New Shanghai

I took the opportunity to check out some of Chatswood's shops while waiting to go to Charmaine's house after lunch.  The food court at Westfield was all set for the lunchtime crowd.  The selection did not appeal and I guess I was looking for something different.

At the back of my mind, I remembered someone (must be Charmaine) telling me about a new Shanghai restaurant (opened in April) in Lemon Grove and I decided to head there.  Even though it was early (around 12 noon), there was already a queue and the restaurant was abuzz with activity.  Took a number to wait my turn.  There were about 10 people ahead of me.. .sigh! 

Turning around.. who should I see while waiting ... Mr Kevin Yong.  He had just finished his meal, having left Wollongong at 7 am and leaving 100 km/h winds behind - really adventurous.  Had a chat to decide what to eat as there was also an outlet in the food court selling yum cha and the next outlet had some Beijing cuisine.  I lamented to Kevin that if I have to wait a long time, I will resort to getting some yum cha dishes and eat in the food court.  After about 10 mins, my turn arrived.  Kevin decided to "accompany" us and "look" at us eating.  Mind you, he said he had to wait about 20 mins for his main course and his dessert (fungus and papaya) came first.  He enjoyed his dessert better.

Hmm... not sure what to order as it was just mum and I.  Decided on a combination spicy noodle and a Xiao Long Pau.  The spicy noodle was not too bad, although I thought it was quite plain.  The Xiao Long Pau was ok, I thought they were a bit stingy with the filling... it did not fill up the dumplings like other places eg the Taste of Shanghai or Din Tai Fung.  It was good to catch up with Kevin and glad that he stayed around to watch us eat.

I am a bit nonchalant about this restaurant.  Mum sat facing the kitchen and she commented that one of the chefs was tasting the soup with the same ladle he used to dish up the soup and he did it twice...ewww... go figure!

However, I might not be a good judge of this restaurant as we did not order much.  Maybe next visit, I will try the yum cha as it appears to be quite popular when we left.

For more information on some of the other specialties, check out these websites:

http://www.notquitenigella.com/2009/06/11/new-shanghai-chinese-restaurant-chatswood-and-how-to-eat-a-soup-dumpling/

http://www.herecomesthefood.com.au/eating-out/new-shanghai-chatswood-sydney.html

Bonga

Eastwood is a suburb that is divided by the Railway line.  On the one side lies little "Chinatown" full of Chinese grocery stores and on the quieter side of the station little Korea comes to life.  There are so many Korean restaurants that unless you are a Korean, you won't know which one is good.  That was the case for me last Saturday... which one to try?  Eenie Meenie Mynie Mo... Hmm...

I decided to take mum to BONGA.  This is a relatively new restaurant by that I mean a few months old.  I pass it on a weekly basis and noticed a change of hands.  The number of customers have increased gradually, so I decided to go in for a try.  The restaurant is a family restaurant, newly set out tables with covered stoves.  Quite high tech now as the gas lighter for the stoves is by pressing one of the buttons on the tables rather than the stoves.  The gas itself sits under the tables.  We were early (12 noon) and were their first customers. 

The menu looks varied enough. There are meat dishes you can barbeque on the stove or you can order ala carte.  The main meals are served with rice.

Mum and I ordered spicy pork and a seafood tofu hotpot.  The condiments arrived shortly after the main meal arrived.  They were very tasty.  Mum must have enjoyed it as she ate quite a bit.  Lunch costs $25.  Not bad at all...next...

Konnichiwa!

Quiet and unassuming - this is how I would describe this restaurant, Hukuya,  located at the corner of Railway Parade and Ethel Street, Eastwood, opposite the railway station.

Going inside however, this restaurant is a buzz with activity.  This is only a small family restaurant and although they take bookings, it fills up quickly and pays to get there early.  It is also a BYO restaurant.  There is a sushi bar at the side of the restaurant serving fresh sashimi.

We had a selection... a california roll which was very fresh, then had an assortment of teriyaki salmon, tempura soft shell crab (yummy!) and their spicy pork which was delicious too!

The menu is quite extensive for a small restaurant and seems to be very popular and has a regular following.  If you happen to be in Eastwood early and fancy some Japanese food, head for Hukuya.  Definitely worth a second visit but be mindful or parking restrictions in the surrounding streets.

Mr Chow ... again!

I took my classmate, Lydia and her family to Mr Chow for dinner tonight.  Lydia is visiting from Melbourne and I haven't seen her husband for a long time and have not met her children yet.  Lydia's oldest, Rachel is already 12 years old and I used to take tuition classes with Lydia's husband, David!

We walked from their hotel, Park Hyatt to Mr Chow which is about 15 mins away.  We ordered a Xiao Long Pau for Aaron, Sweet and Sour Pork for Rachel and a ShanTung Chicken for Naomi who has quite a few allergies.  We then added Granpa Tofu (tofu with mushrooms) and Stir Fried Snow Peas with Broccoli.  For entree we shared Shallot Pancakes.

The meal was lovely and again, the restaurant was quite busy even at 6.30pm. Aaron must have liked the dumplings as he ate the most!

Having had a good look at the menu this time round, I would say that this restaurant is above average in terms of prices but the portions are not too bad.

As the dessert menu was quite lacking, we then adjourned to Gelatissimo for some Gelato...good way to end the eveninng.

Geisha - drunk??

This afternoon, I went with a friend to try out Drunken Geisha in Pyrmont. It is located in 50 Harris Street, Pyrmont.  One of our mutual friends, Huey works here and we thought we'd go check out her cooking.

This restaurant is located not too far from Star City, towards the Jackson Landing side.  It is also next to another established restaurant, the "Blue Eye Dragon".  This area does not have a lot of parking spots (all meter parking) so, for those who are contemplating heading there, it is better to get there by public transport (Bus "11") or take the tram as the tram stop is just opposite the restaurant.  This is not a very big restaurant, it can probably sit about 30 max.

Drunken Geisha used to be a Thai fusion restaurant before it was bought over by Holly and Angie.  Angie used to be the personal chef for the Lord Mayor Clover Moore who apparently loves Indian food.  The previous owner has gone back to what he does best i.e. interior designing.  He designed the restaurant.  While we were there, he came over for a visit as he is friends with Angie.

Angie is Singaporean and goes back to Singapore often to master her cuisine.  She does most of her cooking assisted by 2 other chefs.  The kitchen is quite small which limits her menu.  Through popular demand, Angie said that she had to continue with some of the old dishes from the previous owner namely "Beef and snowpeas stir fried in wasabi and black pepper sauce" and "Pan fried miso barramundi fillet with oyster mushrooms and spinach".

Angie's menu is Singaporean / Malaysian fusion.  There is a light lunch menu while the dinner menu has a wider option.  The light lunch menu is cheaper than the dinner menu.  We ordered the Beef Rendang, Singapore hainanese chicken (served on Saturdays only) and Katong Laksa.  The beef rendang tasted quite good, albeit a tad salty and the beef was not tender enough.  The hainanese chicken rice was nice although I would have referred chicken on the bone rather than deboned.  The Katong Laksa was not too bad - tasty but not spicy enough.  Angie said that due to her customer's requests, she has had to "water" down the spicy-ness of her laksa.

There are only 5 dessert options on the menu.  Huey told us that they make the sorbets themselves so, we decided to share a Strawberry Sorbet with Rose Jelly and Warm redbean pancakes served with chocolate ice cream.  The Strawberry Sorbet was really refreshing and the rose jelly added a touch of difference.  The pancakes were nice and soft.

What we had this afternoon was not terribly authentic.  I guess I will have to try the other dishes to have a better gauge of the restaurant.

Good luck Angie with your restaurant and future plans!!

Warm Pancakes with choice of ice cream

Strawberry sorbet with Rose Jelly

Chow it down!

I was invited to be a guest visitor to this Food Lovers group.  They meet every month and try a diferent restaurant each month and each person will take turns to organise and pick the restaurant.  This month it is held at Mr Chow's Peking Restaurant at the Rocks andganised by Helen.  This is my first time there but I have heard mixed reviews about it.

Anyway, Helen had already preordered the menu as there were 19 of us.  The salted duck's egg soft shell crab was yummy... lovely flavour and gave the crabs a soft coating instead of being too crispy.  Next came the Smoked Duck with steamed buns.  The duck was done very well and complemented the hot steamed buns and the slither of spring onion and cucumber.

We then had Peking Shredded Beef (I thought it was quite dry), Chinese Mushrooms with green vegetables (nice with a white glazed sauce), Peking style Crab meat in egg white (my favourite!), Fried Crispy Chicken (cooked to perfection) and a hotpot.

The restaurant was very busy being a Friday night and I think we were the noisest table!

The service can be a bit slow at times but this was camouflaged by the banter and laughter at the table.

Unfortunately as with most Chinese restaurants, they do not have very good desserts but the restaurant provided us with red bean and custard pancakes on the house.  A tad oily though!

Not a bad Peking restaurant for a quick "Chow" or group parties if you are in the neck of the woods.  Parking can be a bit tricky though with time limis of 2 hours on Kent street.

Steel your way in

Two girlfrends and I decided to catch up after work or a drink one day.  I suggested going to this new bar and restaurant which opened not too long ago.  This new establishment is situated behind Wynyard station on York Street and it's where the old Tasmania Tourism used to be.

I thought that it was a great use of the space.  Very well designed and the balcony area was warm and inviting.  We started by having cocktails at the bar / outside balcony.  It is decked out with comfy chairs overlooking heritage buildings.  Must say it was a good place to have cocktails. 

After two cocktails, we decided to adjourn to the restaurant.  The restaurant is open plan, with steel panelling.  Great to see the kitchen and the 3000 bottles of wine lining the walls.  There were quite a few people there for dinner on a Tuesday night.

The menu is quite varied, and one which I wuld consider more Ausralian fare.  One is able to pick and choose and to share.  We had scallops to start with and steaks for main.  Both main courses were cooked very well and it was very tasty.  Alas, we were too full to fit in dessert.

We had to dash to the bathroom and boy...  so steely and dark, the doors were very heavy due to the steel panelling and there were screens above the taps which was showing Sex and the City movie... hmm... says something about having a bar and restaurant in the middle of the city.

Must say they have a good wine selection too...

All in all... would recommend this place.  The restaurant had a good feel to it, nice ambience, we had a lot of fun talking and laughing that we were the last ones to leave...

"Steel" your yourself at the "Steel Bar and Grill".