Address:
Shop 252, 20-34 Albert St
City:
Strathfield
State:
NSW
Postcode:
2135
Telephone:
(02) 8756 5689
Email:
Website:
Even a block away from this restaurant, I couldn't help salivating to the awesome smell of Korean BBQ wafting down the street. It's the popular Bassim Korean BBQ restaurant. I've come to this place on numerous occassions and recently as last Saturday night. We took our friend visiting back home from London here. It was a last minute thing but I'm glad we came here rather than the usual "around the corner" cafe.
Parking is always a challenge in this area of Strathfield. It's just a few metres away from Strathfield station and the Strathfield Plaza. Although it usually doen't take to long to wait for parking at the council carpark just a few steps away from the restaurant.
You then just need to follow the scent of yummy BBQ and the trail of smoke to find this place. Once you enter, you might just be overcome by the smoke the place generates. If you've never been to a Korean BBQ restaurant before you will probably be intrigued by what you see. Each table contains their own cooking burner. Usually it's hot coals burning with a hot plate on top to cook the meat on. Bassim has this on every table and also there is a tube vent that is supposed to suck the smoke away as you cook. This concept doesn't seem to work very well when we were there.
You are then given numerous condiments such as Kim Chi, pickles, dips and sauces. You are also given some vege's to start with. You then are meant to choose some marinated meats to cook. I recommend you order one meat dish per person and maybe some extra. You can always order more meat as you go. Because of the condiments and bowls of meat and vege, your table will get very crowded.
Service is very good. The waitresses are very polite and patient. The will replace your cooking hot plate as soon as they recognise it has too mcuh burning marinade on it.
Did I mention the smoke? Oh yeah.... smoke! Not a good place to bring young kids or if you have asthma or a breathing condition. I also realised it's not a good place to go when it's hot. You sit right next to the burning coals so it gets extremely hot on a hot day or night. It was like being in a sauna in there. Sweating like a pig! Food was great but it was such a relief when we got out of there.
Korean BBQ I have to say if is the best tasting BBQ I've ever had. I recommend that you give it a go sometime. That is, if you don't mind cooking the food yourself, the smoke, and the heat.
Price wise, we ended up with a $140 bill for 4 people - incl drinks.
Address:
104 Majors Bay Road
City:
Concord
State:
NSW
Postcode:
2137
Telephone:
02 97433400
Email:
Chilli Jam recently opened on Majors Bay Road, a road that already has a plethora of good crowded restaurants with Chilli Jam quickly becoming one of them.
I didnÃÂt know what to expect from a Thai restaurant décor but grey walls with slashes of orange and red werenÃÂt some of these. The décor is very modern and contemporary. From memory, I saw two long rectangular tables down the middle of the restaurant with more intimate settings along the side. The tables are wooden with comfortable seats, some of them ottomans in different alternating colours.
At 7pm on a Friday night, the place was already crowded, frequented by people of different races, ages, shapes and sizes, with several empty tables displaying the RESERVED sign. I noticed that most of the patrons were in big groups and despite the large space, the restaurant tended to get a bit loud. Especially as the tables are set quite close to each other ÃÂ that the little girl next to me practically hit me in the face when she stood on her chair and kicked out.
The girls at the front desk (which happens to be just inside the entrance, giving passerbys the impression that the line for the tables must be quite long as itÃÂs spilling out on the pavement) were a little disorganised. But they managed to find us a table and within 5 minutes of sitting down, we were given menus and our orders taken.
I was a bit worried the food would take a while as my previous experience in other Thai joints have attested, but lo and behold, the entrée came out within 5 minutes and the mains another 5 minutes after that.
We ordered money bags for entrée àa chicken and crab mince bundled up in wonton skin, shaped like miniature money bags. The skin was a little too crispy for my liking and I found it a little hard to bite into it, but the inside was beautiful.
For mains, we ordered Massaman Beef Curry which was to die for. The beef was tender, the potatoes cooked just right and I couldnÃÂt get enough of the sauce. We ordered Chilli Jam Chicken as well, which was excellent (but I was too engrossed in the curry to pay much attention). Thinking about the food now is making me hungry.
The prices were OK ÃÂ just slightly more than what the other Thai restaurant (not really much of a restaurant, a kiosk perhaps) across the street is charging. But for the large servings and the quality of the food, well worth it.
That was the first time my hubby actually told the waitress the food was great, without any prompting. WeÃÂll definitely come back again. The good news is they also do take-away so itÃÂll be great for those nights where you just donÃÂt feel like dressing up and want good quality food.
Bookings are essential, especially with more than 2 diners. Only open at night from 5pm. Good thing is they do takeaways and free home delivery if total order is $20 or over.
Address:
614 Crown Street
City:
Surry Hills
State:
NSW
Postcode:
2010
Telephone:
02 9690 1366
Email:
If there was one valuable thing an old boss showed me, it was Matsuri Restaurant. And even though she packed up, cited bankruptcy and left her employees with 2 weeksÃÂ unpaid salary, I will always be grateful to her for Matsuri. For 9 years now, IÃÂve been coming to Matsuri for some good, quality Japanese food and it never fails to deliver. The fact that the restaurant remains crowded and busy on a street that has no shortage of great restaurants and bars is a testament to MatsuriÃÂs popularlity.
Ambience
The restaurantÃÂs décor could be best described as ÃÂno-frillsÃÂ. The place is quite small with a clutter of small, wooden square tables and chairs on white tiles. No elaborate paintings, no music, no impressive lighting, just ceiling fans in place of an air-conditioner. The right side of the restaurant is dominated by the long kitchen filled with staff bustling about in a quiet, efficient manner, dressed in simple white t-shirts & black-pants. Despite that, or maybe because of it, the restaurant has a casual, laid-back atmosphere usually frequented by couples, families or an intimate group of friends. Not the kind of place where you feel self-conscious if youÃÂre using the cutlery properly.
Service
Fast, efficient and friendly without the fakeness. With only 2 people in a party, you can pretty much have your orders within 30 minutes of being seated. My hubby and I usually book for 6pm Friday night and usually have our orders within 15 minutes. I have come in a couple of times with a large group (13 people) and both times we received our orders no later than 45 minutes, even during the busy periods.
Food
I usually have the miso soup and share a tempura platter to start with, followed by teriyaki beef with rice and tuna & salmon sushi & sashimi combination. Or the impressive-looking sushi boat for the main course, only available to those who have reserved in advance. For me, the fresh salmon is definitely the highlight of MatsuriÃÂs menu. ItÃÂs always fresh and never fails to generate that eye-rolling-to-the-ceiling and little moans at the back of the throat ÃÂ orgasmic experience as my sister would say. The desserts menu have expanded from green tea ice cream, making way for green tea cheesecake and red bean sweets.
Downside
This place gets REALLY busy during lunch and Fri/Sat nights so bookings are essential. To book for a large group, youÃÂll have to book at least 2 weeks in advance. ItÃÂs also slightly off-putting to be always told upon booking to leave by 8.30pm whenever you book for a 7-7.30pm dinner.
The lady I used to deal with, the owner perhaps or wife of the owner, has also left. I was used to hearing her cheerful greeting and the way she would say ÃÂokayÃÂ with the high-pitched lilt at the end and to not see her after 9 years was a littleÃÂ
weird. But the service and the food didnÃÂt seem to have changed.
The prices are a little higher than what you would normally pay for in any Japanese restaurant (except perhaps TetsuyaÃÂs). Between my husband and I, we fork out around $80 for entrees & mains. But in the 90 or so times IÃÂve been to this restaurant, I am yet to get a bad meal and/or service so IÃÂm glad to pay up extra, knowing IÃÂll always walk away, my appetite fully sated.
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