review Archives - Page 6 of 20 - The Wifey's Corner

January 14, 2018January 21, 2018

2017 Japan Trip – Day 1

Our 2017 Japan trip began with a dream to visit the cherry blossom country and with some guts to book ticket without getting annual leave approval beforehand 🙂 Thank God, it worked out well, no issues in getting annual leave approval from both offices. And so it went with the itinerary planning, accommodation booking, and researching. It had been an overwhelming process to plan for the itinerary, when at one hand we wanted to see as many places as possible. On the other hand, time and transportation from point A to B restrained us from going to too many places in a day.

I had been getting a lot help and advices from friends and fellow travellers to Japan. And that had been what made us end up with the final itinerary we did in our trip. We ended up took off handful of places from the original list and prioritized which we had to visit. And, whilst we were happy with how we did, there are still way many places more to visit. It just meant there will be another Japan trip(s) in the future (hopefully!).

Here goes Day 1

Our flight departed Sydney at 9.50 pm to Kansai Airport, stopped over at Hong Kong for about two hours. When we got to Kansai airport, it was already 12 pm the next day. Immigration was moving quickly and so was the luggage. And because we were heading straight to Kyoto, we bought the ICOCA + Haruka one way deal, it costs us ¥3,600. The ICOCA was already preloaded with ¥1,500 and that is definitely something you should get while in Japan. So convenient for not only paying transportation, also for lockers, vending machines, even purchase in convenience stores and other stores.

The Haruka train is an effective way, in regards to both time and money, to travel from Kansai Airport to Osaka or Kyoto. By the time we reached Kyoto station, it was almost 4 pm. Got into the Haruka before getting some lunch was a bad idea. By the time we finally reached Kyoto, we were both starving. And thankfully the first shop we saw when got off the train was this little ekiben shop. And that was where we got our late lunches.

Kyoto Ekiben – both tastes delicious albeit they were not even warm, but we got used to this few days into our trip. Total paid ¥1,950

Our Airbnb listing (more on that in the next post) said that it would take around 15 minutes walk from Kyoto station to the house. It took us a bit longer walking with suitcases, but it was easy walk and directions were clear. Exhausted after all that travelling, we also mind-blown with everything we see and experience. The city was so clean, everywhere we walked past, we didn’t see litters or cigarette’s butts on the street. The rivers are so clean that you could see the bottom clearly.

We actually took a short nap once settled in the apartment and only went out again in the evening to look for dinner and explore the surrounding. Agreed that we would have a busy day the next day, we settled on some boxed meal from nearby Family Mart. And let me tell you, for that price, the food were more than just OK. May not be really delicious but better than what you would get in any convenience stores in Sydney for that price. We got a box of ramen (with half an egg), yakisoba, one potato croquette, and a unagi roll – all for ¥1,558 only. And now doing this post, I realized we forgot to take pictures of those bento meals – what sleep deprived can do to you, right?

Manneken Waffle inside Kyoto Station – smells divine, tasted even better! We tried the caramel apple one for ¥323

October 18, 2017October 17, 2017

Jeans Chilli Chicken, Eastwood

Another late post on Korean food, again! We went to Jeans Chilli Chicken about three months ago, right in the middle of winter. I took pictures of our meal and thought to do a post. Then we go busy with moving, etc and I had totally forgotten about it. Until I browsed through pictures on my phone and reminded of the super late post. Anyway, here go our review on Jeans Chilli Chicken.

Located within Eastwood Hotel on the corner of Rowe St and Railway Parade, you may miss this place. Especially it surrounded by many Korean restaurants nearby! As the name suggests, it is famous for its chilli chicken with generous melted cheese on top. And they really live to the its name, those chicken are hot! They are served piping hot on hot plate and also spicy hot. On first bite, they may not feel that spicy; then as you eat more, your tongue will start to feel that burn.

The other highlight of Jeans Chilli Chicken is their sesame seaweed rice with bits of tiny chicken pieces. This comes in a package with the chilli chicken, but you can always order more. It comes with plastic gloves, where you use to mix the rice well and make bite size rice balls. When mixed together with the sesame and seaweed seasoning, it is really delicious. I guess there might be mix of glutinous rice in it as they are fairly sticky in texture compared to the ordinary rice you would have in other Korean restaurants.

The package also comes with three small side dishes: kimchi, pasta salad, and pickled radish. We have had much better Korean side dishes else where, but they somewhat relief the burning tongue from that chilli. The pickled radish is quite nice, actually – but sometimes they are lack of taste than other times.

Overall we really enjoy the chilli chicken and the tasty rice. And even that spicy burning feeling on our tongue, we still keep going back (and it has been for few years now). The chicken pieces are tender and well marinated. There is a distinct smoky taste/smell to the chilli chicken that we cannot replicate at home. Hubby has tried cooking chilli chicken at home, but we just cannot get that right. Once we do, we’ll definitely share it with you Readers so stay tune 🙂

Jeans Chilli Chicken

115 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122

Phone: (02) 9874 1100

Facebook page

October 14, 2017October 14, 2017

Wagyu House Sydney, Croydon

I just realised we had been to many Korean restaurants lately as reflected on my restaurant review posts. I guess they are extremely appealing especially during the colder seasons; but generally we enjoy the flavours anyway 🙂 The most recent Korean restaurant we tried out is Wagyu House Sydney, which is a BBQ buffet style restaurant.

Wagyu House Sydney is located on the busy Parramatta Road, Croydon – not exactly easy to get to by public transport. For that reason, we often passed this restaurant and yet never tried it for years. Only recently, we came to hear more about this place, how good their meat qualities and really good value for money. For those reasons, we decided to give it a try and yes, we are HOOKED!

First of all, as mentioned above its location is not close to any train stations. So, easiest transport options would be driving or by bus. Do note that they do not have big parking area, perhaps enough for 10 cars or so. On the last two occasions we went there before the busy dinner time, we could find parking inside the restaurant easy enough. But if you come during the busy times, you’ll probably need to find a street parking.

The restaurant itself consists of two building, separated by that small uncovered parking space. The building on the right side is where the main dining area where there are ample of seating. Also in the same area is where you can get the side dishes, rice, soup and carious seasonings. The left building is where you get your meat and ice cream. There are a few seating in this building, which I guess is only open when the other building is full.

So when you come here, first visit the seating area and the waiter there will assign a table to you. They will give you a ticket which you then bring to the other building for payment before grabbing the meat. Then head back to your table and enjoy the rest of the two hours slot. What impress us most is the quality of the meat also the options available and that they always refill them. There is never a time when we would find an empty meat platter, the same experience as many others have said as well.

Wagyu House Sydney - the seating area — The seating area

Wagyu House Sydney - Fried rice, fried noodle, soup and sauces — Fried rice, fried noodle, soup and sauces

Wagyu House Sydney - The side dishes — The side dishes, love their mashed potato salad especially and those refreshing watermelon chunks!

Wagyu House Sydney - meat selection — And more meat…

Wagyu House Sydney - Free stewed egg pot — Free stewed egg pot, 1 per table

It only costs $29.95 per person and for all those options available, we think it is a really good value Korean BBQ buffet restaurant. And most of the meat are actually fresh meat and good cuts. The marinated ones are also very tasty, our least favorite would be the honey soy marinate. But the rest are delicious! And for that, we would definitely come back again and again 🙂

Wagyu House Sydney

668-670 Parramatta Rd, Croydon NSW 2132

Phone: (02) 9797 9999

Facebook page

October 8, 2017

Platform Eighty Two, Concord West

Another cafe that we have often passed in these past couple of years and always have a big line outside. We even tried to go there before and got turned off because of the wait. But we made it there few weeks ago, went there before 10 am to avoid the brunch peak hours on Saturday.

Located in the heart of Concord West and very close to its train station, this little cafe often digs our curiosity. It seems they are serving big breakfast type of meals, pancakes and drinks. And yet, people always flock in here even after years it opened its door. A quick search on this place shows numerous pictures of huge platter of big breakfast on tiered settings. Almost like how they serve high tea, but instead of tiny elegant plates, they use a massive wooden board platters.

And of course we have to order the breakfast platter, here are the pictures of what we had:

The breakfast platter for 2, we upgraded the waffle to pancake with ice cream for an extra $2 per person

And the verdict…

We feel Platform Eighty Two is a little overrated in term of queuing. It is not exactly cheap brunch, but don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of food served for 2 people. Eggs are served in three ways (scrambled, sunny side up, and poached). Generous amount of button mushroom, bacon and salami. Love the avocado with feta cheese and hash browns 🙂 No regret on upgrading the dessert to pancake, very delicious! I feel this is a nice place for get together with few people, it is fun, and very instagram-able, right? But make sure to make a reservation ahead if you are coming in groups, just to be sure you will get a table with no long wait. Also, thumbs up for the coffee, very smooth!

Platform Eighty Two

82 Queen St, Concord West NSW 2138

Phone: (02) 9743 0002

Facebook page

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