Breakfast in Sydney - Bangladeshi Style

I LOVE SYDNEY .......... Do you know why???
Sydney is the ideal city for anyone who loves FOOD..... it is a city where you can find dim sum better than you would in Hong Kong, Vietnamese pork rolls and pho better than in the street of Ho Chi Minh City, Gyros better than Luckys in Santorini, Ramen and sushi to match those in Japan. The beauty is whatever international cuisine you are craving for.......... chances are you will find them in Sydney and most of the time, it will be pretty authentic.

Sydney was where we had Bangladeshi food for Breakfast when we stayed the night with Saif and Jane. Saif is an Australian, born in Bangladesh and they suggested heading out for Bangladeshi breakfast in Lakemba. I am all for it..... I can't wait to see what is on offer.
I have been wanting to visit Lakemba for a long time. I have always known it to have lots of good Lebanese restaurants and shops. Saif tells me it is slowly starting to become an enclave for Bangladeshis too with loads of grocery shops and eateries opening up.
The restaurant we went to is call - Khusboo

This is the menu - Check it out for yourself.

As you can see, its not a big menu and contains some seriously interesting breakfast dishes..... Brain marsala anyone???? The wonderful thing is, its quite kind to the wallet..........
As we have no idea what is what.... we left the ordering to Saif (I love that........... surprise me !!! )

Steph looked quite relief that the ordering is taken care of

Saif & Jane doing a great job with the orders

So here is what we had

Aloo Vaji, Lopoti and Paratha

The first few dishes to arrive are:
Aloo Vaji - Fried potatoes. These are shredded and fried - Yummy and moorish
Lopoti - A spicy dish with chicken wings, liver and giblet. I have never been a fan of chicken livers unless it is in pate.... but I was surprise on how tasty these are and the texture was really nice. Had a bite to it.
Paratha - Just yummy and good for soaking up all the sauces

Lopoti - Close up

Aloo Vaji - Close up

On top of the paratha, we also had some fried bread - called Luchy. This is like a cross between a papadam and a paratha

Luchy

If there is Brain Marsala on the menu...... Do you think we would say no to it? Of course not. We are travelling HEADCASES. So here it is

Brain Marsala

It was surprisingly very tasty. We all agreed that it is just like scrambled eggs. Saif told us it is Cow's Brain. It is spicy with a really good rounded curry gravy........ absolutely love it.

Beef Bhoona

Saif, being a wonderful host as always........... ordered something 'Normal" to keep Jane and Ander happy. This is Beef Bhoona - Spicy beef. It was definitely spicy, beautiful flavour with loads of cardamon. The meat just falls off the bone. Ander also managed to get an omelette, which was of course spiced with chilli and curry flavour.......... he devoured it before we got a chance to taste it or take a photo of it. A good sign that it was a wicked dish no doubt.

A good sign - not much left

Khushboo also have Bangladeshi sweets to take home

As I looked around, the restaurant was filled with Bangladeshi family - Old and young, starting off their weekend with a hearty breakfast. Others may have bacon and eggs..........there is definitely nothing out of the ordinary to have curry for breakfast...... I am in heaven.

THANK YOU JANE & SAIF for your wonderful hospitality and for introducing us to a new way of breakfast......... when is our next breakfast date?????

Khushboo Sweets & Restaurant
Address: 38 Railway Parade, Lakemba NSW 2195
Phone:(02) 9750 6600

Matsusakagyu Yakiniku Restaurant - Osaka

On our recent trip to Osaka, we stumbled across this restaurant by accident. At the time, we had no idea it was rated number 2 on the Tripadvisor Best Restaurant in Osaka list.
We had planned to visit Kobe to try out some Kobe beef whilst in Osaka. Because our quest to purchase platters and unique service equipment for our catering business took a few days more than we had anticipated, we didn't make it to Kobe.
So on our last night, we decided to seek out a Yakiniku (BBQ GRILL) restaurant and hoping they will have some nice local wagyu beef for us to try.
Walking through an alley near the Hozenji Temple, we came across a bright white sign with M in large letter. The menu out front showed a drawing of a cow. So we decided to give it a shot.

Under this sign was an extremely narrow path, leading into a wooden door - I wasn't sure if that was the entrance as there are no windows or sign to indicate that is the entrance to the restaurant...... luckily for me, a customer was exiting and I had to reverse backwards to let this guy out (There was no room to turn around........ that was how narrow this entrance way was).

I popped my head through the doorway to find a staff member and enquire about a table for 2....... after loitering outside for a few minutes, she found us a table and ushered us in. It was really dark inside. We were told to head upstairs. This floor was full of booth seatings and the smell of the BBQ grills was making me extremely hungry........ at the landing, we were told to go up one more flight of stairs......... at the top we found a tiny doorway to a single room..... Just our luck, we got the rooftop private dining room for the 2 of us. WOW !! I had a feeling this is going to be a pretty special last night in Japan for us.

The menu consists of a few appetisers, salads and then a whole lot of different cuts of beef to cook on the table grill.

The menu also gives you a guide on where a particular cut is from the animal and its marble score. In Australia, we often buy our beef with a marble score of 6 to 8........ with the highest score of 12 available here, it is a must try.

So I left the ordering to Steph and was just happy to sit back and enjoy. Here is what we had.

Matsusaka Marbled Beef Sushi

Kyukyoku - Prime Ribs with a marble score of 12

Maboroshi - Prime Shoulder with marble score of 10

Misuji - Shoulder with marble score of 6

Ichibo

With the beef, we ordered some side dishes. Bimbimbap (rice in a hot stone pot), House salad and a Caesar salad.

A really good trick we learnt from this dining experience is keeping the thick layer of fat from the steak and using that to prime our grill before cooking our meat. The flavour is amazing. 

The 3 types of flavouring for our beef are - Seasoned salt, sesame soy and plain soy

Although the Kyukyoku is deliciously full of flavour and simply melts in your mouth, my favourite was actually the Maboroshi. There is still loads of flavour, but not as rich. 

If you get a chance to visit Osaka, give this restaurant a try. You won't be disappointed. Make sure you book ahead though...... I think we were just lucky to score such a wonderful table last minute. 

Matsusakagyu Yakiniku M
HOZENJI YOKOCHO

1-1-19 Namba, Chuo-ku,
Osaka-city, 542-0076

Nissin Instant Noodle Museum

I grew up knowing instant noodles as Japanese noodles. I guess it was because it was the Japanese that invented this wonderful, convenient meal that has seen loads of college students through their youth whilst living away from home.
While I was researching for our trip. I came across an article on the "Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum" in Osaka.

It sounded interesting and Ikeda where it is located didn't seem too far from Namba where we were staying in Osaka. I thought...... Why not ???? Steph had his reservations.........
So with the vague direction I got from the internet on how to get there. We jumped on the train from Umeda and made our way to Ikeda one afternoon. Just outside the station, there are signs that led us to the museum.

Me and Momofuku Ando

10 minutes walk down a suburban street, we saw the statue of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant noodles. There are no entry fee for this one in Osaka. I believe the one in Tokyo do charge an entry fee.
We were greeted at the entrance by lovely happy ladies in bright yellow bandannas and aprons to welcome us. The lady who had English next to her name tag gave us a quick run down on how the museum work. We made our way through the interactive displays. There is one displaying the kitchen that Momofuku was working in while testing out his noodles. There were lots of other game machine in the room which were filled with young Japanese children checking out all the interactive machines. There is a giant wall call " The Instant Noodle Tunnel" - This traces the history of the instant ramen product line with a time line and the product display on the wall...... mind boggling stuff !!

This place is just like Willy Wonker's Chocolate Factory. We were waiting to see the oompa loompas working away in the back !!!! The noise is buzzy....... there are loads of school age kids running around, loads of animated cartoon kind of chatter on the speakers.......... We have got to the area where you can make your own Instant Cup Noodle.
You start off with putting 300 yen into a vending machine to get your styrofoam cup. Then you join the queue to wash and sanitise your hand. A staff member then puts a clear lid on the top, so your fingers don't touch the lip of the cup.
Up ahead is a room full of little tables and chairs with colour texta boxes..... just like a pre-school playroom....... we are shown to a table to start getting creative and design our cups.

Steph is definitely more creative than me and is much better at drawing........ so I left that duty up to him. After our creation is complete, we head up to the queue to fill these cups with our favourite flavour of noodles.
Again, it is all very interactive. You hand your cup over to the happy staff (the oompa loompas), they give it a quick air spray to rid of any dust or impurities in the cup. Then they ask you to spin the wheel which transfer the round noodle into your cup.

From there, the cup moves along a conveyor belt to the next oompa loompa, who asks what flavour soup you would like. Seafood, Original or Curry.

Then you are ask to pick 5 condiments to add to your cup....... there are cute fish cakes made in the shape of love hearts (being February for Valentines Day), there are also chicken cake that is in the shape of a cartoon chicken shape).

I can't believe some people are stressing out big time on what to choose !!! its only cup noodles people...... relax !!
After all the flavours and condiments are in the cup. A seal is place on the lip of the cup. Then it gets plastic shrink wrap and there is your very own personalised cup noodle.

Not a bad souvenir to take home to the kids. Beats another snow dome or keyring !!!

FOOD OF JAPAN - Traditional to Wacky

We are still newbies when it comes to Japan. This is our second visit and it won't be our last. We love the people first off- super polite and orderly, we love the scenery and temples, we love the culture, we love the technology (think japanese toilets), Most of all, WE LOVE THE FOOD in Japan. They can turn a simple piece of fish into something tasting complex and yet looks simple. They are not afraid to try the unthinkable (I will tell you more about this later), They take so much pride in their presentation, they respect the ingredients they work with. We ate our way from Narita to Tokyo Ginza to Takayama and finally onto Crazy Town Osaka. Come along on our journey and enjoy.
On my previous post, I told you about our stopover in Narita and the wonderful meal we had at the Excel Tokyu Inn. I still remember those gorgeous herring roe.

On the way back from Europe, our first night was in Tokyo Ginza. We started off in the main street of Ginza and didn't find anything that took our fancy. So we decided to head into the side streets hoping to find that one place locals goes to.............. we struck  GOLD. I have no idea what the name of the restaurant was, but here is a picture of the shop front.

The waiter at the front could not  speak a word of english, the menu was in Japanese, but  thankfully it had pictures on it. So that made it a bit easier for us to order. The place was full of local japanese diners. Some were having the big hot pot dishes known as Nabe. After consulting the menu, we opt for a set dinner.... only to be told they have run out. With the little understanding of Japanese, we figured they had soba noodles available and some appetizers were also available. So this is what we had.

Udon Noodles, Tempura, Green tea salt

Gyoza in chilli oil

Chicken Karaage

Curry Udon

It was the best meal we had stumbled across in Tokyo . You just cannot get a bad meal in Japan.

Takayama is the next stop.
We booked into the Ryokan Tanabe for this part of our journey. Have you ever had a kaiseki-ryori in a Japanese ryokan before? If not, you have to try it. The best decision ever, particularly if it is a really nice upmarket ryokan. "Kaiseki-Ryori is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner ranging anywhere from 6 to 15 different kinds of food. It showcases the chef's collection of skills and techniques that allows the preparation of such a meal".
Here is what we had at Ryokan Tanabe.

That's Kaiseki-Ryori

It's such a treat when the love of your life is also a chef !!

Curry broth with egg

This dish has fish cake, vegetables and agar agar

Sashimi

Bizzare western style cheese on toast !! and crispy prawn with fried rice

Cold soba noodles

Grilled mackerel 

Fish cake

Steamed egg

Chirashi Don

Along with all these lovely dishes, there were lots of different and yummy pickles. 

Breakfast is always included in the room rate at ryokans and they are worth waking up early for. This is our breakfast spread on the first morning. 

Miso and shallot cooking on dry maple leaf over a Hida Konro

Tamago - sweeten egg cake

Grilled Pickled Mackerel

Vegetable pickles

Pickled plum and radish

Street food in Japan is widespread and each area has its own specialty. In the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, everyone lines up for the sweet mirin omelette - Tamago, in Osaka it is the Takoyaki. In Takayama, we found lots of little wooden huts selling various street food ranging from savoury to sweet. Most of these stalls are congregated at the Miyagawa Morning Market. It was here that we tried the Hida Beef Steamed Buns -  These are soft pillowy buns filled with Hida beef in a slightly sweet gravy that are served steaming hot.

As we stroll down the market a bit further, the smell of burnt caramel drawn us to a stall just outside a shopfront. There was a young Japanese guy cooking what looks to be square blocks of egg. The sign out front reads "Tamaten". We watched in wonder when a lovely sweet old lady said to us.... Marshmallow. Our eyes lit up. Yep, we definitely have to try these......... it was the best 200 yen we spent. So we went back for seconds !!
It is made out of egg white. The sweetener is boiled honey and agar. It is then rolled in sweet sake and egg yolk before being seared over a hot grill. You can only get this sweet in this area.

Tamaten

Osaka is bright, loud, noisy, buzzy, fun and absolutely CRAZY !!! We have had some of the best meals in Osaka. The main strip of Dotonbori is really busy and a great place to have takoyaki (octopus balls) served from stands outside restaurants and shops.

Takoyaki Headcase Style ( I think ours is a bit more stylish !!LOL)

It is also a good place to try the local dish of Okonomiyaki (Thick crepe omelette with cabbage, noodles, bacon drizzle with a sweet soy kind of a sauce and Japanese mayonnaise - cooked on a teppanyaki)

Okonomiyaki @ Chibo in Osaka

To have really good and interesting food, you need to venture away from the main strip and head into the lane ways running off the tourist strips and malls.
It was from wandering around these little alleys one late afternoon that brought us to a little izakaya (Japanese style pub) that serves ice cold tap beers and yakitori. This place specialises in anything pork from the standard pork neck to the completely wacky outrageous "PORK RECTUM). Check out their menu.

We decided to go with the pork neck, pork tongue, pork stomach, pork cheek and yes...... you got it.... Pork Rectum !!!

Pork neck, tongue, stomach, cheek and RECTUM

The rectum was the one on the bottom...... (pardon the pun !!!). Notice how it is also the tastiest looking skewer out of the lot !! I think this has just proven that look is always deceiving !!

Our analysis of Pork Rectum..... it is chewy (so you can't just swallow it whole with a gulp of beer), it is VERY porky. Its the sort of thing that you go....OK, I have tried it now, lets move on..... hahaha...

This place did serve normal food like Japanese potato salad. I don't know whether it is the mayonnaise or the potatoes you get in Japan, their potato salad is really delicious.

Potato salad

Chicken Tsukune, now this is worth going back for..... we went back the next night just to have it and also try their umeshu (Japanese plum wine. This Izakaya had a huge selection and we were keen to try out a few). Chicken Tsukune is chicken mince meat balls that is cooked and served yakitori style with an egg yolk and a slightly sweet thick soy. What gives this meatball a bite is the addition of cartilage.

Chicken Tsukune - with egg yolk

Chicken Tsukune with ponzu vinegar sauce

There are loads of seafood grills in Osaka. However, there are touristy ones that cost the earth, there are novelty ones where you are given a fishing rod, and you have to catch your own fish from the tank. There was no such nonsense in the alleys. We found one that was tiny. It had around 10 seats around a bar that had on displays in baskets all of the seafood on offer. Behind that is a hot teppanyaki and a charcoal grill. All you have to do is point to the seafood you want to the chef and he grills it. When it is ready, he place your dish on a long boat paddle and swings it around the bar to rest in front of you to pick up. Quite cool.

This is the menu - all on display

That is the chef 

Grilled fish

Scallops - Opened right in front of us, and grilled

Chicken Karaage - Japanese style KFC

Chicken Yakitori

We did have a delicious dinner of wagyu beef. But that deserves a post of its own.
Bon Appetit or should I be saying Douzo Meshiagare !!!