Melody Markets- Chatswood

If only i lived in Chatswood, i would spend all every single Thursday afternoon there snaking on the biggest variety of food that i have ever found. . Melody Markets is a market for food that is hold every single Thursday of the week. Best thing about it is that there are so many cultures that unite at one common place.

 

Fancy some delicious dessert which are on the go? No problem, visit Hontou Box for the most amazing pancakes with a variety of fillings. These go for about 3 for $5 which is not too bad considering that all snack foods are expensive. 

They have special trays filled with pancakes which are in the progress of transforming into orgasmic snacks. The most popular flavours there are red bean and green tea.

 

My personal stash of hontou pancakes. There are like soft, warm pancakes with sweet filling of either green tea, red bean, custard or chocolate.

 

Green Tea Hontou Pancake has a very soft and custard like filling. The green tea flavour is very subtle, which i dislike but the texture makes up for it. 

 

The red bean filling is definitely a favourite. The red bean has a relatively smooth texture whilst having chunks of red bean still there. The flavour is not too sweet nor too subtle, hence creating a harmony of flavours with the hontou pancakes. 

 

If you have ever been to the Melody Markets then you must have seen the ColoTako store which is usually the one with the longest line of hungry people waiting for their fresh Takoyaki. 

 

There are various fillings that you can choose from, you can even choose half and half flavours. This is great because consumers love having the ability of trying out different flavours for a similar low price.

 

All the staff are busy turning takoyaki balls before they burn. The atmosphere of this store is so warm and welcoming. No wonder, they always have such a long line.

 

Takoyaki balls are jam packed with mayonnaise, bonito flakes and other sauces, creating the most delicious snack on the go. What a god send that Japanese street food can be found in the North Shore. 

 

                           Hyung-Geun Bark- From the Markets

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Easter Long Weekend Food Fest pt.1

Five-Day straight Easter long weekend can't only be about alcohol and parties! I had a great dinner at home, dad did what he usually does in his restaurant and cooked us a Chinese Easter meal:D

Here it is a real Chinese wok, not something you find in Myer or Big W because its the traditional ones that chefs use to train with back then. The ones dad use in the restaurant are nearly double the size though...

Steamed oysters with ginger and shallot soy sauce were the highlight of the night! Mainly because i love oysters and the special soy sauce! I have to point out that its not soy sauce you buy from the supermarkets, those ones will be waaay to salty. This type of soy sauce many use for steamed fish or boiled prawns too.

This super duper close up s

hot of the soy sauce says it all! There were heaps of chilli, ginger, shallot and parsley, it was sooo good!

You're not supposed to steam the oysters in the sauce because -

1. the sauce loses its strong taste from all the steam (water) diluting it

2. the greens all go brown und

er the strong heat

3. the oysters become too salty after being soaked in soy for several minutes.

So after steaming the oyster with

some ginger

(to get rid of any fish

y taste:P) we spooned some sauce into the oyster. Oh yeh! we added some chilli dried scallop for more flavour!

And yes this is the complete picture of what I mean by steamed oysters with ginger and shallot chilli soy sauce:)

A Late but Hearty Welcome!

Better late then never I've always said!

so without further ado... H, Jesss and I (Kristen) welcome you to our blog! I'm sure you have guessed by now that our focus will be on something most of us have a passion for! thats right you figured it out...Food glorious food!

Not only will we discuss food in general but we promise to deliver you with regular updates of recipe and restaurant reviews for you to enjoy and comment on! feel free to let us know of experiences you have had in relation to any of our blogs! we are always interested to hear of others experiences weather they be possitive or negative!

Signing off and Eating up,

Kristen :-)

Mamak!!!

I am a big believer in cheap and tasty food. The idea of spending $60 on a main dish is just ludicrous because there are restaurants that serve the most amazing dishes for $6. Mamak is one of those cheap places where food is delivered to you at lightening speed, literally!

Mamak's relaxed and warm atmosphere is a delight to be in. From the menus to the cutlery, its service is delivered in a snap.

In order to keep up with the waves of people flooding through the door, Mamak has several wait staff and several making fresh roti.

Not only is the food unique, but they have several drinks that are a sweet blend of tea and condensed milk.

The regular roti canai, $5, comes with two curry dipping sauces. Both are fragrant and contain bold notes but they go perfect with the soft, tissue like roti. Roti is so warm and just falls right apart when you eat it.

Nasi lemak with fried chicken, $10.50. Whether you enjoy a nice crunch or even when you're on a budget, this is the best meal to have. You should of seen the size of that plate. I mean seriously, $10.50 for fragrant coconut infused rice, crunchy anchovies, salty peanuts, your choice of meal, cooling cucumbers and spicy sambal sauce; isn't this more than a great deal. By the way, the sambal sauce at Mamak is just amazing, especially if you love chilli. The sambal is full of flavour and great with rice or just as a dip alone.

Kari Kambing, $15. A lamb curry that looks fiery hot but is mild and tasty on the pallete. It features herbs and spices that will definitely excite your tastebuds. The best part is that the lamb pieces are so damn tender. However, even though there were lots of herbs and spices, it was a bit bland for my liking. 

The BEST dish of the whole entire restaurant is the Satay Skewers. I have these in beef satay, $14 for a dozen. The beef itself is marinated but nothing too special that makes it pop. It's served on a white plate with cucumbers and red onion on the side to give you a special crunch. The satay sauce, however, is mind smashing. No joke, the sauce is just tasty. I find some satay sauces can be chocking to the throat because they use too many spices. Mamak's satay sauce is sweet yet mildly hot and features semi crushed nuts to give you some texture. Definitely a must have on my list.

As for dessert, roti kaya, $7.50, is the way to go. Roti kaya has several layers of roti with a sweet pandan filling and served with a cooling scoop of vanilla ice cream. It may look bland and sound rather boring, but this is fabulous. Oh how i love roti.

Ais Kacang $5. Who doesn't love shaved ice with sweet rose syrup and brown sugar and drizzled in condensed milk. To make it more remarkable, there is a dallop of creamed corn on top to intensify the flavours. Soothing and very cheap.

So guys, definitely go check out Mamak when you have time. It's right next to three beans at Chatswood Station. It's affordable and you will be out the door within 30 minutes. Or, you can be like me, just sit back and enjoy the chatty atmosphere.

                                                                               Finding the best food in town- Hyung Geun                H

More Asian food

Most people should be familiar with Asian hot pot dining. Those who hang around the city in particular must have tried or atleast seen others cook their raw beef in some kind of boiling pot.

Most people in Sydney are familiar with Chinese hotpot restaurants that serve the chicken broth and SPICY chilli soup. But during my last stay in Japan i got to try something else~
These ones were completely different - the white side was a creamy broth made of soy milk and the clear side was, according to the waitress, a collagen enhancing (wow) seaweed soup.

Omg It was so delicious!! I've always been wondering why the many standard Japanese sushi/ramen/a la carte restaurants when clearly someone could differentiate with this kind of dining.

Besides the flavours in the soup, there were other sauces and dips to have the food with, like sesame garlic oil and wasabi mayo. After cooking the meat, seafood and vegies we had some of the soup. Omg it was the best, again!

I would've had the left over soup in take away containers if it didn't make me look stupid:)

Tokyo Ramen Restaurant Review.

Foodies!

This weeks restaurant visit was to Tokyo Ramen restaurant in westfield shopping town Hornsby. This restaurant was recommended to me from a friend who shares a passion for ramen with me. I had the Negimiso ramen, a miso based soup with noddles and roast pork. It was delicious!!!

I'm a big fan of good service and its safe to say that if the service is poor i would certainly not be returning. In this case service was quick but very basic. The staff don't check on you again after you have received your meal and you are requested to pay for your meal up front... something i found to be a little strange, but non the less i didn't have to wait around for the bill to show up (something we all know is irritating when all you want to do is leave!)

All in all i give this restaurant a score of 3.5/5 and its safe to say i will be returning again!

Posted by Kristen