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Tag Archives: NSW

Gateway to the Hunter | A Weekend in Maitland

September 15, 2019Regional NSW, Travel2019, Maitland, NSW, Sponsored

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I'm Still Hungry - A Food & Travel Blog by Michael Shen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on the work at https://imstillhungry.net

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I don't know why I don't upload more home cooking

I don't know why I don't upload more home cooking (read: dad's cooking) to the feed, given that in my extremely biased opinion it's better than half the stuff I eat outside. . You've probably seen me upload 'rou jia mo'/肉夹馍 (lit: meat sandwiching bun) to the stories - one Shaanxi province's more recognisable staples. It's touted as the world's oldest 'burger', but that's got nothing on how delicious it is. Freshly kiln-fired flatbread (called 'bing'/饼) is filled with pork belly that's cooked for between 8-16 hours with about as many herbs and spices, giving the Colonel a run for his money. The meat should be soft enough such that it can be shredded with the handle of a knife, and so full of flavour and juiciness that no other condiments (other than the occasional cheeky dab of chilli sauce) are required. No cheese, no sauce, no nothing. . The final product looks almost austere, with no flourish whatsoever. And you know what, that's completely fine. Ask anyone who's had a good one - if you know, you just know.

Pink isn't exactly the vibe of my feed, but there'

Pink isn't exactly the vibe of my feed, but there's always the exception that proves the rule. Because it's spring, let me introduce @rons_kitchen's vegan sakura tart (take a deep breath): sable, sakura mousse, sakura plum white chocolate mousse, genmaicha soil, freeze dried peach, davidson plum, buckwheat soba, cherry chocolate, hibiscus powder, and pitaya (dragonfruit). . Like most of Ron's creations, what's impressive isn't the complexity (okay, maybe a little bit), or the technique (well actually, okay yes); it's doing both in the complete absence of animal products - yet you wouldn't even think it. #ISH_RonsKitchen

Along with supporting a charitable cause close to

Along with supporting a charitable cause close to my heart and eating tasty food, I dig that there's an occasional learning experience thrown in on Monday's #harvestbites. . This is Mohinga, Myanmar's unofficial national dish. I won't even pretend to know the dish's history, intricacies and guaranteed regional variance, but the version ambassador chef @_nic_wong_ put up hit home, which is what counts. Rice noodles, what I can only describe as a curry-based fish soup (but not fishy at all), classic SEA garnishes, fish fillets (traditionally catfish, but pretty sure we're talking more along the ling/basa line here), plus delectable split chickpea crackers make for a killer bowl. Oh, and throw in Laphet (Burmese tea leaf salad w/deep-fried legumes) with its own interesting tart flavours and a selection of kuih and well, that's another no-cook Monday sorted. #ISH_HarvestBites

Sydney's obsession with 'omakase' continues. It's

Sydney's obsession with 'omakase' continues. It's like the Blinking White Man: having booked in one of the first sittings in June with relative ease, I turn around for a quick minute and now we're talking no seats (other than cancellations) till January 2021. Madness? Maybe. But also it's Kuon, the sushi-ya that pushes the limits of what a sushi-ya can be. If you've been, you'll know what I mean. If not, you'll be waiting a long time to see. #ISH_KuonOmakase

It seems like every other week, covid or not, a Ja

It seems like every other week, covid or not, a Japanese restaurant rises in the lower north sure. I mean, that the area's over-representation of the Japanese immigrant demographic is besides the point - I don't live in the area, so allow me to be a bit salty just this once, yeah? . Speaking of salt, that's one of the flavours - chicken shio, to be precise - of ramen at Sekka Dining, one of the lower north's latest izakaya that's a bit on the fancy side. The absolutely delicious chicken chasu (that tenderness!) was undermined by a broth that lived up to its implied salinity. The tonkotsu shoyu is perhaps the better choice depending where you sit on the soup opacity scale. That said, while both options were 'nubad', Sydney's ramen scene is not the joke it was 10 years ago - competition is fierce and in this case, location is going to play a bigger role than anything else in customer acquisition. . The fresh & bright raw yellowfin tuna w/house soy & egg yolk, as well as the juicy and thin, crispy-skinned gyoza were the surprise highlights - not the ramen. Given Sekka is ultimately an izakaya, playing to your strengths sure doesn't hurt. #ISH_SekkaDining

A pet peeve of mine is when a diner, tearfully 'la

A pet peeve of mine is when a diner, tearfully 'lamenting' the injustice of a restaurant closure, rushes to visit prior to its last day, yet are happily absent when the sun's shining. This peeve is doubled by the fact that the disloyal diner in question is frequently in fact, myself. The restaurant this time is A1 Canteen, which will be serving its signature muffuletta & curried scrambled eggs w/LP's sausage one last time on October 9. . My last visit was nearly two years ago at the end of 2018, and somehow despite a fairly positive impression, I made the grave mistake of forgetting that for all its interesting quirks & foibles (most infamously the unwieldiness in attempting to properly consume its much-hyped muffuletta), it was part of that rare breed of breakfast joints that bothered to do something different, and do it, well, pretty well. Try it one last time or try it for your first and last time: just under one month to go. #ISH_SupportLocalBusiness #ISH_A1Canteen

My first visit to Cafe Kentaro was so long ago, I

My first visit to Cafe Kentaro was so long ago, I hadn't even begun using the # ISH_RestaurantName hashtags so heck, I can't even find my last post on it. It was a nice cafe, but didn't offer anything substantive over founder Kentaro Takayama's other venue, the anagrammed Oratnek in Redfern that took Sydney by storm with its katsu sando (remember when that was novel? Good times). Long story short, it was at best, mediocre - and not worth a journey. Perhaps there's finally a saturation of Japanese cafes and I've moved past them? Or so I thought. . Well you know what they say about being open to change: a recent decision made on a whim to do takeaway from Kentaro paid massive dividends. The katsu sando is better than it's ever been - juicy pork, soft, pliant bread, and a satisfying crunch with just the right amount of mustard and tonkatsu flavour. The curry udon, while I don't care for tripe, was slipperily delicious, and the ebi burger may be the best I've had in Sydney. I can't put my finger on it - perhaps it's the cereal-like crunch of the batter, the generosity and succulence of the filling, or the novel inclusion of fried school prawns as an additional crunchy, umami-boosting element. Holy smokes, so good! #ISH_CafeKentaro

This is now the 3rd #HarvestBites dinner I've orde

This is now the 3rd #HarvestBites dinner I've ordered from OzHarvest, and perhaps the best yet - both generous and full of flavour. Not at all a coincidence, given these qualities are fully present in its creator - none other than Vietnamese culinary gun Angie Hong, AKA @hongsta_gram's mum (talent clearly runs in the family). . The lemongrass chicken was nigh on perfect (I don't remember a time where I've had a comparable one), and special points for the pandan jelly (Bánh Da Lợn? Someone correct me if I'm wrong). I particularly dig Angie's use of broken rice - its no-waste symbolism being the Vietnamese rice equivalent of using imperfect fruit & veg - which is of course perfectly appropriate for the occasion. Monday nights sorted, as always. #ISH_HarvestBites

Apologies for the phone photos because I honestly

Apologies for the phone photos because I honestly didn't think I was going to post, but Steam King really turned up the pressure on me. With its overt focus on light, clean and healthful eating, they go one step further than most Cantonese restaurants. A full third of the menu is devoted to the must-order soups - for which a single-person serve can exceed $100 - which is either sheer stupidity or absolute confidence in their use and preparation of only ultra-high-quality ingredients. The flavours are obviously subtle, as is the Cantonese way, but nuanced and finessed, emphasising the ingredient rather than its seasoning - as is the Cantonese way. . Other must-orders are, well, everything I got: the steamed free-range chicken cooked with a medley of Chinese herbs & medicines (did I mention healthful eating?), the steamed prawns w/garlic & grass noodles (vampires need not apply), and even the egg whites w/prawns & scallops will impress you far beyond its pedestrian appearance. Even the fried rice (glutinous in this case - a first for me), somehow felt 'clean'. Don't miss out on dessert either - the guilinggao (龜苓膏 - herbal jelly) is made in-house (sans tortoise shell) - you'll know because it is bitter, not sweet by default. Super legit, super clean, and still super delicious. With a full house on even Sunday night, it's safe to say that their confidence (and pricing) is warranted. . Probably the best Cantonese restaurant I've visited in Sydney. Truly kingly. Thanks @gczliu & @anna8juan for the find & recs! #ISH_SteamKing

Mix of murasaki & aka-uni. The former is typically

Mix of murasaki & aka-uni. The former is typically regarded as the top stuff for sushi but it's not their peak uni atm, so some of the aka boys (whose season is beginning) make their way in. At most sushi-ya, this would yield a just OK temaki but in the hands of Oe-san, it's as elevated as it's going to get - stunningly delicious. Kind of helps that there's a fistful of the stuff per serve - and people chide fine dining portions for not being generous! Tuna roll & the master himself for the following pics. Adroit work as always. #ISH_SushiOe

Bookings opened at 9:00am and the entire month of

Bookings opened at 9:00am and the entire month of October had fully booked out by 9:03am. If any omakase in Sydney deserves this kind of popularity, it's this one. Second visit down, and the improvement from the first visit is already immense. This is fast becoming one of Sydney's top tier sushi experiences - it's only right that the competition is heating up! . Congratulations on getting to this point, Oe-san! おまかせの人気、おめでとうございます、大江さん！#ISH_SushiOe

Niko and. And what? And that's the name. Ah yes th

Niko and. And what? And that's the name. Ah yes that makes sense now. Memorable monikers aside (damn it, they succeeded!), you know covid-19 has been with us for some time now when your first impressions of a cafe was actually that of a vac-packed meal delivery service (scroll back 6 months on their feed and you'll see what I mean). . However, as a cafe, it's decidedly gunning for that grey but absolutely trending area of 'recognisably Japanese flavours'. I'm not sure what to make of it - my feelings are as mixed as the spicy pork bone broth served with matcha soba, which is not a combo I'd have ever come up with (not that it /doesn't/ work - this was quite delicious). The mentaiko toast is also a talking point, as being only the second cafe to do it after Kurumac is notable, albeit needing just a bit more mentai. As for the earl grey chiffon, it's a great cake but not a great earl grey cake - the flavour of the tea was left wanting. The best part is probably the coffee - $5 filter with Single O beans is banging good stuff. Makes sense - they're a specialty coffee joint. Ok, I get it now. #ISH_Nikoand

When did something as humble as the toastie become

When did something as humble as the toastie become trendy again? I guess they never did come in quite the distinctive yellow packaging that hold the similarly-golden goodies produced by @toastiesmith. It must be the inner Asian, but I do appreciate how these are just so unapologetically appropriating while still being undeniably products of the East. For example, take the wagyu toastie, a mishmash of wagyu that's cooked a la gyudon style, American cheese (USA! USA!), and an egg omelette that wouldn't be out of place in a 7-11 sando in Japan (this is absolutely a compliment). Over the top? Kinda yeah. Works and delicious nonetheless? Totally. . Similar sentiments go for the prawn toastie. Honestly, I don't want to write too much on a bloody sandwich shop - I think you'd have to have awfully discerning tastebuds to be unable to find anything here to your liking. I mean for geez, it's a toasted sandwich shop. Bring the appetite, take plenty of messy bites, and bring wet wipes. #ISH_Toastiesmith

Tonkotsu fried chicken ramen from @julianvcincotta

Tonkotsu fried chicken ramen from @julianvcincotta's @buttersydney, which I FINALLY managed to try, and tasted even better as it was via OzHarvest's Harvest Bites. This charitable initiative sees 40 meals going to the needy for each meal pack purchased. With a rotating cast of some of Sydney's cult favourite chefs heading up each new weekly menu, this is giving back in a most delicious way. . Self-plated with bowl from @madeinjapantableware #ISH_Butter #ISH_HarvestBites

First taste of Sano's omakase at Sokyo since Febru

First taste of Sano's omakase at Sokyo since February - better than your high school reunion that's for sure. Bloody raging good experience as always, and some new dishes to spice things up. Can't say I missed the loud music that prevents me from hearing the already soft-spoken Sano - certainly doesn't help with masks now being standard! . He's booked out till the end of 2021, though given how many reservations had to be canned during the 4mth lockdown period who's to say that if lines opened up for 2022, that they won't stay open for long...#ISH_Sokyo

Sending off chestnut season in the best way possib

Sending off chestnut season in the best way possible with vegan truffle mont blancs from @rons_kitchen. If you've ever worked with mont blancs yourself you'd be well-acquainted with just how much of a toll it takes on the maker's hands - it's as close as it gets to literal blood, sweat and tears. Can I also just re-emphasise, like in previous #ISH_RonsKitchen posts just how much of a handicap veganising pastry is. Might as well make them blindfolded. What a champ for making so many available for public order over the past few weeks!

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I'm Still Hungry - A Food & Travel Blog by Michael Shen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on the work at https://imstillhungry.net