Bang for your buck deal..
for thirty-five-bucks!

I’ve been reading a few entries about Cafe Ish and I do warn you to ask for permission before you photograph their food. As a food blogger, we have have to understand owners have different opinions, attitudes and beliefs towards food blogging so the best thing to do is respect their wishes.

Having said this, Richard gathered a few of us for an all you could eat rib fiesta (Note: this is only available on Wednesdays) ! Greeted by the lovely owner Josh and his lovely staff, he put on an awesome rib feast that was absolutely delicious!

Beef Ribs – Blue gum smoked ribs marinated in sake, soy, mirin and ginger finished with coriander, fresh chili, shallots, sesame and black vinegar

You know the ribs are good when the meat falls off the bone in one clean sweep. These ribs melted in your mouth and were a pleasure to eat. Flavours are a complete standout!

Pork Ribs – Blue gum smoked ribs marinated in sake, soy, mirin and ginger finished with coriander, fresh chili, shallots, sesame and black vinegar

I’m a huge pork rib fan!!!! I ate so many pork ribs I felt like I was being a scab because the bones were so big in comparison to the beef. Ribs were soft and tender, the chili bits at the bottom was deliciously tempting that I began picking bits that had fallen off the bone and into the bottom of the bowl.

Sides

Edamame beans with Murray River pink salt
When there’s meat, you gotta have greens! Edamame beans were addictive that I couldn’t stop picking at it! Probably explains why I got full quickly.

Japanese Potato Salad
Light mayo salad which was really refreshing in terms of taste. Unfortunately I didn’t get to eat a lot of it as I was saving my stomach space for the ribs

Shoestring fries!
Ribs and fries… you just can’t go wrong!!! I can’t seem to resist fries when they’re on the table.. mmm fried to perfection ^_^!

Cabbage with wattleseed mayonnaise?
At first, I was a bit puzzled by the plate of cabbage on the table but when I started to dip this in the condiment, it soon became addictive! Steph and I kept eating this god damn cabbage!

Sake
When Josh, lay the sake glasses on the table.. you could hear us girls go “awwwww I want those SAKE cups” seriously they are super cute and cool… I really do want a set!

Dessert

Lemon delicious
Perfection! – This would have to be the BEST lemon delicious desserts i’ve ever had!! I haven’t had many in my life but my goddd this was “EFFING” BRILLIANT!!!! I would love to have this all to myself! The texture melted in your mouth and the lemony goodness was mind blowing.

Chocolate fondant with wattleseed ice-cream and sour plum jam

Chocolate cake was delicious, rich and moist. The wattleseed ice-cream was my favourite. I’m in love with the texture and the taste! Probably because, I’ve been going through a wattleseed phase at the  moment. (My favourite chocolate flavour is “Wattleseed” @ Adora)

As for the sour plum jam, I thought it had an interesting taste, one which is very strong and dominating and quite strange at the same time.. when combined with the ice-cream and chocolate fondant. Nevertheless still very very good.

Wattleseed creme brulee with azuki red bean
I love the sound of breaking into a creme brulee dessert. As soon as you hear that crunch, you know your in heaven! The creme brulee was smooth and creamy and the wattleseed created a really nice subtle nutty taste which I thoroughly enjoyed

Cafe Ish
82 Campbell St
Surry Hills, 2010
P: (02) 9281 1312

I like my fried rice to have lots of ingredients. I don’t like fried rice with scummy bits of chinese sausage, egg, shrimp, etc. I prefer one that has lots of ingredients in it to make it a meal in itself! Each mouthful should have a tiny piece of everything.

There are many different kinds of fried rice. Some are bland and boring like the ones in the food court who mix plain white rice with a bag of frozen peas, corn and carrot. Some are super awesome like “special fried rice” with the lot (BBQ pork, prawn, chicken you name it.. its got it!) some have gravy on the top like Hokkien Fried rice with bits of duck ^_^ and some are different in colour such as the Thai prawn fried rice which is red.

This recipe was made for about 13 people or more for a family function held at my place. Without fail it’s a different fried rice that always gets the complements and fights for left overs that im always left with hardly any =(

What’s in it?

Unfortunately measuring cups weren’t in use its a matter of adding a crap load of stuff together! All up two large woks were used.

dried shrimp
salted cashews (raw peanut if your keen)
shallots
lap cheong (1 whole packet)
eggs (12 eggs was used in this instance)
garlic & ginger
dark soy sauce
light soy sauce
fish sauce
chicken stock

Show me how its done..

1. STEP 1: Pour chicken stock in rice cooker and wait until cooked. (You can either make yourself by boiling a whole chicken in hot water or if your completely lazy / short for time.. off-the-shelf chicken stock is also fine).
2. STEP 2: Fry eggs in a pan by making thin layers of scrambled egg omelets. More egg in the fried rice the yummier it is

1. STEP 3: Pour a little bit of oil in the non-stick wok and fry garlic and ginger until brown
2. STEP 4: Add the chopped lap cheong and fry until brown

1. STEP 5: Add the dry shrimp and mix
2. STEP 6: Once dry shrimp is cooked, add cashew nuts

1. STEP 7: Add cooked rice to the wok pouring dark and light soy sauce with a splash of fish sauce
2. STEP 6: Finally add shallots and egg.

1. STEP 8: Mix thoroughly and your fried rice should look something like below