Marukame Udon, Chatswood

Some careful planning saw me visiting Chatswood four times recently for some sewing classes. I'd be lying if I said that my decision to do the class in Chatswood wasn't motivated by the arrival of a new udon noodle restaurant in the suburb, Marukame Udon.

Marukame Udon is a bit different from Menya Mappen and Hana Hana as they make their own noodles in-house. This means they are super-fresh and have a nice "bounce" as you bite into them.
 

The set up of Marukame Udon is same as the other udon restaurants I've visited both in Sydney and Japan. Place your order, pick up your noodles, shuffle along and collect any side dishes you want...and then pay. Simples.

The sides are your usual suspects...tempura and various sushi-type offerings. I do miss the range of little salads and tidbits on offer at other places that I've visited so Menya Mappen will always be #1 for me.

On my first visit I try to recreate the delish udon I had in Tokyo back in February and order a bowl of Bukkake Udon with slow-cooked egg and beef. The meat here was stewed (with quite a strong flavour) rather than grilled like I had in Tokyo so sadly I think I ruined a good bowl of udon with this stunt. Better luck next time Miss Piggy!

I exercise restraint and order just one piece of tempura, settling on a Tofu Tempura ($2.40). Tasty, but I couldn't find any tempura dipping sauce here so opted for soy sauce instead.

On my next visits I stick with what I know and am not disappointed. The Bukkake Udon with slow-cooked egg is really good. Without the addition of the strong-flavoured beef the texture of the noodles really shine through. Happy happy! You can actually choose to have your bowl of udon hot or cold...I always go with hot, but I think next time I'll try the cold version as I'm told it's really good.

The side this time is a really delicious Tempura Chicken with Sesame ($2.90). The black sesame seeds add a really nice, nutty flavour to the batter. More please!

I'm already plotting my next sewing class in Chatswood so I can try a bowl of cold udon!

Marukame Udon is at 332 Victoria Ave, Chatswood.  Phone them on 9413 9434.

PappaRich, Chatswood

I celebrate the opening of Pappa Rich in Parramatta (yay for another Malaysian food option in my ‘hood..and just another food option in general) by heading over to Chatswood (as you do) for an epic Malaysian feast.

Whilst I’m all about supporting the business in my suburb the lure of meeting Pappa Rich’s newest (and first) ambassador, Poh (aka Poh from Masterchef) was too hard to resist.

Poh is as lovely in real life as she has always appeared on TV.  Her energy and bubbly nature are infectious as is her love for Malaysian food (she was still fully devouring the banquet as "her people" were trying to drag her off to the airport for the flight home - love a gal who loves her food as much as I do)!

And here's Poh and I...we're totally BFFs now!

Our feast kicks off with LOADS of different dishes that include Roti Canai – a flatbread that is quite theatrical in the making with the dough being tossed and spun like a circus trick to achieve its soft, fluffy texture.

Roti Canai with Tandoori Chicken - served with a side of spicy sambal and a cooling yoghurt raita (I like how these two balance each other out, hot vs cool). The tandoori chicken is so tender and flavorsome and you’ll be left with pink fingers as you try to pick every bit of meet off the bone. 

Roti Planata – a sweet style Roti Canai with margarine and smidgen of sugar sprinkled throughout the bread. It’s interesting to eat a sweet roti with the savoury, spicy accompaniments and surprisingly (to me) it works.

Roti Canai with Beef Rendang – my favourite as I basically love Beef Rendang, it’s my all-time favourite curry (closely followed by a Thai yellow curry as I love the potatoes in that dish).

Satay – a HUGE platter of satay beef and satay chicken is accompanied by housemade satay sauce, red onions and cucumbers. The satay is marinated in fresh lemongrass and turmeric (not sure if this is an authentic Malaysia style or not, but it’s tasty).

Chicken Curry Laksa – the most popular style of laksa in Australia (until recently I had no idea there WAS any other style of Laksa) cooked in a spicy coconut gravy with chicken, tofu puffs, beancurd skin, beansprouts, fish cakes and the kitchen sink! If you’ve dined in a food court you’ve probably had this version of Laksa.

Pappa Asam Laksa – I cannot enough of this dish!!! Until last year I had NO idea Asam Laksa was a “thing”. I am now so in LOVE with the sour flavor that comes from the tamarind broth topped with shredded pineapple, mint and shrimp paste. Another soup with just about everything in it plus the kitchen sink – we have lettuce, chilli, cucumber, red onion. This is now my laksa of choice. Two hoofs up from me.

Pappa Special Nasi Lemak with Curry Chicken and Sambal Prawns – I LOVE LOVE LOVE Nasi Lemak, probably as it always comes with Ikan Bilis (little dried, crunchy, salty anchovies) and peanuts. I love mixing the Ikan Bilis and Peanuts in with the rice and incorporating some of the hot hot hot spicy sambal for good measure. The cucumber provides the right amount of “coolness” for the mouth if you overdo the sambal (which I always do).

Fried chicken skin - really not much to say about this other than "OMG, IT'S INCREDIBLE, LIKE THE TRUE ESSENCE OF CHOOK...AND NO I DON'T WANT TO SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE. EVER".

This is just a really a small sample of the food on offer at Pappa Rich. There menu is HUGE and I’m dying to get back ASAP to try the Kaya Toast with a side of soft-boiled eggs. Come to mumma!

The Pappa Rich menu also has a TONNE of drinks on offer, from Kopi (that's coffee to you and I), Teh (Tea) and a range of fruit based drinks. You won't be left thirsty here that's for sure with the drinks menu being almost as long as the food menu. I LOVE this as I find the drinks (and deserts) on offer in SE Asia always so colourful and appealing.

Pappa Rich Chatswood is at 63A Archer St, Chatswood. Phone them on 9411 3207.

 

Izakaya Aragato, Chatswood

I recently attended a conference on food blogging – EatDrinkBlog 2011 – where a few of the seminars were focused on the ethics of blogging, and what our obligations are under the law in terms of the content of our blogs. Debate went back and forth about what to do if you have a less than positive experience at a restaurant. Do you pretend like it never happened and just focus on the good aspects of the meal, do you let the restaurant have it and tell them exactly how woeful you think they are...or do you tread somewhere in the middle? Is it dishonest not to tell your readers about both the good and bad elements of a dining experience?

Personally I try to tread somewhere in the middle, erring on the side of kindness as I’m mindful that I’m writing about someone’s business and someone’s livelihood – it’s not my place to tear them apart no matter how crap my evening was. That said, if I have had a really bad experience I don’t want to pretend like it never happened. I'm often more forgiving towards less than perfect food, but bad service really gets me going. What a quandary.

So keeping all of that in mind I’m a bit stumped about what to say about Izakaya Aragato, though I will start off by saying it is not an Izakaya, but a simple Japanese restaurant located on Chatswood’s Eat Street. From what I’ve told by those “in the know” a true Izakaya is a snack bar serving simple, small dishes of Japanese treats that you consume with a cold beer (or three) after a hard day at the office.

The food at Izakaya Aragato was all very lovely, and as we were dining on a Spreets voucher there was A LOT of food – two entrees, sushi plate, two mains and two desserts. A really good value for money meal.

When there is so much food being offered you don’t really want it to arrive at your table all at the same time. All of our dishes (bar the dessert) arrived in quick succession, like rapid gunfire, which left us to gobble food really quickly simply to make table space for everything that was bestowed upon us. It certainly wasn’t a relaxing meal, especially when the waitress was literally shoving my bowl out from under me as I was eating my entree so she could find room for my bento box. A death stare was given by me and duly ignored – nicely played waitress. Maybe they just try to get their Spreets customers in and out as quickly as possible, but as we were only one of three tables there surely I don’t quite get the need to rush us.

So onto the food which was really quite nice. Everything was fresh, flavoursome and presented beautifully.  If this restaurant was in my local area I'd probably turn a blind eye to the service as the food is well worth a revisit.

The meal started with a tea pot filled with warm Sake. I actually thought this was Green Tea so filled both our cups to the brim until I realised what was inside the tea pot. Whoops!

Our first entree was a simple bowl of Agedashi Tofu (normally $6.80) which was great. The tofu was firm, fat and so squiggly I had to resort to eating it with a fork. The broth was perfectly flavoured and a great start to the food.

Next to arrive was a Miso Soup - which was meant to accompany the Bento Box I'd ordered for my main meal. The Boy drank this straight away however so there was no worry about it going cold before we got around to eating mains.

Our second entree was a beautiful Soft Shell Crab Salad (normally $12.80).  I find it hard to go past Soft Shell Crab when I see it on a menu and this did not disappoint. The salad was generous in size and had all the right flavours that go into a making a great Japanese salad. 

The Spreets deal also included a plate of either Sashimi or Sushi.  The Boy took a liking to the Rock n Roll plate (normally $13.80) which was a good choice as it had a little bit of everything - including my favourite Cooked Tuna Salad Roll. 

I love Bento Boxes ($13.80) so it was a no brainer that I was ordering this for my main meal. I choose my Bento Box with a serve of succulent and flavoursome Chicken Teriyaki which was accompanied by Rice, Seaweed Salad, Gyoza, Takoyaki (Octopus Ball) and a zesty green salad.

The Boy is a true Aussie at heart and can't go past a good schnitzel when it is on offer. Chicken Katsu ($12.90) is the Japanese version of a chicken schnitzel- crumbed, fried and topped with Japanese Mayonnaise and a sweet tasting sauce that I've had on Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes) before. The whole lot is served with a rich, creamy Japanese Coleslaw.  Judging by the fact that there was not a crumb left on his plate I think The Boy enjoyed his meal.

The table is cleared and we wait for our desserts to arrive. We both ordered the Japanese Ice-Cream Sundae ($6.80) and it certainly put a smile on our faces when it arrived. The Sundae was a colourful concoction of Green Tea, Sesame and Vanilla Ice-Cream drizzled with Strawberry Topping, Cornflakes (??) and a pink wafer biscuit.  My favourite ice-cream flavour was definitely the nutty tasting Sesame. The Green Tea was "interesting" as it had big leafs of green tea dotted throughout giving it bitter note.  The Cornflakes added an intersting textural element and is certainly not something The Boy or I had ever encournterd in our dessert before.

Izakaya Arigato is at Shop P7, 5 Railway Street, Chatswood. Phone them on 9411 6596.

Mamak, Chatswood

Over the bridge and far away is another Mamak, tucked away near the Chatswood Railway Station. The Boy and I decide to jump ship on the last night of the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park as the crowds were just unbearable, and the jacked-up prices of the food not much better (though I have to say we were enjoying the nice outside dining experience).

We figured that as all of Sydney were at the Night Noodle Markets there'd be no line ups at Mamak...and boy were we right. We arrived at around 7.30pm and walked straight in and got a table with no waiting - talk about a good strategy.

Although we'd manage to get a bit of food in our bellies at the Night Noodle Market before the crowds descended we decided to order a few savoury items at Mamak and then dessert. I find it hard to go past Roti Canai ($5.50), a basic but delicious dish of Roti, crispy on the outside, but soft and buttery on the inside that is served with two curry dips and spicy sambal sauce.

Because I'd heard so many people rave about the satay skewers at Mamak we order half a dozen Chicken Satay Sticks ($9.00) to see what all the fuss is about. The skewers are great - charred on the outside from being grilled over flaming charcoal, a served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce - this is a different style of satay sauce than The Boy and I are used to and we LOVE it. LOVE!  It's less like liquified Peanut Butter and more sweet - even the colour is different, a deeper red.

We're really here for something sweet though and The Boy is as happy as a clam when his Roti Pisang ($7.50) arrives in front of him.  The roti is served flat with pieces of camarlised banana snuggled in between the sheets of buttery, crisp roti. A scoop of ice-cream really completes this dish. I suspect there is some sweetened condensed milk lurking in this dessert too, but can't be sure.

I seem to have a slight addiction to the sweet and deliciously moreish Cendol ($6.00) - a refreshing dessert made with gula-melaka syrup, coconut milk and shaved ice. The wriggly green noodles are made from fresh pandan leaves which gives them their vibrant green colour. When I tweeted a picture of this during the meal someone asked why I was eating Pea and Ham Soup for dessert. Oh dear!

Of course dinner and dessert isn't complete without something to wash it all down with. Being the bogans that we are we bypass the exotic (and delicious) Malaysian teas and go for a good old Diet Coke!  How adventurous of us.

The next night we're back in Chatswood hoping to get our Crazy Wings fix at the restaurant next door however they have a function on and weren't offering their al-a-carte menu. After a quick conference on the doorstep of Mamak The Boy and I decide there's nothing wrong with going to Mamak two nights in a row (says they girl who went to Mappen four times in one week recently - don't judge).

From top left: Fried Chicken, Ice Lime Drink (Limau Ais), Chicken Murtabak and my Nasi Lemak.

I didn't have my camera on this second visit, but my trusty Samsung phone snapped a few pictures for posterity's sake. I decided to have the Nasi Lemak ($8.50) with a side of Fried Chicken ($3.00). I've heard people call Nasi Lemak Malaysia's "national dish" and I can see why. It's a simple dish, but totally addictive. Coconut rice is served with a medley of sambal, peanuts, crispy anchovies, cucumber and hard-boiled egg. The Boy opts for the Chicken Murtabak ($11.50) - a chuncky Roti filled with spicy chicken, cabbage, eggs and onions.

Mamak Chatwood is at Shop P9, 1-5 Railway St, Chatswood.  Phone them on (02) 9411 4411.  And GREAT news is that Mamak has a catering menu.

Crazy Wings, Chatswood

After our all-to-brief holiday romance with Crazy Wing in Melbourne both The Boy and I were uber-keen to see if Crazy Wings in Sydney could make us fall in love all over again.

Now don't let the similarity in names fool you. Crazy Wing in Melbourne is not the same restaurant chain as Crazy WINGS is Sydney. The addition of an "s" at the end of Wings in the two Sydney restaurants should make that abundantly clear (though for awhile we were pretty confused ourselves).

In the great tradition of "same same but different" the similarities between the Sydney and Melbourne restaurants are close enough to keep us happy.

The Chatswood restaurant, where we visited, is a bit more fancy then the dingy Chinatown restaurant in Melbourne, but the food is pretty much the same. That said we did miss a few of our Melbourne favourites like corn on the cob and the flash fried BBQ prawn skewers.  The service is similar, though probably less attentive in the Chatswood restaurant.  The staff seemed to be there to chat with each other rather than take our order and bring us food - a well known crime against food blogging! At one point I started frantically waving my hands in the air to get their attention, but no-one saw me as they had their backs facing the patrons. Another dinner then barked at them in Mandarin and service seemed to be pretty swift after that.  I'm really starting to see the benefits of learning another language.

The Boy and I start our meal with drinks. Despite the positively Arctic weather outside I go for a super sweet Lychee Ice that gives me a continual brain-freeze and The Boy chooses a beer.

For us this place is all about the wings and I can't get enough of the mix of spices that season the wings (although we avoid the super hot Chill Pepper and BT Monster as the chilli hit is just too much for most humans to handle).  On this visit (which is our second in less than four day) we go for Honey Soy, Original Wings and Black Pepper - all our finger-licking good and all $2.50 per skewer.

As with the Melbourne's Crazy Wing there are loads of 'non-wing' related tidbits on offer.  The Crazy Lamb ($8.00 for a half dozen) is another must have for us, and we also try the Garlic Pork Belly Skewers ($6.00 for three skewers). I prefer the lamb skewers as I think the meat lends itself well to the moreish spice mix of pepper and chilli. That said the thin strip of crackling on the pork skewers is pretty hard to resist, and the meat is given a lighter treatment with just a dose of garlic and then sesame seeds on top.

We also order a few vegetable options just to be marginally healthy. Both the Chargrill Leek ($4.00 for three skewers) and Enokitake Mushrooms ($4.00 for three skewers) are both liberally dowsed with the chilli and pepper mix making them flavoursome and hard to resist. We also try the Sliced Potato ($4.00 for four skewers), thin slices of potato char grilled and the Pineapple and Prawn Skewers ($6.50 for two skewers).

In a Lost in Translation moment we order the Cucumber Salad but end up with Bamboo Vegie Salad ($5.80). It's a bit of a happy accident really as we never would've ordered this dish as we find it hard to pass up our beloved Cucumber Salad. The pickled vegetables were lovely, and had a slight chilli hit from pieces of dried chilli dotted throughout. The Bamboo had an interesting, almost rubbery, texture.

And, why do I love Crazy Wings so much? I think it's partly due to the novelty of food served on sticks - we all know that food on a stick tastes 100 times better than it does in its sitckless form. I also think the chilli/pepper spice mix must have crack in it as I'm totally addicted.  And in the Sydney restaurants they give you a $10 voucher for every $20 you spend with them.

Crazy Wings is at Shop 8, 1-5 Railway Street in Chatwood. This is the new Eat Street precinct. There is also a branch on Dixon Street in Chinatown which I plan to visit ASAP!