Menya Oiden, CBD

If you're ever in the city and hungering for a cheap but filling meal, Menya Mappen was always my go-to place. Bowls of noodles and tempura always went down well, but a little more recently a sister joint Menya Oiden popped up in the adjoining shop space at Skyview Plaza. Following the same ideology of cafeteria-style dining, the new incarnation as a rice bowl bar, serving rice with various toppings and a varying selection of kushiage, gives us a few more tasty options.

Ontama Beef Bowl $5.90 (medium)

I'm a sucker for the creamy half-boiled egg first introduced to me in a bowl of udon bukkake at Mappen, and the ontama beef bowl does not disappoint. Rice stopped with tender stripes of Sukiyaki beef and onions, spring onions, ginger and that lovely googie egg.

Ebi-Fry Bowl $6.90 (medium)

The ebi-fry bowl consists of rice topped with Asian slaw (shredded raw cabbage and carrot) and two skewers of crunchy crumbed, deep-fried prawns drizzled with a sweet soy sauce.

Kimchi Beef Bowl $5.90 (medium)

The kimchi beef bowl presents rice with the same tasty Sukiyaki beef and onions, topped with kimchi. It wasn't the best kimchi I've ever had but there were some nice hot and sour flavours.

Ontama Tataki Tuna Bowl $7.50 (medium)

The ontama takani tuna bowl was unlike anything I've had before - rice topped with small pieces of nori, a patty of minced raw tuna belly, a half-boiled egg and spring onions. When mixed together, the thick liquid egg yolk coats everything and the raw tuna mince adds a a creamy texture and an almost buttery flavour to the rice. I added a liberal sprinkle of optional tempura flakes and extra spring onion (can you tell I love shallots?) and all together, it made a lovely, filling meal.

Tonkatsu $2.50, Potato Kushiage $0.80

Pieces of skewered tonkatsu pork and potato kushiage are sometimes part of the deep-fried selection, which changes day-to-day. The panko crumb coating is cooked to a lovely golden-brown colour and crisp but not greasy. The sweet and sour 'fry' sauce in the tabletop condiments box goes particularly well with the tonkatsu.

Eggplant Fry $1.50

My favourite of the fried items is definitely the deep-fried eggplant, a wedge (sometimes a strip) of eggplant, crumbled and deep-fried until the exterior is crisp while the flesh inside is soft and creamy. Best.

Marinated Deep-fried Eggplant $2.50

The marinated deep-fried eggplant may look dubious, sitting on the counter in a small cling-wrapped bowl, but it tastes pretty decent. The small pieces of eggplant are soft and flavoursome, and topped with spring onion and some stuff I'm unfamiliar with.

Spinach with Sesame Sauce $1.20

The spinach with sesame sauce isn't anything special but it's there by default, the tiny bowl of clean greenery takes the edge of the guilt of having consumed a large amount of more delicious deep-fried things. It knows its purpose, but most days I bypass and cop the guilt to grab some more kushiage.


Menya Oiden
Skyview Plaza, 537-551 George Street, Sydney 2000
Telephone: (02) 9283 5525

Cafe Ish, Surry Hills

Being your average uni student, my meagre income is funnelled into three main expenditure categories: food, clothing and alcohol. This axis of evil is a persistant problem for me, trying to maintain a lifestyle I can barely afford but cannot find the will to give up. Through the perpetual struggle with these first world problems, I have developed an appreciation for cheap food and sales (but never cheap alcohol), hence the reason why Tight Arse Tuesdays at Cafe Ish were a great ally to my poor abused wallet. At Ish the food is Japanese-cross-native Australian, the love-child of the labours of owner/chef Josh Nicholls and his Japanese wife/business partner Ai; and at $10 a pop for select menu items on Tuesdays, gave me my own happy food baby.

Crab Omelette Set $16.50

This is the dish that Ish is most well-known for, and the crab omelette does indeed look impressive. I don't eat crab but I wish I did, because the omelette is huge, filled with crisp karaage soft-shell crab, chunks of avocado, shallots and topped with a garlic, chilli, ginger and soy dressing. The lunch set size comes with a bowl of rice and miso soup - a very decent meal, methinks.

Ai's Freaking Awesome Fried Chicken $14.50

Ai's freaking awesome fried chicken speaks for itself, chunks of crunchy karaage chicken covered in a vinegar and pickled garlic sauce, topped with fresh and crunchy fried shallots. It's served on a bed of rice, with a bowl of miso soup on the side.

Wagyu Burger $16.50

I realise this is not a very good photo of the wagyu burger, but underneath the toasted housemade bun lies a wagyu beef patty, grilled onions, cheese and tomato relish. It comes with a very generous bowl of shoestring fries served with aioli and tomato sauce.

Wagyu Short Rib $16.50

The wagyu short rib was cooked tender, succulent, fall-off-the-bone and drenched in a rich, sweet 'smokey soy caramel', topped with fresh chilli, coriander, shallots and sesame. It's kinda phenomenal. Served as set with miso soup and rice.

Croc in a Roc $10.50

A thick slice of house-made bread, buttery and toasted, stuffed with crocodile sausage, fetta, egg and shallot, served with tomato relish. For most people, any type of exotic meat will be described as "it tastes like chicken" but no, the croc sausage did not taste like chicken. The croc in a roc was spicy and meaty, covered in egg and punctuated with bits of salty fetta.

Wattle Maccacino $4.10

The wattle maccacino is the signature coffee, a cappuccino flavoured with wattleseed extract and macadamia. Sweet, nutty and smooth, it's one of my favourite cuppas despite the fact that I generally dislike flavoured coffees. Also I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to macadamias but I brave the possibility of hospitalisation for this indulgence (I also bring my EpiPen).


Cafe Ish
82 Campbell Street, Surry Hills 2010
Telephone: (02) 9281 1688

Jamie's Italian, Sydney CBD

One of the biggest talks of the town this month is Jamie Oliver's newest enterprise, the second international incarnation of his successful Italian restaurant franchise, the very creatively named Jamie's Italian. Never having been big on celebrity chefs, Masterchefs or what have you, we were curiously driven by the hype to see what was on offer. We managed to arrive early enough to avoid the inevitable long queue for dinner and pleasantly discovered reasonable prices, attentive staff and lovely food.

Italian Bread Selection

A selection of complimentary breads (house-made focaccia, sourdough, ciabatta, tortano and carta di musica) arrived swiftly after ordering, drizzled with pesto and accompanied by a dish of extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic. A perfect way to whet our appetites.

Smoky Scamorza Arancini $9.50

We started with the smoky scamorza arancini, three rice balls stuffed with smoked mozzarella and porcini. Topped generously with parmesan, they were freshly fried to a crisp on the outside with soft melty innards of cheese and mushroom.

Crispy Squid $12

I could never pass up the offer of deep-fried anything with garlic and so along came the crispy squid - fried with chilli and garlic and served with a 'really garlicky mayo'. This was so insanely moreish and flavoursome that my dining companions had to ration the leftover chilli pieces.

Bucatini Carbonara $12 (entrée size)

The bucatini carbonara seemed to be a popular choice, and Sam broke her no-pork rule to eat it. Consisting of tubular spaghetti with fried smoked pancetta and leek tossed with free-range eggs and parmesan, it was indulgently rich with a creamy, silky sauce. The pasta here was lauded by a sign near the entrance stating that it is made fresh daily on-site.

Buffalo Ricotta Ravioli $21

The buffalo ricotta ravioli was a recommendation of our waitress and described on the menu as 'pure heaven', which was more than enough persuasion for the Ninja. Delicate parcels stuffed with creamed ricotta, lemon, mint and parmesan, it was a unique combination which was indeed pure heaven. I had one taste and developed some pretty major food envy.

Risotto Milanese $21

The words 'roasted bone marrow' pulled on my heart strings and soon the risotto Milanese was mine. The bright yellow saffron and parmesan risotto was creamy and delicate, with melt-in-your-mouth roasted bone marrow that was accompanied by some piquancy from the lemon peel in the aromatic gremolata.

Creamy Panna Cotta $8.50

Dessert for me was the panna cotta, served that day with a pear compote. Wobbly, creamy and speckled with vanilla bean, this was my first time eating panna cotta and the start of my developing love for the milk pudding.

Brioche con Gelato $9.50

Sam went for the brioche con gelato, compromised of toasted brioche, lemon marmellata, lemon and strawberry gelato in the form of two sliders. Probably not a good idea for anyone concerned about their waistline as it was layer upon layer of indulgence - buttery brioche, lemon marmalade with candied peel, rich strawberry and lemon ice-cream and topped with more of the brioche bun and sprinkled with pistachios and sugar.

Sorbets $8

The sorbet flavours of the day were passionfruit, green apple and lemon. Our unanimous favourite was the green apple, unique and wonderfully sweet and refreshing. All-in-all, a satisfying meal that was more wallet-friendly than one would expect.


Jamie's Italian
207 Pitt St, Sydney 2000
Telephone: (02) 8240 9000

Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar, Westfield Sydney

Quick post! Once again late to jump on the bandwagon of Din Tai Fung, we visited the branch in the Sydney Westfield food court for lunch last week. I love the open kitchen, watching the chefs expertly form pleats in the dim-sum is mesmerising.

Steamed Pork Dumpling Xiao Long Bao $5.80 (4 pieces)

The taste of the xiao long bao brought me some nostalgia for my childhood growing up in Shanghai. My grandmother had a saying for how I ate these steamed pork dumplings - 'yi kou, yi ze', meaning I used to devour these in a single mouthful at a time. But I digress, these are perfect delicate parcels filled with tender pork and a good amount of soup.

Steamed Vegetarian Jiao Ze $5.80 (4 pieces)

The steamed vegetarian jiao ze were beautifully made but kinda underwhelming flavour-wise. However the wrappers were perfect with just the right amount of elasticity.

Steamed Shrimp & Pork Shao Mai $9.80 (4 pieces)

I'm a sucker for shao mai and the steamed shrimp and pork shao mai here is fantastic, tasty little parcels of soft pork mince and shrimp.

Shrimp & Pork Wonton tossed with Spicy Sauce $6.50 (4 pieces)

The shrimp and pork wonton tossed with spicy sauce was a winner, the wontons were faultless and the spicy sauce had kick but was tasty and mild enough for a chilli wimp like me to handle.

Soy Bean Milk $3

Sweet soy bean milk is a breakfast classic in China and tastes just as good here. The food here is good authentic Chinese, it kinda strikes me as cleaned up versions of seedy but fantastic restaurants in Ashfield.


Din Tai Fung
Level 5, Westfield Sydney
Market St, Sydney 2000

Hurricane's Grill & Bar, Ryde

I'll ashamedly admit that last week was my first ever visit to Hurricane's Grill & Bar. I've seen the pictures of giant slabs of meat, listened people go on and on about the ribs and still managed to somehow bypass the expanding steakhouse franchise. But no longer - last Wednesday night I was finally met with more meat than I could ever ask for.

Hurricane's Pork Ribs with Chips $29.90 (Half Rack)

Following the advice of my carnivorous friend Sharon, I went for half a rack of Hurricane's pork ribs, a glistening arc of bone and meat, glazed in their special basting sauce. Underneath rested a golden river of crunchy chips, but they were of course mere accessory to the big slab of pork. The edges were slightly charred and crispy, the rest of the meat was falling-off-the-bone tender and all drenched their sweet, smokey BBQ sauce. This is also the first time I've had proper ribs and was hence introduced to the messy, sticky ordeal of eating like a caveman. But it was worth it.

Rump Steak 350gm with Baked Potato $33 with Mushroom Sauce $2.50

All steaks and ribs are accompanied by a choice of chips or baked potato with sour cream, my dining companion Geo opted for the baked potato, which I ended up eating (because I am a pig). Rather unexciting when one could have the unhealthier deep-fried version of potato, but c'est la vie. As far as I could tell the rump steak was more than enough a serving for an average person at the smallest size of 350 grams, and looked very nicely done and tender. I didn't have a taste and in retrospect, I regret not doing so just from looking at the photo.

Cheese and Bacon Burger $22

The less adventurous of our dining party opted for burgers, which actually looked really good but in my humble opinion, paled in comparison when there were ribs and steak on the offer. There was also complimentary bread for the table, lovely brown rolls with flaky crusts and soft, warm centres that were perfect for mopping up sauces.

Pepper Burger $21.50

We visited the newest Hurricanes branch at Top Ryde City, a huge glossy establishment with lovely staff who managed to squeeze in our group of eighteen without a booking (on a Wednesday night). Having worked as a waitress before, I know how annoying big groups can be, but it was all worked out with a minimal wait, so snaps for them!


Hurricane's Grill & Bar
Top Ryde City Shopping Centre, Cnr Devlin St And Blaxland Rd, Ryde 2112
Telephone: 02 9130 7101