Mizuya Japanese restaurant and karaoke
I’m a sucker for all things Japanese. Especially what Sydney has to offer in terms of Japanese food.
After an afternoon of belting out some tunes with the karaoke crew, me and J head to Mizuya Japanese restaurant and karaoke (basement, 614 George Street Sydney). We’ve walked past this place a few times while it was being built, so now we finally had the chance to see what it was like. As the name suggests, Mizuya has an adjacent karaoke lounge, and offers dining and karaoke packages from $198.
Unfortunately I only had my phone with me, so the pictures aren’t good. But the food was :)
I’m sure by now you’ve heard about Wagaya. Mizuya is similar to Wagaya in terms of floor layout, ambience, its menu and the touch screen ordering system. However, we found the ordering screen less responsive to Wagaya’s and needed to press the icons a few times for it to register.
First up we order ox tongue kushiyaki. This is usually a standard order whenever we go to Wagaya, and was on par in taste. Only negative was the small sized portion (2 sticks) at $5.80.
Next up was the assorted kushiage 5 piece set ($11.80), consisting of tomato, prawn, chicken, sausage and squid. Fried to perfection :)
Soft shell crab salad ($9.80). Lacked in dressing, so we needed to ask for more.
Sake steamed clam ($14.80) – my favourite for the night :)
Final dish for the night – dried flounder ($15.80).
Finished up at about 80% full, but overall I think its one of the places that I’ll return to in the near future. It’s a contender to the always busy Wagaya, so will be interesting to see if this place takes off.
huong huong restaurant
Located on Marrickville Road is Huong Huong – a bustling Vietnamese restaurant with a unique range of beautiful paintings and photographs aligned on pink coloured walls.
Image courtesy of Huong Huong
Huong Huong seems to be popular with locals, with most of its seats over two levels filled by 8pm. And why wouldn’t it – this place boasts a massive array of Chinese and South-East Asian favourites (mains cost from $6-$20) including crocodile, emu and kangaroo – a total 372 dishes in fact!
Tonight, we’re just going for the favourites:
Vietnamese beef noodle soup – this massive bowl of beef, flat rice noodles, basil, bean sprouts in a hearty beef broth is always popular.
Did I say it was massive? :)
Salt and pepper squid – crispy pieces of squid, not too salty and not too oily. Absolutely delicious and highly recommended! :)
Combination rice was a treat – delicious pieces of vegetables, beef, and seafood stir fried with rice.
Braised beef with tofu – tender pieces of beef combined with fried tofu pieces, fresh vegetables and rice.
Crispy skin chicken and tomato rice – ever since I was introduced to this deliciously delightful dish back in my high school days its always been one of my must try whenever I go to Vietnamese restaurants. I can easily say that this has been the best crispy skin chicken and tomato rice dishes I’ve ever had in Sydney. Abundance of tender chicken, the delicious crispy skin (I think my cholestoral level’s gone up from tonight’s feed!), combined with a piece of tomato, cucumber and lettuce sides.
Pleasantly surprised to have fresh fruit provided at the end of the meal :)
Huong Huong Restaurant
228 Marrickville Road, Marrickville
02 9568 5522
Bookings essential
The food is tasty, the service is fast and helpful, not bad value for money – I’m definitely going back to try something else on their 372 dish menu! :)
I’ll finish this post with a delicious berries dessert – something that my lovely J put together this morning. Yum! :)
long lost brothers? (2/365)
We were at Seoul Ria celebrating a friend’s 18th, and we come across one of the waiters, which looked incredibly similar to one of the guests to the party. So, plucking up the courage I asked the waiter to come across to take a photo.
Other waiter: “What are you doing? Get back to wor – ohhh hahaha” * points and laughs* ”
Absolutely incredible :)
first taste restaurant
I’m not a big fan of the traditional Chinese herby soups (I wouldn’t go near them but mum swears by them so the house is usually overflowing with the aroma of ginseng and other assorted herbs), so when I first found out about First Taste and their vast menu of stewed herb soups I wasn’t too keen on going.
But since my actual first taste to First Taste, I’ve actually been back a few times. Mind you, not for the soup, but rather for something a little bit different – rice in hot pot. This is probably something that is similar to shabu shabu, sukiyaki, or Korean Stone bowl rice, where rice is served in the pot with assorted toppings, and stays warm until you finish the meal. Make sure you mix the rice with the toppings immediately as soon as you receive it, as the rice at the bottom of the pot hardens as the pot cools!
First Taste burst into the restaurant scene in Melbourne (Springvale, Footscray and Box Hill), and now it’s Sydney’s turn. The restaurant’s pretty new, having opened in the beginning of 2009. Since then, its become a hit with local Hurstville residents and incredibly popular for lunch and dinner. However, the service and staff are very efficient, and the average time I’ve had to wait for a table has been roughly 5 – 10 mins for a table on most occasions.
The menu consists of stewed herb soups (buddha’s favourite soup tops the list at $58!), rice in hot pot (range includes chicken & mushroom with rice, black bean sauce spare ribs with rice, x.o. sauce fish fillet with rice), vermicelli noodle soups (including dumpling soup, hot & sour chicken with vermicelli noodle soup), and finally desserts (durian, black sesame, mango desserts), but for tonight, it was time for the trusty rice in hot pot which was excellent on cold winters night.
First up – beef with rice. Beef was slightly a little too hard for my liking and a little too salty.
Next – seafood combination with rice. Pieces of seafood extender, prawn balls, fish fillets and a scallop or two. Quite an enjoyable dish.
Finally – quail with rice. I always seem to order this dish whenever I come, has got to be one of my favourites here. Two or three pieces of tender quail leg and thigh and soy sauce. Delicious!
I’m yet to conquer my dislike of herbal soups, but that will come in another post. If you’d like experience the joys of having a hot pot meal on a cold winter’s night then First Taste is the place to be.
First Taste Restaurant
316 Forest Road Hurstville
02 8065 2178
