Food fun facts!

Did you know…?

• Watermelon has 1200 varieties.
• The smaller the berry, the sweeter it is
• When honey is consumed, it will enter your bloodstream within 20 minutes.
• The term pound cake originated from the pound of butter needed to make it.
• Bubble gum flavor comes from the mixture of wintergreen, vanilla, and cassia (a type of cinnamon)
• Popcorn has existed for about 6000 years.
• The first hamburger was invented by Louis Lassen in 1900. He took some ground beef and broiled it, then served the patty in between toast.
• To prevent bananas from turning brown, put them in the refrigerator. You may also squeeze lemon juice on apples and bananas to prevent oxidation.
• The world's hottest pepper is Habanero. This is one of those important fun food facts to know in case anyone offers you a bite!
• To reap the therapeutic benefits of green tea, you have to drink 4-5 cups everyday.
• The color of a chili will not indicate its degree of spiciness. Usually the size indicates the spiciness. The smaller the chili or pepper, the hotter it will be.
• To easily cut off fat from chicken or steak, slice them while they're partially frozen.
• Since the Hindus do not eat beef, New Delhi's McDonald's makes their burgers using mutton.
• The more raw the fruit or vegetable is, the more nutritious it is. A freshly picked apple is way healthier than apple sauce, apple juice, and apple pie.
• The dye that is used in stamping the grade on meat is actually edible. It's the dye from grape skins.
• Canned soups taste good because of their high sugar content
• Sonya Thomas carries the record of eating 11 lbs of cheesecake in just 9 minutes
• Antarctica is the only continent that does not have McDonald's.
• A Big Mac has 560 calories. The "special sauce" is thousand-island dressing.
• In 1995, 11 pieces of KFC chicken were sold to every man, woman, and child in America.
• Iceberg lettuce is composed of 90% water. Not much nutritional value there.
• Spinach is one of the most nutritious and highest ranking vegetable in nutrient and antioxidant capacity.
• Saffron, which is made from dried stamens of crocus flowers, is the world's most expensive spice.
• 2 12 0z servings of freshly juiced pears, apples, celery, leafy greens, and carrots can generate the same effect of two times the recommended dosage of a laxative.
• Truffles, a type of fungus, are sniffed out from the soil by female pigs. Truffles can cost up to $1,500 per pound.
• Applesauce can be substituted for oil in cake and muffin recipes

(Source:http://www.2020site.org/fun-facts/Fun-Food-Facts.html)

Review: Emperor's Garden Restaurant

Emperor's Garden is a busy, bustling and vibrant restaurant. As you walk in you see bright colours such as red and gold that make the place light up and appear welcoming. I usually come to this place but the decorations do not ever seem to become dull. If you go during the Yum Cha time, which is usually around the morning to lunch time, trolleys are being pushed with steamy and nice smelling food.

When you sit down, there was cutlery, bowls, tea cup and a napkin waiting for me. As we settled in, we did not have to order, as there would be trolleys already passing by displaying their food. Whenever I have been, it has been with Chinese speaking family and friends, so communicating with the staff is easy. However, the staff can communicate in English as there are a lot of non-Chinese speaking customers who go there to eat.

The food is delicious and i do recommend a few dishes. One of these dishes is very weird, unique and has many people backing away from it. It is chilli chicken feet. The texture is what puts people off, but if you do not mind it, then it is a very tasty dish. It comes with 3 or 4 servings, so if you are in a small group, one dish should  do the job.

Another dish i recommend is the meatball with bean curd. The dish comes with three meatballs that come in very generous sizes with bean curd attached to the bottom of it. If you decide to get this dish it comes with sauce, ( I think it might be soy sauce). The sauce adds a lot of flavour to it. The texture is nice and soft, but I enjoy the dish too much that one serving is not just enough!

This other dish is very tasty. It can come in two different versions; beef or prawn. Being a more beef person, i had the beef one. The dish is basically a rice roll with the ingredient ( beef or prawn) in side it. The serving is quite large with three rolls in each serving. The sauce also compliments the taste and I do recommend both version of this dish just to try.

For prices, I am not too sure how much each dish costs. They use a system that most of the yum cha places use, which is to stamp your docket at the size/cost of your dish. After you ask for a dish the waiter will comp and stamp your docket. If you are looking for a big feed, the amount of dishes could amount to a large bill towards the end. It is not that expensive that you cant go out and try new dishes. be in mind that these dishes are small and will not cost a fortune.

The staff from what I have seen are efficient at setting up the tables, getting the food out and serving the food. They are quick even in the busiest of times. But I did notice there was quite a lot of them around the place. However, overall the restaurant is very nice, busy and enjoyable. The chatter of the people around you, the waiting for your favourite dish to come out are all the aspects and many more I enjoy about this restaurant. You should check this place out!

Their address is 96-100 Hay Street, Haymarket, NSW, 2000 and their number is 9211 2268 or 9211 2135. You can also make a booking online if you want. It is in the city, and very close to Town Hall and Central.

The place to "Meat"-Braza

What comes into your mind first when you hear the word "Brazil"?
Christ the redeemer? Definitely. Yellow jersey? Of course. Braziliana? Yeah, they are really hot.
But, I say, Brazilian Churrascaria.
Don't hurry to look for a dictionary. I will explain everything.
Long time ago, Shen told me he went to some random Brazilian BBQ restaurant in some dusty corner of Leichhardt where few have ever been to. He gave a really good comment and recommended me to go and have a try. Back then, I was just an ignorant mortal who thought that Brazil is never fameous for food. So I didn't take it serious.

Braza from outside

OMG, Meat!!!

Last week, I was wondering around near darling harbour with my girl friend. If you have always been to city on a regular basis, you will notice that the government had gave a face lift to the area between the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center and the Chinese garden. Now they call it darling quarter. Now there lies a huge children playground. The Mcdonald has been moved to the other side. Along the same side of Macas, there are quite a few newly opened restaurant. When I walked pass this restaurant, the waitor attracted me. Please don't get me wrong, it was not some hot chick, and I am not interested in guys. Rather, specifically speaking, what he was holding grabbed my attention. It's a skewer, about a meter in length with some obviously decilious meat hanging on it. He was slicing the meat using a big knife and then placing it into the dishes in front of the customers.
And then, I started to look for the sign. Braza. Wait a second, Brazil, BBQ, Braza. This might be the one Shen told me about. Seeing is believing. I was convinced that it was worth trying. So we walked in.


When I step in, my first sensation is that I am in Brazil. The place is specially designed to create a tropical and exotic atmosphere. Roof is decorated with big silver palm leaves. Posters of Braziliana were hanging on the wall. Bright yellow light of the bar and the fast, happy rhythm from the band are just perfect match.

The thing

While I was waiting for the first skewer to come, I saw this little thing with green colour painted on one end and red colours painted on the other. Later I figured out that, if you are up to ear, red up, green down, then waitor wouldn't bother you with "Would you like blah blah blah" and leave you burping. If you are still good to go, green up red down. Smart way. And fun as well.
Ok. The feast began. Too many meat to remember. There are a lot of variaties. Here I will just talk about three of them which just blow me away.

Pineapple, my lover

1. Abacaxi-pineapple.
Yes, I am serious. This is my favourite. Charcoal grilled pineapple. Coated with sugar and cinnamon powder, then slowly roasted on charcoal fire until the mixture melt. The combination of smokey flavour from the charcoal and the spicy taste of cinnamon is just magnificant. Sweet, and a little bit sour. The flavour really explodes in my mouth. When you feel full, have a piece, and you are ready for another round.
2. Frango c/bacon- Chicken breast with bacon.
The combination of chicken and bacon is always a classics. Tender chicken marinated in special sauce and then wrapped with bacon and roasted till bacon is crispy. I just couldn't resist the strong flavour charcoal.
3. Camarao- prawn
Ok. It's garlic prawn cooked using charcoal. So it's no longer typical garlic prawn, or rather, garlic charcoal prawn. The prawn is fresh and juicy. The use of red chilli is brilliant.

Chicken breast wrapped with bacon

I couldn't remember when was the last time that I ate this much. At the end I had to loose my belt a little bit.
Braza, Bravo.

+:great location, exotic decoration, excellent food and service
-: expensive drinks, music a little bit too loud, limited dining time, ending up had too much meat and little veges, thirty after meal
Will I go back again?
Of course. I fall in love with these pineapples.
How to get there?
Jump on a train to Townhall. Then walk to the darling harbour.

Life is uncertain, eat dessert first- Bay Vista

Rumor has it that I am dead and leave the world without contributing a single post to this blog.Lol, chill out guys. I am safe and sound, still sleep well, eat a lot.

So you must be thinking, what the heck were you doing these days? Well, I was too busy with the assignment, or rather...

Ok, I will admit that, too busy eating.

After discovering that my weight is on a steady move towards 80 kg, I finally convinced myself to stop eating for a little while. 

I always believe that good things should be shared with each other. For instance, gourmet cuisine, or fat. How can I put on weight alone? It would considered to be selfish.

Then, Let's start with something that no one can resist, and something that accelerate the increase in your body weight so you guys can catch up. Dessert.

Bay Vista from outside

The other day my girlfriend asked me to drive her to Rockdale to visit one of her friends. I was so cbf cos it would take me more than half an hour to get there. And I have never been there, my only knowledge about Rochdale is that radio commercial in which a kid keeps yelling "Rockdale Mazda" to her parents.  Most of all, with petrol price soaring these days, my budget is tight. She knows me so well that before I was about to say "no", she said her friend want to take us to a "amazing  best dessert shop she has been to."

Guess you know what happened next. In an hour, I was there. 

View of Botany Bay

I love beach. I love sunshine. Though my favourite is always Bondi, I would make do with this unknown beach. Music is slow, not too loud to hear. Light is dim, adding a little romantic and exotic feeling. Wind brings the smell of the sea. Sitting by the window, everything is just perfect. I could spend the whole afternoon sitting there and staring at the sea, or traffic. 

End up, pretty much I spent the whole afternoon staring at the menu. I just couldn't make up my mind! Too many choices. Eventually I decided to use the same old trick, ordering the picture items. Don't laugh. It works, as always.

Chocolate fountain, see?

While I was waiting for my order, I walked around and had a closer look of the shop. On the wall, there are many funny slogans. My personal favorite is"The belly rules the mind". Turn around, I found the fountain of youth. Back to the table, I was shocked by the size of the serve. After shock, is excitement.

Snickers Crepe

Melting chocolate and walnut wrapped with hot crepe and carmel syrup on top. Chocolate slowly flowed on to my tongue, the soft texture of crepe and crunchy walnut, the flavor exploded in my mouth and I did not say a single word before I emptied the dish. 

Inca gold

Ice cream with melting chololate, marsh mallow, strawberry toped with cream. Strawberry is the icing on the cake. I couldn't finish all but picked out all the strawberry, they were so refreshing.

Rocky mountains

Looks like a mountain right? It indeed is. When i ate it, I was really thinking, why there are still this much. It's like a mountain, you would never be able to dig all of the stones and make it disappear.

+: water view, excellent dessert, good environment

-: too far away, who is gonna go there just for a ice cream apparently, excluding me

Will I go back again?

Definitely. I will remind my girlfriend to visit her friend on a regular basis.

How to get there?

I would recommend to drive there, or take a plane, since you can see the airport from the shop.

Review: Rengaya Yakiniku (Japanese Barbeque)

Today I'd like to bring you a review of slightly higher-end Japanese restaurant. Rengaya is located in North Sydney near the train station and Zurich Bank. It is a Yakiniku aka Japanese-style barbeque restaurant that specialises in high-grade Wagyu beef.

The entrance of the restaurant immediately brings a very Japanese atmosphere with two suits of Japanese samurai armor guarding the door. The interior decor is very exquisite and classy. Corridors are modeled after stone footpaths in Japan, complete with grains of rock littered on the side. All in all the decor provides a luxurious yet Japanese flavour.

Now onto the important stuff. If you are a sucker for some premium Wagyu marble beef, you need to look no further. As a Wagyu lover myself, I've been to my fair share of so-called Wagyu BBQ joints. The beef from Rengaya blows all of those straight out of the water. Rengaya uses nothing but their own special Japanese black cattle breed raised in Australia. As far as I know, Rengaya is the only restaurant that provides 9/10 grade Wagyu beef in Sydney. The distinctive marble texture are clearly seen the second you lay eyes on the beef slices. This however does come with a higher price, with 130g of premium Wagyu short-rib clocked in at $39.90. Unlike most Asian-style barbeque restaurants, the grills in Rengaya are so well-ventilated that they are almost smokeless. You can fully enjoy delicious barbeque without having to worry about catching any odor on your clothes.

Heaven awaits the second you bite into the premium-grade Wagyu beef. Due to the high level of marbling in the beef, it is very tender and juicy unlike any other beef. Beef juice squirts out in your mouth as you chew with rich flavour and great texture. The beef is so rich in flavour on its own that it does not require any marinading or excessive spicing commonly seen in other places. This is what meat is supposed to taste like. It is important that you do not overcook the beef as it destroys the unique marble texture that Wagyu beef is renowned for. Beef tongue is another favourite of mine apart from ribs and steaks. They are thickly cut and come in barbeque sauce or salt and pepper. They, like their rib counterparts, are also very tender and juicy. My personal pick would be to go with the special barbeque sauce.

Apart from beef, the various Japanese dishes such as sashimi and salads are also spectacular. They are all very well made unlike most other BBQ restaurants. Sashimi are very fresh and salads are refreshing and tangy. Moreover, the large selection of carefully-crafted desserts put icing on the cake. Waiting staff are tentative and courteous. Services are swift.

For those of you who wouldn't mind spending a little extra for some of the finest Japanese yakiniku dining experience and the chance to taste some of the best premium class Wagyu beef available in Australia, Rengaya is the place for you. For those who are a little more conscious about their pockets, Rengaya offers buffets from Monday to Thursday at $65 per adult. However the buffet menu does not include premium-grade beef. I recommend this place for special occasions such as birthday or date with loved ones.


(Image source: http://weenaththa.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/rengaya-north-sydney.html
                         http://www.yakiniku.com.au/rengaya/)

Review: Miso Japanese Restaurant - World Square

Yet another Japanese restaurant review from me. It seems like all I ever eat is Japanese, but hey its another great place with great food!

Me and my friends were wandering around the city one night looking for something to eat when we walked past this interesting little shop down one of the alley ways heading out of World Square Shopping Center in the CBD. Since most of my friends love eating Japanese, we went there, loved it and been going back ever since.

Now if you just LOVE Bento, then this restaurant is for you! Their Bento's are absolutely eyectaching and unique. Each set comes with a combnation of mini side dishes, mains and salads put together to form one meal. Of course, you can choose the mains you want, including options of; chicken katsu, seafood, teryaki beef, tempura among a sea of others.

Another thing you cannot go past in this restaurants are its unique variety of drinks. Including the Blue, "spider" drink and green tea mix.

Enjoy!

Review: Sambal - The Malaysian Food Experience

Sambal is a must visit as it offers very unique and delicious Malaysian dishes. It is located in Macquarie Park and is very popular with the business workers during lunch and families during the dinner time. Their restaurant, service and food  has attracted many regular customers and I could see why when I ate there for the first time.

The restaurant is located near the Macquarie Park train station and surrounded by many businesses. For lunch, getting a table towards the end of the week is not an easy feat. If you do not want to wait, booking before hand is essential as many businesswomen and businessmen will also be waiting for a table. There is parking behind the restaurant, but other wise the walk from the station is not too far.

Hainan Chicken Rice - Sambal

The waiters are very friendly, fast and helpful. They do their job well, clearing plates, serving food, refilling water and listening to our requests. Their lunch menu is much shorter than their dinner menu. However even though i went during lunch time, it was still hard to choose a dish from all the variety they had. I had to try their Chicken Rice, as chicken rice is my favourite food, and i was not disappointed. The meal consisted of a generous amount of chicken served with chicken rice and a bowl of soup. At some restaurants, their chickens are dry but not at Sambal. The chicken was very soft, and accompanied with the sauce, chilli, rice and soup, it was one of the best Chicken Rices i had tasted in Sydney.

There were also desserts. These desserts were:

Ice Chendol - Sambal

• Ice Kachang - a very popular dessert that consists of shaved ice with many sweets.
• Ice Chendol - also a very popular dessert with shaved ice and sweets.
• Sago Pudding - consist of sago pearls in coconut milk covered with syrup.

On the day, I had sago pudding and I was not disappointed. It was nice to dip into a sweet dessert after a very satisfying meal.

Overall, I recommend going to Sambal. It has a very unique menu and the prices aren't too dear. The service is very quick and helpful and the food was very nicely served and also tastes delicious. If you pass it or you have some free time, why not drop past Sambal and give it a try. Its not that hard to get to and it didn't disappoint me. So if you are looking for some Malaysian food, go to Sambal.

Images were taken from the Sambal website. http://www.sambal.com.au/gallery.html

Recipe: Meatballs

A couple of months ago I had this craving for Sweedish Meatballs, but somehow i could not find a recipe that suited my taste. I tried this one recipe from a website that i can't remember the name of (oops) but the flavours in it werent strong enough, so I altered it, added a few thing, left some things out and this is what i came up with. Not too scrappy even if I do say so myself.

---

Meatball Recipe

makes about 24

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Stuff You'll Need:

500g Beef Mince
1/2 chopped onion (use a whole one if they're small)
1/4 cup of bread crumbs (i usually use crumb a 1/4 of a fresh baguette, but dry crumb are fine also)
1/2 cup of grated Mozerella cheese
1 minced garlic clove
2 ts Dry Oregano (i usually use dry oregano because I find that it is stronger than the fresh herb)
1/2 cup finely chopped Basil
1/2 cup chopped Flat Leaf Parsely

30mL Red Wine (The type that you would happily drink on a Friday arvo [NOT the cooking type!])
30mL Milk
1 egg
Salt to taste (roughly 1.5 ts)

---

 How to Do it:

1. Prepare 2 baking trays by lining with baking paper and lightly spraying with oil (to prevent sticking).
2. Preheat oven to 180C.
3. Combine the First lot of ingrediends (i.e from Beef mince to Parsely) in a mixing bowl. Its a good idea to use your hands because as you mix and massage the meat, the level of air in the mixture decreases, leaving you with a better flavour. Remember to use GLOVES as this makes it easier for you later on when it comes time to add more ingredients. 
4. When well combined, in a separate bowl mix the Red Wine, Milk and Egg.
5. Add this mixture to the meat and again combine. You will notice the egg/wine mixture causes the meat to bind together. At this point, continue combining wntil you are satisfied that all ingredients are evenly spread out within the mixture.
6. Shape meatballs into golf ball size. It is important to maintain the relative size of your meatballs to ensure even cooking time.
7. Place on tray in rows 3. Important Note: Do NOT try to squeeze too many meat balls onto the one tray becasue if you do so, they will not brown, but steam instead. You should be able to fit about 12 onto each tray.
8. Bake for about 30min or till cooked through. You can tell by cutting one in half and checking if brown.
9. Rest for about 10min before serving to allow the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat balls.
10. Serve hot on its own or with your favourie dipping sauces.

Enjoy!

Review: Sakura Japanese Restaurant Ashfield

Hi guys, this is my first review on this blog!

First on my hitlist of restaurants to visit in Sydney, is SAKURA JAPANESE RESTAURANT in Ashfield. It's not one of the most famous Japanese restaurants in Sydney, but hey; its a great place with a great atmosphere and overall fantastic food (much better in comparison to some of the bigger named Jap restautrants that I'v visited). 

Now, this restaurant brings me back to the days of high school. It first opened whilst I was still at school in year 12. We would visit every single week, Sakura Thursday's we used to call it. Such kind staff and some really good Japanese food. They range from Sushi (on train or made to order) to Bentos, side dishes, mains, party platters, udon and hotpot.

Mostly, whenever I went there with friends, I would order the daily lunch specials or have sushi off the train. Now, I find that most Japanese restaurants around the Sydney suburbs are not owened by Japanese people, but are owned by Korean or Chinese. But you will be glad to know that Sakura has its own Japanese sushi chef, so you can be sure that the food is guinely authentic JAPANESE.

Dishes to reccomend include;

• Sakura Box; a bento with sashimi, sushi, tempura, salad, rice, miso soup and edamame
• Grilled Salmon Sushi (its the grilled one on the red plate)
• Tempura. Sakura has the best tempura
• Ten Don; Rice with mixed tempura on rice with salad and miso soup. [top image]
• Japanese Lemonade. Ok, so this is the bottled stuff that you can get at most good Japanese supermarkets but it makes the meal all the better.[top image in the background]

So, without further ado, head to http://www.isakura.com.au/ to have a look at their menu and/or to make a booking (its also a good idea to book early if you are going in a large group and want to sit in a table setting.<<< Nonetheless, if you don't mind where you sit the sushi train can easily hold a large number of guests.

So, If you are ever in or around the Inner West area, I would highly reccomend dining here. Entree's start from $4.20 and Main's from $11.80. They are open for both Lunch from 10am and open till around 10pm weekdays. Make sure to book a table early for dinner as they are usually full, or if they are packed out you can always turn to take-away.

Enjoy the food + Happy Dining.

Review: Tastevin Bistro & Wine Bar

Two weeks ago mis amigos and I were craving for some French cuisine and blue cheese. I've been to quite a few French or French-fusion restaurants in the past (more reviews incoming) and the one that I wanted to go was fully booked out for dinner that day. So I decided to jump on Eatability.com and try one of the highest-rated places there. Tastevin was among the highest-rated French-style restaurants on the wesbite so I made a booking and went. And we were pleasantly surprised.

The restaurant is tucked away on the busy Victoria St in Darlinghurst. We made a terrible mistake of driving there at 6pm on a thursday. It took us 40 mins to find a parking spot. Word of advice: cab it or leave it. By the time we got to the restaurant the long hunt for parking had tremendously damaged our dining mood so the food had to be exceptional to please us.

The waiting staff were very friendly and helpful. Services were swift and waiters walked by to check on us frequently. We ordered pate de foie gras and cheese plate for appetizers. The pate was very rich and aromatic with just a hint of brandy. The bruschetta it came with were cripsy and went well with the smooth texture of the pate. The cheese plate came with four different types of cheese: Camembert, Roquefort and a special Swiss cheese, all of French origin. My personal favourite was the Roquefort, rich, indulging with a very distinct and satisfying flavour. The Swiss was a little bit too savoury for my liking and I was never a fan of Camembert.

For main course, we ordered three dishes since there were three of us. I ordered confit duck leg with parsnip purée, red cabbage choucroute, duck sausage & jus gras, my two friends ordered beef Burgundy pie with celeriac purée & salad and duo of lamb à la provençale; roast rump & braised shoulder with ratatouille aumonière. I've had my fair share of dining experiences and I have to say, the duck leg absolutely blew me away. It was very tender yet maintained the texture of the meat. Each piece of duck leg melts in your mouth and turns into an explosion of flavour and indulgence. I could tell the chef spent a long time marinading the duck since the flavour was thoroughly absorbed into the duck leg from skin to bone. All in all it was a great dish.

Dessert was the only shortcoming in this otherwise magnificent dinner. I ordered creme brulee. It was just too sweet to me. The chef overdid the caramel on top and overpowered the actualy taste of the pudding below.

Finally regarding the price, Tastevin is cheaper than most other French restaurants I've been to. Main dishes range from $20-$35. The menu and pricing can be found on its website.

So there you have it, Tastevin Bistro & Wine Bar, definitely recommended for French cuisine lovers who don't mind too much about view and decor and just want to have some authentic, tasty food.






(Image Source: http://www.tastevin.com.au/)

Welcome!

We asked What was there to Do in Sydney? Well... Eat of course.

Here we hope to give you an insight to the food Sydney has to offer.


Enjoy.