Rahmen Genki, Japanese, Artarmon

Artarmon is one of my favourite suburbs on the north shore. It's villagy, great public transport and is home to some great eateries too.



Rahmen Genki is a Japanese noodle bar that serves your usual ramen nori, teriyaki and gyoza, fast and delicious.

Manmaruya Japanese Noodle Bar, Campsie

In the weeks leading up to Campsie Food Festival on Saturday, 4th June, noodlies Sydney food blog wanted to sample some great eats in Campsie.  Manmaruya has been in Campsie for three years and is an amazingly popular local restaurant attracting both locals and visitors.



The first thing I notice about Manmaruya is that it's been properly designed. It's zen-minimalist, attractive and very functional.  And immediately I'm struck by the fact that the place is very, very popular, it's packed today for lunch.

Izakaya Arigato Japanese, Eat Street, Chatswood Central

The next stop on our Eat Street progressive eating tour takes us to Japan.  Izakaya Arigato is an intimate Japanese eatery that fills up quickly during our visit.  Calligraphy, wood cuts, tea pots abound and creating a lovely setting.

The Udon Tempura set was pretty reasonably priced, and presented beautifully.  The tempura batter was a tad too thick for my tastes and in particular, the sweet potato a little under cooked.  Udon noodle was fresh and strong, lovely broth which was more on the salty than sweet side.

The highlight for me was the Unagi Teppan which looked stunning as it glistened in the cast iron pan.  The eel had great texture and perfectly cooked.  I loved the ever-so-tasty sauce which was divine with rice.

The green tea soju was an unusual but very pleasant drink and kind of green tea shake.

This Noodlies Sydney food blog experience was courtesy Wasamedia and our kind host, Izakaya Arigato.

Izakaya Arigato
5 Railway St, Shop P7, Chatswood
(02) 9411 6596



Eat Street Progressive Dinner, Chatswood Centre
Entree and drinks: Bavarian Bier Cafe
Mains: Izakaya Arigato
Dessert: Rocket Restaurant

Menya Mappen, Japanese, Sydney CBD

DYI Japanese noodle comes to Sydney's CBD and we're lapping it up.  This is truly fast food that's tasty, fresh and, well... er.. fast!

Even though it's near the cinema complex in the city, to get to Menya Mappen you'll need to enter a relatively quiet shopping/business centre.  The place is small and the queue is long.  But don't despair, things do move quickly. 

The concept is simple: queue on the left hand side, pick your drink, your noodles and move along the line to select your sides like pickles and a wonderful array of tempura - tofu, vegetable, etc.  Then find a seat.  From ordering to getting a seat took me only minutes, despite the longish queue.  As you can see by the video below, the staff work fast!



I selected udon noodles with egg and then prawn and sweet potato tempura. It all came to less than $9.  The soup is so deliciously tasty, the noodle is strong but not tough, just the way I like it. 

Menya Mappen rates in my books.  Can't wait to go back.

Menya Mappen
Shop 11
537 - 551 George Street, Sydney
(02) 9283 5525

Uchi Lounge, Japanese, Surry Hills

For years, Uchi Lounge was at the forefront of modern Japanese, a radical departure to the ubiquitous sushi and sashimi fast food establishments at the time.  Now there are plenty of other innovative modern Japanese restaurants about the place.

But Uchi Lounge has aged particularly well.  The grounded earthy, wood decor feels familiar and instantly comfortable.  And like any ageing beauty, the lighting is subdued and mysterious, but unmistakeably inviting.

She's both challenging and stimulating.

Garlic miso camembert on crispy lotus root, this is not fusion, it's Japanese cuisine evolving and the contrast is stunning, what's more East than lotus root and is there a better symbol of the West than cheese.  Both flavours are subtle but distinctive and they work amazingly well together.

There is of course, a nod to the traditional, there's nothing I love more than good agedashi tofu and Uchi Lounge doesn't disappoint.

Char grilled seared tuna with enoki soy mushroom sauce sounds traditional enough, but lurking under underneath is steamed squash and carrot.  The fish is well done with slightly burnt outer, while I find this delivers a pleasant surprise, it may not be to everyone's taste.

The snapper sashimi is bold and minimalist at the same time in that unique Japanese way.  Everything is wafer thin, the snapper fresh and tight.  The fan of tomato slices is a surprise as is the marinated shallots which holds the most flavour.  The dish is subtle but also amazingly intricate - my favourite dish of the evening.

It would be just wrong to enjoy wonderful Japanese and not have sake, but even here we're challenged with a wonderful array of choice.  Downstairs Uchi Lounge is also a wonderful bar and we selected warm sour cherry sake with entree and chilled pear and goji sake with mains.  Perfect compliment to the meal, they too offer subtle yet complex flavours, Ms KLui preferred the pear and I fall for the crimson sour cherry.

We also disagreed on our favourite dessert.

Ms KLui's azuki strawberry rhubarb ice cream was almost perfect in execution and I think both a playful poke and paying respect to the traditional red bean ice cream.

But I'm a sucker for the Fuji apple, ginger and star anise compote served with soy milk ice cream.  The ice cream here really hits the spot, not so sweet but strong in bean curd/soy milk aroma - oh so delightfully cheeky and sophisticated.

We shared two pots of tea with dessert, Japanese green tea and the most potent, tangible genmai cha I've ever tasted.

Uchi Lounge is that stunning beauty that you think you know so well, but the closer you get to her, the more intriguing and mysterious she becomes... she beguiling, bewitching and before you know it, she makes you fall in love with her again and again.

This Noodlies Sydney food blog experience was courtesy Wasamedia and our kind host, Uchi Lounge.



Uchi Lounge
15 Brisbane St, Surry Hills (Darlo end)
(02) 9261 3524

Pepper Lunch, Japanese, Sydney

The sign proudly says that Pepper Lunch is from Japan, this is a novel fast food chain that serves food on very, very hot iron plates.  Like other fast food places you order from the menu, although it's a lot more extensive here.  But unlike the KFC and Macca's they bring it to your table.

I had the wagyu beef (above), which arrived pretty much raw and literally cooked it myself by stirring the meat.  I couldn't taste any marinade, but the beef did taste fresh and tender.  It came with bean sprouts, some green beans and sliced carrot and rice on the side.  It was particularly nice with the garlic soy provided at the table.

Walter had the kim chi beef, which was very presentable, with the rice in the middle of the hot plate and kim chi and sauce on top, the beef on the side and needed to be stirred to cook. 

While obviously not as fast as other fast food places, we still got our order within a few minutes and they delivered it to our table.  I reckon Pepper Lunch makes a nice difference, although it is pricier than other fast food places, the dishes were between $12 - $15 each.

Pepper Lunch is next to the Sydney Cinema strip on George street and towards World Square.

Pepper Lunch
537 George St, Sydney
(02) 9264 3555

Mother's Crepe, Japanese, Sydney

Today was the official grand opening of Mother's Crepe, a Japanees chain that is spreading across Asia, North America and is now in Australia, although overseas (and even in Canada) it's called Mazazu Crepe (I'm guessing Mazazu is Mother).

Toko Restaurant & Bar, Surry Hills

Yakitori chicken

I've heard high praise for Toko and there's a buzz around about this place, almost to the point where I felt I wasn't a proper Sydney food blogger unless I've done Toko. 

Mizuya Japanese Restaurant and Karaoke, Sydney

By Noodlies Sydney food blog guest reviewer, KLui.

This is where we went for my work farewell party and I had some demanding prerequisites; yummy food, variety of drinks and lots of fun! There were 10 of us on this crazy night and there was 3 hours of non-stop drinks, food and singing...

Mizuya is part of a Sydney food group which offers a wide range of food and entertainment services. Their food is great compared to many instant food offerings at Karaoke places.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the tone of these pictures are very blue due to the fluorescent light the private room.

Seaweed sprinkled on deep fried fish - This can work as a healthy alternative to chips; they're crunch and don't taste very fishy.

Shoya Japanese, Melbourne

Sometimes bad planning turns into good luck.  Landed late in Melbourne last night and wanted to try Hutong Dumpling Bar, but of course didn't book and even at 8pm on a Sunday night it was booked out.  Flower Drum across Market Lane looked too intimidating and I probably couldn't afford it... then I noticed Shoya.

Unage canape

It was discreet but alluring, or maybe the lighting was low and flattering.  They showed me to a counter table at the sushi bar; and unlike other (cheaper) sushi bars, the chef were Japanese - always a good start.

Starter of unage canape was a delight.  The miso marinated eel topped with crab meat salad, salmon caviar and truffle.  The eel taste was much more subtle than I imagined, maybe pulled back by the miso, contrasted well with the stronger crab meat salad, with the salmon caviar providing the taste explosion.  You can tell I'm no connoisseur because I couldn't distinguish much from the truffle.

Maguro steak

Main was a feast for the eyes as well as the mouth; squares of tuna fillet steak sprinkled with thinly sliced seaweed and pan seared.  Again the taste was subtle but unmistakable.  The play of fish as chunky steak cubes was cute almost playful.  The sauce looks and tastes like a sweet jam and the red pepper corn flared momentarily with hotness.  Delightful.

Sushi Hub, Cabramatta

Cabramatta is not just about Vietnamese food anymore as you can see from my previous posts, now you can find very good Korean, Thai, Cambodian and passable Malaysian eateries in Cabramatta.

Now you can add Japanese, well actually, Sushi Hub is run by Chinese, but it's not bad.  Modelled pretty much around the same fast food places you find in the CBD, the food is fresh, tasty, but not that cheap - but on value it's always going to be hard to compete on price with local eateries.

Was in Brisbane for a whirlwind visit, used Urbanspoon to find a restaurant near my hotel in Southbank.  This restaurant rated pretty highly (14th in fact) and was literally outside my hotel.

That's where the joy ended.  Maybe I should have realised there might be a problem when I noticed that it was in a cinema complex, and even better there's a sushi train arrangement on one side of the restaurant.

I thought I might have avoided trouble by sticking to the a la carte section.

Ordered the sashimi which was over priced and not particularly flavoursome... some pieces were a little more powdery - not fresh enough?

The miso soup was nicer but had to be ordered separately - also over priced.  The green tea I ordered was particularly plain - did I mention over priced?

The only redeeming feature is their specially mixed Kikoman soy sauce - it was sweet and perfect for sushi and sashimi.

Wasn't worth the $22.50 for the whole meal.  And I was still hungry.

Brown Rice Sushi, Kings Cross

Brown Rice Sushi is a nice compromise between up-market Japanese and the take away shop front eateries.  You can get quick fast packaged sushi and/or sashimi or you can have a relatively simple but very respectable eat in meal.

The added difference is the use of brown rice for generally an extra $1.  We ate with the traditional white short grain today.



Had fried dumplings which were surprisingly good, particularly nice sauce that came with it.  Walter had chilli chicken (a different variation to teriyaki chicken I guess), and I stuck to the combination sushi and sashimi.  Not bad at all, my dish tasted particularly clean, went very well with the Yamasa soy sauce provided.

They only take cash which was only a minor annoyance.