Ton Ton: Japanese, Chifley Plaza, Sydney (26 March 2009)

Level 1, Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.tontontakeaway.com.au

Fast service of big bowls of ramen to be found here in this food court eatery. I hope to try a few of the other ramens to find my favourite version.

Other visits to Ton Ton:

• 25 Nov 2009 - Regent: Chicken Katsu Don, Garlic and Shrimp Fried Rice

• 26 Mar 2009 - Chifley: Ramen Kaarage

Other places visited for ramen:

• Menya Noodle Bar (11 Sept 2009)

• Condor Japanese Noodle Restaurant (30 April 2009)

• Ramen Kan (16 April 2009)

• Ramen Kan (15 April 2009)

• Ton Ton Japanese (26 March 2009)

• Ichi-ban Boshi Japanese Noodle Shop (9 March 2009)

Chicken Karaage Ramen - Soy-flavoured soup topped with deep-fried chicken pieces $9.80

Service counter

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Malay-Chinese Takeaway: Malaysian & Chinese, CBD Sydney (24 March 2009)

Shop 1, 50-58 Hunter St, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.malaychinese.com.au

Always consistent

I think this very popular place is one of the best in the city to satisfy your cravings of har mee, chicken laksa and assam laksa. I always compare other laksas to this place and not many, if any, are in the same league for depth of flavour and consistency. I believe their assam laksa is made only once every 5 weeks. Arrive early for a seat or expect it to be packed by 12.30 lunchtime.

Other visits to Malay-Chinese:

• 5 Nov 2009 - Assam Laksa

• 26 Oct 2009 - Seafood Laksa, Combination Clear Soup

• 6 August 2009 - Hainan Chicken Rice, Mee Siam

• 13 May 2009 - Chicken Laksa

• 29 April 2009 - Char Kway Teow

• 24 March 2009 - Har Mee, Seafood Laksa, Assam Laksa, Chicken Laksa

Har Mee $9

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Other places tried for Har Mee:

• 25 Jan 2012 - More More Char

• 6 Oct 2010 - Singapore Shiok!*

• 24 Sept 2009 - Laksa House

• 16 Sept 2009 - Laksa King

• 12 Aug 2009 - Jaya Malaysian

• 23 April 2009 - Lee's Malaysian

• 24 March 2009 - Malay-Chinese

• 19 Oct 2008 - KL Kopitiam Malaysian Cuisine

Seafood laksa

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Assam laksa

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Chicken laksa

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Visited: 8 March 2012

Seafood laksa ($11.50) - decent sized prawns, lots of seafood, good depth of flavour in broth

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Visited: 5 April 2012

Assam Laksa ($9.50) — Previous visit seemed to have more fish flakes throughout but this was still good. Lots of chilli kick and flavoursome broth

Lunch time crowd already busy by 12 noon. Arrive by 11.45 am if you want to get a table more easily.

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Pasteur: Vietnamese, Haymarket (22 March 2009)

709 George Street, Haymarket NSW 2000

Spring Roll heaven

I just love the freshly deep fried seafood spring rolls at this cheap and casual dining place. I'm sure they're not the healthiest thing but rolling them up with the fresh lettuce, bean spouts and mint seems to neutralise the fattiness — well that's what I think anyway. While waiting for your meal to arrive try and count all the funny/bad spelling mistakes on the wall menus.

Other visits to Pasteur:

• 7 Nov 2009 - Seafood Spring Rolls, Chicken Pho, Special Beef Pho

• 22 March 2009 - Seafood Spring Rolls, Chicken Pho, Sugar Cane Prawn

Seafood spring rolls (6) $10.00

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Chicken rice noodle soup $8.50 (small)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Sugar cane prawn with vermicelli $10.50

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Sushi Tei: Japanese, Sydney (21 March 2009)

1 Chifley Square, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: 9232 7288
http://www.sushitei.com.sg

Crispy Crunchy Chicken Karaage

I tried a few new dishes this time. The Chicken Karaage is probably so bad for you but I love the crispy crunchiness of it all, just don't think about the fat content. Although I wish the salad had some Japanese dressing on it. I enjoyed the salmon again in the Asama.

Visits to Sushi Tei:

• 10 July 2009: Gyoza, Edamame, Soft Shell Crab, Tonkatsu

• 21 March 2009: Scallop, Asama, Edamame, Gyoza, Agedashi Tofu, Chicken Karaage

• 15 Jan 2009: Chicken Teriyaki, Gyoza, Agedashi Tofu, Salmon Sashimi

Chicken Karaage (fried chicken) $6.80

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Asama (tuna, salmon, kingfish) $11.80

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Aburi Nama Hotate (half broiled raw scallop) $5.80

Edamame $2.80

Meat gyoza (homemade chicken and pork dumplings) $6.80

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Agedashi tofu $4.80

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Little Vienna: Sandwiches, Sydney (12 Jan 2009)

20 Hunter St Wynyard; 9 Barrack St Wynyard; 122 Pitt St (Into Rowe St), Sydney; 83 Mount St, North Sydney

http://www.littlevienna.com.au

Fresh and tasty sandwiches

I've been sampling a few of the foil wrapped Little Vienna sandwiches of late at Pitt St and Hunter St shops and they always seem to be consistently fresh and tasty and the Vienna style versions so filling. I hope to eventually try all the sandwiches on the menu.

Other big sandwich shops:

• Big Bite on Pitt - Pitt Street, 6 Oct 2009

• Olive Italian Food Bar - Strand Arcade, 14 July 2009

• North's Complete Sandwich - Bridge Street, 14 Jan 2009

• Little Vienna - MLC Centre Pitt Street, 12 Jan 2009

Chicken Breast Schnitzel: Lemon chive mayo, roma tomato, fresh rockets and crispy lettuce (Vienna hard crust) $8.40 [added to blog 20 March 2009]

Freshest Vienna Salad: Olive oil, lemon chive mayo, roma tomatoes, sweet capsicum, mushrooms, cucumber, beetroot, snow pea sprouts, fresh rockets and crispy lettuce (Vienna hard crust) $7.95 [added to blog 20 Jan 2009]

Mojo Beef: Beef rissoles, fried onion, tomato, jalapeno, lettuce, mayo (Vienna hard crust) $8.95 [added to blog 13 Jan 2009]

Mozart Chicken: Poached chicken breast, avocado, swiss cheese, roma tomatoes, rockets, lettucs and mayo (Vienna brown bread) $8.95

Sexy Tuna: Tuna, avocado, olives, roma tomatoes, rockets, crispy lettuce, lemon chive mayo (Vienna brown bread) $8.95 [added to blog 20 Jan 2009]

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Alexander's Patisserie 'Success Slice', CBD Sydney (19 March 2009)

Level 6 Shop 6.02, MLC Centre

Cnr King and Castlereagh St, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.alexanderspatisserie.com.au

One of my favourite slices of cake. It's flourless yet provides the right amount of sugary naughtiness balanced with some lightness for an afternoon sugar hit.

Success Slice $4

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Hole In The Wall: Sandwich No. 18, Sydney (16 March 2009)

Ground Floor and Level 4
229 Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.holeinthewall.com.au

One of my favourite sandwich shops in the city because they seem to take pride in their sandwiches. I'm also a fan of the Tempeh Burger on Toasted Turkish Bread. The only downside is this place gets very popular so you have to be lucky with your timing so your not waiting too long or you can order ahead online to save time.

No. 18 The Will Special - Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Crispy Prosciutto, Lettuce, Mayo, Beetroot Onions & Tasty Cheese on toasted turkish bread $8.90 [16 March 2009]

Sandwiches tried from Hole In The Wall:

• No. 6 Haloumi (23 April 2009)

• No. 19 Falafel (23 April 2009)

• No. 18 The Will Special (16 March 2009)

• No. 10 Kefalogriavyiera (27 April 2009)

• No. 1 Ham (1 May 2009)

• No. 2 Ricotta (8 May 2009)

• No. 3 Chicken Breast (12 May 2009)

• No. 4 Bocconcini (20 May 2009)

• No. 5 Roast Turkey Breast (26 May 2009)

• Tempeh Burger (4 May 2009)

• Tempeh Burger (29 May 2009)

• No. 9 Anchovies (10 June 2009)

• No. 20 Red Salmon (18 June 2009)

• Grilled Smoked Salmon and Egg (18 June 2009)

Service counter

Outside street entrance

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Restaurant Balzac: French, Randwick (14 Feb 2009)

141 Belmore Road Randwick NSW 2031
http://www.restaurantbalzac.com.au

Highlights for me were the amuse-bouche, seared scallops and roast wagyu. For other dishes I mainly wanted to keep as a record of the presentation.

Other visits to Restaurant Balzac:
• 1 Jan 2011 - Zucchini Flower, Sweet Corn Veloute, Risotto of Braised Wagyu Beef, Crisp Skin Salmon, Poached Peach, Cumquat Pudding with Orange Custard

• 5 Nov 2010 - Carpaccio of Marlin, Slow Roast Pork Belly, Pineapple Tatin

• 14 Feb 2009 - Seared scallops, Foie Gras Parfait, Panfried Ocean Trout, Roast Wagyu, Bittersweet Chocolate Tart, Vanilla Creme Brulee

Amuse-bouche: Cauliflower soup with basil oil

Fresh bread

Seared Scallops with Celeriac Puree, Pommegranite Salsa

Foie Gras Parfait, Grilled Sour Dough, Beetroot Relish

Panfried Ocean Trout, Confit Fennel, Borlotti Beans, Clams, Olives and Truss Tomatoes

Roast Wagyu, Croustillant of Smoked Shin, Truffle Puree, Bordelaise Jus

Pre Dessert: Poached Pear with Kaffir Lime

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart, White Chocolate Ice Cream, Sweetheart Cherries

Vanilla Crème Brulée with Raspberry Sorbet and Sable

Upstairs dining area

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