I Don't Eat, I Devour

I have been wanting to try one particular Korean dish for a long, long time: icy cold noodle which looks chewy and are wrapped in such a dense ball that they need to be cut with scissors before enjoying. Hansang is always top of the list when I search for a Korean restaurant in Sydney where I have enjoy cold noodles, so I decided it was time to pay it a visit.  One of the best things about going to Korean restaurants is the complimentary banchan (side dishes, or meal accompaniments). I am a particular fan of the fish cake (top row, third from the left), the refreshing pickled vegetables (greens, kimchi and radishes) and the creamy pasta salad (top RHS).  Those pan fried dumplings were hard to pass. Filled with pork and chives, their golden shells give them a more satisfying and chewy texture than their steamed counterparts. The flavours are well-balanced and moreish, especially when dipped in the soy-based accompanying sauce with a touch of chilli. Ah, kimchi pancake. Simple, ...

I visited Mekong at the end of 2019 (which feels like an absolute lifetime ago) and rather enjoyed the vibrant South-East Asian cuisine on offer during that visit . This time round, I gathered a couple more friends and decided to make a feast of it, trying a few more dishes.  Mekong Share Plate, $42 For entree, I highly recommend the Mekong share plate, which serves 2 people and is a selection of the menu highlights. The scallops, which was also featured during my last visit, is a must try: fresh, tangy, balanced and sweet. The veggie samosas take me right back to my high school years where curry puffs were the height of a Thai takeaway experience (usually enjoyed right before a concert and shovelled down between rehearsals). The duck pancake comes pre-wrapped, and unlike the Chinese version with the crispy skin, the cut at Mekong has more of a pork belly like texture and equally enjoyable (though secretly, I still prefer the Chinese version if I must choose). The chicken wings ar...

The various office buildings, old shopping centres and their connecting pathways in Sydney's Chinatown can be a bit of a maze, and hidden in them are charming, authentic eateries frequented by those who really understand a cuisine - and by that I mean, we go for the home-coming feel, not for the atmosphere.  The last time I visited Kowloon Cafe, a Hong Kong style diner, was in 2020 (see my post here ). We picked up a few snacks to go - but this time, I'm here for the full sit down experience.  Pineapple Bread with egg and spam $9.80 One cannot talk about HK style diners without talking about pineapple bread. So-called because the diamond shaped, sweet topping looks like the skin of a pineapple (and not because there are actual pineapples used in the bread), this delicious concoction comes in many varieties. The most traditional involves a warmed pineapple bread with a thick pat of ice-cold butter. The more interesting varieties, such as the one we have before us, may include s...

Sitting pretty in the middle of the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Botanic House is a beautifully sunny, relaxed spot that makes you forget you are mere minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the big smoke.  The tasting menu is created by Luke Nguyen, one of Australia's most beloved Asian TV chefs. The cuisine is modern Asian, with Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai influences being the most prominent.  Edamame and avocado salsa with sesame rice crackers The Chinese restaurants of the 90s brought bowls of greasy, salty, delicious prawn crackers that melted in the mouth as starters. Here, those nostalgic treats have been given a fusion upgrade. Something of an Asian guac-and-corn-chips, the salsa is creamy, the rice crackers a slightly less oily versio of its prawn predecessors.  Seared Hokkaido scallop These scallops are pleasantly plump and served with an interesting, flavourful sauce of cashew, toasted coconut and pork floss. The cashew and toasted coconut are distinctly South...

I first came across Chon Thai on an episode of Food Safari - my introduction to the vast and varied treasure trove that is Australia's ethnic dining scene. Intrigued by the delicate handmade dumpling shaped like a flower, I knew I had to give this modern Thai restaurant a try at the first opportunity.  I have always loved Thai food - during my undergrad years I would often go to the famous Newtown Thai restaurants for cheap-as-chips lunch plates - but Chon Thai is rather a different breed of Thai food: more refined but just as flavourful.  Betel Leaf with Smoked Trout, $5 each Those were the very things that I saw on TV and intrigued me. Google tells me betel leaves are used as a stimulant, an antiseptic, and a breath-freshener; but in my limited experience with them, they are purely a vessel in which flavours are transported from the plate to my eagerly-waiting tummy. The smoked trout is boneless and melt-in-your-mouth; the flavours are just incredible: my words are too pale ...

I knew I could trust Dopa when I saw it it is brought to us by the good people of Devon - one of my favourite brunch destinations in Sydney. Specialising in donburi (Japanese rice-bowl dish) and Asian-inspired desserts, Dopa is quick, simple and delicious.  The menu at Dopa ranges from the cheap and cheery ($13 for a simple chicken bowl) to the fancy (there is a $88 bowl featuring wagyu steak, tongue, foie gras, soft egg and white truffle and truffle agadashi tofu). Although the fancy bowls sound pretty mouth-watering, I don't know if I would actually order the expensive menu items - mainly because the vibe of Dopa is so casual, and you have to serve yourself, so it feels a bit odd to be going ultra-luxe there.  Cheeseburger Donburi set, $17 A playful marriage between a Japanese classic (the donburi) and an all-American staple, the cheeseburger donburi is wonderfully enjoyable, filling and just ever-so-slightly naughty. The patty tastes lovely and rich, slightly pink in the m...

You can always pick an authentic Chinese restaurant by the incredibly regal names. Neptune Palace is no exception, its name emphasised by the bronze statue of its namesake, the god of the sea. It has an impressive menu full of delicious-sounding Chinese-Malay halal dishes. When faced with so many choices, what do we do? We pick a set menu.  Prawn cutlet fritter & vegetable spring rolls First up, spring rolls and fried prawn. If I had just ordered off the menu I would most likely have given them a pass, which is why I'm so glad they were included in the banquet menu. Fried goods are often overlooked by me when I order Chinese food, yet I am absolutely charmed by how delicious they are. The prawn is bouncy and fresh, the batter satisfyingly crunchy but not overly thick; and the spring roll has a celery and bamboo shoot filling that is refreshing, crunchy, and interesting. These are great when paired with the sweet chilli sauce, dark soy and sweet and sour sauce which accompa...

 The Hong Kong tea house is home to some of my favourite Asian bites. Usually a nostalgic mix of Eastern / Western food, the Hong Kong tea house immediately brings to mind scenes from my favourite film, In the Mood for Love. If you haven't seen this moody, darkly-romantic and bitter-sweet 2000 masterpiece directed by Wong Kar-wai (who also brought us, notably, Brokeback Mountain), take this as my strong recommendation.  Kowloon Cafe more directly translates as "Kowloon ice house". It serves street food as well as more filling items like a beef brisket noodle that looks to-die-for. In this review, however, I will be looking at its casual street food items.  Hong Kong Style milk tea (hot), $5.80 This is my favourite drink, ever. Pulled through mesh stockings for that velvety smoothness, the milky taste of a HK style milk tea is from evaporated milk. Some people like to add sugar to sweeten this warm, toasty and oh-so-satisfying hug-in-a-cup, but I prefer it just the way it ...

I have now been to all three Ho Jiak locations: the original hole in the wall  in Strathfield serving cherry cheap eats, the larger but homely  Haymarket branch where I enjoyed a veritable feast, and now, the Town Hall location which serves some pretty special high-end dishes.  The main reason I had to go to Ho Jiak Town Hall ASAP is that truffle season is currently underway (one of the few perks of winter in my view), and the Town Hall branch is serving up some seriously bougie dishes.  I'm going to save the best for last and start my review, as I do my meals, with a tipple.  Leng Lui, $19; Chateau Gabriel Rose, $15 There are two cocktail lists at Ho Jiak: one Asian inspired, the other classic. Leng Lui means "pretty woman" in Malaysian, and the cocktail is certainly blushingly becoming with a jaunty chili hat. I do love a good salt rim on a drink, and the fact that it has just the tiniest of chili kick. It's refreshing and easy to drink without...