I think that as a student or someone living in a new place for the first time, it’s really important to go out there and discover the area. This is best done as soon as possible. I believe that the better you know the place (and the shorter time that takes), the more settled and comfortable you will become with what you will then call your new home.
An essential element - at least for me and a lot of my friends - is to find food that makes you happy. Maybe I should change that a little bit. How about, to my food that makes you and your wallet happy? That sounds a lot more realistic.
During my time in Sydney, I found various places that quickly became my favorites. These places were both discovered by myself as well as recommended by friends. The best part I got out of this was the joy and feeling of accomplishment when I find something new. It’s a constant adventure to find awesome eats.
Without further delay, I will start what I believe will be part one of what I believe is Sydney’s best eats for good value.
I will start off with my absolute favourite for Japanese chicken karaage with rice. This food is called “Kimama Kitchen” and it is located in the best Asian food court Sydney has to offer, Eating World. The food court is like that you would go to in Singapore, but I think dirtier. It’s probably the same level as food courts you can find in the malls of Bangkok.
Anyhow, Eating World has many other options. They have about five or six different sellers for Chinese food, one for Indonesian food, one really good one for Thai food, one for real Japanese ramen, and a few other ones. Kimama Kitchen offers a wide range of quick and fuss-free Japanese food, for really amazing prices and really good taste. They serve a huge portion of Japanese curry with various toppings of meats. But there’s one dish that makes this place the best, the karaage rice. I used to go to this place every single week with no exception, and I would always order karaage rice with teriyaki mayo sauce. The fried chicken (karaage) here is exception. They give you so many pieces of chicken you won’t believe you’re paying less than $9 for this bowl. It must’ve been either $7. 50 or $8. 50 but it’s such an amazing deal. I would get this only with teriyaki mayo since it’s the best. I tried other ones, and they were just so so. I used to go there so often that they remembered my order. Oh, and you get a bowl of miso soup with that too. This deal is just too good to be true for the price you pay. Having lived in Japan for six years, I would say that this place makes the best karaage rice I’ve ever had in my life, hands down. You could really trust me on this one, no joke.
Staying at the same place, here’s another dish that I decided to try for a change. It was a massive plate of curry rice with an omelet blanket, and a few pieces of fried chicken on top. It was good, but I would still get the karaage rice I talked about above. The portion was gigantic and of course, it comes with a miso soup and a small bowl of potato salad and pickled ginger. It’s delicious and it’s another good option if you want to step aside from the chicken.
Another cheap eatery I would recommend is “Shanghai Night Chinese Restaurant” just outside of the city at Ashfield. Ashfield is about 15 minutes away by train and is really easy to access. The restaurant we had visited is next to a few other Chinese restaurants. We actually wanted to try another one called “New Shanghai” which is apparently very famous and does live up to the standards. Since it closed early, we decided to try another place just a few steps away. We ordered some fried dumplings, with cashew nut chicken and of course some fried rice. First of all, do not order the fried rice. It’s literally rice that was quickly tossed with some vegetables. You could see from the picture below that my description is right on. Do order the dumplings, fried or steamed and any fillings will do. They’re really fresh and super super tasty. This is the reason as to why I would like to go back. They’re just really good at making dumplings. They taste really delicious and really fresh and just really amazing. If you feel adventurous and want to head out from the city, this is an option that you should strongly consider. To get here, simply take the train and get out at Ashfield. The address for the restaurant that can be put to Google Maps is “275 Liverpool Road, Ashfield NSW 2131. ”
I’d like to go back and talk about Eating World, the food court that has Kimama Kitchen. It’s located just towards the end of Chinese closest to Darling Harbor. It’s slightly on the side so the entrance is somewhat hidden. There will be people smoking in front if that’s a good clue. If you do head over, I think it’s best you bring a bottle of water or your own drinks. This is because there are two shops selling drinks and for some unknown reason, the prices keep fluctuating for a bottle of water. Another thing if you do go to Eating World is to be patient with finding seats. It’s a food court after all, so it’s bound to get busy. The tables are a long and for sharing, so get a few friends to reserve the table while you head off to the stalls to order your food. Hygiene is not their strongest point in this food court, but I can confidently say that the Japanese place I mentioned as well as the Thai stall are very clean and are up to standards.
Otherwise, the Chinatown area has night markets on Friday evenings. I think it starts a bit into the afternoon and goes on until about 9-10. They will have stalls selling food, with representatives from Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and China. You could basically have dinner here if you want. Takoyaki, beef skewers, dumplings, soft-shell crab, fried potatos, roti. Just too many options of great Asian street foods. They also have clothes and phone accessories here. If I were you, I would definitely give this place a visit as it truly brings in the feel of an Asian night market.
Kimama Kitchen
Shanghai Night
