Japanese…Yes Please!!

The words ALL YOU CAN EAT tend to catch my eye any day of the week. Add to that Japanese and you’ve got yourself a winner! Recently, my sister discovered a beautiful little Japanese restaurant in Sydney’s Glebe which I just have to share with you all. Mori Sushi (175 Glebe Point Rd) offers one of the best all you can eat deals that I have ever seen. Last weekend my family and I went for dinner and opted for the $30 all you can eat menu (the restaurant offers 3 types all ranging in price). What’s great about this restaurant is that you can literally order any dish off the menu and stay and eat for as long as you like!! I’m not even exaggerating. The first time we ate there I was a bit sceptical because it all just seemed too good to be true but then our lovely waiter explained that you truly could order anything in as many quantities as you liked! There were no rules that stipulated you must finish a dish in full before you can order another or that you could only order one dish at a time, the waiter even encouraged us to eat as much as we possibly could! And after we had finished there, I’m not sure how they could possibly be making any money!

Throughout the evening we ordered an assortment of hot and cold dishes (probably a few too many to name them all) but one of my all time favourites were the Yakitori (chicken teriyaki skewers)! Moist pieces of chicken, floured and fried to give a crispy finish before being marinated in a rich, thick teriyaki sauce and served on skewers. Mmmm yum! I probably ate about 5 because it was just so delicious! Another surprisingly tasty dish (which I had no expected) was the Crunch sushi roll which was an inside out roll filled with crab meat and cucumber, deep fried to give a crispy outer shell to the rice. Wow! It was like a Japanese version of arancini!! 

Other recommendations include the sashimi salad, which was beautifully light and fresh with a large portion of mixed sashimi on top and the seafood hotpot, a light miso broth filled with a whole assortment of mixed seafood (including a whole fish!) and served in a stone bowl and kitchen stove/oven! It was very very tasty and a perfect Winter warmer I would imagine. You can’t go past the prawn tempura which is one of the lightest tempura dishes I have ever tasted, and doesn’t leave you feeling overly greasy. 

Aside from all of the wonderful food (from which you really can not go wrong) the waitstaff are so friendly and welcoming, encouraging all of their patrons to eat until their hearts are content. Whilst the majority of people dining on Saturday night were doing the all you can eat deal, food was very fast to be served and of a beautiful, high quality. Everything was very fresh and beautifully presented, especially the mixed sashimi plate, which included a huge collection of fresh sashimi (prawn, salmon, tuna, kingfish and scallop).

Finally, after almost 2 hours of eating and chatting we were finished and what a beautiful meal it was! Trust me, don’t have lunch before you go and be prepared to eat (maybe wear loose pants too!). Overall, I would highly highly recommend a visit to Mori Sushi. Even if your not interested in the all you can eat menu, the a la carte menu is very reasonably priced and includes a fantastic range of dishes. Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did! PS, I’ll be back for a third visit ASAP!

 

Magical Middle Eastern

Last Friday night (sounds like a pop song I know!) my family and I went to Kazbah Balmain to celebrate my mums birthday. I had never been previously but so many of my friends had recommended it so I was fairly excited! Personally, I don’t get the opportunity to eat a lot of Middle Eastern food which is such a shame because it would have to be one of the most interesting cuisines, flavour wise due to the fantastic combinations of diverse spices! One of my culinary resolutions for this year is to learn more Middle Eastern inspired recipes, although I’m not quite sure my versions will be as good as those I sampled on Friday. Nonetheless I will give it a red hot go. I think what draws me most to this cuisine (aside from my desire to travel to Morocco one day) are the perfectly balanced combinations of spices that create the most wonderful aromas. Add to that the use of vibrant and colourful ingredients that are jam packed with flavour and perfectly tender meats and I’m fairly certain you can’t be disappointed. Just thinking about it now is making me salivate! Unfortunately everything looked so good that as soon as it was put down in front of us we gobbled it up, so I have to apologise for the lack of pictures in this post (you’ll just have to trust my descriptive ways). 

Anyway, along we went to the Balmain restaurant, which is the original flagship restaurant. Once we arrived we entered into a beautifully modern, open planned space which was not what I had anticipated but worked perfectly. There was a sense of authenticity to the decor, which still maintained a sense of being deep within the Middle East but had a modern spin that was so appealing. 

We decided to share all of our dishes because, well personally I feel that these foods were made for sharing. I should probably re-enforce that my family and I like to eat, a lot so we had a real feast. We started with the Kazbah Mezze Plate ($22 pp) which included an assortment of creamy dips (hummus, baba ghanoush & tziki), breads, halloumi cheese and these beautiful marinated chicken wings which were to die for. Following our entrée we shared the Chorizo & Haloumi Stuffed Calamari ($22), the Harissa Marmalade Beef ($33), the Chicken and Chermoula Tagine ($32) and the Beef Cheek Tagine ($33). Wow! I’m not even sure how to pick a favourite from any of these dishes. The meat in each one was soft and moist and literally falling off the bone. Each dish was accompanied by either fluffy CousCous or Rice Pilaf which was perfect to soak up the rich, fruity sauces that they were cooked in. I would definitely recommend the Harissa Marmalade Beef which was so tender and served with Sticky Pearl Couscous, Moroccan Eggplant, Tahini Sauce and Red Wine Onion Marmalade! Oh yum!

Of course a dinner out can not exclude dessert and for that we each got our own dishes. Our selection included the Kazbah Bomb for two, a turkish delight ice cream encased in a thin sponge layer with blueberries and flamed with kurrant Vodka ($28). We also had the Shukran Basket, a flakey pastry shell filled with frozen jaffa mousse, belgian chocolate bark and drizzled with candied orange syrup ($14). And finally, the Chocolate & Pistachio Bisteeya which is served in a raspberry & custard sauce and topped with pistachio coated halawa ice cream ($14). Mmmmmm!! I’m reminiscing about the flavours right now!

Overall, we had a wonderful evening with lovely service (no-one was overly pushy or rushing us and all the staff had a very good knowledge of the menu, especially for those who, like us aren’t too sure what some of the dishes on the menu are!) Whilst the meal wasn’t cheap, the food was fantastically cooked and presented and we were all very full by the end of it. If I were to go again (which I plan to do) I would get a group of 8 of my friends together and try the set banquet menu ($45pp) where you get a taste of everything really. All in all a wonderful, modern yet authentic place to dine which I would highly recommend! Truly Magical Middle Eastern Cuisine at its very best!!