Dining with the Pair: Kuza

There weren't a whole lot of places open on New Years Day, so when we came across Kuza in Vic Park, we thought we'd give it a go. It has a very modern and more upmarket interior, with a monochrome colour scheme and a feature wall filled with various Japanese wines and sake bottles.

The menu is quite expansive, with plenty of choice for sashimi, sushi rolls, entrees, and even lunch sets.

Our drink:

Iced rose tea

We ordered drinks first while perusing the menu, and the drink that caught our eye was this amazing iced rose tea with lychee, strawberries and mint. This was a most refreshing and tasty iced tea, especially given the high temperature that day. The tea flavour itself was very mild, but the rose and lychee was a really lovely combination. It was sweet without being sickly and the fruit added great flavours to the drink. I absolutely love rose flavoured anything, so this was definitely a winner for myself.


Our food:

Seafood pancake

Our first entree to arrive was this modern take on the お好み焼き(okonomiyaki), or Japanese seafood pancake. This particular version was quite nice, though the seafood flavour was not that strong, and the overall consistency was not as thick and doughy as the traditional ones. Other than that, it was still a nice start to our meal.

Fried crumbed oysters

This was a really interesting dish. Fried oysters covered with panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), and served with a potato and mayonnaise sauce. I personally found the crumbed exterior to be too overpowering for the oysters, however, the dipping sauce was the most delicious surprise! It tasted like a very gourmet potato salad, and was well flavoured and complemented the oysters really well. It was definitely one of my favourite touches from this place.

Crab croquettes

The crab croquettes were quite nice, but very potato heavy with barely any crab, or at least crab that could be tasted. It came with a very nice topping of mushrooms, which was cooked well.

Miso eggplant

This is one of my favourite dishes to order at Japanese restaurants! The one I like the most so far is at Satsuki, and while this one was definitely one of the better entrees, it just doesn't quite compare. Still tasty though, so I can't complain!

On to the mains! I simply had to get the うなぎ (unagi = eel) lunch set. Anything that comes in a set is always fine by me. Possibly one of the many reasons I am always travelling to Japan. The cutest touch to this set was that the 卵(egg) was branded with the restaurant's name!

Serena decided to try one their ramen. She went with the original ramen with pork. The main thing is that it came with a soft boiled egg, which not enough ramen dishes seem to come with! Other than that, the broth was quite tasty and the pork well cooked.

Overall:

The place was quite nice, and prices were pretty average, contrary to my initial impression. The dishes all came out in a timely manner, and overall it was a pleasant meal. Probably not one of my top choices for Japanese, however it was great to try a new place!

Sara

Sasa Beauty Buys

I finally decided to try buying online from Sasa.com. I'd been wanting to try for a while, but never really needed to. I figured seeing as I was running out of a few products, I'd give it a go!

In terms of the site itself, Sasa has a huge variety of products and stock many Asian brands that can be difficult to find, even online! There is free standard shipping available if your purchase is over $100, and I was pleasantly surprised that even with standard shipping it only took just under two weeks for my package to arrive.

The goods:

Charcoal toothpaste, Innisfree BB Cream, Suisse Night Cream, Marjolica Marjorca Lash King Mascara.

I've always been curious about charcoal toothpaste, so I figured this would be a great time to give it go. Apparently it's meant to be more whitening than normal toothpaste. So far I'm liking this product, but I will certainly go into a more in-depth review when I've used it for a longer period.

This was actually a free sample added into my order. I'm always up for trying out new brands and products, and I've never tried anything from this brand yet, so I'm curious to see how it turns out.

For the past two years, I have been religiously using the Etude House BB cream, which I still really like using. However, in the spirit of trying new products, I decided to try a different brand. I've heard from friends and family that Innisfree is a great natural brand that is of good quality. I'm always a little concerned about matching my skin tone when buying online, but hopefully this turns out well.

Probably my favourite Japanese drugstore brand, Marjolica Marjorca was also one of the first makeup brands I ever used when I first started using makeup. The products are always affordable and of good quality. It's been quite a few years since I last used a mascara from them, and I'd been reading about this newest formula in their range. Apparently, this Lash King is supposed to be both lengthening and volumising!

On my most recent trip to Japan, I became absolutely obsessed with collagen drinks, and got into the habit of buying one every morning to have with breakfast. Unfortunately, here in Australia, buying collagen drinks is impossible, so when I found out about this collagen and hyaluron powder, I had to buy it. It is a little pricey, at $60 for this can, however you only need one spoonful of it per drink, so it should last a while. Now I can still have my collagen drink every day!

All in all, I've been very happy with the service from Sasa, and am super happy with all my products so far! I'll definitely be posting up more detailed reviews of the products, because I really like them all so far.

Looking forward to my next SaSa shopping spree!

Sara

Beauty Buys: Shiseido Ibuki range

One of my little life problems has finally been solved! My skin hasn't been this clear in almost two years now, and it's thanks to the Ibuki range from Shiseido. I've never had acne prone skin, even throughout my teenage years, but for some reason I started developing little breakouts on my forehead around two years ago, and they would just keep returning. I have tried various brands, but just haven't been as satisfied as I have with this range so far.

Shiseido is a globally renowned Japanese brand, famous for their well-researched skincare products. Their Ibuki range is one of their newer ranges, and focuses on rejuvenating the skin by hydrating and increasing resistance to breakouts and visible pores.

My favourites from the range

I decided to test out a mini pack while I was holidaying in Malaysia, and I was so pleased with the results that I ended up buying the full size products once I returned home to Perth. I really like all the products, but I'd like to focus especially on the cleanser, softening concentrate and emulsion, which were standout products for me.


Shiseido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser:
This cleanser definitely lived up to its name by not irritating my sensitive skin at all! It has a light, pleasant smell, and lathers up into a dense foam very easily. It is very light and refreshing on the skin, and effectively removes impurities and excess makeup.

How to use:
After removing makeup, just squeeze a small amount into your hands, add water and lather into a rich foam.
Apply all over your face, taking care to gently massage the product in.
Rinse the product off with warm water.

My skin didn't feel dry or sticky at all afterwards, and the cleanser helps to prep the skin for the next step; the softener.

Shiseido Ibuki Softening Concentrate:
Used directly after cleansing, the softener is used to intensely hydrate the skin and helps to enhance the effects of the products that are used after. The Ibuki softener has been formulated with PhytoResist Complex, which is meant to increase skin resistance against pore infections and enlarging.

How to use:
Pat a small amount gently all over the face.

This feels like a more liquified version of moisturiser, and definitely feels extremely hydrating.

Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturiser:
The purpose of the refining moisturiser is to renew the skin's surface and reduce enlarged pores, clear blemish marks and combat breakouts.

How to use:
This should be applied straight after using the softening concentrate, even if your skin still feels a little wet, as it helps to lock in all that moisture.

It feels very hydrating on, and yet it is very light on the skin. For someone with dry skin, such as myself, my skin has never felt more moisturised than it has with this product.

What I really like about this range is that despite it being extremely moisturising, it never feels heavy or as if it is clogging your pores at all. My skin is no longer dry, my pores have decreased in size, and I no longer have any temperamental little breakouts on my face at all.

For more information on these products, and the other products in the Ibuki range, please visit the Shiseido website: https://www.shiseido.com.au/lines/ibuki/

Shiseido is available in both David Jones and Myer, and both offer the mini trial kits as well if you'd prefer to test out the range.

Sara