Ayam Goreng 99

I heard that this fried chicken joint in Kingsford is one of the most popular Indonesian restaurant in Sydney. Usually Indonesian restaurants serves many different kinds of food, but this particular one specialises in chicken (grilled or fried). And apart for the chicken dishes, they also serves side dishes which usually goes well with their grilled of fried chicken e.g. cah kangkung and pepes.

We finished at Shalom around 5.55pm and walked several metres to Ayam Goreng 99. Both of these restaurants are not that far away from each other. When we arrived at the restaurant, the shop was still dark. I asked my husband, "How come they're still closed? I thought it's 6pm already?". When he looked at his phone - nope, it's 5.55pm. But there was already several groups of people queuing in front of the shop! They were just chatting with each other or looking at the menu which is stuck on the glass display of the shop, waiting for the shop to open.

Not long after, the employee opened the door and everyone rushed in to get a seat. Within 5 minutes, all tables were full (I even got kicked from the table where I was waiting at, and poor husband had to stand up).

I asked where to order take away and the lady directed me to go to the register straight away. I was confused on what to order as there was ayam bakar, ayam goreng, and ayam goreng Kalasan (what? Two different types of fried chickens!? This just made my decision making process more difficult). And to my disappointment, they don't offer whole chickens and give slight price reduction (like if you order at Nando's and you can get quarter, half, or whole chicken). So, if you want a whole chicken, then you have to order two chicken thighs and two chicken breasts - and pay full price, no discount.

Because I wanted 'whole chicken', I decided to order four chicken thighs (neither me nor my husband likes chicken breast), two grilled and two fried Kalasan-style. I also wanted to try the pepes as I have missed that dish so so much! So, I ordered one pepes tahu (tofu) and one pepes jamur (mushroom).

CHICKENS (GRILLED/FRIED)

I have to say the chickens were awesome, both the charcoal-grilled chicken and the fried Kalasan-style chicken! The spices were very rich and you would want to lick your fingers after eating. FYI - it's compulsory to eat these chickens with your hands! That's the traditional way to do it.

The chilli sauce (sambal) that came with it is also really nice. It's really close to the sambal served at Ayam Goreng Mbok Berek or Ny. Suharti, but not as sweet. But be careful though because it is very very hot. As a sambal lover, I have to dip my chicken in the sambal carefully just so I don't get too much of it on the chicken.

Ayam bakar

Ayam Goreng Kalasan 

PEPES

The pepes is a winner! They taste very authentic, just like the ones I get in Indonesia. But that could also come down to the easy recipe because, just by tasting it and examining the food, I think I can already guess what the ingredients are. The only tricky part for me would be the banana leaves, because I have never ever experimented with a recipe that calls for banana leaves.

***

I'm very satisfied with my order at Ayam Goreng 99 and will definitely come back to try other menu (I thought I saw sate kambing (charcoal-grilled lamb skewers) in the menu? Me wants!). When we left the restaurant, there were still people queuing outside. So, my suggestion would be to come early or be prepared to wait because it is THAT popular! Last but not least, be prepared to bring cash because they don't accept Pay-Wave or EFTPOS.

Since I had take-away, I thought I'd show you how I style my plate!

Guzman Y Gomez

We were visiting a family friend whom we only see about once a year when we found out that (some of, I think) the Guzman Y Gomez (GYG) Mexican food joint have halal chicken and they cooked it separately! The mother was telling me that their eldest son has been a part-timer at the Guzman Y Gomez at Crows Nest for a couple of months now. He then described how the head chef there is also a Muslim, the chicken meat is halal, and they made sure it is cooked and prepared separately. I have been wanting authentic Mexican since forever and this is a good news for me! Husband asked him whether the GYG at Westfield Parramatta was also halal. The eldest son doesn't know for sure, but I think we can just ask the shop.

The following week, we went to Westfield Parramatta for an afternoon stroll, looking for quilt for when my mum comes over this winter inshaaAllah to help look after bubba. After we finished circling the mall, we headed straight to GYG just near the Phoenix Chinese Restaurant. I asked the girl at the register whether their chicken is halal - and she said 'yes'! Yippi!

I ordered quesadillas and burrito for husband (because he couldn't make up his mind as usual). They also had nachos, tacos, fajitas, and enchiladas. For the complete menu and the price, you can go to their website https://www.guzmanygomez.com/the-food/.

Reviewing the order while waiting for it to come

QUESADILLAS

I've never tried quesadillas, but they sure look very tempting hence why I had ordered it. My order came with two quesadillas (but there is also an option of 3). The quesadillas look small, but it fulfils my stomach just right. If you're a big eater, like my husband, I'm sure two flat quesadillas will not make your stomach full. It tasted authentic to me - well, I don't know how the real deal tastes like, but this one tastes very nice. The oh-so-gooey Australian jack cheese is soooo yummy, and the grilled chicken is also fantastic. I thought the chicken would taste like Nando's (Portuguese style), but I was wrong. This one does taste 'Mexican' - it doesn't have that tangy flavour like the Portuguese style chicken.

BURRITO

Husband loved the burrito, but I think he's a bit overwhelmed by the size. His burrito came with extra guacamole and brown rice (which also cost extra). GYG actually had two options for the burrito, which is the classic and the bowl burrito. The classic comes in a form of a (tortilla) wrap, whereas the bowl came with a bowl for those who likes less mess when eating. The black beans and the salsa compliment the taste very nicely, giving it that 'Mexican taste'. But perhaps if you're not a big eater, skip the rice. Otherwise, you can make two meals out of one burrito!

***

I think GYG is definitely worth it in terms of taste and price. I will definitely return to try their other menus! 

And apologies for the low quality photos - I took it with my phone. I should have packed my M3/4 in my bag more often now.

*Update: since this visit, we have also visited the GYG outlet at Rhodes. We enquired about the chicken again, and they claimed it is halal (and my husband saw the certificate on the wall of the kitchen).

Shalom

We were planning to go to the Supermentor lecture at UNSW at around 6pm. Initially we wanted to take the public transport because I remember trying to get parking around Kingsford area is very difficult. After some arguments about walking to Merrylands station (LOL), we ended up driving the car all the way to Kingsford. Thankfully, there were plenty of parking when we arrived there at 5pm!

In the car, I said, "Let's have dinner around Kingsford after the lecture". I didn't have any clue about Indonesian restaurant's opening hours around that area when I said that. After I checked, most of them would close at 9pm - what a pity! So, because we would arrive early, we decided to get take-away Ayam Goreng 99, unfortunately the shop doesn't open until 6pm! I thought, perhaps it's not our luck to get Indonesian food that day. But I really want it!!

From a blog review that I read about Ayam Goreng 99, I found out that Shalom restaurant is not that far away from there. So we went to Shalom instead while waiting for Ayam Goreng 99 to open.

The interior of the restaurant is really nice and comfy. I love that they hang traditional pendant lamps (it actually looks like the lamp that I fell in love with at Bunnings), and use traditional Indonesian vintage enamel home-wares as decorations. There were a couple of tables with bench-style seating, it reminds me of warteg.

I was hoping they would have bakwan malang because I've been craving for that since my first trimester! Unfortunately they didn't. Their menu is revolves around various Indonesian traditional food such as ayam goreng, soto, ketoprak, various traditional snacks (e.g. batagor), pempek, mie ayam, iga penyet, etc. Since we already planned to get Ayam Goreng 99 take-away, I ordered something else that's not either ayam goreng or ayam bakar and something that I can't make at home. My choice came down to bakso and batagor.

BAKSO

For those who don't know, bakso is Indonesian meatball soup. It's usually served with vermicelli or egg noodles and pangsit goreng (fried wontons). I think their meatballs is good. They were generous with it too - they give 6 meatballs in a serve! Usually you will only get 5 meatballs at a bakso joint in Indonesia. The pangsit goreng was really nice too (I love myself pangsit goreng in a bowl of bakso!)

Unfortunately I have more negative things to say about the bakso as a whole since I am very particular about my bakso (FYI - I'm a bakso die-hard fan!). I like my bakso soup clear and free of any condiments, but this one looks like it has been added sweet soy sauce. The most disappointing part: the taste of the soup is also a bit off - I suspect it's because of the vermicelli noodle. Sometimes vermicelli noodles can be a bit smelly and I think that smell got mixed with the soup. You have to ask for the sambal bakso (chilli sauce) as it doesn't come along with the bakso when they serve it, but I have no issues with that. And the sambal bakso tasted nice.

BATAGOR

Batagor is an abbreviation from: Bakso Tahu Goreng, Sundanese and Indonesian: "fried bakso and tofu". I had ordered the batagor as a take-away for husband because I thought he would not be breaking his fast before 6pm, hence the plastic container (LOL). It turned out Maghrib was at 5.40pm and I had not finished my bakso, so eventually husband enjoyed his batagor at the premise. 

The batagor yesterday was quite a disappointment too. The only plus point is that it is crispy. The taste is not like what I had expected. In fact, I think the batagor that is sold at street vendors in Indonesia tasted much much much better. I couldn't taste the fish at all although I did spot the fish filling inside the tofu. And the peanut sauce, it's missing one important ingredient: lime. I don't think it has to be the kaffir lime, but it is definitely missing that citrusy aroma.

***

The bakso was $10 and batagor was $5. I also ordered the big bottle of Teh Botol, so the total damage was $17.50.

If I can rate this restaurant, I will give 3 out of 5 stars as a whole. Although I'm quite disappointed with my first experience at Shalom (yes, this is my first time there), this won't be my last. There are still other menu that I would like to try like the iga bakar or the tempting desserts (they have es durian, yum yum!).

Makoto Sushi

We spent Easter Sunday outing at Lane Cove National Park. We were only there for an hour because it rained hard in the middle of our bushwalking. Afterwards, we decided to have lunch around Chatswood because the exit gate was close to that area. I chose Makoto sushi.

I have read a couple of articles which lists Makoto as one of the best sushi in Sydney. I'm always excited for hunting the best sushi restaurant in town! I was really curious so I thought why not give it a try. Fortunately the restaurant was open on this Easter Sunday.

The restaurant is quite big, twice the size of Sakura sushi in Melbourne. We came around 1pm and the restaurant was full, but we managed to get a seat. I love the chairs in this restaurant because you know how annoying it is having to pull back the high/bar chair, sit, and adjust the position so you don't end up dining with awkward back position, right? The chairs there were permanently fixed to the floor and the seat could swivel easily. So when you need to take a seat, you just need to swivel (neat!).

Husband ate sushi from the sushi train while I have to order something cooked. Unfortunately they don't have many alternatives for me (well, duh, it's a sushi train restaurant). Eventually I settled for a portion of tempura with rice and miso soup.

SUSHI

My husband loved the sushi. He tried to be adventurous by trying various nigiri sushi such as the mackarel, garfish, and ocean perch. He also tried the shark fin salad gunkan sushi.

I tried the grilled scallop sushi. It was nice as well. The grilled scallop tasted about the same as the one from Sushi Bay, but the sushi rice was way more authentic. I consider a sushi restaurant good if the chef is Japanese, but I don't know if the chef could actually speak Japanese.

TEMPURA AND MISO SOUP

The seafood tempura consist of salmon, prawn, cuttlefish, crab meat, red pepper, and onion kakiage. The batter was good as expected (even I can make it like so with boxed tempura mix). The tempura sauce was a bit disappointing. My rice was also wet, so it just made it even worse. The miso soup wasn't the best as well, but still edible.

***

The verdict is, I would recommend coming in for sushi (the tempura was also good) but don't bother for the other food. Unfortunately because we were already very full, we didn't order dessert, but they have various mouthwatering dessert from mango mousse to black sesame ice cream.

Makoto sushi website: http://www.masuyainternational.com.au/en/makoto/

Halal Spot: Billu's Indian Eatery

Sorry for having delayed this post for sometime! A couple of weeks ago when we were moving out, me and husband went to eat out at Billu's Indian Restaurant. It's my second visit there (the first was in January). As the name says, Billu's is an restaurant located in Harris Park which specialises in Indian cuisine. Billu's has been around for 23 years. The restaurant is quite fancy, but you don't need to dress properly tho. I realised that on my trip this time, they have this exclusive menu book and the waiter/waitresses looks very preppy as well! It's as if you're being treated in an exclusive dining. Love it!

This time I ordered butter chicken and basmatti rice, while Honey opted for biryani as usual. On our first trip in January, I ordered chicken tikamasala and cheese naan. The butter chicken was really nice and tasty! And it goes really well with basmatti rice (or naan). The biryani is very flavourful. You can really taste the mix of the spices. Oh, and it tastes really spicy (for my tongue). If you love strongly-spiced flavoured food, then this is it. Their naan bread is really wonderful! And, oh, you should try their cheese naan (eat while it's hot). It's the best! Can't go wrong with that.

Aside their Indian main course, they also have glass display full of sweets that you can buy in bulk (in kilograms). We tried one of it, gosh I forgot the name, but the shape is like a big chocolate ball. It tastes awesome! The inside is solid, it's not like a sponge cake. It's sweet and you can taste a hint of lemon in it. I would definitely buy more to stock up at home! But unfortunately we still have some cookies left, so we would like to finish it first. I can't wait to go there again, as I would really love to try other sweets!

I really recommend this place for dining out (dinner) or just hang out with your friends at daytime to enjoy the sweets. I would definitely go back to try other menu!

Billu's Indian Eatery

62 Wigram Street

Harris Park NSW 2150

www.billu.com.au

(photo will be posted when I have transferred the pictures from husband's iPhone :P)

Ladurèe!

Last Friday, me and my friend spent an afternoon at the City. We initially wanted to visit the Sydney Library, but unfortunately someone was caught in ZARA sale and it took her quite long in the shop (that's me!). Anyway, we made it to Laduree in Westfield Sydney instead. I was soooooo excited! You don't know how bad I wanted to try Laduree's macaroons! I always dream coming to Paris just to try these little sweethearts.

The menu book

I forgot how and where I get to know Laduree. But one thing I remember, Laduree invented the round colorful macaroons that we know of today and that they have the best macaroons in the world. 

When macaroons were so "in" in Jakarta, I read from a lot of reviews that Bakerzin produced the yummiest macaroons around in Jakarta. It was quite expensive for average Indonesians. But I'm one of those person who would pay more just to get that once in a lifetime experience (if I don't intend to repurchase). So, after I got married, I asked my husband to try a couple of Bakerzin's macaroons. Well, sorry to say, it doesn't have the nicest taste and feel in my mouth. Since then, I really wanted to know how a REAL macaroon supposed to taste like. Just like sushi, you will know how "good" sushi should taste like when you have tasted the "good" one. It's like teaching your tongue to differentiate.

Our orders

I am one heck of a lucky girl! I somehow ended up in Sydney. And a few months ago, I found out from Instagram that Laduree just opened its shop in Sydney. I was extremely excited! Because I get to taste the best macaroons in the world without actually having to fly all over to Paris! (I just found out a couple of hours ago that they have opened stores in Japan as well). Another lucky thing, I have a friend to experience it together as first-timers ;).

Rose-flavored mini mac

I just blabbered too much, didn't I? Okay, so, me and my friend arrived at Laduree's chic small open cafe. Each of us ordered two macaroons and a pot of tea (makes 5 cups). I tried the Rose and Pistachio flavor macaroons and was suggested The Melange Special Laduree (a blend of citrus fruit, rose, vanilla, and cinnamon tea) by the waiter. The macaroons were pricey ($4 a piece for dine in! -- $3.20 for takeaway), but it was all worth it! The taste was amazing and the texture was perfect. As far as I know, the macaroons were flown from Switzerland where they were stored. I was like, "Oh, so this is how the best macaroons taste like." The tea is also very delightful. All of the flavors were present and they were like flying around tickling my taste buds.

The Melange Special Laduree

This place is definitely recommended! But I suggest you wouldn't want to come here too often, hehe. They have cute packaging as well and takeaways come with a chic gift/shopping bag. All worth the price! Seriously.