The logic is simple – the quality of the dumplings is just as good out west and the prices easily 2/3 of what they would be in the city. A few emails later and we’ve got a group of 5 tagging along with us to our favourite Ashfield restaurant, Taste of Shanghai. It’s been a while since our last visit and the restaurant has been renovated in our absence, the counter top is sleek and the menus are now sadly missing all photos, but the food remains as good as we remember.

Xiao Long Bao, 8 for $8.80

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Bayon Noodle looks like a new Chinese and Cambodian restaurant. Cambodian food is difficult to find in Sydney, however if you are in Cabramatta, there are atleast half a dozen decent ones.

Green papaya salad

This is the Vietnamese version with a generous array of fresh papaya, mint and basil, fresh prawns, crushed peanuts, pork belly. The best way to eat this is to pour in the bowl of fish sauce and toss the salad altogether. In terms of taste, it wasn’t too bad, lacking a bit of ‘kick’ but then again I am comparing it to Thai/Lao papaya salads which are extremely pungent and flavoursome.

Khmer bbq herb beef w/ pickles

Tender beef grilled with unidentified herbs and spices and a side of cold pickles, what more could you ask for ? It’s the perfect contrast of smokey warm beef with the cold and crunchy pickles.

Nom Ban Jok (Khmer herb fish paste w/ vermicelli noodles)

This was surprisingly one of my favourites. A spicy coconut based soup with copious amounts of pungent fish paste and other ingredients touched every one of my taste buds. What makes the dish is probably the side of salad with it’s different textures. Off the top of my head I spotted cabbage, cucumber, bean sprouts, and chives.

Salt and pepper squid

A very light batter compared to other versions I’ve eaten, which is great. I could spot and taste huge bits of freshly cracked black pepper, definitely putting the ‘pepper’ in salt and pepper calamari. Though one thing I did notice was a few prawns on the fish, maybe they ran out of calamari ? But I’m not complaining too much. This was another dish served with a side of their house pickles, great combination. The sourness of the pickles offsets the saltyness of the calamari perfectly.   

Chive dumplings

I don’t have a picture of the internals, but imagine a sea of green chives and not much else. Being of Teo Chew descent, we live and breath chives (literally). While they are detrimental to our breath, they are bloody good. Pungent chives are encased in a dumpling and then lightly pan fried to give it a bit of crunch and texture.  

Salor Gor Gor (Khmer hot pot)

 This was another traditional khmer dish and one of my favourites as well. It’s a soup based dish with braised vegetables such as eggplant, tender pork belly and some berries/beans which I’ve seen in some Indian dishes. It’s a hard dish to describe, but flavourwise it’s full of different herbs and spices which touched every corner of my taste buds. It’s a dish you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere apart from a Cambodian restaurant.

Stewed duck noodle soup

The perfect winter dish, fall off the bone stewed duck in an amazing soup full of duck flavour. The duck leg is braised in different herbs and spices, I can taste star anise, cinammon and 5 spice amongst others. On the side is a crunchy piece of prawn cracker, it’s all about the textures.

Bayon Noodle is the new kid on the block in Cabramatta. There are about 2-3 very good Chinese Cambodian restaurants within the vicinity and you’ll see locals dressed in their home clothes slurping away at noodles or hearty rice dishes. It’s going to be tough for Bayon to differentiate themselves, but I think they are on the right track. The decor inside is a lot cleaner and modern than the other places and they have the advantage of Merrick Watts and his family eating there a few months ago!

Bayon Noodle
233 Cabramatta Road, Cabramatta NSW 2166
Tip : It’s in an alleyway off John St, on the same side as Commonwealth Bank and Gloria Jeans.

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Me : ” Damn another dumplings place in Ashfield ?? Yeah sounds awesome we can do Friday if that’s cool ?

Mate : ” Yep, I’m free … call a few of the boys over too so we can try most the menu “

Me : ” No worries I’ll let them know, we’ll bring over a few drinks too. Just a warning we may be a bit rowdy from Friday night drinks before hand “

It’s quite funny when a quiet Friday night with dumplings turns into a twenty five person birthday party. My mates and I were planning on turning up in our comfortable bogan attire on this cold Friday night, only to receive an email saying that my mate has organised an impromptu birthday party for his girlfriend with their friends. Somehow, our three bottles of cider wrapped in paper bags wasn’t quite going to cut it as a gift. Either way, we rocked up to what turned out to be a pretty good night at a restaurant which exceeded our expectations. You can never have too many dumplings, right ?

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Post tags: dumplings

I was in danger of doing it again, but it’s a good thing that I’m eating with people who’s assertive with what they want to order. It didn’t take us long, then, to decide on what to order and for Lynda to order (in Vietnamese, no less) to our waitress. I listened enviously as she confidently ordered our dishes. Whenever I attempt to order in Vietnamese or Cantonese, I’m so conscious of how stilted and Aussie-fied my pronunciation is so I sometimes stick to pointing and saying the dish’s English name.

Braised Scallops with Snow Peas ($17)

F couldn’t pass up this dish when he saw it on the menu – he literally gasped and stated that we were ordering this dish in a tone that brook no argument. I have no arguments here, I adore scallops with snow peas – a dish that my father used to make all the time at home.

It’s been a very long while since he’s made this dish, but with one bite, it all came back to me in a rush. The well-seasoned scallops were soft and juicy, while the snow peas provided a fresh, crisp, crunchy counterpart.

Crispy Skin Chicken ($13)

They say that the skin is where most of the fat is on the chicken; they say that when you’re dieting to fit into a dress for an up-coming wedding that you should forgo eating that skin and go for the leaner option of eating just the flesh (if you must eat it at all that is).

Clearly whomever said this hasn’t seen just how deliciously and invitingly sinful this crispy skin chicken looks. Surely they can’t resist something that looks like this. The chicken is pretty much WYSIWYG: totally crispy skin barely draped on succulent, juicy meat.

Sigh. It was totally worth the amount of exercise needed to work off the piece I ate.

BBQ Beef in Lemon Sauce ($13)

This is David’s and Lynda’s favourite dish from My Thuan; they order it every time they come here. F thought it was so tasty and different with its perfectly-seasoned, tender beef that has a slightly acidic tang.

Don’t be fooled by that big pile of beef though: most of the dish is butter lettuce.

Soft Shell Crab ($20)

The amount of soft shell crab was amazing for the cost – comparing it to the barbecued beef, there seemed to be a lot more crab than beef for a fraction more.

I think this is the first time I’ve had so much meat in a soft shell crab dish; bite after bite, my mouth would be filled with soft, well-seasoned crab meat. Nom nom nom. I think F and I hoovered up this dish, unable to resist from coming back for more.

Stir Fried Morning Glory in Salty Bean Curd ($9)

I was expecting to see chunks of salty bean curd peppering this dish for some reason and I so was a bit disappointed that there weren’t any. The salty bean curd flavour was definitely there though, as was the ginger flavour. What I originally thought were strands of noodles were actually terribly thin slivers of ginger. I half marvelled at how they got it so thin and was half annoyed that I would have to meticulously pick them out before eating the greens.

I wasn’t going to have dessert, but F was the devil sitting on my shoulder and I found myself ordering two che ba mau, a “three-coloured” sweet bean dessert with coconut and shaved ice. I was so excited about eating it that I totally forgot to take a photo of it until we had cleaned out our tall glasses.

My Thuan is located at the corner of the perennially busy artery that is John Street and Hill Street. The service is slightly better than your average Chinese restaurant and a lot more attentive too.

I was determined to reach my goal by the weekend that followed this dinner, only to be foiled by the simple, delicious food… but my goodness, it was worth every bite.

My Thuan
117A John St
Cabramatta, NSW, 2166
Ph: (02) 9728 9843

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Post tags: beef, Seafood

Teresa is a very dear friend of ours, someone who we love and can always count on for a random comment which will crack us all up. She’s also a member of es&t, often looking for the next best Japanese restaurant in Sydney. Recently, she left the sunny shores of Sydney for a 12 month career break in New York City. We wish her all the best and we can’t wait for her to come back with Momofuku cookies and Hershey’s chocolate!

Mojito

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I’ve been to Ashfield, Burwood and Chinatown for dumplings during the winter months but I always seem to come back to Chinatown Noodle Restaurant. Having spent my Uni days near the Chinatown area, visits here were few and far between. We use to eat around UTS meaning apart from the UTS broadway campus food court, we would frequent Subway, KFC, McDonalds and Ogalos quite regularly. Little did we know that Bourke St Bakery had a sister store nearby. If we felt like Asian food, we would goto Market City food court for some Mongolian Lamb hot plate or dodgy Laksa. Little did we know that hidden away were several dumpling houses such as Chinatown Noodle Restaurant near by.

The restaurant is nestled between Menya and a few Taiwanese eateries. The place next door usually has massive queues, from Students to curious first timers who we noticed were giving the restaurant a go because the queues were long.

Special braised eggplant $10.80

Some of the guys weren’t too excited when I said I was ordering braised eggplant, their opinions changed quickly after their first few bites. The eggplant is braised, resulting in something fleshy and soft however the outside is slightly crispy. It’s a bit like a banana fritter where you get a nice country exterior but a warm and moist banana flesh inside. This is my favourite dish on the menu, one of the few which are on my must order list.

Steamed pork & chive dumplings ($8.50 for 12)

My favourite combination of all is pork and chive, despite the guaranteed ‘breath test fail’ which chives give. There really isn’t much to say about this dumpling, that it is light on dumpling skin and generous on filling is good enough for me.

Jellyfish salad ($9)

To break things up a bit we order the jelly fish salad which has an abundance of cabbage, cucumber and jellyfish. It’s a refreshing dish, plenty of crunch and a bit of a sour kick with the vinegar based sauce. It’s served cold and it is very refreshing.

Salt and pepper crispy pork $13.80

I love the fried varieties of pork and chicken, with my favourite being fried salt and pepper spare ribs. Unfortunately, the pork here is nothing special with the batter dominating the pork. The serving is generous though, we find ourselves snacking on the pork at the end of our meal while chatting about office politics and shenanigans over tea before heading back to work.

Chinatown Noodle Restaurant
8 Quay St
Haymarket NSW 2000

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As part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, Zensation in Surry Hills is holding a number of Chinese High Tea sessions, an enjoyable 2 hours which serves nicely as an introduction to a few of the different Asian varieties of tea. Starting with a ruby red Hibiscus Flower tea our Host (and store owner) Raymond Leung gave us a brief overview of the teas to be served and introduced his staff members (two of whom are incidentally  his daughters).  His passion for teas is clear in his voice and the store clearly reflects his background in interior design with wonderfully whimsical lanterns strewn about the store, fabrics and colours bringing the small store to life.

A total of 6 teas were served all with accompanying side dishes, the staff were kept busy moving around the store for the relatively large group of approximately 20 people. As each tea was served to the tables Raymond would relate a little about each tea and explain the history behind each. One of the staff members demonstrating was a qualified Tea Ceremony master and it was truly mesmerising watching her technique as she prepared each tea without hesitation, her hands moving with a swift precise motion.

I find that trying to describe the taste of tea to people is almost impossible for me. I can’t seem to describe the taste of tea as clear and defined with a musky scent without feeling a bit of a twat in the process! One of the things I love about tea is that it isn’t all about the taste, it’s the atmosphere it creates for me while I’m sipping at one of my favourite brews and that was very much what this High Tea experience tries to create for you.

Hibiscus Flower Tea

White Peony served with Assorted Chinese Almond Cakes

Eating these Almond cakes was a blast from the past! I haven’t eaten them for years and the first bite took me back to being a kid and prying open the tin box to get at these crumbly almond cookies. The almost drying sensation of the cakes made it a great match for the mild white tea.

Zensation Jade served with Edamame

Despite the Japanese snack, this particular green tea originated from the North West region of China.

Milky Oolong served with Custard Egg Tart

My favourite tea of the day! Following a rather elaborate preparation the tea is then poured into the taller cup (male cup). The round cup is then placed on top and the entire set up flipped over to be drunk out of the smaller cup. The tall cup retained a beautiful floral scent and the resulting tea was amazingly fragrant with a strong enough flavour to compliment the egg tart.

Pu-Erh served with Steamed Dim Sum

The Pu-Erh tea is fermented for a number of years and is stored in cake form. The resulting tea was a deeply dark brown colour with an almost earthy taste. The leaves which result from the cake can be steeped up to 10 times without any loss in flavour.

Bouquet Tea served with Rice Dumpling

Our final tea was a beauty! Also known as a blossoming tea, a tightly stitched together flower with needles of tea is placed in the pot and slowly unfolds as the heat starts to penetrate. Despite its visual appeal it was probably the weakest tea of the lot and apart from the sheer fun of watching it unfold found it rather forgettable.

As an overall introduction to asian teas I found the session a lot of fun. I’ve tried a lot of these varieties of teas before but getting a quick history behind the teas as well as just relaxing in the rather eclectic looking shop made the two hours almost fly by as I simply chatted to L as we enjoyed our tea. For people interested in something a little more in dept, Zensation are looking into starting a Chinese Tea Appreciation Course! Details are hopefully coming soon. 

Zensation are running the Chinese Tea Appreciation courses as part of the Sydney Chinese New Year festivities. Bookings are essential and sessions are $30 per person and include a 20% voucher at the end.

Zensation
656 Bourke St
Redfern, NSW, 2016
Ph: (02) 9319 2788

Chinese High Tea Details

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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. Despite having a Chinese background, I have never played this age old game before (I don’t really see the tile-pairing matching game on the computer to be ‘true’ Mahjong).

I know, shocking, isn’t it?

It’s been a while since I went and have unfortunately forgotten our host’s name, but he gave us a brief introduction to the history of Mahjong, then proceeded to go over the main objectives and rules. We were to learn the very simplified version of Mahjong, as we only had two and a half short hours to learn and play it (and it’s less confusing what with not having to worry about the points system).

It was a bit hard to fully understand it a first, but both our host and Sam assured us that as once we started playing, we’d get the hang of it.

Oh noes! It/'s crooked!

We first played an open hand to get us used to the rules (and kind of have more of an idea of what the heck we were doing), which Ram won.

Our host would walk around to the tables, helping where confusion reigned and explained a lot of things, but we were rather glad that we had Sam – it was as if we had our own private tutor! Hehe, technically we did.

Absolutely love doing this! So much fun

We were served tea as soon as we were seated, but during the second (but now closed hand) game, we started to wonder when they were going to serve lunch – I, for one, was rather hungry (not having had breakfast and all).

It wasn’t until we were almost finished with our second game that our first dishes were served. We then realised that while the table was perfect for playing Mahjong, it wasn’t near big enough to eat at, at the same time. Our dishes were placed on any free space and, lacking that, on top of the tiles.

San Choi Bao (with Vegetables)

Our host had come around and asked us if we had any special dietary needs – Ruby raised her hand and said that she’d prefer not to eat meat, but seafood was okay. I thought it was nice that they remembered she was the aquatarian on our table, so all the special dishes were placed in front of her.

Ruby tells me that the vegetable San Choi Bao was quite delicious and I could quite help but be slightly envious by the generous portion size: she had two bao’s to our one-each.

San Choi Bao (with Chicken)

We were given bowls and chopsticks, but it was a bit awkward with the lack of room to put anything down. I’m quite sure I used the bowl to capture any errant saucy drops from the bao.

I loved how crisp the fried noodles were and how the sauce didn’t overwhelm the flavours of the moist chicken or fresh vegetables, but rather, it enhanced them. It was quite a joy to eat.

Or maybe it was so because we were quite hungry. Either or, we loved the San Choi Bao and ate it with much gusto.

Shallot Pancakes

Being not the biggest fan of shallots, I wasn’t expecting to like this dish – I love being proven wrong when it comes to food. The pancakes were made just right, so that it wasn’t over powered by the shallots, but it wasn’t hiding the flavour either – allowing the shallots to subtly add to the overall taste.

There was a tomato dipping sauce, but I didn’t think it added anything to the pancakes and was just as good eaten plain.

We got two slices each (I think one was eaten prior to the photo being taken *shake fist*).

Boiled Vegetarian Dumplings with Choy Sum, Black Fungus, and Pressed Tofu (I think)

These were lightly flavoured and while it was pretty decent, it wasn’t as memorable as say the San Choi Bao.

We got one each. There seems to be a trend of eating one of everything – in a way, it was such a teaser, kind of like an amuse bouche (hehe I’ve been watching Top Chef lately and just wanted to use it, my bad). If anything, it was making me more hungry rather than filling me up!

Tiger Prawn and Chicken Wontons - Minced Prawn and Chicken wrapped in Crispy Pastry

I personally adored how crunchy the wontons were, and they weren’t overly oily either. The slightly sweet-sour sauce nicely complimented the contents within, which tasted quite fresh and well-cooked (succulent, not rubbery).

Definitely wished I had more of these to eat.

Xiao Loong Bao - Shanghai style steamed Pork Dumplings

I can never get over how cute these always look (yes, even the mangled one on the right).

The broth inside was a little salty, but the meat wasn’t too bad though it wasn’t quite up to the standards of the bao from New Shanghai or Din Tai Fung.

I’m quite sure Ruby got something else since this was pork and she absolutely abhors the taste, but I must not have taken a photo of it… *gasp* Terrible! I’m not certain why I didn’t – I’m sure I had a good reason… I hope. Sorry!

Blue Swimmer Crab Gow Gee - Poached Dumplings served in Light Broth

More dumplings! These were okay, but sadly it was the last dish (I think we were a bit crest-fallen at the fact).

The dishes had consistently come out quickly once we started eating, but so involved in our game were we that we didn’t realise that they had stopped. We kind of looked at each other and wondered if that was it. Sadly it was.

(And sadly, we were still hungry).

We managed to squeeze in two more games (in which Ruby and I won respectively) before the end of the playlunch session.

The Mahjong Playlunch sessions run for 2.5-3 hours and cost $36 per person, which includes the dim sum “nibbles” (which I’m quite sure they’ve amended since last time I checked the website – if I had known, I would have eaten something beforehand!) above. Check the website for the dates of the sessions, as there are only 2 sessions held on every second Saturday of the month this year.

Booking is essential, where you must book in groups of 4, 8, or 12. I initially emailed them for a booking, but was politely requested that I call in, as they grab your credit card details in the event of a cancellation (full cost applies if cancellation is within 3 days of the session, or something like that).

Mahjong Playlunch
312 Crown St
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
Ph: (02) 9361 3985
Web: http://www.mahjongroom.com.au/

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday, 6pm to 10.30pm

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Post tags: chicken, dumpling, pork, Seafood, Sydney, Sydney, Surry Hills

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. 

This evening, we duck in for a quick dinner. It was 6.30pm on a Saturday evening and I was already moaning about the potential lining up we had to do. When we arrived, I was amazed that there were only two tables occupied throughout the entire restaurant. Credit crunch anyone ?

There is always a man in the corner sitting down hand making the dumplings. His routine is robotic, his dumplings are consistent. I’d be surprised if he couldn’t roll me a dumpling with his eyes closed.

Not long after we order, our first batch of dumplings arrive. The service at Shanghai Night is quick, even when it is packed to the rafters.

Steamed Shanghai style mini pork bun $6.50 (Xiu Long Bao)

These tiny packets of goodness retain the contents of their soup 99% of the time. The other 1% requires some delicate handling to ensure the dumpling isn’t seared by the carelessness of one’s chopstick handling. Our dumplings arrive looking incredibly fresh, still steaming out of it’s bamboo steamer.The soup is hot, so be careful. Think of it as trying a meat pie once it’s come out of then oven, the first bite always has to be delicate otherwise you’d burn your tongue. 

Fried pork dumplings

Very similiar to the xiu long bao’s above, but fried. We actually ordered the wrong one, I wanted the one with chives in it but beggars can’t be choosers right ? The skin on these dumplings is slightly crispy, and I actually quite like the burntness on the bottom of each dumpling. Once again, be careful with these dumplings as they are full of hot soup which is seriously addictive.  

BBQ Lamb skewers (6 for $7.80)

These skewers are a common sight in Shanghai and Beijing. Many street vendors line the streets and grill their meat freshly on the spot for the fraction of the price we pay here. I lived on these religiously in China, so I was curious to see how Shanghai Night compared. First of all, they had the right idea by cooking them over a charcoal bbq out the back of the restaurant. From where I was sitting, I snuck a quick photo of the waitress grilling my skewers. At the same time, she had a hand fan in her left hand fanning the charcoals. I felt like I was back in Beijing at that moment. 

The lamb skewers are tender and cooked perfectly. Copious amounts of spices are covered on each skewer, ensuring an ‘earthy’ type taste. I’m not exactly sure what the spices are, but I could definately taste some cumin and chilli powder. 

Crispy skin duck ($16 ish)

The duck was fantastic, despite tasting like it went for a bath in a tub of salt before it made it’s way onto our table. The skin is slightly crispy and the duck is moist and not overly dry. I did notice myself constantly reaching for our teapot because of the saltyness of this dish though. 

Perhaps there was a sale of tea pots in Yagoona ?

This will be our last post for 2008. Thanks for reading our blog, we hope to see you all again in 2009!!!

Shanghai Night

275 Liverpool Road, Ashfield, Sydney
Tel: (02) 9798 8437
Open : 7 days 10am -10pm
Cash only

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Post tags: Ashfield, dumpling

Howard’s aunty from Hong Kong annually makes a trip to Australia to visit the family. Therefore every year for a period of 2-3 weeks, lucky for me there’s eating out every day of the week. What makes each meal even better is that I don’t have to pay for any of it =D

After exploring just about every chinese restaurants in the Ashfield region, Howard suggested that we try Yummy restaurant in Beverley Hills. The chinese newspaper advertised a special deal on the crabs, provided you dined in on the weekdays.

Yummy restaurant has two branches, one on the Hume Highway in the Yagoona area, and the second in Beverley Hills. 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.

Stir fried Mud crab with ginger and scallion

For me, what makes or breaks this dish is dependant on how fresh the crab is. In this instance, the crab was definitely fresh, with the flesh being sweet and springy. A light sauce coated each piece of crab meat, helping to enhance the flavours of the crab.

Stir fry of three mushrooms with baby bok choy

This is a very simple dish consisting of three types of mushrooms: Oyster, Shitake and Enoki, flash fried with baby bok choy. The flame radiating through from the frying pan licked each piece well, ensuring that each piece was cooked, yet still retain its natural form (rather than all wilted). As the previous dish, the sauce is very basic, thus allows the vegetables to be the star of the show.

Salt and Pepper pork

Pieces of pork ribs dipped in a thick batter and fired to crispy gold. The pieces are thin and quickly stir fried in a chilli, ginger and spring onion mixture and flavoured well with salt and pepper. At first sight, i was quite impressed at how this dish was presented, each piece of pork was separated and coated in the mixture, overall it was not drenched in oil.

Steamed egg tofu with seafood

A favourite of ours. The tofu combined with the egg to form a custard consistency, topped with thick and saucy prawns, scallop and mushroom mixture, was definitely the outstanding dish of the night. The freshness of the seafood together with creamy tofu just melts in your mouth with each spoonful.

Stir fried beans with dried shrimps

To balance out the meat dishes, another vegetable dish was mandatory. The beans were stir fried in crushed dried shrips, flavoured with garlic and plenty of chilli. I found the saltyness or the dried prawn/garlic mix too strong, thus overpowering the sweetness of the bean.

If you’re ever driving around Beverly Hills and at the same time famished, I’d recommend you give Yummy a go. The freshness of their seafood comined with traditional methods and flavours would for the Chinese people, be a reminder of mum’s home cooked meal; while for others, open up your tastebuds to a whole new world of flavours.

Yummy Seafood Chinese Restaurant

503 King Georges Rd
Beverly Hills, NSW 2209
(02) 9580 0788 
Open 7 days

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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 popular food bloggers from Sydney. However, everyone was so nice and it was great to finally put a face to the wonderful writing and photography which each blog presents to the interwebs.

I finally got to meet my first forray into Food Blogging, Helen from the ever popular Grab Your Fork. I have been following Helen for years, often relying on her constantly accurate reviews of the many food establishments within Sydney and beyond. It was also great to meet Lorraine from notquitenigella, who has a huge following partly due to her fantastic knack for cooking and also her wide coverage of restaurant reviews within and beyond Sydney.

I must say, there are a fantastic ensemble of Food Bloggers in Sydney and I was fortunate enough to meet most of them at the meet. Also Joining us was Suze from chocolatesuze, who often sells her biscotti at several markets in Sydney. Lisa from Spicyicecream who makes beautiful creations including desserts, Jen from Jenius who I have also been reading for years, Reemski who is also a new addition to the Sydney Food Blog scene like ourselves, Kathryn from Limes & Lycopene who I read regularly about nutrition and health, Belle & William from Ooh, Look who are always a good read as they cover everything from travel, restaurants as well as recipies and of course Christie from Fig&Cherry who is a wonderful read because of her superb range of recipies , not to mention great photography of her creations. 

It was great to be among the company of fellow food enthusiasts, there were lots of laughs and of course lots of food. Hopefully we can do it again!

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Post tags: Chinatown, food bloggers meet

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 the destination of choice, notably for dumplings and Xiao Long Bao. Mind you, I still prefer coming to Ashfield than going to DTF and Chinatown itself.

Walking along Liverpool Rd, inundated with Restaurants displaying images of types of food on offer, ruminating which store to gratify our craving, we couldn’t help but follow the crowd and join a queue. There seems to be a few new dishes in town as well, these include the specail and roat duck. I was tempted to try these, but I entrusted my stomach into the hand of the restaurant with the longest queue.

How could one not be tempted by the only restaurant with a Daylight saving special ?

Xia Long Bao (8 for $7.80)

My missionn is to try every xia long bao dumpling in Ashfield. On this occasion, the dumpling skin is thin yet sturdy. The meat and soup dominate the dumpling, which is a good sign. I did find one or two which didn’t hold its form and exploded once I picked it up, but it might have been due to my carelessness rather than the poor construction of the dumpling. The soup is sweet and flavoursome, and most importantly does not burn on contact with my mouth.

The heat source

Generous amounts of vermicelli

Blue swimmer crab with Vermicelli noodles ($13.80)

I love crab cooked in vermicelli noodles and at $13.80 I couldn’t refuse. What amazed me was the way it was served. The crab and noodles are cooked in some wax paper which is put on top of a vase like heat source. The crab was surprisingly sweet and there were copious amounts of vermicelli noodles it was enough for a meal in it self. The usual price is $16.80, I’d pay that without blinking an eye as the dish was fantastic in both price and flavour. If you have you have tasted mud crab served with vermicelli noodles in other chinese restaurants, you can expect similiar flavours in the Taste of Shanghai version.

Fried lamb in cumin powder ($14.80)

If there was one dissapointment , it was the lamb. The coating was overpowered by flour and I could barely taste the cumin. The amount was generous though, and was a good accompaniment to our giant serving of vermicelli.

Sweet sesame sticky rice balls ($5 / bowl)

Luscious sticky rice balls were filled with oozing amounts of sweet sesame. The rice balls were so soft, they were almost too delicate to eat.

Double filling sticky rice balls (4 for $7.80)

Once again, the sticky rice was tender and soft which made each bite melt in your mouth. The outside was dasted with yellow bean flour, while the Inside consisted of two layers. The top was filled with a thick red bean paste in contrast to the gooey sesame paste in the bottom layer. This format is good for us because we usually can’t decide between the two.

Taste of Shanghai is yet another addition to the array of Shanghai cuisine offerings available in Ashfield. I’d say it is one of the better one’s at this stage but it’s a close call. I think any one of them can take the mantle as ‘best in Ashfield’ depending how hungry I am at the time , or perhaps which one has the longest queue on any given night as they are all fantastic in their own right. Who needs Shanghai when you have Ashfield ?

Find out what Notquitenigella thought of this place

Taste of Shanghai Restaurant
264 Liverpool Road
Ashfield, NSW, 2131
Ph: (02) 9798 2877

© Linda for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ashfield, dumplings

So inspired by the glorious weather and a craving for some crispy skin pork, Linda and I made it our mission to re-create one of our restaurant favourites. With help from Linda’s mum’s secret marinade recipe and accounts of different peoples trials and tribulations on how to achieve the ideal crackling effect of the pork skin, we were motivated to conjour up our own creation.

Crispy skin Pork

Ingredients

• 1 kg Pork belly
• Bowl of boiling water (to assist in the crackling process)
• Olive oil
• Sea salt or table salt

1kg Pork Belly with the skin scored with a knife

• 2 cloves garlic , chrushed
• 3 tbspn sugar
• 2 tbspn soy sauce
• 2 tbspn char siu sauce
• 1 teaspon 5 spice powder
• Pepper to taste

Mortar and Pestle ... a must have for every kitchen

1. With a knife, score the skin of the pork so that it is evenly distributed
2. Put the pork in a strainer and poor the boiling water carefully onto the skin of the pork
3. Pat the pork dry, especially the skin and let it cool while you make the marinade below
4. Add all the marinade ingredients into a mortar and pestle and grind carefully until it turns into a paste like substance. If you dont have a mortar and pestle, feel free to use anything which is suitable for mixing all the ingredients into a marinade.
5. Gently rub the marinade onto the pork (note : don’t marinate the skin of the pork , only the meat, as this will carimalise under the grill) and ensure the skin of the pork stays upright



6. Allow to dry for atleast 3 hours in room temperature. I actually let mine dry outside in the sun covered so no flies could get in. The more it dries, the more crispier the skin can get.
7. Once done, put it in a pre heat oven (180 degrees) for 30 – 45 minutes depending on the size of your pork belly.
8. Once the pork is golden brown on the outside, take it out of the oven.
9. Brush the skin on top of the pork sparingly with olive oil and then sprinkle a small amount of sea salt on top
10. Put the pork under the grill / broiler and grill it until you can hear crackling sounds. Alternatively, grill until it crackles to your liking.

Prior to removing the pork belly from the grill, we were a little apprehensive about the final result. As this is the first time we have ever done anything like this, we wanted it to work. With each second that we peered into the grill, we grew more and more adamant that this is working our way. The sound of the pork skin crackling was like music to my ears. Never had I imagined that you can actually hear the cooking process.

After approximately 5 minutes under the grill, the pork was removed and left to rest.

Upon slicing up the piece of pork, juice was oozing from the pieces, highlighting the fact that the cooking process has helped retain the moisture, hence preventing it from drying out. The slightly sweet char siu flavoured meat combined with a thin buttery fatty layer contradicting the slightly salty scrispy skin sends the senses into a gastronomical adventure.

Definitely a dish that we will be re visiting, next time we’ll experiment with different marinades. 

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Recipes

I’m usually a bit skeptical when it comes to ‘Asian’ restaurants in an area such as Millers 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 Millers Point. On one hand, you have copious amounts of tourist’s who might be intimidated by authentic cuisine yet you have cultured Sydney locals who prefer authenticity over fusion. 

To paint the scene, our trip to Mr Chow’s is courtesy of me leaving my team at work. As a team, we’ve made Friday lunches a mandatory appointment in our schedules so I’m going to miss my team greatly. It’s not often you have a bunch of other dedicated foodies who are not afraid to try different things. The good news is, I’m only leaving this team temporarily and my parting gift is a photographic trip of my last day at Mr Chow’s. 

Salted Egg Yolk Soft Shell Crab

I’m a sucker when it comes to soft shell crab. The crab here is juicy and tender on the inside yet fried in a delicate batter with a generous coating of salted egg yolk. In fact, you could even see the pieces of egg yolk which is uncommon. It’s an interesting take on the traditional soft shell crab which is usually just fried lightly with little variety or substance. Our meal was off to a great start with this favourite of mine.

Tea Smoked Duck (served with 6 Chinese buns)

The marquee dish of Mr Chow’s has to be its duck as apparently they are the only restaurant in Sydney to have Tea Smoked Duck. Like its name suggests, the duck has an aromatic hint of smokiness. The scent of tea is noticeable, but not overwhelming. I was a little surprised to see so much duck on the plate, it was great value for money as the quality of the duck was acceptable. On the down side, the skin of the duck wasn’t as crispy as I expected though.

Greens stir fried with garlic

We could smell the fried garlic from a mile away. The greens were a vibrant green and full of crunchiness, oh and of course fried bits of garlic

Peking shredded beef

This is quite a common dish in most Chinese restaurants now. Thin pieces of beef are fried in what seems to be a light coating of flour and then mixed into a sweet marinade. I can’t seem to make out what it is, but it has chilli in it (sorry, this is of no help at all I know).

Fish Fillets with Pineapple in Sweet and Sour Sauce

I wasn’t that much of a fan of this dish, it was a cross between fried fish fillets and sweet and sour pork. The sauce was tangy and sweet but the fish was overwhelmed by it’s coating.

Red bean pastry

Pieces of pastry are filled with a sweet and soft red been filling. The pastry to red been ratio was perfect in this instance. 

'Toffee' apple

This didn’t look too special when I saw the fried pieces of apple on the plate. Interestingly though, they were dumped into a bowl of iced water and turned into what resembled toffee apple. Soft and sweet apple was complimented with a crunchy toffee exterior. There was also a hot and cold effect with the apple still warm on the inside, yet the toffee on the outside was cold due to the ice.

Mr Chow’s is an interesting place tucked away at the far end of Kent St. While I had my doubts, I was satisfied with Mr Chow sticking to his roots and not succumbing too much to the western ideologies of Chinese food. 

Check out what NotQuiteNigella thought of Mr Chow’s

Mr Chow’s Peking Restaurant
33-35 Kent St
The Rocks, Sydney 2000
Ph: 02 9252 3010
Fax: 02 9247 5035

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: duck, Millers Point, pastry, peking, toffee

I’ve heard alot about this place and the queues outside might have been an indication of its popularity and resounding praise it has been recently given. We had to wait around 40 minutes for our table. In the waiting area outside the premises, they have hot tea which you can get yourself. I thought that was a nice touch in customer service by the Din Tai Fung’ians. While I was waiting, I was reminiscing about my experience at New Shanghai. How would the small store in Ashfield stack up against a world wide franchise with dumpling makers who look like they are surgeons ?

Dumpling makers

While they look like surgeons, they are actually the reason why the dumplings are fresh and arrive at your tables so quickly. Each dumpling maker makes their creation according to strict standards. By the looks of it, every millimetre and gram counts.

Many places have tried and failed with their rendition of this dumpling. Most the time, it breaks because it has been overcooked or if not enough care was taken with the process of creation. At first glance, the dumpling was surpisingly thin as it was almost translucent. I thought that it would probably break once I picked it up with my chopsticks, but I was wrong. The xia long bao is so perfectly constructed that I was surprised it even contained the signature hot soup which is inside each dumpling. The consistency in each dumpling is amazing and not one of them bursted open. For me. the optional vinegar and soy sauce is a mandatory partner in crime that gives the dumpling a little kick.

Steamed crab meat with crab roe and pork dumpling

These are very similiar to the xia long bao. I tried to convince myself there was a hint of crab meat flavour, but this was perhaps overpowered by the flavours of the pork and other ingredients. Once again the consistency is amazing.

Hot and Sour soup

Culturally, there are so many versions of hot and sour soup. This version had a nice kick to it while retaining the expected sweet and sourness. There was a commanding presence of chinese mushrooms which perhaps overpowered the soup, but not enough to prevent me from lapping the soup up like a dog and it’s drinking basin.

Stir fried noodles with pork and beans

The noodles tasted hand made (not sure how that works, but just trust me on that one). I found the pork and beans a little tasteless, but it was a welcome change from copious amounts of dumplings.

Braised beef noodles

The broth is a wonderful concoction of brown beefy goodness. The beef was tender and the noodles were similiar, if not identical to the dish above. The soup is the star attraction here.

Fried Chicken with Fried Rice

The chicken is fried and crumbed into crispy goodness. The fried rice is nothing out of the ordinary, but then again how much more can you do to fried rice? The chicken is the highlight of this dish though, I wanted more.

Century Egg with Tofu and Shredded Pork

This was almost too pretty to eat. Squares of chilled tofu are topped with shredded dried pork and a soy type sauce. Accompanied on the side are generious portions of ‘century year old’ egg. I thought this dish was unique and tasted quite refreshing yet retaining the individual flavours of all three key ingredients.

Cucumber salad in dressing ($3.50)

Having copious amounts of dumplings might be a little overwhelming. The cucumber is served chilled and is quite refreshing. Unfortunately, I could’nt quite make out what the flavour of the dressing was. Perhaps some sort of vingairette or sesame oil ? Anyone have any thoughts ?

Steamed red and black bean buns

The buns were delicious. The red and black bean paste was plentiful and the bun was not too soft nor overcooked. It seemed they let it ‘rest’ to an optimum temperate before serving it to us.

Fried taro bread with sesame seeds

The second of our desserts arrive in the form of rolls of bread lightly fried and topped with sesame seeds. The taro is generous and sweet but luckily takes away some of the oilyness of the fried bread.

Taro Dumplings

The taro is smooth and creamy and makes a fitting end to our feast. Each dumpling dissappears quite quickly, it was a definate favourite on our table.

Having been to both New Shanghai and Din Tai Fung , I’m torn between the two. On one hand, I love the consistency and quality of Din Tai’s dumplings. Rarely have I had a Xia Long Bao which has’nt exploded when I tried to pick it up with a chopstick. On the other hand, you can’t go past the value of New Shanghai. I also found that New Shanghai had stronger flavours in their dumplings. Either way, you can’t go wrong with either and I highly recommend you visit both places to make up your own mind.

But I would be interested to hear what others think who have tried both. Any one?

Din Tai Fung
Shop 11.04, Level 1
World Square Shopping Centre
644 George St, Sydney
Ph: (02) 9294 9010
Web: www.dintaifung.com.tw

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dumpling, dumplings, xio longbao

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.

Har Gao (Prawn Dumplings)

My all time favourite yum cha dish. As Fortune 8 is so small, you can be assured that you’re always being served fresh food. Unlike some restaurants, Fortune 8′s har gao “skin” is thin enough to retain all the sweet juices from the prawns, yet translucent so that you can also see what you’re eating.

Deep Fried Seafood spring rolls (Beancurd sheet wrapping)

The spring roll was a little hit and miss, despite the seafood being fresh, the sauce accompanying the dish did not do it justice. The sauce tasted like diluted tomato paste.

Pan fried radish cake

Whenever we order this dish, H and I always fight for the piece with most fried egg attached to it. the oilyness of the dish is neutralised by the tartness of the accompanying vinegar.

Pan fried eggplant with fish cake

Absolutely delicious! The fish paste was mixed with slices of spring onion and placed on top of a piece of eggplant. What made the dish was the way that the eggplant was fried to a perfect consistency, gooey, although still retaining the sweet natural flavour of the eggplant.

Fong Jau (Braised chicken feet)

Another dissapointment for the afternoon. The Fong Jao here was unfortunately too bland, requiring constant dipping into soy sauce.

Once we were good to go, the waitress brought us our bill. To our surprise, the whole meal cost us $20.00. What a bargain!

Aside from it’s fast service, the waitresses at Fortune 8 speaks english fluently and are always very attentive. As it’s such a small restaurant, they do not have the space to push around the trolleys, so you have two options in ordering the dishes. First option is to wait for the waitresses to walk around with a plate filled with bamboo baskets, offering sieu mai, har gao etc; or order from their photographic/english captioned menu. Irrespective of the option, you would be assured of fresh food everytime.

Fortune 8 Chinese Restaurant
Shop 1, 44 Park Rd,
Cabramatta, NSW, 2166
Ph: (02) 9727 8988

© Linda for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cabramatta, yum cha

You know the old saying, don’t judge a book by its cover.

For those unfamiliar with hotpot, think of it as chinese fondue. Wikipedia defines it as :

Hot pot, or less commonly Chinese fondue, refers to several Chinese varieties of steamboat stew. It consists of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter.

Coriander beef balls

Tender (yes they are frozen) balls of beef complimented with a generous portion of coriander. These are not your average beef balls which you will find in your asian grocery store. These are hand rolled into delightful portions of beefy goodness.

Fish balls

A hot pot is not a hot pot without fish balls. There is nothing special here, just some good old fashioned fish balls.

Fish tofu

This is a personal favorite of mine. Chunks of fish are surrounded by what seems to be a thin layer of tofu.

Sliced beef

These thin slices of beef need to only to be cooked for 10-15 seconds once your broth starts to boil. Any longer and it will taste chewy. The beef is surprisingly tender and benefits from being not over cooked.

Tofu , various asian greens, shitake mushrooms

Burning mouth from chilli saver (Ice cold milk tea)

We had a few casualties in the chilli department. This ice cold milk tea was the savour for my various work mates who had lips so red that it looked like they were auditioning for the next Ronald McDonald.

Fish balls with fish roe

One word, divine. Who would of thought that that one would combine fish balls and fish roe. Generous portions of fish roe ooze out of this ball after one bite.

Fish balls version 3

Your average run of the mill fish ball. I was dumbfounded when trying to identify what the difference between this and the other fish ball was apart from its aesthetics.

Hand made noodle soup

Hand made noodles

Steamed pork and chive dumplings

These homemade steamed versions were wonderful. Bite sized dumplings contained a portion of pork and an excessively strong presence of chives. Put it this way, I wouldn’t volunteer to give someone CPR after consuming  a few of these gems. Despite this, I absolutely loved these dumplings.

Fried pork and chive dumplings

I found these a tad oily, they are identical to the one’s above except they are obviously lightly fried until crispy and golden brown. They act as a good compliment to the soupy hot pot.

Tofu

Our hot pot (spicy and mild)

As you can see from the vastly difference in colour in broths, the chilli version was absolutely mind blowing. When you order, you have the options of choosing how hot you want your broth to be. To fully engage in the Sichuan way, I encourage you to brave the chilli demons and opt for one of the hotter broths.

Mushrooms, beef, fish tofu

Quail eggs, fish tofu, beef, mushrooms

Hot Pot is great as it encourages socialising in an informal setting. All it requires is good people and the willingness for people to enjoy communal cooking. For 15 people, a trip to this place cost us $28 each. Considering the amount of food and drink we ordered I thought this represented great value for money for a Sydney CBD hot pot experience. The soup was full of flavour and the portions of our dishes were extremely generous and high quality.

As a project team we braved mother nature and it’s torrential downpour of rain, random outbreaks of sweating due to the hotness of our chill broth and in my case I actually had the chilli go up my nose and make me shed a tear (not even watching The Notebook made me do that).

Chilli (1) defeats Howard (0).

I’ll definitely be back at this place again.

Shancheng Hot Pot King
8a/363 Sussex St
Haymarket, NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9267 6366

Open 7 days 11:30am -12:00am

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dumplings, hot pot, sichuan

I’ve been to Beijing and Shanghai and I must say, their dumplings lived up to expectations. However, apart from the freshness, I’d dare say we in Sydney are fortunate to have dumplings which taste just as good. Perhaps the wonderful dumpling ladies at New Shanghai were flown over to ensure we don’t miss out on such a simple yet delicious Chinese delicacy?

Coincidently, a few of my favourite food bloggers (chocolate suze and jenius) have visited New Shanghai recently as well.

Oh … and if anyone know’s where to get those hats please drop me an email.

We booked for 6.30pm and after a short wait we were directed to a dimly lit corner of the restaurant. There was no way we could take photos for this post in what could be described as warm red lighting. Being the true food bloggers we are (*cough*) , we had our eyes open for a new table like pilgrims looking for the Pope.

The menu we were given was quite extensive. Naturally, we looked around to see what the locals were ordering and went from there. There was a common theme tonight it seems. Copious amounts of tables were munching away on a mixture of dumplings (steamed and fried), a plate of soy chicken (so it seemed at the time) and a fluffy and golden substance which we later realised was tofu.

Vinegar dipping sauce

This bottle of vinegar compliments the vast variety of dumplings on offer.

Xiu Long Bao (Steamed mini pork dumplings)

If you were to try only one thing at New Shanghai, it would be these dumplings. Xiu Long Bao can be considered iconic to China, in particular Shanghai. Much like associating pizza with New York, baguettes with Paris and Vietnamese pork rolls with Cabramatta.

Vegetarian dumplings

There’s always a token Vegetarian in the group, so naturally we had to order a plate of Vegetarian dumplings. The dumpling skin was solid and I was amazed at the consistency of the content and aesthetics of the dumpling itself.

Vegetarian dumplings (inside) - Carrot, vermicelli, chinese mushroom, various asian greens

Shanghai stir fried hand made noodle (Combination)

We originally ordered the pork version, but they mixed up our order and we ended up recieving the combination version. I think the key to the success of this dish was the fact that the noodles were hand made. You really have to try this yourself to understand how soft and ‘plump’ the noodles are. The texture was amazing and there were very generous amounts of chicken, beef, seafood and vegetables.

Spicy Shredded Chicken

I noticed alot of tables ordering this , so I wanted to know what the fuss was about. If your a regular eater of crispy skin chicken, you can imagine how the chicken tastes like on the outside. It is then covered in a slightly spicy and sweet soy sauce.

Deep Fried Bean Curd (Tofu) in Yolk of Salt Egg

Nearly every table had this so naturally we had to follow suit like a bunch of groupies at a Maroon 5 Westfield’s appearance. Inside the crispy, salty and eggy (yes my descriptions rival that of world reknown authors) coating was delicately soft tofu.

Special Pan Fried Crab Meat and Pork Bun

I’m a sucker for anything fried however this was an interesting dish. Basically, it’s a bun which is briefly fried so that the bun is no longer soft. The base of the bun is nice and crispy while the contents of the bun is basically what you find in the Xiu Long Bao (above). What was interesting though was the soup which was inside the bun, I found that quite impressive as it prevented the buns from tasting too dry.

Fried Pork with Chives in Dumpling

I found the skin of this dumpling a bit too thick for my liking. The pork and chive filling was nothing out of the ordinary either.

If your a fan of dumplings then I definitely give this place a visit. The variety is amazing and the freshness of the dumplings is definitely a bonus. Don’t expect superior customer service though. While they are attentive and quick, it might not suit the primadonna’s out there.

New Shanghai Chinese Restuarant
273 Liverpool Road
Ashfield, NSW 2131
Ph: (02) 9797 7284

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ashfield, dumplings, shanghai, vegetarian

I’ve heard so much about Billy Kwong and how delicious their dishes are (as well as the difficulty in getting a table because they don’t take bookings) that I was only too happy to say “yes” when my friend asked me whether I wanted to join them for dinner there.

Even though we got there early (about a little before 6pm), there was already a line of people waiting to be seated. I was slightly worried that we wouldn’t get a seat, but it was unfounded as we were ushered in and to our table.

The decor was tasteful and quietly pretty, while the tables were quite cramped – it felt like our group of 6 8 was squeezed to a table for 4 6 [Ed.: thanks for the correction poptart!]. We worked ourselves out after some jostling; tucking our elbows in and trying not to make any wild gestures (as we’re wont to do).

We snacked on complimentary salted peanuts while we debated on what to get.

Fried wonton skin with pickled vegetables

The pickled vegetables didn’t really tickle my tastebuds, so I settled for eating just the fried wonton skin – which was nice in a crunchy, bland way. (Of course, I tapped the finely grounded pepper off it first)

Fresh black cloud ear fungus and cucumber salad, Beijing style

This was quite nice, but also quite average at the same time.

Steamed scallop (Tasmania) wontons with Sichuan chilli oil

I think I may have eaten this too quick to really enjoy it, as I was worried if I tried to savour the taste the bearably spiciness would rapidly turn unbearable.

Homestyle fried biodynamic eggs with organic soy and homemade XO

When we ordered this dish (on the insistence of Sue), most of us were puzzled on what exactly “biodynamic eggs” meant. We still don’t really get what it means, but the dish seemed like air-fried eggs – very light and crispy fried eggs.

Steamed silken tofu with organic seaweed salad

The tofu was really smooth and soft; the salad (consisting of seaweed and thinly sliced cucumbers) emulated that soft smoothness somehow and seemed to slide off the tongue and into your stomach. Very subtle flavours.

Crispy skin duck with fresh blood plum sauce

This dish was the group’s overall favourite main. The blood plum sauce, so dramatic in its bright red colour, was quite sweet (perhaps a bit too sweet for some, but others revelled in it) and complemented the duck quite well. The duck itself was succulent with wonderfully crispy skin and just a tad bit too much fat inbetween.

White-cooked free-range chicken (Saskia Beer, SA) with organic soy, chilli and coriander

Slightly above average dish that wasn’t really memorable.

Dry-fried organic Hokkien noodles with homemade XO sauce

I don’t think I tried much of this dish, but from what I tasted – it was pretty average.

“Dong Po” pork (“Kurobuta” pork belly), Hangzhou style

The first thing I thought when I bit into the soft, juicy pork belly was, “This tastes like dad’s cooking!” Even down to the texture! Mind you, I love my dad’s cooking – he spoils me rotten with it (usually) – so it goes without saying that this dish was pretty good.

Stirfry of organic bok choy, broccoli, and snowpeas

A darn good veggie stir-fry.

Organic fruit plate…

Everyone loved the fruit plate. I’m not sure what it was – the freshness, the glorious burst of flavour as you bit into a piece of fruit – but there was no doubt that it was the best dish we had here.

…with “Cocolo” organic fairtrade chocolate

And it came with awesome tasting dark chocolate. When we combined a piece of fruit with a sliver of chocolate… it was perfect.

*gasp* It’s Kylie Kwong!!!

As we wrapped up our meal, Kylie came in. A couple of us were besides ourselves and pretended to pose while I tried to sneak a photo of her. lol

Perhaps it’s because I’m so accustomed to the taste of Chinese food (eating it at home so regularly and all) that the dishes (while prettily presented) seemed rather normal… but charged at seemingly exhorbitant prices (due to the organic ingredients?).

Sue’s Shui’s friend worked as a chef there and was kind enough to sneak us 3 dishes (the wonton skin dish, stir-fry veggies, and fruit/chocolate platter). Even so, I still walked away feeling quite disappointed and rorted.

Billy Kwong
Shop 3, 355 Crown St
Surry Hills, NSW
Ph: (02) 9332 3300
Web: www.kyliekwong.org/BillyKwongs.aspx

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, fruit, fungus, organic, poultry, Seafood, Sydney, Surry Hills, tofu, vegetables

Sunday mornings I usually wake up and wonder where I will have have my usual Sunday brunch. The last thing I wanted was Yum Cha again. Is this my version of groundhog day?

I must admit, there really is no other alternative for Yum Cha if you happen to live in the Fairfield / Liverpool area.

Complimentary / Mandatory chilli sauce

Pan fried dumpling with chives and prawn

This is the first time I have seen this one. It’s a nice contrast of a crispy outside with the moistness of a chive dumpling inside. A prawn is neatly tucked into the dumpling to make it resemble an open won ton of some sort.

Prawn dumpling (har gow)

Yum Cha isn’t complete without a mandatory serving of Prawn Dumplings. It’s like tomato sauce and mustard on a hot dog, it must be there. Prawn Dumplings all taste the same to me as long as the dumpling isn’t overcooked, which it isn’t.

Salt and Pepper Squid

Pork Dumplings (Siu Mai)

Fish and Eggplant Tofu

You can usually spot these on a metal tin bubbling away on a gas powered stove. Tender pieces of eggplant, fish and tofu are sandwiched together to make this dish. The eggplant is very tender and goes well with the lightly fried tofu.

Satay beef ball dumplings

I wasn’t a big fan of these. The flavour was just wrong, a bit like seeing a dodgy looking ice cream van in a playground. I found the beef balls too soft and flavourless. The satay was not spicy at all, this dish actually made me confused as my taste buds went on a journey of indecision while trying to identify exactly what this dish was trying to achieve.

Garlic and Chive dumplings (Gow choi gao)

You either love these or don’t. Bits of chives and prawn are tucked into these dumplings, a delicious combination. I think the closest ‘western’ equivalent of this in terms of smell and taste is perhaps an onion tart. You’ll walk out not making much conversation with your breath but atleast your stomach is satisfied.

Pork ribs with garlic, blackbean and chilli

These ribs are steamed with a special sauce consisting of chilli, blackbean and garlic. The pork is tender and juicy with a strong hint of garlic.

Seafood dumplings

A combination of prawns and scallops make up this dumpling. Both were quite sweet which was encouraging.

Chicken Feet (Fung Jao)

I’m not a big fan of these but I wouldn’t shy away if someone put a plate in front of me. The chicken feet is steamed in a mystery sauce with chillis. Alot of people shy away from this dish, and rightly so. But it’s good to challenge to status quo once a while and try something new in my opinion.

Fried rice noodle with soy sauce , egg and shallots

This is such a hearty dish which hits the spot. Cubes of rice noodles are pan fried in a sweet soy sauce covered in copious amounts of egg and shallots. Simple, yet effective.

Chinese donut (close enough?)

It’s dessert time and we decide to go for this donut looking experiment. Two pieces of sweet bread are deep fried. It was actually quite nice, a bit like eating a donut.

Mango Pancake

This definitely hit the spot. Soft pancake is filled with a tantalising concoction of cream and chunky mango. It’s heaven in a pancake.

I think I have had enough of Yum Cha for a while.

Iron Chef Chinese Seafood Restaurant
84 Broomfield St
Cabramatta NSW 2166

Phone (02) 9723 6228

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