🦆🍚 Gion Duck Rice | Kyoto eats

Have you ever craved a dish from a specific time? For me, it's the Gion Duck Rice at Kyoto, Japan, that I had two years ago. It was a unique dining experience in an underground, small and cozy 7-seater open kitchen restaurant serving up just one dish that they specialise which is their duck hitsumabushi, located on the busy streets of Gion. 

The Long Table John Hardy | Bali Eats 🍹

Whilst in Bali, I made a last-minute booking at The Long Table by John Hardy for lunch with my brothers as I had heard some good things about this place. We sat on the second floor where we got to enjoy the beautiful garden view. 

Luc-San | Birthday Dinner 🎂

It's Leo season, which means many birthdays to celebrate including my own! This year my friend Tony and I decided to celebrate both our birthdays at Luc-San, a casual bar serving French and Japanese-inspired cuisine by Luke Mangan. Luc-San is tucked away on Pennys Lane in Potts Point, a brisk 5-minute walk from Kings Cross Station. 

Onyx Bar & Grill | Steak night in Burwood 🥩

Last month I booked a table at Onyx Bar & Grill to celebrate two occasions, a birthday for one friend, and a farewell for another friend as she embarks on her new journey in Canada. I heard about this place from my bestie who told me she had found a great place for steak that was close to home, so of course I had to try this place out!

Onyx Bar & Grill is a 7-minute walk from Burwood Station, or a 4-minute walk from Westfield Burwood, which offers parking. Upon entering the restaurant, the staff were very friendly, with their warm hospitality and showed me to my table while confirming the special occasions for the booking. The atmosphere of the restaurant was classy yet cozy, and I managed to catch golden hour. 

🍣 SANO SUSHI OMAKASE - SEPTEMBER 2023 EDN

Last September (2023), I joined my friend for an omakase dining experience with Sano-san at Azuma Japanese Restaurant. The seating for six was at the very entrance of the restaurant, separated from the hustle and bustle of the main dining area, which gave the feel of an exclusive dining experience.

Sano-san introduced himself and the menu for the evening, where he would prepare everything right in front of our eyes. He started us off with the New Zealand Snapper with caviar, shallots and white soy dressing. The snapper was incredibly fresh as it would melt across my mouth, revealing a subtle mellow sweet flavour.

Sushi Oe | Favourite Omakase in Sydney

Earlier this year, I had the chance to dine at Sushi Oe as there was one extra seat opening that my friend had available, due to a last-minute cancellation. So I took this opportunity as I have been meaning to try Sushi Oe's omakase for a while now. 

Hangry for Kusuka ⌒ﾟ(❀>◞౪◟<)ﾟ⌒

The last time I blogged about Kusuka was about a year ago and it was my first time going there too(read it here). I recently came back to Kusuka at their newer Sussex St location which was relatively close to my previous workplace. I came here with Florence over the weekend when our original plans had fallen through so we were left super hungry and ready to eat anything that would be fast! 
*Scroll down to the bottom for the review

Dulcet Cakes & Sweets ♡

On my next adventure I was invited to pop by Dulcet Cakes & Sweets in Burwood Plaza to taste their cute looking cakes and matcha treats. I have been seeing their kawaii cakes and drool worthy matcha desserts on my instagram feed for quite some time but I was a little sceptical as to whether they actually tasted as good as they looked because...you know some places are like that and it's honestly a waste of my stomach quota and a huge disappoint when that does happen! 

Flour Drum // Burger & Pasta (๑꒪▿꒪)*

I finally made my way to Newtown's Flour Drum cafe where they serve rustic food inspired by traditional preparation techniques with a modern approach. I've always wanted to try the dishes there as I've been seeing so many hearty dishes on their instagram page. 

FCBA x Haven Specialty Coffee (≧∇≦)/

A couple weeks ago I was invited to lunch with the FCBA community at Haven Specialty Coffee to try their some of new and signature dishes.  

Haven Specialty Coffee

30-34 Chalmers Street, Surry Hills, 2010

Opening Hours: 

MON-FRI: 7am - 3pm
SAT & SUN: 18am - 3pm

Ph: (02) 8317 6390

INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK

Café in the North // Little Giant Roasters °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

I've always drove past a few cute looking cafe's in Willoughby, which I've never been to before, even though I live in the North Shore area. So, last Sunday I decided to take my mum out to lunch, where my elder brother and his partner decided to join us on this foodie adventure. 

Fairy Delight // Wild Pear Cafe (๑òᆺó๑)

Two weeks ago I went out to brunch with my partner at the Wild Pear Cafe (again) for an overdue brunch date. The first time I came here, I instantly fell in love with their food and coffee! Read my first experience "HERE". 

Girls night at Cho Cho San (๑╹ڡ╹๑)

A few weeks ago I headed to Cho Cho San for a casual girls night out with a few of my friends, Stephy, Julia and Virginia. It was a warm summer evening and it was also all our first time going to Cho Cho San. We were excited to see what made this place a popular spot amongst the foodie world here in the Kings Cross. 

For the Bento lovers // Hotto Motto Media Launch o(≧∇≦o)

2 months ago I was invited by Washoku Lovers to attend the exclusive media night of Hotto Motto. We were invited to enjoy the tasting of various bento's offered at Hotto Motto. In Japan, "bento" (lunch boxes) are an integral part of the food culture and represent the traditions and convenience that have been cherish since ancient times. Bento dates back to the 1600s and today they have proven to be come a popular takeaway item, due to the wide variety that exists. 

Back at The Grounds of Alexandria (♥ω♥ ) ~♪

My first weekend back in Sydney, my brothers and I decided to take my mum out for breakfast at The Grounds of Alexandria. My mum has never been before and we've shown her photo's of the times we went with our friends/partners. She thought the food, markets and animals all looked pretty cool and different! 

TRUFFLE SEASON // First experience at BLACK by EZARD σ(≧ε≦ｏ)

Towards the end of July I headed out with my family for an early birthday dinner which was for myself and younger brother, as our birthdays are 3 days apart. We decided to try Black Ezard, since we had been going to Sokyo way too many times that month so we wanted to change it up a bit and plus, I've been hearing from my friends that Black Ezard has really nice dishes to eat.

Shin Yasaka Ramen, Neutral Bay // Food blogger soft launch ⌒ﾟ(❀>◞౪◟<)ﾟ⌒

On the 29th June, I was invited by Washoku Lovers to attend another foodie event. This time is was a more special occasion, as we would be trying the dishes for the pre-launch of Yasaka's second store in Netural Bay. 

I decided to take my mum along with me to enjoy a warm meal. She was super excited about it and the food too! 

Yasaka Ramen is known for their house made noodles and tonkotsu soup. Their Neutral Bay store is called Shin-Yasaka, which has the same menu as their city store, but will be using a new and different cooking method for their ramen. 

One of the Washoku Lovers staff, Kayla, gave us a short introduction of the store and its concept. On a side note, I actually know Kayla from uni as we were classmates in our Japanese classes. 

We got to meet the head chef, Takeshi Sekigawa, who delivered a speech introducing himself, his concept and what he wanted to achieve for the future. 

Additionally, his motto "No Ramen, No Life" is definitely something I hold dear, especially when winter is here! Best comfort food ever! I took a photo with Takeshi Sekigawa himself after we had finished our meal! 

Our night began with drinks then our entrees arrived shortly after which were edamame beans and karaage chicken. The chicken was served piping hot and once I bit into it I could taste how juicy and tender it was.

We also had a a plate of condiments, from left to right, there was white sesame seeds, pickled ginger and chilli sauce. The chilli sauce was great, as it gave the dishes that extra punch of spice! 

The main dish of the night, which was their signature ramen called the Shin Yasaka ramen, was really delicious and perfect for a cold winters' day! The broth was thick with a very deep and intense flavour. The thick noodles were chewy yet firm in taste and they are made fresh everyday.   

The last dish served that night was their Kakuni bao, which is very similar to a pork belly bun! The pork was super juicy and full of flavour. Plus, it easily falls apart as you bite into it and the sauce was the perfect touch of dressing needed to bring out the heavenliness of this bao. 

Also, can you see the fine red stringy stuff in the previous photo? At first glance I thought it was saffron, but knowing the price of it I decided to try a strand on its own. It turned out to be dried chilli strands, which was so YUM!!

On their opening days, Saturday (2nd July) and Sunday (3rd July), they were handing out 50 free "No Ramen, No Life" jumpers and shirts. Seeing all the amazing instagram posts, their grand opening ceremony was a huge success, plus you can still purchase their "No Ramen, No Life" apparel or iphone case too!  

Shin Yasaka Ramen, Neutral Bay

Shop 1, 161-163 Military Rd, Neutral Bay, 2089

Opening Hours: Mon-Sun

Lunch: 11:30am - 3:30pm

Dinner: 5:30pm- 9/10pm

Ph: (02) 8317 4805

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

You can also read my first blog post on WASHOKU LOVERS blog!

♥♥♥♥♥

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Already July, meaning we are hitting the middle of winter now and the days are definitely getting colder and wetter too. I have been busy trying to organise my life in general as I try to fit in meetings with the Washoku Lovers team (as I have joined them as an intern), catching up with friends and my blog entries. I am definitely feeling more and more busy but I am slowly getting use to how things are working out now. However things will once again change when I start my full time job next week! Little nervous too!! ><"

Remember to like my facebook page, subscribe to my youtube channel, follow my instagram:"lazypandah" & LOOKBOOK:lazypandah for daily updates! 

Comments are love ♥

-LAZYPANDAH

 

Black Water Rafting // Brunching at The District ⤴︎ε=ε=(ง ˃̶͈̀ᗨ˂̶͈́)۶ ⤴︎

The following morning, after our hiking adventure in Te Anu, we went back to our Black Water Rafting tour to see if the we were able to go onto the tour. Luckily for us the weather was good enough for us to explore the caves on our tour! 

First step was to learn how to jump into the water with our donut tube! I was first to demonstrate how it was done! You can see how happy I am in the photo!! 

Next my boyfriend and I had to demonstrate how we were to form a link when we got into the caves. By this point we were just super excited!! 

Now this is a photo we took just before we started our adventures and I'm looking super duper excited whereas my boyfriend pulled the "uhh...you sure" face. We had an amazing time exploring the caves and finding glowworms along the way. However it does get quite chilly down there, but our wetsuits do keep us warm! Our tour guides also shared their chocolate fish snacks with us as a treat and source of energy to keep us going! 

Once our tour was over, we took one last photo with our group, who were actually a tour group from Germany! We managed to grab our tour photo's from their tour guide Ingrid who was so kind to share them with us! After this photo it was time to shower and warm up with some soup. 

We started making our way back to Auckland and along the way we decided to have a lunch pit stop in Hamilton. 

We went to a cute cafe called The District for brunch. We haven't brunch-ed at all during this trip so it was definitely exciting for me and my boyfriend.  

The District | Hamilton

19 Home Straight, Te Rapa, Hamilton, New Zealand

Opening Hours:

Mon-Fri: 7:30am - 3:30pm

Sat & Sun: 8:30am - 3pm

Ph: (07) 8496 6785

FACEBOOK

I ordered a Chai Spicy latte and this is what made me fell in love with chai latte's! Ever since I came back from New Zealand my go to coffee's are either a mocha or chai latte! It is just so good! It has that perfect blend of sweet and spicy, plus it is velvety smooth too. I highly recommend trying it if you're past by Hamilton!

As for lunch, both my boyfriend and I had ordered a salad each. Both were presented beautifully yet prices are very similar to Sydney's aka. quite pricey.  

The boyfriend ordered the Chicken salad(NZ$18) which came with cos lettuce, avocado, sundried tomato, pancetta, shaved fennel and parmesan (G.F). This salad was very flavourful as the dressing was practically mixed in just before the dish was served. The avocado had coated the chicken, giving it a butter smooth finish and the lettuce was crunchy and fresh too. 

I had ordered off their Lunch Special menu and got the Smoked duck and watercress salad (NZ$21), cranberries, cashews and orange with raspberry vinaigrette. 

My salad was definitely more colourful compared to my boyfriend's Chicken salad, and taste-wise it was beautiful too! I absolutely loved the different textures on the plate. I wish the duck had a more smokier taste, but it was well cooked and the flavours of the sweet fruits made this dish more refreshing! 

After lunch, we headed back to Auckland and checked into our accommodation, where we had also chosen to stay at Haka Lodge too. We had our very own bathroom in our room, which was GREAT!! 

♥♥♥♥♥

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Good morning everyone! Yesterday I had a full on day, with 3 interviews within the city and I was literally going back and forth between Wynyard and Townhall. However I am super happy and grateful for all these interviews, but I do hope to land myself with one of these jobs soon! I also just got an email to go ahead with another company with a video interview this week. So I will be a bit busy over the next few weeks but I will try and get my video's up on time for you guys!! Watch my latest daily vlog which I uploaded yesterday! 

Remember to like my facebook page, subscribe to my youtube channel, follow my instagram:"lazypandah" & LOOKBOOK:lazypandah for daily updates! 

Comments are love ♥

-LAZYPANDAH