Cookbookmaniac
  • Efendy in Balmain – Lamb Testicles… to eat or not to eat?
    Efendy in Balmain – Lamb Testicles… to eat or not to eat?
    Asian Restaurant Reviews

    "Efendy means 'Gentleman' in old Turkish. It is commonly used to describe people with traditional upbringing adopting modern views" During the Easter break I was invited to attend a food bloggers dinner event at Efendy by Simon Leong of Simon Food Favourites. The purpose of the evening was to introduce and highlight the cuisine of one of the most ancient capitals: Istanbul. I do not know much about Turkish food. My knowledge of it doesn't extend further than Turkish Delight and what is offered at the kebab shop. So, I was quite excited to attend and sample some new things. The evening was hosted by Asli and Somer Sivrioglu. The elegant Asli dined with us, whilst the jovial Somer attended to the kitchen. We sampled many wonderful dishes and had quite a few eye-opening moments too. *wink wink* We were treated to: * Three cold mezes * Three hot mezes…

  • Ichi Ban Boshi – Return of the old favourite
    Asian Restaurant Reviews

    It's a Friday night and two days before Pizzaboy's birthday. We always eat out on Friday evenings, it's our favourite method of winding down from our mundane 9to5 jobs. "It's my birthday weekend, does that mean I can choose where we eat tonight?" "Ok, but it has to be somewhere I haven't blogged." "That's not fair. I guess Menya is out of the question?" "We've been to Menya 5 times since I blogged about it, choose somewhere different." "Ichi Ban Boshi?" "Ok!" Two thumbs up. Ichi Ban Boshi was our favourite Friday night haunt before we discovered Menya. It's located next to our favourite book shop, Kinokuniya. Pizzaboy is a comic book geek. I'm a cookbook nerd. Kinokuniya is our home away from home. It's very easy for us to shop for our books and then cross the hall to have our much loved end-of-the-week meal. Ichi Ban Boshi has…

  • Gumshara – This broth is so hearty, it is going to give me a heart attack!
    Asian Restaurant Reviews

    "Hey Pizzaboy, I'm thinking I might do a theme". "Uh oh... like what?" "My search for the best ramen in Sydney" "Ok! I'm in. Where are we going!" You may have read about how Pizzaboy and I discovered and fell in love with Tonkotsu Ramen in Japan. Ever since our return we have realised that there are many ramen restaurants throughout Sydney. It was just a matter of getting out there and finding the one that calls out my name and says to me "I am the one". According to Time Out Sydney, Gumshara is one of the top 5 noodle places in Sydney. That is a very bold statement. Sydney is a city that has seen waves of immigration and now has so many authentic places to dine at, whittling the list to just five seems impossible and unfathomable. "We're going to Gumshara". "Whatshara? Gaa Gaa?" "They boil down…