Let me start off with the fries which Piccolo Me does extremely well. They're reminiscent of the classic McDonald's fries in that they're thin and crispy and then brought to a whole new level with what Piccolo Me call "Super Seasoning". The seasoning was salty with a little kick of spiciness to make the fries even more addictive than they already were but in saying that nothing beats the Red Lea chips from Cabramatta. 

As for the pulled pork roll, I was really impressed with the pulled pork itself which was extremely flavoursome, sweet but more salty and the smoked garlic and paprika aioli was fantastic. However, the rocket completely overwhelmed everything with its bitterness despite how chock full of flavour the pulled pork was.

This is how I get my caffeine hit before work, in the form of an affogato. Two scoops of hazelnut chocolate vanilla ice cream, a double ristretto, and chocolate flakes and crushed hazelnuts to garnish.  It was good at first but eventually I found the ice cream much too sweet that even the ristretto wasn't enough to balance it out. 

Cheese burger with fries $14

Nutella fried ice cream $10

Quite possibly the best watermelon shake I've ever had. Having been disappointed with watermelon shakes from other places in the past this one was certainly a surprising encounter. It was completely devoid of any pungent aroma that was indicative of old watermelon and instead was full of refreshing sweetness from perfectly ripened watermelon and of course some sugar syrup for flavour enhancing.

When I was first introduced to Thai food I had developed a strong affliction for pad thai to the level where I even attempted to make it multiple times, unfortunately coming up extremely unsuccessful every single time. For some reason, it was insanely difficult to get the balance of flavours right, it was either too sweet or too salty and didn't taste remotely like what I could order at the restaurant. Obviously I admitted defeat and had to be content with just eating pad thai at an authentic Thai place. I have since exhausted my addiction for pad thai and subsequently moved on to pad see ew which is my favourite Thai dish apart from green curry.

Twelve Spices dish up a wonderful pad see ew and it's good enough (if not better) that I wouldn't even bother going to Holy Basil again. The thick flat rice noodles were stir-fried to attain the highly sought after 'wok hei' and without it the dish would be flat and to put it bluntly, boring to eat. There was plenty of flavour from the dark sweet soy sauce and oyster sauce and I've come to prefer the saltiness of pad see ew as opposed to pad thai which is much sweeter. Pad see ew's saltiness was perfectly balanced out with a squeeze of lemon and contrasting textures achieved with Chinese broccoli, scrambled eggs and a choice of protein.

Mum and I were impressed with the large portion and even more so that every bit of the crab was covered in delectably crispy golden batter seasoned with salt, pepper, chilli and garlic. A tentative bite into the salty and crispy exterior allowed a union with the hot, juicy and succulent meat within and it was straight up addictive when dipped into the sweet chilli sauce on the side. I haven't had a particularly terrible soft shell crab before but the one at Twelve Spices was certainly on the verge of being up there with one of the best. 

The duck salad came out a fair bit after the first two dishes so by that point we were already reaching our limit for fullness. In addition, when it came to the table I was puzzled as it didn't look anything like what was pictured on the menu and I had to clarify that it was the correct dish with one of the waiters. Appearance aside, it was a delicious and wholesome salad and I was super impressed by the amount of roasted duck meat present which was also really fleshy and juicy. The duck was tossed through papaya salad, a popular Thai salad and I did enjoy them together however the only negative was that too much of it meant my tastebuds eventually became overwhelmed with saltiness from the fish sauce and crab paste and sourness from the lime juice that made up the dressing.

I'm sure I have a developed natural tendency to save room for dessert as there was no stopping me from ordering dessert even though my stomach was ready to burst. I had already decided on getting the green tea ice cream variant but knowing my luck, they didn't have any so I settled for black sesame instead. Gone are the days of deep fried ice cream balls with an ordinary crumbed batter, deep fried pastry skin surrounding a thick slab of ice cream is the be all and end all. 

The fried ice cream at Twelve Spices was pretty good but not great. Warm and crisp pastry combined with the cold richness of black sesame ice cream was delightful in the mouth but it lost points for being quite melted and it seems to be a problem that hasn't been rectified since I last had it. Recognition for the most skilfully executed deep fried ice cream has to go to Green Peppercorn or Holy Basil. How such a crisp and thin skin yet completely solid ice cream is achieved is beyond me and it leaves me utterly impressed every time when I cut through it. Kudos to Twelve Spices though for offering different and exotic flavours of ice cream while its competitors only do vanilla.

We all know how packed out Holy Basil can get and the amount of people I see waiting for a table there is ridiculous when I know a great, if not better Thai place is only minutes away. Green Peppercorn still wins my heart and stomach with its desserts but if you just want savoury food then you should be inclined to pay Twelve Spices a visit. I also love their green curry which I didn't have on this occasion but I wouldn't recommended their ox tongue as they were thickly sliced and quite chewy when I tried it. In terms of service, it was what would be expected for the restaurant, the food came out reasonably quick but not all at once and at times it was difficult to get attention as all the staff seemed really occupied.

If you were to ask me when Chanoma came to exist I wouldn't be able to give you a sure answer as this vibrant little Japanese cafe seems to have been around since forever. It can be found inside Regent Place which is a supremely popular hub that has undergone a major transformation over the years.

The decor consists of simple, clean lines, timber furnishings against green hues and bright lighting to create a casual yet modern ambience. It's the perfect destination for a quick meal, with a range of Japanese-style hot dogs and an abundance of matcha beverages and desserts to choose from.

Chanoma has introduced a new dessert selection for the summer which are the shaved ice bowls (kakigori) pictured above: Mt Everest, Snowy Mountain, Mt Fuji, Mt Kilimanjaro are the four variations available. Kakigori is a traditional Japanese summer dessert and is the perfect way to cool down from Sydney's temperamental but mostly hot and balmy weather.

With your Washoku Lovers card you can access a combo meal deal for just $8.50 which includes chicken nuggets 4pcs ($3.90 worth), Chanoma dog ($4.90 worth), and a matcha latte ($4.80 worth) or cajyutta (grapefruit juice) ($5.90 worth). The selection represents great value for money so I will definitely need to get it in the future.

I had no doubt in my mind that teriyaki chicken stuffed in a hot dog roll would taste good and in fact it was really great. One bite and I could draw similarities to the chicken rolls I would often get from the Vietnamese bakeries in Cabramatta back in my days as a student. The teriyaki chicken filling was plentiful and full of flavour from the sweet soy sauce marinade and combined with the creamy mayonnaise it was utterly delicious. There was only one downside which was the roll itself being quite tough to bite into and pull apart.

DT and I liked the teriyaki chicken dog more but the tonkatsu dog was still really tasty and I would  not hesitate to get it again after trying the other Japadogs first. The tonkatsu dog from Chanoma pays homage to tonkatsu by presenting a battered, deep-fried Kransky inside a hot dog roll. Actually, it was much like a corn dog but without the stick. Crispy and golden brown batter encased what is probably my favourite kind of sausage (besides lup cheong and Thai sausages) and I love Kransky due to its firmness and ensuing juiciness once you break through the skin. 

A generous drizzle of tonkatsu sauce and mayo completed the package and made it a very scrumptious hot dog to eat. I especially enjoyed the contrast of delicious crunchy batter against the meaty sausage and I didn't find it too oily. Again, the bread itself was difficult to bite through.

From the new menu, Yuri kindly ordered us the Mt Fuji shaved ice dessert. It was quite a big portion to share between DT and I but we managed to finish it, thanks to myself mostly. Being quite a humid night I was thrilled to have such a refreshing and yummy matcha dessert to cool down with. There was an apt amount of matcha flavour and even better that the matcha syrup was really creamy. Although it was sweet, it was perfectly balanced out by the mountain of finely shaved ice. 

A huge dollop of sweet azuki on the side was most welcome and the combination of matcha and azuki in this dessert really confirmed their marriage for me as I couldn't help but scoop up a mixture of the shaved ice and azuki with my spoon. The dango (Japanese sweet made from rice flour) was firm and chewy in the middle and a good way to incorporate different textures into the dessert which was also achieved with azuki.

DT and I also had a matcha float ($5.90) which is my favourite drink from Chanoma because it's matcha soft serve in a matcha drink aka green tea overload. The main reason why I find it so good is because it's not overly sweetened so one can still appreciate the wonderful bitterness of matcha in a muted fashion and it's also super refreshing on a hot day.

Chanoma is the go-to destination for lovers of matcha and I will always be satisfied with one of their matcha drinks or better yet, their matcha soft serve which never fails to satisfy my green tea cravings. The Japadogs would make for an excellent cheap snack or even a full meal as the serving size is decent and they taste pretty darn good too. It's an extremely popular little cafe so expect to wait around for tables to free up but on the upside, the service is very efficient so don't expect to wait long at all for your order. Head on over to Chanoma now so you can try the shaved ice desserts before they disappear as they're exclusively for summer.

Also, if you're not a member of Washoku Lovers yet, it's a great community to join if you love Japanese food or interested in trying more of it. With the Washoku Lovers membership card one can gain access to a range of discounts and even freebies from numerous Japanese restaurants throughout Sydney. It's free to join: http://www.washokulovers.com/signup/

DT and I dined as guests of Chanoma with special thanks to Yuri from SDMG Marketing for the invitation