Shu Shin Bou, World Square

SHU SHIN BOU END OF DAY SALE! =] =]

You can't imagine how happy I was when I saw that sign! TWO DOLLAR MOCHI!! But then I looked at the usual prices ($2.75 each, $14.50/box of 4, $25/box of 12) and saw that the saving wasn't really that great. But still, a sale is a sale and this is a mochi sale! 

I bought 5 different flavours and they were (L-R from the back) :

choc chip and melon, strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar and coconut, green tea

I was told by the sales assistant that there were two ways to store/eat your mochi.

1.) For a icecream-like texture: keep in the freezer and rest for 5 min before consumption (can be kept for up to 20 days in the freezer)

2.) For a mousse-like texture: keep in the fridge, can be consumed right after refridgerating (can be kept for up to 5 days in the fridge)

I had put mines in the freezer, wanting an incecream-like texture. I really savoured every mochi, not gorging myself on all five in one day (that's what I'd usually do) because I've been a bit sick lately. 

Greentea mochi

I tried the greentea mochi first. I was sort of impatient, waiting for the 5min resting time so when I bit into it, it still had a few icy bits. The greentea and red bean flavours were very strong though, very nice!

Strawberry mochi

This was my favourite! I'd rested this one perfectly so there were no cold, hard icy bits and really did taste llike icecream! There were also bits of strawberry inside, adding a little fruity tang to it which I really liked. 

Blueberry and choc chip & melon mochi 

I was also really looking forward to these two but they didn't seem as great after I'd had the strawberry one. I actually forgot about these two after taking them out of the freezer so they rested for close to 30min! They were more mousse than icecream by that stage and there was this just-noticable coating of oilyness/cream?!? on my tongue that I didn't really like. Also I wasn't aware that the melon mochi actually had choc chips in it until cutting it open. I was expecting it to have an empowering melon scent like kasugai gummies so I was majorly disappointed when I couldn't taste any melon flavour at all. 

Brown sugar and coconut mochi

Last but not least, the brown sugar and coconut mochi. I thought this was very interesting with the separation of the brown sugar part and the coconut part. I coudn't really taste the two dinstinctive flavours though, expect for the shreds of coconut that coated the mochi. 

All in all, my preferences are as follows:

1. Strawberry

2. Greentea

3. Blueberry

4. Choc chip and melon = brown suagr and coconut 

Shu Shin Bou

Miracle Supermarket

Lower Ground, World Square Shopping Centre

644 George St, NSW 2000

Ph: +61 402 551 082

Open 11am - 8.30pm everyday 

http://www.shushinbou.com/home.php

Din Tai Fung, World Square

Din Tai Fung

Shop 11.04, World Square Shopping Centre

644 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

Ph (02) 9264 6010

bookings are only taken for groups of 10 or more people 

After a long and tiring day of uni, there's nothing better than a warm meal, good company and not having to worry about actually cooking the meal or having to wash the dishes. I was pleasantly surprised, getting a call from my mum asking if I wanted to go out for dinner tonight at Din Tai Fung. There was that enliven your senses - buy one get one free dumplings - deal so of course I said yes. 

By the time we got there my mum, ever so considerate had ordered a few things so that we could dig straight in once we got there! 

Steamed pork dumplings (xiao long bao) 

The xiao long bao was the first to come out. Din Tai Fing definitely makes the best you can get in Sydney although the differences in the price you need to pay is also pronounce. The crab meat xiao long bao are even more tasty however I would definitely stick to the pork ones if you're not the type to just have money lying around randomly. 

Individual Xiao Long Bao

Crab Meat Xiao Long Bao

Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai

The shao mai was pretty good too. I wasn't expecting this to have soup in it too so I tipped it upside down, intending to get the shrimp out. I was surprised when the shrimp fell out with a plop and immediately following it, all the soupy goodness! It was such a waste!! 

Individual Shao Mai 

 

Okay, and now for the noodles. Not only does Din Tai Fung make the best dumplings in Sydney, it also makes one mean bowl of noodles! They always come out al dente, snapping apart with every bite =] 

Noodles mixed in broad bean sauce (Zha jang mien)

Noodle soup with fried pork chop

Hot and Sour Soup 

Now don't forget the hot and sour soup! I'm not a big fan of bamboo shoots so this didn't sit that well with me. But I could tell that it was still good, not too hot nor too sour. But there was a lot of pepper and I felt like I was turning into a fire breathing dragon after just one taste. 

The six dishes came to a grand total of just under $60 after the buy one get one dumpling free deal, making it slightly more affordable than it usually is. I urge all you dumpling lovers out there to hurry up and take advantage of this deal before it ends on the 31st July, 2009.

Zozo, World Square

Zozo

Shop 10, 26 World Square

Liverpool St (under monorail station)

Sydney

Ph: (02) 9267 8040

So it was Hentai Boy's birthday outing yesterday. We went to Zozo for lunch as it was close by and we really couldn't think of what to eat. Zozo is very modern and it's red decor stands out from all the surrounding restaurants. The dinner menu was quite extensive but our lunch options were limited as it was hot that day, putting us off BBQ. We all chose from the lunch specials which had two options, either the $13.90 or $14.90 set.

Lunch Special Set A $14.90 w/ BBQ Spicy Chicken as the main. (incl soybean casserole, combination deep fry, korean side dishes, rice)

BBQ Chicken close up

Korean Side Dishes

Combination Deep Fry (incl deep fried prawn & veggies)

Lunch Special Set B $13.90 w/ pork bone soup noodles as the main ( i didnt eat this and i completely forgot what it's called so i'm just making this up...i seem to do this alot ==)

Close up of pork bone soup

As advertised, Zozo is an excellent place for "happy gathering". The service is almost non-existent so there were no awkward moments where staff would look at me funny when I started taking pics of the food. We were not hurried away and sat there chatting for an age even after all our food had been finished. We'd stayed there so long that there were probably two stages where we were the only table left! 

The "happy gathering" was great but the food wasn't all that great. The rice was mushy from too much water, the side dishes were too salty for my liking and the rest of it I thought was average. The presentation of the food was nice though and the pleasant time spent with friends all but made up for the food. Maybe I might have had better luck with the dinner menu?

Miso Japanese Restaurant, World Square

Ok so after a very unhealthy lunch of icecream today (see below) we opted to go to Miso for dinner. Miso is know for its "teishoku" style dishes which aims to create healthy and balanced meals. 

Wagyu beef set 

Miso Nabeyaki Udon

Teriyaki Chicken Set

Teriyaki Chicken Udon

Hokkaido Bentou 

Ok I'm really supposed to be asleep at the moment so all I'm gonna say is everyone was happy with their meals. 

Din Tai Fung, World Square

So I'm sure by now everyone has been here atleast once, and has had the xiao long bao (above). You can't deny that their xiao long baos are pretty good, even though quite expensive...

Friend chicken chop noodles 

Mum ordered the fried chicken chop noodles, I'm not sure what they called this in english so I'm purely making this up LOL 

tehehhehe i stole a bit to try, it was very good! The noodles were elastic-y, not soft and gluely like the ones you get at some cheaper places, and the chicken was crunch on the outside and very tender and soft on the inside ^^

I got the braised beef noodles but my gosh! The waitresses kept standing RIGHT NEXT TO OUR TABLE and they wouldn't stop looking at me when i tried to take pics so i ended up with an overexposed pic that looked nothing like yummy food so i wont bother uploading it here. The beef was really soft but there were only three chunks of meat, would have been better if there was more meat! 

The food at Din Tai Fung is pretty good, but it's quite expensive compared to all the other Taiwanese restaurants.