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......

Little Ethel's, Balmain

Read about this little cafe in the backstreet of Balmain in the October edition of TimeOut Magazine. What caught my attention was this line in the review "...and the barista, complete with braces and two-tone shoes..." - I just have to see him !

So early weekend morning, I dragged my cousin along...wanted to get there early to beat the morning rush.

And I'm glad we did ! Not long after we grabbed a table, the place was packed with regulars grabbing their morning coffee to start their day.

The coffee line was so long that the last person queueing was standing on the door steps.

Green & Bright Colours

Straight away I took the cutest table in this little cafe, the brightest outdoor table perched on a patch of artificial lawn.  The wooden chairs was made comfortable with some floral cushions too !
Love how they hide the (gas ? electricity ?) meter with a pot of fern, hide the ugly LOL

Single Origin Coffees

Little Ethel's uses single origin coffee beans to brew their coffee and of course I forgot to ask which bean it was :P
They do make great coffee, no wonder the coffee line was so long !
Oh and by the by, the barista does done the whole attire as mentioned in the magazine, the braces and the shoes !!

Mushroom On Toast

The menu here is quite small and simple, you get the usual breakfast fares, cheese & antipasto platters and some  pastries and cakes displayed on the counter. In saying that, the food here are very cheap !

For example, this plate of mushroom on toast (if I remembered it correctly) was about$8.50 !!

You can get a tasty and filling meal for under $10.00, quite rare nowadays I'd say. 

The portion are not skimpy either, my cousin got a mountain of still smoking sauteed mushroom mixed with parsley, garlic and lemon. I never thought of adding lemon to mushroom, it tasted really good ! 

Underneath she got not one but THREE slices of Italian wood fired bread lathered with creamy ricotta. 

Toasting Platter 

For you who are indecisive like me, a toasting platter is the best option. Three lightly toasted bread topped with various toppings. Avocado with lemon, tomato, onion & basil and lemony sauteed mushroom with ricotta. 

Simple but delicious trio, my favourite would have to be the delicious mushrooms and followed by the zesty avocado.

The service and the staffs were friendly and welcoming, there were only 2 small and 2 medium tables in the cafe, so get there early if you want to dine in.

Mappen, Sydney CBD

That was taken at Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum when I was there last year.

And this is in Sydney now :

Showa Samurai Movie Posters

Felt like I'm transported back into Japan's Showa era once again, just like how it was in the ramen museum in Yokohama :) Even the music playing in the background is of that era as well, talk about keeping things authentic !

Mappen is a new venture by I's Group who is also running the yakiniku houses (Rengaya, Sumino-ya-, Koh-ya) and the ramen chain Menya. 

Ordering & Self Service Counter

I was browsing the Cheer's website ( the free monthly Japanese magazines in Sydney) over the weekend and was looking at (what else) the gourmet section :P

Mappen is listed as one of the new Japanese eatery opening up in Sydney, on 1st September 2010 to be exact ! From my limited Japanese reading capability , I gather that the concept will be like the self service udon shop found all around Japan.

Instructions ; Drinks ; Noodle / Rice Menu ; Free Toppings

If you are unsure how it works, fret not, there is cute instruction sheet with pictures available :) First you get your cold drinks from the fridge ( hot tea is towards the end of the line and water is free), then you tell them what sort of noodle base you'd like ( a few donburi - rice bowl options are also available). They cook the noodles to order and in a few minutes you have a bowl of hot noodle on your tray ! Top your choice with as much negi (shallots) and hana (tempura flakes) as you like - I like lots of shallots on mine.

Move along the line.....and then....

Deep Fried Goodies 

Tempura galore !!! This is the section where I had to control myself not to go ballistic and get one of each :P

Everything just looked so damn good...deep fried stuffs...mmmmm.....

As they are prepared in small batches, you can be sure that they haven't been "sun" bathing for very long.

Kakiage ; Chikuwa ; Soft Boiled Egg ; Sweet Potatoes (at the back)

The tempura on offer ranges from the traditional stuffs like kakiage, chikuwa and the sweet potatoes. Then you have the more unusual one like soft boiled egg ! I would have gotten it if the udon I ordered doesn't come with an egg already - next time....
I think the tempura are reasonably priced, ranging from 90cents - $3.00 per piece. With the basic noodle bases prices from $3.90 - $6.00, you can mix and match to get a meal to suit your budget.

Miso Soup ; Ten-Tsuyu 

Moving right along the counter, there are some salad in the chilled cabinet if you need some greens to counter balance the deep fried goodies, or perhaps one of the individually packed onigiri (rice ball). I didn't take a good look at the onigiri, but I believe they have various fillings available, probably the sour plum (ume boshi) or flaked salmon ?

Until dining at Mappen, I didn't know that miso soup can be made available from a dispensing unit ! But then again, the Japanese has made fresh bouquets of flowers dispensable too :P

Don't forget to grab a bowl of ten-tsuyu to dip your tempura in as well as you pay for your meal at the cashier.

Fellow diner enjoying his udon ; Pepper & Shichimi Togarashi ; Chopsticks ; Ramen 

The pepper & shichimi togarashi ( 7 spices chilli pepper) shakers are just so cute don't u think ? Beside udon, you have also an option of having soba or ramen instead.

See that bowl of ramen that my friend had ? That is a small bowl.....yep...small....Imagine what the large one will be, people on the other table had ordered the large serving size and all I can see is a mountain of noodles in their bowls LOL

Unless you are starving, I'd say just stick with the small one.

There are a few of us dining tonight, so we managed to cover quite a good selection from the menu, so here goes :

Ontama Bukkake Soba

One of the more traditional and classic base, noddle of your choice with tsukedashi soup, topped with onsen tamago (soft boiled egg) and a wedge of lemon to make it more refreshing.

Tsukedashi is a thick and rich sauce made with soy sauce, stock made from selected fish (bonito, etc) and konbu (dried kelp). Classic, simple and clean Japanese flavours that can never go wrong :)

Curry Udon

If you are after something with more robust flavours then go for the curry option. Just like the first one, you can have udon, ramen or soba with the curry.

Niku Udon ; Kakiage

For something more meaty, go for the Niku (meat) option, the base is kakedashi (basic dashi stock) sukiyaki wagyu beef.

I didn't get to try it but my friend gave his stamp of approval :) 

Ontama Bukakke Udon ; Sweet Potatoes & Calamari Tempura

My choice :) I don't like soupy food so the tsukedashi base is the one. The udon has just the right bite to it, slippery chewy strands of fat noodles :) The flavours of the stock is clean and simple, a little spritz of the lemon does made it more refreshing, perfect for when the weather gets hotter. 

I'm not an expert on sweet potatoes, so I don't know what is the difference between the two they had that day. One is the common yellow fleshed sweet potato, while the other has white flesh with purple skin - could it be the Japanese sweet potato, satsuma imo ? Love sweet potatoes, deep fried even better !

Perfect Onsen Tamago

We all left with stomach filled to the brim and satisfied ^_^  The damage done to my wallet ? One bowl of udon with soft boiled egg, 2 sweet potato tempura, 1 calamari tempura and a cup of hot green tea = $9.80 $9.50 (found my receipt!). Less than $10 for a very satisfying meal of excellent quality.

Mappen is not easily spotted from George Street as it is tucked inside Sky View Plaza, behind Pepper Lunch. 

It doesn't have a large seating area but not too worry, the turnover is pretty quick as you get your food very quickly and it doesn't take long to eat them too.

What's next on the menu to try...hmmmm.....

Opens 7 Days 11.30am - 10.00pm (till 10.30pm Thu - Sat)