Food & Tunes

If you’re anything like me, you will love a good chicken schnitzel sandwich, and if you love a good chicken schnitzel sandwich, you have probably tried South Dowling Sandwiches’ version of the old classic (if not, shame on you, get of your arse and go do it to yourself, now). Without detracting from SDS’s version, which does and always will hold a special place in my heart, Kings Lane is serving up some stiff competition.

My mission for schnitzel meant the menu fell foul of my attention. I did however have a few minutes before old mate got started on my lunch to watch him pull together some almighty salad that seriously challenged my desire for deep fried chicken schnitzel - about a minute in fact, which is in my view a bloody long time to toss around the idea of not having a) schnitzel and b) bread. This salad however was huge and from what I could see it had grilled baby octopus, grilled chicken, and steak (!!!) in it. I asked him what it was and while I may have misheard, I am pretty sure he said it was an “all meat salad”. It looked fucking amazing.

At the end of the day I stuck to my guns primarily because very little will come between me and chicken schnitzel once the idea has set in, but also because I wanted to ensure an accurate comparison with SDS. I, as one always should, added Swiss cheese and potato to my three solid pieces of schnitzel and lettuce encased between two pieces of bread, each easily exceeding an inch in thickness. The menu version comes with herb mayo but old mate behind the bar suggested I try herb mayo on one side and some kind of spicy mayo on the other side. It was truly sage advice and a suggestion I am only too happy to pass on. The end result was a schnitzel sandwich easily on par, if not, dare I say it, better than SDS’s version; I guess that’s why its called Kings Lane.

90 minutes after hoovering the beast down I am still full and now partially understand why (if the writing on the wall is true) a bloke recently sold his grandmother for one of these bad boys. Indeed, with a schnitzel sandwich fit for a King and an “all meat salad” do yourself a favour and, Eat Here.

Kings Lane Sandwiches

1/28 Kings Lane, Darlinghurst 

For lunch orders call 02 9360 8007 before 12pm

Food & Tunes inspired me to review a restaurant that I was fortunate enough to eat at last week.  Having sourced inspiration from their blog, I felt a sense of duty to flick it over to Jess and Naany. Whether or not I was covertly trying to pinch a spot on F&T, I really just wanted to share the love. That’s the point; people should know when a restaurant (or bar or other) serves up top notch food and service. Now that they have honoured me with the occasional cameo on F&T, I have one humble aim, to deliver clear recommendations of where people can find top notch food and service.  It is pretty simple, if an establishment delivers the goods, I’ll prompt you with an, EAT HERE.

EAT HERE:  KATSU YACHIYO

Let’s get the shortfall out of the way early (and in context, it’s a pretty short fall). Ambience. Katsu Yachiyo needs to dim the lights and play some ambient music to distract from the otherwise pretty hum drum eating environment. OK, that’s done.

Moving on to the service, the greeting was warm and friendly (as you’ll find at most sushi trains), however more personal. The chefs looked us in the eyes as they said “moshi moshi”. The waiter came straight to our table and suggested with a smile, a starter of sake. I guess it wouldn’t have taken him very long even if we weren’t one of two tables in the restaurant at the time (we booked early), as the dining space is probably about 25sqm. The waiters were attentive all night as we sat there for a couple of hours while our dishes came out in perfect sequence. Normally I prefer a few dishes on the table at once so I have the option of avoiding a dish I don’t really like. That is not necessary at Katsu Yachiyo; every dish is awesome.

That takes me to the food, the winner was the soft shell crab karaage. Drenched in an incredibly tasty sauce, it deflated me a little as I was tricked into thinking the karaage might not be that crispy. The following crunch in my mouth took me by a welcome surprise. The popcorn prawn had a similar effect. The problem with the popcorn prawn is that we only ordered one dish. For a restaurant specialising in Katsu, we probably should have ordered more however we stuck to the katsu wagyu with cheese. Not quite what I expected (despite the transparency of the name); a bit of a stoner dish, which unfortunately I wasn’t at the time. The one average dish of the night was the miso eggplant, and that’s only because it is being compared to the Toko version. Otherwise, still tasty. A mate that I was with died for the sashimi, and on the way out another personally thanked the chefs for such a great meal.

For about $50 a head including booze, eat here. 

Katsu Yachiyo

208 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills | (02) 9690 2424

Dinner | Tues - Sat | 6pm - 11pm | BYO

FOLLOW US TODAY, click ^^^ 

**As if life at F&T HQ couldn’t get any more exciting.. Did someone just say THREE HUNDRED FACEBOOK LIKES?! YES THEY DID, cue the happy dance! We have been lucky enough to bring a new contributor into the fold.. And this one is a real coup! Lisa C has straight up impeccable taste on all things from food to music and even travel and fashion. Even better than this, she is a real live journalist to boot. So needless to say we’re excited. What better than an intro from the Lady Du Jour herself**

Once upon a time I had what I called a “music blog” but it ended up just being a long, online love letter to hip hop, rap and Lil Wayne. As much as I try to be a well-rounded lover of the entire family of music, I can’t help but have a favourite kid… and it happens to be really good at rhyming.

I’ve been asked by my lovely friends at F&T to contribute to this already-amazing blog. It’s like being invited to a dinner party of a lifetime that’s catered for by Rene Redzepi and you’re standing at the palatial door holding one, sad cupcake that you took a bite out of on the way over.

Okay, that may be a little too extreme. But how do you improve on something that’s already pretty darn-tootin’ fabulous?

I’ll tell you how. More rap. More hip hop. More food.

My column will give a round-up of all the new tunes I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been eating, which by sheer volume may blow all your minds. Just saying.

To sign off, some words of wisdom derived from one of Kanye West’s legendary tweets: “Fur pillows are hard to actually sleep on.”

Yes they are, Yeezy. Yes they are.

Whether you know him as the producer/drummer of Chiddy Bang, that young kid making beats for hip-hop royalty (Kanye West, Big Sean, Beanie Segal) or the mastermind of mash-up remixes for Radiohead, Tinie Tempah, Grouplove, Rihanna, Passion Pit, Darwin Deez and a gazillion more artists, one thing is clear… Xaphoon Jones is the M.A.N… If like us, you’re lucky enough to know Xaphoon (aka Noah) on a personal level, you’ll also know that he’s pretty much the nicest, most down-to-earth, total legend we’ve met in the music game.    

Straight up - there isn’t much that he can’t do. You can add the following to his already impressive repertoire - renowned DJ, collaborator, mixtape-maestro and more recently, video director (see below)!!! That’s no mean feat for someone, who until last year, wasn’t legally allowed to drink in the United States!    

So to celebrate the release of Chiddy Bang’s debut monster album Breakfast (sitting pretty at #8 on the US Billboard Album Charts and at one stage #4 on iTunes), F&T caught up with this talented whiz-kid and asked him all the real questions… 

THE BASIC INGREDIENTS:

• My name is… Xaphoon Jones (AKA Yung Noah Breakfast AKA wads of Ca$h in my sweatpants)
• I am… A Producer / Beat Maker / Chef / joint roller for rap music’s finest
• I hail from… Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., Earth
• My drink is… Man all these rappers are drinkin’ Gin & Lemonade but I’m on the red wine bit right now
• My favourite food is… Sandwhiches.. not just normal sandwiches, some real crazy ones

THE MAIN COURSE:

1.      What meal do you crave from home when you’re on the road?

Good Jewish Deli food

2.      The best gig/show/party I’ve been to lately was… 

Our new years party at my friends house. I DJ’d for 5 hours and it was like 500 kids in a basement proper Philly style

3.      What was the best meal you’ve eaten recently? 

Jalapeno mac and cheese from Nada, a restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio

4.      Who are you listening to at the moment? 

Chip Tha Ripper and 2 Inch Punch

5.      What does the next 6-12 months hold for Xaphoon Jones / Chiddy Bang?

We just dropped this album so I have no idea, probably lots of press, more shows etc. Hopefully we get to come back to Australia soon. This USA radio things killing all my Australia vibes!!!

http://www.xaphoonjones.com/

http://chiddybang.net/

**Thanks Noah… In case you guys hadn’t heard, Chiddy Bang were scheduled to perform at the Groovin the Moo Festival in May, but unfortunately had to cancel (DEVASTATED)! Understandable though when you consider how MASSIVE they are becoming overseas (Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno anyone?)… We’re sure we will see them out here REAL soon!**  

We have emerged from the haziness of a sun-drenched Sunday afternoon at Ivy Pool… a little bleary eyed… but very satisfied… all thanks to Lancelot.    

Plain & simple - Lancelot is a star-in-the-making. In a few months, he’s already established himself as the “one to watch” in 2012. Already boasting a list of remixes that would set any indie-chin wagging (New Navy, Faker, Tim & Jean, Penguin Prison, Sparkadia), Lancelot achieved the almost-unthinkable when he took on Matt Corby’s smash hit “Brother”… he bettered it. A slow-building house-beat laced with breathless filters and spine-tingling fades adds an unrelenting mystery, whilst maintaining the pain and anguish of the original.

Yesterday marked the release of Lancelot’s debut EP, “We Can Dance” on LA-based tastemaker-imprint Binary, and what an outstanding package it is. “Spoken Word”, a chord-driven tropical disco monster, has found it’s way into the CD wallet of The Magician and fostered a lazy 20,000 plays in just over a fortnight. The title track, a dreamy lo-fi ballad that evidences Lancelot’s romantic side, has been brilliantly re-worked by the likes of F&T faves and blog-stars Goldroom and Fabian, and featured prominently in Hype Machine’s Top 10 Most Popular tracks in recent weeks.  

F&T recently caught up with this this 22-year old (scary isn’t it?) Sydney Conservatorium of Music student and asked him all the REAL questions…

THE BASIC INGREDIENTS:

    •    My name is… Lance Gurisik aka Lancelot (original I know ha!)  
    •    I hail from…  Sydney, Australia
    •    My drink is… Hendricks Gin with cucumber 
    •    Favourite food…Salmon Sashimi 

MAIN COURSE:

1. What meal do you crave from home when you’re on the road?

Well to be honest - I’m still quite the ‘new kid on the block’ when it comes to being on the road…in the foreseeable future however, I could see myself craving anything Japanese ie. Salmon Carpaccio, Sashimi, Wagyu Beef, Edamame etc…

2. The best gig/show/party I’ve been to lately was…

Was nearly a year ago now but Secret Garden Festival 2011 was hands down the best gig/show/party I’ve been to in a really loooong time - such positive vibes from everyone and 0% knob-heads, which is hard to find anywhere, let alone at a festival.

3. What was the best meal you’ve eaten recently in Australia / overseas?

I had a rack of pork ribs recently at a place in Cremorne called Radio Cairo Cafe. Had these really cool African spices going on in and around my mouth.

4. Who are you listening to at the moment?

Anything those guys over at French Express are doing and anything a-little slower and deeper - more room for the grooves.

5. What does the next 6-12 months hold for Lancelot?

I’m already well underway writing my next EP and you guys have only just been able to hear the first one ! I think I will be playing quite a lot of shows around Australia - I’ve got some cool people approaching about remixes etc. The big plan is to head over the L.A. with the release of my second EP, mid to late this year to meet my label bros over at Binary Records and hopefully do a small run of shows over there!

You can purchase the We Can Dance EP here.

**Big thank you to Lance… F&T are big supporters of local talent, and there’s no question this kid has it by the bucket-load and then some… Just remember, when he blows up bigger then Ben Hur, you heard it on F&T first!!!