06 December 2021

Chhole Poori and Paneer Dosa at Nashta Traditional Indian Breakfast, Lakemba

Across the road from the train station at Lakemba is a small cafe that specialises in Indian breakfast dishes, serving them all day. It's a brief menu, crisp edged dosa, fried wada (or vada), puffy poori with chickpea curry and a weekend khichiri special. This is Indian in and out breakfast, scoop with the bread or fingers and get on with your day.

26 November 2021

Khichiri at Flyover Indian Fritterie and Chai Bar - Temperance Lane, CBD ~ Indian


A simple looking dish of slow cooked rice, mustard seeds and spices, but the flavours are a complex whirl of happiness. Deep fried veggie patties and a couple of battered and fried green chillies. Crisp roll of plantain and a spoonful each of coconut crispy and tamarind chutney. Khichiri, khichuri, khichdi, whatever your preferred version, it is mostly the same basic base of rice and split yellow lentils cooked in ghee with spices. 

25 November 2021

Krabby Patty soup at Viet Rolls, Marrickville


We have a thingy thing for Vietnamese crab soups, and this is one of our all time faves: banh da cua - soft crab mince with brown rice noodle ($15).  Clear broth and brown noodles, which are kinda like wholemeal fettucine - nice chew and a nice change to your standard rice noodles, fish balls, greens, betel leaf rolls, a pool of crab mince that really flavours the soup, and some lucky dip bits of fried pork belly. In short: a killer broth and lots of fun bits. Awesome.

23 November 2021

Oyakodon at Momiji Japanese Takeaway, Pittsway Arcade, City



We love ourselves a bit of oyakodon - chicken and egg on rice, with a little onion to sweeten things up. Momiji does it the way we like it, with the egg still a little runny. It's a plain dish but sometimes that's just what the stomach demands, it's a good protein hit to boot. Next hangover we'll return for the miso katsudon - a schnitty coated in sweet gooey miso sauce.

22 November 2021

Abura-soba gyokai at Ramen Zundo, World Square, CBD ~ Japanese soup-less noodles




We are big fans of the ramen at Ramen Zundo, the broth with a mix of dried bonito is one of our favourites. But what if you took the broth out and just left all the goodies and the flavour base? Abura soba (also known as mazesoba) originated as a soupless ramen where the noodles are coated in oil and the tare flavour base is left at the bottom of the bowl to stir through the soba noodles.

There are three versions at Ramen Zundo, original, spicy and one with a dried bonito blend. Each version has chopped softly cooked pork, bamboo pieces, soft cooked egg and lots of chopped spring onions. The gyokai (dried bonito blend) version not only has a fish flavoured sauce at the bottom of the bowl, it has a generous amount of ground bonito powder sprinkled over the top of the bowl.

19 November 2021

Heshela Newa Khaja Ghar ~ Newari Nepalese - Rockdale

This Heshela Samay Baji Set ($19) has a mix of flavours and textures we have only encountered in the exotic Nepalese region of Rockdale. There are familar flavours of curries, egg and a roti thingy, but also some eye-popping wow moments from the sour pickle flavours, the squished Rice Bubble texture of the baji and the tooth-threatening hard crunch of what we think is called Haku Mushya, Google says they are black soybeans - they are like chomping on barely cooked popcorn kernels. 

18 November 2021

Soft bone pork noodle soup at Kwan Noodle Bar - Sussex Centre, Chinatown ~ Hong Kong style noodles


Sussex Centre appears to have weathered the closures in Chinatown better than other areas (Dixon House, still sad). It is quiet on a Wednesday lunchtime and some stalls are closed until the evening, bonus though is getting a table. At Kwan Noodle Bar it's all go and we are in the mood for a noodle soup.

There's a number of combos available for your soup choice but it's soft bone pork we are after, a cut of meat that gives you melting soft meat off slowly cooked bones that are more like cartilage. The soft nature of the 'bone' means that give a crunch that won't crush that expensive dental work, it gives to some pressure and a happy amount of textural oomph. Our choice of thin egg noodles, a couple of huge hunks of soft-to-the-bite radish, half a bum nut and additional toppings of chopped shallot and chilli make a bigger lunch than we anticipated. The broth is dark with just a touch of star anise in the aroma.

10 November 2021

Sukhothai soup at Khao Kang Maruay ~ Thai, Haymarket



Khao Kang Maruay is a Thai E-San (north eastern Thailand) resto that was one of the last places we dined in before the June lockdown and takeaway only rules in Sydney. It had only just opened on Ultimo Road with offers of small bowls of soup, a takeaway bain-marie-of-love and loads of stuff on sticks. So coming back this week, it's just like picking up where we left off many months ago.

We are big fans of a small bowl of soup, something to tide you over or fill a smaller space in your stomach. There's three different soups on offer here for $6.90 for a small size and $12.90 for a larger bowl. This version is the Sukhotai, a lighter style broth with slices of fish cake, fish balls, quail eggs, roast pork and your choice of noodles (we went thin egg over the more usual rice noodles). With build your own soup adventure fixings at the ready, you can add in as much fish sauce, vinegar, sugar or chilli as you please.

14 February 2021

Valentine's Day Romance at Philly-Up Tempe

It's a beautiful evening in the 'hood so we head down the Princess Highway for some Valentine's Day adventures at Philly-Up.

30 December 2020

Gone but not forgotten 2020 - our annual round up of farewells in the year


This year we've been dreading writing this list of places closed over 2020. While it feels like the last thing you want to read, we feel it is important to reflect and remember on what has passed over the food retail rainbow. 

24 December 2020

20 December 2020

Satuco ~ Indonesian, Campsie Centre Shopping Mall

Ah, an Indonesian stall in a shopping centre food court, now that something we'd like to see Australia-wide.  We'd much rather get a bakmi ayam than a McBurger after a trip to Big W.

23 October 2020

Mogu Mogu ~ Japanese - Chinatown

In our eternal search for hole-in-the-wall restos with outdoor seating we discover that Japanese sweetie shop Mogu Mogu on George Street has a donburi (stuff on rice) menu. Happy happy!

15 October 2020

Galbi Korean Charcoal BBQ, Waterloo

Galbi in Waterloo has been one of our little saviours during the zombie apocalypse - outdoor seating, purdy bonsai garden and healthy delicious food. 

11 October 2020

Everest BBQ ~ Nepalese, Rockdale

It's not hard to find a Nepalese restaurant in Rockdale these days, there seems to be a momo joint on every corner. But the smokey siren call of Everest BBQ gets us in, smack bang outside the railway station.

04 October 2020

C-Side Function Centre & Kiosk - Greek Fish 'n' Chips, Kyeemagh

Seek out the pointed spire along General Holmes Drive for a taste of the Greek isles mixed with fish 'n' chip shop classics.

30 September 2020

Killiney Kopitiam - Singaporean ~ Central Park, Chippendale


A small bite of Singapore sits inside the lower levels of Central Park. Mee rebus, soft googies, sock coffee and kaya toast await at Killiney Kopitiam


25 September 2020

Yummy Noodle & BBQ ~ Chinese, Chinatown

Our favourite spicy noodle soups in Chinatown right now are at Yummy Noodle & BBQ in Chinatown.

15 September 2020

10 September 2020

Superbowl Rides Again!

The very much loved iconic Superbowl in Dixon Street Mall shut its doors during the zombie apolcalypse, news that even made the  hoighty toighty pages of Gourmet Traveller.  Along with the recent closure of BBQ King and the long-gone glory of Supermeal, we were beginning to think Chinatown's wonderful old school Cantonese restos were just a Tsingtao soaked memory.

05 September 2020

23 August 2020

Xi'an Cuisine ~ Chinese, Haymarket/Chinatown

Our quest to find outdoor dining with b-kyu street-cred during the zombie invasion brings us back  to Xi'an Cuisine on Hay Street, one of Chinatown's golden great hole-in-the wall restos.

12 August 2020

B-Kyu Armchair Travels - Melaka, Malaysia

We made it to Melaka for New Years Eve, where the pussycats sleep in tangles, musical Hello Kitty rickshaws rule the streets and we find the remains of great civic building projects, both good and bad, old and new.

04 August 2020

Shalom - Indonesian, Mascot Central

The new bit of Mascot around the train station is just getting better and better food-wise. And it just got closer!

29 July 2020

Cho Express A Taste of Taiwan ~ Zetland

There was an excellent-but-sad article on the struggles of Sydney's Chinatown in Gourmet Traveller last week. On top of the mentioned zombie invasion woes, Chinatown now also competes with surrounding suburbs for bums on seats.