Happy Chap Gor Meh!!!! It’s the fifteenth (and last) day of Chinese New Year today, and I thought that I’d do bumper posts highlighting some CNY activities this year!
Usually, I’d be in Singapore for CNY, but with the new job and other stuff, I didn’t manage to make it home this year. No matter though, since Sydney had plenty of stuff going on – much more than I could go to!
An impromptu trip to Cabramatta was rewarded with a Chinese New Year festival!!
There were people playing chess, playing music and there were beautiful decorations everywhere!!
And of course, the food.
After hearing so much about it, I finally get to try Iron Chef‘s Peking Duck Pancakes!
A succulent strip of duck is paired with spring onion and cucumber. The whole lot is encased in a soft floury pancake and drizzled with hoi sin Sauce.
It was so yummy, I really wanted more. The duck was really the shining star, and personally, I prefer my peking duck with plum sauce. I really really really felt like buying a duck home though – it was juicy and not too greasy. Next time…next time.
Sean and I then went to Dong Son, which had menus written in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese! How’s that for a multilingual restaurant?
I just had to have the Pho. The broth was just so tasty, and the soft rice noodles soaked up all that flavour. The brisket was soft and melt-in-your-mouth, the tripe was springy…and did I mention the broth. That heavenly soup was just bursting with flavour and fragrance. For me, the litmus test for Pho is always the broth. If the first sip of the broth does not seranade you with flavour, then that is not good Pho.
The dish, of course, was served with a plate of raw beansprouts and lemon for you to add as you wish.
Sean, having a Salt and Pepper Calamari addiction, ordered just that.
The dish itself was quite unremarkable – the calamari was relatively fresh, but didn’t taste of the sea – but the sauce that it came with…wow. It had a salty, lemony, tastiness to it that just popped in our mouths.
And so ends Part 1 of my Chinese New Year bumper post. I hope the last 15 days have been good to you, and here’s wishing that the year ahead will bring you good health, and – quite importantly – all sorts of good eats. =)
We ate at:
Dong Son
44 Park Road
Cabramatta 2166
(02) 9724 4551
Oh yum, that Peking Duck looks so beautiful. It’s making my mouth water. Lovely photos of the flowers too.
Peking duck pancakes are my favourites! I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never tried Pho but given your recommendation I think I’ll be heading to Cabramatta soon.