Hana Hana, Sydney CBD

 I thought I'll make a quick mention of this little cafe/restaurant on the outskirts of Chinatown/ Haymarket. Hana Hana is the quieter younger sibling of a number of other Japanese outlets in Sydney including Wagaya and Takeru. It is located at the corner where once upon a time, the French Riviera ice cream shop used to sit perched on the edge of one of the many entrances to Darling Harbour.

Downstairs, the restaurant serves Japanese food (mainly bento box sets). But our usual haunt was upstairs where they serve dessert :). 

The place was quiet when we arrived (despite it being late lunch hour), and we made our way upstairs to another seating area decorated with pretty patterned fabric and simple wooden furniture. The upper level seating area seemed equally empty with only a mother and her toddler enjoying ice cream near the windows. A lone waitress was preparing desserts at the little open plan preparing area whilst we scouted out the ice cream display, which included all your classic Asian flavours such as green tea and black sesame.

However, we were quickly entranced with the idea of a Green tea parfait.

Left: Patterned lighting. Right: Green tea parfait $5.90.

The parfait consisted of an interesting combination of flavours and textures. There was a modest sized scoop of green tea ice cream, a chocolate wafer, some chewy mochi, crunchy cornflakes (an interesting touch, totally Japanese :)), sweet red bean paste (anko), and cream and green tea pudding at the bottom. Yum! Although, I'm not a huge fan of the mochi (which was chewy, but didn't have that much taste when compared to the rest of the parfait), the parfait was pretty satisfying overall. The dessert was not overly sweet (and may not satisfy people who like their sugar), but rather subtle, light and pretty refreshing.

Great place for your green tea ice cream fix!

~~

5/209 Thomas St
Sydney, NSW 2000

http://yesfood.com.au/hanahana.html

Umi Sushi, Darling Quarter

If there is one cuisine which I've missed most since I've moved to Canberra, it would have to be good Japanese food. Not the teriyaki or udon/ ramen , but rather good quality sushi and sashimi.

Granted, ever since I visited Tsukiji fish markets in Tokyo a couple of years ago (pre-radioactive fish era), sushi has never been quite the same in Australia. But, comparatively speaking, the fresh seafood in Sydney is excellent (I've just been spoilt), and I have been craving it since moving 3 hours inland.

Thus, I was super excited to hear about a new sushi train at the Darling Quarter. 

To my knowledge Umi sushi has another sushi train just inside the George Street Event cinemas, but I must say that this location is much better.

The new Darling Quarter has become quite a busy little foodie strip located beside the playground. Umi sushi sits nestled amongst the throng of new restaurants in the area and appears to be one of the more popular ones there, handsomely furnished with a moody dark wooden interior with subtle Japanese style accents.

When we arrived around Thursday lunch hour, the place was packed  with people sitting at the sushi train, sitting outside and ordering a la carte, and standing at the top of the train packing take-away boxes of sushi. 

It took a little while, but we finally managed to get the attention of one of the staff to put our name 

for the waiting list. The poor waiter looked extremely harassed, scribbled something down before shoving a ticket stub in my hands and hurrying off. We waited for a good 20 or so minutes before one of the side tables jutting out of the sushi train was available. It seemed like the place was a bit understaffed though, as it was incredibly difficult to grab the attention of a waiter just to get a glass of water (and later to get the bill), and when they did, the service was abrupt and a bit distracted. 

I spied a notice on the wall saying that as a lunchtime special, all sushi were $3.60 Mon-Thurs (excluding sashimi). So we ignored all the plate colours and went straight for the rather impressive range of sushi.

There was quite a wide selection (not skimping on the good stuff, unlike some sushi trains where their range of pricier/ fancier sushi are restricted when they have a set price special). The sushi was all beautifully presented and fresh, although they were not particularly large. (I've seen larger scallop sushi for $3.60) But it is Sydney CBD, so I'm not particularly surprised at the price.

Overall, Umi sushi served some pretty delicious sushi, although it is a bit on the pricier side, even with the lunch special. Service is sparse, but the atmosphere was busy and lively.

~~

Shop TR10 Darling Quarter, 

1 Harbour St
Sydney, NSW

https://www.facebook.com/UmiSushiRestaurant

Khao Pla, Chatswood

 "There's no place like home"- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Now, I'm pretty sure that I've walked past this place a couple of dozen times before I actually tried it. Perhaps it was due to it's out of the way location. It is located just off the main street of the very multicultural hub of Chatswood, in a street that is more of a thoroughfare for cars shuttling between the two major shopping centres rather than a place with particularly high pedestrian flow. 

The few times I went past it, I thought it looked small, dark and not particularly busy (guess it must have been the time of day) so it took me quite some time (after starting to get a bit bored with my usual haunts) before I finally decided to give it a shot. 

My own fault for judging by appearance.

Khao Pla is not Newtown Thai. It's purpose is not to fill up hungry uni students with cheap and copious amounts of Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. In a way, it reflects what I find Chatswood is slowly becoming since I last visited.

Fast, Vibrant, simple, tasty, nicely presented Thai food (in hipster black crockery) in modest serving sizes with a pretty good value lunch menu (Monday to Fridays).

The decor is dark and industrial, broken up by bursts of colour in the form of yellow metal stools. Black and white snapshots of a land so far removed from Sydney's North Shore span like a mural across the far wall in a teasingly "Wish you were here" way. The entry area is divided from the seating by what seemed to be a wire fence. At the back of the small restaurant, you can peak into a neat and bustling kitchen where the chefs churn out steaming bowls of Tom yum (wow, $5 for a small bowl? Wonder how small...) and plates of stir fried noodles. It was a bit stuffy however, with undetectable air-con, despite it being a moderately warm Spring Sydney day, so I wonder how the place will be in the Summer.

The staff were efficient and cheery, rapidly ushering us into a table near the windows at the front with views of the street and setting down cutlery in a tin bucket, menus and a bottle of water and glasses without prompting. 

Top left: Signage. Top middle: BBQ Pork with rice ($10). Top bottom: Pad See Ew with Beef ($11)

The food came out quickly, still warm from the wok. The BBQ Pork was delicious with a slight smokey, char-grilled flavour that was nicely complemented with the tangy dipping sauce. The Pad See Ew was also very tasty, and generous with it's beef and veggies. Overall, the food (and the fairly small bill afterwards), left us pretty satisfied.

No wonder really. It turns out that the head chef here has their own share of accolades having worked at other well known Sydney establishments such as Spice I am, Mr Wong and Ms G.

Looks like I've stumbled across a winner here! Hitting myself for not discovering it sooner.

~~
Shop 7 -
 370 Victoria Ave 
Chatswood, NSW

https://www.facebook.com/KhaoPla