For those that don’t know, I’m Australian-Chinese.

However, my Chinese is notoriously bad. I can hold a conversation with people in a few dialects but I can’t read or write. Also, my parents left China relatively young so their vocabulary is under developed and out of date. So how bad do you think that makes me considering that’s how we communicate at home?

Fortunately for me, I found new avenues on expanding my arsenal of Chinese words: Hong Kong triad movies.

One expression I picked up was ‘dog dog.’ I’m pretty sure it meant stupid or idiotic. Any time someone would so something I thought was a bit on the dumb side I would call them ‘dog dog.’ Most of the time they were confused as to why dropping cutlery or tripping over meant they were acting like canines but eventually they caught on.

You know what isn’t on the dumb side? Eating at Dog Dog Japon in the CBD.

(Heh).

Do you remember when the only place you could get a hot dog was Harry’s or at your neighbour’s BBQ? Australians love sausages so much that ‘sausage sizzle’ was a trending topic on Twitter during the elections. We’ve been ready for premium hot dog places for a long time and business owners are starting to give the people what they want.

Harry’s is constantly expanding.

Snag Stand is one of my favourite restaurants. Period.

Chanoma cafe is offering premium choices.

Now Dog Dog Japon enters the arena in Skyview Plaza close to Event Cinemas on George Street.

What has it got to offer? Well, they actually have a pretty sweet offer on right now that I chose to take advantage of:

As you can tell by the promotion, they have quite a large selection of heated canines on offer. I had no idea which scorching poodle I wanted to start with so I basically picked my choice of blazing labrador at random. I picked a couple and the lady sensed that I had a penchant for binge eating and asked if I wanted anything else. So, I picked a couple more warm chihuahuas and was ready for my meal.

Ok, I’ll stop with the hot dog synonyms. That was a bad idea.

First up were the chips:

Look, you can fault them for their lack of creativity when it comes to seasoning but do you really want to insult salt & pepper? Salt & pepper have been together longer than the Clintons. The Clintons have seen a lot of hot couples go by but yet they remain resilient and strong. Also, everyone who bet on Bill & Hilary Clinton being my first political references are now very rich people and have strange gambling habits.

The chips were a solid way to start the meal. They were crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and seasoned with a classic combo. No faults here.

On to the main course(s):

Almost all the hot dogs on the menu come with an option of either ‘short’ or ‘long.’ I intended to order a few short options and try them all but accidentally ordered a couple of long ones too. This has already been declared the most delicious problem I’ve encountered all year. Pictured above is one of the ‘short’ options and it was quite a tasty morsel and would make a great lunch for someone not overly hungry. The chicken was very moist within the classic karaage batter and worked surprisingly well with the mustard and tartar sauce. I also detected a strong soya sauce kick which I’m guessing is the foundation of the teriyaki sauce.

I would’ve loved the condiments had been replaced with Japanese mayonnaise but hey, it works.

Next dog:

Ahhh the classic hot dog with cheese. You’re not going to believe this but I didn’t manage to have a single hot dog when I spent some time in New York last year and have cried myself to sleep in a puddle of regret ever since. Consider this a small way of making up for my complete oversight.

The kransky sausage was really tasty. Some sausages have a tendency to be overly salty but this one was perfect. The curry cabbage was really good and I much prefer that choice of topping over onions. It was a perfect blend of flavours and then you decide to add cheese to it. How do you add to perfection? Just add cheese.

I should clear something up. I did go with someone else, ok? I know I’m called iFat but I didn’t eat four entire hot dogs myself….I ate about three but still.

The teriyaki chicken was pretty good. The chicken itself was very tender but a tad bland. The rest of the ingredients within the bun are what boosted its overall impact. A one man team is hard to find in the culinary world, you’ve got to have a supporting cast to make my taste buds squeal with delight.

The final dog:

I haven’t mentioned it yet so I’ll mention it now; the buns were the same across the board and they were decent. Most cafes and restaurants are going with brioche buns nowadays but Dog Dog Japon went with a classic. I think I’ve been spoilt when it comes to bread because I’ve been at Chur so much but I thought you guys would like to know.

The potato and beef croquette was my least favourite dog of the night. It would’ve been a star any other night but the rest were all superior. If these hot dogs were the Beatles; my karaage dog would’ve been John Lennon, my kransky would’ve been Paul McCartney, the teriyaki chicken would’ve been George Harrison and the poor potato and beef croquette would’ve been Ringo Starr. He would’ve been the draw card for any other band but tonight was not the night.

Here’s the TL; DR for everyone wondering how many species of dogs I was familiar with:

– Salt & pepper = together forever.

– Chicken karaage hot dogs are now a thing. Thank you hot dog Gods.

– Did anyone else think of John Krasinski from the Office when they were looking at the kransky sausage? No? Guess it was just me

– Take advantage of Dog Dog Japon’s offer before the end of the year!

Dog Dog Japon, CBD

Shop 6, 537-551 George Street  Sydney, NSW 2000

Opening 7 Days a Week:

11:30 am ’til 10:00pm

 

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