Cho Cho San, Potts Point

Birthdays, they come around so quickly. Slowly I find myself creeping into the next decade of my life. How I feel this year? Apparently not too bad. Perhaps I have finally accepted that it is the inevitable. As children we couldn’t grow up fast enough, now as adults I find it going by too fast. There just is no pleasing us, in any way.

Miss CC (once again) organised my birthday get together with our friends, and I got to share it with Mr TR this year. And if you remember, he seems to have Korean for every birthday celebration. But this year, because it’s a leap year and he finally turns 7, we gave him a little variety to have Japanese and so it was Cho Cho San.

Late to the bandwagon again, despite wanting to go since they opened – but better late than never right?

Scampi $24

We started with the scampi, it was nice and fresh. The ponzu gave the dish such a light and citrus like touch, this was thoroughly enjoyed on the whole table.  I just wished I slathered my piece with more sauce before picking it up and eating it!

Miso eggplant sticks $3 (each)

Now, I am no eggplant eater. Don’t like it, and avoid it. But if others want to order it, be my guest. However, we were recommended that non-eggplant eaters do enjoy this dish – and they do! Because I did! Perhaps it is due to it being deep fried, or the miso sauce had been stronger than the eggplant taste but I really enjoyed eggplant for a change. It is super crunch and rather addictive. Seconds were ordered for eggplant lovers on the table.

Hiramasa kingfish, pickled ginger, cucumber $22

The kingfish arrives and I take a moment to appreciate those fat slices, so beautiful waiting for me to dig in. But after my camera has eaten. The pickled ginger is subtle but I can’t get over how fresh their sashimi are!

Petuna Ocean trout $21

… So we naturally decide to add just one more to our meal. The petuna ocean trout. While this dish may not have been the most outstanding, it was still pretty high up there. I love how the accompanying sauces are light and not overpowering, because nothing worse than only tasting sauce and losing the essence of fresh fish cuts.

Beef tartare, wild rice, ginger dressing $22

This is the most interesting beef tartare I have had. There are bits of rice, and while it’s hard in texture it actually brings this dish to a nice new level. The chewy like bite gives the raw beef more than just that moosh-y feel.

Pork katsu steamed buns $8 (each)

I like big buns and I cannot lie….  Looking at the amount of cabbage, I feel content knowing that I am having my greens intake today. The pork katsu, fried to perfection but what really brought this to my heart was the kick in the sauce. That spicy kick was absolutely perfect, to me, it wasn’t too much or that it was lost in the dish – it was just enough to give you a kick on the palate and not losing the main focus on this bun.

Snow crab omelette, japanese curry $28

The omelette was delicious, perhaps because I love Japanese curry and this had all the right flavours soaking through. All I would love would be a bigger serving, because I am greedy that way.

Lamb cutlets, koji glaze $25

The lamb cutlets, THE LAMB CUTLETS! Maybe because I did not have much expectation on this dish, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. When biting in the juices burst in my mouth. It was far from dry, and won many hearts.

Wagyu beef, shallot $38

If the lamb cutlets were so juicy and cooked perfectly, there wouldn’t be much wrong with the wagyu, and it was correct. The texture was soft and tender, there were no tearing, just a lovely and well cooked piece of meat with some light soya like sauce to accompany.

Teriyaki fish collars $20

If you’re into getting into the nitty gritty and love eating with the fingers, the fish collar bones is the way to go. I am not much of a fish fan, but there was a loose piece of meat hanging, so with a quick reach over I grabbed it with my chopsticks. The teriyaki sauce was thicker and as expected on a sweeter scale, but it complimented the fish.

Japanese bolognese $18

This was ordered for curious sake, and I was told by the boys ar the table they would just use udon instead of pasta, in a sarcastic tone – so low and behold they were correct. Still holding elasticity, the udon noodles were bouncy once bitten through shitake mushrooms can also be found within this dish. Creamy, and tomato were all the flavours running on the palate.

Left: Mandi Shandee $18
Right: Lousiana Sawa $18

 We sneak in a few cocktails before dessert, Miss EC ordered the mandi shandee, I did not try this as I am not a fan of mandarins, at all. I ordered the lousiana sawa, this was a little too easy to drink, no indication of alcohol in anyway… dangerous!

Fukushima Fizz $15

Miss KC ordered the fukushima fizz, this had a bitter after taste, but for the aesthetics side of things, this one won the points for sure!

Black sesame mochi

We heard there were mochi’s and we wanted it pronto. Well, we wanted all their sweets (even though we had a cake). The black sesame ice cream is made in house, and has enough hints of black sesame, I personally wouldn’t have minded it to be a little stronger. The mochi was thin, and chewy – just how it’s supposed to be. Reminds me of my childhood days when we would buy packets of vanilla ice cream wrapped in mochi when I was in Hong Kong.

Japanese pavlova $12

The Japanese pavlova was more like an eton mess. Cream was covered with berries, and meringue. Pavlova lovers on the table were a little disappointed.

We ordered the green tea soft serve (served in either a cone or cup), and I was so taken by surprise that they added two candles on our serve that I had forgotten to take a photo myself! Strong matcha flavours, stronger than your usual green tea ice cream but still giving you a sweet touch.

Match ice cream $6 (per cone/cup)
Photo credits to Miss EC

But this is what happens when you don’t plan how you sit, the two Feb/March babies sit on the very opposite ends of the table!

Don’t ask where we found room to fit all this food and dessert in, but we did. Because CAKE! The Black Velvet speciality Ferrero Roche cake was delicious. Not too overly sweet, like a chocolate hazelnut mousse cake! Winning!

We were done and dusted, hugging our stomachs until Miss CC and I spotted the table next us with the chicken karaage, and we looked at each other and instantly: “WE FORGOT TO ORDER IT!” It was on our list, but it slipped our minds! Well, it can only mean one thing; I am due for another visit …

Do you have a leap year baby in your life, and do they also like to celebrate it in style? Because our leap baby, Mr TR, sure does.

Cho Cho San

73 Macleay Street,

Potts Point

    

Delhi By The Way, Potts Point

On my way over to Potts Point, I drive by Kings Cross and I am always a little bit happy and proud to have that iconic coca cola sign in our beautiful city. I always invision the night life of Kings cross with the flashing sign, cars zooming by, people walking the streets hitting up their next clubbing destination.

Located in one of the side streets sits Delhi By The Way. Refurbishing a home into a restaurant, with a fireplace sitting in the room it brings a sense of homeliness.

Candles lit above the fireplace were a nice touch in ambience to the cozy restaurant. It’s a casual restaurant with a little special fine dining touch.

The tables are set the Delhi paper as a place mat.

Masala papad $4

We get introduced to try the masala papad, I have never had this before. This has a nice kick to it, the poppadum encases a tomato, cucumber, and Spanish onions salad. It comes with mint sauce which I found didn’t really need it, but if you would like that refreshing touch, adding it will give you just that. I thoroughly enjoyed this, there were all types of tastes; spicy, tangy and refreshing with that crisp poppadum – perfect way to start my appetite.

Lahsooni jheenga $16

The lahsooni jheenga is a take on garlic prawns, while the prawns were fresh I did find the garlic a little more on the subtle side. Which could be a good thing if you’re on a first date…

Samosa $10

I know, ordering a samosa at an indian restaurant? Why!

But the pastry was light, not heavy at all like the ones you can get in a food court (how can it even compare?!) But it was a delight to eat, you get a choice of either chicken or vegetables.

Beef vindaloo $22

Another common order beef vindaloo, I am told by Susheel that back in India, this dish does not even exist. But there were constant requests for it, so it has been added to their menu. We love this curry, you sure do get the spice attack, but it’s not to the fact that it is all that you taste. You get the curry and spice flavours, and the beef is stringy and tender.

Malai kofta $22

Trying to steer away from the butter chicken, because I have already ordered much too many common dishes, we opted for the malai kofta.

This curry is a vegetable dumpling curry, inside the curry you find a selection of mixed vegetables. There is definitely potato inside, with the mashed potato texture, strong flavours of almond is found within this as well. I did find this curry could do with a little more flavour, but the curry sauce is smooth and creamy.

Gulab jamun $8

Who can say no to dessert? We order the gulab jamun, dumplings cooked in sugar syrup. While it looks like it would be deathly sweet, it was actually really light. It reminded me of greek donuts from Apollo. The dumplings were like a sponge like cake, soaked with syrup and had just enough sweetness.

Delhi ki sardi - honey and pistachio $10.50

Delhi ki sardi you say? I am in love with the honey and pistachio ice cream! The pistachio flavours were evident with subtle honey sweetness and the ice cream smooth and creamy with bits of pistachio throughout for that lovely crunch. Extra honey is drizzled on the plate, and be sure to scrap some more with your spoonful of ice cream because one can never have enough honey.

It was a pleasant meal at Delhi By The Way, there is an upstairs for parties or even functions. So don’t be afraid if it looks like small restaurant.

Do you order the most common dishes of a particular cuisine when you go to a restaurant, or do you try new dishes?

Journey from Within dined as a guest at Delhi By The Way, however all comments are based on JFW’s own opinion.

Thanks to Susheel for the invite as well his hospitality with his team at Delhi By The Way.

Delhi By The Way

42 Kellett Street,

Potts Point

The Apollo, Potts Point

How fast does time fly by us, we are already well into 2016, and to think that a month ago I was running around like a headless chook. Christmas shopping, eating, celebrating and work life was busy in finishing up before the holiday break and those last minute calls to work in the restaurant due to lots of bookings.

Fitting in with the majority, the gang and myself had our annual Christmas party organised by our all time favourite and best host, Miss CC, at The Apollo this year.

With a party of 10, we went with the Full Greek banquet for $55 per person, but we like to eat so we decided we needed more food because there was only one meat dish as a main. We like our variety.

Olives

I’m not an olive eater, but I was told by those that do, these were a little on the salty side.

Taramasalata mullet roe dip

This dip was smooth; it went down easy with the warm pita bread, not to mention that pop of flavour with the roe. Also a little on the salty side, but it just means you aren’t allowed to be too greedy with the amount you spread on your pita bread.

Warm pita bread

Extra pita bread was served in a cute little pizza take away box.

Village salad cucumber tomato feta olives

The salad gave you everything you would expect of a greek salad, not too overpowering with the vinegar but enough to let you get that sour touch mixing with the fresh vegetables. And there is nothing more pleasing than seeing a block of feta sitting on top.

Saganaki cheese honey oregano

When the cheese arrived at the table, we were all left in awe. The honey leaking off the cheese creating bubbles around the hot pan left our mouths gaping wide. Tasting the cheese was almost like reaching heaven, I think, as I wouldn’t know but if I had to imagine it, this would be it. The sweetness from the honey did not overpower the cheese, as you still got that goodness with that pan-fried touch. But eat this while it’s still fresh, as you know what cold cheese can be like. I also decided to eat this with some of our left over pita bread, YUM!

Oven baked lamb shoulder lemon greek yoghurt

The lamb shoulder was tender, falling off at the touch of a fork, a touch of lemon gives you that zesty touch adding the mint brings the lamb to a new refreshing level.

Greek style BBQ chicken $34

Winner, winner, chicken dinner; this was not on the banquet menu, and we had added this simply because we are big eaters. The chicken made an impression, and we are glad we did not pass on this. We found this was much tastier than Chiswick and was succulent. The mash under was smooth and I was digging in for more, hoping no one noticed I was cleaning the plate.

Roast chat potatoes garlic herbs

I knew I wanted to demolish the plate when the potatoes arrived, but I knew better than that, maybe. But they were crispy around the edges with just the right amount seasoning. I could live on potatoes….

Walnuts filo pastry coffee cream

The banquet comes with the filo pastry for dessert, little bits of walnuts and raisins were wrapped inside the filo pastry. The coffee cream is one not to be missed. Not quite baklava, but they do bring on some similarities with the texture.

Loukoumades (honey doughnuts)

And I said, we like to eat and we like variety, so we had the Greek doughnuts added. But our waitress kindly made our pastry servings smaller and added a doughnut each for us. These were delicious; they had a slight hard exterior and soft and pillow-y interior. The first time I had Greek doughnuts; they were hard all around, so this was definitely something I enjoyed much more.  

The Apollo catered well with their sharing menu, it is generous and there is definitely enough to cater to everyone. We just love food and like to maximise our experience by adding more food, we did all walk out hugging our stomachs.

Do you add more food to your set menus or do you just go with what has already been offered?

The Apollo
44 Macleay Street,
Potts Point