KIN by us., Macquarie Park

Shannelle and Uel 

Call me an optimist but I believe dreams do come true. Married couple Uel and Shannelle Lim is a living testimony of that. From hosting dinners for family and friends to becoming a viewers favourite in the T.V. show My Kitchen Rules 2014, and now this power couple has recently opened their cafe "Kin" in Macquarie Park.

KIN relates to family and the menu consists of the food they cook, eat and share with family and friends. Expect classic dishes with a twist that are inspired by various cuisines such as Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, American, Modern Australian etc. The space has a mixture of modern and industrial fit-out. The wide-open entrance allows a lot of beautiful natural light to enter the premises. The coffee beans are a house blend sourced from Reuben Hills. They are also equipped with a La Marzocco linea for amazing espresso extracts. It's been almost a week since they opened during my visit but the place is already jam packed with happy patrons.

Piccolo latte

The piccolo latte ($3.50) tasted amazing! The textured milk and temperature was spot on. It had a medium body with fruity and chocolate notes.

Snap crackle plop

Their snap crackle plop ($10 and available after 11:30am) is straight off the bat all kinds of awesome! It consists of chicken rice, chicken crackle and onsen egg. The chicken rice is bursting with chicken flavour with a nice balance of garlic and ginger notes. The crackle was lightly crisped and well seasoned. The slow cooked onsen egg is perfect with custard like texture and runny yolk. The peas added a nice touch of sweetness.

Waffle belly

The waffle belly ($17) is another cafe dish that I've never seen anywhere. It had a melt in your mouth Singaporean-style braised pork belly. Besides the sweet soy caramelised flavour, I could also taste the spices used in a masterstock such as star anise, cinnamon etc. The pork goes well with the potato waffle, mushrooms and slaw. The custardy onsen egg was the icing on the cake!

Durian affogato

Since I wanted to take it up a notch I opted for the durian affogato ($7) rather than going for the standard one. It's durian gelato drowned in a shot of Reuben Hills house blend espresso. The durian gelato itself was quite potent but when combined with the espresso, it's like having coffee infused with a very sweet banana. It was exquisite!

Delicious and alluringly presented food, excellent service and a cheery vibe is just some of the things I love about Kin. Having said that, I am really "kin" to return to try other items such as the congee, kaya toast and rootbeer float. Congrats Uel and Shannelle!

Kin by us.

2 Saunders Close (corner Herring Rd)

Macquarie Park NSW

Opening hours:

Monday to Saturday 7am to 3pm

Ume Japanese Restaurant and Ume Burger Pop-Up, Surry Hills

Three of my most memorable dishes from when I was a kid were tempura, sukiyaki and kamameshi crab rice. From the early age of 8 years old, I've already fallen in love with Japanese cuisine. Just as wine tastes better with age, so is my obsession with Japanese food. We are so lucky that we have an abundance of Japanese restaurants in Sydney that offers both traditional and modern takes of this cuisine.

Ume Japanese Restaurant in Surry Hills is a one hat (awarded by Sydney Morning Herald) Japanese restaurant that does contemporary take on the classics with a seasonal approach. It is a gem tucked away in the quiet part of Bourke Street. The space is a mixture of contemporary Izakaya and semi-fine dining. When someone like an ex-Tetsuya's chef like Kerby Craig owns and runs a joint like this, you can expect slam dunkin' dishes. So within a week, I visited them twice for two reasons: 1. To try their a la carte dishes; 2. To try out their burger pop-up that's happening for the first time ever (more on that later).

The restaurant

Yuzu soda

For starters, I ordered a yuzu soda ($5.50). It was so refreshing with its sweet and citrusy flavours. 

Shio koji kara-age

The shio koji kara-age ($16) is not the most attractive out there but definitely one of the tastiest! It had light crisped coating with meat that's flavoursome that had hints of sweetness and ginger. I also loved the housemade wasabi mayo that came with them!

Seared hokkaido scallops

One of the best dishes I've had in any restaurant is their seared Hokkaido scallops ($20). The perfectly seared scallops together with koikuchi shoyu, konbu brown butter and blood limes was sensational. I enjoyed the tangy, buttery and notes of citrus flavours.

Yaki nasu

If you like smoky eggplant dishes, then the yaki nasu ($19) is for you! Besides its bold smokiness it had a nice delicate texture. The wari shoyu combined with the grated ginger compliments the charcoal grilled eggplant well and it helps cut through the bold smoky flavour of the dish.

Kakuni

I was in awe of their kakuni at first sight and bite! It was beautifully constructed braised pork belly dish and the taste was smack bang full of umami! It had depth with flavours containing the perfect marriage of sweet and salty. It was also so tender that it melts in your mouth.

Pork dumplings

The pork dumplings ($16) were like a crossover of siumai and gyoza (minus the seared part). It had a nice delicate dumpling wrap and the actual meat filling was flavoursome with silky texture. The rice vinegar dressing was a nice touch to cut through the rich meaty flavour of the pork filling.

Mango dessert

The dainty mango dessert ($16) was an awesome way to end our meal. It was refreshing and I especially loved the combination of mango tofu, frozen green tea and mochi!

The Ume burger pop-up

Everyone knows my obsession with burgers! My radar tries its best to not miss upcoming burger joints and pop-ups. Chef Kerby adds his take on burgers into Sydney's #BurgerTown scene! Burgers inspired by the likes of renowned MOS burger and Freshness burger of Japan. At 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, a long queue formed outside Ume restaurant. The place was packed with burger lovers!  

The menu was small and not complicated, which makes choosing what to order very easy.

Chips with kombu salt

The chips with kombu salt ($4) were flawless. The outside of the chips was crisped whilst the inside was fluffy. The konbu salt was the perfect seasoning to go with this.

Ume burger

The Ume burger (which is his take on a cheeseburger - $14) straight away made the burger nerd in me throw fist pumps in the air! It was absolutely delicious and yes, it was full of umami (take note that I hardly use this flavour term in my posts). It was a cheeseburger on a league of its own. It had wagyu patty (the actual wagyu beef patty is covered under that mince sauce), wagyu mince sauce, melted cheese, mayo, tomato, onion and mustard in a soft sweet milk bun (sourced from a Japanese bakery). The wagyu patty was juicy and packed with flavour. The wagyu mince sauce was like a Bolognese sauce but more sweet, which gave the burger extra character. The melted cheese, creamy sweet mayo, zingy mustard and crisp bite from the onions gave the burger familiar classic cheeseburger flavours. The tomato gave a nice balance to the whole burger.

Tonkatsu burger

The tonkatsu burger ($14) was also a winner! The menchi kurobuta pork katsu patty was sensational with its crunchy coating and soft silky flavoursome filling. The sweet bbq-like sweet tonkatsu sauce and cabbage complimented the katsu patty well. This is one pork burger that I’ve come to love!

Kerby Craig and his team’s approach to modern Japanese cuisine is best described as innovative and sophisticated. The flavours are not complicated but the combination works well. The burgers on the other hand are definitely amongst the best in Sydney and I hope that the Ume burgers Sunday service continues. The service is great and the food is outstanding! 

Ume Restaurant

478 Bourke Street

Surry Hills NSW

Phone: (02) 9380 7333

Website: http://umerestaurant.com.au

Instagram: http://instagram.com/umerestaurant

Opening hours:

Dinner Tuesday to Saturday 6pm to 10pm

Lunch Friday to Saturday 12pm to 3pm

Ume Burger (located at Ume Restaurant)

Check Ume Restaurant and Ume Burger’s Instagram account for updates and pop-ups.

Ume Burger Instagram: http://instagram.com/umeburger

Work In Progress @ Patrick Friesen, Sydney

The names Patrick Friesen and Papi Chulo Manly is really all I need for this introduction. But for those who don't know Chef Patrick, he is the other half (along with co-head chef Christopher Hogarth) behind  the successful smokehouse and grill Merivale joint, Papi Chulo. A place where magical meat-ups happen.

As part of "March into Merivale" this year, Patrick takes over the Work in Progress bar with his Fried Chicken and Noodle pop-up bar. It is inspired by his passion for Asian cuisine and his late supper shenanigans with other chefs. Work In Progress is a hipster meets pop-art themed small bar. As seen on his Instagram account over the last few months, he's been perfecting the art of fried chicken. After they announced Patrick's pop-up bar, all those instagram posts made sense. So being the sensible people that we are, Chocolatesuze, Mista iFat and I planned a lunch meet-up at Work In Progress. Well, as we would normally say "Because fried chicken yo!" Here's what went down:

The Noodles

 

Supreme wonton

The supreme wonton mein ($16) was delicious and nostalgic! It took me back to my trips to Hong Kong. It consists of egg noodles, morsels of pork & prawn wonton, and supreme broth. The egg noodles was nice and springy while the pork and prawn wonton was as legit as it gets. The broth tasted like a chicken blend but with some garlic punch.

Sichuan duck and tofu lo mein

Then there's the Sichuan duck and tofu lo mein ($16). It was a scrumptious egg noodle dish with a Sichuan-style sauce, duck and tofu. I would've liked a little bit more duck but the sauce was off the hook! It was bold with sweet, chilli and garlicky flavours.

The Fried Chicken

 

Half and half of ginger ninja fried chicken and chilli nut fried chicken

We literally ate ALL the fried chicken! First up was a halfies ($16) of ginger ninja and the chilli nuts fried chicken. It came with nuoc cham sauce and some Korean banchan-type sides: pickled daikon, kimchi and cucumber pieces

Ginger ninja

The ginger ninja straight up had an amazing sexy rippled crunchy coating! The meat was juicy and flavoursome from the ginger-based marination. It was quite similar to Red Pepper's and Sparrow's Mill's original Korean Fried Chicken. Basically, it was awesome!

 

Chilli nuts

The chilli nuts fried chicken was also delicious. It was coated in a beautiful sticky sweet and chilli sauce. It was also topped with nuts and sesame seeds.

Fly high

Then Patrick nicely gave us a complimentary plate of the fly high ($16) Pnomh Penh fried wings. It's a Cambodian inspired fried chicken dish with an addictive lime white pepper sauce. The chicken's batter was lighter with garlicky, salt and pepper flavours. The lime pepper sauce gives the fried chicken a nice balance by cutting through the richness of the chicken.

Between the awesome hip-hop playlist, the chill out vibe and authentic scrumptious food, there is no doubt that Patrick’s pop-up rocks! Check it out before March ends. I'm definitely going back for more!

Work In Progress

50 King Street

Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 9240 3000

Kitchen Hours:

Monday to Friday 12pm to 3pm, then 6pm to 10pm

Bar hours: 12pm till late

Website: http://merivale.com.au/wipbar