Mamak, Malaysian, Sydney

A slightly unrelated topic.

So for the past 2 hours I've been working on my CA project without much success. Listening to music hasn't really helped either and every time I hear Chris Brown's Gimme That (super old song) I start bopping and trying to dance (woooo gangster!).

Can you believe he was seventeen when this was released?! Seventeen! Seriously. And here I am, much older, and still studying.

Anyways back to the point. Blogging about Mamak! So this ones for A.M since I recall a conversation where we talked about Mamak.

Mamak

15 Goulburn Street

Haymarket Sydney

Mamak is an extremely popular Malaysian restaurant thats famous for its roti and chicken satay sticks. Theres always a line so expect to wait around 20-30 minutes. On Sunday we arrived at about 630pm and waited about 25 minutes for a table for 3.

The line

hehe spot my sister!

Chefs in action

I felt really awkward taking a photo of these guys because every time they looked up we would have uncomfortable eye contact. Haha sorry! Hope you dont mind being on my blog :)

Iced Tea

Roti Canai $6.50

The roti is delicious. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and chewy goodness. Each roti is served with 2 curries and also a spicy sambal sauce. The 2 curries are fairly mild but the sambal is intense. I never use the red sambal. The first time I tried it I ended up not eating my roti because it was too spicy haha.

Nasi Lemak ($14.50)

Look at that red sambal! Super chilli. We ordered the nasi lemak with the ayam goreng and curry chicken as sides and shared. Very yummy. The ayam goreng (deep fried chicken) was crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside.

Chicken Satay Sticks ($16 for 1 doz)

I think these were a dozen for $16- which means Mamak must have raised their prices because last time I was here I think they were a dozen for $12. Anyways these were worth every cent. The peanut satay sauce is rich, flavoursome and crunchy with little bits of peanut. I can also taste some sugar (palm sugar?).

The bill was about $55 for 3 and we were very full. Mamak is a must try and worth the 30 minute wait. The dishes on the menu are consistently good and if you have a sweet tooth you should try the dessert roti :)

Pho Gia Hoi

Pho Gia Hoi

711 George Street Haymarket

One of the best places for Pho in the city would have to be Pho Gia Hoi. I'm not vietnamese so apologies if I get this wrong but I believe the 'pho' is pronounced 'fur' rather than 'fo'.

Prawn rice paper rolls

Beef Pho

The beef pho is the reason why I only ever come here for Pho in the city. The soup is rich but doesn't taste like its pure MSG. The serving size is generous and they're not stingy with the beef. At $10 a bowl its an absolute bargain.

Delicious and hearty vietnamese food. Does anyone else know of a good pho place in the city?

Wagaya, Japanese, Sydney

Wagaya Japanese Restaurant

Level 1 78-86 Harbour Street Haymarket

9212 6068

Wagaya is a cute Japanese Restaurant in heart of Chinatown well known for having 'touch screen' menus. Its been opened for quite a while now and although other Japanese restaurants have also jumped on the bandwagon of touch screens, it is still extremely popular. If you're trying to make a booking- goodluck. They're only opened after 5pm and only take bookings after this time. And even then, you'll be lucky to get anyone to pick up your phone. I remembered that they also have a mobile number that you could sms your booking to, but can't remember the number.

We arrived on a weekday night at 7pm and waited about 20 minutes for a table.

Touch screen menus

Normal Menus

Fried Rice with garlic and scallops

This is served on a hot plate so the rice is nice and crispy. A carb lover's dream.

Chicken Gristle

I love this! The gristle is like the cartilage bit near the wishbone. Deep fried and drizzle over with some lemon and its delicious.

Takoyaki

Deep fried japanese potato balls with octopus

Adegashi Tofu

Lightly deep fried tofu served with dashi and bonito flakes.

Grilled Salmon Sushi

Half grilled scallops and salmon sushi

The service is okay and prices are reasonable. Its usually around $20 pp unless you order something crazy like the lobster sashimi @ $120. The servings are small so you get to share and try different things but to be honest the food is average. Still its worth trying if you've never been but don't expect the food to wow you away.

Arisun, Korean, Sydney

Arisun Korean Restaurant

1 Dixon Street Sydney

Arisun is a popular Korean restaurant towards the Town Hall end of Dixon Street. Its famous for its korean fried chicken which you must try if you come here. Its always packed and has a lively atmosphere.

We start off with some soju and korean sides. Normally most korean joints will offer you about 3-5 side dishes to go with your meal- usually pickled radish, kimchi, seaweed, beansprouts and sometimes even pickled fish. Sadly Arisun only had kimchi :(

Spicy Seafood Soup with Rice

We wanted something 'mild' but still chilli so we ordered this dish thinking that the rice will be in a separate bowl. But how wrong, the rice was at the bottom of this bowl and completely soaked in chilli soup. Only J managed to eat this- it was too chilli for the rest of us.

Black Bean noodles with seafood

Bibimbap

Omg so chilli! I only mixed in half the bimbibap sauce but my lips were like numb after eating a bit of this.

Beef and vegetables hot pot

This was slightly too sweet for me. But it wasn't chilli so I ate it anyways haha.

Spicy sizzling hot plate

This was incredibly chilli. Look at that bright red colour! I love how they topped this with bonito flakes :) So delicious.

Korean Soy Sauce Crispy Chicken

Yum! Highlight dish of the night. Perfectly juicy, crispy and succulent.

Seafood pancake

J, our resident Korean, thought it was incredibly cute how each slice of pancake had one prawn.

I love korean food- cheap and cheerful and you can never go wrong. Worked out to be $20 per person and we had too much food. Although only thing I dont like is bimbibap- I find it really plain. But if you like korean you must try Arisun :)

Capital Grill, Modern Australia, Circular Quay

Capital Grill

The Gateway Building

1 Macquarie Place Sydney

9247 4445

http://www.capitalgrill.com.au/

About two weeks ago I caught up with W&A over dinner at Capital Grill & Bar. Capital Grill is a sleek two storey complex in the middle of the financial district. Our group of 4 arrived around 7pm and were seated easily without a booking. Downstairs is an outdoor island bar where you can have a few casual drinks or if you wanted a quiet date, the upstairs dining room is nice and intimate.

We started off with an amuse bouche of cauliflower & bacon soup. This was rich, creamy and perfect for a cold winter night.

Thanks A for uploading these photos! I thought that W would order the burger ever since he said that he liked burgers & fries over duck confit. Lucky he has A who is nice enough to teach him how to be cultured :)

Seared scallops with proscuitto, witloof and miso reduction ($23)

We werent too hungry so we shared the scallops as an entree. Scallops were not too bad, a little overcooked but still quite plump.

Risotto with Mushroom Medley & Truffle oil ($29)

A ordered this and seemed to be happy with it. The serving size was huge.

Tenderloin 250gms Pasture Fed Riverina SA served with potato gratin & mushroom ragout ($39)

I ordered this and it was gorgeous. I like my steak medium and it was perfectly cooked- not too bloody but still juicy. Serving size was very generous- I only managed to get through about three quarters.

Wagyu Scotch Fillet 300gms Marble score 6+ Oakleigh Ranch QLD with potato gratin & mushroom ragout ($46)

Both the boys ordered this and both struggled to finish this. Steak also cooked very well.

I definitely recommend Capital Grill if you're in the city and wanting to go somewhere nice but not overly pretentious.

The service was good and one of the waitresses were very sweet and even offered to take photos for us. Thank you!

A quick post

A few announcements..

Firstly a big thank you to everyone for all your support.I'm currently ranked 26 on Urbanspoon which is a tremendous result. I'm in need of some cheering up and this definitely helps.

Secondly I'm going to try and reorganise this blog so that it categorises posts by cuisine/location and will hopefully be easier to navigate. So until then there will be no new posts..

See you soon

xx

Mamasita, Mexican, Melbourne

Mamasita

Level 1, 11 Collins Street Melbourne

No Bookings, Arrive early

I had planned my trip to Melbourne around the best eateries and Mamasita was on the top of that list. I've heard so many rave reviews about the tacos, the tequila and the corn that I just had to see it for myself.

We arrived early (or late, depending on whether its lunch or dinner) at about 4pm and easily found a table.

The interior is spacious with lots of barstools but I get the feeling during rush hour this place would be packed.

I love this menu. Un Tequila? Yes please!

Elotes callejeros (v) Primeros ($4.40)

'Street Style‛ chargrilled corn, queso, chipotle mayonnaise & lime

Dear Lord. This was fricking amazing. To be honest.. this was probably my favourite dish in the whole entire Melbourne trip. The corn is juicy, sweet, crispy and when combined with the mayonnaise- so deliciously good. At $4.4 each, these are worth every cent and more. SOOO good.

de Cangrejo Tostaditas ($15)

Crab meat, avocado, cucumber,

mayonnaise & red chilli

This was cold so it wasnt too nice as I found the crab meat was very squishy (pardon my lack of creativity). Seriously.. the only way to describe the crab was 'squishy'. Not bad I guess.

de Chorizo Tacos ($5)

Chorizo, cabbage, chipotle,

coriander & onion

Yum!

de Camarones Tacos ($7)

Marinated prawns, habanero, chillis and chipotle almond salsa

Amazing. I liked this better than the chorizo taco.. for me this prawns were sumptuous, light and very fresh. Although both were very delicious.

de Pollo Quesadillas ($14)

Chargrilled chicken with ‘picode gallo’, coriander & queso fresco

A quesadilla is a filled tortilla and I was pretty happy with this one. I actually really wanted to try the mexican truffle and mushroom quesadilla but by this point was very full & conscious of one's expanding waist line.

Overall I really enjoyed Mamasita. The food (read- corn) was delicious. I hear that Sydney's El Loco is a bit like Mamasita and I cannot wait to try it out.

Maze, Modern Australian, Melbourne

Maze Melbourne

Level 1 Crown Metropol

Corner of Whiteman and Clarendon Streets,
Southbank, Victoria 3006

T: +61 (0)3 9292 8300

http://www.gordonramsay.com/mazemelbourne/

We arrived at Maze at about 9pm, starving, and proceeded to have the quickest 7 course degustation in history. The degustation is $120 per person, plus from $90 for matching wines.

The restaurant interior is visually stunning. However the location was isn't great and you can tell that the long drapes over the windows are just trying to block out the constant stem of traffic from the casino.

Every dish was superb and my favourites were the crispy pork belly and the seared yellow fin tuna.

Marinated Beetroot with goats curd, Cabernet Sauvignon vinaigrette, toasted pinenuts

Its amazing how something vegetarian can taste so good.

Seared yellow fin tuna, white radish, yuzu, enoki, black garlic

I really liked this. I felt sad about eating this because it was just so beautiful and it felt like I was ruining a piece of art. I loved piecing together this dish and how flavours combined so well.

Foie Gras and Chicken Liver pate, Maidera, Mulberries and toasted sourdough

Marlborough King Salmon, Jerusalem Artichoke, Mustard and horseradish cream

This salmon was incredibly rich and fatty. I personally found it a bit too rich but salmon lovers would definitely appreciate this.

King George Whiting, smoked paprika brandade, black olive

Crispy pork belly, calvalo nero, soybeans, dashi

This was definitely the highlight dish of the night for me. So good. Perfectly crispy pork belly and the dashi was addictive. After I ate this I wanted more :(

Gisborne Duck Leg, sweet corn, cracked wheat, fig jam

Very yummy but by this stage was starting to get really full. Because we had arrived so late we didn't really get a long break between each course so became full quite easily.

Cape Grim short rib, potato, shimeji mushroom, shallot gastric

To be honest I found this quite average since it was basically mushrooms, potato and steak.

Exotic Fruit Vacherin, passion fruit and banana sorbet

Coffee Ganache, salted caramel, hazelnut ice cream

I enjoyed every course and I'm quite surprised that so many other people on urbanspoon find Maze disappointing. The service was attentive and not intrusive and at the end of the night we were presented with little lolly bags to take home (which I thought was really cute).