Archive for the ‘north shore’ Category

Sustainability is all the buzz in food these days, and with excellent reason. Traditional farming often sees minerals leached out of soil faster than they can be put back in and produce being bred for rapid growth. And with the impact that mass production is having on the environment, it is a breath of fresh air (literally) to meet people who not only care about what they do, but also the way their livelihood affects the world we live in. Sounding a bit preachy for a Wednesday morning? Well another pro of this sustainable produce business is that the food tends to taste better. Ahhhh… now we’re talking! …continue reading mumu grill & mr riggs wines

By now, most twitter-followers would have gathered that I am a fairly fish-friendly person. This was not always the case. Back in high school, I used to not-so-obviously call home to see what was for dinner and then make frantic plans if anything fishy was involved. And then I met the salmon. And the kingfish. And the sardine. And the mackerel. And suddenly, unexpectedly, I turned into a cat. Chowing down on tins of tuna, sneaking the last bit of flathead from the serving dish before anyone else noticed.

So when my parents mentioned that they’d been to this place, this wonderful Japanese place in Chatswood, where one could order grilled mackerel, I was there. Pronto.

Toraya sits on the top floor of the Mandarin Center in Chatswood. Way back when, it used to be a vietnamese pho place (and one of the better ones too). That was a while back, before the new train station, when the library was a time zone and the kids I tutored would sneak off “to the bathroom” and come back having gone mental on a DDR machine. Or something like that.

I digress.

lunch special! only $17.80

We arrived early for lunch, it being a non-pancake Saturday, and snagged a table next to the window. Menus were perused, water brought to the table and 1x special was ordered (with much anticipation).

And how the anticipation was met!

mackerel set (comes with rice and soup)

Half a mackerel, sliced lengthways down its middle. Grilled to smoky, charred perfection. Oily and fishy and firm and salty. Everything a fishy fish should be! The reaction on my face must have given the game away because my parents (kind, thoughtful, gracious) immediately pushed the plate in my direction and told me to go for it.

So I ate. And I ate. And I ate some more. I ate mackerel with rice. I dipped mackerel in my miso soup. I ate mackerel rolled up in a piece of lettuce and I ate mackerel in between mouthfuls of the beef (below). I ate mackerel until I was, and I thought this could not occur though it did, fished out.

down to the bones!

And when the fishing-out occurred, I saw that there was still fish left. And so we picked at the bones. And we picked at the bones some more. And when we stopped picking at the bones, this is what was left.

all gone!

I was so happy.

I should probably show you what else we ate, seeing as I have gotten the fish out of the way.

beef set (of indeterminable pricing)

I think, though I realise I should know, but don’t, that this was a beef set. Well, I know it was a beef set, but the name of the beef set and the price escape me. It was tasty, that’s for sure, though strangely tough and chewy. I found it hard to tear the pieces of beef apart with my teeth and ended up swallowing most of them partially chewed and mostly in large chunks. Hmm.

demolished

It was, in any case, demolished. Part because it was so tasty (despite its chewiness) and part because there was just so much fish that we had to eat something else to distract our palates. Even if momentarily.

We also (after the fish, and because my dad has a mild obsession with xiao long bao - think me + making pancakes, but squared) stopped by to pick up a post-lunch snack at Shanghai Gourmet.

xiao long bao

Well, hmmm. They weren’t bad if they were just steamed dumpings. As xiao long bao? Well, I’d order elsewhere. And otherwise. So possibly not ordering those again.

(I will, however be back for the fish. Did I mention the fish? Fish fish fish.)

Plus I thought their side plates were really cute.

Toraya Japanese Restaurant
Mandarin Centre
Level 2, Shop 212, 61 Albert Ave
Chatswood NSW 2067
Ph (02) 9884 9620

“I haven’t been to yum-cha in a-a-ages!” “Well then, let’s go Saturday.” “Oh. Ok.” This is how lunch plans get made around my place. One moment you have nothing planned for the weekend, and then it’s 11am on a Saturday and everyone’s running around and “Are you ready?” “The queues will get long! Hurry up!” and “I forgot my phone!” before we bundle ourselves into the car and brave the Chatswood traffic. Two will leap out early to get a ticket and the others will circle the ever-full parking lot before joining the first two with a “What number are we?” “What number are they up to?” and an “Oh… so many people!”

We finally make it inside, “Number forty-four! Sei-sup-Sei!” a tea menu is surveyed, “Better than drinking colour water, you know.” and the dishes begin to roll.

salt & pepper hairy crab

For some, largely unknown, reason, our yum-chas have recently tended to either start with, end with, or otherwise include whatever crab is being spruiked around the place. I don’t know how this tradition started, perhaps a conscious effort to eat that-which-is-not-normally-eaten, perhaps my mum & I on a trip, just the two of us, and a penchant for indulgence, but it stuck.

vegetarian dumplings

“Can you heat it up for us?” and while the trolley lady left her happy trolley alone, I snuck a picture of the vegetarian dumplings that we weren’t going to eat, and of the egg tarts (top image) I was hoping to get around to later.

The crab, when it came back, was, by the way, delicious. If somewhat frustrating to eat, being a non-mud crab and all. I digress.

sweet taro buns

While we were mid-crab (read: shell all over the table, our hands, our hair), we were offered some buns. “New dish!” said the trolley lady, in Cantonese, “Very good! You want?” “New dish!” said mum, all excited. “Yes please!” said we. And we did. It was sweet, not savory. And for a moment, we were confused. But then the crunchy butter and sugar top and the gooey purple yam paste took over and “Mmmmmm” was all that could be said of them.

shark’s fin & lettuce dumplings

But there was more to be had. Shark’s fin and lettuce dumplings (of which I got two!) with the taste of the lettuce really coming to the fore.

shark fin & seafood whole bowl dumpling

…and with vinegar!

A big bowl of dumpling (that’s right, a bowl of dumpling!) appeared. And when you break the skin, a veritable sea of prawn and shark’s fin (I know, more of it!) and scallop and sweet, sweet soup.

lo mai fan

Then the chickeney rice steamed in a lotus leaf. Which is usually good, but was this time a little dry, a little lacking, and we passed it around – not wanting to fill ourselves up, but not wanting to waste it either.

siu mai

At this stage, all were almost full. Except for the sister, who had passed on most of what came previously. “Fried or steamed?” we asked. “Steamed” said she. Trays came and went. Too many veges, too much meat. Too weird, not weird enough. And then. Siu mai. Which were nice, if a little plain and porky, after what had been previously.

xiao long bao

The xiao long bao came in tin foil cups. We looked at them. Pricked, prodded, success! “Oh no! A drip! You’re leaking!” But the tin foil cup caught the soup and all was saved.

egg tarts

The crispy flaky egg-tarts that I’d snapped at the beginning of this (now hour long) meal had long vanished. I made do with smaller, less flaky versions. I was a little sad about this, but it’s hard to remain sad through a mouthful of warm custard, so I was not sad for long.

to-fu fa

Just when we thought we could eat no more, someone mentioned to-fu fa.

I’ll be honest. The to-fu fa at Kam Fook is a force to be reckoned with. It’s a big, BIG bowl. Split between four, we had enough to be content and wanting just that little bit more, but not so much that we were to-fu’d out (as has happened when split between two). Warm and gingery syrup, smooth, silky tofu. A perfect end to yum-cha-cha-ing with the family.

the bill: $88.90

Kam Fook
Shop 600, Level 6
Westfield Shoppingtown
28 Victor Street
Chatswood NSW
Tel (02) 9413 9388

also at:
Shop 6010, Level 6,
Westfield Shopping Centre
100 Oxford Street
Bondi Junction NSW
Tel (02) 9386 9889