Azuma Kushiyaki: Sugar Hit 2011

Throw away your belts, I say. You won't need them in October which is now synonymous with the Crave Sydney International Food Festival.

There'll be countless fooding events happening all over Sydney during the coming month. One of the most popular features is always the Sugar Hit, a chance to enjoy a special late night dessert at participating restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels.


Crab roll sushi, spider roll with soft shell crab, chicken kushiyaki skewers, marinated lamb chops

Azuma Kushiyaki were kind enough to offer a preview of their 2011 Sugar Hit, an updated take on their signature East Meets West dessert tasting plate. And though all of us would have been happy to start with dessert, we're treated to several savoury dishes from their menu as a precursor.

We whet our appetites with bites of crab roll sushi and an elegant mess of soft shell crab, wrapped up in an inside-out sushi roll, covered in tobiko flying fish roe and drizzled with mayonnaise.

It's kushiyaki, or skewers, that this branch of Azuma is most famous for, and we can only nod in agreement as we sink our teeth into succulent skewers of marinated chicken thigh, barbecued until slightly caramelised. Marinated lamb chops are sweet and juicy, marinated for four hours on each side in a special mix of honey, soy and spices. The lamb chops will appear on the new menu at the Azuma restaurant in Chifley Plaza shortly.

Azuma Kushiyaki 2011 Sugar Hit: East meets West dessert tasting plate

Azuma Kushiyaki have always presented their Sugar Hit in a set of stacked obento boxes. Having to lift the top layer to see what lies beneath is always half the fun - a bit like Christmas with a sugary twist. Owner Kimitaka Azuma confessed that initial versions of the tasting plate (Azuma participanted in their first Sugar Hit in 2009) had a fairly strong Western influence, with inclusions of chocolate and strawberry.

For their third version, he and Head Patissier Chef Miya Matsumura worked together to deliberately create a tasting plate with a greater Japanese influence, believing that the public is ready to venture beyond standard Western deserts.

Green tea tiramisu, sake sponge bites, dark chocolate praline and yuzu sake

The top tray holds three square-shaped desserts. Two precise cubes of butter cake have been soaked in Japanese sake and threaded on a skewer - although I found it hard to detect much of a sake taste to these. The chocolate is the only dessert item not to come out of the tiny pastry kitchen next door, a rich mouthful that contains a surprise layer of exploding pop rocks.


Kinako tiramisu

At this stage, the kitchen expects to offer two versions of the tiramisu: one layered with matcha green tea; the other with kinako or roasted soy bean powder. They haven't decided yet whether they'll be alternating these flavours between diners on the night, or whether they'll have green tea tiramisu on one night, and kinako tiramisu the next. The sponge fingers have been soaked in shochu which gives a faint alcoholic hit.

In the corner of the tray is a small cup of sake. There will definitely be two types of sake provided for diners. Nigori sake is an unfiltered sake, which gives it a distinctive cloudy appearance. The big hit is the very drinkable yuzu sake which is sweet and tangy, like fresh lemonade.


Homemade white sesame ice cream and anmitsu

The bottom tier holds anmitsu, a typical Japanese dessert involving fresh fruit, red bean and chewy rice dumplings. It's the shiratama rice dumplings that I love best - glutinous and starchy and dusted with nutty kinako roasted soy bean powder.

There's plenty of different textures to explore, from the bouncy tapioca balls to the dab of sweetened red bean paste, ripe strawberries, oranges and plump blueberries, macerated in a Japanese brown sugar syrup. A scoop of homemade white sesame ice cream is cool and refreshing.

Last year Azuma Kushiyaki sold 1200 Sugar Hits over 21 services. This year they'll be extending their Sugar Hit service to include Saturday nights so they can accommodate as many people as possible. Sugar Hits are $20 and include a glass of Brown Brothers dessert wine. Bookings are strongly recommended.

Grab Your Fork attended the Sugar Hit preview as a guest of Azuma Kushiyaki.


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Azuma Kushiyaki Restaurant

Ground floor, Regent Place

501 George Street, Sydney

Tel: +61 (02) 9267 7775

Opening hours:

Lunch Tuesday to Saturday from 12pm

Dinner Monday to Sunday from 6pm

The 2011 Sugar Hit at Azuma Kushiyaki is available Monday to Saturday 9pm-11pm

Bookings are highly recommended to avoid disappointment

Check out the full list of Sugar Hits available here

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Mario Tokyo Pizza, Strathfield

Bulgogi pizza

Forget about the pineapple on pizza debate. Mario Tokyo throws all the pizza rules out the window with toppings like strips of sweet bulgogi beef and potato wedges. For this month's Time Out Sydney column I headed to Strathfield to check it out.

Eat This...

Bulgogi pizza

WHAT IS IT?
Bulgogi pizza ($15.90) is what you get when Korea and Italy collide in the kitchen. Start with a thin crust pizza, smother it with tomato and mozzarella cheese and drape generously with bulgogi - tender slices of marinated sweet barbecued beef that make up one of Korea’s national dishes. We could probably do without the sliced Spanish olives on top, but florets of blanched broccoli add colour and crunch. The bulgogi beef topping works surprisingly well, like Korean homecooking meeting teenage comfort food.



WHERE CAN I GET IT?
Head to Mario Tokyo Pizza, an Asian-inspired café serving up pizza and pasta and everything in-between. There’s fried rice listed next to risotto, and a pizza listing that runs from prosciutto to teriyaki chicken.

WHAT'S IT LIKE?
It’s mostly a young Asian student crowd here, drawn in by the modern décor and chirpy red, black and white colour scheme. A mural of cartoons and garbled graffiti along the back wall is trippy yet disarmingly cute. Seating is on a cushioned bench that runs the length of the dining room or funky retro seats in black and white. Smokers huddle around the outdoor tables.


Patata mozzarella pizza $14.90

WHAT ELSE IS AVAILABLE?
Of the 24 different types of pizza, the bulgogi is easily the best of the lot. Cheese lovers will revel in the gorgonzola ($13.90) served with honey, or the sweet corn and mozzarella cheese ($12.90). Skip the patata mozzarella ($14.90), loaded with potato wedges that are more mealy than crisp.


Crabbrocolli pasta $15.90

Crabbrocolli (sic) pasta ($15.90) is a creamy combination of seafood sticks, broccoli and flying fish roe. The pasta section menu is neatly categorised into cream, tomato and olive oil sauces, and includes alio e olio garlic spaghetti ($12.90), carbonara ($13.90) and Osaka pasta: prawn, squid, mussels, baby octopus and scallop with garlic, chilli bean sauce and cabbage ($16.90). Breakfast options start at 8am with the standard bacon, sausage and egg fry-ups.


Seafood fried rice $14.90

WHAT ABOUT DESSERT?
Don’t miss the honey bread ($8.50), a massive doorstop of soft and sweet white bread that is toasted lightly and then covered in whipped cream, toasted almond flakes and your choice of drizzled syrup.


Honey bread $8.50




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Mario Tokyo Pizza

Shop 2/11 The Boulevarde, Strathfield, Sydney

Tel: +61 (02) 9579 1688

Opening hours:

Monday to Sunday 8am-10pm

This article appears in the September 2011 issue of Time Out Sydney in my monthly Food & Drink column Eat This!  [read online]

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ATL Marantha, Kensington (Indonesian fried chicken with edible bones)
Balkan Oven, Rockdale (Macedonian burek)
Durban Dish, Baulkham Hills (South African cuisine)
Good Kitchen, Hurstville (Hong Kong cafe)
Hijazi's Falafel, Arncliffe (Lebanese breakfast)
Island Dreams Cafe, Lakemba (Christmas Islands cuisine)
Kambozza, Parramatta (Burmese cuisine)
La Paula, Fairfield (Chilean empanadas, lomitos and sweets)
Olka Polka Bakery & Deli, Campbelltown (Polish cheesecake and rye bread)
Sea Sweet, Parramatta (Lebanese sweet kashta cheese burger)
Sizzling Fillo, Lidcombe (Filipino pork hock crackling)
Tehran, Granville (Persian cuisine)
Tuong Lai, Cabramatta (Vietnamese sugar cane prawns)

Cafe Ish, Surry Hills

Where can you find a cheap lunch in Sydney? Frugal is not a dirty word at Cafe Ish, which celebrates Tight Ass Tuesdays with ten eleven dishes for only ten dollars.

This cosy corner cafe bar makes a point of mixing up Japanese flavours with Australian native ingredients. Here you'll find crocodile coated in Panko crumbs and covered in Japanese curry; potato and fetta mochi with Davidson plum sauce; and cups of wattleseed coffee, their signature drink.

Crab Omelette Set $10 on Tuesdays at lunchtime only

Karaage soft shell crab omelette with miso soup and rice

The soft shell crab omelette is one of their biggest sellers on the weekend, an eiderdown of fluffy egg wrapped around a tangle of deep-fried soft shell crab and fat slices of ripe avocado. The full size costs $24 but you can dig into a slightly scaled-down version on Tuesdays for only $10. Side of miso soup and rice are included too.

It's worth every penny and then some, with the sweetness of the crab enhanced by a sticky sauce of garlic, chilli, soy and ginger.

Wagyu Cheese Burger $10 on Tuesdays at lunchtime only

Free range with Coon cheese on house-made bun with tomato relish, grilled onions and fries

It's hard to go past the wagyu cheese burger either, a generous patty of beef draped with melted cheese, grilled onions and tomato relish. The buns are made in-house, along with everything else in the display case, groaning with muffins, cakes and breads, baked fresh each morning.

The burger comes with a deep bowl of french fries and dishes of tomato sauce and mayonnaise for dipping. This is protein and carbs at its purest - salad lovers need not apply.



Owners Josh Nicholls and Ai Mashima aren't known for being meek -- and who wants to be, in the cut-throat restaurant industry -- but the John Lennon and Yoko Ono-inspired portrait on the wall gives a softer (and more intimate!) view of this couple. The photo, featuring some rather famous artichokes, was taken by Masterchef's Billy Law for last year's Sydney Morning Herald Shoot the Chef competition. Now who was talking about tight asses?

Tight Ass Tuesdays - available lunchtime only
11 Dishes for 10 Bucks!

1. Porridge
   Organic porridge, umeshu stewed fruits and Country Valley yoghurt
   
2. Croc in the Rock
   Crocodile sausage, egg, shallot and organic fetta in toast with tomato relish
   
3. Classic Ish
   Two eggs done how you like and toast
   
4. Little Ish
   Quattro Stelle bacon, one egg, roast tomato and toast
   
5. Baked Beans
   House-made baked beans with free range ham hock and bush spices served with toast
   
6. Salad of Boy Coz
   Garlic croutons, Quattro Stelle bacon, boiled egg, bush tomato aioli, shaved parmesan cheese
   
7. Free Range Chic Salad
   Cabbage, carrot, apple, green shallots, fried escahllots, black sauce, wasabi mayonnaise
   
8. Soup of the Day
   Served with house-made bread
   
9. Crab Omelette Set
   Karaage soft shell crab, avocado, shallots with garlic, chilli, soy, ginger dressing, miso soup and rice
   
10. Yaki Udon Noodles Set
    Free range chicken, carrot, cabbage, baby spinach, red onion, Davidson plum sauce and miso soup
    
11. Wagyu Cheese Burger
    Free range with Coon cheese on house-made bun with tomato relish, grilled onions and fries

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Cafe Ish

82 Campbell Street, Surry Hills, Sydney

Tel: +61 (02) 9281 1688

Opening hours:

Monday to Wednesday 7am-4pm

Thursday to Friday 7am-10pm

Saturday 9am-10pm

Sunday 9am-2.30pm

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Bling Bling Dumpling, Broadway Ultimo

It was the name that drew us in. Bling Bling Dumpling? How could we refuse? The former site of Dim Sum House has undergone only a modest makeover. Most noticeable is the striking black signage out the front, complete with an image of a huge sparkling diamond - guaranteed to draw in the crowds!


Takeaway dumplings

A display case of cooked dumplings is a clever marketing ploy for passing pedestrian traffic, and we noticed several shoppers, students and local workers stop by for a quick takeaway order.


Dumpling maker in the window

On the other side of the doorway is the view into the cooking area, although the red masking tape pattern on the glass windows seems to create more of a prison feel than a friendly view into the open kitchen.


Rolling out dumpling dough

The dumpling mistress stops for noone, rolling out perfectly round circles of dough with speed and precision, before filling them with a paste of vegetables or meat.


Dumpling boiler and steamer baskets

The kitchen is stacked high with steamer baskets, so it all feels rather promising as we walk in.


Inside Bling Bling

What does Bling Bling mean in the world of dumplings? In terms of decor, it means a fancy chandelier, rosewood-look chairs and tables covered in three layers of plastic sheeting, one of which is silver and glittery.


Bling Bling Coke $3

An order of Coke comes out blinged up with a strawberry and lemon garnish. Our pot of tea is much slower to arrive, requiring two reminders to distracted staff.


Salt and pepper calamari $19.80

I'm always a sucker for salt and pepper calamari, but we struggle to get through this version. The dish is limp and oily, with the coating still a little gluey from undercooking - although at least this means the calamari is still tender. It's a shame as there's plenty of good flavour from the fresh chilli, garlic and caramelised shallots.


Braised eggplant $13.80

The braised eggplant is a little oily too, but the flesh is sweet and the drenching of thick and spicy sweet sauce is a perfect accompaniment to our rice.


Handmade Manchurian burger with beef $9.80

The Manchurian burger is let down by the dry bun, tasting more like a sandwich made with yesterday's roast beef. A moment of inspiration sees me adding chunks of the saucy eggplant to the burger, which makes a significantly tasty difference.


Fries $2.80

And you can't have a burger without fries, right? Unfortunately these arrive cold and limp - even a heavy dusting of chicken salt can't save them.


Steamed egg and chive dumplings

We'd encountered some oddities when we ordered our dumplings, advised that they didn't have any pan-fried egg and chive dumplings, only steamed. We weren't sure what to make of this, especially when the dumplings arrived freshly cooked. Perhaps they use different skins for steamed and pan-fried dumplings?

We do manage to convince our waitress to allow us to split an order of a dozen dumplings ($9.80) into two different preparations. The steamed garlic chive dumplings are delivered toward the end of our meal, packed into a wooden steamer lined with a thick rubber seal.

The skins are quite thick but the filling is hearty and especially fragrant with garlic chives.


Pan-fried pork and chive dumplings

The pan-fried pork and chive dumplings have a luscious golden crust on the bottom, delivering a much-welcomed crunch. We dunk them into saucers of soy sauce and vinegar.

Overall it's a little hit-and-miss. There are some interesting dishes like pancakes with Peking sauce shredded pork ($19.80), although the Manchurian fried ice cream ($5.80) is probably a bit of a stretch!


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Bling Bling Dumpling

5/185 Broadway, Ultimo, Sydney

Tel: +61 (02) 9281 4094

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Recipe: Salted Peanut Butter, Pretzel and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 

This cookies should come with a warning: one cookie is never enough. Combining salted peanuts, pretzels and dark chocolate would have been a madcap idea once upon a time, but now it seems like everyone is on the salty and sweet bandwagon. With good reason. It's deliriously good.

There's something intriguing about the way salty and sweet play off against each other. The sweetness of a dessert can be overwhelming on the palate sometimes, but if you introduce a salty element then suddenly your tongue is twitching, your palate is reinvigorated and I always find my appetite is immediately primed for more.

Combining peanut butter and pretzels has been an obsession of mine since I had my first scoop of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream over ten years ago - a mix of vanilla malt ice cream with swirls of peanut butter and nuggets of fudge-covered peanut butter pretzels. Designing a cookie with peanut butter, pretzels and dark chocolate sounded like my kind of heaven. A sprinkle of Murray River sea salt flakes made it even better.

I happened to find a bag of peanut pretzels in an Eastern European deli but they're not really essential in this recipe - normal salted pretzels will do. These cookies veer between salty and sweet with every mouthful which makes them dangerously addictive. Even more so if you're a peanut-lover like I am. Bake a double batch. Maybe three. Don't say I didn't warn you.


Griski Macedonian peanut pretzels; dark chocolate chunks; and raw cookie dough

Salted Peanut Butter, Pretzel and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

250g (1 cup) salted butter, softened
250g (1 cup) crunchy peanut butter
200g (1 cup) brown sugar
100g (1/2 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
450g (3 cups) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
200g dark chocolate, chopped roughly
150g (1 cup salted) peanuts
60g (1 cup) smashed salted pretzels
Murray River pink salt flakes for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) or 160°C (320°F) if fan-forced.
2. Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars using an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla extract and eggs and beat well.
4. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix until combined.
5. Stir through the dark chocolate, peanuts and pretzels.
6. Roll the mixture into balls the size of a teaspoon and place on a tray lined with baking paper, leaving a gap of about five centimetres between each one. Press each ball down lightly with a fork and then sprinkle with Murray River pink salt flakes.
7. Bake at 180C for 8-10 minutes.
8. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Cookies before baking


Salted Peanut Butter, Pretzel and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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Menya Oiden, Sydney

If you don't know what kushiage is, then take a seat, loosen your belt and let me explain. It's all about bite-sized nibbles of meat, vegetables and seafood, jammed on a skewer, dipped in batter and panko breadcrumbs and then deep-fried until all your dreams come true.

Kushiage is one of the major drawcards at Menya Oiden, a new opening in Skyview Plaza next door to its sister outlet Menya Mappen.


Lunchtime crowds


The menu here is a direct complement to Menya Mappen. Where Menya Mappen primarily offers noodles and tempura, Menya Oiden is all about rice dishes, with a self-serve kushiage counter providing a bread-crumb coated crunch.

The process of ordering is just the same: patrons join the queue -- cafeteria-style -- and place their order with the first server who ladles out your dish on the spot. There's a selection of curries on rice (including a bewildering sounding cheese curry rice) but the most popular dishes are probably sukiyaki beef, thin sliced of beef and onion simmered in soup, and tuna tataki, a disc of minced tuna belly served on rice. Other options include kimchi beef, grilled chicken yakitori and deep-fried prawns.


Presenting the ontama tuna tataki bowl

Takenoko-ni cooked bamboo shoots $2.50

Half the fun is in the side dishes, from the ontama egg option -- a soft boiled egg cooked slowly so the yolk is thick and gooey -- to a huge selection of nibbles that you slowly pass as you shuffle forward in the queue.


Self-serve kushiage - fried food on sticks:
Chicken karaage $2 and Ebi-Fry prawn skewers $2.80

The self-serve kushiage station has several distractions, but admittedly I'd expected a greater range of things to choose from. Current offerings include deep-fried prawn, pork, chicken, pork sausage, eggplant and asparagus spears.


Asparagus fry $1.90 and pork sausage fry $2.20


Pork tonkatsu $2.50


Deep-fried eggplant $1.50


Potato salad $1.90; kuromane and chocolate daifuku sticky rice cake desserts $1.50;
natto fermented soy beans $1.50 and chilli menma bamboo shoots $1.30

There are saucers of simmered vegetables, like bamboo shoots and eggplant at the start of the queue. Toward the end of the line is the chiller cabinet, filled with temptations like creamy potato salad, pickled bamboo shoots, kimchee, natto fermented soy beans and boxes of soft and chewy daifuku dessert dumplings.


Tallying selections at the register

The assistant at the register will tally up everything on your tray so you can pay (cash only). A chilled water tap with plastic cups is an authentic Japanese touch, allowing customers to spend their drinks money on more important things - like anything deep-fried.

Menya Oiden posters

Menya Oiden is all about eating quickly, so by the time you've exited the queue with your tray, there's usually a spot to sit at one of the communal tables.


Ontama beef bowl $5.90
Sukiyaki beef and ontama onsen egg with rice

The ontama beef bowl provides a reasonable serving of sukiyaki beef, the thin shavings of simmered beef revived by curls of sweet caramelised onion.


Ontama tuna tataki bowl $7.50
Minced tuna belly and ontama onsen egg on rice

The ontama tuna tataki bowl doesn't quite look like the photo on the menu, which promises a tumble of freshly diced tuna. Instead you'll be presented with a puck of pre-minced tuna belly, removed from its sheath of cling film, and placed gently into your bowl.

Once you get past the disconcerting shade of pale pink and break apart the tuna with your chopsticks, the tuna offers a satisfying meal - its fatty smoothness oddly comforting.


Ontama tuna tataki bowl $7.50 with
chikuzen stew vegetables $2.50; cooked eggplant $2.50;
chicken karaage $2.00; ebi prawn fry $2.80 and pork sausage fry $2.20

The rice bowls are fairly cheap but it's easy to run up a significant bill once you start adding side dishes, and reaching for just one more kushiage skewer.


Ontama tuna tataki bowl $7.50 with
fried eggplant $1.50; and pork tonkatsu $2.50

I chose the fried eggplant and the pork tonkatsu, impressed by the creamy sweetness of the eggplant and the succulency of the pork.


Ontama soft boiled egg

The ontama soft boiled egg was the only disappointment - a little less runny than I prefer, but that just gives me a good excuse to return and check the next batch of ontama eggs.


Diner inside Menya Oiden


Menya Oiden


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Menya Oiden

537-551 George Street, Sydney

(inside Skyview Plaza behind 85C Cake Shop

- Menya Oiden is next door to Menya Mappen)

Cash only

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