When it comes to sushi there's nothing I like more than aburi sushi as I'm not the fondest of sashimi because of its squishiness and raw taste. Aburi involves partially grilling the topside with a blow torch and I love the seared texture and flavour that comes from this technique. The aburi salmon belly was delightfully smokey and soft and so good with the drizzle of mayonnaise and bursts of plump salmon roe. The sushi roll itself was prepared well as the rice was soft but not overdone, seasoned with just enough vinegar and wrapped up fresh ripened cubes of avocado.

The pork belly pieces had a bit of bite and chewiness to them so don't expect them to melt in the mouth. Otherwise they were quite tender from the fat and full of flavour. I preferred the other skewer as it was incredibly juicy from the shiitake mushrooms and matched well with the flavoursome minced meat balls. All the yakitori was served with a thick miso sauce that was sweet and salty and highly addictive.

Tamagoyaki (literally 'grilled egg') is a Japanese-style omelette consisting of three simple ingredients: egg, sugar and soy sauce. Yuri highly recommended it to us so it was a must-try item. When it arrived to our table it was most elegantly presented with side garnishings of chopped shallots and grated radish. A portion of the rolled egg was cut up and turned upwards in order to showcase the intricate layers, cooking beautiful tamagoyaki is certainly an impressive skill as ensuring the egg is still soft and fluffy while concentrating on rolling the egg would be difficult to master. It was the most delicious tamagoyaki I have tried to date, a perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness assaulted my tastebuds and the egg was incredibly fluffy and creamy. Tamagoyaki was never a favourite dish of mine as usually it tends to be on the sweeter side but the one at Yebisu has no doubt changed my mind about it.

Izakaya Yebisu dish up excellent chicken meat balls. Each one was plump, bursting with juiciness and flavour and only left me wanting more. The mentaiko (marinated roe) paste was quite nice and paired well with them. It did have a distinctive fishy aroma which may be off-putting.

The skewered charred chicken wing seasoned with curry salt did not disappoint with skin so crispy and hot that the layer of fat melted in the mouth. For all the skewers there were three options for seasoning/flavouring: teriyaki sauce, salt and curry salt. Curry salt was definitely our favourite and we opted it for most of the yakitori. It provided additional flavour to the delicious succulent chicken and added some heat.

The poached egg was served to us in its own bowl and the yolk was veiled by silky egg white but not for long once we smothered the chicken meat ball with it. The minced chicken was delicious and juicy with an appreciable texture and well-seasoned. Actually, we could have done without the poached egg but I was suckered into trying something a little out of the ordinary. It didn't add much to the meat ball and if anything made it more moist which was a good thing and also made for an interesting photo.

Okonomiyaki is one of my top favourite foods from Japan and if I had to assign a ranking, ramen would take the number one spot followed by okonomiyaki. This popular Japanese pancake is commonly made of shredded cabbage, grated yam, flour, eggs and water or dashi. A variety of ingredients can be further added such as sliced pork belly and seafood. Topped with okonomiyaki sauce and lots of mayonnaise, bonito and aonori flakes, it's the most awesome savoury pancake you can have. Izakaya Yebisu's okonomiyaki was visually promising but taste-wise it was really average. It was over-grilled as the exterior was too crisp which made it hard to tear through with chopsticks and the cooked batter was somewhat dry. There was also a handful too many bean sprouts scattered on the hot plate and only served to overwhelm what was supposed to be a pancake with creamy soft innards melded with sweet and salty flavours. For a hefty price of $17.80 we only received what looked like half an okonomiyaki and the other half I can guess probably went to another table who had ordered the same dish. While the prices in general at Yebisu were quite high there was a severe lack of value for this particular dish. 

Yuri especially requested that we try the tempura ice cream which was a bargain at $2. You do need to be a Washoku Lovers member and show your card to be able to order it but membership is free. I mistakenly agreed for the tempura ice cream to come out straight away so by the time it arrived DT and I were only midway through the okonomiyaki. Crispy tempura batter still slightly warm provided a nice contrast to the cold vanilla ice cream of which ours was sadly melted. I'm sure it would have tasted even better had we got to it sooner. The chocolate drizzle completed the sweet creation and I found myself scooping up the chocolate sauce on the sides of the plate with the left over tempura and ice cream.

This was the last thing we ordered and I would have never ordered this had one of my co-workers not recommended it. My past experiences with chicken heart rendered it as completely tasteless and unappetisingly chewy and I've steered clear of it ever since. If you find yourself debating whether to order it not, take the plunge and order it. Chewy it was but that chewiness also came with bursts of flavour and hence easily went down. Thanks to Yebisu I've been convinced that this organ is very much edible and with a flavoursome marinade can be transformed into something very delicious.

Izakaya Yebisu would be the perfect venue for a night out with a group, big or small or a fun casual date night. With such an extensive range of food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available there's sure to be something for everyone and there's plenty of opportunity to share and try a bit of everything. Take advantage of the sake trolley which is carted around for the night and try the sake on offer. It is on the expensive side though so the bill will easily add up. The portion sizes are also relatively small so it's probably not the best place to go if you want to leave with a full belly without breaking the bank. What it delivers is an authentic izakaya experience with delicious yakitori. Definitely try the tamagoyaki too and the tempura fried ice cream. 

Become a Washoku Lovers member and you'll be on your way to discovering old and new Japanese eats while being able to claim discounts, freebies and/or exclusive menu items like the tempura ice cream.

To sign up: http://www.washokulovers.com/signup/

DT and I dined as guests of Izakaya Yebisu with many thanks to Yuri from SDMG Marketing for the invitation

Head chef Suzuki was working for a ramen restaurant in Neutral Bay before he set up his very own Manpuku in Kingsford and he has recently expanded to Chatswood, made possible due to the huge success of his first shop.

Shoyu gara takes their number one spot for most popular ramen followed by shio gara. We had a small bowl of each along with the tonkotsu and tori gara ramen which combined the best of both worlds and was ranked number seven. It's also affectionately known as 'ramen with the long name' because just try reading that out when you order it (and fail miserably).

We could further customise our ramen experience with two types of pickled vegetables. There was even minced garlic to be had for that extra pungent aroma.

I was afraid that the broth would be bland and less satisfying compared to tonkotsu however my misconceptions were obliterated as soon as I had my first spoonful of soup. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount and depth of flavour found in the chicken broth and with a hint of underlying sweetness. Both the shio and shoyu versions were exploding with flavour and both were incredibly good. There was an obvious difference in taste as the shoyu variation possessed a distinct and refined soy flavour and was ever so slightly sweet. I really can't definitively say one was better than the other although DT said he preferred the shio gara ramen.

Perhaps if you're not too fond of soy sauce then the broth seasoned with salt would be more to your liking. Regardless, you seriously can't go wrong with either of them. In terms of appearance, the broth seasoned with salt was lighter in colour whereas the soy broth was tinged brown. 

Thinner and straight ramen noodles were paired with the tori gara broth and they were cooked to be on the softer side but not to the point it was mushy which I really enjoyed. They truly complemented the lightness of the broth along with the wholesome juicy and salty bamboo slices.

Add extra seasoning with their Specialty Ramen Pepper which is recommended for the chicken broth. I love pepper but I haven't seen it commonly used for ramen. It was no ordinary pepper either being a white pepper laced with a mixture of powdered menma (bamboo), dried garlic and onion. The pepper and a smidge of minced garlic mixed into the broth provided some extra oomph.

While tonkotsu is not their primary focus Manpuku managed to satisfy my tastebuds with theirs. Yuri mentioned that their tonkotsu is made using a pressure cooker unlike their tori gara broth which is boiled in a giant steel pot and simmered away for hours on end to achieve that intensity of flavour. As a result, the porcine flavour was not as prominent as opposed to the tonkotsu ramen found at O-san and Gumshara and that could win some or lose some. I do find myself craving that viscous tonkotsu broth rich in collagen and emulsified pork fat now and again especially during winter but there are days where a less heavy tonkotsu ramen would be preferable and Manpuku's fits the bill.

Closeup shot

Green tea and strawberry cream mochi $2.50 each

A simple noodle dish that was perfect for a cold wintry day. Their handmade noodles were just firm enough without being chewy and slippery smooth to make slurping them up effortless. The wonton skin likewise was silky smooth in texture and wrapped up a reasonable amount of flavoursome minced vegetable and pork. The clear broth was very light and more seasoning could have been added if desired but I actually liked it as it was and didn't feel it was necessary. 

Din Tai Fung don't mess about when it comes to these dainty soup-filled morsels. They are handmade with the utmost precision and involves weighing each dumpling wrapper before being stuffed with a measured amount of filling and re-weighed again. The dumplings must meet their developed weighing criteria before being steamed for exactly 3 minutes and finally served. The quality control is what makes their dumplings come out pretty much perfect and consistent every time and having tried these at one of their branches in Singapore I definitely couldn't tell the difference.

I do have to commend them on achieving what I've encountered thus far the most delicate and thin dumpling skin but robust enough that it won't break upon taking a piece up with your chopsticks. There's nothing worse than having a soup-less xiao long bao in your grasp. Din Tai Fung also pack in an appetising pork filling and combined with the hot soup brimming with flavour I will regard their xiao long bao as perfect until the arrival of a better one. Be sure to eat them hot to completely enjoy the experience of gently breaking into the slightly tacky dumpling skin with your teeth and then be met with a mixture of hot soup and juicy pork filling. Dipping the dumpling beforehand into the vinegar and ginger soy sauce is highly recommended as the sourness and saltiness complement the xiao long bao.

A thinly tenderised pork chop coated with a golden crunchy batter came out as a main to share with DT and due to its thinness it was basically half meat and half batter so each piece was easily chewed away. Din Tai Fung dish up some mighty good fried rice. It was moist but not soggy and the fried egg and finely chopped shallots and garlic dispersed throughout made it quite fragrant. A most satisfying meal it was as I was basically wolfing spoonfuls of it down while nibbling on the tasty and conveniently cut up pork chop on the side.

These pleated parcels of carefully wrapped minced pork with whole shrimps wedged on top were good but they didn't haven anything on their tastier xiao long bao cousins. Seriously, once you've had soup dumplings there's no going back to ordinary ones. 

One of the primary reasons for wanting to re-visit Din Tai Fung was to finally try their rainbow coloured xiao long bao. Like their plain white sister each dumpling was exquisitely pleated to showcase their signature thin dumpling skin. According to the menu the colours were achieved without artificial food dyes which was amazing considering the vibrancy and opacity. Each piece was a surprise containing a different filling according to their colour, some were pleasant and some leaned towards being strange. I much prefer the original xiao long bao however for the novelty factor and for the sake of an interesting photo opportunity these dumpling gems would be hard to pass up.