If you’re a fan of O-san, the Chinatown favourite for cheap ramen, then you’ll want to put visiting Wok and Noodle Bar at the top of your to-do list. Opened earlier this year, the menu is a more diverse and exciting list of ramen developed by O-san himself. You can also find homemade gyoza on […]

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Photo by K.Uchida In today’s post, the second part of the series Ki-Yan’s Kyoto – Washoku restaurants, cafés & shops, I am happy to introduce two branches of the popular chain of tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets) restaurants Katsukura in Kyoto – the Katsukura Kyoto Station branch and Katsukura Higashinotoin branch. In both branches you have […]

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On children’s day, Japanese people eat chimaki to pray for good health. Chimaki is a rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves.   This year my Children’s Day menu was: Sashimi (hirame, kampachi, maguro, which is flatfish, great amberjack, and tuna!) Marinated tomatoes with citrus Cooked beans Beef and bamboo shoots and asparagus fried in oyster sauce Tofu with […]

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This month, Washoku Lovers is introducing featured products! Each month we’ll be highlighting different Japanese food products that you can get in Australia which will help you whip up a Japanese feast at home. Our inaugural product is Maruko Gyoza – Japanese pork dumplings made in Sydney with 98% Australian ingredients. It’s quite impressive that […]

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May is the best time of the year for bamboo shoots. The shoots grow very quickly, so harvesting them at the right time is very important. Because of this, you can only get raw, uncooked bamboo shoots in Spring! At any other time of the year, only pre-cooked bamboo shoots are available. If you’re lucky enough […]

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Recently, Washoku Lovers was invited to visit the factory where Maruko Gyoza and also ramen noodles are made! Watching the foods be produced was extremely interesting, so let me break it down for you:   Gyoza The dumpling wrappers are a simple flour-water mixture (but the flour itself is a secret!) that’s churned in a […]

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On the 5th, 6th, and 7th of June, Izakaya Yebisu celebrated their 3rd anniversary! Washoku Lovers attended the tuna cutting show on the Friday. There was two sessions for the tuna cutting, one at 6:30 PM and one at 9:00 PM and the entire night there was a giant line extending all the way up […]

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Every year in Japan on the 5th of May, Children’s Day (子供の日) is celebrated. The aim is to celebrate boys, girls, mothers, and fathers. It wasn’t always gender neutral, though. Originally called tango no sekku (Boy’s Day) and referred to as the feast of banners, traditionally it only celebrated boys and their fathers. Girls also have […]

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On April 30, Washoku Lovers Kitchen welcomed our new permanent chef, Kanako Wada!  She specialises in decorative sushi, and is a whisky enthusiast. Her knowledge in the kitchen shows through her fluid teaching and movement around the Washoku Lovers Kitchen. With no signs of nervousness at all, Chef Kanako sat everyone down at the dining […]

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Photo by K.Uchida Hello WASHOKU LOVERS! I am honoured to be writing my first post for the Washoku Lovers blog. My name is Marta, and I lived in Japan for 16 years, experiencing many beautiful Washoku restaurants before moving to Sydney. From this post on I would like to share with you some Washoku restaurants, […]

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