Posts by tammi

The perfect pair? Chur Burger and Mudhouse Wines

Review June 22, 2015

Review of Chur Burger and Mudhouse Wines

Burgers to me have always naturally been classed as “beer food”. You know, sport on tv, greasy burger, hot chips, cold beer? But the burgers ain’t greasy at Chur Burger, and well, the beer ain’t beer either.

No, the alcohol in this case comes courtesy of Mudhouse Wines, and Chef Warren has created four new burgers at Chur Burger to pair with the wines, in a limited edition menu, only available for the next month.

Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder Burger, with sweet potato, pickled beetroot, and minted slaw

I was very lucky to try all four burgers in a slider size with all of the available wines – goat’s curd burger with a pinot gris, saffron prawn burger with a sauvignon blanc, and a slow roasted lamb burger, and a crispy pork belly burger, both paired with a pinot noir.

I know, hard life, right? 😉

Crispy Pork Belly Burger, with cherry gastrique, baby gem and fennel mayo

My experience with wines has been pretty limited, but the pinot gris with the goat’s curd burger was nice. And this is where you imagine me holding up the “ok” symbol and having a very impressed look on my face. Very nice. The 2014 Pinot Gris had a very clean finish, and cleansed the palette between bites very nicely. It held up very well to the burger, and we all know that Warren does good burgers.

The pork and lamb burger was similarly delicious, though not quite as delicious as the goat’s curd, but the prawn, for me, didn’t quite work as a burger. Each component was delicious, but the filling to bun ratio didn’t quite work with each bite.

Still. Super delicious stuff from two kiwis who really know what they’re doing. And only $20 in Sydney CBD!! A steal any way you choose to look at it. Two thumbs up.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Chur Burger and Mudhouse Wines.

Chur Burger
48 Albion Street
Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9212 3602
Website: http://churburger.com.au/sydney.html

The Malaysian Equation: Mamak, Haymarket

Review June 21, 2015

Mamak, Haymarket, Sydney Food Blog Review by Tammi Kwok

Growing up, I was just 15 minutes from a famous late night eating district in Singapore – Jalan Kayu. It was basically a whole restaurant strip worth of roti pratas – flat breads that are chewy, crispy and flaky all at once, in the most delicious way. The Malaysians call it roti canai, and Mamak has a long standing repuation of making some of the fluffiest ones in Sydney!

Sambal Sotong

Part of the deliciousness to roti is the variety things to have it with. This time we ordered Sambal Sotong, because seafood and chilli are probably the two biggest loves in my life.

Well, non-human loves.

Roti Canai

The Roti Canai was fluffy and crispy, and the Sambal Sotong satisfied my craving…even if the serving was quite a bit on the small side. In fact, the considering cost to food standard ratio, the lack of value for money is only made up for with the fact that there wasn’t a queue on the night we went.

I normally wouldn’t drop by Mamak because there are other delicious options in Chinatown, but when you have a craving, well, what else can you do?

This meal was independently paid for

Mamak
15 Goulburn Street
Haymarket, Sydney NSW
Phone: 02 9211 1668
Website: http://www.mamak.com.au

A Zomato Meetup: Cho Cho San, Potts Point

Review June 18, 2015

What’s even better than eating out with a bunch of fellw foodies? Eating out with a bunch of fellow foodies at an event organized by a mammoth food company like Zomato.

Although, to call them a food company is provably a bit misleading. Just a bit.

Zomato basically deals with restaurant listings, and they’ve recently taken over Urbanspoon. In a friendly way. Friendly. Uh huh.

No but seriously. Zomato is live in 22 countries, and in an effort to foster the community of foodies, they organized the very first #zomatomeetup at the restaurant on everyone’s to-eat list: Cho Cho San.

The bossam menu (for groups of four or more) is simple: tender beef shortrib and steamed prawns, to be had with a battery of condiments, pickles, lettuce leaves, and white fluffy baos. Then a miso corn soup to round up the savouries, and their famous matcha soft serve to finish.

Tender Beef Short Ribs

The beef ribs, like a prized bull at a fair, was the first thing to go. Juicy, tender and gelatinous where it should have been, it held more than its own against the riot of flavours provided by the fresh herbs, sauces and pickles. And I couldn’t help but mop up all the rich jus left at the bottom of the platter with a milky white bao. Embarassing? Maybe. But it was SO worth it.

Steamed Prawns

The prawns were steamed to succulent perfection, but for the first time in my life, I have to admit that the shellfish was completely outshone by the beef. And I have a devoted love affair with shellfish, so you know how much it took for me to say that.

And with the soft white buns – I like big buns and I cannot lie – that beef made for an amazing gua bao. It nearly rivals Belly Bao for me, save for the quality of the actual buns itself. But we are veering away from Bossam territory here, in the way that a street racer goes for a joyride: at a dangerous speed but just loving that journey.

And then, all too soon, it was time for dessert.

Matcha Soft Serve

Mind you, I may not have wanted to move on because I just wanted more beef in my belly, but this matcha soft serve was solid. Heavy on the matcha flavour (like it should be) and they fill it all the way into the bottom of the cone! such a simple thing, but it made all the difference. Smooth, silky, and well, good soft serve.

But dat beef, tho’.

Fantastic variety from the team, and very well executed, even if the more gluttonous of us walked away searching for more food. Or should I say waddled? Otherwise a fantastic lunch, and of course, awesome company. Would really like to see what their regular menu is like, although I don’t know how I’d walk in and want anything else but that beef.

Dat beef.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Zomato

Cho Cho San
73 Macleay Street
Potts Point, Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9331 6601
Website: http://chochosan.com.au

What’s the…Rush Hotdogs and Burgers, Surry Hills

Review June 17, 2015 1 Comment

Review of Rush Hotdogs and Burgers in Surry Hills

You know when a restaurant catches your eye while you’re walking, and you look at it and think, “oh I should try that sometime”, only to never make it back? Well that happens to me A LOT, especially in a suburb like Surry Hills. Hip, trendy cafes on every corner, options galore, and enough variety to leave the most dedicated gluttons entertained for months.

Well one such restaurant came back up again, while I was taking a long, late night stroll with Sam: Rush Hotdogs and Burgers sits on the corner of Elizabeth and Albion, and after months of “maybe I’ll make it next time”, we finally made it.

El Cabrones (Wagyu Beef Burger, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Bacon, Guacamole, Onion, Chipotle, Jalapeño

Now you can’t go to a burger joint without actually ordering a burger, so we got the El Cabrones with a side of chips, and chicken wings.

Chicken Wings

The El Cabrones – wagyu beef patty, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, chipotle, jalapeno – was a bit like a really precocious child: it held so much promise, but was unfortunately a bit of a non-event. A beef patty so overcooked it was like cardboard, totally tanked the careful work that went into creating a riot of flavours that were nicely balanced. And if I wanted to be disappointed, I’d just go step on a weighing scale.

The Chicken Wings, though, thankfully salvaged the whole experience. Well seasoned on the outside, hot and juicy on the inside, and totally tastes of chicken that has been brined. And anyone who takes the effort to brine their chicken is okay in my books.

Maybe the hotdogs will be better.

This meal was independently paid for.

Rush Hotdogs and Burgers
240 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills, NSW
Phone: (02) 9211 9045
Website: www.rushhotdogsandburgers.com.au/

How to make Black Garlic at home!

Food Life Hacks Recipe June 17, 2015 13 Comments

I have an intense, if somewhat stinky, love affair with garlic. Fresh, roasted, braised, steamed…I will take it any way I can get it.

Even if it somewhat, uh, impedes romantic overtures.
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Netflix Binge: Parenthood

Entertainment TV Series June 16, 2015

Netflix Binge: Review of NBC's Parenthood

I’m hooked. I’m completely hooked.

Let me just start by saying that I don’t usually like dramas very much. They’re heavy, and gets under your skin, and makes me cry and mess up my makeup way more often that it should. But for some reason, maybe because I’m pulled in by seeing Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) as yet another single mom to teenage kids, I decided to put NBC’s Parenthood on my list.

Smoking without smoke? Suminoya, Sydney CBD

Review June 15, 2015

I love barbecue in all its forms. American, Brazillian, Chinese…and that’s just the beginning of the alphabet! But I hate actually being outside, so the solution? Tabletop barbecue – like the Korean varieties with the amazing array of side dishes- where the food comes to you.

Now there IS just one very fundamental flaw in an otherwise delicious plan: at the end of dinner, you smell like you’ve been barbecued, yourself. All that delicious smoke lingers and clings, and gets every where. It’s worse than glitter.

Enter the Japanese solution (and there’s ALWAYS a Japanese solution): smokeless charcoal.

Sumi in Japanese, refers to all charcoal, and binchotan is a white charcoal that is sold as “smokeless”. Which, is not entirely accurate, since the fat dripping off the pieces of meat still create flareups and smoke, but by itself, the light grey pieces of glowing charcoal really doesn’t seem to emit any visible trails of smoke that lovers of tabletop barbecue, like myself, are so used to seeing. So magical!

So then, what does Suminoya mean? Well, quite literally translated: barbecue house.

Barbecue Selection

Of course, we can’t be in a barbecue house without food to barbecue, and Suminoya is very conveniently offering set options that allow you to choose 2 or 3 options for lunch, with rice, miso soup, and a side salad. We chose the duck, prawn, beef ribs and skirt steak, for two people.

But wait, you might be wondering why there was a magical fourth option. Well, as part of the Washoku Lovers membership programme – did I ever mention that I’ve got loyalty cards coming out of my ears? – you get an extra option thrown in for your lunch order, for the same price! And like anyone else, I love me some freebies.

Anyhoo, the meat was deliciously tender and very lightly seasoned, which was quite surprising considering skirt steak and beef ribs aren’t known for being tender cuts of meat. There was a certain delicateness about it all, and I’m not sure how I feel about it all. The food, though cooked over charcoal, was only lightly smoky, which kind of defeats the purpose of barbecue, to an extent. The smoke really is what separates this dining option from well, having my meal cooked for me in a pan by the cook, and the lack of a more butt-kicking smoke flavour makes me wonder whether there is really more effort than reward.

Mind you, it’s still a very nice Japanese barbecue. Just a little light on the smoke scale.

Mixed Sashimi (Entree)

We also ordered the sashimi entree, because uh, I love fish. No two ways around it. The fish was fresh and well handled – what you’d expect from a decent plate of sashimi.

This little barbecue house – hidden down Hoskings Place – actually packs quite a crowd, and all my concerns about smoke aside, still allowed me to walk out with a heavy coat without smelling like a barbecue myself, and for that, I am grateful.

Now I hear that they also do an all-you-can-eat…

Washoku Lovers is a free membership programme that gives you perks to many Japanese restaurants in Sydney! We also have visited other restaurants participating in the Washoku Lovers programme, like Izakaya Yebisu! To find out more about the programme and sign up, visit www.washokulovers.com.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Washoku Lovers and Suminoya.

Suminoya
1 Hosking Place
Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9231 2177
Website: http://www.yakiniku.com.au/suminoya/

Guide to photography: Saturation

Photography Tech June 15, 2015 1 Comment

Sometimes, photography can get so cluttered with techniques and illusions that it can be very hard to know where to start if you wanna improve! So I thought it might be nice have a little practice session: to just focus on one tool that photographers use, and how it can completely change the way you take photos!

This time, it’s all about saturation.
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The Michelin Effect: Tim Ho Wan, Chatswood

Review June 14, 2015

The Michelin guide started as a general guide for motorists. The Michelin brothers (who owned the tire company), decided to publish a guide that included maps, instructions for changing tires…and where to eat if you were going on a road trip. Today, this humble guide started by two men who owned a tire company has become a force unto itself, elevating restaurants to 6-month-waiting-list levels, or crushing the dreams of a chef slaving away at his craft.

All within those three little stars next to the restaurant’s name.

Well Tim Ho Wan – famous for being the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant – has expanded beyond its original Hong Kong venue, to the busy streets of…Chatswood.

Hundreds of excited foodies flock to Tim Ho Wan in its opening week…and then another week, and another. The queue never seemed to end. But luckily, I’m Singaporean, so I’m not afraid of a queue!

Prawn Dumplings

Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

Rice Noodle Rolls with Shrimp

Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf

Fish Maw with Prawn Paste

Simon and I went for a weekday brunch to minimise waiting time – surely other people have day jobs right? – and we were seated in 5 minutes. Win! We ordered a mixture of classic dim sum – rice noodle rolls and prawn dumplings, to name a couple – and the signature/new dishes – barbecued pork buns and fish maw with prawn paste. The classic were, well, a disappointment. The rice noodle rolls were brittle, and sorely lacking the chewy pull that I look forward to, and the prawn dumplings and pork rib with black bean sauce were mediocre.

The signature dishes, on the other hand, were much better executed, perhaps because there isn’t much competition out there. The barbecued pork buns with its buttery shell of “crumble” over the top of sweet, stuffed milk buns were truly special, and kept me going back for more. And the fish maw – fish stomach fried to a sponge like texture and then stuffed with fresh prawn paste and steamed – was quite the representation of good cantonese cooking.

For such a short menu, it’s a shame that there were more mediocre dishes than good ones. The glutinous rice – another in a long list of classic dim sum menu items – was expertly executed, but on the whole, the experience wasn’t enough to even keep us for dessert. Not worth the hype, nor the trip, unfortunately. Maybe a takeaway order of the barbecue pork buns?

This meal was independently paid for.

Tim Ho Wan
Victoria Ave & Railway St
Chatswood, NSW
Phone: (02) 9898 9888
Website: www.timhowan.com.au

Fine dining in the country: Emerson’s, Lovedale

Review June 12, 2015

Review of Emerson's Cafe and Restaurant, Lovedale

I’ve popped my girls’-weekend cherry. No, get your head of
the gutter. Not that kind of girls’ weekend. The kind that is glamourised by the Britney Spears’ classic, Crossroads – where women go on road trips together to find adventure, and themselves.

Well we may or may not have found ourselves (I’m pretty hard to miss), but you know what we found? A restaurant so good that after we went for dinner the first night, we went straight back for breakfast the next day.

Uh huh, it was that good.

The Dinner

Pork Croquette, Sauerkraut, apple gel

As foodies with eyes larger than our stomachs, the goal was simple: try as many things as we can stomach, and try not to walk away too broke to get home. So two entrees, one main and one dessert it was.

Miso cured atlantic salmon, pickled cucumber, soy jelly, seaweed dusted puffed rice, fresh horseradish cream

Venison Carpaccio with Apple and Sourdough Crisps

Of the entrees, the Miso cured atlantic salmon was my favourite. It was a very light plate, and even though the combination of miso and soy could have ended in an oversalted disaster, I felt like it was very nicely balanced. The Venison Carpaccio was a richer dish, and also very expertly executed, but not particularly outstanding to me.

Duck Supreme with Duck Hash, Carrot Crisps, Carrot Puree, Peas, Orange Sauce

The Duck Supreme was a throwback to the days of yore where serving a piece of poultry supreme – a breast with the drumlet bone still attached – was in vogue. So retro, like the term “in vogue”. Geddit?

But the old school concept was brought to the present with new school techniques, and the smallest details proved to be the most impressive. And I really mean the smallest details. The light-as-air carrot crisps involve dehydrating a sheet carrot puree, and then deep frying it for that otherworldly texture. The duck itself was tender and moist, and the whole plate came together very nicely with a balance of richness from the duck and sauce, and a lightness from the pea shoots and carrot components.

Banana Fritter, House made nulkaba farm honey ice cream, dulce de leche

And the final crescendo in the symphony that guarantees an exit with a bang, the dessert. We chose the Banana Fritter because well, dulce de leche makes us happy. Real happy. And this dessert hit all the rich, sweet notes that it was meant to hit. The honey ice cream was the most spectacular, with a very distinctive hum of honey through an otherwise vanilla base. And so smooth it puts a baby’s bottom to shame. Creamy and silky, and presented in a perfect quenelle.

And naturally, after having our fill of dinner, we went straight to making plans for breakfast.

The Breakfast

Lamb’s Fry with Potato Rosti, Fried Egg, Caramelised Onion, Butter Fried Toast. Wilted Spinach, Extra Bacon

I’ve always preferred savoury over sweet, and I love seeing how uncommon breakfast ingredients like Lamb’s Fry is used at the breakfast table. Lamb’s fry was not quite a thing in Singapore whilst I was growing up – a feat considering how much offal I ate – but since moving to Australia I’ve come to understand it as Lamb’s brains, that is usually crumbed and deep fried. Like a parallel universe’s version of chicken nuggets. I quite like the creamy texture of lamb’s brains, so imagine my shock and horror when liver came out instead. Grainy, tough, unforgiving liver. Turns out, Lamb’s Fry can refer to all the offal of lamb, and brain just seems to be the one that I’ve been eating. And I just don’t like liver. I keep trying, and I’ll eat it, but I don’t have nice things to say about a slab of cooked liver. #sorrynotsorry

Pate, on the other hand…

Fluffy Pancakes, Honeycomb Butter, Bananas, Extra Bacon

Thankfully Christine’s order of Fluffy Pancakes were exactly as we expected: fluffy AF, and fried in butter, with bits of caramel honeycomb dissolved throughout. Caramelised bananas and thick slabs of bacon completed the sweet/salty combo, and we walked away happy campers.

There was only one hiccup in all of this – the bread. Such a small thing, right? For dinner, we were asked if we wanted some house-made baguette, and I thought it was a nice question since a LOT of bread can get wasted if the diner didn’t actually want to eat it. So we said yes, and turns out, it wasn’t a question of food waste, it was an order. We were presented a $7 charge for an honestly fairly dense baguette, and quite a but of confusion in between. Thankfully they very readily took it off the bill when we explained the confusion, and we were still left with an amazing enough experience to come back again the next day.

Emerson’s was a very pleasant surprise considering that I wasn’t expecting too much out of country Australia, and definitely stiff competition for the Sydney dining scene. Worth the making a special trip.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Chur Burger and Mudhouse Wines.

Chur Burger 48 Albion Street Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW Phone: 02 9212 3602 Website: http://churburger.com.au/sydney.html

This meal was independently paid for

Mamak 15 Goulburn Street Haymarket, Sydney NSW Phone: 02 9211 1668 Website: http://www.mamak.com.au

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Zomato

Cho Cho San 73 Macleay Street Potts Point, Sydney, NSW Phone: 02 9331 6601 Website: http://chochosan.com.au

This meal was independently paid for.

Rush Hotdogs and Burgers 240 Elizabeth St Surry Hills, NSW Phone: (02) 9211 9045 Website: www.rushhotdogsandburgers.com.au/

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Washoku Lovers and Suminoya.

Suminoya 1 Hosking Place Sydney, NSW Phone: 02 9231 2177 Website: http://www.yakiniku.com.au/suminoya/

This meal was independently paid for.

Tim Ho Wan Victoria Ave & Railway St Chatswood, NSW Phone: (02) 9898 9888 Website: www.timhowan.com.au

The Dinner

The Breakfast

Emerson’s Adina Vineyard 492 Lovedale Rd Lovedale, NSW 2325 Phone: 02 4930 7029 Website: http://emersonsrestaurant.com.au

Chur Burger
48 Albion Street
Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9212 3602
Website: http://churburger.com.au/sydney.html

Mamak
15 Goulburn Street
Haymarket, Sydney NSW
Phone: 02 9211 1668
Website: http://www.mamak.com.au

Cho Cho San
73 Macleay Street
Potts Point, Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9331 6601
Website: http://chochosan.com.au

Rush Hotdogs and Burgers
240 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills, NSW
Phone: (02) 9211 9045
Website: www.rushhotdogsandburgers.com.au/

Suminoya
1 Hosking Place
Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9231 2177
Website: http://www.yakiniku.com.au/suminoya/

Tim Ho Wan
Victoria Ave & Railway St
Chatswood, NSW
Phone: (02) 9898 9888
Website: www.timhowan.com.au

Emerson’s
Adina Vineyard
492 Lovedale Rd
Lovedale, NSW 2325
Phone: 02 4930 7029
Website: http://emersonsrestaurant.com.au