Bo 7 Mon Thanh Tam, Market City

After reading this very infromative post on the wonderful food blog Noodlies, where this food court pho was described as the best pho in Sydney.



I had time to kill before I had to do something at uni so I stumbled across the road and decided to try it out. And I'm so glad I did. It was amazing. And the best part was the broth. Usually with pho the broth is okay. Nothing especially exciting or amazing but this broth was so good. It was broth that I actually wanted to drink. And if I wasn't so terribly full I would have drunk it all. So yes, try this.

• Find Bo 7 Mon Thanh Tam at Store F3.13A Level 3, Market City, 9-13 Hay Street, Haymarket NSW 2000.

KuraKura, Haymarket

On Friday night a bunch of friends and I decided to head over, last minute, to the new KuraKura at Haymarket. It's right above Kura the small, almost always busy Japanese restaurant.




We got there past 7pm. No reservation. There were 9 nine of us and we were told we had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Which was fine. So we stood and chatted for a bit. Didn't feel like 30 minutes. Our rationale for staying and waiting was that most places would make you wait at this time on a Friday night. When a table big enough freed up we were led to a section in a back that caters for larger groups of diners.

And, as you know, I'm a terrible blogger. Names of dishes escape me ...



Gyoza, 10 pieces, $10.50
By the by, anyone know where you can get cheap/cheaper gyoza? I just want to pig out on gyoza and beer one day.



Mentaiko udon, $9.80
Apparently, according to a friend, it tasted very mentaiko-ish. However, maybe due to the alcohol I had already consumed, it tasted like creamy pasta to me. I couldn't really taste the mentaiko flavour nor the spiciness that the menu indicated with the picture of a chilli next to the dish on the menu.


Aburi salmon sushi
Which is one of my most favourite things ever.

On top of these there were other dishes ordered but I guess I didn't get around to taking photos of them on the night.



Drinks wise we order a bottle of umeshu for $25 since a friend, after coming back from spending 2 months in Japan, had gained a liking to it. Sake was ordered, as was umeshu and beer which came in a champagne glass.

There are no buttons on the table. Like to buzz the waiters/waitresses. So, if we wanted to order more we had to flag them down when they came to drop off the food or drinks. I guess, because it was busy, food came slowly than we would have liked but I was with a bunch of friends and chatting so time didn't feel that slow.

I would go again. Just to try all the other dishes that I didn't get to try yet!

• Find KuraKura at Shop 2, 76 Ultimo Road, Haymarket 2000.

Arisun, Chinatown

In celebration of end of semester a couple of friends and I went to Arisun for some chicken and beer. It was nice and sunny still at 6pm so it was nice to see the sunset as the night progressed.

 

We were confused what these were. We knew they were towels but they were so dry and small. Then someone had the bright idea to add water to them and they expanded and became wet towels for your hands. There are different sets you can order of chicken and beer as well as other stuff on the menu. We order set 5 which cost $80 altogether. It comes with chicken, 3000cc of beer, 1 bottle of soju and this vegetable and noodle platter thing whose actual name escapes me.

 

The waitress moved too fast! The above vegetable and noodle dish was all presented nicely and I was too slow to take a photo and she started mixing it for us already!

 

Chicken was hot (warm not spicy) and crunchy and FRIED. It comes with little dishes of cut radishes (I assume), salt and pepper and a bowl for your chicken bones. You get a choice of chicken for your set. Either Sun's Original chicken, a soy sauced based chicken or a spicy chicken flavours (I forget the names, as always. I must take pictures of menus next time). We opted for the original flavour.

 

We also ordered a bottle of Korean rice wine 막걸리 ($12) which they opened then transferred into this teapot and we get little bowls to drink it out of. We also ordered some seafood pancake ($20) to eat with it. This was good seafood pancake. Very crispy and not too soggy like it can be at other restaurants.

 

I would like to go again and try some of the other dishes and chicken varieties and to drink more! Maybe post-exam time ... XD

• Find Arisun at 1 Dixon Street, Haymarket.

Sukjai

Blogging to distract self from mounting pile of assignments and oncoming exams ...

This is from a couple of weeks ago. Right after I went to see The Lion King in 3D, which I highly recommend only to see it in cinema form not really for the 3D.

Sukjai is a Thai restaurant on Pitt Street in Sydney. On this particular Saturday night it wasn't too crowded. It's dimly lit inside, which I liked, but was kinda terrible for taking photos. I liked it because it gave the dining experience a bit of an intimate feel. If you know Pitt Street, then you know that right next to Sukjai is another Thai restaurant. My friend was deciding which one to go to and decide on Sukjai because of its walls.

I love when restaurants are decorated interestingly and I love groups of frames like that. It gave the restaurant an artsy feel. Melbourne-like. In trying to google the name and address of this restaurant for the purposes of this blog post I stumbled across the review by SMH where in the opening paragraph was this

someone utters the three magic words every Sydney diner wants to hear: ''It's like Melbourne!''

That was my first impression too. I wonder if anyone in Melbourne walks into a restaurant and goes "It's like Sydney!" Once, again am terrible blogger and did not remember the names. I don't know the names of the dishes except the green curry. But I suppose that was rather obvious.

Between 4 people, we had 3 dishes plus rice and it ended up being 13 dollars per person when we divided up the bill at the end of the night. Reasonably priced. Green curry very spicy but very good. Yeah, not much of a review or anything. If you want to eat at a pretty and atmospheric, Melbourne-like Thai restaurant then Sukjai is for you. Much better than the Thai-looking-like-a-fast-food-restaurant that I pass on the bus on the way to the train station. It's set out like an Oporto or a Macca's, where you order at the counter but for Thai food. It doesn't look too nice inside. Anyhoo ...

I was supposed to be starting an essay today ... but woke up so, so late. Hope the weather in Sydney clears up for the weekend! I want to go out!

• Find Sukjai at 415 Pitt Street, Haymarket 2000.

Poporo, Market City

After I handed in my essay I ate all on my lonesome at Poporo. Had beef sukiyaki udon. It was pretty cold yesterday so I wanted something soupy and I need some beef. I'm not eating enough red meat. Affecting my iron, me thinks. And tofu! That was unexpected. I love tofu!

• Find Poporo at Market City, Top Floor, Shop 301, 9-13 Hay Street, Haymarket.

Yesterday: Graduation #2

Another one of my friends had their graduation ceremony yesterday. Walking up and down and around UNSW to take photos in 28 degree weather (which I really wasn't expecting). Weather was strangely very hot after a rainy and cold weekend.

Some photos. I so need a new point and shoot camera. I've been looking at some in catalogues and stuff and they're relatively cheap at the moment.

 

 

We had lunch at Campbell Restaurant in Chinatown. It was pretty quiet when we arrived. Then it got really noisy whilst we were there. Sorry about that. XD

Okay, have to get dressed and leave now. Woke up late enough as it is.

• Find Campbell Restaurant at Lv 1, 102 Hay St, Haymarket, Sydney.

Yum cha at Marigold, Haymarket

Tuesday morning before my 5pm lecture a couple of friends and I met at the golden dripping tree in Chinatown and headed off to Marigold for yum cha. I also took photos of some other prawn thing, the chicken feet, egg tarts and jelly but my camera is horrible and those photos were just not fit to post. XD

It wasn't particularly busy as I thought it would be. Lots of older people having long lunches over wine. All relaxed. I saw a couple of people eating by themselves. I don't think I could do that myself. I'd be too self-conscious.  

• Find Marigold at 5/683-689 George Street, Haymarket, Sydney. 

[2009] Poporo, Market City

I have a lot of spare time of my hands before uni starts up again so I was browsing through some old photos and decided to post some. These are old. This is from a trip to Poporo in Market City in December of 2009. It's at the top most level of Market City. I think it used to be that you order from a touch screen but currently, that is the last time I went there (sometime last year), you order normally via a waiter/waitress. It's very pretty and clean and somewhat upbeat looking inside which is a plus. There's a discount if you show your student card. From memory, I don't think they let you pay separately. And here are some photos!

Chicken karaage.
I think it was listed on the menu as a side dish but is like a meal in itself.

Squid ink spaghetti. More creamy than squid ink-y.

Some kind of burger. Obviously. XD That's renkon right?

Some sort of katsu set. 

Drinks/dessert

• Find Poporo at Market City, Top Floor, Shop 301, 9-13 Hay Street, Haymarket.