Cup and Plate Cafe Restaurant, North Parramatta

Athletes enter events like the FIFA World Cup or the Baseball World Cup to compete for glory. I entered a different type of cup in Parramatta called Cup and Plate Cafe restaurant for a different kind of glory. The Korean Fried Chicken kind!

There were only a few places where you can get legit Korean Fried Chicken. Areas like Strathfield, Sydney CBD and Eastwood. Now, Cup and Plate Cafe of North Parramatta (right next to Zip Carwash) has joined the line up with  Korean/Fusion dishes on offer and 7 types of fried chicken available from 6pm. The only thing left for me to do was to check them out.

Soy beef ribs stew

First up, we tried their soy beef ribs stew ($16). Along with it came one serving of rice and 7 types of banchan. The sweet potato scallops was my favourite with its crisped batter and soft sweet innards. The tender beef comes with potato, carrots, mushroom and date with a light sweet soy braising sauce.

Pickled daikon and cabbage salad

Half original and half sweet spicy fried chicken

Original fried chicken

Their fried chicken is the main reason for this visit. We opted for a platter of half of the original and half of the sweet chilli fried chicken ($30 including sides of pickled daikon and cabbage salad). I started with the original to see if it passes the crunch and taste test. Well, it certainly did! The coating definitely packed some crunch but the texture was a little bit lighter compared to Naruone's original fried chicken coating. The meat was juicy and I could taste notes of ginger, onion and garlic. It was definitely delicious.

Sweet spicy fried chicken

The sweet spicy was my favourite between the two. The coating still retained its crunchy awesomeness inspite of being glazed with a sweet spicy sauce. The sauce was sticky and it had a sweet tangy flavour with a tiny bit of heat. I would definitely come back for more of this!

I'm just full of joy knowing that I now have closer access to some glorious Korean Fried Chicken. There are dishes I would like to try like the platter of soy garlic fried chicken ($30) and the soy bean paste soup ($11)

Cup and Plate Cafe Restaurant

132 Victoria Road

North Parramatta NSW 2150

Opening hours:

Monday to Saturday

11:00am - 2:30pm

6pm - 11pm

Note: Fried chicken only available from 6pm

Barrel Bar and Dining, Cremorne

Sydney gets the whole bar restaurant scene spot on. We are so lucky to have easy access to high quality produce and extensive choices of local wine. Just over 6 kilometres drive north of Sydney CBD is a new Mediterranean inspired modern Australian restaurant. Barrel bar and dining is located on Military Road in Cremorne. Owners Stephen Thompson and Tony Binning along with Chefs Zan Stanning and Luke Davenport runs the show. They are all about showcasing high quality local produce to be matched with wines sourced from local and international producers.

Upon entering the premises, a mixture of modern Manhattan bar and Scandinavian fit out is revealed. An impressive display of wines and bar seatings can be seen in front, and an elegant courtyard-like restaurant setting at the back is available. 

War Head

Their cocktail list looked very interesting so I decided to try the War Head ($18). It was a mixture of apple sours, maraschino cherry, vodka, muddled lime, and apple juice. After my first sip, the drink's name made a lot of sense. It was an explosion of vibrant sweet fruity flavours! The lime and vodka cuts through the sweetness. I enjoyed the War Head and recommend it for those who like cocktails with a mild alcohol after taste. 

12 hour cured Queensland king prawns

First dish we tried was a  12 hour cured Queensland king prawns, vanilla and coffee bean jelly, lemon, thyme, coriander, pine nuts ($17). It had the effect of a prosciutto and a tad on the salty side. But the lemon, vanilla and coffee bean jelly, and pine nuts balanced out the flavour. The pine nuts in particular added a sweet buttery flavour that goes well with the cured prawns.

Pressed pork belly, poached Victorian pears, pickled fennel, red sorrel, roast macadamia nuts

The pressed pork belly, poached Victorian pears, pickled fennel, red vein sorrel, roast macadamia nuts ($19) was another delicious dish. The pickled fennel added a nice flavour accent to the pork belly. The chunky cubes of pork had a caremelised crust and was tender on the inside. The poached pears beautifully complimented the pork.

Sautéed king oyster mushrooms, lemon garlic puree, parsley sponge, juniper berry powder, mushroom bark, mushroom pangratatto

Their sautéed king oyster mushrooms, lemon garlic puree, parsley sponge, juniper berry powder, mushroom bark, mushroom pangratatto ($14) is one of the best mushroom dishes I've had (possibly the best to date). It was creatively plated like a mini forest. The smoky crackling-like mushroom barks, the buttery silky oyster mushroom and the garlicky mushroom bread crumbs (pangratatto), lemon garlic puree and parsley sponge was a cocktail of textures and flavours that worked so well.

Local snapper

We also had their local snapper, persimmon, charred zucchini, yellow squash puree, crisp corn kernels, lemon & garlic ($31). The snapper was perfectly cooked along with a nice wafer-like crisped skin. The sweetness from the squash puree and crisped corn kernels went well with the snapper. It's one of the most enjoyable seafood dishes that I've had in a while.

Slow cooked beef cheeks

The slow cooked beef cheeks, confit leek, turnip, pureed parsnip, braising sauce ($26) was the stand out dish for me. The beef was juicy and tender that it took very little effort to pull it apart. I also enjoyed the caremelised glaze around it. The soft and sweet confit was such a fitting side to the beef along with the creamy pureed parnship and turnip.

Frozen dark chocolate parfait

For dessert we had a frozen dark chocolate parfait with chocolate shards, strawberry powder and sweet lime gel ($14). The frozen dark chocolate parfait was like a light malt chocolate ice cream and I totally digged it! The chocolate shards added an enjoyable contrast to the parfait. The strawberry powder and sweet lime gel acted as the fruity accent to cut through the full body chocolate flavour.

Barrel Bar and Dining is an amazing addition to the Lower North Shore food and bar scene. Their funky creative twists to classic dishes were superb and the service is excellent.

Ramen Raff was invited by Drysdale Communications as a guest of Barrel Bar and Dining.

Barrel Bar and Dining

3/362 Military Road

Cremorne NSW 2099

Opening hours:

Monday - Friday: 5pm to Late

Saturday: 12pm to Late

Sunday: 12pm to 10pm

Ramen by Chaco Bar, Darlinghurst

Sydney is spoilt with the amount of ramen choices available right now. For most of us noodle soup aficionados, that's an absolute amazing thing! Just like the on-going burger craze, we can't get enough of ramen in this town! Just earlier today, the up and rising star Chaco Bar started offering lunchtime ramen. Chaco on Crown Street, Darlinghurst is normally a yakitori bar by night but from Wednesday to Saturday, they turn into a ramen bar for lunch with limited 30 ramen bowls.

Where there's new ramen, you'll normally find me there! I also bumped into my homie Adrian Leonard. I really digged Chaco's whole Japanese-style mini tavern fit out. Regardless of how much I loved the space, my mission was to try Chef Keita Abe's ramen. Ready? Here we go!

Itadakimasu!!

 

Fat soy ramen

They have two ramen options. Adrian opted for their Fat Soy ramen ($13). It consists of ramen noodles, cha shu, half ajitsuke tamago (flavoured soft boiled egg), nori, bean sprouts and shallots. I was only able to try the broth. It was more of light soy based broth with some form of pork fat to give more depth of flavour. There's almost a balance in both flavours but the soy component was more pronounced than the pork.

 

Fish salt ramen

Fish salt ramen with extra egg

I ordered the Fish Salt ramen ($13) because I was interested to try how the fish flavour will affect the chicken based broth. This ramen had noodles, cha shu, prawn & John Dory wonton, bean sprouts, nori & leek. The broth was amazing! It was similar to Ikkyu's paitan broth but with added fish flavour. Both chicken and fish flavours were nicely balanced and seasoned well. It was light but flavoursome. The noodles were springy and perfectly cooked. The wonton was like a good supporting act to the ramen's seafood theme. The tender fatty strand of cha shu in this ramen complimented the chicken component of the broth. The sweet mild onion-like flavour of the leek went well with the broth. I ordered extra ajitsuke tamago ($3) because to me, not having egg in a ramen is like a cheeseburger with no cheese. The egg was slightly sweet and the yolk was soft.

Gyozas

Gyozas (4 pieces for $8) are a ramen's best friend. It was perfectly cooked with the nice caramelised fried crust and the perfect marriage of pork and ginger.

I really enjoyed their fish salt ramen and would definitely return to try their cha shu rice ball ($5) and onigiri ($5). Chaco Bar has won my ramen lovin' heart! So check them out!

Chaco Bar

238 Crown Street

Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Cha-co-men hours:

Wednesday - Saturday Lunch

12:00pm to 3:00pm (limited to 30 bowls a day).