Dinner at Jonga Jip Korean Barbecue (Eastwood)

It has been a while since we last dined out at our favourite Korean BBQ hangout, Jonga Jip. It is located at the mini korean town over at Eastwood, just 5 mins walk to the Eastwood train station. There are heaps of shops such as Korean minimarts, cafes, restaurants and hairdressing salons.

I was walking around the place looking out for new eateries and noticed a couple of new shops, which may appear in my future list for dining. One of my other BBQ favourites is at BBQ City over at Liverpool Street, Sydney.

I like this place as the service staff are pretty good, efficient and they have a widespread selection of side dishes from fishcakes to salads etc.

I have personally brought couple of friends here for dinner and they all seem to be rather happy with the overall dining experience. Food is good and price is reasonable, for the amount of side dishes you can feast on.

Upon being seated at the table, we immediately ordered our usual favourites, the beef bulgogi- $19, which was so well marinated long enough for the flavour to really set in into this tender beef slices.

Next, we ordered my wife’s favourite marinated grilled chicken -$19. These chicken take a bit long to get cooked to perfection but the taste is so good. As I am recollecting last night’s dinner, I am also salivating with hunger just at the thought of it.. Yum.

Lastly, I ordered my favourite beef rib fingers-$17. These chunky rib fingers have a bit of fat in it but it makes the bbq experience even better. Also, you have to dip the cooked rib fingers into the mixture of sesame oil and sea salt that is provided for. It is not marinated like the previous two, so you got to dip it into the tasty mix.

Alright, time for the wide range of side dishes to accompany the lovely meal. We got mashed potato, kimichi, bean sprouts, fishcakes, salads and so much more. I actually ordered another serving of the side dishes after the initial round. Mum says it is good for us to consume more vegetables. Hehe. That was no plain excuse for this gluttony.

My hands was started to get soiled as I was busy cutting the meats to bite sized pieces, while another hand was helping itself to the side dishes. I could not take many pictures of the end product. But, I managed to take a picture of the BBQ process. It is so delicious, having charcoal placed at the base of the BBQ stove..Enjoy!  You could also try their delicious seafood pancake too.

Here is the address of the great BBQ restaurant in Eastwood.

Jonga Jip

87 Rowe Street

Eastwood

02 9858 5160

Steamed Baby Abalone with Caramelised Onions

I went to the fish markets over in Eastwood the other day and was shocked to see live abalone in the fish shop. Abalones are one of my favourites seafood, so I just got a couple of it to see whether I could prepare a decent abalone dish.

I had to clean the abalones by soaking them in salt water for an hour, to make sure that it is thoroughly free from dirt etc. After that, I removed the abalone from its shell to prepare it for cooking.

All I did was having to steam the baby abalones for around 10 mins and drizzle some caramelised onion with soya sauce over it. And, my quick seafood meal is ready… It tasted very nice actually.

Here is a picture of my abalone dish. Hope you can enjoy it too.

Birthday Dinner at Golden Century Seafood Restaurant

It is the time of the year that we have a massive celebration with some of my great pals here in Sydney. It was our joint birthday celebration and we decided to head over to Golden Century Seafood for some crabs etc.

The last time we went to this restaurant, we were nearly scarred for life. That was we did not have have a closer look at the price of the fresh prawns, which turn out to be so expensive. We promised ourselves that we will look at the prices before nodding our heads, irregardless of the tempting delicacies that await us.

We ordered some sweet and sour soup ($6.50 each) and I must admit that it was a good way to start the meal. Pardon me for the pictures as the pictures got taken after the first scoop was taken. 😦 You cannot fault a hungry person.

The service was also impeccable and they served us with a nicely brewed oolong tea.

After we had gobbled our tea, our next chicken dish arrived. It was the Crisp skin chicken with ginger and shallots. $19.00

I must admit that this dish took us by surprise. The chicken’s skin was fried to perfection and the meat was well marinated in the delicious sauce that accompanied it.

Our main highlight arrived shortly and it was the snow crab fried with shallots.

Initially, the 5 of us wanted to order their famed and massive king crab with noodles. But, we were taken aback by the high price tag. Thus, we ordered the snow crab instead. The meat of the crab was nice and we were happy to see that it came with the roe which I had missed. The verdict: it was delicious but the portion was a little small for 5 hungry people. The crabs costs around $90, as it weighed more than 1.2 kg.

We had two more dishes that came as part of the meal. They were the Chinese brocolli poached with oyster sauce. $13.80.

It was good and tasty and the vegetables were so crunchy. The most disappointing dish of the day was the Salt & pepper fried bean curd. $16.80

My honest opinion was that the tofu was not fried to perfection at all. It seem a bit too rush, not crispy at all. The flour and seasoning was not to scratch. The batter did not hold it well, as compared to many others fried tofu I have tasted around Australia. This was the only dish that had heaps left.

After the hearty meal, we were served with a plate of chinese cookies, fruits and other desserts such as red bean soup and some fried fritters. It was an awesome way to end the meal… Keep up the good work and we will surely come back…

Overall Verdict: Very good. And we will come back again for the King Crab, once we have saved enough money… Remember to make bookings as the queue tends to be rather long…

Golden Century Seafood Restaurant

393-399 Sussex Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: 02 9212 3901

Thursday Food Markets at Chatswood , NSW

Time flies and I do not seem to be able to finish all the blogging work that I was supposed to do… Anyway, had to be at chatswood to meet up couple of mates. After that, my tummy started growling. And, I decided to treat it well as the markets in Chatswood were still open.

Went to Mamak and ordered the roti telur($6.50). The 4 slices of roti could be a bit more crisp as it tasted a bit thick. However, the curry and the sambal that came along with it was good. It was a little spicy but it was so shiok, especially when the night was getting colder. I guess having roti in Sydney is already pretty decent, as compared to years ago. No complains.

Mamak's Roti Telur

I was happy but was still hungry, so I popped by another favourite haunt- Takoyaki (octopus balls) They had various versions of it, prawns, octopus etc. But, i still liked the original version- octopus.

Colotako

Waited for a few minutes as it was already 7 plus in the evening. I got my takoyaki. Guess what? They threw another additional ball for me for free. 5 balls for the price of 4. Awesome… It was yummy, with drizzles of mayo, nori (seaweed) & bonito flakes. Here is it. I am happy finally. 🙂

The Magnificent Takoyaki

Another Ramen Experience in Sydney – Ramen Genki

Hi friends, I do apologise for not getting back to my writing of my food blog. You see, I have been preoccupied with travelling and also eating. The speed of eating seems to be much faster than that of blogging. Not sure why. I try to be good in future.

One of my food mates suggested that we checked out a popular ramen shop, Japanese Noodle Genki located in Artarmon, nsw. He was introduced to the ramen place by another foodie. I have always loved ramen. It got even better when I had the opportunity to try out the best ramen in Tokyo & Osaka a few years ago. This food hunt is getting exciting.

It was just a stone’s throw away from the Artarmon train station and I was amazed by how many Japanese shops there were in this small alley way. Sushi ya, a japanese izakaya, japanese bookstore and a japanese minimart were all in the same area as Ramen Genki.  There was a little queue when we got there but it was our turn in around 10 mins’ time. Not a long wait unlike other ramen places that I have been to.

 

 

When it came to my turn, I ordered the tonkotsu ramen. (Noodles with pork bone stock) $11.00  Also, I ordered additional items to go with the ramen. That included a boiled egg ($1.50) and a seaweed sheet ($1.50). Service in general was quite good and efficient. It is always great having dinner when the service staff are all smiling.  It was a pleasant surprise when they delivered the ramen as it also included some nice, slightly spicy pickled vegetables. It was the same as in Japan.

 

 

The soup was pretty tasty yet light, unlike the thick broth that I would find at Ryo’s noodles. The eggs could be better, as it was way too overcooked. One thing for sure is that the helping of noodles were large. So large till I had to surrender.

I had also ordered the croquettes ($5.50) and the gyoza ($6.00).

 

The gyoza was nicely cooked, with juicy cabbage and meat stuffing. The chilli and vinegar dip was a great pair with the delicious gyozas.

 

 

The potato croquettes was fried to perfection, accompanied with the tonkatsu sauce.  I must admit that I could easily visit Artarmon again for its japanese food. I also heard that Ramen Genki serve great curry rice. I will check it out the next time. Meanwhile, the details of the eatery can be found here.

Ramen Genki 

6 Wilkes Road, Artarmon NSW 2064

tel: 02 9410 3777