El Loco, Surry Hills

Let's go loco with a taco !!!

Or maybe 2, 3, 4.....or maybe the whole menu ?
Which was pretty much what we 2 girls ordered the night we visited El Loco.
This Mexican themed eatery, need no further introduction, a much more laid back and casual creation of Dan Hong of Lotus and Ms. G's.

Knowing how crowded this place can be, we decided to grab an early dinner on Sunday evening at 5.00pm - very early dinner :P

Rocked up to the register to place our food and drinks order. Being unsure on how to pronounce the name, I just ordered "the pink slushy drink".

Pink Cuco  $13.50
El Loco's house slushy of El Jimador Tequila, pink grapefruit and lime juices, homemade coriander and raw ginger syrup 

The pink slushy drink is not as girly and harmless as it looked - I can vouch for that !

I will always remember this as the drink that gave me the first over hangover and officially drunk for the very first time too.

It may be harmless for you lots who are expert drinkers but for me this is a killer - no more tequila ever !!

I would have stopped drinking it if it doesn't taste so good - it tasted like ginger ale and I love ginger....if only I can have a mocktail version of it..

Classic Margarita  $13.50
Herradura Blanco Tequila, Cointreau shaken w/ freshly pressed lime juice and organic sugar

Love the decor and furnitures

After a short wait , our first round of tacos arrived !

Tacos - Round 1 

Camaron 
prawn, salsa verde and pico de gallo

The prawns were done well, sweet and crisp with a strong coriander flavour. 

Al Pastor
spit roaster pork, pineapple salsa

The pork was nice, but pretty average.

Mystery Taco 

When we inquire what is the Mystery Taco for the day, we got "it's a mystery, so you'll just have to find out :D".

How can you not order it when you are challenged like that ? The mystery challenge is on dude !!

(Inside I was hoping it's not something too weird and adventurous as Dan Hong has tweeted about).

Thankfully the mystery filling is something safe and we are familiar with ! I may be wrong, but it tasted like falafel with spicy mayo sauce with salsa and lettuce. Quite delicious if I may say so. 

Queso de Soya
chilli marinated tofu, pico de gallo

This turned out to be one of my favourite one of the night, the tofu was dressed with sweet sauce. 

Love tofu....

Stormtrooper gone loco ?

I can see the light.....o_O

Feeling peckish still, we decided to go for another round of tacos and another tequila for my cousin - whilst I sat on the table, ready to pass out anytime soon.

It was winter still when we went and lo and behold, we are seated right under the heater. 

I would usually feel light headed in a heated room, add the drunk factor that nite...boy oh boy.....

Jalapeno Margarita  $13.50
Herradura Reposado Tequila, Cointreau, roasted jalapeno syrup, freshly pressed lime juice, wash of Ilegal Mezcal

Despite already drunk as, I cannot resist the urge to try what does a Jalapeno margarita tasted like - the verdict was that it tasted like cough syrup. 

Pink Cuco still triumphs..*slurp*

Carne Asada
lemongrass beef, salsa verde

The beef was very tender and much more flavourful than the pork to our surprise. The second fave of the night for me.

Pollo
chicken, sweet corn salsa

The chicken was nice too, tender grilled chicken with gingery soy sauce marinade. 

We also got the Special of The Day : Quesadilla with pork, veal and salsa verde.

For the life of me, I have no idea what happened to the photo , did I take it or did I not take it ?

That is the question......

Now the next one....I LOVE !!! 

El Hot Dog   $9.00
grilled pork frankfurt on soft bun w/ pickled jalapeno, pico de gallo, mayonnaise and cheese

Our jaws dropped when this was placed in front of us *o*

All we see was creamy white.....if not for the 2 ends of the dog, we wouldn't have picked it for a hot dog LOL

It sure look damn good to me !! How can an avalanche of mayonnaise and shaved cheese can be wrong - NEVER !!!

Now...do we grab it (if we can find a spot to grab it at) or be posh and ladylike ?

How to eat El Hot Dog - neat way

Call me crazy, but the hotdog tasted like fillet o fish...seriously...it did....

The bun was super soft and I am not complaining on the generous topping - love every single bite of this. A pleasant mix of salty, sour and hot from the Jalapeno. 

El Hot Dog - you made me go loco !!!

We definitely were satisfied after 6 tacos, 1 quesadilla and 1 hotdog.

At $5.00 each for the tacos, that is a very reasonable price and great snack sized meals to have while you are just hanging out with friends over drinks.

p.s. what happen after my drunken adventure here ? 

I got home at 6.30 - crashed till next morning - have the hives all over (thanks to my allergy to alcohol) that last for more than a week that not even anti-histamine tablets can help.

I am proud to say I am now a reformed alcoholic......

Tokonoma, Surry Hills

Tokonoma

Hellow people \^o^/ 

Apologies for the lack of posts of late , I'm still blogging - just have been having the case of "writers block" :P

The amount of back logged posts kept increasing, so I better get my act together and stop procrastinating !! 

Tokonoma is located right next door to its sister restaurant, Toko, a hip and trendy izakaya along Crown Street in Surry Hills. 

They look very very similar, so read the sign or you'll end up entering the wrong restaurant (which my friend almost did hehehehe).

Back in December, Spreets has a dining offer at Tokonoma, just $99 for a Japanese banquet for 2 people and a complimentary bottle of Seville Estate "The Barber" Pinot Gris. 

Pretty amazing deal as their 5 course banquet is usually priced at $70 per head. For the obvious reason, I had to bring along someone who can drank that bottle of wine LOL 

Luckily, it was that time of the year where we had our last team meeting for the year, so I dragged along the sales manager / foodie friend from Melbourne office (whom I discovered by the end of the night that she can drink a LOT of alcohol and still feels normal *bow*).

Lychee & Jasmine Mojito ; Tokonoma decor
Edamame ; Seville Estate"The Barber"  2009 Pinot Gris

As we were seated, a chilled bottle of 2009 Pinot Gris was brought to our table - had a few sips throughout the night - it was crisp and has a lovely fruity notes to it which makes it quite sweet, very nice indeed.

My friend also ordered a cocktail on the side, a Lychee & Jasmine Mojito - fresh mint & lychees muddled with havana club anejo especial and fresh lime - served long with jasmine tea & soda.

I remembered it tasting just like a regular mojito, with a very slight hint of lychee and couldn't taste the jasmine tea actually.

To accompany our drinks, a bowl of salty edamame to nibble on - the saltier the better !

Kingfish Carpaccio

Although the voucher said its going to be a 5 course banquet, we actually had 10 dishes in total - even if I grouped them into type of foods, I still end up with 6 courses...unless my math is really bad LOL.

First up we have the fresh kingfish carpaccio with ponzu dressing. The kingfish has a nice firmness and sweetness to it, a refreshing start to the banquet. 

Gyu-niku Tataki w/ Ponzu Shoyu
Beef tataki with ponzu soy sauce dressing

Which arrived on the table together with the nicely seared beef tataki with ponzu dressing and garlic chips. The beef was tender and the addition of the garlic chips added more oomph to the delicate taste of the dish. 

Watari Gani Karaage
Soft shell crab karaage

Apologies for the shaky shot of the crab -___-;  It was so dark inside and as the night progress there was even less light coming in from the street. 

The soft shell crab karaage at Tokonoma had to be one of the best I've had, the batter was light and it wasn't oily at all. Perfect when dipped in the accompanying wasabi mayonnaise.

Grilled Tofu & Eggplant

At this point, I discovered the lighting behind the lounge we sat on. 

So from this dish onwards, all the plates got moved to the bench behind me LOL (things we do to get good lighting :P).

The cubes of deep fried tofu was topped with sweet and tender eggplant, once again ponzu dressing was used here - they love ponzu here !

Nigiri Moriawase
Mixed nigiri sushi

At the time we dined there, we got salmon and scallop nigiri. The salmon melts in your mouth and can't go wrong with sweet, juicy and plump scallops.

Buta Bara Kushiyaki
Pork belly grilled skewers

Just look at the glistening pork belly and you can be sure that it will taste good...mmmm....

The juicy, caramelized pork belly kushiyaki was served with a sauce of red miso mixed with go ju chang  (red pepper paste). 

Zucchini Kushiyaki
Zucchini grilled skewers

Something healthier to go with the delicious pork belly, grilled zucchini smeared with grated radish, ginger and sesame sauce. 

Ko Hitsuji to Yasai Suzuke
Lamb cutlets w/ homemade pickles

Why does lamb like to make an appearance in a banquet style menu ? *sigh*

The lamb thankfully was bearable for me thanks to its sweet and caramelized crust , and it was super tender as well. 

The cutlets has been marinated with hatcho miso, grilled and then served with pickled eggplant, which has an interesting spongy texture but delicious nonetheless. 

Shiro Miso Shiru
White miso soup

To end the meal, a warming bowl of miso soup made with white miso, wakame and a sprinkle of sansho pepper. 

I personally prefer white miso compared to the standard red one as it has a lighter flavour, so this bowl was just perfect :) 

Dessert Platter
Fruits + Ice Creams + Chocolate Fondant

After a progression of delicious foods, I must say the dessert platter was a bit of a let down :(

Can't fault the presentation though, the 3 desserts arrived in a heavy stone bowl filled with crushed ice - it definitely has the wow factor.

Freshly cut fruits and the matcha & chocolate ice creams were quite ordinary, thankfully there was the favourite (well, my favourite) chocolate fondant. Springy spongy chocolate cake with oozing chocolatey goodness...yummmm....

Dining at Tokonoma is definitely more relaxed than in Toko, I believe the food came out from the same kitchen in Toko, so wherever you decide to dine in you will get the same quality  :)

I'd say the main difference would be that you are more relaxed and has more privacy in Tokonoma, where as Toko is perfect for dining with a group of friends and if you don't mind communal table (they do have smaller table as well ).

The service remained very friendly and prompt despite the place was almost full by the end of our meal. 

The dishes in the banquet was consistently good, my favourites being the soft shell crab karaage and the pork belly kushiyaki :)

My friend who finished pretty much the whole bottle of wine PLUS the cocktail left the restaurant sober whilst me who had a few sip was tipsy - so sad...sad sad sad.....

Duke Bistro, Darlinghurst

Bar @ Duke Bistro

A last minute dinner outing with Nut and her mom (who was visiting) before she goes back to Thailand for good - another fellow blogger that I've just get to know and now have to say goodbye too *sob*.

Managed to drag my usual partner in crime too - Ony.

At the helm of Duke Bistro's kitchen we have the talented duo of Thomas Lim (of Tetsuya's fame) and Mitchell Orr (the recipient of 2010 Young Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of The Year and was at Sepia), pretty sure we are in very capable hands tonight ^_^

The decor is very cool with vintage asian themed decors and colours of rich red, green and dark brown. 

Somehow the bistro reminded me of my late grandma's house back in the days, it brings back nostalgic memories :)

Recycled Water Bottle

Got some tap water while I waited for the others to turn up and how cool is that bottle ?

It was used to be a whisky bottle maybe ? On the other side of the bottle you have "Made In", a British whisky perhaps :)  

Ceiling Fan ; Hemmingway The Bar Hog

Asked the waiter if it's okay to take pictures, he said I may, under one condition *oh ouw....*

Friendly Waiter  : "You have to take a photo with Hemmingway"

Confused Blogger : "Who ?"

Friendly Waiter  : "Hemmingway, The Bar Hog"

Hemmingway, you looked too scary with that bottle of Shiracha in your mouth, so I'll just take a shot of you from far far away.....

Hotel Nacional Cocktail ; Bar ;
Strawberry & Guava Mocktail ; Ginger Ale, Lime & Pineapple Juice Mocktail

Ony ordered something off the cocktail menu, Hotel Nacional (light rum, fresh pineapple juice, apricot liqueur & peach bitters) was recommended by the waiter.

While the rest of us opted for mocktails which were not on the menu but can me made to your liking.

Nut's mom got the Strawberry & Guava mocktail, while the two of us got the same one, a simple concoction of Ginger Ale, Fresh Lime & Pineapple Juice. 

Cute Tea Light Tea Cups & Cool Cutleries

There were 15 dishes in the Share Plates menu, it was easier to eliminate those that we don't want than choosing what we wanted, so that's what we did :P

Just need one more person and we could have ordered everything on the menu ! 

After reading out to the (slightly shocked) waiter, I asked if that would be enough - 9 share plates for 4 of us, plus we are going to order 2 desserts later on (advanced stomach space planning).

His reply was that would be enough if we are hungry , to which all of us nodded LOL

Kingfish Gin & Tonic $18.00

Our orders were served 3 dishes at a time, progressing in groups from lightly flavoured to a more heavier and richer dishes.

First up is the Kingfish Gin & Tonic, served in a glass as you would gin and tonic. The kingfish sashimi was firm and fresh, topped with roasted coriander seed, micro coriander and curled ribbons of cucumber. The gin & tonic jelly at the bottom was interesting, you can definitely taste the gin and the fizz from the tonic water gives the tingling sensation on your tongue - fun !

Char-Grilled Watermelon & Fresh Herbs $10.00

A new seasonal dish that was highly recommended by the waiter and I must agree 100%, this was one of my favourite dishes of the night.

The warm and nicely charred watermelon slab was topped with a fresh herb salad with Vietnamese flavoured dressing. The herb salad consisted of a medley of zucchini flowers, mint, coriander, eschalot, cucumber and chilli.

Simple flavours but tasted oh so good and light - delicious !

Fritto Misto $16.00

The fritto misto was a plate of lightly battered and crisply deep fried school of prawns, squid, white bait, a very tender octopus and the very interesting "octopus pops" - as the waiter described it.

Octopus pops, as I later discovered, were the little suction cups found on octopus tentacles - those little suckers hehehehehe.

They pops were removed then deep fried till very crisp ! The platter is served with a wedge of lime and yuzu mayonnaise.

Night Time Ambience

As the sun sets, the place gets really dark, which equals to blurry shots T___T

I was so tempted to bring out the plates to the balcony area where there were tables with so much better lighting.

Fried Chicken Wings, Coleslaw Milk, Hot Sauce  $10.00

Fried chicken wings will always put a smile on my face :) And it was done perfectly here at Duke Bistro, the wings were very crispy and juicy. Squirt some Shiracha Hot Sauce if you like hot and spicy wings.

I liked the coleslaw milk that was quite interesting. It tasted like coleslaw, but in a puree form, except for the random bits of crunchy cabbage.

Egg, Seasonal Mushrooms, Almonds $15.00

The other favourite of mine for the night - a mixture of seasonal mushrooms (I think they were eringi, enoki, wood ear fungus, white cloud ear fungus, shiitake, oyster), sprinkle of curly parsley and scattering of almond flakes. 

Break the perfectly poached egg, mix with the mushrooms and pour over the hot consommé that came in a little beaker. 

What you end up with was a warming, slightly soupy dish with earthy flavours, loved it !! 

Tater Tots, Duke Gravy, Edamame $15.00

The tater tots were potato hash, served with Duke gravy that came with tender braised veal, edamame and pea shoots.

The portion was the smallest for the price compared to the other dishes. The tater tots were too salty for my liking as well.

Wagyu, Herb Dressing, Baby Gem Lettuce $24.00

The wagyu steak was quite tender and served medium rare. The tangy herb dressing compliment the wagyu well, but the star on the plate for me would be the grilled lettuce *lettuce over wagyu ?!?!*

We were instructed to squeeze the wedge of lemon over the chargrilled baby gem lettuce and it was very good ! 

The lettuce was tender and sweet with a slight charred flavour, lifted up higher with the spritz of lemon. 

Again, so simple but oh so good :)

Lamb Belly, Cumin, Eggplant, Pearl Onions $16.00

Obviously not a dish I would usually order, but I still gave it a go (in the name of research).

The lamb belly was tender but had very strong lamb flavour that I just can't take. The lamb belly was served with a gravy with barley, eggplant puree and sweet caramelized pearl onions. 

Beef Shortrib Pancakes $20.00

Another seasonal special, beef shortrib pancakes ala Peking duck :D

Grab a disc of pancake, a ribbon of pickled daikon with crushed pink peppercorns, then some beef shortribs, sprinkle some shredded shisho (perilla) leaves an a drizzle of jalapeno sauce, wrap and straight into your mouth *chomp* - thumbs up !!

It was a mixture of different textures and flavours, although I wish the shortrib were more tender and it would be perfect. 

Knickerbocker Glory $12.00

As planned, we ordered just 2 desserts to share :)

The Knickerbocker Glory is a trifle of mango jelly, sliced fresh strawberries, beetroot meringue, whipped cream, pannacotta ice cream and topped with an edible pansy.

This was one interesting dessert, with the obvious odd one out being the beetroot meringue. 

If you eat them all together in one spoonful it was good, but I did the mistake of eating the beetroot on its own (not knowing what it was prior) and it kind of put me off a little (and I love beetroot).

"Peaches & Créme" $12.00

This special dessert of the day was described as the chefs take on the classic peaches and cream.

The inside shots didn't turn out well so you just have to bear with me and use your imagination ^_^

At the bottom of the ramekin we had poached peaches, then a layer of whipped cream, scattered almond brittle bits, pipe some meringue and last but not least, some blow torch action !

The peaches was nicely poached, tender but not too soft and the crunchy almond brittle added some nice crunch and caramelized nutty flavours. A tad too sweet because of the meringue but it was a delicious spin on a classic dessert. 

Lovely Note :D

The bill came with a lovely thank you note - well, thank you guys for the very friendly and attentive service ^_^

At the end of the night, we end up spending $50/person including the drinks, which I found was pretty good for the amount of food we had.

The flavours combinations were not the norm but they worked well together and interesting in some of the dishes.

The portion on some of the dishes may be on the small side but we left feeling satisfied without being uncomfortably full.

The bistro's noise level does gets higher as the night progress, but it is still a great place to hang out with friends, perhaps not a romantic dinner :P

Good luck Nut in your future and I'm sure you will reach your dream of becoming a court judge ( be fair  ^_* )