Some people can’t get through the morning without a cup of coffee, but for me it’s tea. It starts innocently enough with a simple black, then irish… english, green, white, peach?! Having enjoyed a few of the more traditional High Tea offerings around Sydney I couldn’t but jump at the chance to see how a Chinese High Tea would differ from its western cousin.

Sam one day sent me a link to the Mahjong Room, asking if I was interested in playing Mahjong whilst having lunch. For most of the time, anything involving food piques my interest, but it was the thought of playing Mahjong while eating (for some reason) that really intrigued me.

Seriously, I refuse to pay a premium price for my beloved dumplings. While Din Tai Fung has grace, class and attentive customer service, Ashfield’s small and dodgy looking establishments make it close enough to being the dumpling capital of Sydney, if not Australia. Keep in mind, it’s the great tasting dumplings at a fraction of the price of Din Tai Fung which makes me coming back for more at either Shanghai Night, or New Shanghai.

Having tried the one in Yagoona previously which resulted in utter dissapointment, I was a little apprehensive about Beverly Hill’s. However, upon arrival to the restaurant, witnessing the restaurant filled to full capacity albeit on a week night, the hustle and bustle from the waiters combined with the buzzing chatting from the patrons assured me that this would be a different experience.

Bloggers unite

Being relatively new to the Food Blog scene, we were a bit overwhelmed when we were invited by Christie from Fig&Cherry to the Sydney Food Bloggers meet at East Ocean Restaurant. I saw the invite list and thought perhaps we were a bit out of our depth to be in such company with established and [...]

One of my first tastes of Xiao Long Bao was at a Yum Cha restaurant in the hustle and bustle of Shenzhen, China and then followed by a few in Shanghai. After the experience of slurping away at the concentrated soup then eating the pork mince encassed in a translucent flour skin I was amazed at how such a simple piece of food could pack so much flavour. Ever since the unveilling of Din Tai Fung (DTF) in Sydney, it appears that most people, fazed and intrigued by the Taipei restaurant chain that popularised Xiao Long Bao has flocked to it. However, what most people don’t realise is that, long before the new kids on the block dominated the scene, Ashfield was destination of choice, notably dumplings and Xiao Long Bao.

Deep inside, everyone has to have a soft spot for some crackling off a piece of roast pork. Regardless of the copious amounts of fat and calories in each crunch, it justs tastes too good to refuse.
So inspired by the glorious weather and a craving for some crispy skin pork, Linda and I made it [...]

I’m usually a bit skeptical when it comes to ‘Asian’ restaurants in an area such as Miller’s Point. Images of asian food targeted at a western demographic springs to my mind every time. Though, It’s a catch 22 scenario when your catering for the demographic of an area such as Miller’s Point. On one hand, you have copious amounts of tourist’s who might be intimated by authentic cuisine yet you have cultured Sydney local’s who prefer authentisicm over fusion …

Din Tai Fung has been the talk of the town not only among Sydney food bloggers, but also people in the CBD in general. When someone mentions dumplings, they are bound to mention yum cha … or Din Tai Fung. Din Tai Fung has finally made its presence felt in Australia by opening one of their flagship stores in Sydney. It is a Taiwanese based global franchise with a firm presence and stranglehold on the Asian market …

There are quite a few restaurants offering Yum Cha in Cabramatta, most of them requires queuing for at least half an hour. However one day we did spot a gem amongst the rubbles. A small restaurant with photos of the many dishes plastered in its front window caught our attention. Not wanting to waste our time waiting for a restaurant we decided to try Fortune 8, and we’ve never looked back.