Sushi Kintaro, Norwood

January 25, 2012 Adelaide / Japanese / Norwood
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Sushi Kintaro shop front, chefs at work, sushi rice machine, train and patrons

A quick and easy bite with the work crew at the newest ‘sushi train’ to grace The Parade. Seating is limited so get in before the lunch/dinner rush to ensure yourself a seat around the island of chefs working in the centre preparing fresh sushi to place on the (slow) conveyor belt/train. Plates are colour coded depending on their value with a pricing legend on the walls for patrons to reference.

Selecting what to eat off the train was easy, I usually beeline for the fresh salmon sushi and sashimi or anything torched. After a few cycles of the train and with no torched sushi on the moving belt, I attempt to flag down a staff member to order my aburi sushi dishes. Service was a little slow that day but I finally get one of the workers attention and put my orders through. She passes the word to the chef whilst I patiently wait and watch the train continue on its course round and round and round.

I could see the chef whipping out his torch and my stomach flipped in glee. The smell was permeating as he torched the salmon and scallop.


Aburi salmon, salmon onion, aburi scallop; $4.50, $4.00, $4.50

Smoky, slightly seared salmon drizzled with sweet soy and japanese mayo on a small bed of rice was gobbled down in no time (classy!). I noticed that the salmon was drizzled with mayo before getting torched, so by the time I got my sushi, the mayo was not visible (it melted!). Is there a right way or a wrong way for aburi sushi? Nevertheless, I personally like the mayo to be drizzled on AFTER the salmon is torched as it still holds it’s shape, texture and flavour. $4.50 for 2 pieces is a bit dear in hindsight. I think I should stick to my “go to sushi” at Wasai – the aburi salmon roll (7 pieces) for $10.80. (Best aburi salmon sushi in Adelaide to date!)

Once bellies were full, a staff member tallied our plates and handed us the bill.

I rate sushi train > sushi kintaro but hey, it’s a convenient alternative if you’re in the area and you’re craving sushi that’s on a moving conveyor belt. Else, sushi at Cherry Blossom is the next best thing as it is a cheaper alternative situated in the Norwood Place mall and probably a smarter option for your pockets.

Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Value: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5

PS. Happy Australia Day for tomorrow! :D

-d

Sushi Kintaro
147 The Parade
Norwood SA 5067
P 08 8331 8850


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Zak’s Restaurant, West Lakes

January 20, 2012 Adelaide / Greek / West Lakes
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My final instalment to my small project with Wine Selectors wines. Did I save the best one to last? I think I did.

zak's restaurant

zak's restaurant
Sunset at West Lakes

I haven’t seen the C&T since our day at the beach due to work, family commitments and conflicting schedules, but C managed to round us up for a Greek feast with a killer view to boot.

Dips and bread to share:

zak's restaurant
Meze platter of 3 dips and pita bread; $16.00 and $2.20 each
Tzatziki: a traditional blend of yoghurt, garlic and cucumber with a hint of olive oil
Bantzaria: a blend of fresh beetroot, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and fresh lemon
Melintzanosalata: roasted eggplant, garlic, fresh herbs and fresh lemon

Yum yum!! Lightly toasted pita bread dunked heavily in creamy, smooth and flavourful dips. A great starter but go easy on the bread as I was halfway to my food coma already and I didn’t even finish off my share. Phew! We found the tzatziki to be slightly runnier than what we’re used to and I personally found the eggplant dip to be very spicy due to the raw garlic. Garlic breath ain’t cool.

Next up: mains! (So glad we didn’t over order cause we were reaching our peak already! Small bellies, hungry eyes.)

zak's restaurant
Brokenwood The Bentley’s Boot Pinot Noir 2010,
Mixed grill: deluxe mixed grill of chicken souvlakia, pork souvlakia, quail and loukaniko sausage served with chips and salad; $38.00
Kalamari; fried kalamari dusted with seasoned flour and served with fresh lemon; $16.00

Accompanying our meal for the night was Brokenwood The Bentley’s Boot Pinot Noir 2010, which has a “varietal and complex cherries on the nose, earth and spice on the palate…”

Lovely wine! We’re not big on red wines but this one was very very nice and smooth. And because it was so easy to drink, I more likely than not, may have almost finished the whole bottle. >.< At least I had a reliable designated driver that evening. :D Will definitely be getting this bottle again for any upcoming dinners.

As for the food, the mixed grill was okay and sufficient although I don’t think it’s hefty price tag was quite worth it. The kalamari was light, crisp; the meat super tender and soft and with a good squeeze of fresh lemon, these were gone in no time.

zak's restaurant

Food is a bit on the expensive side but the view and atmosphere makes up for it.

Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Value: 2.5/5
Ambience: 4/5

-d

Zak’s Restaurant
149 Brebner Drive
West Lakes SA 5021
P 08 8353 5000

Opening Hours
Mon: Closed
Tues-Sun: 10.00am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – late (Closed Saturday lunch)


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Ming’s Steam Boat, Adelaide

January 19, 2012 Adelaide / Chinatown / Chinese
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Hotpot feasting at Ming’s Steam Boat for S’s birthday:

Chilly nights are best spent with your mates hovering over a huge steaming pot of broth and reaping the rewards of cooking your own food.

ming's steam boat, hot pot
Selecting our meats, noodles, veggies and stock broth on their clipboard menu, a variety of sauces, hot pot and some of our ordered ingredients.

We opt for a half and half pot with 2 different soup stocks: ‘special home made chilli hot pot soup base’ and ‘fresh tomato pork ribs hot pot soup base’.

Service is slow so patience is definitely needed especially when wait staff have difficulty understanding you and vice versa.

We order a mound of food including fresh seafood, fish balls, fresh vegetables, meats and noodles a plenty!

ming's steam boat, hot pot
Boilllllll~

Satisfied? You betcha!

The heat from the chilli broth, the chewy bouncy fish balls, freshly cooked seafood, sweet corn cobs, stringy enoki mushrooms, al dente noodles all dipped generously in a concoction of sauces. Delish!

After dinner, we make a pit stop at a bar and ice creamery for a drink and a sugar hit before heading to our final destination: karaoke!

ming's steam boat, hot pot
Late night snacking at karaoke with hot chips and dukbogki (spicy rice cakes)

Happy birthday S! :)

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 1.5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5

-d

Ming’s Steam Boat
301-303 Morphett Street
Adelaide SA 5000
P 08 8410 0188

Opening Hours
Sun – Thu: 5:00pm – 12:00am
Fri – Sat: 5:00pm – 2:00am


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Hotel Tivoli, Adelaide

January 15, 2012 Adelaide / Modern Australian / Pub Dining
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hotel tivoli

First dinner outing of the year with a scoopon deal in hand. $49 for a three-course feast for two plus wine! Any two mains, any two starters, any two desserts, plus 2 glasses of Shiraz, Sauv Blanc or pints of Coopers!

A great deal and a perfect reason to head out after the first working week of the year!

Upon arrival, N and I navigate our way through the Tivoli front bar and out to the back dining area (far right entrance). The waitstaff seated us down and ran through what our scoopon deal entailed before starting us off with our drinks. The back dining area was large with a high concave ceiling and a main light fixture. The lighting was dim and a bit too dark for my liking but it still managed to create a cozy and intimate atmosphere within the huge open space.

Not long after, our starters arrived:

hotel tivoli
2 starters for $16.00
Californian fish tacos – barramundi, avocado and cactus salsa
Twice cooked pork belly – green bean and apple

Between the two, the tacos came out on top for me whereas the pork belly did it for N. The filing was juicy and fresh whilst the burrito bread held up and didn’t tear although the filling was quite soggy!

hotel tivoli
NT barramundi fillet – mashed potatoes, mussel fritters, salad of pea shoots and pickled onion mayonnaise; $28.00

We thought that the mussel fritters were going to be whole mussels which were battered and deep fried – instead they were processed mussel meat, shaped, battered then deep fried. A bummer really.

hotel tivoli
300g scotch fillet steak: Marylands 120 day grain fed; $35.00
Pistachio and olive oil cake: rosewater frosting, sumac strawberries and rhubarb sorbet; $11.00

My medium rare scotch fillet came out blue which had to be sent back – it came back less blue but more towards the medium-well done range. Oh well. It’s accompaniments of coleslaw and potato salad were quite mediocre and I would have much rather preferred hot chips and a leafy salad.

As for desserts, they took a bit longer than expected. The restaurant started to get busy later through the night and the staff weren’t as attentive as before. We eventually flagged one of them down to ask about the whereabouts on our desserts. She quickly ducked into the kitchen to check up on our order and informed us that they were on their way!

The pistachio and olive cake was light and moist. The rhubarb sorbet was a winner in my books – sweet, refreshing and a perfect palate cleanser. Our other dessert: the chocolaté marquise – peanut butter ice cream and salted caramel; 12.00 (not pictured) was more creamier, sweeter and heavier. On any other night, the peanut butter ice cream would have a been a hit, but personally, I found it too much of a heavy follow up after my steak.

Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Value: 5/5 Fantastic value with the scoopon :)
Ambience: 3/5

-d

Hotel Tivoli
265 Pirie Street
Adelaide SA 5000
P 08 8223 4790

Opening Hours
Mon-Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 9.00pm
Sat: 5.30pm – 9.00pm


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