CeCi and Cafe Ca’D'Or, Strathfield
Koreans have huge appetites
Cravings for Korean food can be easily sated by heading to Strathfield – the hard bit is to decide which restaurant to eat at. Thankfully, we chose rather quickly (our decisiveness was most likely due to our growling stomachs), but when presented with the menu, we fell back to our old ways.
After much debating over what to order with our constraints (Ram couldn’t eat beef and I can’t take chilli as well as everyone would have liked), we finally ordered and only had to wait for a short time before the side dishes came rolling out, followed closely by our meal.
Side Dishes
The side dishes were the usual fare and to be honest, while I love most of these, they taste pretty much the same from all of the different Korean restaurants I’ve dined at; I sometimes wonder if they get it all from the same place. I must say though, I have yet to taste a bad Korean side dish.
Fried Dumplings
Dumplings brings to mind little balls of meat deftly wrapped in some sort of pastry that you’d pop into your mouth in one delicious *nom*. Imagine our surprise when these dumplings came out – they were so massive they didn’t even fit into the saucer filled with soy sauce (I know my eyes were fairly popping out). And they weren’t even round! It just goes to show that some things aren’t always what you expect, especially when it comes to food. The dumplings were filled with moist mince pork/beef and herbs, though it was its crisply fried pastry that was the highlight of this dish.
Spicy Kimchi Pancake/Pie
After much goading and coaxing, I nibbled a tiny corner and ended up gobbling the entire slice. I think this was more of an omelette than a pancake, but I could be wrong. Pancake or omelette, I quite enjoyed this dish and was rather happy that it took two back-to-back slices to make my taste buds shriek for water (which of course didn’t help that much, but the rice did). I have to admit, I haven’t tried kimchi before as all the chilli-redness makes me nervous and if I’m feeling brave enough next time it’s in front of me I will have a go at it.
Fried Rice
We ordered the fried rice to accompany the barbeque pork (below) and I don’t know if it’s a Korean thing or just the chef’s prerogative, but there were prawns and diced potatoes in the dish! Yes. Diced. Potatoes. I was rather excited (perhaps it was only because I have what my mother calls an unhealthy obsession with all things potatoes). The rice was bordering mushy, but that could be forgiven for the sheer amount of vegetables, egg, meat and seafood used and how well they all went together.
Spicy Pork Barbeque with 2 Mushrooms and Ddeok
There were two things about this dish that made me fret a bit: the humongous proportion served and how red it looked. Red food to me always signifies how spicy it is (especially when they look like chilli flakes) – a bit silly I know, but it was one of those things that was made as a measuring stick when I was a kid and has stuck around despite the many efforts made by my friends.
Why was I nervous about the size? Well, there were only 3 of us – granted two-thirds were made up by guys – and we were already well on the way to being full from the previous dishes. But guys being guys, they ploughed through it and somehow managed to finish at least seven-eighths of the meat.
The pork was juicy, even after sizzling on the hot plate for a good 30 minutes, and it was served with 3 mushrooms and about 8 pieces of ddeok to balance out the meatiness of the dish (please note sarcasm). I love meat, but there is a limit! I was very grateful for the dumplings, kimchi pancake/omelette and the fried rice to mix things up a bit.
We had a gander at the dessert offerings, but sadly nothing caught our eye (being exceptionally full makes one more picky I think). Literally rolling and groaning out of Ceci, we headed to the station to go home…
…Only somehow we ended up at Cafe Ca’D'Or, seated and perusing the dessert menu. The Pat Bing Soo piqued our interest and figuring that “king size” desserts can’t be that large, we opted for that (yes I know, we’re such pigs).
King-Sized Pat Bing soo
Sadly, we underestimated the Korean’s seemingly bottomless stomachs. The dessert, as you can see, was absolutely M-A-S-S-I-V-E. When it came out, our jaws literally dropped (I know that mine most certainly did, as well as mouthing something along the lines of “OMFG”) and we were stunned silent for a long moment.
We thought that perhaps it just looked as though there was a lot, when really underneath that layer of fruit would be all crushed ice. We looked and weren’t too sure whether to be dismayed or happy that we were proven wrong: there was more fruit and a lot less shaved ice than we expected.
Perhaps I’m more use to red beans in che form (Vietnamese sweet bean soup-y dessert thing), but I found that red beans with fresh fruit didn’t quite sit on my tongue all that “right”.
We managed to somehow make it halfway through the dessert before really having to stop – before someone blew up. I hate discarding good food (hence the stuffing), but honestly, if I had eaten any more, I would have thrown up (which I think is a big waste of food and and an even bigger no-no in my books).
CeCi is definitely a place to go to quench your raging Korean food cravings. Just remember to bring a huge appetite and an empty stomach. I have never been so full in my life.
I love Cafe Ca’D'Ors’ massive couches that you can just sink in and leisurely enjoy an ice chocolate or massive dessert with your friends. Looking at its decor, it’s definitely a place where they’re in no rush to move you out.
Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the prices for the dishes we ate, but I think the entire dinner, including dessert at Cafe Ca’D'Ors, worked out to be under $30 per person between the three of us.
CeCi
37 The Boulevarde
Strathfield, NSW, 2135
Ph: 02 9746 7710
Cafe Ca’D'Or
4 The Boulevarde
Strathfield, NSW, 2135
Ph: 02 9744 0419
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By squishies
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This article was written on 13 Jan 2009, and is filed under Dessert, Korean.
Current post is tagged
bbq, Dessert, dumpling, pork, spicy, Strathfield
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Ca’D'Or was my fave during high school. I had some good times there and then some bad… they’d kick us out unless we ordered at least 1 drink each… haha… and these days they’re on the NSW Food Authority penalty site way too often!
CeCi on the other hand is nothing but good stuff
Jen’s last blog post..Christmas at home
… Hungry now. Being capped means I couldn’t look at the photos, but that meant naught as the descriptive text more than sufficed!
When soccer season starts up again, I know what I might be trying for dinner before a cold winter night’s training… Although now I’m gladly forewarned about the portion sizes!!! Thanks! ^_^
Nice photo of the dumplings. It’s the dessert that makes me hungry though, it’s an amazing combination, and huge!
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Gelatomassi
Than dessert’s looking quite good to me, great colours. Big portions in general lol.
Miss Honey’s last blog post..Love Supreme, Paddington
The rice must have been really tasty indeed – umami rich
That is a huge pudding, lotsa fresh fruits so it’s gotta be healthy at least.
kang’s last blog post..Eat&Read (11Jan09): We have relaunch.
I love CeCi – though I tend to order all the sinfully fattening dishes, like the Korean style sweet & sour chicken and the spicy fried dumplings – hmmmmm……..
You have to get there early though, otherwise there are queues.
Walter’s last blog post..Prince Manvendra
wow that bowl of dessert is massive! that couldve been your fruit intake for like a week!
chocolatesuze’s last blog post..apple apple cake [2]
Loving the portion sizes there. I think I could take hubby and he’d be ever so happy!
And the Pat Bing Soo has to be one of the most jaw dropping looking desserts ever 
Lorraine E’s last blog post..Peking Duck Restaurant, Beverly Hills, 2209
Jen: Really! They’re on the NSWFA’s penalty site? =T Damn, I didn’t know… Seemed like a pretty neat hang out place though =)
I’d definitely come back to CeCi if I’m in the mood for Korean and in the area. Hehe
goofus: hehe should come back to see the photos
and you might want to get someone to eat with you – you don’t want to get a stitch during training because you’re so full hahah
Arwen from Hoglet K: Thanks! ^_^ Yeah, every time I look at that dessert I just shake my head – still rather amazed at how gigantic it was.
Miss Honey: Hehehe that it was =D
kang: The rice was really good! (I had to look up Umami though haha… learn something new each day. ^_^)
Hehe, that’s what I thought, “All that fruit… At least it’s healthy… I hope.”
Walter: Oooh, I’ll try the Korean style sweet and sour chicken next time! =) And thanks for the tip on getting there early – will also try to keep that in mind for next time we drop by.
chocolatesuze: hahahha I think it was my fruit intake for the month! XD
LorraineE: Hehehe yeah, I was thinking that most guys would appreciate the generous servings… they can still astound me by how much they can eat!
you know what i find funny about strathfield? i call it “korean town” but there is only one TRUE korean bbq place there………and last time i was in Strathfield that place only had one customer on a saturday night……
i’m amazed you finished most of the food! you ordered quite a lot! Usually the small bing soo is enough for a few people.
did you enjoy the ddeok? i’m curious as to how non-koreans react to ddeok.
sydneyguyrojoe: really?! interesting… what’s the name of the place you consider to be the one true Korean bbq? But that sounds kind of sad =T only one customer on supposedly one of the busiest nights of the week… hope they’re doing okay – hate seeing restaurants close, it always makes me sad.
m: hahah believe you me, i’m amazed as well. Those two guys really know how to pack it in! hehe… Most definitely will be getting a small bing soo next time =P We learnt our lesson haha.
I thought the ddeok was kind of like a really thick rice noodle and it was okay, but it wasn’t something I went back to (considering all the other dishes on the table). Will have to give it another (proper) try next time =)
CeCi! That’s my go to place for Korean food. You’ve got to try their Dukbokgi with noodles.. my housemate orders that, and only that! But, a warning, it can be quite spicy.
As for Patbingsoo, the Strathfield Square Cafe located in the square serves a MASSIVE GIGANTIC HUMUNGO bowl of patbingsoo for $35. You’d need at least 10 people to finish it, no joke. That is one bowl of goodness though!