Mate Burger Shop - Mt Druitt

Mounty County has a new Sheriff in town! The team behind Mate Burger truck has now opened a new shop in the heart of Mount Druitt.

I’ve been a fan of my homie Henry Paraan’s work since I first tried his burgers at the Blacktown Aussie Night Markets 2 years ago. You can now get their American/Filipino fusion burgers from Friday to Sunday at their shop that sits up to 40 people. Henry is a Shake Shack fan like I am so you can expect awesome juicy flavoursome smashed patty burgers from this new joint too. The all-time favourite Mate offerings are also available like the cheesemate, ensaymada burger and adobo fries. Then there’s the shop exclusives like lechon rice bowl and the Hey Mounty burger.

Fries before guys folks!! Yes, they do have normal fries and a Cheese-cino fries ($10). The cheese-cino fries is a serving of large French fries loaded with melted cheese and tocino-style bacon pieces and Mate sauce. The tocino-style bacon had hints of garlic and sweet flavours. 

Their classic ensaymada burger ($13) consists of a juicy beef patty, smoked sriracha maple bacon, rocket, melted kraft cheese and a mayo based Mate sauce in a sweet fluffy buttery Filipino-style brioche bread with cheese. This burger perfectly exhibits how one can balance out sweet, salty and umami flavours.

The Mare (pronounced Mah-reh) burger ($14) is the first exclusive item on the menu. This is a must order when you visit the shop for the first time! Crispy deep-fried chicken thigh fillet with the Mate sauce, cheese, apple, chilli jam and lettuce in a soft milk bun. The coating on the chicken was crunchy with a texture somewhere between a doughy karaage chicken and Southern-style buttermilk coating. The meat was perfectly cooked and I love it went well with the apple and chilli jam.

The Hey Mounty ($14 for a single patty and $4 for an extra patty) is another shop exclusive. A massive classic “the works” style burger with beef patty, tocino bacon, cheese, mate sauce, onions, tomato and lettuce.

Mate stays true to it’s Filipino roots with a Filipino style Rice Bowl ($15)! Fluffy rice topped with succulent and crispy pieces of roast pork belly, atchara (pickled shredded green papaya), lechon sauce and banana ketchup.

Add ons to you burger like fries, bacon and drinks are also available. There are also plans of expanding the menu too, which includes the addition of the all-time Filipino dessert halo halo. Trading hours will also be extended soon (follow @MateBurger on instgram for updates). Congrats Henry, Rose and the rest of team Mate Burger!

Mate Burger Shop
1B Mount Druitt Road
Mount Druitt NSW

Trading hours:
Friday to Sunday
Fri & Sat 12pm to 8pm
Sun 12pm to 6pm

Goryon San, Surry Hills - Kushiyaki/Yakitori

The contemporary yakitori that we come across out here in Australia and other parts of the world is in actual fact Kushiyaki. Whilst the menu in a yakitori restaurant mainly consists of chicken based grilled skewers, kushiyaki restaurants covers all bases.

 

Head Chef Akihito Marui

The new Goryon San in Surry Hills is a Hakata-style Kushiyaki restaurant that offers a great range of grilled delights. They have 3 shops in Tokyo: Nishiazabu, Shibuya Miyamasuzaka and Shibuya Nanpeida. My friend Akihito Marui (ex Torikizoku Osaka, Yakitori Jin) is the head chef at the Surry Hills shop. Hakata-style kushiyaki specialises in rolled up meat skewers that are filled with either vegetables, seafood and even cheese seasoned with tare (sauce marinade) or shio (salt). But since it’s Hakata in origin, expect a lot of pork in the menu. There’s a decent range of sake, shochu and wine too.

Chef Yuto Moriue

The Surry Hills shop has counter seatings that lets you enjoy the grilling action (watch out for Chef Yuto Moriue aka the “Japanese Salt Bae”) as well as seatings for 2 people and big groups. The space is well lit with modern Japanese fittings and furnishings.

The grilled skewers menu is quite extensive and boasts quality:

The wagyu loin skewer ($10 each) was extremely tasty, tender and buttery. It also comes with some freshly grated wasabi.

The sukiyaki wagyu skewer ($8.50 each) is another hit! Crown daisy leaf & enoki mushrooms wrapped in tender Wagyu glazed with tare. It also comes with egg yolk for dipping.

King prawns ($7.50 each) wrapped in thinly sliced pork belly.

The buta bara ($5.50 each) is a pork belly skewer that is extra fatty and seasoned with shio.

A bunch of juicy (with a slight crunch) enoki mushrooms & pork belly skewers ($6.50 each).

The XL shiitake mushrooms ($6 each) are smoky and full of umami.

How can I say no to grilled camembert cheese ($5.50 each)!

What do I love more than tsukune (grilled minced chicken skewers)? Grilled cheese tsukune ($8 each) of course!

Then there’s the gorgonzola honey skewers ($6 each). Pungent and delicious gorgonzola cheese wrapped in sweet & smoky flaky pastry glazed with honey.

The scallop and bacon skewers ($7.50 each) were so addictive!

There’s a also a classic zuri or chicken giblet skewer ($5.50 each) that was smoky, sweet and tender.

Last but not least is the fatty and delicious bonjiri ($5.50 each) or chicken tail. Love the umami packed caramelised bits at the edges of the fatty bits.

Omedetou gozaimasu Goryon San on your first Sydney branch opening!

Goryon San Surry Hills
47 Reservoir Street
Surry Hills NSW
Ph: 9281 2228
https://goryon-san.com.au

Opening Hours
Dinner 5:30pm to 10:00pm 7 days

Ramen lunch (COMING SOON) 12pm to 2:00pm

Chidori Japanese Bistro - Crows Nest

Kakashi is without a doubt my favourite Naruto character and his special attack the lightning blade “chidori” (A thousand birds) is badass. I also have a new favourite Japanese restaurant in the Sydney with the same name as Kakashi’s signature move.

Chidori Japanese Bistro is located in Crows Nest near the Willoughby Road dining strip. The space has that quaint and beautiful modern Japanese fittings and furnishings. The restaurant has 2 floors with bar seatings, tables for 2 and for groups. The menu pretty much has this modern Japanese diner style commonly seen in Osaka. Chef/owner Eric Chan and his team has Japanese-style Western dishes on offer from Tonkatsu set to Omurice and izakaya staples like renkon, karaage chicken and Salmon tartare. Oh, for the ramenheads out there, they have some ramen bowls on offer too.

The karaage chicken ($8) is super succulent with a nice doughy crisp coating. Accompanied with mayo and salad.

Their tonkatsu ($14) is absolutely amazing! The decent sized fatty pork loin is cooked sous vide and then deep friend in golden crisped panko! It was beautifully tender and juicy on the inside and it came with cabbage salad and umami rich tonkatsu sauce & mustard. For an extra $4, you can have it as a set with rice, miso soup and salad. The housemade sesame here is extra tasty and addictive.

The omurice ($12) here is next level awesome! Tomato flavoured rice with bits of chashu covered under a blanket of fluffy egg (insert drooling emoji). It also comes with a creamy cheese sauce and smudged of what appears to be a form of demiglace. It also comes with salad. Tip: order extra grilled melted stretchy cheese ($3) to go with your omurice (you’re welcome).

I was excited to see ramen on their menu! For a place that doesn’t specialise in ramen, their Shirunashi tantan ($16) is insanely delicious! It’s like a mazesoba with a bit sweet, nutty and umami rich thick broth, onsen egg, negi, kikurage and bean sprouts. Mix it well, mix it good and voilà, your shirunashi tantan is ready! The thin noodles they use are similar to the ones used for Hakata style ramen. They cook noodles to katame (al dente) texture.

We ended our lunch with some delicious brown sugar syrup glazed fried buns ($9 and gua baos to be exact) with matcha ice cream and fruits.

The service here of course has a dash of Japanese hospitality that we all love. I definitely want to go back to try their Kogashi shoyu ramen.

Ramen Raff was invited by Chidori Japanese Bistro to dine as a guest.

Chidori Japanese Bistro
Shop 4, 29 Holtermann Street
Crows Nest NSW

Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-9pm.
Closed on Sundays