Ajisen Ramen, Haymarket Chinatown

Spicy soft shell crab $6.90
or included with Ajisen ramen set

It's amazing, sometimes, how fast Chinatown can change from one moment to the next. I had been meaning to visit Taklimakan Uyghur restaurant for some time, when just before Christmas it closed*, and then within weeks the site had been totally made over into a new Sydney outlet of the international ramen chain Ajisen.

Founded in Kumamoto, Japan in 1968, Ajisen Ramen serves the famous Kyushu ramen, a thinner style of noodle that is a specialty of the Kyushu region.

Today, Ajisen outlets can be found in China, the Unite States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Canada and Malaysia. We know this thanks to the giant world map painted inside, helpfully splashed across the entire length of one wall.

Service is a tad too chirpy and a couple of octaves higher than our usual register, but our server gracefully smiles each time we send her away requesting "just two more minutes to look at the menu". There are oodles of options!

Twenty three different ramen dishes can be found on the laminated photographic menu, including a spicy looking volcano ramen ($11.80), the intriguing sounding tenderous ribs ramen ($11.80) and a surprise cross-cultural appearance of tom yum ramen ($11.80).


Beef teriyaki bento set $13.90
includes miso soup

Cucina Rebecca goes out on a limb and orders the beef teriyaki bento set, one of only four bento sets on offer. It's a brave move that, alas, isn't rewarded. The beef teriyaki is strangely dry and decidedly chewy, tasting as though the dish had been pre-cooked and re-heated. I'm not a fan of the deep-fried gyoza dumplings, preferring the silky smooth kind with the crispy pan-fried bottom, but Cucina Rebecca thinks these are the highlight of her bento set.


Miso soup

Halfway through her bento and mid-spoonful of her accompanying miso soup, our side order of agedashi tofu arrives. The tofu parcels look a little sad and deflated and although the slivers of bonito shavings put on a brave dance, the agedashi sauce is thin and watery, without the starchy stretchy stickiness we'd both been so looking forward to.


Agedashi tofu $5.90

Thank goodness for the spicy soft shell crab. My Ajisen ramen set comes with a free entree, and the baby crab morsels are perfect - super crunchy and dusted lightly with Japanese chilli powder.


Ajisen ramen set $14.80
includes choice of: takoyaki, soft shell crab, spicy soft shell crab,
gyoza or karaage;
and either iced lemon tea or hot green tea

The Ajisen ramen arrives in a luminous and deep black noodle bowl. The noodles are deliciously chewy, the pork slices are tender, and the soup stock is reasonably tasty if a tad oily.

Ramen good. Bento not-so-good. Service is super speedy but worryingly so.

Now if only I'd had room for the Calpico soda. Japan is all about ramen, but sometimes it's also about Calpico, in original, grape, lemon and strawberry.



*Taklimakan Uyghur can now be found at Level 1, Shop 4, 90 Hay Street, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney.


View Larger Map

Ajisen Ramen
94 Hay Street, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9211 8380

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Japanese ramen -- Ajisen Ramen, Haymarket
Japanese ramen -- Ichi Ban Boshi, Sydney (Feb08) and (Aug05)
Japanese ramen -- Menya Japan Noodle Bar, Haymarket
Japanese ramen -- Ramen Kan, Haymarket (Aug 05), (Nov 04)
Japanese ramen -- Ryo's Noodles, Crows Nest (Mar08), (Aug07) and (Jul07)
Japanese ramen -- Tokyo Ramen, Hornsby
Japanese ramen -- Zenya Noodle Bar, Eastwood

French Riviera, Sydney

Okay, so let's pretend. Let's pretend that we haven't just eaten dinner, and we did in fact walk further than half-a-dozen steps to dessert. Let's pretend that there are more than five of us about to attack a sundae containing more than 24 scoops of ice cream. Let's pretend this concoction isn't covered in chocolate sauce, nuts and generous splodges of cream in a can. Let's... ok, ok, I give up. We ate this with big fat happy grins plastered all over our faces!


Super Gastronomic Surprise $35
(for 4-5 people)

I remember those days in high school when French Riviera used to be at Double Bay. It was the place to head to for dessert after a night at the movies. Their extensive sundae menu was legendary. Maybe it was just the way you could casually say "We dropped by the French Riviera on Saturday night".

These days it's tacked onto the City/Chinatown fringe, the fairly quiet western end of Liverpool Street, used mainly by tourists coming off the footbridge from Darling Harbour.

The eat-in menu is a huge A3 sheet, printed on blue and laminated, presumably for protection against sticky ice cream fingers. One scoop of ice cream costs $5, three scoops for $10, sundaes are $15, or $24 for two. The Gastronomic Surprise is the only one that catches our eye. We have no idea what we're in for, but the collective intake of breath at its arrival is followed only by delirious smiles and eager grabbing of spoons.



I wish I could say we finished it. Actually I wish I could say we were far from finishing it. As it turned out, we weren't too far off being total gluttons, particularly as I peruse their website and note that the Super Gastronomic Surprise was originally designed for 6-8 people, not the currently listed 4-5. Have ice cream appetites really expanded, or is this just a clever up-sizing portioning ploy?

No matter. We do well regardless. Half the fun is trying to guess each flavour. We find yoghurt, lemon, mango, strawberry, rum raisin, kiwi, pineapple, vanilla, hazelnut and coffee. Chocolate is the one that everyone's after, and there's plenty of finger pointing when a secret chocolate tunnel is discovered (guilty, your honour, albeit only briefly).

The ice cream itself is smooth, mild and creamy. There are some basic demolition laws that must be followed - eat your way down, and rotate the bowl every few minutes.

For the most part, it seems as though the couples stick to sundaes, the larger groups head straight for the tower challenge. I don't recall the French eating ice cream quite like this but then perhaps that's why French women don't get fat!






View Larger Map
French Riviera
68 Liverpool Street, Sydney
(near the top end of Dixon Street)
Tel: (02) 9264 2932

Open 7 days 10.00am - 2.00am

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Ice cream - Passionflower, Haymarket
Ice cream - Passionflower, Sydney
Ice cream - Smile Korea Mart, Sydney (32cm-high soft serve)

WAQU, Crows Nest

WAQU means quiet space, and this tiny eatery in Crows Nest offers just that - an oasis of calm and tranquility broken only by the shuffle of demure waitstaff who bring a seemingly endless procession of exquisitely plated morsels.

The dining room seats just 35, and over half of the diners tonight are reassuringly Japanese. The WAQU website offers both English and Japanese versions. We know we're in for a true Japanese dining experience.

A six-course tasting menu for a mere $45 sounds too good to be true. It is too good and it's definitely true. Our journey starts with a clear soup faint with the umami taste of dashi. Course three (entree) and course five (main) offer three options to choose from: we're a party of three and choose one of each to share.

[Apologies for the poor photo quality - light dimmers are not a foodbloggers best friend, and I always abstain from using flash photography in fine dining restaurants as a courtesy to other guests]


Starter: Japanese clear soup with yuba tofu sheet


Course 1: Assorted small eats
[Clockwise from front]: Deep fried soft shell crab taco;
Chicken and prawn fresh spring rolls with black sesame sauce; and
Beef tataki, ponzu and flying fish roe jelly


Course 2: Sashimi
Salmon and kingfish sashimi with lemon mustard soy sauce


Course 3: Entree (3 options)
Option 1 - Pan fried beef with basil and dill, mustard cream sauce


Course 3: Entree (3 options)
Option 2 - Sauteed yuan marinated kingfish in
white miso vinegar sauce


Course 3: Entree (3 options)
Option 3 - Tempura prawn with sweet and spicy ground pork miso sauce


Course 4: Sushi
WAQU sushi - salmon, avocado, creamy mayonnaised potato, plum sauce


Course 5: Main (3 options)
Option 1 - Salt black pepper beef tenderloin steak
with creamy mashed potato


Course 5: Main (3 options)
Option 2 - Oven baked spatchcock, WAQU four spice,
soy and balsamic vinegar sauce


Course 5: Main (3 options)
Option 3 - Oven baked miso marinated cod fillet


Course 6: Dessert (2 options)
Option 1 - Sweet sake creme caramel
(Option 2 - Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream not chosen)

Meal highlights: the delicate crunch of the soft shell crab taco and the superb freshness of the salmon and kingfish sashimi. My favourite dish by far is the oven-baked miso marinated cod fillet, the fish is so soft it's almost buttery, and the sauce is such a divine harmony of salty and sweet that I practically lick the plate clean.

WAQU
32 Falcon St, Crows Nest, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9906 7736

Sun, Mon, Wed and Thurs 6.00pm-10.00pm
Fri and Sat 6.00pm-12.00am
Closed Tuesdays

No a la carte menu available on Fridays and Saturdays (tasting menu option only)

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Japanese--Ichi Ban Boshi, Town Hall
Japanese--Ju Ju
Japanese--Kagaya
Japanese--Kura
Japanese--Madono
Japanese--Menya Japan Noodle Bar
Japanese--Michitaro
Japanese--Musashi (Mar07), (Oct05)
Japanese--Nagoya Japanese BBQ
Japanese--Ocean Room (NYE 07/08), (Oct06)
Japanese--Ramen Kan (Aug 05), (Nov 04)
Japanese--Rise (May 05), (Feb 05), (Aug 04)
Japanese--Ryo's Noodles (Aug07), (Jul07)
Japanese--Suminoya
Japanese--Taka Tea Garden
Japanese--Tetsuya's
Japanese--Tomodachi (Sep06), (Nov05)
Japanese--Yutaka
Japanese--Wagamama

Crows Nest--Not Bread Alone
Crows Nest--Paradoxe Restaurant Francais
Crows Nest--Ryo's Noodles (Aug07), (Jul07)
Crows Nest--Vineyard, The

Wedgetail Woodfire Pizzeria & Espresso Bar, Newtown

Halloumi salad $16.00
grilled halloumi cheese snow peas
green beans crisp prosciutto
baby cos lettuce mustard dressing

There are twenty of us that pile into Wedgetail Pizza, a rabble of hungry punters who completely take over one side of this cosy tucked-away Newtown eatery.

We've booked, of course, and we heed the advice of the friendly staff: stick to one size pizza and the kitchen will love you.

We duplicate a number of pizzas and salads down the table, our orders arriving a little haphazardly but the pizzas are fresh, hot and crispy, straight from the woodfired oven.


Garlic pizza $8.50 large

The garlic pizza is reassuringly resplendent with caramelised splatterings that have turned a golden hue. Beetroot salad is light and refreshing, fat luscious crimson wedges adorned with an unusual mix of crisp pear, baby spinach leaves, salty kalamata olives and a pale creamy disc of tangy goat cheese.

I'm more enamoured by the haloumi salad [top], however, a textural playground made up of crisp blanched beans, velvety baby cos leaves, hearty chunks of tomato, crisp rashers of bacon and the always delightfully squeaky mouthfuls of pan-fried haloumi cheese.


Beetroot salad $18.50
roast beetroot pear goat cheese
fresh spinach olives cucumber
currant + pine nut dressing

Presented in a more traditional Italian style, the pizza toppings are light and modest- the hungrier lads aren't used to such restraint. Number 10, a bacon and tomato number, seems a little more like tomato and shallot, and Number 11, is more generous with the mushroom and olive than the slivers of promised leg ham.


Number 10 $24.00
tomato salsa mozzarella
fresh tomato crisp bacon coriander
black pepper fresh shallots


Number 11 $24.00 large
tomato salsa parmesan leg ham
fresh mushrooms fresh tomato
black olives fresh basil

On the other hand, I'm impressed by the generosity of prawns on the seafood pizzas. Number 16 is a colourful wheel of prawns and red capsicum spokes. My favourite is Number 15, a simpler affair of prawns and preserved lemon, the zinginess of lemon lifting the unadulterated sweetness of prawn.


Number 16 $24.00 large
basil pesto mozzarella parmesan
fresh prawns roasted red peppers
preserved lemon capers fresh basil

My favourite part of the restaurant is the artwork on the wall above our heads: two rows of various oven knobs, a retro collection of mint green, lemon yellow and baby blues amidst the usual colours of white, black and silver.

And your trivia tidbit for the evening: owner Peter Oxley was the bass player for The Sunnyboys, a hugely successful post-punk band from the early 1980s.

If music is the food of love, plate on.


Number 15 $24.00
tomato salsa mozzarella parmesan
fresh prawns fish preserved lemon
fresh parsley

Wedgetail Woodfire Pizzeria & Espresso Bar
Newtown Square
Corner of King St and Enmore Rd, Newtown, Sydney
(Next door to Newtown Community Centre)
Tel: +61 (02) 9516 1568

Dinner Tuesday to Sunday 6.00pm-10.00pm

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Newtown--Bank Hotel
Newtown--Bank Hotel Sumalee Thai
Newtown - Corelli's Cafe
Newtown--Gourmet Viking
Newtown--Guzman y Gomez
Newtown--Mickey's
Newtown--Oscillate Wildly (Feb 06)
Newtown--Oscillate Wildly (Oct 05)
Newtown--Oscillate Wildly (Jan 05)
Newtown--Rowda Ya Habibi (Mar07)
Newtown--Rowda Ya Habibi (Jul04)
Newtown--South

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, Paddington Sydney

Italian thick hot chocolate (dark) $5.50
Choose from milk, dark or white

Max Brenner. His very name seems to elicit weak knees and breathless desire amongst fervent chocoholics.

You all know about The Bald Man. His hug mugs have an egg-like curve that beg to be clutched close to the heart, white woollen jumper pulled down past your wrist strictly optional. Suckaos are not an insult, but a sexy receptacle by which to melt mini chocolate buds over a tea light, sucking up the thick pool of molten chocolate using a special metal straw that doubles as a spoon.

On a drizzling Saturday afternoon, the Max Brenner outlet at Paddington is brimming with cocoa addicts, its tables adorned with lazing couples, exhausted shoppers and one large gaggle of giggling teenage girls.


Mexican spicy hot chocolate (milk) $5.50
Choose from milk, dark or white

The chocolate frenzy is non-stop. A large vat of melted chocolate churns its way merrily at the entrance; a large brown pipe emblazoned with CHOCOLATE would have you believe this very concoction is pumped up to the ceiling, across the room and down into the barrels from which the hot chocolate is siphoned (it's not). There are huge jars of sprinkles on the counter, a display cabinet groaning with chocolate pastries, and a retail outlet out the back selling drinking chocolate, block chocolate, chocolate buds, pralines and all the Max Brenner drinking paraphernalia you could ever hope for.

Divegurl has the Mexican spicy hot chocolate, a potent broth that is a little heavy on the cayenne pepper for both our palates. The Italian thick hot chocolate is more to my liking, a rich and decadent drink that languidly rolls across the tongue, its strong cocoa undertone warming the belly.


Banana praline crepes $13.00
Two crepes filled with banana and a nutty praline
served with vanilla ice cream

The choc-fest continues with two banana praline crepes that are drizzled generously with lashings of melted chocolate. The crepes are soft and delicate, puddles of sweet hazelnut spread tempered by thick slices of banana and a cooling scoop of vanilla ice cream.


Chocolate banana pizza $14.00
Pizza topped with melted chocolate, caramelised pecan,
banana and mini marshmallows

The arrival of my chocolate banana pizza is proof that one really can have too much of a good thing. Slathered with chocolate, bits of marshmallow, smashings of caramelised pecans and discs of banana, it's a lurid technicolour dream come true for every sugar-craving teenager. No wonder the girls are giggling with glee in the corner.

For me, it's nothing but painfully sweet. A scoop of ice cream in the middle would have provided some much needed relief.

I've reached chocolate overload. The hot chocolate was perfect. The chocolate pizza has pushed me over the edge. I don't need a hug mug, I need a defibrillator. Stat.



Max Brenner Paddington
437 Oxford Street, Paddington, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9357 5055

Monday to Thursday 9.00am – 11.00pm
Friday to Saturday 9.00am – 12.00 Midnight
Sunday 10.00am – 10.30pm

Also open at
Max Brenner Sydney CBD
Lower Ground Floor, David Jones
Elizabeth Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9283 1802
Monday to Wednesday & Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm
Thursday 9.30am - 8.30pm
Saturday 9.00am - 5.30pm
Sunday 10.00am - 5.30pm

Max Brenner Double Bay
15 Knox Street, Double Bay, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9328 2555
Monday to Thursday 10.00am - 11.00pm
Friday to Saturday 10.00am - 12.00am
Sunday 9.00am - 11.00pm

Max Brenner Erina
Shop 5, Erina Fair, Erina Fair Drive, Erina
Tel: +61 (02) 4367 4877
Monday to Wednesday 10.00am - 5.30pm
Thursday 10.00am - 9.00pm
Friday - Saturday 10.00am - 10.00pm
Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm

Max Brenner Manly
Shop 11, East Esplanade, Manly Wharf, Manly, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9977 4931
Monday to Thursday 6.45am - 9.00pm
Friday 6.45am - 10.30pm
Saturday 8.30am - 12.00am
Sunday 8.30am - 10.30pm

Max Brenner Parramatta
Shop 2187, Level 2, Westfield
159-175 Church Street, Parramatta, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9635 7566
Monday to Thursday 9.00am - 10.30pm
Friday to Saturday 9.00am - 12.00am
Sunday 10.00am - 10.30pm

Max Brenner St Ives
Shop 1, Ground Floor
235 Mona Vale Road, St Ives, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9988 0700
Monday to Thursday 9.00am - 10.30pm
Friday to Saturday 9.00am - 12.00am
Sunday 10.00am - 10.30pm

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Chocolate hazelnut pizza at Blues Point Cafe, McMahon's Point
Hot chocolate at Lindt Cafe, Martin Place

La Boheme Restaurant and Cafe, Balmain

Skvarky duck cracklings with bread complimentary

The duck cracklings do not look as I expect. The uninitiated, like I, expect a duck crackling to perhaps be a little like a pork crackling. What's presented instead is a dish of light brown paste, covered in a thin layer of fat - it looks a little like a pate but tastes a little sweeter in a caramelised sense. The paste is smooth and deliciously addictive. Then we find out what duck cracklings really are: duck fat cooked down with leftover strips of duck skin until golden brown and crisp. No wonder it tastes so good.

I'm dining with a happy crowd of feasters at La Boheme, a Czech restaurant and beer cafe all but hidden on Balmain's Darling Street. Its modest entrance--a small sign pointing you up a few steps and into a narrow arcade--gives no indication of the impressiveness of the building that awaits, the former Balmain Working Mens Institute that is now Heritage-listed.




Herb marinated camembert with fruit toast $11.50

Our group of eleven attack the menu with gusto, starting off by sharing a number of entrees. A small wheel of camembert has been drizzled with herbs and melted slightly in the oven.


Fried mushrooms filled with Mello cheese $9.50

Golden orbs of button mushrooms have been crumbed and deep-fried, filled with a soft cheese that has turned gooey and stretchy.


Norwegian smoked salmon $11.90
with herb croutons, cucumber salad and dill dressing

Norwegian smoked salmon coils rest on a bed of lettuce, its richness tempered by the delicate strips of pickled cucumber and a dish of cooling dill and yoghurt.


Homemade duck pate $10.50
with cranberry sauce and toast

But the table favourite is the homemade duck pate, a meaty slab that is packed with flavour and hearty duck shreds.


La Boheme pork roulade $21.90
served with pepper jus and basmati rice

Our dishes arrive reasonably quickly, and within minutes we start to regret ordering so many starters. Few can finish their meals.


Jager chicken schnitzel $19.90
with mushroom sauce and potato mash


Golden roasted duck $25.90
based on an old Czech recipe accompanied by red cabbage,
sauerkraut and potato dumplings


Traditional Bavarian feast platter $49.00 for two
Chef's selection of roasted duck, chicken schnitzel, wood smoked kassler rib,
smoked pork ribs, European sausages, sauerkraut and dumplings


Hungarian beef goulash $15.50
served in a sourdough bread pot


Green beans $6.00


Char grilled duck breast $24.90
with honey and orange sauce and roasted potatoes


Grilled pork knuckle $21.50
with mustard, horseradish and Bavarian bread

I'd gone for halves in the grilled pork knuckle and the golden roasted duck. The pork knuckle is a little salty and perhaps a tad dry and overcooked, but its presentation on a chopping board with a knife plunged into the pork, still makes my heart skip a beat.

The golden roasted duck is tender, its skin caramelised to a brittle crunch. I also sample some of the ribs from the meat platter, which although soft and juicy, are so rich with smokiness that I'm glad I hadn't opted for the ribs as a main (I'd been sorely tempted).


Traditional Crepes Suzette $12.50

And yet somehow dessert finds its way to the emergency stomach. We're a little disappointed that the Crepes Suzette isn't set alight but the serving of hot raspberries and vanilla ice cream is enormous, the sticky berries not overly sweet.

We loved the atmosphere here, the cavernous hall is warmed by plenty of wooden furniture, a fully stocked bar and Medieval-style light fittings that hang overhead.


Hot raspberries served on vanilla ice cream $10.50

La Boheme Restaurant and Cafe
Rear Mans Institute Arcade
Shop 9, 332 Darling St, Balmain, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9810 0829

Monday to Thursday 6.00pm-11.00pm
Friday to Saturday 12.00pm - 12.00am
Sunday 12.00pm - 10.00pm

BYO wine corkage $3 per person (only available Monday to Thursday)

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Doma Bohemian Beer Cafe
Prague Czech Beer Restaurant