen-kan is probably one of my favourite city restaurants. I love how special you feel once you're inside, like you've discovered your own secret Japanese ramen shop (which you kinda have)

And there's even free entertainment! You can even look out the windows over to McDonalds on the other side and see the pigeons ambushing little kids and their French Fries, hehehe

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Ichiban Boshi, The Galleries Victoria Lvl 3, Sydney

Sukiyaki Don was $11

To eat at Ichiban Boshi, you'll have to arrive well before 12pm. Otherwise, be prepared to join a waiting list that can be PAGES long

It is a good idea to bring your nintendo DS / your friends / their nintendo DS's
And even if you don't own a DS, or don't know what a DS is (.. ) there is no reason to fret - Ichibosh is located right next door to Japanese bookstore & manga house extraordinaire Kinokuniya, which is stacked to the ROOF with books on the beautiful & the bizarre! and you can ask a friendly staff member to explain what a DS is if it was troubling you haha, just don't forget to go back and check whether they've called your ticket number yet!

Tonkotsu Ramen $10.90

Pork Katsu Ju Don for a nice round $10 note

I love the fact that this dish comes served in a box that you have to open yourself (the 'ju' in Japanese refers to the Oriental wooden box). When the waitress brings the dish to the table, it feels like she's giving you a present :)

Lift the lid to find slices of deep-fried pork cutlet, fried in egg and lying on a bed of perfect rice

Ahhh.

Shio Butter Corn Ramen ~ $10.90

Ebi Don ~ $11

Deliciously crunchy large prawns on top of a bowl of rice, this dish is surprisingly filling. All don (rice) dishes came with a small covered pot of piping-hot miso soup.



--

Ichiban Boshi
The Galleries Victoria 2/500 George St, Sydney (02 9262 7677)


View Food in Sydney in a larger map

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