Tag Archives: food

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku

October 7, 2016 Siree 9 Comments

The Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku is now closed.

Update: April 2022

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

OVERALL SUMMARY

Not just Insta-worthy – it’s tasty as well!

With its dripping liquid walls and psychedelic colour scheme, The KAWAII MONSTER CAFE plays perfect homage to the flamboyant, the sweetest of sugary treats and the oh-so fun nature that is the Harajuku district and the signature world that is the creative mind of Sebastian Masuda. Don’t expect a simple dine-out experience here! As the “Monster Girls” navigate you to your table, let’s see what this Alice in Wonderland has to offer.

Setting and Atmosphere

ver the top and sinfully fun. The interior of the KAWAII MONSTER CAFE feels like a shrine to Harajuku’s crazy and excessive nature in fashion and style, but what if I told you it was actually the stomach of the restaurant’s mascot, “Mr. Ten thousand chopsticks” or simply “Choppy” for short? Bet you would have never guessed, right?

Before entering the discotheque labyrinth that is this monster’s “belly,” you have a selection of 4 rooms or “zones” to choose from: MUSHROOM DISCO, MILK STAND, Bar

Experiment, and Mel-Tea ROOM. Since I arrived pretty late that night the MUSHROOM DISCO zone was only available but turned out to be a blessing in disguise since it was right in the middle near the restaurant’s most entertaining features: the “SWEETS GO ROUND” carousel and the area where the DJ was playing.

Each zone’s aesthetic matched well to its theme with plenty of photo opportunities for patrons to freely enjoy taking photos but the details don’t just stop there. The restrooms were also worth a photo visit too! Check out the photos:

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The “SWEETS GO ROUND” carousel

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Table Setting

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The “MUSHROOM DISCO” zone

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The “MILK STAND” zone

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melty

The “Mel-Tea ROOM” zone

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The “Bar Experiment” zone

bar

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The Restroom

Food

dmittedly, I must confess that when I saw the food menu my first thought was, “Is this really gonna taste good or be some kind of mediocre mush?” because the food seriously looked like it came from a Play-Doh set rather than something you should eat and put in your mouth. But oh, how wrong I was!

The first dish was the “Painter” version of their Colorful Rainbow Pasta dish and the dish does live up to its name. The rainbow spaghetti arrived on a painter palette shaped dish with the “paint” being an assortment of different sauces to cover your spaghetti in.

What amazed me the most was that each sauce had its own unique flavour from basil pesto to a garlic kind, offering many different taste variations to choose from. The garlic sauce was bomb and was my favourite!

The final dish I ordered was called the “TOKYO fusion style MEAT MEAT MEAT,” and it was literally a meat bag – a variety of different meats of your choice tossed in a sauce and mixed in a big ass bag for your inner carnivore. The meat was well-cooked to juicy perfection in the Cajun sauce but it also came with an assortment of side sauces to level up your taste buds. Life is too short to have just one sauce – variety is the spice of life!

Colorful Rainbow Pasta (Painter) | Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku

Colorful Rainbow Pasta (Painter) | 1,300 JPY

TOKYO fusion style MEAT MEAT MEAT | Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku

TOKYO fusion style MEAT MEAT MEAT with Cajun Sauce | 4,400~ JPY

Service

lthough the main icon girls “BABY”, “DOLLY”, “CANDY”, “NASTY” and “CRAZY” weren’t there when I went, the usual staff were also very nice and always smiling.

Super cheery and English friendly, the staff or “Monster Girls” really do enjoy helping you out with taking photos etc. It can’t be easy to try and take orders over loud music but they were super prompt and efficient.

Value for Money

eing a themed restaurant, you kind of have to compare this dining experience like going to an amusement park as most theme restaurants do require some kind of entry fee.

At KAWAII MONSTER CAFE it’s called a “Zone Charge” which is 500 yen per person (as of 2016). However, you do get a small free gift after your meal as a souvenir which I

think is a nice gesture (mine was a pair of chopsticks with my country’s flag printed).

Though it might not be a place you would go every weekend night, the price of the main dishes were reasonable for their volume and quality and would be a good choice for a fun night out or the occasional extravagant dinner experience.

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: New Shanghai, Sydney

February 15, 2016 Talyssa 2 Comments

Drool-worthy dumplings? Yes please! Be transported to the colourful streets of Shanghai and while you’re there, let your tastebuds dance on ancient flavours for the ultimate Shanghainese experience.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★.5

Stepping inside New Shanghai is like stepping onto the streets of Old Shanghai and exploring the otherworldy charm of a back alley tucked away behind the bustling city streets. The setting is gorgeous and really a pleasure to dine in. It’s vibrant, it’s alive and it’s unique and while you’re there, experience first hand the art of traditional Shanghainese cuisine with a live dumpling-making theatre or simply enjoy the ambiance of such a beautiful setting with great company.

Food

★★★★.5

New Shanghai Pan Fried Pork Buns | $11.8

Pan fried pork bun – 8pcs $11.8 | Shallot, smoked ham and sesame puff – 6pcs $4.8 | Pork and Chive Dumplings Steamed – 10pcs $10.8

While the setting says “Old Shanghai” the food says “New Shanghai” as the restaurant puts their own modern take on traditional recipes passed down through the generations. And with good reason too – the food here is Měiwèi!! Everything tastes good and trust me when I say that once you’ve been dining here, you’ll be speaking Chinese too. As an avid fan of dumplings the ones here are up there with some of my faves. The pan fried dumplings are crispy on the outside with moist meat on the inside. The steamed dumplings are juicy and tender and finally the sesame puff’s pastry is flaky, crispy and melt-in-mouth perfection.

Though I have to say the highlights of the night for me were the Rainbow Beef with it’s gorgeous outer crunch and perfect chewy texture as well as the Braised Beef soup with it’s light and subtle flavours – a perfect contrast to wash down with the heavier dishes.

Service

★★★★.5

Wonderful prompt service and super friendly staff. Why then not a 5 star? Sometimes the service was a little too attentive that it felt a little rushed.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★★

Really great prices, especially considering the quality and portion sizes of the dishes.

The Details

Where: Westfield Sydney, Shop 1017-1020, 188 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 11am – 9:00pm

Website | Facebook

*Please note this was an invited event with the ever so lovely ningjaeats

Greatly Terrific Food Outing, Japan, Japan Food Guide

GTFO: Jiyugaoka Sweets Forest

January 2, 2016 Siree Leave a comment

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THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value for Money

OVERALL SUMMARY

Quality dessert to satisfy the sweetest of teeth

While exploring Jiyugaoka, a beautiful little neighbourhood in Tokyo known for its stylish shops and more importantly, sweets I found hidden to the south side of the station a place called Jiyugaoka Sweets Forest.

It’s a dessert-themed restaurant experience where Alice might have stumbled upon on her way to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – a dessert made forest wonderland!

Let’s explore the delights this rabbit hole leads to…

SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

The interior is adorable with the pink cut out trees and cute picturesque shop fronts. As you can see, this forest is not just one restaurant but made of many individual patisserie shops offering their own signature dessert experience. Want something with strawberries? Look no further than the cute ‘Berry Berry’ shop. Maybe a fluffy soufflé? ‘Le Soufflé’ is where you can get your fix! There’s even have a Hong Kong style dessert house selling not only traditional Chinese desserts but also Yum Cha dumplings if you want some more savoury. Ah, I miss home~

While theme restaurant’s don’t always get the best rep as the food is more “style over substance,” each shop’s head patisserie chef is a professional in their field and the store’s creations are almost like their trademark so the desserts are not only pretty, but you feel like you are eating something that was well made and special! They even have seasonal rotations of their creations on display at the front of the store to admire their craftsmanship and hopefully get your hands on later.

In Japan, there is a term called 「旬/shun」which describes the moment of seasonal food at its peak. The term has a bit more meaning than simply saying “it’s in season” as it’s more like a celebration of the time the ingredient is at its most flavourful state during the harvest. Currently, strawberries are in season so I had to try Berry Berry’s creations which just so happens to be all strawberry based for December. Japan’s strawberries are the best!

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FOOD

Sweet and girly to the “G,” I went with Princess Tiara Roll and the Strawberry Mont Blanc with a basic black coffee for a set. Though the coffee wasn’t anything special to rave about the cakes were very nice indeed. Not too dry or overly sweet. The Mont Blanc had the special touch of a raspberry jam in the centre which was a nice touch to add some tartness.

Though I can’t comment on all the desserts available at Sweets Forest this time, I was pretty happy with the taste of these cakes at Berry Berry!

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SERVICE

At first, it was a bit disorienting to figure out the “system” if you will at Sweets Forest for a first timer.

It’s a theme restaurant but with no wait service except for Le Soufflé with “general” staff who are stationed at seating points to help bust tables (but in Japan, it is polite to also bust your own table as well) and also welcome you to space.

The seating areas are shared amongst the shops meaning that no matter who you order food from, you are still able to sit at any area with the exception of Le Soufflé.

The staff are friendly though and very prompt to help you if you need some guidance or to take the tray off you when in the bustling area. The experience is sort of a stylish cafeteria Starbucks vibe if you will.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Great value for money to sit down and enjoy a light snack. The desserts are really not too expensive and with no entry fee which is a norm for the themed restaurant sometimes.

THE DETAILS

Where: 2-25-7 Midorigaoka, Meguro, Tokyo 152-0034

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 10AM – 8PM

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Gertrude & Petunias

October 13, 2015 Talyssa 1 Comment

Brunch. This trendy meal of the day has Sydney-siders constantly talking about the most vogue places to get your weekly dose. And well, they may be right, Foodcraft Espresso, Three Williams and Brewtown Newtown are brilliant! But I may have found a hidden gem in my neighbourhood that could trump the competition!

Welcome to the little corner cafe that is Gertrude & Petunias.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★

Let your inner Marie Antoinette run free in this Rococo Haute Couture x Victorian Tea House cafe. Think intricate detail, elegance and glamour. Every aspect of this cafe adheres to the theme and you can’t help but feel a little upper class when you step inside.

Don’t be fooled by appearances though, the food is classic with a modern influence and the crowd a mixed bag of delightful elderly couples (sure to cheer up any day ;) ) to modern day hipsters (yes this also includes groups of skinny jeaned guys – you never would have guessed!)

Overall the cafe is small, cosy but not too overcrowded and most importantly, filled with a good bunch of people – the kind that aren’t too loud to ruin the experience.

Food

Rating: ★★★★★

I can’t fault the food I’ve had here. I’ve been on numerous occasions and every time, everything I have is absolutely delicious. Basically it’s good food with great flavour combinations. Browsing the menu, you’ll fall in love. Everything sounds divine.

My Recommended Dish To Try: Corn Cake Stack

Gertrude and Petunias — Corn Cake Stack: Bacon, Avocado and Tomato Salad, Poached Egg and Maple Syrup || $16

I can’t even begin to describe how perfect this dish is with its winner ingredient tying everything so perfectly together – maple syrup. Yes, avocado, bacon, tomato and corn stack explode with flavour once maple syrup is added. Don’t knock it til you try it. Think chicken waffles vibe, but healthy…er.

Egg Breakfast: Poached Egg, Avocado, Tomato and Ricotta served with Toast || $12

A standard breakfast. Great price.

Flakey Pastry, home made and well-seasoned filling. What more could you want from a pie?

Served in a gigantic tea cup, this mocha will satisfy your cravings. Not being a coffee fan myself, Gertrude and Petunia’s mocha has the perfect balance of chocolate and coffee. Rich and decadent.

Service

Rating: ★★★★

Fast, easy service. Gertrude and Petunia’s it was a pleasure!

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★★

Compared to most brunch menus, Gertrude and Petunia’s is really reasonable with most dishes setting you back around $12. The portion size fills you up and the food is excellent quality.

The Details

Where: 61 Todman Avenue, Kensington, Sydney, NSW

Opening Hours: Mon – Fri: 07:30–16:00 | Sat – Sun: 07:30 – 15:00

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: The Tea Salon – Katherine Sabbath High Tea

August 23, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

Nestled in the bustlingly chic Westfield CBD, is The Tea Salon best described as a shoppers whimsical haven after a morning of intense retail therapy with the best friend.

Through August, The Tea Salon is to be hosting the Katherine Sabbath High Tea, deemed the most Instagrammable High Tea to come to Sydney. With imagery like this in it’s advertisements, we were nothing short of excited to sink our teeth into it:

All girls know that conversations over food naturally progress to updates on all things awkward in ones life, particularly those concerning men. “So how’s things going with that guy you’ve been seeing?” your friend asks, leaning closer. “Finally” you think to yourself, the question you’ve been dying to have her ask all day – you need someone to talk to.

You explain that while this guy seemed great at first, and is still really nice…it’s just not working, and now you have to awkwardly tell him.

It’s unfortunate to say this, but our experience with the Katherine Sabbath High Tea was like an awkward “friend-zone” conversation.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★

Just like when considering a potential partner, we’ll start off with assessing the looks. Now, The Tea Salon isn’t as immaculate as other High Tea places I’ve been to with the pretty gardens or antique buildings nor is it as quiet and tranquil (?). However, considering it’s located in the middle of a major shopping centre, it does it’s best with what it can and cleans up well, looking quite cute. The crockery is on point being exceptionally pretty and it also matches one other delightfully.

Overall The Tea Salon is no Johnny Depp (or insert preferred hot guy here). But often the looks aren’t the only thing that matters and to be honest we were quite happy to continue our date with the Tea Salon at this point.

Food

Rating: ★★.5

Unfortunately the food is where everything went downhill. Layer by layer as we got deeper into the date things got worse, almost to the point of no return. Let’s weigh out the positives and negatives. Things started off great and the highlight of the food was definitely the savoury options, the scones were delish, as were the pinwheel sandwiches and the savoury tartlets were divine.

BUT this was the Katherine Sabbath High Tea and the sweets were suppose to be the highlight. The advertisements for the sweets deemed that the Katherine Sabbath High Tea was to be the most “Instagrammable High Tea” and it looked amazing in the advertisements. We couldn’t wait to sink our teeth in (after taking photos of course).

After devouring the savoury layers and pleasantly happy w so far, we moved on to the last layer of the high tea – the Katherine Sabbath sweets. Unfortunately our high hopes were crushed and the sweets were the lowlight.

The Rose & Pistachio Pannacotta with Persian Fairy Floss, was probably the best of the sweets, albeit too overpoweringly sweet that it made it difficult to finish the tiny portion of it. The Chocolate Brownie Koala Donut tasted dry and cold but worst of all was the Lemon & Raspberry Zig-Zag Gumball Donut which was cold, doughy and flavourless. I didn’t even know that it was Lemon and Raspberry flavoured until I read the menu for this write up!

The gumball center of the donut was also a poor choice. Besides the fact that at the time, Siree and I thought the gumball was a jawbreaker because it was too hard for us to bite, you don’t really want to be chewing on gum during your high tea experience. Especially if you’re sampling a little bit of everything, you don’t want to have to discard an old piece of chewed up bubble gum on the side of your otherwise elegant plate. I think it would have been smarter if the gum ball was changed to a truffle type, jaffa coated chocolate.

It is unfortunate to say that it was at this point that I knew the Katherine Sabbath high tea was friend-zoned. Gone was the excitement I felt upon looking forward to the most “Instagrammable High Tea” and gone was the addictive need to taste the rest of the food in front of me, that I had felt with the savoury elements.

Service

Rating: ★★★

Good service and friendly staff. They kind of stay out of your way, which is something I prefer. It would have been nice if the waitress told us what each of the sweets were upon service – we found ourselves asking a lot of ‘what’s this?’ questions.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Pretty good value for a high tea at $43, usually most are 50+, however overall I was a bit disappointed because I expected more of the Katherine Sabbath High Tea.

The Details

Where: Westfield Sydney Level 4 (Designer Gallery), Cnr Pitt Street Mall and Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday: 10AM – 6:30PM

Website: www.theteasalon.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tea-Salon/257659904285209

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Secret Garden

July 16, 2015 Siree Leave a comment

If you find yourself wandering through the busy hustle of Newtown to the quieter edge of Enmore, you are now in the hush-hush circle of some new age food buzz scene going on every weekend.

Newtown might always take the favourite for brunch time, but Enmore is probably one of the most diverse eating areas in outer Sydney you will experience on one street. From African to Turkish ice cream, this place is the eating melting pot that enjoys a little obscurity overshadowed by its big sister next door making it peaceful and quiet – perfect for some late brunching!

The truth of the day was, we were supposed to check out some vegan food but ended up finding Secret Garden and past the vertical flower arrangements and curtained fern vines, was a cozy hole-in-the-wall that was pretty damn cool to walk away from.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★

First impressions count and Secret Garden sure does welcome you to “smell the roses.”

Every corner to the ceiling is filled with an assortment of plants both fake and real which proves, if you have a theme you better go hard or go home!

Is this a garden or some tropical jungle we stepped into?

However you may define it, the decor is a good transition from the day cafe (7am – 5pm) to the bar at night (5pm – 11pm).

Think small and cozy communal lounging or get intimate in the loveeee seater under the canopy (oh-la-la).

Food

Rating: ★★★

Browsing through the cafe menu, you’ll find your standard favourites of bacon and poached eggs to fancy steak sandwiches.

Until you see dinner.

Have you heard of ‘arepas’ before? Neither have we until we came to Secret Garden.

It’s a Colombian white corn meal pocket with filling and sounds interesting only, they serve it at night. Why?!

We gave up being vegetarians today for you~ sigh

But moving along, we chowed down to some of their other cafe grub to ease the pain.

Talyssa was in the mood for something avocado and light so the “Poached Eggs” was the obvious choice.

Recalling back, I don’t remember seeing or tasting feta or lemon oil which would have been nice.

For $16, I’d would say even with 2 eggs on top, without the other elements, it’s slightly better than your usual piece of toast.

Crushed again to hear that they sold out on the “Black and Blue” (rare roast beef sandwich), I opted for the “Montreal Ruben (typo for Reuben?)” instead and I’m glad I did.

I loved the sauerkraut and pickle combo which cut through the heaviness of the cheese and the swap for smoked wagyu instead of the usual pastrami was a good choice. It really showed off a mature side when eaten.

I wasn’t too sure about the side of Wasabi Potato Salad as I felt it didn’t really match together and the noticeable hit of wasabi was missing.

Service

Rating: ★★★

As with most, if not all order-and-pay-at-the-counter sort of eating services, you’re pretty much left alone after your interaction with the staff which is fine since the cafe vibe is very relaxed.

For the moments of service at Secret Garden, it was a pleasant experience.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Price points on the menu would be marked on the average scale for Sydney brunching.

If you want something light and simple for a weekend feed with that true “suburban local cafe” drop-by with change still left in your pocket,

Secret Garden fits the bill.

The Details

Where: 134a Enmore Road, Enmore 2042

Opening Hours: Mon – Tue: 07:00–17:00 | Wed, Thur, Fri, Sun: 07:00 – 23:00 | Sat: 07:00–22:00

Website: http://www.secretgardenbar.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretgardenenmore

Run by two travel and lifestyle bloggers, The Hidden Thimble focus’ on creating truthful and in-depth travel guides, food & beauty reviews. Enjoy drool-worthy photography from around the world!