The boathouse (Balmoral Beach), Mosman

Bebski and I went to Balmoral beach last Saturday for a brunch date with my old friends from Subway Mr.C and Ms. C :) I just found out that Balmoral beach is located in Mosman area, an area that I always passed through when I was still working in balgowlah.. I was amazed by the scenery and my brunch target for that day is The Boathouse :) There is one in Palm beach but it is too far, luckily I found out the one in Balmoral. 

Parking is not a problem in this area, it's really easy to find free parking near the residential area. We arrived around 11:30AM and the place was crowded with people queuing and others were waiting for table to sit.  The place was pretty and very alive! Unfortunately there were not enough table for everyone to sit, some even stand while eating on their bar table.

The ordering system here is to choose the menu from the displayed board and then order the food to the ordering counter, take your order number and pray that you got a table straight away ;p We waited not long until this small group of people gave us their table, how nice :)

Now to start with.. I got the Mini Banana Smoothie for $6, the smoothie is rich with honey and has that hint of cinnamon, I'm lovin it! Bebski got Strawberry milkshake $8 and Mr.C got the Chocolate Milkshake!

The plan was to order the fish and chip and the burger, but it turned out that the other couple is ordering the same thing so for the sake of my blog, again, I picked other dishes. I ordered the Corn Biscuit, which comes with chickpea balls, aubergine and harrisa. It has that middle eastern taste that bebski didn't like and I'm not a fan of the aubergine, so it was an okay dish for me :)

Corn Biscuit $18

Next come the Lettuce cups - Tender and juicy pork with the really yummy crispy skin, and also mint and couscous salad with some kind of Nuoc cham dressing, tangy and sweet at the same time. This dish impressed me! It sounds so simple and yet everything works perfectly well with each other! My favourite dish in The Boathouse! No complain about it especially the scrumptious pork!!

Lettuce cups - pork, couscous and mint $19

Then came Bebski's Beer Battered Flathead, the must order dish from the menu. It's even listed on the 50 tops must eat in Urbanlist ;p The portion was really generous, the handcut chips was delish especially when it's dipped in their special tartar sauce! And you can refill the sauce all you like :) Bebski didn't really like it, he thought its just like any other fish and chips anywhere ;p

Beer Battered Flathead $29

Mr.C ordered the Beef Burger which comes with bacon, baby cos lettuce, pickles and onion. he thought that the beef was pretty dry and lack flavour. I did tried a bit of the beef patty, he's right, it needed more salt to bring out the savoury note :)

Beef Burger $24

Overall, we had a great time and experience visiting the Boathouse even though waiting for the table can be an annoyance and the waiting time for the food exceeds 30mins T.T Would love to come back just for the view and the yummy pork! Maybe worth trying their breakfast menu next time ^^

Kyushu, Neutral Bay

Had dinner in Kyushu with 2 other couples last week for another catching up :) I passed this restaurant quite a number of times already on my way to Kohya but never had the thought to try it out cause we always go for Japanese Buffet in Neutral Bay. I had a quick search online about the place and I read a couple of reviews that said the place is always packed with people and that we have to book.

Luckily, Ms.B is always as prepared as I do. She made the booking and luckily it was not too crowded as it was on Monday night. All of us were starving and we ordered an entree, a salad and 4 mains to share.

The first to come is the soft shell crab salad. The tempura crab still has its crunch and the salad was so refreshing drizzled with Kyushu's signature dressing. I noticed that most of the foods here are served with thinly shredded cabbage, red capsicum and orange slices ;p

Soft shell crab salad $13.80

Then the Pork Maki Roll came! The caramelised sticky sauce at the bottom was finger-licking good! Inside the roll is a bunch of spring onions which annoyed me as I have to dissect it and took 'em out ;p

Pork Maki $12.50

 Ms.B ordered a Maki as well. An extra portion for her baby in the belly :)

Then this amazing wafu steak came! The steak was cooked medium, the meat was tender and it has that amazing smoky flavour in it. I don't even look for any sauce to dip it in. Even though it looks dry, it was seriously so juicy! I highly recommend this dish ~~

And then came the winner of tonight's meal! The spicy pork Tepan. The pork was thinly sliced and marinated really well. The sauce was spicy which I loveeeeeee and full of flavour! Another Highly Recommended dish in this place.

The awaited Beef Teriyaki by Ms.B. I can taste that the beef teriyaki is cooked using the Rump. Not my favourite but she loved it!

Ms.V can't really eat beef or pork. She can only eat chicken and fish so she ordered the fish Teriyaki.Must I say, the fish was soft and moist and the teriyaki sauce another amazing. Another great sauce by Kyushu!

The verdict of this place:

• Service was okay.
• Food was delicious and with the prize, I'd say the portion is generous
• No wonder it's always crowded coz the food delivers!
• Would love to learn how to make a great sauce from the sous chef ;p

Just a pic of me and my girls :)

Would love to come back again!

Wooden Spoon Bar & Restaurant, Cremorne

My first restaurant invite, excited! A week ago, I got an email from the owner of Wooden Spoon and Bar to do a review for their newly established restaurant. I never heard of the place before and so I looked up online and visited their website. It is located in the heart of Cremorne which is easy to find and I know the area pretty well cause my workplace is around there. On top of that, the menu looks appealing and I always loved Asian Fusion dining. 

Went there on a Wednesday night with Bebski. The booking was at 7PM and our meal was a 5 Degustation menu. The restaurant menu is the first thing at the front of the entrance and also showed their current Degustation event called "Be My Guest". Diners can enjoy the 5 course menu for just $55! (Check their other upcoming events on their website at the bottom of the page)

I was taking pictures outside of the place and the owner Livia saw me from inside and noticed that I must be the one she's expecting ;) So I went in with Bebski and was greeted with smile. She explained about the foods tonight and I am asked to rate the 5 dishes. 

The decoration of the place is modern and classy. It also gives you a comfy homey vibe when you're in there. I know sometimes Fine Dining place can be quite intimidating but this place somehow has that relaxing atmosphere, perfect place for chillin' out after work :)

I was seated at the end of the restaurant where there is plenty of light. Livia said that she knew I needed a spot with good lightning for my pictures , How thoughtful...  :)

The place was still pretty empty when we arrived but the crowd start later at around 8PM.

Not long after we were seated, a glass of water is served for each of us. We were offered wine but Bebski can't drink cause he needs to drive and I'm not a fan of wine. So water will suits us well.

To start with, we were given a board of freshly baked warm sourdough bread. The sourdough is soft and crusty complemented well by the creamy butter and flakes of salt.

Not long after that, they serve us a shot of shitake and wakame miso soup. It has a strong seaweed flavour and again some people might like it but to others such as Bebski, it can be quite a challenge to drink. At the bottom of the cup is a sheet of seaweed to provide some texture to the soup shot.

First course arrived. It is a sweet potato dosa puree with BBQ okra, Red grape tomatoes, Puffed cassava and served with Coconut & Lime dressing. I never tried Okra before and I must say, I like it! The puree is smooth and I think that having the crispy element such as the cassava is great as it gives a different texture to the whole dish.

Bebski & I were counting on the time for our next dish and we found out that it took 15-20 mins for the next dish to be served which I think is a reasonable amount of time. Some fine dining took longer than that.

The second course arrived and it is pan seared scallop with BBQ pork neck, beetroot puree, thin sliced cucumber, black sesame crumble and ponzu. I love ponzu! It is depth in flavour and the BBQ pork neck is juicy and melt in the mouth.. The scallop is fresh and cooked to perfection and the puree is creamy. Never thought that beetroot works well with ponzu and black sesame ^^

The third dish is my favorite! Barramundi on creamed kale, curry oil and cumin roast pumpkin, cauliflower puree,topped with crispy vermicelli noodle and roast vegetable jus. The skin of the fish is crispy, the pumpkin has a lovely flavour and aroma and all the element on the plate match perfectly well.

The fourth dish is Bebski's favourite...BBQ Mutton & Lamb, Pea Fricasse, Roast baby Capsicum, Mirin glazed Shallot, baby turnips and Taiwanese BBQ Sauce. The mutton and lamb are tender and the sauce complements the meats really well. Especially the pickled turnips, for me is a great addition to the plate for tanginess and freshness.

Lastly,,,, The Dessert! Chocolate Mousse cake with Coconut Custard, Toasted Rice, Cherry Sorbet and Hazelnut crumble. Chocolate and ice cream is the best dessert to finish up my meal, almost every time! The cherry sorbet is luscious and goes really well with the moist cake. The unfortunate thing is that I can't really find the toasted rice ;P

Pretty looking dessert,, Worth another shot ;P Black & red on a plate is classy *wink

That's the end of our meal. A pleasurable time and food, very good service and I think their aim to create a memorable dining experience is a success! I highly recommend this place for a romantic dinner celebration whatever the occasion is or private function and gathering ^^

Took a shot with the Owner, Livia Wang. A very nice and cheerful lady :)

The rating paper for the foods. I gave 7-8-9-9-8 for the 5 course in order :)

http://www.woodenspoonbar.com.au/

Genki Ramen, Artarmon

This is my first time visiting the suburb of Artarmon. Bebski & I decided to try Genki Ramen as I saw posts from various food bloggers and we were very curious on the curry and the ramen.

The place itself is located near the train station. The area is filled with Japanese goodies from restaurants til Japanese Supermarket. 

For starter, we ordered the Gyoza. The fillings were generous and meaty. Not too oily unlike in other places. The size was pretty big as well.

5 pieces for $6

We decided to order both Ramen and Curry Rice. We got the Tahkana Ramen. Noodle in broth soup with spicy japanese pickles and roast pork. It was not our favourite :( The soup just lacks those rich flavour and the takana was a let down :( This is the first time we didn't finish a ramen!!

Tahkana Ramen $11.50

 For the second dish to share, we ordered the curry rice which consist of Japanese style beef on the rice. This is also our first time having curry with beef slices in it instead of chicken or pork katsu. It was surprisingly delicious!! In my opinion, their curry sauce is one of the best. Every time we went out to eat curry rice, I will end up not finishing the sauce as it was too much, but this time, I can finish the whole thing!!
Highly Recommended!!

Curry Rice $11.50