Date Archives September 2015

Singapore week! Cafe Mix, Shangri La

Review September 11, 2015

Sydney Food Blog Review of Cafe Mix, Shangri La

I have a confession: I have been so busy eating, that I’ve actually not had enough time to blog. I know, #FoodBloggerProblems, right?

But finally, FINALLY, I’m sitting down to write the recap of Shangri-La’s Singapore Week at Cafe Mix. Because there’s nothing like putting the words “Singapore” and “all-you-can-eat” together to get me all hot under the collar.

Oh look, proper satay sticks, and not the massive chicken breast monstrosities that we usually get in Sydney!

Each table also got a single Singapore Chilli Crab to share, which, while authentic in its sauce, was a bit of a waste of time on the size. See, with crab, there’s always a effort-to-enjoyment ratio. The meat that you get from all the work picking the crab clean should be worth the time taken to do it. And with this, it was just a bit, well, imbalanced.

And my golden ratio was violated.

The rest of the offerings – chicken rice? YAAASSS – was actually quite authentic and well-done, considering that it can be hard to get the specific ingredients and skill in Sydney. The chicken was silky and tender, and the condiment game was strong with this one.

The dessert spread was the most impressive of the lot, mixing traditional dessert items, like Pulut Hitam, a black glutinous rice and coconut porridge, with more modern takes like the pandan roulette. Oh and the pandan gelato? Smooth as silk and rich like a colonial master. Best pandan gelato I’ve had, well, ever.

It was a great way to ease some of the homesickness I’ve had for Singapore food, without the hassle of you know, actually leaving the country. And the best part of the Shangri-la wasn’t even that they flew the chefs in, oh no, it was the service. The waiters were omnipresent and invisible all at once, and missing cutlery and drinks mysteriously appear before we even think to ask for them.

Well done, Shangri-la, well done. *slow claps*

This meal was independently paid for.

Shayan Quarter @ Cafe Mix
176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks
Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9250 6206
Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/restaurants/cafe-mix/

Be still my beating heart: Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst

Review September 9, 2015

Sydney Food Blog Review of Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst

No, like cardiac-arrest-literally.

Gelato Messina’s Dessert Bar in Darlinghurst has always been OTT in their creations, but when you have a collaborator like ex-Hartyard Andy Bowdy, you know that you’re in for a real treat. Or a sugar spike so high it can hold its own against the statue of liberty.

Now I am not a sweets person, not by a long shot, but when I do, I like to go all out. And the Rocher Ferrero certainly fits that description: hazelnut and chocolate come together in a soft serve swirl covered with so many shards of wafer and chocolate that you don’t know where the crispy ends and the rich gelato begins.

We honestly couldn’t finish the cone between us two, which seems like such a waste of good food, but truly, I don’t think we were robust enough to finish this cone.

On a serious note, it was well executed, and the whole thing actuslly tasted like a Ferrero Rocher on steroids, which is no easy feat. The staff were polite and efficient, and I really like how they tried to make use of a tiny space to at least give you a place to stop and enjoy the dessert masterpiece you’ve just purchased.

This was independently paid for.

Gelato Messina
Shop 1, 241 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst, NSW
Phone: 02 9331 1588
Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

Wok this way: Wok On Inn, Zetland

Review September 7, 2015

Sydney Food Blog Review of Wok On Inn, Zetland

I am not who you’d call an adventurer. Even living in Sydney, I’ve seen less of Australia than many tourists. Maybe even less of Sydney.

So when I got an invitation to Wok On Inn to check out their new store in Zetland, I thought it would be a great opportunity to explore another area of Sydney that I’ve never been to. And what better way than to do it with food?

Thai Fish Cakes

Wok On Inn has a good formula working for them and they’re sticking to it: pick and customize your ingredients and sauce, and it will be stir-fried to order. Simple, fast consistent.

Uncle’s Drunken Noodles

Korean Prawn Stir Fry

The Drunken Noodles come highly recommended, and seems to have changed slightly fro the last time I tried it. The sauce is spicier – never a bad thing – and darker than before, and I felt like it’s better mixed into the noodles. For the noodle/chilli-averse amongst you, the Korean Prawn Stir Fry provides a slightly sweet foil to white rice that grows on you the more you eat it. The food is starting to taste less distinctive between the dishes as opposed to before, but that may be to do with the fact that a lot of Asian recipes have ingridients that overlap, and if there was a recipe change then that might affect the uniqueness of the flavour combinations.

Otherwise, this eatery does a bustling lunch trade that’s kept flowing by friendly, bubbly staff, many of whom have Asian backgrounds themselves. And with the classy new apartments and snazzy new shopping centre, you do feel like you’re transported to a city within a city, just with a little less pollution.

Now if only Zetland wasn’t so darn far from the train station.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Wok On Inn.

Wok On Inn
Shop T.09 East Village Shopping Centre
2 Defries Avenue, Zetland NSW 2017
Phone: (02) 8048 6320
Website: http://www.wokoninn.com.au

Shanghai’d! Taste of Shanghai, World Square

Review September 6, 2015

Sydney Food Blog Review: Taste of Shanghai, World Square

Dumpling frenzy is alive and well in Sydney, with every man and his dog attempting the iconic soup dumpling (xiao long bao) – little pastry wrapped parcels of engineering genius that explode with scalding hot soup the moment you bite into it.

What can I say? We’re gluttons for punishment.

Din Tai Fung has been known as the reigning lords of soup dumplings, and in Sydney, it seems, that claim has been challenged by fellow Chinese restaurant giant the Taste of Shanghai.

Pan fried pork dumpling

Of course, one cannot subsist on soup dumplings alone. Well, maybe we can, but probably shouldn’t. So you know, we order other things, too, just as a cover.

…and also cause I was starving.

Pan fried pork buns

Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings)

Braised bamboo shoot

Stir Fried Green Beans with Pork Mince

Olive Fried Rice

Deep Fried Chinese Milk Dough

And the verdict? They do actually serve up a variety of dishes quite well. The service can be a bit impersonal, but really, I wasn’t expecting too much from the gruff manner of the people seating us anyway. At least they’re consistent, right?

The actual soup dumplings pale in comparision to Din Tai Fung, but it’s a good effort, and better than many other places who attempt this structural masterpiece of a dish. Notable dishes include the braised bamboo shoots, olive fried rice and pan-fried pork buns – the fluffy bun equivalent of the soup dumplings, complete with explosive hot soup.

One warning, though, for the high blood pressured amongst us: the food is incredibly uh, seasoned, so you’re probably going to either need lots of plain rice and tea to cut it, or need to drink an entire lagoon of water afterward.

Mermaid sold separately.

This meal was independently paid for.

Taste of Shanghai
Shop 9.07, World Square Shopping Centre
644 George Street
Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9261 8832
Website: www.tosau.com.au/

Asian? Asion! Cafe Cre Asion, Sydney

Review September 4, 2015 2 Comments

Sydney Food Blog Review of Cafe Cre Asion, Surry Hills

What do you do after you go on a multi-pork-roll-food-crawl down oxford street? Walk to Surry Hills to get dessert, of course!

And that’s how we found ourselves at Cafe Cre Asion (how do you even pronounce that, anyway?) ordering cookies, macarons and tea on an incredibly full stomach.

This Asian dessert cafe has all the usual suspects…suspect. Matcha features in many of the menu items, including their famous matcha lattes.

The latte was okay, iced, but what really blew me away was the enthusiasm of the service. Sure, there were a few mixups, but they all looked so happy to be there. The macarons were also surprisingly good as well – the roasted rice had a lovely savoury quality to it, and the lychee had an amazing perfume.

A nice place to have afternoon tea with a friend, or takeaway some treats. Be careful of rocking up with big groups though – it’s quite a small space that’s really more suited to uh, intimate catchups.

Or you know, you could just go by yourself and stuff your face with macarons like I wish I did!

This meal was independently paid for.

Cafe Cre Asion
21 Alberta Street, Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 8317 4856
Website: www.creasion.com.au/

Green eggs and…Spice I am, Surry Hills

Review September 2, 2015 2 Comments

Sydney Food Blog Review of Spice I Am, Surry Hills

Salads aren’t always green. And you know what, some of the most delicious salads I’ve had, have been far from green.

The banana flower, for example, is an amazingly fresh ingredient that has astringent notes, making it a great base for toppings like shrimp, garlic and fried eschallots. At Spice I Am, it was a lovely pile of sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy, and all the goodness inbetween. A little pricey, though, at close to $30, but an incredibly satisfying solo lunch.

Definitely inspires me to maybe create some of my own…with less detriment to my wallet perhaps? I might sound cheap, but I still am trying to justify dropping a cool $30 for lunch when Haymarket is right around the corner. Maybe a trip to Campbell street is in order?

Maybe when I feel less poor. Haha

This meal was independently paid for.

Shayan Quarter @ Cafe Mix 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks Sydney, NSW Phone: 02 9250 6206 Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/restaurants/cafe-mix/

This was independently paid for.

Gelato Messina Shop 1, 241 Victoria Street Darlinghurst, NSW Phone: 02 9331 1588 Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Wok On Inn.

Wok On Inn Shop T.09 East Village Shopping Centre 2 Defries Avenue, Zetland NSW 2017 Phone: (02) 8048 6320 Website: http://www.wokoninn.com.au

This meal was independently paid for.

Taste of Shanghai Shop 9.07, World Square Shopping Centre 644 George Street Sydney, NSW Phone: 02 9261 8832 Website: www.tosau.com.au/

This meal was independently paid for.

This meal was independently paid for.

Spice I Am 90 Wentworth Ave Surry Hills, NSW Phone: (02) 9280 0928 Website: http://spiceiam.com/spice-i-am-surry-hills

Shayan Quarter @ Cafe Mix
176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks
Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9250 6206
Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/restaurants/cafe-mix/

Gelato Messina
Shop 1, 241 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst, NSW
Phone: 02 9331 1588
Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

Wok On Inn
Shop T.09 East Village Shopping Centre
2 Defries Avenue, Zetland NSW 2017
Phone: (02) 8048 6320
Website: http://www.wokoninn.com.au

Taste of Shanghai
Shop 9.07, World Square Shopping Centre
644 George Street
Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9261 8832
Website: www.tosau.com.au/

Spice I Am
90 Wentworth Ave
Surry Hills, NSW
Phone: (02) 9280 0928
Website: http://spiceiam.com/spice-i-am-surry-hills