Happy Birthday Chocolatesuze! (belated :P)

soooo it was chocolatesuze’s birthday/ food blogger meet up on saturday… despite the bad weather,  J & L both managed to arrive at the city hotel..though a bit late hehe.. dressed up  according to the theme- back to school :D 

We finally got to meet the many faces behind the blog that day - some who only just joined the family like ourselves and also some pretty popular food bloggers and of course the birthday girl suze :D!

It was actually really overwhelming to see how many Sydney food bloggers there are! and that was just a small portion of them! it’s such a lovely feeling when you meet all these other people who share the same interest and passion as yourself :) 

Thanks again Suze for hosting the very successful food bloggers  event ! The cake was awesome ! It was a great chance to meet and greet...and eat ! :P 

Nibble on Nibblies! xx

Pinangsia- Indonesian Noodle House

When someone recommends a particular dish or restaurant and often keeps suggesting it, you know it’s definitely worth a try. Our friend P absolutely adores the well known grilled chicken at Ayam Goreng 99 and always been urging us to try. So after day of hard study at uni hehe we decide to head over to Anzac Parade and reward ourselves with this delicious chicken. 

Arriving promptly at 5:00pm, we were eager for an early dinner. 

“OMIGOSH! I forgot it doesn’t open until 6 for dinner!!” exclaimed P as we stared at the closed signed displayed in front of the empty restaurant. 

Ultimately, were torn between waiting for another hour or to go to another place instead. In the end, our stomachs won the battle and we decided to go somewhere else, meaning that we would have to come back another time for Ayam Goreng :P 

So we end up at Pinangsia Noodle House, another Indonesian restaurant famous for their giant meatballs.

The three of us were hungry and we decided to share a few dishes. 

Bakmi Goreng Ala Jakarta aka Mie Tek-Tek Goreng ($8)

This was a special Jakarta style fried noodles with a mixture of tomato, cabbage, shredded chicken and prawn crackers. With thick and soft egg noodles, this dish was pretty filling. Though it had a little bit too much pepper..

Nasi Goreng Kombinasi ($8.50)

The combination fried rice had BBQ pork, beef balls, fish balls and a fried egg.  This dish was a bit like a rice version of the fried noodles, also a bit too peppery. But fried fish balls and fried egg with fried rice can’t go too wrong :D

Ayam Goreng Bumbu Bali ($7.50)

Still craving a good fix of chicken, we opted to try the Ayam Goreng Bumbu Bali, a Balinese style deep fried chicken topped with a melted peanut sauce blended with sweet soy sauce and onions. The peanut sauce was quite rich and creamy, and had big chunks of nuts hehe! It made for a very tasty addition for the tender chicken.

Bakso Goreng ($1.50/meatball)

And of course we couldn’t leave without trying the fried meatballs. They’re reasonably large in size (about a tennis ball ;P) and were a delicious side dish. They were fried nice and crunchy on the outside with a thin and sort of chewy meat layer inside. They were good on their own or dipped in chilli!

Martabak  Bangka  ($6)

 This traditional Indonesian pancake was also recommended by P and we chose peanut, chocolate and cheese for the fillings. It looked like a thick crumpet with the toppings piled on. Though chocolate and melted cheese might sound a bit weird, this combination was an excellent choice :D ! The crunchy nuts and smooth chocolate were quite sweet, with the subtle hint of saltiness from the cheese, it made a very rich and satisfying dessert.   Even thought we were already very full, we still managed to finish the entire plate: P.

Anzac Parade provided us a pleasant early dinner and our hunger was satisfied. But we definitely needed to go back another time for Ayam Goreng 99 :P 

Nibble on Nibblies! xx

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Pinangsia

319 Anzac Parade, 

Kingsford NSW 2032

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Churras – The Brazilian Barbecue

One of our friend S is a huge fan of meat, so when it was time for our next get together, she specifically requested if we could catch up over a “meat fest”. So then it just came to picking a place that would satisfy her cravings. Ribs just seemed a bit too casual and a steak house didn’t quite seem right. 

“Oh! I know ! Why not Churras!”  suggests P. “It’s all you can eat meat!” “And they have the nicest sangria!”

It sounded perfect. So after confirming a booking, the five of us (J, L, P, E and of course S) were set to eat our way through the ‘Rodizo’ - basically 16 types of skewered meat. 

How it works is they come to us with skewers of bbq meat every so often :D, and on the table we had a plastic square which was red on one side and green on other. Whenever we wanted the meat flow to continue we were to put the green side facing up. Anytime we wanted a break, we simply flipped it to the red side and no meat came to us for awhile. 

The meats were quite salty so it was really good to eat them with some rice or potatoes.  We tried most of the 16 skewerrs but our particular favourites included the garlic bread where we could really feel the char grilled flavour, the chicken wings which was tender and nicely cooked and the very juicy chicken legs. 

To balance all the meat, we also all shared a fresh garden salad, creamy potato salad, rice with black beans, deep fried bananas and chunks of deep fried cassava and polenta (all included in the all you can eat). The rice and black beans were rather bland and tasted just like plain beans, which was a good balance to the salty meat. The polenta had a nice crunchy coating but was quite salty. 

The prawns had an interesting burst of coconut flavour and the honey cinnamon pineapple cooked with a very intense mix of spices that was too strong for all of us except for J who didn’t mind it.

Rodizo - $35 pp

Salad

Deep fried banana, cassava and polenta

Rice with black beans

Our friendly waiter with our favourite Garlic bread :P

Chicken legs

Mushrooms

Sirloin

Chicken wings

Chili rump cap

Chicken thighs

Pork Neck

Chicken Hearts

Garlic rump cap

Beef ribs

Coconut prawns

Honey Cinnamon Pineapple

The White wine sangria had a mixture of fresh and canned summer fruits, sort of like a fruit punch but with white wine :D. It was very light and accompanied our heavy meats very well. We found it so addictive to just keep drinking more. Despite the hefty price, this was an absolute favourite for all of us. 

Sangria ($28/jug)

Overall it was a really tasty experience and definitely satisfied our meat cravings. All the meats were all very succulent and rich in flavour but were quite salty so we ordered multiple servings of garlic bread, potatoes and fried bananas. Feeling absolutely full as we left the little restaurant, it was just the “meat fest” S had been wanting :P 

Nibble on Nibblies! xx

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Churras

219 Oxford St
Darlinghurst NSW 2010


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Melbourne: Shoya Nouvelle Wafu Cuisine

Shoya is one of Melbourne’s best Japanese restaurants offering a wide range of degustation menus composed of both traditional and modern Japanese dishes at its finest. After hearing very good feedbacks from their relatives, J and her family decided to treat themselves to lunch on the last day of their trip to Melbourne.

After comparing the menus, most of us went for the Shoya Festive Course priced at $100 per person as it is probably offers the most for its value with salmon caviar, truffle, wagyu beef and Taraba crab leg etc. :p

The eel canapé and grilled perch were extraordinarily tasty… the luxurious flavours of the truffles, caviar, and foie gras perfectly complements and enhances the aromatic grilled fish… these should definitely be eaten in one big bite as it creates a great sensation on the tastebuds as the rich flavours from each layer of ingredient unfolds one after the other inside your mouth! haha

Unagi Canape- Grilled miso marinated eel canapé topped with crab meat salad, Salmon caviar and truffle

Golden Perch- Lightly grilled miso flavoured perch topped with tomato mousse, foie gras, and semi dried Mullet Roe

Look at this crystal ball! or maybe.. ice ball? haha what a great way to keep your sashimi nice and cold :D especially when it’s this fresh. their wasabi also seems to be freshly grinded  :)

Assortment of Sashimi

The stewed ox tongue was very soft and tender, flavoured with a hint of sweetness possibly from Mirin?   The spinach soufflé was more like a sheet of pastry :)

Beef Spinach Roll- Stewed Ox Tongue wrapped with spinach soufflé served with lemon, basil yogurt

It actually looks much smaller than it really was! The crab leg could probably extend from the elbow to the palm when stretched :O note how the salt is mixed with green tea powder!

Crab Tempura- Whole ‘Taraba’ crab leg deep-fried in tempura style

The fish steak of the day was tuna toro (which is the best part of the fish from the underside, graded according to fat content, similar to wagyu) :D

Fish Steak- Chef selection of fresh fish fillet, served then laid on a bed of teriyaki sauce and sesame vinegar

The wagyu also had a sweet flavour to it similar to the ox tongue. It was served with a slice of pastry, possibly a potato quiche?

  Wagyu Beef Steak- Wagyu eye fillet dressed with black truffle, enoki, shiitake miso sauce

The light and mildly flavoured mixed rice was a perfect way to end the series of savoury dishes :)

Mixed Rice- Mixed tasty steam rice with chicken, vegetables and mushrooms

Today’s dessert were a chocolate mousse cake and a sea urchin cheese cake. Though none of us could really taste the sea urchin, the cheese cake was fluffy like most Japanese cheese cakes. And the mousse cake was velvety rich in chocolate :D

Chef’s Dessert

The Shoya Special Business Lunch Set at $65 was similar to the Festive Course menu, just without the Stewed Ox tongue and fish steak… well and there was only half a crab leg and the wagyu from the Festive course was of course of higher grade and had no truffle. But it was already very satisfying :D  

The lunch sets were more simple and basic, but were also of high quality :) … The Kaisen Oyako Set ($24.80) included Kaisen Oyako Don, Mini UDON, Chilled Bean Curd, Savory Egg Custard, Dessert.

Kaisen Oyako Don- Sushi rice topped with Salmon Sashimi and salmon roe

The Ume Set ($32) included Sashimi, Seasonal Grilled Fish, Tempura, Teriyaki Beef, Savory Egg Custard, Mixed Steamed Rice, Miso Soup and  Dessert.

Does anyone else think that the presentation of the sashmi looks kind of like a bird? or maybe my imagination is just a bit too crazy :P hehe.. and also note that the white-ish looking thing beneath the leaf is acutally a frozen half orange!

Assortment of Sashimi

The seasonal grilled fish was eel :) with edamame

Grilled Eel

 

The teriyaki beef is prepared in the same style as the wagyu beef in the business lunch set.

Assortment of Tempura

Savory Egg Custard

The dessert was a choice of ice cream. The sesame ice cream was very nice and was probably house-made. The flavour was very strong, the texture was very smooth and creamy with actual pieces of crushed black sesame :)

Shoya also serves a many other styles of authentic Japanese dining including bbq, a la carte and you could also rent your own chef! (wow :O!) It was definitely one of the best dining experience J has had in Melbourne this time :) really looking forward to going back next time! hehe

Nibble on Nibbles! xx

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Shoya Nouvelle Wafu Cuisine
25 Market Ln
Melbourne, 3000



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