Yume Sushi, Gladesville

A kind thank you to Angela Yalda from AYPR for inviting us to Yume Sushi. It'll be L taking over as a guest poster in this post. 

Courtesy of mr.C, I was invited along to a tasting of Yume Sushi because what can I say, me + sushi = glorious fistpumping and content tummy.

The quirky decor - we were luckily early enough to take a full shot without looking too strange.

Upon walking into the store, the decor definitely captures my attention. I love all things eclectic, and the furniture just screams Quirky (yes, with a capital Q mind you!). The tables remind me of primary school with the splash of colour and paint - the only thing missing would be all those fingerprints from finger painting.  According to the owner of Yume Sushi who came by to chat with us during our meal, the furniture was actually designed in Australia, made in Korea and flown over.

More fun furniture - adds so much personality

For those who have ever found themselves complaining about their chair whilst dining out, well, here you have quite a selection to choose from. Would you like the spacious wooden chairs, the contoured plastic chair, the metal bench or a plastic stool? Heck, there's even baby chairs - that's how accommodating they are with choice of furniture! So go on, be adventurous and ask for that baby chair!

Organic crockery

Enough with my decor ramblings, now onto the food. Food, glorious food, they say! First came out the customary miso soup and soy sauce, in awesome crockery (from New Zealand and made organically). The miso soup was warming and delightful. I mean, come on, it's miso soup! We also ordered a sushi and sashimi platter as well as the brown rice lobster rolls to start us off. However, as you can probably tell, the space did get a tad cramped. So just a fair warning: if you plan on pigging out (even if it's just for two) ask for a bigger table (or relocate as we did, courtesy of the hospitable staff).

Sushi and sashimi platter 

Our platter had quite a variety of sushi and sashimi. And it was amazing. The presentation was lovely, however, it was the food that stole the glory. The sashimi consisted of kingfish, tuna, salmon, scallops and scampi.  Omnomnom. Moving onto the sushi, there was 3 baby rolls with cucumber, an assortment of nigiri (grilled eel, grilled salmon, prawn, tuna, kingfish and what I call tofu nigiri but is really called inarizushi. 

Sashimi omnomnom

The sashimi was super fresh, which is probably the most important thing. The slices were nicely portioned, which resulted in ease of gobbling up. If you don't believe me, ask mr. C who unknowingly gobbled up both slices of the kingfish sashimi without realising. *shakes my head* The tuna was honestly really good. I'm not the biggest fan of tuna sashimi (because salmon sashimi has me in the palm of its hand) but I really liked it here. The salmon was fresh and cut with precision and care. The scallops were very sweet and yummy, though I still prefer cooked scallops. The scampi was quite interesting because I've never had scampi raw, yet it has that distinctive sweetness but with a slimier texture than its cooked counterpart. It's something you should definitely try because I ended up really liking it.

Platter Combo 32.9

The grilled eel was delicious, with a lovely charred taste to it which complemented the sweetness of the marinade. The grilled salmon was also lovely. What I loved about the nigiri at Yume, was that it revealed the efforts of the chef. The cuts of the sashimi were so precise that it simply encompasses the rice. Not to mention, the handfuls of rice were moulded with such consistency. I was super impressed. I finally got to try the kingfish nigiri and that was simply amazing. I honestly, without any reservations, loved this platter. I could literally have had it all myself (though in retrospect, I probably did have most of it since the chef came out at this opportune moment and I stealthily nibbled while mr. C chattered away).

Little Lobster Rolls 18.9

The brown rice inside out lobster rolls was quite anticipated because it's somewhat a speciality of Yume.  From what I know, there aren't many, if any, other sushi restaurants that use brown rice. However, after trying the brown rice inside out lobster rolls, I can somewhat see why other restaurants steer clear of it. The texture of brown rice is a bit harder than white rice and to those unfamiliar with brown rice (like myself) it would take a while to get used to.  However, it's good to note that brown rice is healthier than white rice, not to mention that it would be more labor-intensive (for the chefs, not us diners of course).

Wagyu Beef Teriyaki w noodles16.9

The next dish we had was the wagyu beef terriyaki noodles, which was underwhelming. The wagyu beef was dry, the noodles tough with the sauce slightly too sweet for my taste. I did like the bonita with the noodles though.

Wagyu Beef Teriyaki 14.9

The last dish we had was the wagyu beef misoyaki, and it was a perfect example of a wagyu dish well done - especially since we had it right after the wagyu beef teriyaki noodles. It arrived on a hot plate with a sprinkling of vegies (broccoli!). The meat was tender, melt-in-your-mouth-fatty and just so good but they should probably ask for doneness preference in the future. Despite being quite full by this point, my chopsticks kept reaching out for more meat (such a glutton) and broccoli.

Chef Daniel Byung

Daniel Byung, who is the executive chef of the three Yume Sushi restaurants, popped by for a chat as we were eating. We talked about his experience - 25 years - and the labour that goes into each of the tiny pieces of sushi we so easily gobble up. Whilst he was soft-spoken and humble, the more we spoke, it was evident that he was truly passionate about his craft and was hard working. Starting his day at 6am, to venture out to the fish markets and select the fresh fish for his three restaurants, and finishing up at a mere 12am. That said, his attention to detail definitely scores well with me and at Yume, I believe it's the little things that count. Geddit, sushi, little things... yeah...

For those who are lucky enough to live close by, there are takeaway options as well. For those who are a trek away, I'd opt for the North Strathfield or Drummoyne stores. Considering Daniel owns and selects the fish for all three stores, I'm sure the freshness of the sushi and sashimi platter would impress.




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Sushi Ichiba, Japan

We all know Japan is the land of sushi, and some even think sushi is eaten every day and every night in Japan. Now hold that thought for a sec, yes they do eat sushi, but surprisingly infrequent as to what a Western mind may have assumed.

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Fat Panda, Canley Heights

Fat Panda, Canley Heights

Two consecutive posts about sushi... Hmm. Went out for dinner with my friend, and he suggested sushi as my Facebook status recently declared that I was craving sushi. The awesome thing about me and my cravings is that once I crave something, I will literally get to eat it within a day to a week. (Tip: first, nag everyone who slightly cares about you, then if they choose to be heartless and mean, go out and buy it yourself. Works like magic for me - oh all the great meals I've had from this!) Moving on, so rather than driving an hour away to the city, during which would see me dying from starvation, I asked to eat local - ie, Fat Panda. And the journey begins.

By the time we got there, I think 9, the sushi train was dead. It does seem like I have quite a habit of not getting to restaurants during peak hours (which is good because I like quiet spaces where conversations flourish). Anyways, we ordered a seaweed salad (no pic - I hadn't eaten for 7 hours and walked an hour of that, my body screamed "Feed me!") However, it was presented in a cute little boat-like bowl/plate. It tasted delightful, and perfectly seasoned. It was served cold, so it invigorated my tastebuds immediately, and I kept munching and munching. On a side note, seaweed is really good for you. Also, there isn't too much greens to seaweed ratio, as opposed to another place I had in the city where it was basically a spoonful of seaweed and the rest greens.

Moving on, our sushi platter arrived. They came in servings of 4, since we ordered from the menu not sushi train. We picked California roll, Soft shell crab roll, Salmon Avocado (oh, my love!) and Eel Avocado roll. Whilst waiting for this, we were marvelling over the techniques of the sushi masters, and discussing all things sushi. Like how you tell a skilled sashimi master by how he slices the salmon (of course salmon, it's my fav sashimi ever). It should be concave or curved like the rice ball/mould, not cut square because the ratio of rice and salmon should always be equal in such a way that every bite tastes flawless. And this is why I want to go to Japan for authentic sushi - they fuss over their art much more than in Australia. Then again, I'm not the fussiest of eaters so I love Aussie sushi regardless. Onto the sushi, my loveees!

L-R: California roll, Soft shell crab roll, Salmon avocado roll, Eel & avocado roll

California roll:

First things first, it was yum. It was a nice change to have mashed crab stick rather than the crab stick because it was much creamier and hence, sweeter. Initially, I wanted the crab stick, but in hindsight, I can make do with mashed crab stick too. Biggest turn off for me was there was no cucumber in this, but capsicum.. and I don't like capsicum. So after the first shock, I had to take the capsicum out, making my sushi fall apart. That wasn't a big thing for me, because I tend to eat in two bitefuls anyways (shoving a whole roll in my mouth would lead to me choking and dying pronto. I love sushi, but not enough to die eating it in the 'traditional" way). Conclusion, if I wanted a California roll, this will not be my first choice.

Soft shell crab roll:

Oh I have a love of soft shell crab. It is so damn delicious and I don't have to go throuigh the mess of breaking it apart like normal crab. The roll was delicious but also had capsicum so I took that out too, leaving the taste of the feta cheese to take over. Much better, because the textures of the cheese were very similar to the crab itself, blending the two together beautifully. When I had it with the capsicum both the taste and texture of the capsicum distracted me from the flavours and freshness of the soft shell crab. And as always, sushi is about the freshness and natural flavours of the produce, which is why it is so unadorned and presented in the most natural methods. What I mean by this is that the seafood is usually grilled, cooked or eaten as sashimi, then paired with other vegies and creams+sauces, roe, or garnish. There is no need for spoonfuls of herbs or pepper or oil etc. It's so healthy and such good, pure food.

Salmon avocado:

Whilst eating this, which is always pure heaven when the salmon is fresh and the avocado soft and creamy, I lament to my friend how sushi masters always get the best avocados. I mean, when I try to find soft and creamy avocados, I see either overly bruised or hard avocados. How depressing. Anyways, the salmon avocado is perfect to me. Just salmon and avocado in a roll, no fuss, straight to the point and perfectly executed.

Eel and avocado:

First time I had eel and avocado roll to be honest. I've had eel and other stuff, and eel by itself on a roll, but not with avocado. But the friend chose it so I will eat it (naturally, it IS food, and good food at that). It was pleasant, eel was seasoned well and tasted great (when I picked it apart). In retrospect, and by this, I mean, to last night which shouldn't be too hard, except for me I have a pretty bad memory so it is... I don't think it was a unexpected-but-perfect-combination, but it was passable. It was yummy.

Hehehehe takoyaki balls!!

Takoyaki balls:

Ahh, takoyaki. Whenever I have takoyaki, I think of all the other '-yaki' foods I want to eat. That aside, the takoyaki balls were fresh out of the kitchen. But I was slightly disappointed because I like less batter and more squid. It was the opposite. I don't know whether that's how takoyakis are meant to be made, but I don't care very much and this is just personal preference because I love my seafood.

Dessert - some trifle:

Please forgive me for not remembering the name. That tends to happen when I go by the waitress' recommendation instead of ordering from a menu, because I get distracted. This was all to myself because my friend isn't a desserts person (more for me, yay!)... well, that or he knows I don't like to share my favourite course of the meal. Anyways, the trifle is disappointing to me. I don't really like the textures nor the flavours. Oh and there was a layer which had a strong (and weird) mushroomy flavour. I didn't like it, not in my dessert anyways. Told my friend this, and he goes that all foods can be in desserts, where I then rambled on about Iron Chef and how they make the awesomest desserts (by the look of it, I would die happy if I could be on the panel, but this is impossible unless I become some awesome Japanese celebrity, which is also impossible). My friend has a bite and said he liked the mixed berry sauce on the top, which I did too, causing me to go on a spiel about how the chef probably made it.

Anyways, that's all for now. Until next time I remember to take photos when I eat. Or have a place to gloat about.

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Adriano Zumbos Patisserie, Manly (and very briefly, Sushi Manly)

Note: this has been in my drafts since before Christmas. True apologies!

The smallest business sign out? Leading to cavity inducing sweetness!

Wooh first post! Long overdue, but better late than never (that seems to capture my philosophy of time rather accurately!) Anyways, moving on. So, a weekend away (I lie, what I mean is 2 weekdays, but same thing when you're on uni break) means I ventured out of my nest a little (truly minimal). So, where else to head to but Zumbos patisserie (read: take cute desserts to eat at HOME, yay!) and then cravings for sushi struck. So me and J left our little acquisitions with the lovely store assistant, went to eat, then came back to collect our desserts. Anyways, onto pictures and so forth.

Oh right. Let me just say, to combine someone who isn't good with directions, who has a tendency to want to shop whenever shops are around, and a small tucked away patisserie meant that my head was literally spinning in every direction trying to locate this place. There was a bit of added stress having to assure my friend that "I swear, there is a patisserie here... somewhere..." without really believing it myself. But thanks to lovely locals, we spotted the place (cue "Oh my gosh that's so hidden!" here). By the way, it's kind of opposite the Manly wharf, on a 'vertical' road.. opposite this businessy and private office building. Disclaimer: my directions are only to be used as a last resort, as I truly have the worst sense of direction. No joke.


Yes, the entrance is also very understated. It can hardly be considered a door!

Entering the store, I was like rather surprised. Compared to the website (geek I am), the interiors were much duller, much smaller, rather empty. However, I was intrigued by the wall art, as it perfectly encapsulates Adriano's reputation as the Willy Wonka of pastries and the like.


Quirky, vibrant, abstract.

By the time we arrived (thanks to a hell lot of procrastinating, movie watching and video game playing) at 6, a lot of goodies were gone (the v8!). That's not to say we didn't overindulge as it was already. More about that to come. We stood in awe for a bit, wanting a bit of everything, then discussing what to buy for the boys and then working out what my friend could devour (she's allergic to nuts). Here are some of Zumbo's delectable desserts:

The tarte aux fruits de la passion & grandma's soap... Zumbo has a thing for unique names.

The logs: lemon meringue and pecanne.

What I nicknamed the Deadly Duo: one is hot (as in spicy) chocolate and the other has green chilli in it! We daren't take that risk!

Eventually, these were our picks:


Grandma's soap, Snowmanorr, NYC

Colourful "Zumbarons": Sweet corn with a hint of mango, Plum pudding,

Watermelon & orange, Cola, Lychee & Lime & mint mojito



Pain au chocolat (far left)

Chocolate snowmen (it had a much awesomer name, which I forgot)

Needless to say, they're all very neatly presented. The only ones I managed to taste though were:




Grandma's soap - $9
This was rather ... interesting? It was just sweet enough, and very light. However, faithful to its name, it did have a soapy taste (perhaps due to the lavendar, my guess). The layer of almond creme was perfect though - creamy, not overly sweet and not too smooth either. Can't say much about the blueberry, except that it made me crave blueberries, a whole punnet please.




Pain au chocolat - $3.50

A very standard pastry, yet undeniably delicious. Pastry was crunchy on the outside, and chewy enough on the inside, with bits of chocolate. I can't fault it because I love my pain au chocolat because it combines pastry with tidbits (not too much) of chocolateeeee!



Macarons - $2.50 each

Actually, we bought these for the boys and I (there are almond bits in all macarons and J is allergic, the poor girl). Luckily, by the time we had desserts the boys were too immersed in a life and death game of Monopoly (their words, not mine) and were uninterested in desserts. Their loss I tell you. So yes, I had all these to myself as a matter of fact.

Cola:

My sister didn't really fancy this when she had a bite but I thought it was alright. Admittedly there was barely any 'distinct flavour' in this, which was what I was looking forward to (the idea of capturing the awesome flavour of cola which is so heavily reliant on its 'texture' in a macaron). So there was a bit of disappointment on my part.

Lime & mint mojito:

Me and my friend literally squealed when we saw this. And no it's not because we're alcoholics - not even close (neither of us really drink). But because it was such a pretty green and sounds quirky enough, but also safe enough. It was really good. Perfect to take a big bite from, or to nibble from too. Suits me perfectly (I alternate from the two when I'm snacking).

Sweet corn with a hint of mango:

Didn't taste the 'hint of mango' to be honest. But the sweet corn was an interesting taste actually. I'm not a fan of sweet corn flavours in general (I like the real thing too much). But I found this quite pleasant anyhow. I think it's really hard for me to fault 'Zumbarons' because they're so texturally and experimentally intricate that even if the thought of the flavours are seemingly weird, but when blended together in a macaron, the textures balance out the oddity of the flavours. Just a thought/rambling.


Plum pudding:

This was described to us as a Christmas special, so I couldn't pass that up. It was nice between my lips, but in hindsight, definitely not a memorable combination to be frank. My guess is that amongst all Zumbo's seemingly crazy, erratic and experimental flavours, this one paled in comparison. However, that might be a blessing in disguise for those who want to steer clear of the 'weirder' flavours (don't worry, I didn't want to have a Hot Chocolate Zumbaron myself).


Watermelon & orange:

This was yummy. Crunchy and sweet. I liked it.


Lychee:

I left the best till last. My favourite Zumbaron. Light, fruity, sweet and perfectly crunchy. So so yum, I kind of want more just thinking about it.


Chocolate snowmen:

Oh my god. The chocolate was so deliciously rich and I just wanted to keep eating it but it eventually ran out. But damn, that was some fine chocolate. It was darker than I usually enjoy but that kind of thing is secondary to it's overall texture and taste. And the crunch of the shell.

Sushi Manly:

Contrary to the title, our stay there wasn't brief. But this post will be, because I only snapped one photo haha. The rest I forgot (even though the camera was in my lap) because I dug in immediately. However, I enjoyed the food.


As an avid fan of my salmon, me and my friend pay careful attention to the quality and freshness of the salmon. Luckily for us, our salmon was fresh and tasted flawless.

Sushi train - raw salmon roll? (I honestly forget the name of this, I just gobble it all up)


Apart from that, I also had my staple california roll (delightful), tried cuttlefish - which was interesting... reminded me of squid but much chewier and less flavoursome. As I've never tried cuttlefish before, I don't have a standard to set it against, except I personally enjoyed it a lot. Funnily, when I picked it up, I mistakenly thought it was scallop. I also had salmon and avocado which was also very yum, avocado was soft and creamy and salmon was wonderful. The main flaw about the place is the soy sauce. As a lover of sushi, I cannot iterate how important soy sauce is. It can't be too salty because that takes so much away from the freshness and natural flavour of the seafood and overpowers the slight sweetness of the rice vinegar in the rice. Also, soy sauce shouldn't be too heavy because of the natural textures of the fish (saying this with raw salmon in mind). Thus, I love my soy sauce slightly sweet. Sorry about the rambling, but I love my sushi and the art of sushi (too much free time spent researching and watching documentaries on this). Just a side note, if you want to determine whether ingredients are fresh, be mindful of what drinks you have. Some places will recommend teas to go with it, others might suggest sakes. Water is good too. This is truly if you want to determine whether the place actually serves wonderful sushi. That being said, if you're out for a good time, drink what you please! My friend had the miso soup, which she wasn't very impressed with.



Shop 1a/40 The East Esplanade
Manly, NSW 2095


Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday
7:00am till 7:00pm

Saturday & Sunday
8:00am till 5:30pm

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