Food, challenge accepted!

Hi guys!

Over couple weeks we met up and filmed this video with food challenges for you!
We all have heard "don't play with your food" sometimes in your life, well now...since we are responsible adults, we do what we wanna do, besides eating can be fun too (well it is actually always fun if food is good :D)!
Anyways, we present to you Oreo Challenge and traditional Chubby Bunny! If you haven't tried it before, definitely give it a go with your friends~!

Hope you enjoyed it!
Cheers,
Maya

Night Noodle Market - Noodlerella for a night?

Are you well?

Yesterday I left my cave for food searches with my friend, Nicole and we ended up visiting Night Noodle Market that is being organized by, I believe, Good Food. Overall, I can only say it is very busy. It is a good place to go to learn about Asian restaurants available in Sydney and also apparently there is notorious ramen burger stall (the line was massive), but overall...I think it is a fun place to go with your friends to just sit on the grass and chillax with couple of beers (or other alcohol beverages of preference). But when you are hungry, I don't think it is a very good option. Besides all the places that have long lines are actually good and well-established restaurants around Sydney, so I wouldn't bother lining up for it, besides I prefer sitting down and enjoying my food without being bothered by millions of people and a fear to get someone spilling their food all over you (not that I would 100% mind, but still).

This is like a small speck of how crowded it was

On a plus side, there was a huge inflatable cat - and cats are always a plus

So with this face (aka YSOCROWDED) we noped out of there

And that's why after checking it out (and fueling ourselves with some Xia Long Bao and Pork Buns from Taste of Shanghai stall, we decided to go to World Square and have more Xia Long Bao :D)

Xia Long Bao

Cold noodles and fried pork buns

So that was my experience with the night market (I generally like markets, but find it is a poor choice to go and try have a meal at the market :"D)

Until next time,

Maya

MISO very hungry again!

Miso is a Japanese restaurant in Sydney's CBD famous for their Tonkatsu (Fried Pork) that is quite popular in Japan and Australia. 
I just had to have their famous tonkatsu dish with their light and crunchy panko coating. 
Here's what I got.


Very nice and filling, for me I could barely stand up after this meal. This was the Tonkatsu loin and Udon set which was $17.80, which I think is a affordable for the amount you get. I especially liked the strawberry yoghurt. All meals are served with Japanese styled rice.

A mango smoothie which was approx. $4. Other drinks available included tea, soft drinks and other flavours of smoothies.

Staff was polite and efficient, however for the businessman next to us he waited for 10 mins after he was seated for a menu. I thought staff could of been more cheery and friendly. Otherwise, service was good.

I recommend Miso to any Japanese cuisine lover looking for a more modern appeal or a bit tired from the usual sushi.

MISO HUNGRY!

Olla~
Story of my life, I am always hungry. And when I am not, I probably am just eating.

Well, let's get to food business, shall we?
During midsembreak, I finally caught up with my friends and we had food sessions in Strathfield and Hurstville, meccas of Asian food in Sydney. As for strathfield, we finally found the ONE Korean restaurant that suited our budget and was nice quality, so I present to you - Won Jo BBQ.
If you have ever been to Strathfield, you probably know about the overwhelming amount of Korean restaurants and it just happened that most of the times when I go to Strathfield for Korean food, my luck hasn't been very good. But this time, kami-sama was kind enough to let us have amazing tofu stews. We got three different types and shared between three of us and, oh gosh, it was amazing.

As always, I semi-forget to take photos, so the side dishes are half-gone by the time I remember

And we washed it off with froyo time~

Overall, Strathfield is a good place to go have chillax sessions with your friends and it is also close to my house (hehehe) and there is Hello Happy! there, too. Maybe I will talk about it next time?

As for Hurstville, it is a place to go for Chinese food, fabric shopping and... yea, sounds around right. We went down there to meet up with Holly bb and have meat skewers (that I forgot to take photo of), from I believe, some stand called Lamb Cumin (?). But most importantly we have satisfied our cravings of congee and Chinese fried doughnuts!

Trust me, the bowls are a lot bigger than they appear on the photo, we barely finished three bowls...Should have ordered 2 for 3 people, but oh well, no regrets

Overall, I hope you have a productive week, since it is Monday :"D If not, at least eat. Food before bae!

Muah,

Maya

Blurred Limes

Nando's is famous for their 24 hr marinated chicken, their grilled never fried policy and spicy peri-peri sauce. You can enjoy whole grilled chickens, tenderloins, ribs pieces, churrasco thigh bits and other Portuguese styled dishes including paella, cous cous, spicy rice, pitas and burgers and salads. What I find most interesting is their sauces ranging from what they call ''Plain-ish'' to Peri-peri hot. I tried a meal with 4 grilled tenderloins, sided by a regular spicy rice and regular coke. However I didn't get my usual Mild sauce on my chicken but one called Mango and Lime. It had a heavy mango taste with a hint of zesty lime blurred in. It was a great combination with the chicken and I recommend it to those who can't handle the heat.

Mmmmmmm Pizza

If your in the North Shore and around Northbridge then Borruso's pizza and pasta restaurant is a must stop for any of your favourite traditional Italian meals. From foccacia and bruschetta entrees to pasta's and wood fired pizza dishes there are meals for everybody. Borruso's has been a local Italian restaurant since 1994 and has not only offered great food and cuisine but also has contributed to the community by sponsoring events held around Northbridge and offering discounts to people on food throughout the week. It's menu consists of meals that can be eaten in their shop, if people wish to dine out, or can be home delivered in minimal time. This allows people to enjoy their signature pizzas however they want. Their pizza menu consists of classics including the Margherita, Rustica and Hawaiian pizzas however it also includes modern day favourites including BBQ Chicken, Supremo and Mexicana pizzas. At affordable prices, the meals on offer are too irresistible and good to ignore so I highly recommend anyone to go and try this great Italian restaurant!

D'oh Nuts

Donut King is the biggest donut franchise in Australia having a store in almost every major shopping centre. It serves the classic pink and sprinkle donut you may see in cartoons e.g. The Simpsons and also the cinnamon donuts you love for a $1 a piece. But Donut King doesn't just sell donuts, they sell a variety of other items like milkshakes, coffee, spiders, fruit juice, soft drink, hot dogs, ice creams and slushies. These items usually come in a deal with donuts and my favourite is with any hot drink purchase one can claim 2 cinnamon donuts for $1 in the same transaction. It’s a great deal for those who want to enjoy Donut King to the fullest. Children can also enjoy the variety of shapes the donuts are made in like dinosaurs and little people. It is a great place to bring the family and relax and D’oh nut worry.

Cooking with mama! More like Maya

Are you genki (well)?
In today's episode of Cooking with Maya (Please, Nintendo-sama, don't sue me for this reference!), I will show us the results of my housemates cooking + my teaching (Just like Mama!)

So recently, my housemate learned how to use toaster, fry an egg and make a sandwich. According to her, she can fully get married now, so I expect a lot of requests on her behalf now, haha! You wouldn't believe me that I am actually younger than her...by quite a lot :D

Anyways, here is our food experiments, I think it is science and as we say in this house: it's MATHEMATICAL (Popo, back in the days (she stole it from Adventure Time))

Baby's first sandwich

Actually, she made it for me for lunch and I thought those brown round things were olives, but actually, they are chocolates with coffee beans :"D Can you imagine my surprise when I thought they were olives and i ate it before sandwich (it is with tuna btw :D)? Needless to say I was not impressed by the bitterness (I don't drink coffee and not really good with bitter things), but overall I am glad she made it for me!

In return for her hard work, I made french toast with kiwi (I also put Milo instead of cinnamon, since this household is not that sophisticated :"D) But overall, I am quite happy with how they turned out! If you need a recipe, just google...I took the first one and improvised from there (true talent, ayyyy)

Baby's first fried egg~ <3

At least it tastes like an egg :D

And her reward for being a diligent student, I made stir-fry, Maya's version of bibimbap :D

I think I can be a great teacher, haha (if someone teaches me stuff beforehand :D)

Until next time,

Maya

Don't be chicken-ed out!

It is Maya again :D

I think, it is time for confession. I am Maya and I am a chicken-holic. I think I have an almost religious belief that if I eat the whole chicken, the chicken will get to the chicken heaven through my belly like a portal...so I have been working on being a guardian for a loooooooong time.

So today, I will share with you guys about the special chicken place in Sydney. I didn't really want to, since it is already as busy as it is...but I am kind today. Ok, maybe I will skip on the name, but I will tell you that it is in West Ryde.

I have liked korean fried chicken for a long time, as it is that perfect combination of crunch and juicy goodness and that place in West Ryde - perfected it! I haven't yet to find the place with even slightly as good chicken as there. The chicken is quite expensive, 25$ for the dish, but it should be shared between 2 people (at least) and I must say, every time I go back there - I have never regretted it! I think it is family-run business and even though they are all Koreans, as long as customer service is, I didn't really have much complaints (except they do treat their regulars/Korean customers better, but i guess it is a natural thing for family-run businesses).

Well, I think pictures speak better than words, so here we go - foodporn time!
*Please imagine some slow, sensual music and dim lighting*

the star of the night!

Our dinner, including tofu&beef stew - amazing during cold night!

It is indescribable perfection, but I hope you will be able to find it, please use your Google-Fu!

I believe in you! And maybe we can run into each other some time, because I go there at least once a month (it is more every fortnight haha)!

Chicken,

Maya

Self-acclaimed chef

Hi people,
it is Maya. And I am self-acclaimed chef. More realistically, I don't cook, I eat. Foodie. But recently, with my move, I realised that even I can cook. Especially when the time calls. I think, I can become a Foodwoman, not Superman, but close enough.
SO,
the point is this post will be not be about the food review, but the showcase of my skills (please deal with this :"D).
The whole reason is, I don't cook but since my housemate has been pretty useless with this department, I have been cooking for both of us. And I think I am not too bad (well, let me know what you think, haha).

From thai food...

to italian food...

and soy chicken, because I love chicken? :D

I guess, they all look similar, after all...but I guess, I can survive on my own now? (After living independently for over a year, I can only say it now? pathetic, I know :'D)

What about you guys, do you cook often? Or you prefer to eat out? (like me, but I am too poor now)

Until next time,

Maya

P.S. you can follow me on instagram if you want, @miss_mq

It is Adventure (food) time!

Hi again,

It is midsembreak and it means, time to study...actually cross that and it is actually time to eat! (Every day should be a food day!)

So today, I will talk about Dera-Uma/Oiden/Mappen corner in the CBD, Bay Vista down in Brighton-le-Sands.

So, shall we eat?

The first place is the chain of Japanese versions of fast-food - Mappen, Oiden and recent addition - Dera-Uma. Each of these restaurants have a range of cheap, yet delicious options, Mappen specializes on Udon and Soba noodles, Oiden on curry and Dera-Uma on other dons - rice dishes. I think they are all owned under on big company, because it seems they are very similar in structures. But, anyways, it is a heaven for poor students as you can get by with 5$ and have a feast with 10$. And quality is really good, too! My choice is usually curry from Oiden (small plain curry with extra cheese and ontama - egg). A bit about ontama, it is an abbreviation for onsen (hot spring) tamago (egg), which is the traditional way of cooking ontama, in hot spring water, which allows to slow-cook the egg to give it that unforgettable taste. Definitely have a try if you get a chance!

But this time, I went with Dera-Uma, since it is quite a recent addition to this family and I wasn't disappointed at all!

I got Ontama there as well! The beef steak set ~9.8$

Also, since I was on the break, I went down to visit my relatives down to Brighton-le-Sands. And you know what? My love, Bay Vista was waiting for me. If you don't know what Bay Vista is, it is a dessert bar and it is famous for its ice creams in the fishbowl-like glasses! It also opens till late (weekdays till 1am, Saturday till 3am), so it is a perfect place to chillax with friends. And that's basically what we did! We got two bowls to share between 4 (Ibiza and the-other-one-I-forgot-the-name-of) and it ended up costing as less than 10$ each. They also have cronuts, if you don't know what it is, it is deep-fried donuts made from croissant dough, turned into a craze because of Newtown's Brewtown - their cronuts are being raved about on every Sydney foodie blog!

Back to the topic, here is pic spam

Until next time,

Maya

Oh, you are the loaf of my life!

You think this is gonna be a review on the bakery?
No, it is about my love - ramen.

A while ago, I went to the private opening event for the Central Park Ippudo with Melanie (another of the weirdoughs), so here is some saucy review for you guys!

It is a chain of restaurants originated in Japan, so you don't need to question their authencity. And even though it is on pricier end, it is so damn worth it! *throws the monies in the air*

On my way to fill my belly with food!

we were very hungry, so derp selfies to kill our time waiting for the ramen

The starters arrived! We got the salmon sushi (these guys are amazing! I would actually just go to Ippudo to get them...like 4 plates :D) and gyoza...well, they are quite normal as everywhere else

Mel's red ramen, Ippudo has a choice between red (Akai) and white (Shiro) types of broths, depending whether you like a more spices-taste or creamier-taste (similar to tonkotsu, I think?)

And this is my white (shiro) ramen with lots of meats

Overall, I totally recommend this place (I have been back there for 2 times already) and if you don't know, they have another place in Pitt's street mall as well!

Until next time, 

Maya