I don’t get time to brunch during the weekdays so I absolutely love cafes that are open for dinner!
So when I found out Kusuka Café was open for dinner, serving their super pretty bowls, and you could dine for a discounted price through Dimmi, I was super keen to give it a go.
Earlier in the year, Mizuya did an awesome promotion of all-you-can-eat. Including absolutely everything on their menu from sashimi to sushi, seafood, grilled meat etc, it was ridiculously good value at $33.80, and even when it went up to $39.80. Sadly this promo finished in October, so this post is long overdue, but I thought I’d share some of the pics of the great food we’d enjoyed.
Warning: very pic heavy post ahead!
Back in my uni days I used to take a ‘dumpling tour’ in the Sydney CBD on weekends, and one thing I learnt is that, everyone loves dumplings. Lots of them too!
So it’s not surprisingly that Harajuku Gyoza, a cute little gyoza joint in Potts Point, is quite the popular spot for a quick dumpling fix.
Pork and Prawn Gyoza with Ginger and Spring Onion Dressing, Grilled ($9.8)
The menu is mostly filled with different gyoza varieties, as well as some izakaya share plates. Pork and prawn gyoza are like your typical Japanese style gyoza, with soft a soft wrapper encasing a delicate prawn and pork filling. The ginger and spring onion dressing is light and tasty.
Beef with Shiso Gyoza, Grilled ($8.3)
Beef is a much less common choice of filling, but the beef with shiso gyoza is surprisingly tasty, the shiso imparting an unusual but delicious flavour.
Mozzarella Cheese with Semi-dried Tomato Gyoza, Crispy Fried ($9.2)
For someone completely different we also try the mozzerella cheese and semi dried tomato gyoza which is super crispy, with stretchy cheese in each bite.
Tempura Eggplant ($8.5)
Tempura eggplant is fried in a light, crispy batter, the eggplant itself silky smooth.
Our visit to Yummy Chinese BBQ was a little unintentional. We were infact looking for an all you can eat hotpot joint in Chinatown, but these seem to be very scarce these days so when we saw the sign at the door for all you can eat skewers and hotpot, that was about the closest we could find!
It’s a nice setup, and much tidier and cleaner than most other Chinese skewer/AYCE places we’ve visited in Sydney, and there’s a vast spread of pre-skewered meats, veggies and sides on display. We’re sold instantly!
The idea is that you get a large charcoal bbq in the middle of your table where the meats rotate themself to cook- minimal effort involved! You also get a small hotpot on the side for the best of both worlds!
We start with the sides where there is a large selection of chilled veggie dishes.
Then we move onto the meats where there is everything from your typical chicken, beef, lamb to offal.
We find somethings work well on the rotating bbq, other things not so much. Like the sausages which were so soft they fell off the skewer, or the unbalanced chicken which would not rotate. All part of the fun I guess!
You’re also given a net where you can grill unskewered items like enoki mushrooms, corn and garlic bread.
The hotpot selection comes with your typical options of veggies, fish balls, mushrooms etc. Beef and lamb slices are ordered and brought out from the kitchen.
There’s also soft serve for dessert and on the day we visit there’s vanilla and matcha on offer.
Prawns Coated on Sugar Cane ($17)
There’s no shortage of good Vietnamese restaurants in Canley Vale, and though we tend to stick to our favourites, we’d been past Bach Dang so many times we thought we’d give it a try too.
It’s much larger than it may first appear, there’s even a function room tucked away on the side, and the place is bustling with large groups when we visit on a Saturday night. Menu-wise, it is quite similar to next door (Hai Au Lang Nuong), just with a slightly nicer ambience and modern décor.
Papaya, Prawn, Jelly fish salad ($17)
We start with our favourite papaya, prawn and jellyfish salad which comes with thin strips of crunchy fresh papaya in a light, tangy sauce. Prawn chips add a pleasant crunch. It’s delicious on its own but we actually find it a great addition to our rice paper rolls too!
Prawns Coated on Sugar Cane ($17)
Prawns on sugar cane are always a crowd pleaser, the prawn mince fresh and bouncy, a delightful sweetness imparted from the stick of sugar cane in the middle.
Prawns Coated on Sugar Cane ($17)
There’s three sticks per serve, but once cut up and incorporated in a rice paper roll, it serves plenty.
Seafood Spring Rolls
Make sure you try their seafood spring rolls, which are unlike any other spring roll we’ve tried before. They’re massive deep fried balls packed with seafood, in the form of prawns, calamari and fish, coated in a crispy batter that is slightly sweet and reminiscent of Korean corn chips.
Roast Quails $14
Roasted quails are super crispy, as always a little fiddly to eat but worth it for the tasty tender meat.
Vietnamese Sour Soup (Canh Chua) with whole Fish
The Vietnamese Soup soup with whole fish comes as a hot pot. It does take some time for the soup to heat up and then to cook the fresh fish pieces but its well worth the effort for a tasty sour soup. It’s a little more on the bland side compared to the version we’re used to next door.
Claypot Caramel Fish
For a hit of flavour, go for the caramel fish which is a little on the salty side for our tastes, but is also equally sweet.
Mud Crab with Tamarind Sauce
The mud crab is definitely something different, stir fried in a tangy tamarind sauce.
Stir Fried Snow Pea Sprouts with Linh Zhi Mushrooms ($22)
We’re disappointed when the snow pea sprouts turned up as snow peas, but the Linh Zhi Mushrooms are something different, served in a savoury glaze, almost like a vegetarian abalone.
