I saw a review for this little restaurant on the very excellent Grab Your Fork blog, which is also where I have sourced the pic below as the owner didn’t appreciate me taking pics!

Umaimon Japanese Restaurant is right near my work, but I’ve never noticed it before as it is quite tucked away.

My friend Isis agreed to try this little place out with me. We sat down outside so as to enjoy the balmy evening air, and were presented with three menus to peruse. Lots of choices, all in Japanese with brief, and somewhat interesting, descriptions.

We ordered edamame for appetiser to shade (about $4 for a bowl), and I ordered the stir fry energy vegetables ($8.90) plus steamed rice ($2.90 a bowl). Isis ordered chicken and tofu salad. Our food arrived quickly, in no particular order, and was delightfully fresh and perfectly cooked.

My energy vegetables had a bit of a punch to them – perhaps a lot of ginger in there? – and had lots of bean sprouts, which I just love.

Isis’s chicken

The food was extremely reasonably priced and delicious. It was also packed with Japanese people, so I’m guessing it’s also a hit with the locals, which is another sign that it’s an authentic place to get very tasty Japanese cuisine.

Umaimon
Shop 5, 51 Druitt St
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9283 0606

Monday to Friday 11am-10pm
Saturdays and public holidays 12pm-10pm

I love traditional Italian food and have been wanting to try Machiavelli for quite a while. It’s on Clarence Street, Sydney, and I walk past it at least once a week.

Machiavelli is underground, which makes for an old-fashioned Italian tavern feeling. The restaurant is well-known for being the place to be seen if you’re a high-flying power-broker, and there are huge pictures on the walls of their patrons.

While some of my dining friends may have thought it was pretty “old school” I absolutely loved the food and the service. I love old world dining and delicious hearty food, so it was complete bliss for me.

I met up with Beverly and Lisa to indulge in noodles in Artarmon. The place we were heading to was actually closed on Tuesdays (d’oh!) so instead we went to Sushi-ya, which was a few shops down. Coincidently, Sushi-ya is directly across from my fave pizza place, LCC. We have often looked at the menu while waiting for our pizza, but never stepped inside.

Sushi-ya is right near Artarmon station, and is extremely popular. Because we hadn’t booked a table, we had to sit outside in a squished table – on a Tuesday night!

Ramen noodles.

My tempura was delightful, but I thought in all it was a bit pricey in comparison to other Japanese places we frequent. I will definitely be back though for another giant dish of the veges.