Posts tagged Bloggers’ meetups

…Four, actually, but somehow that didn’t sound as nice.

After the incident the last time we went for Laura’s birthday, Chef’s Gallery very kindly invited us back for dinner. There was much discussion about whether to accept the invitation back and whether to write about it, but in the end I thought that it was really great that they read blogs and that they were nice enough to try and work it out when something went wrong.

And for that, I commend them.

We tried some other food this time – we love variety – and there were some favourites that we had to order again.

The hot drinks came highly recommended, and given that it was a cold, wet, winter night, we tried some. Laura and Mel had the Chrysanthemum, Rose Bulbs and Goji Berry Tea, and I had the Coca-cola with Preserved Mandarin Peel. The Chrysanthemum tea was well-received, with absolutely no complaints. The Cola – and I know that many of you are thinking, “WARM COLA?! You’ve lost your mind!” – was actually not bad at all. Just imagine Orange flavoured cola (like vanilla cola or cherry cola, just citrus-y), but warm. It’s a little difficult to visualize in its entirety, but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. I quite liked it, but then again I’ve to warn you that I’m a fan of flat soft drinks, so be warned that I’m biased that way.

Clockwise from top left: Wok Fried Water Spinach with Chilli Prawn Paste, Fluffy Chinese Roti with Pork Floss, Barrel Squids with Glass Noodles, Wok fried Spinach Noodles with Seafood and Prawn Roe .

We had ordered heaps of food, so the Wok Fried Water Spinach with Chilli Prawn Paste was kinda the token veggie “healthy” dish. For me, anyway. It was not bad as far as veggie goes – it’s a version of the Sambal Kang Kong that we have in Singapore (a must try if you visit), except with less chilli.

The Fluffy Chinese Roti with Pork Floss was very much Prata, and I found the addition of Pork Floss quite interesting. For those of you haven’t tried Pork Floss, you need to. It looks like cotton wool, but I assure you that it’s much more tasty. It’s pork that has been seasoned and dried, and the sweet threads melt in the mouth. The closest way I can describe it is dehydrated pulled pork. Not the best description, but there you go. The Roti was nice but not the best I’ve had, but the Pork Floss was the “ooh, that sounds nice” twist to it.

We thought that since the poor noodle chefs were standing in the giant fish tank, their every move scruntinized by the hungry public, we should order a noodle dish. And so we had the Wok fried Spinach Noodles with Seafood and Prawn Roe. Unfortunately this dish didn’t do very much for us, the seafood was nicely cooked, but somehow it felt like there was something missing in the noodles. For me, the individual elements were quite nice, but when had together, felt like they didn’t quite gel. Perhaps we should have tried a different noodle dish?

The Barrel Squids with Glass Noodles fared much better, with the soft squid and savoury noodles with just enough bite. It was simple and tasty, and wasn’t devilishly naughty like some of the others that we had ordered.

From left: Fried Eggplant with Olive Vegetables, Fried Eggplant with Tangy Minced Pork Sauce

Like this! Both Fried Eggplant with Olive Vegetables and the Fried Eggplant with Tangy Minced Pork Sauce were divine. The eggplants were firm and not mushy (and not that greasy, for that matter), and were easily the favourites of the night. The dish with the olive vegetables was the lighter of the two (and a good vegetarian option), but I felt the one with the minced pork sauce was the tastier. There was a really addictive quality about it, and something I’d label a must-try if you went.

The Wok Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork was ordered again, but this time with pancakes! The green beans are much the same, but I preferred it with the pancakes, which came in a little steamer basket. I felt that by contrast, the soft pancakes brought out a lot more texture in the green beans, and carried the minced pork better.

And who can forget dessert?

From left: Green tea ice cream with Red Bean Paste and Lightly Fried Sweet Potato Balls, Mango Ice Cream served with Mango Puree and Lightly Fried Sweet Potato Balls

Although it was winter, we ordered two ice creams – Green tea ice cream with Red Bean Paste and Lightly Fried Sweet Potato Balls and Mango Ice Cream served with Mango Puree and Lightly Fried Sweet Potato Balls – and they were a nice end to the meal. The green tea ice cream was creamy and smooth, and the mango ice cream with light and refreshing. The Sweet Potato Balls were, well, interesting. I’m not quite sure why they were there, but I liked them on their own. I liked sweet potato in general, so it was nice.

Oh, and those piggies?

Absolutely exploded from all the food that was consumed! There were some witnesses, but all were too traumatized to come forward. We’ve got someone one the case though:

😉

Note: Insatiable Munchies and other food bloggers mentioned in this post dined as guests of Chef’s Gallery.

We ate at:
Chef’s Gallery
12/501 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9267 8877

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I’ve had the pleasure to attend yet another successful food bloggers’ meetup organized by the lovely Miss Piggy!

The Dip is a little eatery that’s hidden inside a bar/club called Good God, and there were many frantic instructions and SOS’s on finding it.

But we did all get there in the end!

It was decided that we’d have some things to share, and have a main each.

Clockwise from left: Pulled Pork Nachos $15, Salsa Fries $6, Grilled Corn $8

After much iPhone-lit photo taking, we all tucked in to the food. The pulled pork Nachos had great texture and the Lime Mayo really added a richness to the grilled corn. But my absolute favourite was the salty/tangy/crispiness of the Salsa Fries. Given that I’m a salt fan, it might be a bit on the salty side for some, but the tanginess of the Salsa really helped to balance that and add a certain juiciness to it.

Full disclaimer though, I am a soggy fries kind of person. There! I’ve admitted it.

Left to right: Snow Peas $8, Slaw $6

These two sides-to-share were…alright. The Snow Peas were “grilled, with coriander and vinaigrette”, but honestly, I couldn’t really taste either. All I got was, well, Snow Peas. And I’m not quite sure that I’d fork out $8 for a handful of grilled Snow Peas.

The Slaw was better, with it’s creamy, apple-y goodness. For some reason, that sweet crunch of shredded apple really made this dish addictive for me. Worth getting as a side.

Now on to the mains!

I had the Damn Skippy, $12. Kangaroo mince shaped into a burger patty, sandwiched between two fluffy buns, juicy beetroot and refreshing salad. After hearing all those horror stories about Kangaroo meat being horribly cooked, I was a bit worried about ordering this burger, but it was surprisingly juicy! It wasn’t as game-y as I thought either. The only thing was, when asked about whether I could taste the Macademias, my answer was that I didn’t even know that there were meant to be Macademias. Great burger, though if the nuts were what got you ordering this burger, then maybe you’d like to try something else. =)

Lev’s Dawg, $12, was also reeeeaaaallly good. I loved how once again, the juicy salsa really lifted the hotdog, that also had lightly spiced chipotle mayo, mustard, grilled yellow peppers, smokey sausage and fluffy bun. A definite must-order.

I also had a taste of the Southern Smoke, $12. The pulled pork had a light smokey flavour, but it seemed the general opinion that maybe it could have been just a wee bit more smoked.

After all of that, some of us (me included!) were absolutely craving something sweet.

They were out of Toffee Apples, so we had easy choices! The Cookies and Cream, $10 was all gone as soon as they arrived!! I didn’t get to try them, but I heard that that salted caramel ice cream was just the ticket.

I shared an Ice Cold Guac, $10 with Petra, and I was so fascinated with the idea of the avocado ice cream with the deep red strawberry salsa. The verdict? Well it was a resounding…”Hmmm.” Both the elements were really nice on their own – the avocado ice cream had a lovely creaminess to it, and the acidity of the strawberry salsa did a little dance in my mouth with every bite – but I’m still not entirely convinced that both these elements should really be thrown together.

In all, it was a great evening! Sure, the place isn’t exactly built for dinner conversation, but it was a nice experience nontheless. =)

We ate at:

The Dip
(02) 9267 3787
Good God
55 Liverpool St
Sydney, 2000

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The lovely Laura turned 23, and there was much celebrating going around. =)

Laura, Mel, Marty and myself went to Chef’s Gallery for dinner, and on hindsight, it seemed like we were going for practically everything on the menu!

Clockwise from top left: Panfried Pork and Cabbage Dumplings, Chef’s Own Mini Pork Buns, Crabmeat Spring Rolls

Just because there is SO MUCH FOOD, I’m going to write about the ones that were interesting to me. There wasn’t a dish that we tried that was bad, but they were not all fantastic.

The Chef’s Own Mini Pork Buns were really good. It kind of reminds me of Chilli Crab in Singapore, where deep fried Mantou (buns) are often ordered to mop up all the errant sauce. This offering from Chef’s Gallery has a crispy outer shell and marshmallow-y soft insides. And wedged in it’s pacman-like opening is a slice of fatty pork belly. Om nom nom…

I didn’t say it was good for you. 😉

From top: Spicy Pork and Prawn Dumplings, Wok Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork

I really liked the chilli sauce in the Spicy Pork and Prawn Dumplings, but the filling, or rather, the dumplings themselves didn’t really stand up to it. Similarly, I love the mince in the Wok Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork because I have a weakness for the salty beans that they use in the mixture, but its not a dish that I’d be thinking about going back for.

Clockwise from top left: Seafood Pancake in Creamy Lime Sauce, Seared Scallops with Vinaigrette, Steamed Prawn Dumplings

Meh, this group didn’t really rock my world. It was all alright, but there was something about each that made me hesitate about that. The Seafood Pancake was quite like Prawn Toast, the Seared Scallops were…not very fresh, and the Steamed Prawn Dumplings were much like others that you can find at any establishment that does a decent Yum Cha.

Now get ready for some MAJOR CUTENESS!!!

How cute is that!!!! These Sesame Buns are shaped like little piggies, and each steamer basket gets a boy and a girl. The molten sesame filling inside is yummy, and tastes much like other black sesame desserts, but I really think that this dish is much about the ABSOLUTE CUTENESS!

There is a downside to this tale, though. When I was there, the service was terrible. First of all, they messed up the booking. It was made for 6pm on a Friday night, but Laura got a call on Thursday instead. Even after informing them that the booking was meant for Friday, they still had no records when we rocked up at the door. They did let us in, but promptly informed us that we were to leave by 7.30pm. The food was prompt, but when we requested a tray, we were ignored. When I decided that I had to ask a manager as the food was getting cold, I was met with a brusque, “I will solve your problems later”. Later, when we wanted to order more food at about 7pm, the poor waitress who took our order got absolutely yelled at by that same manager, and she came back to meekly remind us that we had to leave by 7.30pm.

So will I go back? Well, the food is good, but not mind blowing enough to risk being treated like that again. Sure, the restaurant was busy, but we had made a booking, and we went through all the proper channels in our requests. Make of it what you will, but just be wary of what you might get in terms of the service.

We ate at:
Chef’s Gallery
12/501 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9267 8877

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How awesome are food blogger meetups?? This one was organized by the lovely Wendy of Obesebaby, and the dinner was courtesy of Food Morning Sydney.

Wendy, Mel, Sara and myself got to eat and Sitney Thai in Parramatta, which is mah ‘hood!! I really love finding out about good places to go near home – it’s great for that sudden, “let’s go somewhere for dinner” decision!

And you know what it means when there are four food bloggers? FOUR TIMES THE FOOD!!!! (And we share and care, so it’s great! Tee hee.)

We could choose four entrées between us, but two of them had to be chosen from the following: spring rolls, curry puffs and satay chicken. We chose the Spring Rolls and Curry Puffs as, as per Miss Piggy’s suggestion, curry puffs are trés bad for you.

For our other choices we picked Duck and Herb, which is really yummy duck mince, artfully seasoned and scooped onto little lettuce leaves. This dish was an absolute winner, and something that I would order again in a snap!

We also ordered Tung Tong, or Moneybags, as they are better known. The inside was hot and steamy (watch your tongue!), and tasted strongly of, well, carrots. Not that it’s a bad thing, but for some reason I couldn’t really taste much else in the stuffing.

The Spring Rolls were very sweet, and the dipping sauce, even sweeter. I personally have quite a sweet tooth at times, so I didn’t mind it, but it was sweet enough to be definitely noticed by everyone.

The Satay Chicken was…I’m sorry to say that it was just a little lacklustre. The chicken was not too dry, but not quite as moist, and the peanut sauce was just a bit creamy for my taste.

We ordered Pad Thai, Soft Shell Crab Som Tum, Massaman Beef Curry and Pepper and Lime Leaf Stir Fry as our mains. The Pad Thai was ordered as the benchmark, and was well, ok. Not too moist, but also not particularly moreish. Although, it is really good that it was not overly sweet, like some of the other Pad Thais I’ve had. The Massaman Beef Curry was quite good, though not a dish for sharing. The sweet potato strips were incredibly moreish, and the beef had a deep, meaty flavour, but the pieces were quite large and hard to split amongst us.

I have a weakness for Som Tum, which is a papaya salad flavoured with lime juice, chilli, palm sugar and dried shrimp, all lovingly pounded in a wooden mortar and pestle. I love it’s salty/sweet tangy goodness, and will most certainly order it whenever it’s available. The addition of Soft Shell Crab just sold this dish for me. The freshness of the salad perfectly balanced the creamy crispiness (I know it’s an oxymoron, but if you’ve had soft shell crab you’ll know what I’m talking about) of the crab. YUM!

The Pepper and Lime Leaf Stir Fry was also good, although just a little strong on the pepper for my taste.

And the culprit? Long strands of pepper fried with the juicy chicken and crunchy veggies. And while they make a pretty picture, don’t eat them unless you have an absolute love for pepper.

We were absolutely full after this, due to the rather large serving sizes, and actually forgot about the dessert!!

A warm, creamy salty/sweet mouthful, the Rockmelon with Sago and Coconut Milk was a mixture of tastes and textures. The sago has a texture quite similar to tapioca pearls that you can find in bubble teas, although less chewy and way smaller.

In all, it was a really good dinner. Thanks again to Wendy for the invite!!!!

We ate at:

277B Church Street
Parramatta NSW 2150
(02) 9633 3226

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