Ebisu

Helloo Ladles and Jellyspoons~

As mentioned previously it was Songie's birthday(yes I realise it was more than a month ago...) and we went to Ebisu to celebrate. We left around 7pm because you can't make reservations for dinner; you have to physically go there, "book" a table and wait for it(unless you are a group of 8 or more, which we weren't). Now, they recently had a change in menu that introduced some new things that are apparently rave-worthy, but I reserve judgement I suppose.

Atmosphere

 The decor of the restaurant was pleasantly classy and they made use of floral ornaments, with orchid pot plants scattered artfully around, and then(probably fake but I didn't check) sakura trees in a row behind a glass screen, warm tones to their seats, either with wooden chairs or tan, leather(?) seats. I guess you could say it had a kind of relaxing, zen vibe to it, especially with the low lighting. It's not so low you can barely see your dining companions but neither is it overly wonderful for your instagram photos, and you'd probably need a few lightening filters to see the food in the lower quality cameras of phones.
I suppose that like the seating, the whole area had a warm colouring. The brick walls patched up with concrete here and there left something to be desired but for once it wasn't the ceiling that was construction like. I guess the brick wall adds a bit of a edgy feel to it, like a warehouse or something, especially with all the open space.

view from the bar

View from our seat

Jia and the sakura background and edamame

Despite the relaxing decor, the place was just buzzing with chatter and it was quite hard to hear ourselves, let alone the waiter. In fact at one point a group of women were seated near us and they nearly broke our eardrums with their extremely loud laughter. I winced every time they laughed, and counting the number of times I did, there must have been quite a few comedians in that group. I probably looked like I had a tic or something. I do know it's a lot quieter at lunch though, so perhaps a lunch setting it would be better if you're looking for quiet.

Food

We started off with Edamame, as everyone should. They're delicious. Steamed/boiled immature soybeans still in their pods, that are salted lightly. You can alternatively suck or encourage the bean with your teeth out of the husk(both together for maximum enjoyment!). In my opinion they're best eaten warm because the bean hardens up a bit when it gets colder and it's not as nice. We ended up getting a second order of it.

The next dish to come was the Hamachi Kingfish sashimi.

This. This was my favourite dish of the night. It didn't have a strong fish taste(which I usually hate and therefore end up not eating any sashimi but salmon) but it had the slightly crunchy flesh feeling of some sashimi. I'm not really sure how to explain it if you've never had it. On top, they sprinkled crunchy potato(?) crisps, and rolled inside were paper-thin slices of radish. The overall result? A refreshing, slightly tangy, mix of textures and flavours, with the slight aftertaste of the vegetables, but not strong or cloying. Oddly satisfying but not filling, and leaves you wanting a little more. It might have benefited from a sauce that gave a hint of saltiness though. Then again they do give you soy sauce at the table that I didn't try it with, maybe that's what I was looking for.

 Free-range karaage chicken 

I'm a fan of this one. The skin was a bit hard but it was thick and crunchy and just perfect, not dry or anything. It also came with Japanese mayonnaise which we all know is great.  

 Steamed prawn dumplings

Apparently this one was the most popular dish of the moment but personally I did not find it all that great. Maybe it was the factor that as an Asian, I eat delicious dumplings a lot and also the fact it was spicy so I couldn't really find it comparable. People love the sauce apparently(it has almonds so watch out you nut allergic people) and ask the servers for spoons a lot. I mean it's not bad; not too spicy, homemade almond oil and bit tangy. (Song here: The sauce is actually kind of addicting. It's incredibly oily, but the tangy-ness keeps you craving more. Not entirely sure if thats a good thing or not but I reckon this dish is worth a try just for the sauce alone.) The dumpling itself I found to be disappointing, I find the prawn dumplings at Yum Char to be much better. The skin was thick and the filling didn't taste of much, so I guess that whole appeal is in the sauce.

Soft shell crab 

It's basically deflated crunchy stuff. It's quite oily because it was deepfried, the wasabi sauce was quite buttery, which is good because otherwise it would be too potent for me. The crab itself has no discernable taste so the wasabi sauce is the main flavour. I recommend you dip it with sauce in the container; it becomes a pleasant creamy mix of buttery wasabi, the odd texture of the soft shelled crab, and the sauce that is salty and strong.

 Seared Hokkaido scallops 

I'm not really a scallop person and I think if I'd had more than one I'd be less praising but for now, I found them to be plump and tender, buttery but not too oily, and overall it was pleasant but still not something I'd eat a lot of. There's just something about scallops that's a tiny bit nauseating, I can't put my finger on it. Others love it though. 

Tuna Ceviche Roll

All I tasted was ginger, which was put inside of the roll instead of on the side as usual. It tasted a lot better with soy sauce, but it still did not have much of it's own flavour.

Seared Cambridge Duck Breast 

This was my second most favourite dish of the night. I am quite partial to the taste and soft texture of braised duck rather than the typical crunchy skin duck of Chinese restaurants, and this was no exception. In addition to the duck, there was an arrangement of sliced pear on the side with two piles of different powders; chilli powder and some type of green looking salt. The idea is to eat them all together. I tried the salt+Sliced pear+duck combination and that was nice, but i think the salt isnt necessary unless you like stronger flavours. Otherwise the simple flavours of the sweet pear and braised duck would be a perfectly compatible mouthful for one's palate also.

Service

The staff were friendly, but because they were really busy they forgot things sometimes and were a little difficult to get the attention of. The manager went around constantly and talked to everyone, so kudos to him.

Presentation

As with most Japanese foods, all the dishes were presented beautifully.

Price
I didn't get the receipt because someone treated us and it's kind of awkward to as gok for the receipt but I gather it was around $120 give or take. It is a bit pricey but it feels reasonable. Top 3 are definitely the kingfish hamachi, the seared duck and the chicken karaage.

Thanks for reading~
The Lambs.

P.S. Thank you to those who have been asking after the blog, made me(Jia.. And maybe secretly Songie) feel warm and fuzzy :D

O Chef! My Chef! - A Change of the Blog Content?

Hello Ladles and Jelly-spoons~

Hello all~ Jia here,  and yes that was a play on the famous "Oh Captain! My Captain!" from Walt Whitman's poem, but I heard it first from the 'Dead Poets Society' movie(which is pretty good by the way). The topic of today's blog is the European-Asian buffet restaurant My Chef on Queen Street. Some of the images weren't mine because I thought I'd taken them but realised I hadn't once I got home.

Credit: https://wooh.co.nz/mychef-page-299-1-550.html

 I was working on this during my exam period and I shouldn't have but the temptation was too great. However, exams are now over and I can blog guilt-free. Recently we went out for the first time in ages because it was Songie's birthday. Which brings up something important. We started this blog because at the time we were eating out fairly often and could try many different places but as of late we realised we haven't been going out as much because we're not exactly social butterflies.

Yeah I guess we're pretty similar to Heimlich from A Bug's Life.

In fact this is probably me when we finally go out.

Credit: http://disneypixar.tumblr.com/image/94853751796

We do have a lot of posts to catch up on but besides that, we are thinking of making this a food and lifestyle blog. We do some travelling after all, though mostly to Singapore. It's just a thought at the moment, we're still on the fence about it right now. Just a head's up though, so you all don't start wondering why we've suddenly become a lifestyle blog as well as a food one. I mean we've already done something like that with the previous blogs, such as the China one, but you know, it will be slightly different.

Back to the food blog about My Chef, even though it's a buffet my friends and I just know it as a Korean BBQ place because honestly, it is the main reason anyone goes as far as I know. I went there on the last day of the semester with Brad, as a small reward for getting through half a year of uni, even if there's still exams. Our other friends weren't able to make it but it was alright since we ate enough to make up for it!!

Credit: https://wooh.co.nz/mychef-page-299-1-550.html

To get there, you have to go upstairs or up the ramp next to St Pierres Sushi in Mid City and it's opposite the Japanese place, Nikko.

Atmosphere
 It's got a friendly vibe, being a noisy buffet area. It's not so noisy that you have to shout to talk to your table mates though. Each of the tables are set with gas fueled BBQ hot plates and the whole place as a warm sort of aura(yes the fact it's a BBQ place helps), due to the wooden floors and furniture and beige walls. I did notice that it's quite a tight squeeze between chairs which is a pain when you all want to go get food and all that. ALSO: you have to pay attention very carefully to where you're walking. I didn't get a picture but the wooden floors were somehow very uneven and I nearly tripped over a couple of times, and I'm sure the table near me would have appreciated the raw meat flung on them.

We were sat in a more private walled table, and they helpfully provide spare cans of gas to use if you run out. They also usually provide aluminium foils which you do constantly need to change.

The wooden screen doors on the walls also give it a more Korean feel to the place.

Food

Credit: https://wooh.co.nz/mychef-page-299-1-550.html

The drinks bar had self-serve drinks, presumably coffee at the corner there, and two containers of drinks. I sampled the milky off-white one, which was a strange sweet liquid with rice bits floating around it. I'm not totally sure what it was but it was quite nice.

 The food, being a buffet, was spread out at the walls, having a range of cooked foods on one side, then transitioned to the raw meat in one section. 

There's also a freezer at the side should you feel you want even more selection but the best stuff is in the meat bar already.

Credit: whangareinz.com 

I didn't try much of the cooked food because I was more interested in the BBQ, but I have sampled the kimbob(basically Korean sushi) and the fried chicken wings. The cooked food isn't bad either, and I especially like the crispy skin of the chicken which is cooked to perfection. It does soften after a while though of course so it may not be crispy when you eat it. 

Now, the BBQ itself. For those of you who haven't tried Korean BBQ, and are wondering about the difference between normal BBQ and this, its probably just the smaller grill that you use and the type of meat. While there's charcoal grills like Faro, more commonly the grill is like a hot plate that has a small portable stove underneath, and to keep it relatively clean you are given a foil to cook your meat. These get filled with oil and burnt bits over time so you have to change foil after a while. We started off with Bulgogi and Fresh Pork Belly, because it seems like a logical choice seeing as when I eat Korean usually I go for the Bulgogi. I do, however, have a preference for marinated meat and these, well, weren't. There was one container that had sauce in it but was generally empty of any meat so I didn't really pay attention to it; Galbi. 

Just when there was some meat, and I got up to try it, this guy was in front of me so I patiently waited seeing as there was enough for both of us, but he just kept taking putting it on his plate. He just would not stop. I watched in disbelief as he took all the remaining Galbi and returned to my seat disappointed. However the efficient staff were quick to notice it and returned to refilled it completely so ha! jokes on him now. On the other hand because the meat that he got, sat in the marinade for a while it was able to soak up more of the sauce... oh well. It was still really good. I quickly filled up the plate(and left some for others like a polite person would) and went back to the table. 

Pork Belly and a piece of Galbi

Delicious Galbi grilling<3

 The bone wasn't as troublesome as I thought it would be, it separated fairly easily from the meat. Marinated meat is the best though, seriously.

Yay I didnt have to cook!

Service

Being a buffet you don't really have much need for service. There is a bar at one end and that's where most of the staff congregate if they're not refilling food or attending to customers. As noted earlier though, they were efficient and put aside spare foils and gas cans around the tables. They're also fine with helping you restart your stove grill when you decide that perhaps taking a break and turning the flame off is a good idea(which, by the way, is not). I'm serious, this happens every time at any Korean BBQ I go to. And every time, we can't get the flame going again, and have to ask the staff to help.

Presentation

Being a buffet I suppose the presentation is up to you, so I'll have to pass on this.

Price

The price is reasonable and student friendly, which explains the amount of students in the place, and you can eat as much as you like. They do have a stipulation that if anyone does not finish what they took then everyone at the table will pay a $10 extra fee. I reckon this is a good idea so that it ensures that people don't take too much and waste food. Us, we took in small amounts but many times, and took a break between plates so we could digest a little.

Conclusion

I think this place is worth a try whenever you're craving some Korean BBQ. The only other one I'm aware of in city that's not more upscale like Faro is the one at 492 Queen St, Auckland CBD, but it's a bit of a walk for uni students compared to this one just upstairs in Midcity at 239 Queen St. If you want to make a booking, call them at 09-3770855. Again, watch out for the floor and don't forget to finish all the food!

Thanks for reading,
Just the One Lamb

Waffle Supreme

HEYYYYY LADLES AND JELLY SPOONS!! Missed us?

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GRADUATES(/GRADUANDS??)
Jia here~ There's really no excuse for not posting but we got back from Singapore and it was hectic once uni started. Songie's on his last semester and I'm on my third year; it's surprisingly busy. Plus I got sick, couldn't eat anything but porridge for weeks. It was tragic. Since I got better, I haven't really had time to head out and try new places. However, I did manage to grab a bite after school with my friend Tara on the way home in the first few weeks(before it got busy with assignments).

Now, we're going back into our usual format, I sorta forgot it as time went on because it was nice to just waffle on about it without a set structure but it's probably easier to read in this format.

Atmosphere
The store looks like a bright red cargo shipping container, and its hard to miss.Since it's basically a small store/stall and it's in that area of the city with the smooth pavements and open space, it has a really clean and fresh sort of atmosphere to it. It feels pretty friendly because of the small space and the table area in front of the counter where you can stand and eat(allows for more people to be around rather than when chairs take up all the space) and chat to each other, maybe other people too since you're all standing together eating(trust me, it happened). It's only been around for maybe 6 months, according to the owner(I think he's called Andy?), so that probably explains the bright new look to it.

Food

Now, I will be the first to say that I am not a huge fan of waffles, and if given the choice between pancakes and waffles, pancake would win hands down. The reason for this is because I don't like dry waffles, which is what I get when I order it most times. Even at home we had fairly dry ones that I had to lather on the syrup to enjoy fully. There was this one time when we were cafe hopping with our friends in Singapore a few years back and had these delicious waffles that were soft and fluffy and just really set the standard. This one was not soft and fluffy, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The reason for this is because of the unique topping, and also the waffle itself is indeed dry but it has a crunchy factor to it, and if eaten warm it still retains it's softness inside. The crunchiness could be attributed to what I tasted to be a very thin layer of some sweet sugary coating glazed over it. The toppings, as I mentioned before, were also what made the waffle.

'Andy'(Just gonna assume his name was Andy and roll with it) was really nice and let us try samples of the toppings before we ordered, and there was a lemony one that was really refreshing and cool on the tongue, especially on the hot day(it was still summer when I went), and then I tried something with the consistency of peanut butter but the taste of sweet - but not too much, more like the sweetness level of the Oreo's black cookie part - biscuit( according to the menu it is called Speculas Spice Biscuit Spread). I loved it so I ordered that one, which was The Ginger Kiss. Rich but very satisfying. He really doesn't skimp on the toppings.

Tara ordered the Pistachio waffle. I sampled a bit of hers and it was gooood. Between mine and hers though I think I preferred mine. They all smell so amazing though.

The next day I went yet again with another friend (I was very keen to try another haha), and we tried the one with the lemony topping(Citron Pop) and Communion(mascarpone, orange blossom, honey and spiced wine syrup). Citron Pop was very simple, only topped with poppy seeds but still nice. Unfortunately the hot waffle warmed up the refreshing sauce or I would have really enjoyed it more.

The Communion had really thick cream on it, and it was delicious for the first 5 bites but it was quite filling and rich after that. Not to mention I had donuts earlier in the day(courtesy of the donut stall at UoA Market Day), so I was a little sick of sweet foods. Unfortunately there aren't any savory waffles on the menu which is a shame because the store next to Waffle Supreme is also a dessert store and well, there's only so much sweet you can have (it sounds like a lie but I'm not kidding)

Service

The service was good, probably because we were one of the few customers there (Andy's sad guys, go visit him). The first time, Tara and I met these two ACG kids(alright they were our age but y'know, we're at uni so we can call them kids ;D) who gave us the recommendations. They weren't helpful. Recommending everything is not recommending.  They're regulars apparently so they chatted away with Andy for a while. The second time I went, we were the only 2 customers so Andy made a little small talk with us for a bit, which was nice. Learnt a bit about his future goals and all. He's a friendly chap. The waffles and toppings were done in front of us, (so you know, they're real and all that, not just bought from the supermarket and frozen or whatever, y'know?).

Presentation

It came out looking really delicious, in my opinion. It helped that it was made in front of us so we could watch the process. I liked that they came out on these nice, quality disposable wooden dishes and cutlery.

Price

The prices I guess were to be expected in the city, drinks were about $5 max and waffles were $8. Now, I haven't had many waffles in cafes much so I can't gauge how much a waffle normally costs, but I do feel like this was worth it. Despite it's deceptively small size it is actually super filling, once combined with the toppings.

Conclusion:
I think it's a good place to go, just to try it at least once. To be honest once you have one flavour you get pretty curious about the other flavours too so I guess you'll go maybe five times haha. Definite fave was the Ginger Kiss. The waffles are definitely good and filling(I recommend not eating sweet things prior to that. Actually I recommend not eating too much before this at all) so yeah. Go visit Andy guys, he's lonely :P Also, if you guys find out his actual name that would be cool, I'll edit this hahaha.

Thanks for reading~

The L-- nah just kidding, Just the One Lamb ;)

La Bocca

Merry Christmas from New Zealand!!!

I hope you're all enjoying the holidays and having a feast. Songie is making dinner tonight, so I'm pretty keen(not for dishes though..). More about that in a later post, because it deserves it's own post for the effort he put in :)

Today's post is about  La Bocca in Parnell. We felt like eating Italian the other day so we drove through Parnell and found some.

Atmosphere
It's not an immediately noticeable place, but once you see it and walk in, it's quite picturesque. Adding to this is a little sheltered part outside with brick floor, with little cloth covered tables and white chairs; ideal for summer.

Inside the café itself, the worn wooden tables, sweetly simple chandeliers, and antique looking wallpaper lend some nostalgic, traditional air to the place. On the coffee machine there is a cute "I <3 NZ" sticker. Strains of guitar and accordion music play peacefully in the background.

Food
Spaghetti al ragu. I found it a very simple meal, but it was good, so maybe it was aiming for the straightforward flavour, letting the finely minced meat . The spaghetti wasn't exactly al dente like I prefer it but, it wasn't too soft either. in the bolognaise take over the taste. Overall not too bad.

The sausage of the sausage sandwich(I am not too sure of the name), as promised, was "juicy and bursting with flavour".  Twas a bit strong, but that's probably what the Focaccia bread was for. It wasn't my dish though so I just sampled the sausage.

Songie's meal

Now to my favourite part; dessert. Luckily the tiramisu wasn't only for the dinner  menu because I  was pretty keen to try it. Songie didn't enjoy it as much. For me, the first few bites were amaaazing and I was seriously considering getting another. It was sugar or something, that was crunchy and sweet, together with the cream and the sponge-y cake; altogether the layers of the tiramisu just mixed really, really well. In the end it turned out it was just right of a serving, I was satisfied and only barely stuffed.

My mother has this love of affogato. This one was...Unusual. Rather than the usual coffee and icecream, this one came with an extra cup of perhaps vanilla(?) syrup. You just "put it all in together and mix". So we did. I had a sip and it was a new kind of flavour but.. not bad. That being said I'm not a huge fan of coffee, so, y'know.

Service
The only visible person was this middle-aged seemingly legitimate Italian man, though we did see a woman come out of the kitchen, maybe his wife or something. He's been here for about 30 years already apparently. He was friendly and charming, and though there was a mix up with a 7 year old spring menu coming out, we didn't mind too much. Of course, Songie was a bit disappointed about not being able to order beef lasagne. He did make a mix-up on the price too, with an added $20 onto the charge due to an apparent miss-type, and we didn't notice until we left(VERY IMPORTANT TO CHECK RECEIPTS!!).

Price
Since there was a lunch special, it was $15 for eachmeal and $13 for the tiramisu.

All in all, I do like this place, and I recommend it as a cute date place or just somewhere to eat. Personally I would not eat there often but maybe once in a while when craving Italian and a nice tiramisu.

Thanks for reading~
Just the one Lamb

UPDATE: It has come to our attention that La Bocca has now closed down, much to our dismay at the loss of the tiramisu. Apologies to those who have been looking for it and couldn't find it.