Simon Food Favourites: Udon

28 June 2012

Sushi Park: Japanese, CBD Sydney (27 June 2012)

309 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Japanese with no park

Thanks to Michael Dimento for emailing me in May 2011 to try Sushi Park. I finally got around to trying his recommendation of Prawn Tempura Udon and Sushi ($14) and the Steam dumplings ($3, 5 pieces). The soup was served hot and topped with fresh vegetable. It was a decent portion and the broth was tasty enough, especially after you added the side of chilli powder. Unfortunately the prawn tempura was rather disappointing as the batter was very thick and not as crispy and thin as hoped. The sushi was OK although I think it's prepared in advance and just taken out of the plastic takeaway containers from the counter display when needed for dine ins. The dumplings looked good and the pastry thin and light as hoped although the filling was also a bit on the light side and could have done with a bit more in quantity and flavour. The dipping sauce was very watery and flavourless and missing the punch you'd expect. The decor and seating is pretty basic and probably could do with an upgrade to make it more welcoming and cosy. I'm not sure if I'd return but the service seemed friendly and appreciative of the visit. There's not much of an outlook so you kind of feel like you're in a fish bowl. Perhaps their main trade is take away.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Seems like a reasonably priced menu, Service seemed nice enough, Tables kept clean

CONS: Too much batter on the prawn tempura, Dumpling sauce lacked flavour, Decor rather basic and dated, Feels like you're in a fish bowl, There is no park

MUST TRY: Finding other Japanese restaurants in the area to compare quality and pricing

VERDICT: I might have come a bit late in the day so perhaps the sushi and tempura was lacking that freshness I was hoping for although not sure if I'd return unless I get another recommendation

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Prawn Tempura Udon and Sushi ($14)

Prawn tempura ordered on the side to retain crispness

Prawn to batter ration not good — too much batter to appreciate the prawn meat

Steam dumplings ($3, 5 pieces)

Not as much filling as hoped in dumpling and the dipping sauce is quite flavourless

Signage looking very dated and worn but matches the restaurant decor

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27 November 2010

Menya Mappen: Sydney's first self-serve genuine Udon restaurant, Japanese (18, 24 Nov 2010)

Shop 11, 537-551 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.menya.com.au/mappen/index.html

Cheap noodles and tempura

A little slice of Japanese seems to have arrived on George Street inside the Skyview Shopping Plaza next door to Pepper Lunch and 85ºC Bakery. Its popularity is quickly evident as you step inside and see the busy lunch time devotees of mostly Asian heritage snaking from the tempura station past the noodle cooking pots and through the restaurant in an orderly manner. As a first timer the long wait in the queue will allow you to work out what you'll want to order amongst the many tempting options. Seating doesn't seem to be too much of a problem as meals don't take too long to eat and by the time you have your tray of food there should be some seating available — although it would be hard to find a table for a large group to sit together. Once your finished just return your trays to the cleaning station to allow for other customers to find a seat.

On my first visit I try the obligatory cold version of Zaru Soba ($4.90 small) which comes in a bowl on top of a bamboo drainage tray. It has a light healthy flavour but I prefer my hot version of Ontama Bukkake Udon ($4.90 small) which comes with a perfect half boiled egg to add some protein richness to the udon noodle soup. To help fill out the meal I go for the tempting Vegetable kakiage tempura ($2.80) which is mostly shredded onion and cooked to a nice crispy texture. It can be a little hard to pull apart if you're intending on sharing and perhaps a little oily but still worth trying. The Beef Ramen ($6.90 small) with egg ($1.50) has a nice depth of flavour which I'd happily try again. Fishcake tempura ($1.90) isn't my favourite today and the Shrimp and vegetable kakiage tempura ($3.30) has the added ingredient of small prawns but the prawn taste isn't particularly strong and is overpowered by the oniony vegetable tempura.

On my second visit I try the Mini Beef Don ($4.90) served with rice and Sukiyaki wagyu beef. Even though it's a mini size it might be enough for some as a small light lunch combined with an egg aka ontama ($1.50) and some Vegetable kakiage tempura ($2.50) which seems to have gone down in price by 30 cents but the serving size actually seemed a little smaller as well. The Beef Don ($6.90 small size) has the same ingredients as the mini but just more of it. I think it's probably enough combined with some tempura of your choice to fill you up. The Sweet potato tempura ($0.80) is a good choice which combines the goodness of sweet potato to counteract the fattiness of tempura. Wanting to try everything I order a Sausage tempura ($1.90) and Prawn tempura ($2.50) this time. I prefer the prawn one with its perfectly cooked crispy light tempura and the prawn has retained some its flavour and is decently sized.

Other food blog reviews:

• Gastronomous Anonymous

• Street Food

• Grab Your Fork

• Yummy Food Nom Nom Nom

• Absolutely Ayana

• Generation Food

• Love My Foods & Sugar

• Brisbane Bites

• Music Munchies Review

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Friendly service, Reasonably priced, Lots of noodle and tempura options, Quite authentic, Orderly system for ordering and seating

CONS: No public toilets available even though signs point to them around the corner — they're locked, Queuing can take a while when busy, Hard to get a table for a large group

MUST TRY: Ontama Bukkake Udon Hot, Vegetable kakiage tempura, Prawn tempura

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Visit #1 – 18 Nov 2010

Zaru Soba served with wasabi, chopped seaweed and dipping Tsukedashi soup ($4.90 small), Ontama Bukkake Udon Hot ($4.90 small), Zaru Soba served with wasabi, chopped seaweed and dipping Tsukedashi soup ($4.90 small)