Jicca Dining - Neutral Bay

A new Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant has just opened in Neutral Bay - and we are very very excited. Why? Because it Ken Takenaka’s latest restaurant. Ken has been behind the very successful and popular Sushi Train in Cremorne - which is cited as one of the best in Sydney and appears in Good Food Guide lists frequently.

The restaurant is located nearly diagonally opposite The Oaks in Neutral Bay. Near the Vodaphone store where Ben Boyd Road crosses Military Road (the photo below will make it obvious to locals).

Toddler Play Zone!

We are so excited that Ken-san has included a Toddler play area in Jicca. Such a great idea, which comes from and inspired by his own son. You can see that it entertained Zach the perfect amount whilst we relaxed and read the menu.

…I can imagine that the tables next to playzone might become quite popular with parents! (though you don’t really need to be sitting right next to them). I’ve included more photos of this playzone later.

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Menu (As of Jan 2020):

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Bruschetta (2 pieces, $8.00)

Fresh tomato, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, baguette.

Bruschetta is one of those items we love to order as a starter in Italian restaurants. Jicca’s is up there with the best we’ve had, very fresh, very tasty and quite morish.

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Wafu Natto with Vongole ($16.00)

Wafu is the soy-based, japenese-inspired, pasta sauce. Vongole is “with clams”.

My wife ordered the Wafu Natto with Vongole and it is a perfect demonstration of a Japanese-Italian fusion dish. The soy and natto were done in a careful way as to not be too strong or overpowering (as both of these ingredients can be). My wife was a big fan of this, and is keen to try other variants.

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Carbonara ($15.00)

Fresh cream, parmigiano-reggiano, bacon, black pepper, egg.

Carbonara is one of my favourite pasta dishes, and I was keen to try Ken-san’s version. The first thing that jumped out at me was the very carefully soft-cooked poached egg sitting on top. It reminded me of an onsen-egg you’d get in a ramen dish. I immediately broke that into the pasta - and quietly smiled at how it’s a unique take on how Italian’s would use raw egg and allow the heat of the pasta to cook it into the dish.

The dish was really delicious and surprisingly light for a creamy carbonara. The sauce was lighter and more liquid, but that didn’t detract at all - in fact I was happy for it as I don’t want to walk out feeling ill.

As you can see by the next photo, I didn’t really enjoy it…

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Kids Cream Bacon Spaghetti ($8.00)

An example of the kid’s cream bacon pasta. A generous serving for a toddler. Zach managed to consume about half of it, and we took the rest home for later/another meal.

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French fries ($5.00)

We ordered a side of fries because we often like to have them up our sleeve for Zach. They were really good, and a good-sized portion.

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Hojicha Crème brûlée ($5.00)

Roasted Japanese Green Tea Crème brûlée

This is an amazing dessert and I would recommend that you order it. My wife isn’t a dessert person, and I don’t typically enjoy Crème brûlée’s but we both loved this.

Somehow it managed to thread the needle of not being too sweet, yet being a great dessert.

My wife wanted a larger serving size, and I said that next time we could order one each!

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Some more shots of the play area;

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PRO:

• Delicious food, made by an amazing chef (*he’ll be embarrassed I said this).

• Toddler playzone is amazing. We loved it so much, it was nice to RELAX.

• Great location that has a fair amount of street parking (Note: you might have to contend with people parking at The Oaks).

CON:

• Some items on the menu could use more explanation. The staff are great, but I could hear a few people question what “Wafu” was.

• I’m not sure I can get the Crème brûlée takeaway.

• (As it is newly opened), there isn’t a phone to book a table just yet - but it’s walk in currently.

OVERALL:

We are so happy and excited that Ken has opened this restaurant. Based on this experience we’ll be coming more often.

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Details:

Address: 99 Military Rd, Neutral Bay NSW 2089

Phone: Currently N/A (you can reach their Facebook Page)

Site: Facebook Page

Instagram: @jicca_dining

MAP:

 

You can check out other REVIEWS here.

You can read the rest of my BLOG here.

Cool Mac - Kirribilli

Cool mac is a great japanese fusion cafe in Kirribilli that serves some amazingly tasty food. Home of what could be one of the best Udon’s on the North Shore (if not Sydney!). Very happy that you wife discovered and recommended we try this place - it’s fast become a favourite brunch spot.

Amazing Udon.

Situated in Kiribilli, Cool Mac is a little cafe that punches some solid japanese fusion dishes that make for an outstanding brunch.

One small thing you’ll note is that the interior space is kind of awkward.

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Menu (as of June 2019):

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Dengaku toast ($17.00)

eggplant, avocado, red miso, toast. (+ Onsen Egg, $2.50)

A japanese take on Avo toast, with amazing miso eggplant. I ordered this with the additional onsen egg (which comes on the side). I’ve had their previous menu ‘miso toast’ offering and knew it was amazing. This version, whilst lacking the meaty goodness of Charsu Pork (of the now discontinued menu item), was really tasty and good.

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Niku udon ($17.00)

soy braised wagyu beef, onsen egg, udon

(photo taken by my wife)

The udon at Cool Mac is a must try. It’s hard to explain how this unique wagyu udon has a perfect combination of flavours - but you’ll have to trust me. This is a perfect winter/autumn brunch meal option. Look around at the other tables and there is a good chance that you’ll spot it being enjoyed by other patrons.

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Mazesoba ($17.00)

dry ramen, soy braised stock to mix, pork belly, nori, egg, shallot, sesame

One of the special menu items that my wife occasionally orders - a dry ramen. I’m not a massive fan of dry ramen, I personally prefer the typical hot soupy version - but this dry ramen is always a hit with my wife. I guess it’s kind of like a japanese ramen/noodle version of a Korean bibimbap? you stir all the good items together and enjoy your tasty mixture.

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PRO:

• Udon is amazing

• All dishes tried are really tasty.

• Great coffee
  

CON:

• Limited seating space. Interior space could be reimagined for increased dining capacity.

• No highchairs for little ones (a new criteria that can make/break outings for parents).

• Parking can be a pain, as Kiribilli can be popular on weekends and decent parking zones are frequently taken.
  

OVERALL:

Cool mac is one of our regular places to go, and we are always happy to come back. Please do try the udon (or at least convince someone you are with to order it!)

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DETAILS:

Address = 2/34 Burton St, Kirribilli NSW 2061

Phone = (02) 9955 3087

Site: ‘Cool Mac’ Facebook Page

Map:

 

0.6 Cafe - Alexandria

It was by pure luck that we happened to visit 0.6 Cafe, and wow what an amazing find!
My wife literally google searched “cafe” and picked this as we were driving through the area and wanting lunch.

Fried chicken wings that steal the show.

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Menu (as of July 2019);

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Give me wings (Fried Chicken wings) - (Small $10.00)

Fried wings with black mayo & sweet potato crisps.

We opted to get wings to share and wow they were amazing. Fresh, crunchy, and with a hint of sweetness - they were incredibly morish. Next time we should order the Large size ($13.50)!

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Duck duck duck ($19.00)

Fresh avocado, roast duck, onion, coriander, and classic housemade plum sauce on famous croissant

I picked this dish because it sounded so different on the menu. Duck on a croissant?! Sounds gloriously decadent. This was really tasty and enjoyed every bite.

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Crumbed Chicken Sandwich ($9.00)

Schnitzel with tomato, cucumber, spicy mayo, cheese & tokyo coleslaw.

This was the other item on the menu that I was considering. Happy that once again my sister-in-law picked the dish I was wanting to have. A very generous portion size, but mostly a schnitty sando!

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Udon for Autumn ($18.00)

Okra, corn, edamame, lime, nori, grilled salmon, crunch with homemade warm soup.

My wife picked this very refreshing udon. I really loved the way the broth came in a separate teapot that you poured over the ingredients.

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PROS:

• Amazing chicken wings… order them!

• Inventive and big menu

• Charming interior

CONS:

• Parking is a pain

• Menu has so many good items you’ll struggle to pick

OVERALL:

Wow, so happy with this cafe - cannot wait to come back. Looking forward to trying more menu items and revisiting those wings… did I mention the wings were good?

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Details:

Address: 1a/11 Bowden St, Alexandria NSW 2015

Phone: (02) 8205 9681

MAP:

 

Gogyo Ramen - Surry Hills

Ramen is one of our favourite dishes and I was delighted to spend our last night before the baby arrived going out somewhere new and special. The stand out feature of Gogyo is their signature burnt/charred ramen soup flavour. If you are fortunate enough to be seated at the bar which overlooks the kitchen, you can watch the chef's precisely scorch the sauce and meticulously combine it to create one of the best Ramen's in Sydney* (see footnote).

The charring of the ramen base creates an incredible flavour.

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Gogyo is a new ramen/japanese restaurant in Surry Hills that is associated with the Ippudo-franchise (owned by the same people). The main difference is that Gogyo is a unique franchise with only 3 current locations (Japan, Hong Kong, and now Sydney).

Walking in you immediately feel that this place is special, and that theory soon becomes fact when you are sampling the incredibly high quality of their dishes.

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Menu (As of 07.02.2018);

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Wagyu Sukiyaki Spring Roll ($5.00 each)

Fried spring roll, filled with wagyu sukiyaki - served with peri peri mayo.

I picked this dish based off an instagram post by @kananeophilia that pleaded with people to try this and shared that she loved it more than their ramen. Since I was already assuming their ramen was going to be something special, I ordered this as my entree and WOW! They've managed to perfectly capture sukiyaki in a spring roll. The flavour is knock out. 

You'll have to excuse the secondary post-bite photo, I was pretty taken aback with how good it was. My wife, who only wanted 'just a bit' ended up claiming an entire half of it. We both agreed that left to our own devices we could have ordered 4 of them. 

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Gogyo Original Gyoza ($14.00)

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I doubt there will ever be a time we visit a Japanese restaurant and don't order Gyoza. We love Gyoza (and dumplings in general) and Gogyo's version is quite good. In my unofficial gyoza scoring system - these would come up as a 8.0 / 10. They were what I would call a typical Japanese style of Gyoza. The detractors were two things, the price - which is expensive for any serving of dumpling and the lack of the 'I must order another serving of these they are THAT GOOD'.   

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Gogyo Tonkotsu ($17.00)

Silky pork broth, half umami egg, bamboo shoots, pork belly chashu

My wife ordered the Tonkotsu and was really impressed by it. The risk with Tonkotsu is that some places make it really fatty. Gogyo's version was really delicate, and brought back instant memories of feasting on ramen in Japan. We asked for some chilli oil to add in, which was easily obtained.

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Kogashi Shoyu ($18.00)

Charred shoyu base, original chicken broth, half umami egg, pork belly chashu

This was the ramen I picked. I knew that I had to pick one of the signature charred ramens - and I decided on Shoyu because I figured it would be more salty. Can I start off by saying the flavour that comes from the charring process is amazing. It gives a subtle smokey richness to the dish, that is complimented perfectly with the rest of the ingredients. I lapped up the soup with glee - and vowed that we would come back to Gogyo just to experience this again. 

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PRO:

• Charred ramen is a stand out. It's really reminiscent of Japan-quality ramen.
• Menu has a great array of delicious sounding items. I really love it when I struggle to order something because there are a lot of great sounding options (it means I have to come back!).
• Once seated, very attentive and friendly waitstaff.
• Will be coming back here, and bringing our ramen-loving friends who have been to Japan.

CON:

• Really poor greeting / wait for a table on arrival. When we arrived there was an utter and complete lack of staff greeting or system for asking for a table. We stood at the little desk for about 6 solid minutes, trying to get someone's attention before I had to resort to stop one of the waitstaff to ask how we could get a table / queue.
• Could not sample everything we wanted to in one sitting.
• Didn't get a chance to try their epic looking Karaage Chicken (@jphunky)

OVERALL:

A fantastic meal, great atmosphere, and a menu that we need to come back to explore. We'll be back and we'll be bringing along some friends that love ramen.

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Details:

Address: 52-54 Albion St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Opening Hours:

• Mon-Thur, 12:00-15:00 / 17:30-22:00.
• Fri, 12:00-15:00 / 17:30-22:30.
• Sat 11:30-15:00 / 17:30-22:30.
• Sun 11:30-15:00 / 17:00-20:30 

Phone: (02) 9212 0003

Map:

 

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*Footnote - thoughts about "The best ramen in Sydney".

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Driving home from Gogyo I was having a heated discussion with my wife about how there is no way to fairly or definitely name any restaurant's ramen "the best in Sydney". Ramen is so wonderfully varied, so different from place to place. In my mind I have trouble even ranking the ones in my top 5, and in their own way are amazing

Therefore, from this point onwards I pledge that I'll never tout a ramen restaurant as 'the best' - but rather call it 'one of the best' if I feel it sits as a contender for that title. 

(Gogyo's ramen ranks in that grouping!).