Bites: Izakaya Sakura @ Northbridge

Standing where a previous Izakaya restaurant once stood, Izakaya Sakura is the successor to Ayami which despite is decent quality food and excellent service,  did not stay for long.  Stepping inside with the little darling, I find that little has change since my visit last year.  The decor, the sitting layout, and even the bar still sits on the same spot as it was during Ayami.  Putting that aside, upon our arrival, the prompt service by the waitress was welcoming as she reviewed our booking and brought us to our sits. 

Izakaya Sakura

 

After spending just moment on our seat, the waitress presented us with 3 miniature bowls filled with cold appetizers.  Each were $3 and so we decided to take 2 out of the lot.

The potato salad was nice, clean and refreshing unlike its western counterpart while the pickled vegetables were just as good.  Slightly sweet with a hint of sourness due to the sweet vinegar used in it.  Overall, it was a good appetizer which helped enhanced our appetite that night.  To be honest I was already starving and having sour foods did not help at all @@!

 

Izakaya is equivalent to Tapas where diners call small serves of food to share.  In Australia, this is becoming an increasingly common offering.  In my dictionary of Izakaya restaurants, diners are spoilt with choices such as the over-mentioned Ha Lu, Kanta, Satsuki, and a whole lot more.  Tonight the little darling and I picked an assortment of dishes.  Some old, some new.  Our first dish for the night was the Mentai Mochi Cheese.

Set upon a bed of shredded cabbage was 5 mochi topped with spicy cod roe before having cheese melted on it.  The end product while far from outstanding was a different experience.  Something so chewy as mochi when heated further created a very very chewy thing which I have to say, I chewed until I got tired.  Spicy cod roe felt a little wasted here unfortunately as the taste did not quite complement nor stood out in this dish. Nevertheless, don’t try, won’t know! A good experience but next time I might shy away from it.

 

Next was the Buta no Kakuni or Japanese braised pork belly.

I’m not going to hide the fact that good pork belly pleases me ALL the time.  This version made by Izakaya Sakura was every bit satisfying.  Melt in your mouth bits of pork doused with sake-fragranced sauce was lip smacking.  Also, do not be put off by the liquid-y sauce as the perfect balance of sweet and saltiness is good!  A bowl of rice complimented this dish perfectly.  Also, do not leave out the poor mustard as it has a good chemistry with the pork belly.

 

Next was the Agedashi Tofu which is one of the little darling’s favourite.

While some places tend to deviate from the traditional way of serving this bean curd dish, Izakaya Sakura served it in its most common form which almost never fails to deliver.  This might not be outstanding when compared to all the other restaurants, but as a bean curd lover, keeping up with the standard was all I needed.

 

Next was the Karaage with a Citrus Ponzu sauce.

While KFC has been keeping their special recipe a secret for many years now, they did not realise that the Japanese does not even need it.  One of the worst kept Japanese secrets has got to be the Kaarage which despites its simplicity, never fails to deliver to this unhealthy appetite of mine.  Crispy yet tender and with a marinade that is tonnes more appetizing than a KFC, this was yums!  If there was anything there which I could fault with, it has got to be the rate the citrus sauce made the chicken soft.  Otherwise, this was good :)!   Other than these dishes, we also called a sashimi which to me was terrifying.  But darling nevertheless help devour those 1/2 inch thick salmon slices which is so ewww!

 

We finished the night with a simple dessert called Taiyaki which simply means Japanese pancake filled with red bean paste with green tea ice-cream!

Darling’s a dessert lover and I can tell that she enjoyed this.  While we were expecting the pancake to have a crispy wafer shell, it was none of that and turned out soggy instead.  But fret we shall not as the green tea – red bean combination never fails to deliver.  The ice cream by itself was just spot on.  Green tea was refreshing and did not leave any powdery  sensation on my palette.  Creamy in each scoop. WoW! The weather is scorching today and damn I would like a serve of Taiyaki!

 

If anyone were to ask me whether I’d recommend Izakaya Sakura, I would.   Despite ordering quite a fair bit of food, the total bill was somewhere around $70 for the two of us which was fairly priced.  A similar meal at Satsuki was something like $80 and Ha Lu about $90?  Furthermore, the service was really really attentive.  I felt like my every dining needs were attended to promptly.  Food albeit ordinary, was cooked perfectly.  In fact, calling the food ordinary is not really quite appropriate considering it was darling and I that chose to order what we ate.  In the end, it was a pleasant evening.  I would definitely return one day!

WenY

Bites: Kitchen Inn @ Thornlie

This is an over due post thanks to my finals which ended a few days ago!  3 weeks ago, my sister introduced to a very unique eating place in Perth.  While ambience is not one of its strong points, the type of dishes served here are special as they are those typically found in the Eastern states of Malaysia.  Truthfully, its a rare find. Expectedly enough though, they bring favourites such as the Kampua Noodles, Glutinous Rice with meat, and other Malaysian favourites such as the Siu Mai (pork dumplings) and Bak Kut Teh (herbal pork). 

 

For me, I begin my meal with a single serve of the Pork Dumplings which costed $4 I think.

There are many things which I liked and disliked about the meat dumplings.  While I’ll try not to complain about its looks, seriously please, it looked dead with its skin tasting slightly dry.  But do not be put off by it saddening appearance as the well-marinated meat was something one would enjoy.  Dipping it in chilli oil did tend to make it slightly un-Malaysian considering I almost never use chilli oil when eating dim sum in Malaysia.  Nevertheless, this was decent but would be kickass if it had a little more colour.  Perhaps some carrot bits?  More importantly, minutes more in the steamer would have made a whole lot of difference too!

 

Glutinous Rice Dumpling (Zhong)

The glutinous rice on the other hand was hard to fault with.  From the well cooked rice, to its lovely ingredient of mushrooms and pork.  This was spot on!  To be honest, it reminded of home where we would pay less than $1 to a man who often regarded my dad as his ‘brother’ when I was young.  I’d have to say, classic Malaysian ones over the glutinous rice served in Hong Kong dim sum places.  They’re obviously two very different things but hell yeah! Malaysia FTW!

 

Kampua Noodles @ $6.90

After savouring all the little pleasers, my bowl of noodles finally arrived. From the first bite, I was already impressed on how the chefs have maintained their style of serving.  Unlike most places who tend to justify price with content, Kitchen Inn plays conservative by continuing a style true to its root. Cheap and loaded with carbs.  Flavour on the other hand was verified by the only mate that hails from East Malaysia.  His take on it? Good stuff.  Enough said.  The noodles in my opinion tasted good.  The sauce used gave the noodles a very tasty coating which unfortunately tended to dry quite quickly.  When it does, Kitchen Inn has a sambal (chili paste)  which was very very good! I used a spoon to finish up the remainder of the noodles which I enjoyed a lot!  To wash it all down, a hot teh tarik @ $3 and it was home run!

 

By the end of the meal, I was bloated.  Something like a pig crossed over with something really fat hmmm maybe an American?  Jkjk.  Nevertheless, Kitchen Inn has proved itself worthy.  Admittedly, and sadly, such food would be difficult to find even in Peninsular Malaysia where the population is probably 10 times more than that of East Malaysia.  What more when its thousands of miles away from home? I guess its true that some things taste best where they come from.  Luckily enough, original decided to move.

 

WenY

Bites: Kanta @ Langford (Visit 2!)

Kanta has been, for a long time my choice of restaurant for quality Japanese food.  Over the last 5 years I saw this establishment in the Langford suburb bloom from a hidden jewel, to a restaurant where it is impossible to be seated without a booking.  Sometimes, a week or more in advance for dinner.  Leading the kitchen is Akira-San who seems to have taken the backseat and is now only managing the sushi/sashimi side of things while everything else is left to his trusty apprentice!

 

While I have been here plenty of times before, Kanta has changed this year with its staff now wearing official Kanta shirts and more importantly, a revamped menu.  Oh, and don’t forget the new website they have which you can check out here. New introductions to his already decadent menu includes an array of pork belly dishes and a few more traditional Japanese sushi like the spicy Uramaki or the thick Futomaki.  In this visit of mine, I knew I had to depart from my usual Teriyaki Chicken or Gyu Tongue Steak to find out how the new offerings stand against an already impressive list of dishes!

 

For our appetizers, we ordered plenty of rolls, sashimi and other entrees like the Agedashi Tofu and the Ika Shioyaki which is a classic favourite among my circle of food loving mates.

Ika Shioyaki @ $8.50 or octopus tentacles grilled over the stove with salt were every bit appetizing .  The fresh seafood naturally carries a sweetness which, when paired with the charred flavour from the grill, was absolutely good!  Freshly squeezed lemon added that extra zing which complemented all the flavours! Add that extra kick from the sinful mayonnaise and damn it was good!

 

No stranger to the Japanese culture is the sashimi moriawase for which you can get a small serve of kingfish, tuna and salmon for $16.50.

Fish is not my sort of thing, but for the girls, they loved every bit of it!  Oh, and do not forget fishman YiHeng who loves fish too!

 

But my highlight for night is a much welcomed addition in the Kanta establishment, the Teriyaki Pork Belly @ $18.50.

Garnished with Saffron and Brussel sprouts, the pork belly seated gracefully on a mixture of teriyaki sauce and a cream sauce which is a concoction of mayonnaise and spices.  The meat was good with the perfect amount of fat.  The girls found it a bit unhealthy but to me, it was just spot on!  While the pork belly as a whole was tender and juicy, there tended to be a few bits which were not that well cooked.  But that did not matter much.  If you are not a fan of teriyaki sauce, this might not be your cue, but otherwise, the setup of a good sauce with a well-cooked pork belly will blow you away.  Another noticeable feature of the dish was the four little dots which were another type of sauce which reminded me of the Korean Bibimbab sauce ahah.  Slightly peppery with a hint of sesame flavour which brought added flavour to the whole dish!  For me, the downfall of the entire plate was the Brussel sprouts which were a little bitter :(!

 

As a whole, Kanta is still a leader in its class of restaurants.  The authentic Japanese canteen which still dishes out classic Japanese favourites like the teriyaki, sushi and sashimi are hard to beat.  While simple decor paired with lethargic waiters might seem unwelcoming at times do not be fooled.  But if you are keen on decor and have a suitable budget to match, other good Japanese restaurants with like  Satsuki, Halu, Toraya and Nine Fine Food are hard to beat but would have you poorer by $40-70 dollars.  My dinner at Kanta only cost me $25 today.  What can I say?  Love it!

 

You can check out my previous post here  where I had listed a few other goodies Kanta has to offer! ;)!

 

WenY