Kura, Haymarket

Isn't it funny how for x number of years you can walk past a noodle shop without ever seeing it enter your field of vision. When you do finally notice, you stare at the menu, you peer inside curiously, you make plans to eat there, and finally you head for a table, you have a great meal, and you wonder how you could've ever been so blind.



Kura is my case in point. It's located on one of the busiest intersections of Chinatown: opposite Market City, on the way to George Street, across the road from the Dom Nang Asian grocer, right next to the crazy Blue Star hairdressing salon, and I never noticed it until earlier this year.

Sure I'd somewhat noticed the Asian students eating with faces almost pressed against the glass, but it never occured to me to pay closer attention to what they were eating. They weren't from the House of Guangzhou next door (which I still haven't visited). This was a cosy Japanese noodle bar. And I mean cosy.



Seating fourteen people at a stretch, Kura is endearingly reminiscent of the claustrophobic functionalism that is the Japanese way of life. A melodic chorus of welcoming Irrashaimases brings a smile to the face as you desperately inhale to suck your stomach in, clumsily manouevring yourself into an impossibly squashed table setting.

One benchtop lines the crazily narrow kitchen, another faces a wall adorned with a giant pair of silver fish cut-outs. The two tiny tables are prime seating here, although it's a little unnerving having passersby stare at you and your meal from the other side of the glass (guilty as charged).

A wisp of a waitress suddenly appears with laminated menus as she merrily rattles off the contents of today's ever-changing lunchset. All the menu options come with handy pictures, although the range of choice is dangerous for the indecisive diner.

All up I've eaten here four times now and only just posting now. I have been a lazy foodblogger.


Miso soup and green tea


Today's Lunch Set $8.50
Pork with seaweed and pickled ginger on rice;
udon noodles with seaweed;
and miso soup.


Udon noodle soup with seaweed


Another Day's Lunch Set $8.50
Chicken cutlet on udon noodle soup;
vegetable tempura on rice with pickled ginger and seaweed;
and miso soup.

I've eaten Today's Lunch Set twice now. The chicken cutlet day was definitely the winner, a thick juicy fillet of chicken crumbed and fried, atop a mass of slippery udon noodles in soup.

The pork was also tasty, soft and ribboned with just enough fat for flavour. Whichever dish is featured for the day, the generous portion of noodles and rice should be enough to satiate even the keenest carboholic at lunchtime.


Combination sashimi set $9.80
Tuna, kingfish and salmon sashimi;
salad; miso and rice

Sashimi was a little disappointing. Whether it was just my luck to get the scraggly end bits of fish, the salmon slices were almost torn in two although the kingfish was pleasingly tasty.


Combination sushi set $9.80
7 pieces of sushi (salmon, tuna, kingfish, squid, prawn,
octopus and unagi eel) with 6 cucumber hosomaki rolls
and served with miso.
See also picture at the start of this post

The combination sushi, on the other hand, is always visually spectacular. A colourful spectrum of seafood is showcased on ivory beds of rice. Six guards of hosomaki keep a watchful eye as a mound of gari and wasabi invite mischief in the corner. Yep, this is food porn baby. Let's get it on...


Prawn, octopus and unagi eel nigiri


Tamago nigiri


Kura Japanese Dining & Take Away
Shop 3, 76 Ultimo Road, Haymarket, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9212 5661

Open Mon - Sat 11am-10.30pm,
Sun 11am-9.30pm

They also have another outlet a few streets away
Kura III (not sure what happened to the second one)
Shop 1, 6 Dixon Street, Haymarket, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9268 0016

Sydney Food & Wine Fair

If there's one thing that Sydney does well at, it's eating outdoors. Good food outdoors.

All the necessary factors were in play for the annual Sydney Food & Wine Fair, one of the final events for Good Food Month. The sun was out, the skies were a glorious blue, and the crowds were flocking and ready to eat.

Over 70 food stalls and more than 30 wine and drink stalls lined the grassy verges of Sydney's Hyde Park. The familiar white tents housed happy teams of chefs and servers, all volunteering their time and resources for the Aids Trust of Australia.

Purchases operated via a coupon system, where $2 vouchers were bought from coupon stalls, and then exchanged for the object of your stomach's desire.



Feeling much like children clutching play money, Saffron and I grinned happily and within three seconds of purchasing our coupons we were off and snapping...


Food stalls lining The Avenue, in Hyde Park


Ocean Room

The Ocean Room chefs were busy prepping seared tuna layered in crispy tacos with soy ginger caramel, spring onion and tomato.


Serving up salad (sorry - forgotten which stall this was from)


Industrie - South of France

A chef from Industrie seasoning seafood for their Risotto de la Mer - risotto of king prawns, scallops, calamari and spiced marinated tomato.



Claude's

I confess, catching sight of Chui Lee Luk was embarassingly exciting. She's female, she's Asian, she has both an arts and law degree, and, after a year of working as a solicitor, decided to chuck it all in and become an apprentice chef. Now at only 35 she's both head chef and owner of Claude's. And she has three hats. She's my hero!


Salon Prive Catering


Salon Prive canapes


Art installation as part of the Aids Trust Association


Aids quilt


Oysters topped with salmon roe


Pretty pasta


Noodle-mobile - A Wagamama Mini


Dolphin Hotel

These were being marketed as retro prawn cocktails. Thousand island dressing still doesn't do anything for me, but I admit the black cone presentation was ingeniously classy.


Chui Lee Luk, Claude's (again).

Yes, I was stalking her. But with good reason. This time I proferred a handful of coupons.


Hugo's

Chef from Hugo's throwing some prawns on the barbie.


Sizzling King prawns

Deciding what to eat was a painfully agonising decision. Painful because it was gone midday and I hadn't eaten any breakfast; agonising because of the self-imposed pressure on making the best choice from the wide array of dishes on offer.

The dangers of dilly-dallying with decision-making were illustrated when we backtracked in the direction of Flying Fish only to discover their famous snapper fish curry was completely sold out. "500 portions sold out in under an hour" the man shrugged, but Saffron's wily ways =) secured us a chef's tasting of the leftover curry sauce, straight from the ladle and sipped at with agreeable nods all round.

Resisting the forboding sense of rising panic, our need to buy!buy!buy! quickened our step, lest we get lumped with soggy noodles or uninspired fare, a nightmare for any intrepid foodblogger. We sniffed, we examined, we jostled the mass of peoples in search of hidden goodness.


Grilled king prawns on avocado stack from Hugo's

Saffron eventually found her lunch partner from Hugo's. Two King prawns sizzled to juicy perfection, intertwined like lovers on a lofty bed of avocado salsa.


Poached veal in a tuna mayonnaise from Claude's

I eventually elected for the veal from Claude's, reasoning that this is the closest to Luk's food I'll get to for quite a while. The veal was moist and tender, pairing suprisingly well with the creamy tuna mayonnaise. The tuna was subtle but enhancing, and a garnish of finely chopped greens (salted shallots, cucumber and celery at a guess) added a refreshing crunch.

It was only afterwards that I realised I had compromised my political integrity by eating veal, but it was so good that I don't know if I could trust myself to choose otherwise.


Serge Dansereau dispensing happiness

Like two sugarholic soulmates, the need for The Perfect Dessert was never far off either Saffron or my mind. Catching sight of Serge was another cringeworthy moment of excitement, but watching what he was doing was even more breathtaking.

A perfect almond tart was clothed in a scoop of mascerated berries and crowned with a gentle dollop of fresh whipped cream. We watched buckets of vivid red strawberries unite with blackberries, blueberries and mulberries.. showing us all that colours united are indeed a perfect place.

As we noticed the parade of others holding this trophy aloft, we knew we had to have it. And so did everyone else, judging by the enormous queue numbering at least 80 people.


Almond tart with berries and cream from The Bathers' Pavillion

But joy was ours. Patience paid off and Serge remained calm but friendly as he personally handed each person their plate of perfection. Apparently they had 550 tarts allocated for the day, and I have no doubt they ran out not long after.


The taste? Divine. A light, moist and not-too-sweet almond tart. Crisp buttery pastry shell. Citrusy almond meal. Sweet berries. Joy of cream. Eaten with eyes half-closed in delirium, eyes half-open to guard against trespassers.

Perfect closure and two contented sighs of happiness.

The Sydney Food & Wine Fair takes place annually in late October.
All proceeds go to the Aids Trust of Australia
Related GrabYourFork posts:
GFM 2007: Sugar Hit #2 at the Sofitel Wentworth
GFM 2007: Sugar Hit #1 at the InterContinental Sydney

GFM 2006: Good Living Growers' Markets
GFM 2006: Hats Off dinner at Becasse
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 3
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 2
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 1
GFM 2006: Spring Picnic
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #4 at the Sofitel Wentworth
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #3 at the Intercontinental Sydney
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #2 at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #1 at the Park Hyatt Sydney
GFM 2006: Sydney Food & Wine Fair

GFM 2005: Good Living Growers' Markets
GFM 2005: Night Noodle Markets
GFM 2005: Spring Picnic
GFM 2005: Sydney Farmers' Market
GFM 2005: Sydney Food & Wine Fair

GFM 2004: Twilight Trail: Cocktails and Sugar Hits

Spring on a plate

I'm not a big fan of nachos (too much melted cheese goo everywhere for my liking) but I do appreciate crunchy nibbles topped or dipped with tasty goodness.

Feeling peckish the other day I conducted a random search of the kitchen for something, you know, yummy. The last remaining Lebanese bread round was becoming rapidly dry and crusty. An abandoned wedge of goats cheese bleated in the fridge, and last night's left-over asparagus spears blanched at the thought of soggy oblivion. A motley assortment of ingredients were progressively uncovered which alone, were rather ordinary, but combined became the inspiration for something utterly delicious.

I threw this together on a plate, and after a couple of mouthfuls felt compelled to reach for the camera. This was too tasty not to capture and preserve the moment forever.


Spring on a plate

Grab your last remaining crusty round of Lebanese bread or pitta pocket and toast under a hot grill until crunchy on both sides. Do not walk away from the griller whilst this is happening as it will burn quicker than you can say "do you smell something burni-shfetiwkaj arowww".

Toast a good handful of walnuts too, turning them over regularly. A bed of foil for the nuts will enable you to pick these up easily and quickly.

Break the pitta crisps into large shards and pile onto a plate.

Retrieve the forgotten half-empty jar of chargrilled eggplant from the back of the fridge and drape sexily over your pitta mountain. Use a spoon to drizzle tasty eggplant oil over the crisps, making sure to capture any garlic or herb bits at the bottom of the jar.

Cut last night's asparagus into angled bite-sized pieces and scatter.

Crumble your last bit of ashed chevre goats cheese on top and finish with plenty of toasted walnuts.

Eat with both hands to facilitate faster consumption, or nibble at it lazily as you casually browse the weekend paper.

Wagamama, Sydney

I still remember the first time I ever ate at Wagamama. It was in Dublin of all places, and after a relentless fortnight of fish and chips, seafood chowder, pub roasts and haggis around England, Scotland and Ireland we were dying for a re-acquaintance with Asian.

Chopsticks were pined after like a long lost lover, invoking dreams of graceful wooden limbs and the delicate transferral of tasty morsels to the mouth. Rice is nice, and stir-fried garlic and ginger were craved for with a feverish yearning I never thought possible.

So when we happened upon Wagamama on South King Street, we were--needless to say--utterly overjoyed. So much so that we ate there not only for lunch, but six hours later for dinner as well.

Later, when I was living in London, Wagamama was a relatively cheap easy option for a pre-movie or theatre feed. The communal tables were somewhat heartening in the busily indifferent city, and Japanese dining options were always somewhat limited anyway (to my continued dismay).

The first Wagamama in Australia opened in Sydney’s King Street Wharf in May 2002 and nine have since sprouted with more to follow. What struck me most was how the visual identity and branding of this global franchise has been remarkably consistent the world over. The menu designs are the same, the communal seating is standard and even the food presentation looks eerily similar.

Photos taken at Wagamama Bridge Street, Sydney:

Edamame steamed green soy beans stir-fried with
chilli and garlic $4.00


Chicken ramen topped with slices of grilled chicken,
seared greens, menma and spring onions $13.50


Steamed rice $3.00 with pickles $1.50


Chicken katsu curry $14.50
Chicken deep-fried in panko, served with a light curry sauce
and Japanese-style rice, garnished with miso leaves and red pickles


Banana katsu $8.00
Crispy breaded bananas with coconut ice cream
served with cinnamon syrup


I've eaten twice at the Bridge Street outlet and each time I am reminded how lucky we are in Sydney. We are blessed with a fantastic Chinatown, a diversity of gastronomic hotspots throughout the suburbs and more Japanese sushi trains and noodle bars than you could poke a chopstick at.

You'd think it'd be like selling coal to Newcastle but obviously there's a market for positive eating + positive living.

Personally I prefer the grime of a dodgy foodcourt, although admittedly dodgy eating + dodgy living doesn't have quite the same ring to it.



Wagamama
Bridge St, Sydney 38 Bridge St, Sydney
Tel: + 61 (02) 9252 8696

King Street Wharf, Sydney
49 Lime Street, King Street Wharf, Sydney
Tel: + 61 (02) 9299 6944

Crown St, Sydney
241 - 247 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
Tel: + 61 (02) 9380 4820

The Galeries Victoria, Sydney
Level 1, 500 George Street, Sydney
Tel: + 61 (02) 9264 9155

Parramatta, Sydney
Brandsmart Riverside Centre, 330 Church Street, Parramatta, Sydney
Tel: + 61 (02) 9687 1600

Sydney International Airport
Terminal 1, Pier B, Airside Departures, Mascot, Sydney
Tel: + 61 (0) 2 9693 8525

New York on a Fork

That's right. Yours truly is heading for the Big Apple.

I fly into JFK in early December and depart a month later.

Here's where you come in.

Let me know your tips or favourite haunts in New York. I'm looking for cheap eats, pretzel stands, best bagels, pastry paradises, green markets, delicious delicatessens, gourmet grocers etc etc.

The more it epitomises New York the more I want it. But I also want the local secrets too.

So leave a comment with your NY expertise and include some vague directions/streets/subway references so I have something to work with. There'll be sidetrips too. Maybe Vegas? Santa Fe? And of course the usual tourist trail of museums, Broadway shows, Coney Island and a Seinfeld tour as well.

Go crazy. I'll try and cram in as much as I can (into my itinerary and my stomach).

Thanks guys!

ps. I also have this crazy fascination with Jewish food too.

Golden Century, Haymarket

There is something uniquely comforting about the atmosphere within a Chinese restaurant. The clang of chopsticks echoing inside ceramic bowls, the musical chatter of Chinese mingled with English, the rush rush of waiters with plastic bags holding writhing live fish, and the fussing of Grandmas over children as they impatiently escape, scampering up to fish tanks with pointing fingers and giggles of glee.

Golden Century is about as close to a "glamour spot" as you can get in Sydney's Chinatown, but all the nuances of a Chinese restaurant are still present. Here, however, the hot towels come without plastic casings to pop and as the only restaurant in Haymarket to boast a SMH chef's hat, Golden Century has a reputation for top-quality seafood, most of which is available straight from the tank for your approval.

Friday and Saturday nights here are notoriously chaotic. Heeding the stories of 8pm bookings turning up and still having to wait an hour for their table, we made a 6pm booking for a Saturday night. Our arrival was met with a bookings communication breakdown, but having asserted that yes, we did have a booking, and yes, look, there it is, we were finally seated downstairs at a tiny table, more appropriate for a group of four than the group of eight we numbered.

However we were happy to be seated amidst the happy din of expectant diners. Even as we dined, I watched the constant queue of people outside who had already made bookings. They were fully booked tonight, I had overheard, and still eager hopefuls bounded up only to be turned away with disappointment. Those with bookings were still instructed to wait for their table and at one point I was sure there were at least two-dozen diners waiting anxiously with pining stomachs.


Pippies in XO Sauce $34/kg (market price variation)
with you zha gui (fried bread) $3.00 per baton

Apart from the lobster sashimi, the specialty dish at Golden Century would have to be their fresh pippies in XO sauce. Drenched in plenty of tasty sauce and covered in shallot shavings, an optional side of crispy you zha gui (fried bread) is perfect for mopping up any leftover juices.

We ordered 1.5kg of pippies which was sufficient for our table. We could definitely have eaten more of the fried bread though, in spite of the waiters suggestion that two batons would be plenty. We love our fried goods and I could have easily eaten double!


San choy bow $9.00 for 2 serves

We continued on with a serve of san choy bow, a crisp lettuce bowl housing a scoop of fried pork mince with garlic, shallots and slivers of water chestnut. Deep-fried vermicelli gave it crunch and the lettuce was refreshing whilst also keeping your fingers nice and clean.


Salt and pepper fried bean curd $13.80

Jiu yin dow fu, or salt and pepper fried bean curd has long been a favourite with our family. Unfortunately the favourite provider, the Old Marigold on Kent Street, closed five years ago and we have yet to discover a worthy replacement.

Fresh tofu is encased in a light batter before being deep-fried and tossed with deep fried garlic, chilli and shallots. The tofu was fresh and delicate but the batter was a little limp and prone to sogginess for our liking. But perhaps the danger of reminiscing has raised our levels of expectation too high.


Beef brisket and tendon with turnip hotpot $15.80


Yam and pork ribs hotpot $16.80


King prawns in shell and vermicelli hotpot $30.80

I've always loved a good hotpot but even I was a little taken aback when I realised we had ordered three hotpots for the table!

There was little doubt that the star of the trio was the king prawn hotpot. Both the beef brisket and the pork were disappointingly tough and devoid of melting heartwarming texture and flavours. Happily the king prawns were magnificent. Giant specimens cut in half, the heads full of flavour (yes, don't you suck prawn heads?), the flesh firm and tasty. A generous handful of vermicelli soaked up the prawny goodness, the soupy sauce thick and delightfully gelatinous.


Crispy skin chicken $14.80

A Chinese meal isn't complete without crispy skin chicken. A good one is a work of art. Boiled chickens are hung up to dry for at least 12 hours before being deep fried to a golden tan. The skin should be light and crispy, the flesh should be moist and juicy. A small dish of salt and pepper (and usually a sprinkling of msg) helps bring out the flavours and a squirt of lemon juice helps it stick. The prawn crackers always disappear with sudden rapidity, the blushing bridesmaids to the main event.


Baby abalone being weighed

Because I will always be a kid inside, I couldn't resist a look at the fish tanks myself. Rows of tanks lined one wall and whilst I giggled at the sight of a prawn launching itself upwards from the prawn moshpit, tiny legs waving furiously, busy waiters were constantly extracting fish, abalone, lobsters and crab using nets which resembled mini pool cleaners.

Seafood of choice is transferred to a plastic bag whereupon it is weighed and stickered for proof of integrity for customer approval. The hardcore diners will inspect the specimen, and having received the curt nod of approval (much like the first taste of wine to check it is not corked), the waiter whisks your dinner off to the kitchen to meet its maker.


Lobster $99/kg; lobster sashimi $119/kg
(market price variation)


King crab from $93/kg
(market price variation)

and yes, that's actually the back of the crab!


Complimentary desserts

Our complimentary dessert platter featured slabs of pandan cake, crispy sesame balls and the ubiquitous wedges of supersweet navel oranges. The crispy balls were particularly delicious, freshly fried and smothered in sesame seeds.

I've always maintained the "When in Rome" theory when it comes to dining and I probably should have heeded my own advice here. Stick with the seafood. Or the fried food. And definitely order extra deep fried bread.




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Golden Century Seafood Restaurant
393-399 Sussex Street, Haymarket, Chinatown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9212 3901

Opening hours:
Open 7 days, 12pm-4am

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Golden Century (Jan 10), (Oct 07), (Nov 06), (Oct 05) and (Jul 04)