Sydney Trip - Part 2 (Takoyaki & Starbucks)

Can't wait to see those transformed into cute balls of yum

While we are still tucking into the warm hontous, our attentions were diverted to the takoyaki stall right next door to the hontou stall. This time, it was manned by a young Japanese lady.


It was very interesting to watch. First she will pour the rather thin liquid mixture (I would thought it would be quite thick, like cake mixture.. it was like corn flour mixture that you use to thicken gravy) containing chopped carrots and shallots into each slot.

While the mixture is cooking in the hot grill, she will add small bites of octopus tentacles or whole prawns into each slot. For a good 10 minutes, she will turn them several times to ensure that they are evenly browned.

The left and middle side as shown on the photo contains octopus. The far right which she was handling contains prawns (if you look carefully, you would see the tails poking out). Great way to attract customers, those tails.

We had 3 of each (prawns and octopus). She squirts some mayo, sweet dark sauce and sprinkled bonito flakes (my fav!). The insides are surprisingly gooey, which results in hot liquid pouring out once you bite into them. Hmmmm, I would have thought that it would be chewy since the cooking time do take quite some time. Do they need extra cooking time or is this the authentic way that these balls should be done? They're tasty nonetheless. *shrugs*

Double Chocolate Chip Ice Blended & Green Tea Ice Blended

Eating all those made us thirsty. I've got a coupon for Starbucks Coffee (buy 1 free 1) from the brochure of the hotel we were staying at. We don't have to search long. There were literally like 20 Starbucks cafes all over the city.

OMG. The chocolate one is sooooo delish.. It is wickedly thick, chockful of bits of chocolates, each slurp has to be chewed in order to swallow the big chunks of chocs. They were very generous with the choc chip and the drink does live up to its name. The green tea was just as delish, sweet with a slight bitter after taste. The cream made the drink even richer, sinful but ohh... so nicee. I couldn't find these drinks in Malaysia - not with the same generous and thick concoctions.

We had a very wonderful day, snacking along the way and did some sight-seeing. It was a great holiday (I'll never get tired of Sydney). More to come soon - seafood next (freshly shucked oysters, lobsters, etc..)

Sydney Trip - Part 1 (Hontou/Dorayaki Street Stall)

Recently I've graduated and am back in Malaysia after spending many years in wonderful Land of Down Under. While I was studying in Melbourne (5 years), I took the opportunity to travel around Australia during uni breaks - taking advantages of cheaper flights and student rates. Sydney's one of my favourites, and thats why I've been there 3 times. Lol.

Sydney Opera House and Sydney Bridge

So, therefore I thought that it would be appropriate that the first couple of posts of my blog shall be on the centre of the biggest city of Australia - a cosmopolitan city which offers a rich diversity of food.

As we (bf and I) were staying near Darling Harbour, it is only inevitable that we will be walking along the streets of Chinatown looking for cheap and delicious food (We find that Sydney offers a much more variety of food for bigger servings and at lower prices than the ones in Melbourne).

Our atttention were immediately drawn upon a young chap who was making Hontous, behind a large window display. which we delightfully associated it with the famous Dorayaki in Doraemon.

Left to right: Cheese, Red Bean and Green Tea

We tried both cheese and red bean hontous as we don't really like the slight bitter taste that is usually associated with green tea. They were an absolute delight, slightly crispy on the outside with chewy soft centre. In the middle would be the savoury melting cheese or the sweet red bean.

It is goooood.

Now I know why Doraemon seems to be addicted to them.