Hulu at King Street Wharf - Barangaroo, NSW

Chinese food has had a long standing history in most developed countries, that holds especially true for a place like Australia where "Salt & Pepper Squid" has unofficially become the national dish. I bet for every suburb in Sydney where there is a shopping strip, you will find at least one Chinese restaurant or takeaway shop and you will be able to get Chinese food relatively easily. But unfortunately, I feel like Chinese food hasn't always had the most glamorous of images...historically, people tend to only think of Chinese food as greasy and MSG-laden meals you can get at food-courts. Even our oldest venues like Golden Century have these images where it's the place you go when you're really drunk off your ass.

My point is: it's hard to tell someone that Chinese food is a refined ordeal. It's really not until recent years that we've had a surge in newer establishments that focused on produce, quality, presentation and highlighting the best parts of Chinese food (Mr. Wong, Lotus Dining, Billy Kwong etc) and I can see the image slowly start to shift in the minds of the people. Our recent visit to Hulu at King Street Wharf is a prime example of a restaurant that's trying to do one of the oldest cuisines in the world justice by giving people a look at what a refined and high-class Chinese dining experience would look like.

The Mrs and I were fortunate enough to have been invited to attend one of four sessions of complimentary dining intended to showcase what Hulu has to offer and generate excitement about this new venue. We had originally intended to attend one of the first sessions but due to a clash with my ACL reconstruction surgery, we had to push our attendance out to the very last session which wasn't a bad thing at all as we got to dine with some interesting and colourful people (have to admit, was a bit star-struck when @spooningaus walked in as I had been watching him eat on Where's The Food on Youtube)

We were ushered into a small private dining area near the back of the restaurant where we were seating at a round table with a large glass lazy-susan which you typically find at Chinese restaurants. The decor of the restaurant was brightly coloured with some mellow blues and Chinese themed ornaments all around. I was most impressed by the abacus shaped lighting which reminded me of when I was a child, first learning to calculate on a similar device.

As soon as all guests had arrived, we were promptly served where @teafortammi quickly and efficiently picked up the menu, asked what was recommended and got us sorted with a plethora of delicious delights including dumplings, soup and various chef's specialities.

For the night, we ordered:

The Hulu Mix Appetisers (served in a specialty hulu shaped dish)

A hulu is a traditional Chinese gourd used to store liquids and medicine

Pan Fried Mushroom Dumplings

Hulu's Signature Crispy Cheese & Prawn Dumplings

Nemo Dumplings

Pepper & Pickled Cabbage Soup w/ Pork Intestines

Sweet & Sour Pork On Ice

Spinach in High Soup, Eggs Trilogy

Homemade Tofu & Mushrooms, Fried with Egg White Sauce

Half Duck Smoked in Jasmine Tea

Beef Cubes Pan Fried, Black Pepper Sauce

Egg White Fried Rice w/ Fish Roe

and for desserts, we got the:

Osmanthus Cake

And, the Deep Fried Ice Cream w/ Chocolate Syrup

Overall, the Mrs and I had a great time dining at Hulu at King Street Wharf and we were really glad we got to share this experience with some other like-minded people. The venue itself is fabulously fit out and suites the location quite spectacularly as a finer establishment for diners to get an authentic Chinese feed by the wharf. My personal favourite item of the night had to be Hulu's Crispy Cheese & Prawn Dumplings which had a texture like Ham Sui Gok from Yumcha but with a more seafood based filling. I Imagine that if I got to eat that piping hot, I'd be able to down plate after plate of those dumplings.

Thank you again to Hulu at King Street Wharf and Red Productions for inviting the Mrs and I and we look forward to the next time we get to dine at such a fine establishment whenever the opportunity presents itself!

Hana Jurin - Crows Nest, NSW

Oh, it's been a bad month for me....not July itself, that was amazing but more end of July until now...Aside from the Mrs being sick the last week or so, I feel like I've been in a bit of an emotional slump. I just haven't had the motivation to do anything at all (go gym, blog or cook) and so, the last month has resulted in me gaining a significant bit of belly baggage, emotional baggage (as a result of stress at work) and some. So, I really have to make a conscious effort to get back into the routine of things that make me happy....starting with blogging.

I had one of the MOST memorable meals of my life on the 22nd of July (my birthday) and I didn't even find the time to sit down and blog about it! So, for months now, I've been pestering the Mrs about what she had booked for my birthday dinner. I never used to like surprises (the element of having to deal with an unknown factor unnerved me severely) but since being with her, I've grown accustomed to and have started to enjoy when people plan pleasant surprises for me. So I've been asking her for months what she had planned for me knowing that the one thing I wanted to have (omakase) had to be booked months in advance (for all those people who want to know how I managed to book Sashimi Shinsengumi...I got lucky). Month on month, the Mrs would tell me "Nah, haven't booked anything...sorry" when secretly, she'd organised omakase at Hana Jurin months ahead! Sneaky fox!

Obviously, she could only really keep the secret until the day before because I had to drive there but upon hearing that I was going to get omakase for my birthday dinner, I was ecstatic! I spent that weekend treating myself to the Overwatch World Cup and on the night, just before we were due to go, the Mrs met me in the city and we drove off early to avoid being late. Omakase is Japanese for "I'll leave it to you" which is a traditional Japanese method of dining where a diner leaves themselves completely at the will of the establishment. The chef decides exactly what is fresh and what is right to serve at the right time to maximise the diner's enjoyment of the meal and the experience.

If Sashimi Shinsengumi was the cheaper entry-point to this exquisite world of sushi enjoyment and if Sokyo is the high-end decadent version, then I would say Hana Jurin is the mid-tier cost but super authentic and traditional experience. If you want to get the most real sushi omakase experience you can, I would recommend coming to Hana Jurin. But be warned, omakase is for the true sushi fanatics and those who are open to following tradition. Do not mistake yourself into thinking that it's a great date idea (unless of course, your date is a sushi nerd) or a casual dinner with friends because just as much as the master is to respect you as a guest, you are equally supposed to respect the master and the establishments rules and ceremonies for the entire process.

You must:

1. Always be on time. 
2. Never cancel last minute...last minute cancellations are never ok
3. Try to eat the nigiri as quickly as you can as it's served exactly at the time and temperature it's intended to be eaten at
4. Never ask for soy sauce or wasabi...each piece is designed and season as it should be eaten.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, if you're still keen on the experience, I would highly, highly recommend it. Chef Tomoyuki Matusya is a second generation sushi master and his skills and passion for sushi are second to none. I assure you that if you enjoy sushi, Japanese cuisine and the general aesthetic and philosophy behind the Japanese way of doing things, you will absolutely LOVE the experience that you have here. Each piece of sushi down to each grain of rice (I kid you not, each grain is perfect) is carefully crafted so that you can have the ultimate eating experience and you really, really taste the every bit of skill the chef has acquired with each piece.

I'm not going to go in depth into each piece but I will post the pictures of each piece in chronological order so you have a flow of the night. For in depth reviews of each nigiri piece, please visit the @mrandmrschopsticks instagram for more information though the piece you get if and when you go will be somewhat different as the pieces are seasonal.

This experience was memorable for me not JUST because it was my (perfect) birthday or the fact that I got to indulge in one of my most favourite food items but because the whole night made SUCH an impression on me. Chef's skills are supreme and the journey he takes you through is one of profound discovery of different flavour profiles and textures. Not only that, the other guests on the night also had a wonderful time and near the end of the night, we all sat around the sushi bar in a strange sense of comfort. I legitimately feel like I was transported to a small, intimate sushi bar in the more traditional parts of Tokyo. This sort of experience was something I thought I could only get in Japan and if only for that, it was WELL worth every cent paid. 

Outback Steakhouse Australia Event - North Strathfield, NSW

So this sudden resurgence of my motivation to write is...odd. My last post was at the end of August (almost 2 months ago) and though I may have mentioned here and there why I suddenly stopped, I never went into full detail. This sudden hiatus was caused by a multitude of factors but mainly, something had happened between someone else and I that I thought it best not to mention but regardless...it made me lose faith in the community (of food bloggers). Let's just say: try not to meet your heroes...they probably won't be who you expected them to be.

For a while, I was out of it and that, compounding with the increased momentum at work...I became really, really dejected. I really thought it was all over for me...then I got invited to an event by Outback Steakhouse Australia.

I mean, I'm not in it for the events but...it's Outback Steakhouse. That name may only mean an Australian themed American restaurant to most but amongst the Mrs' circle...it's the communal hangout where friendships and good times are forged. People in the north western community gather around the Parklea branch like a community hub...first jobs, gossip, news and occasionally, lunches where you ask for permission to marry people are had there. So I had serious bragging rights when I could say that we were personally invited to attend an event.

We originally assumed that it was just a small event over drinks but oh, we're we so wrong. The turnout was surprisingly big and despite all that, it felt really tight nit. We got to see someone we knew and got to meet a some new people who were really, really nice! Shoutouts to Drool Worthy World! It was really nice meeting the both of you and we can't wait to see you again at another event.

Now, the unfortunate thing is that it's been some time since the event so I can't clearly recall every detail however, I still have the photos from that night and you know what they say...a picture speaks a thousand words:

Needless to say, there was plenty to eat, drink, share and snap so the event turned out to be a really, really lovely evening. We even got a signature Outback Steakhouse mug to take home as a prize which was really an added bonus. Overall, the Mrs and I had a wonderful time enjoying Outback Steakhouse's phenomenal hospitality. Not that we didn't already know they were amazing but this experience really just cemented the spot they had in our hearts as long-time, loyal customers.