Bush Sydney, Redfern

You know that feeling of joy from finally experiencing something that you’ve been wanting for so long? That happened to me recently at the new Bush Sydney. I’ve been following them on instagram for a long time hoping to go to one of their burger pop-ups. 

Thankfully, Grant and team Bush have recently opened their very own shop on George Street in Redfern. The space has an Aussie outback/bush themed vibe with a mixture of communal tables, a counter seating and some tables for 2. There’s also a courtyard at the back. They have a minimal menu that consists of some great feeds.

It’s a big call but in my honest opinion, they make the best cheeseburger ($12) in Sydney. It consists of a perfect smash beef patty, American cheese, a house special creamy savoury sauce, onions and pickles in a soft milk bun. That’s my ideal cheeseburger! Their patty reminds me of Shake Shack’s patty. It had an umami packed caramelised crust and a fatty juicy coarse mince. You can also ask to add another patty for an extra $2. The crinkled chips is $6.

They also do classic curry kangaroo pies for $6. This is an oldie but a damn goodie!

Another nostalgic option on the menu is the fairy bread and butter with ice cream ($10). A simple buttery soft dessert but so damn delicious.

Bush is a great example of perfection in simplicity. Nothing pretentious but just full of good vibes, excellent service and super delicious food.

Bush Sydney

55 George St

Redfern NSW

Hours:

Tuesday-Saturday 12pm to 10pm

RaRa Ramen, Redfern

There’s a new ramen joint in town! Redfern is a growing culinary hub in Sydney and is the perfect gallery where the new RaRa ramen shop can showcase their art of ramen.

  

Scott Gault

Scott Gault is the man behind RaRa Redfern and a fellow ramen crusher like myself. Scott travelled different prefectures in Japan to train and get consultation to create the best possible noodles, tare, toppings and broth for Rara’s ramen. The space looks like a high end izakaya and I’m digging the ramen neon sign. The noodles they use is Hakata-style, which means it’s low hydration, thin and quick to whip up. All noodles are made in-house daily. You get a choice of three types of ramen: Tonkotsu ramen, pork shoyu and vegetarian ramen. We tried the tonkotsu and shoyu ramen.

First of all, I need to give a huge shout out to Scott for his insanely good Hakata-style noodles. Scott cooks the noodles legit katame (usual way Hakata noodles is cooked), which is a tad more firm than al dente. The noodles cooked further within the broth. The tonkotsu ramen’s ($16.90) pork bone broth is white in colour and creamy in consistency. Scott uses shio tare (salt) seasoning just to bring out the pork flavour goodness rather than giving it complexity. The umami factor is around medium level. Again, this is a typical Hakata-style practice to season the broth. Toppings include  kikurage, negi, menma, 1/2 hanjuku tamago and an insanely delicious aburi chashu. Although the menu says Ajitsuke egg, the tamago we got were not flavoured. Having said that, the eggs were perfectly cooked with a slightly runny yolk.

We also tried his pork shoyu ramen ($16.90). The pork soy broth had more umami than the tonkotsu and it also had peppery notes. It was topped with aburi chashu, bean sprouts, negi and 1/2 hanjuku tamago. It's definitely a refined bowl of ramen and also my favourite.

I’m glad to see a ramen joint that puts more emphasis on the noodles that they use. It is afterall a big part of ramen. Service is also quite fast. Go check them out guys!

Rara Redfern
60b Regent St
Redfern NSW

Hours:
Tuesday to Wednesday 12pm-2:30pm, 5pm-9:30pm

Thursday to Saturday
12pm-2:30pm, 5pm-10pm

Sunday 12pm-2:30pm, 5pm-8:30pm

Closed on Monday

Koichi Katsumata Pop-up Dessert Bar at Juan, Redfern

Hey folks! I’m back from the land of the rising sun and excited to share all our Japan food experiences soon. In the meantime, let me share something exciting happening in our beautiful city right now. So, on our first full day back in Sydney, we went and hit up our favourite Japanese restaurant, Juan. The main purpose of this visit was to check out Koichi Katsumata’s Pop-up Dessert bar collab with Juan.

Katsumata-san was a chef patissier at a 2 michellin star restaurant in France. After that, he also worked at famed restaurants Vue De Monde and Bennelong. I think that’s more than enough reason to pay his dessert pop-up bar a visit and see what magic he’s got in store. The pop-up bar consists of a 3 course dessert ($32) menu with an optional main-style dessert ($13).

We started with the Clouds which were marshamallow-like cubes. One cube was covered with matcha and the other with wonderful kinako (roasted soy bean flour). It was a lot like the name, fluffy and soft like clouds. I liked the matcha but the kinako cloud was the star.

The second dish was the Caprese. Yes, as in the Caprese salad! A partnership of foam and a custard-like elements that gives you the flavours of tomato, mozzarella, basil and balsamic vinegar. I have 2 words for it: Deliciously genius!

The 3rd course is the Mocaron. It’s kinda like a monaka but topped with diced quality fruits like kiwi, pineapple and plum over a sake ganache filled rice wafer.

Last but not least is the Matcha Meringue Chantilly ($13). Velvety matcha cream sandwiched in an amazing crisped meringue and springled with black sesame. I love how the black sesame balances out the bitterness of the matcha and the sweetness of the meringue chantilly. It came with a beautiful kinako ice cream. I absolutely love kinako and this ice cream form is insane!

I am now a fan! I know Japanese and French fusion desserts has been done before. But the ones I’ve had were not as refined and well-balanced as Katsumata-san’s work. The pop-up bar will be around for a few more days so contact Juan for availability.

*Ramen Raff was invited as a guest of Juan.

Juan
Shop 5
94a Pitt Street
Redfern NSW 2016
Book here