CCU Undercover: Yakiniku Koh-Ya Restaurant + Massive Giveaway!!! (Closed)

Ok, so before I begin writing about the *ahem* first AUTHENTIC Japanese barbecue restaurant in Sydney (yes, they are trusting normal civilians to play with fire and cook food), I have a massive announcement.

But before you get super excited, this applies only to Australian residents. (sorry international darlings of mine!)

There are times in life where you just want to see beauty unfold before your eyes. You want to see the colours come to life, the technique by which true art is created, and you want to sit back, relaxing in the talent.

On this one-off chance, you will also get to eat the art you see created!

Want to know, where, how and when? Well… In three weeks I am happy to announce that there is an incredible baking event being held, aptly named the

Cake, Bake & Sweets Show

From the 21st to the 23rd of March, Sydney Olympic Stadium will be filled not with sneakers and balls, but a range of whisks beating eggs, fondant being rolled out like red carpet and frosting painting the town red (or yellow, or green!) 😉

Do you want me to give you a little taste of the sweet events taking place, as well as allow you to relish the mix  of people (professional celebrity chef people) at the show? (SEE WHAT I DID THERE!?)

Coming at you fresh from the press releases, if you are lucky enough to win (or even go on your own!!), you could be enjoying a firsthand experience at watching baking demos, sampling their amazing dishes and even meeting the personalities!

Led by Chef Duff Goldman (yes, THE Chef Duff, who was on Oprah… *faints*), there is an all star cast to see, featured on Foxtel’s Lifestyle FOOD Channel internationally!

Hmmm… just off the top of my head, that would include the likes of Eric Lanlard (Baking Mad), Pick Your Poison Girls (Cupcake Wars) and of course, our home grown Macaron master, the great Adriano Zumbo!!!

But they are just a few of the all star cast at the Lifestyle FOOD’s All Star Theatre. You think it stops there? Psssht!

Join some amateur bakers (just like all of you out there!), who have made it to the top, and want to share their secrets with you, letting you in on the hows and whens! They, along with professional pastry chefs from hotels as classy as the Shangri-La, will be hosting numerous tastings and demos in the Delicious Kitchen by KitchenAid area!!

I could keep rambling on. I mean, there is the

• ‘Walk of wedding cakes’ (warning to all men… be careful!)
• Cake decorating theatre (who needs movies when you can watch frosting!)
• Bakery theatre (by Devondale!)
• Cake decorating championships (ZOMG!)
• Marketplace (sampling heaven – do not have breakfast

Seminarsanddemonstrationsonbaking&properclassestaughtbyprofessionalsforasmallfee&moremoremoremore…

Phew.. I am so out of breath right now…

Basically, I am pretty sure I have convinced you all now that you want to enter and you want to enter BIG time 😉

How do you do this, you make ask?

Well, I am offering not 1, BUT 2 lucky Aussie Sydneymen the chance to win 2 tickets each! Take a friend, OR, make it a double pass for your own special weekend, it is totally up to you! 😀

Now… make sure you increase your chances to win, it is as simple as pie!!

To Win This Prize:

1. Comment on this post
2. Like my Facebook Page and leave a comment telling me
3. Like the Cake, Bake & Sweets Show Facebook Page and leave a comment telling me 🙂

*(message me or on blog) 😀

Remember – more comments = more chance to win!!

Now I know my commenting for a select few has not been working, but I have turned off the function right now which forces you to put your name, email and/or website in. It is all I can do now, unfortunately!

1. You should be able to comment that way
2. It calls you ‘someone’ so please leave your name and email at the bottom of the comment so I can contact you

I am currently investigating extra comment plug ins, but if it still does not let you, feel free to message me on my Facebook Page and I will manually add your comment(s) in 😀

How will I be choosing? Twice, I shall hit the random comment selector, and from there, all you can do is touch a lot of wood for luck!!!

What are you waiting for now?? GO AHEAD AND ENTER! Good luck to you all and I wonder who I shall be seeing there… 🙂

This competition closes by Sunday 9th March, 7pm. This competition is for winning tickets only, all other costs must be individually made. 

And now… the post… 😀

**********************

CCU had hands covered in blisters. She could feel the Samurai’s fire stinging it even now, but she forced herself not to cry. Sometimes when she slept, the hot metal she had once held still leapt out of her memories to become part of her reality again, until she woke up, in the sweat of dreams. 

She groaned. How could she want to return to somewhere the flames licked at your face, as you desperately poked around for food.

Oh. That’s right. 

Because the food was so, damn, amaze balls…

**********************

Now, contrary to my alter ego’s highly embellished tale ( I promise you some stern words will be had with CCU!), there were no blisters, no flames licking my face or any dangerous fire of any kind during my brother and my visit to this restaurant. Nope, just a full stomach, delicious aftertaste and Japanese ninja stars in our eyes 😉

You know how last post, I was talking about fro-yo and Mooberry’s launch? Well, after the immense sweetness we tasted, we still needed to get dinner! And so we ended up walking down the road to the car when suddenly, a whiff of deliciousness came rising out of the flames we could see at customers tables. See… when my brother and I communicate, we just… know. One look told us both that we were eating at this restaurant tonight.

It was a do-your-own Japanese Barbecue. How could it possibly NOT be cool!?

And my brother likes it a bit more because Miss Universe/Australia walked down the street on her way back from the launch and the restaurant happened to be on the way. I may… or may not… have seen some calamari drop out of his mouth 😛

But moving on… We were seated initially inside, a grill inbuilt within the table, before moving outside when the fire looked cooler against the night sky! Chopsticks promptly delivered, a mobile grill placed in front of us and then I had to ask for a fork…

Because being a chop-sticker doesn’t work for my not so nimble fingers 😛

I was really hungry at this point. So hungry that I was genuinely contemplating eating the lemon dipped in soy sauce and chilli from the cute condiments dish placed before each of us.

But I was strong. And for good reason too.

We ordered three different barbecuing items. First up was the Barbecue Calamari ($6.90). It came on a bed of greens, already marinated, with crunchy onions on the side and scattered with sesame seeds. Aesthetically pleasing and asking to be cooked!

Look at it go, flame high and all! This was actually almost a learning experience, because the first couple of calamari my brother cooked were equivalent to rubber bands. The taste started to become excellent, when he cooked it on a lower heat, for a little less time. Just translucent = done 😀

But it was obvious just how fresh the calamari was!

Next up, my brother ordered a dish close to his heart… Barbecue Chicken Wings ($6.90) – why is it close? Because it has chicken. That is it. It came smothered in barbecue sauce, and looking all tender, sitting and waiting to be cooked.

Tensions were high in learning to cook chicken for the first time. I don’t think we got it quite right until the last one, where it was charred a little, but was cooked inside and still soft and chewy (brother’s words)

Now, as if I would let him have all the fun of the barbecuing! NO! We also ordered the Barbecue Assorted Seasonal Vegetables ($8.80) which came with the likes of thinly sliced carrots, corn on cob and of course, capsicum, mushrooms and cabbage.

It went rather nicely with my brother’s meat, while for me, despite having a natural aversion to vegetables in general, it tasted delicious on its own or drenched in chilli powder, lemon and soy sauce 😉

Albeit, we definitely did not grill the potatoes enough (they were still a little tough in the middle) and dulled out carrots (they were almost see through!), uneven cooking did not get the best of us when it came to the corn.

Look at that corn. Oh my.

And I also never realised this but I enjoyed cabbage. A lot when it is grilled 😀

Ok, so don’t judge me, I am a growing girl. Vegetables were never going to be enough to sustain my jelly tummy. And I am not even ashamed 😛

So I also ordered the most exotic type of noodles I have ever eaten. They were cold, salty and tasting of soy sauce, laden with marinated vegetables. And despite how it sounds, despite the seaweed stuck in my teeth after, these Bibim Noodles ($11.60) were absolutely delicious!

The egg noodles, though cold as per their style, were soft and tasty, and the vegetables like slices of bok choy were marinated perfectly to go on the side! There was also another type of noodle on either side of the main egg noodles, very thin, similar to vermicelli, though I didn’t prefer its salty flavour that much.

General Overview:

• Awesome ambience filled with fire all around and people laughing 🙂
• Good service, though a bit slow at times to refill water or to ask for something
• Overall Rating: 8/10
• Would I go there again? In a heartbeat 😀
• They also have really good deals for buffets per person!

Address:

Shop 1, 9-17 Young St.,
Neutral Bay NSW 2089

Phone Number: 02 9904 5036

Websites:

• http://www.yakiniku.com.au/kohya-syd/
• http://www.yakiniku.com.au/menu/Koh-ya_syd_Dinner_menu.pdf

Till next post sweeties 😀