Here and There Archives - Page 7 of 21

September 17, 2017

Stoneage Korean BBQ, West Ryde

We went to another Korean BBQ restaurant again, another one on our wish list to try. And especially the weather had been perfect for BBQ that night when we went there, it was so cold and windy 🙂 We made reservation few days ahead, just in case it might get too busy and it did on the day! So, remember to call and reserve a table ahead if you plan to come especially during busy times.

They have a very simple menu, it is all about BBQ – all the various meat cuts and very few other dishes only. Unfortunately, you will not find the seafood pancake or different types of stews/hot pots here. But then again, as the name suggests it is a BBQ place so let’s hope they have outstanding meats on that front.

We decided not to get the package options and chose the meat we wanted only. And these were what our dinner looked like:

The meat, nicely cooked and cut for us. From top left clockwise: pork belly, ox tongue, beef rib, and marinated pork ribs.

And, of course the fluffy tasty egg pot…

They are very generous with the side dishes, albeit not many choices. The waiters kept checking with us if we need a refill of anything. The meats are yummy, we especially love the ox tongue and marinated pork ribs that we ordered second servings of those (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

The highlight point of this restaurant is that the waiter actually cooked for us in our burner. They laid the meat on the burner, come back to flip the meat and to put aside the cooked meat. Then rushed back again to change the pan before starting another serving of meat. And still managed to get everything well cooked, not under and not over. We are really happy with this arrangement as we can just sit back and enjoy the meal. Looking at the waiters cook in 1 table then move on to the next and back and forth, it really looks like a scene of Dinner Dash game!

Overall, a highly recommended Korean BBQ restaurant in the area and would love to return again. The menu are fairly priced, good quality of meats, great service and no worry of burning your meat \ (•◡•) /

Stoneage Korean BBQ

1B Chatham Rd, West Ryde NSW 2114

Phone: (02) 8385 0059

August 27, 2017August 27, 2017

Four Frogs Creperie, Circular Quay Sydney

We just had the beautiful warm winter days in this past weekend, such a nice weather for a walk around city. After lunch, we headed to Circular Quay, revisiting this creperie shop. Been wanting to get hubby to try their crepe for a while and finally get to do it this time.

Located in the front side of (fairly) new revamped Gateway food court in Circular Quay, Four Frogs Creperie is hard to miss. On the front seating area, you can look out to people walking by surrounding the Circular Quay ferry wharf. This would have been a nice spot in the morning or evening, not so much in the afternoon due to direct afternoon sun exposure. Since we went there in the afternoon, we opted to sit inside – not much view but it was cozy enough.

The first time I came here, I was amazed with their Crepes On Fire menu. For the same reason, I asked hubby to choose one from that section. It sure did not disappoint, they came with a bit of theatrical presentation and more importantly, they also taste great! They also have some interesting French ciders on the menu, I guess we just have to try next time we go there.

This is how the waiter brought our orders:

And here are what they look like after that short theatrical show:

Chocolate, vanilla ice cream and Grand Marnier

They are both absolutely a delicious – the crepes are so smooth and buttery. The sauce are as lovely and not sickly sweet, and don’t taste like artificial flavors. I adore the crepe suzette as the orange sauce and pieces cut down the sweet sauce and the grand marnier really pair wonderfully. Whereas hubby being a chocolate lovers, still keep on saying how good his crepe was a day later 😛

Four Frogs Creperie

1 Macquarie Place, Circular Quay, Sydney

Phone: (02) 9241 2277

www.fourfrogs.com.au

June 26, 2017

The Barn, West Ryde

We have lived in West Ryde area for some time now and all this time we often said we wanted to try this and that restaurants. And somehow that just didn’t happen too often and the list grows longer. Does this happen to anyone else or just us? 😛 Anyway, seeing that we might be moving to another suburb soon, we made effort to try cross some off our growing list.

This time we went to The Barn, just on the opposite side of West Ryde train station. I think it is fairly new (more or less a year) and interior looks inviting. They have tables with barbeque cooker in the middle and those massive exhaust pipe that hangs from the ceiling, hence no problem with smoky bbq smell lingering in your clothing. We went there on a Saturday night, around 7 pm and it was not full house, maybe 3/4 filled. There are few big groups of diners and few other couples.

Service was great, we were shown to our table right away, menu came soon then the chilled water. The waiters were friendly and helpful with advises and recommendations. Upon looking at their menu, prices are pretty much on par with other Korean restaurants in Sydney. On this occasion, we ordered a medium size hotpot, seafood pancake, two bowls of rice, and of course bottle of soju to share.

The food came out within 30 minutes of ordering and portion were huge! Love the hotpot, the broth was tasty and rich with generous amount of fillings. Same goes with the seafood pancake, it was fluffy inside and crispy on the outside. And that dipping sauce for pancake was delicious. I personally don’t drink alcohol often, but I enjoyed two glasses of that soju 😛

This pork bone hotpot is so good for winter, very hearty and warming – and this medium size is probably enough to feed three to four people 🙂

We most definitely went home with a happy tummy and will happily return to try out their BBQ or other dishes 🙂 And, overall dining experience was good, nothing we could fault.

The Barn

1/14 W Parade, West Ryde NSW 2114

Phone: (02) 9807 7773

Menu source: Zomato

May 22, 2017May 21, 2017

Mr Stonebowl Restaurant, Burwood

A few weekends ago we finally paid visit to Mr Stonebowl restaurant that many has people raved about, including my brother and cousins. Their first comment aside from being served delicious food was that it is always packed! And because it does not take reservation, your best bet would be to come a little early for your meal, or a little later. Good thing is the dishes came out quick hence diners turnover are good as well. Bottom line is this restaurant is not a place for diners who want to have long chat while eating. That Saturday, we came at 11 for lunch, just on its opening time. And yes, many tables were already taken then.

Apart from the crowded issue, the dishes are excellent. There was nothing we would complain about the dishes, everything we ordered were delicious. Oh by the way, I guess because of the name, they use many unique crockery (you’ll see in photos below).

Garlic Prawn with Stir Fried Rice in Squid Ink ($18.80) – this is soo delicious!

Crab Meat with Tofu ($16.80) – love that crockery as much as the dish! Very subtle flavour with creamy garlicky and gingery gravy.

Deep Fried Eggplant in Bread Crumb ($13.80) – this is probably everyone’s favorite, those soft eggplants coated in flavorsome bread crumb, yummy. I think most people actually come to Mr Stonebowl for this dish!

Shandong Style Chicken ($15.80) – nothing negative to say about this dish either. Deep fried chicken in tangy, salty and spicy broth, yummy!

Pan Fried Pork Bun ($8.80) – not much to rave about, but not a bad dish either. The skin is not too thick, the meat filling is juicy and burst with flavor and broth once bite into it. It probably just overshadowed by all other super delicious dishes.

Mushroom Stir Fried with Vege ($11.80) – who knows a vege dish can be sooo delicious. The various mushrooms used in this meal add different texture and taste, definitely a winner for stir fried bakchoy dish.

Seafood Fried Vermicelli ($10.80) – generous with seafood and that tasty thick gravy over pan fried vermicelli.

We most definitely had a super satisfying meal at Mr Stonebowl, in fact I already want to go back there while doing this post. Oh by the way, those meals above were for 6 people! Good thing about eating out in groups is you get to try so many dishes at once 🙂

Mr Stonebowl

185C Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134

Phone: (02) 8970 9605

www.aozhoureview.com/business/mr-stonebow

May 11, 2017

Meet Fresh, Eastwood

Meet our current Taiwanese style dessert, Meet Fresh 🙂 Meet Fresh is the Taiwanese dessert chain that started in Sydney five or six years back (or actually, it might be longer than that). I knew it was popular for their taro and sweet potato balls in bowl of thin sugary syrup. Then it offered the icy shaved ice desserts which also attracted lots of interest. We used to love their mango shaved ice dessert – so refreshing during summer time. And it comes in a huge bowl, make it perfect for sharing 🙂

Unfortunately along the way, we thought the mango dessert was not as tasty as we first tried it. I think they have used frozen mango pieces instead and it was just bland, lack of flavour and fragrant as fresh mangoes. I understand that mangoes are seasonal and therefore they need to have backup plan using those frozen ones. It is just a shame, as they should have just offered the mango dessert during summer time only, which is the time where mangoes are in season.

Ah well, enough of the rant. Since we haven’t been back to Meet Fresh for such a long time, we though why don’t we try out something else for a change. It did not disappoint, we fell in love again! These were taken at Eastwood store, but being franchise chain I am sure they would somehow follow the same standard in every shop.

Surprisingly tasted good as well: Waffle with vanilla ice cream and banana

Without doubt, we ‘d come back for the Signature Herbal Jelly menu. When we first ordered this, we asked it for a cold version but without ice. I guess as winter is coming, the hot version would be a nice option. Love the herbal jelly, it is very tasty and fragrant, just like the herbal jelly topping at Gong Cha. The waffle was not bad at all, crispy on the outside and fluffy inside – served with ice cream, sliced banana and chopped walnuts.

Meet Fresh

175 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122

Phone: (02) 8339 1031

meetfresh.net