“Chocolate Whaaat?” my sister asks when I tell her the name of the restaurant we are going to. This will be a familiar phrase repeated also when I tell M, her boys and my husband the restaurant name. This is our second attempt at dining at Chocolate Kkomz. Last week a staff member had taken our reservation and we had shown up at 1pm only to find the restaurant closed and the staff member waiting outside for us apologising profusely for taking our booking when the restaurant wasn’t open. So when we are running 5 minutes late, M texts us that she is sitting down at our booth and let us know that “Yes, it’s open!”.

Another booth

The booths are unusual, ours is like a train dining carriage and the decor is full of dark woods. Other booths bear a more home spun look with embroidered patterned cream fabric and ties. There’s an assortment of Christmas tunes playing in the background to get us in the Christmas mood. Prices change after 5.30pm by roughly 20% .

The menu is full of reasonably priced options along with some more expensive items like the $80 Pumpkin Fondue special which is poured into a whole steamed pumpkin and needs to be ordered in advance as it takes 2 hours. It’s said to be Korean fusion and indeed some of the dishes are. The waitress is lovely and patient with our umming and ahhing but we don’t see the bell on the table which we are supposed to use to get service throughout the evening.

The rules…

One thing we do notice is the list of rules (we get a hint of these when we walk into the restaurant and see a sign that says “No Prams, No Skateboards”). They emphasise that they are not a library, school or private office. There’s a minimum of 1 dish per person rule and kids that climb under and over the tables are not permitted. The boys are a bit scared of being ejected from the premises which serves to quieten them when their volume levels reach too high. Useful!

Appletise $4.50

Complimentary sides

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I am woefully tired nowadays. I envy those that only need 5-6 hours sleep. My tiredness is a result of a combination of drinking a Red Bull several days ago and subsequently not being able to sleep for 3 days as well as having little sleep due to the roadworks outside. As I live on a main road they start the roadworks at 11pm and finish them at 3am. Yes sometimes this feels like the outer ring in the Seventh Circle of Hell. So much so that when we saw them park the huge contraption that creates the noise on our street, I seriously considered taking a picture of it and selling it on ebay. My auction would read like this:

Road ripper up for sale. Pick up before 10pm at night. No key for this so you will need hot wiring skills. In very good and hellishly loud working order. 99c buy it now.

So what was my point? I’m tired and rambling now. Oh yes my point was that because of this we are meeting my friend M and her sons S and In at a rather early time of 5.30pm so that I can get back in bed by a normal hour. So at 5.30pm we are seated at the Taste of Egypt on Greenfield parade in Bankstown, staring at their huge chalkboard menu of Egyptian goodies. I spy some intriguing sounding dishes and we immediately order them with our friendly waitress who we guess is the owner of the business. She tells us a little about the dishes. Tonight unfortunately they are out of Koushery the rice dish with fried pasta and lentils and topped with onion rings. A 1000 year old dish that is usually served after breakfast or for lunch. She reads back our order and tells us that what we have is a lot but a good range of Egyptian food.

Mango nectar (left) and Guava Nectar (right) $2 each

We help ourselves to drinks from the fridge and try the Mango, Fruit Cocktail and Guava nectars, all deliciously sweet with the mango being particularly thick and almost gelatinous in the bottom of the bottle.

Fruit Cocktail Nectar $2

There is a strong takeaway trade with people buying takeaway chicken, kebabs and dips but when we smell the scent of our meals being cooked we get ravenous. Our meals come out and the boys are itching to eat but are patient while the obligatory photos are being taken.

Mozah (lamb Shank with rice) $13

This is absolutely gorgeous, the Lamb shank falling of the bone after a gentle nudge while the sauce, a strong and flavoursome mix of tomato, chili and garlic is the perfect accompaniment.
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Inside the Ikea cafe

Ikea is one of those amazing places that everyone has visited at one time in their lives. I don’t get out to Ikea as much as before and I was rather upset when they moved from the closer by Moore Park out to Homebush. It was however impossible to get a park at the Supacenta on weekends and now that parking dilemma have moved to Homebush where we’ve trolled and stalked for 3 floors finally getting a park.

Slices of Daim and Almond tortes $3.95

We’re peckish this afternoon and looking forward to some Swedish food Ikea style. We go upstairs and find a large area packed with people sitting down and ordering food cafeteria style. We get our trays and set about choosing whatever looks good. Of course I am taken with the open face sandwiches as I loved these in Finland so I choose the meatball one (fortuitous it turns out, as we learn a little later that there is a half hour delay on the meatballs).

Portuguese tarts $2.50 and Lingonberry mousse slices $1.95

My husband likes the look of the lingonberry yogurt and in an effort to try as many things as possible without stretching our belts, we order the children’s version of the fish and chips (kid’s meals, all $2.50). There is also a salmon fillet with apple but the salmon look unappetising sitting in a bain marie of cloudy water so we give that a miss. We are told that there’s no meatballs with a 30 minute wait so we decline as I already have a meatball sandwich.

Our tray of food $14.40

We also try the Mazarin (a little Swedish cake) and the Daily Dish: chicken kebabs with butter sauce and couscous. As we have a kid’s meal, we can help ourselves to a complimentary piece of fruit, either an apple or a not so great looking orange. We choose the apple. I bypass the slices of Daim torte and the Princess cake as I’ve tried both before (Daim torte-not Daimey enough, Princess Cake-delicious!)

Kid’s Fish and Chips $2.50

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