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

Chophouse Parramatta

The ever-growing city of Parramatta continues to receive love from both food lovers and restaurateurs. Chophouse in Sydney is one of the most loved restaurants by many (including yours truly) for their steaks and grilled meats. I’m so glad to announce that my favourite place for steak has now opened its doors in Parramatta on Friday the 26th of October.

Chophouse Parramatta is located at the old Jamie’s Italian spot on Centenary Square. They pretty much kept most of the industrial fittings and added some chic and their own twist to the space. The bar has a decent range of booze and menu of cocktails to please everyone. The food menu has a great range of steaks from pasture fed to grain fed and a 5+ grade Wagyu. There’s starters like crab doughnuts, scallops on shell, beef carpacio and fried chicken available. There’s a nice selection of desserts available too.

If you like pâté in general then you need to order their chicken liver pâté ($19). It comes with toasted brioche and jam. The pâté itself was velvety with savoury and sweet notes. The pâté together with fluffy buttery toast was just stellar. I feel like the jam was not needed.

The fried chicken with blue cheese dip ($18) was also another hit. It’s served in smoked apple wood. The fried thigh chicken fillet itself almost has the texture of karaage chicken and the coating is full of umami with peppery notes.

Truffled fries

The main star of the show is their massive 400grams dry aged sirloin on a bone ($61 with chips and salad). This is one of the tastiest steaks I’ve ever had. It was nicely seasoned and cooked medium. The caramelised bits of the meat gave extra umami and extra developed flavours from the aging process. The texture was so tender and buttery. You also get a choice of sauces to go with your steak. We opted for the sweet and peppery diane sauce.

Every steak comes with twice-cooked chips. It was perfect! Crisped on the outside and fluffy buttery on the inside.

Their signature chocolate block with honeycomb and salt ($10) is just as good as I remember it. It tasted like a premium toblerone.

If you plan to MEAT up with family, friends and work colleagues in Parramatta, make sure to check out Chophouse.

Chophouse Parramatta
83 Macquarie St
Parramatta, NSW 2150
phone: (02) 8855 3400
Monday to Sunday: 11am till 10pm

Hux Grill, Penrith

Since I was a kid I've had nothing but love for food. Yep, sounds cliché and all but I'm just keeping it real. I gotta admit, Masterchef Australia did boost my food obsession. There was so much brilliance that came out of that show including season three finalist Jay Huxley. 

Jay Huxley

Jay took matters into his own hands and made his dreams come true.  Born from his passion for cooking and hard work were Hux Bistro Canley Vale and Hux Grill Roseville. Then two months ago Hux Grill Penrith opened to join the Hux empire line-up. The place is casual and non-pretentious with a bistro feel. Hux Grill is situated on Henry Street and it serves up some of the tastiest BBQ meats that Sydney has to offer. That was more than enough reason for me to gather my BBQ-loving team and pay Hux a visit. Here's what we had:

Twice-cooked pork belly

We were given a complimentary entrée of twice-cooked pork belly and apple (normally $14). It consisted of cubes of glorious twice-cooked pork belly, and julienned apple drizzled with some sweet caramelised reduction sauce. The pork belly was crisped on the outside with meat that was extremely tender and flavoursome. The sweet and sour crisp flavour of the apple went perfectly with the pork like they were the best of friends. I highly recommend this!

Beef short ribs

Lamb ribs

Their ribs (with chips and salad or creamy mash and vegetables) were off the hook too! We tried the lamb ribs ($29 one and half rack) and beef short ribs ($33 approx. 1kg). Both ribs were glazed and smothered with their sweet and tangy housemade BBQ sauce. The meat was extremely tender for boths ribs that it fell off the bones easily. Loved the caramelised bits too. The mash in particular was creamy and fluffy.

1.3kg Cape Bryon Tomahawk

A first trip to a Hux joint ain't complete without their signature 1.3kg Cape Byron Tomahawk ($99). It was a delicious monster steak that's good for two to four people. Besides being massive, the actual meat was tender, flavoursome and juicy fatty! It definitely lives up to all the raving reviews. It also comes with 3 sides of your choice.

Hux cheeseburger

Last but not least is their super legit Hux cheeseburger ($18 with a choice of chips or onion rings). There are places that get the cheeseburger wrong but NOT at Hux Grill! Jay keeps it real and classic with beef patty, nicely melted American cheese, pickles, onion, ketchup, and mustard in a soft sweet milk bun. The highlight in this cheeseburger is the grilled Wagyu beef patty that's very juicy and awesomely tasty. This burger was full of umami, sweet, tangy and zingy flavours. It is one of the best cheeseburgers I've had! Extra points for using milk bun, which held the burger very well.

Hux Grill has all the criterias ticked for an amazing grill and steakhouse restaurant: Perfectly cooked meats, large servings, and excellent service. Plus their cheeseburger is outstanding! Props to Jay for an awesome job with Hux Grill Penrith. If you're in the area for a feed, it would be a MIS-STEAK not to visit Hux. 

Hux Grill Penrith

80 Henry Street

Penrith NSW

Phone: (02) 47225141

Website: jayhuxley.com

Hours:

Dinner: Monday to Sunday from 5:30pm until late.

Lunch: Tuesday to Sunday 12:00pm to 3:00pm