Posts tagged salad

Rawr! Monsters Rolls, Darlinghurst

Review
Sydney Food Blog Review of Monsters Rolls, Darlinghurst

Sydney Food Blog Review of Monsters Rolls, Darlinghurst

Some girls like clothes shopping together. Some girls like doing each others’ hair. And the rest of us…well we eat together. And that’s pretty much what Christine and I decided to do on a day off together – check out the brand new Monsters Rolls on Oxford St!

It also helps that there was the promise of $2 rolls.

Sydney Food Blog Review of Monsters Rolls, Darlinghurst: Beef RollBeef Roll

Sydney Food Blog Review of Monsters Rolls, Darlinghurst: Pork RollPork Roll

You can’t go wrong if it’s only going to cost $2 right?

Well, I don’t actually know what full price is going to be, but for $2, it was okay. Like in a maybe-if-I-was-in-the-area-and-didn’t-have-anything-planned sorta way. The bread was a touch underdone – which I don’t know whether was because it was designed that way, or because they had to just pump out so many rolls to keep up with the queue. The meat filling – we tried beef and pork – was quite flavourful, but was not quite able to balance out the lacklustre bread. A bit of a domino effect, but what can you do?

The salad and pickles weren’t quite as punchy as the Banh Mi that we are used to, and I was really looking for more tang in each mouthful. The Beef Roll provided slight amusement in tasting like a cheeseburger without the cheese, and much giggles ensued.

I’ve never patronised the Monsters Rolls Food Truck, but based on this first taste, it feels like they might have a bit of work to do, especially with Mr Crackles and Rolls Vietnam on the same street, providing stiff competition for the diners’ dollar. Maybe a re-visit in a few months is in order.

Unless something else comes up.

This meal was independently paid for.
Monsters Rolls
4/113-115 Oxford St
Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
Phone: 02 8354 1417
Website: http://monsterrolls.com.au

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City Lunches: Baker Bros, Sydney CBD

Review
Heirloom Tomato Salad, $15

Heirloom Tomato Salad, $15Heirloom Tomato Salad, $15

Having mostly studied/worked near Haymarket, I’ve always been spoilt for choice when it comes to lunch options in the city. But Sam, working on the CBD side of things, isn’t quite so lucky.

Which is why long lunch queues can either be the bane of the short lunch break, or a shining beacon of a quality lunch spot that can be the new go-to.

Beef Brisket Sandwich, $13Beef Brisket Sandwich, $13

We ordered the Heirloom Tomato Salad, $15, and Beef Brisket Sandwich, $13, to eat in. The sandwich seemed to me like a sub-par reuben – I need me some cured beef! – but the salad was truly truly delightful. The small, multicoloured tomatoes were lightly dressed with sweet balsamic and fruit olive oil, with pops of savouriness provided by sea salt flakes. The creamy mozzarella ball soaked up the flavours nicely, and made for a fantastic tri-colour bite each time. $15 did seem a bit pricey, but hey, its the CBD.

The service was also cordial and efficient, though not particularly individual, but given how busy it was, I wasn’t expecting the moon.

Now to try that Friday night bar menu…

Baker Bros
Shop 1 56-58 York St
Sydney, NSW 2000
Website: http://www.bakerbros.com.au/

Baker Bros. on Urbanspoon

Do you know what a ring burner is? Do Dee Paidang, Haymarket

Review
A chopstick lifting out strands of rice noodles from the Supernova level 7 spicy noodle from Do Dee Paidang in Haymarket

A chopstick lifting out strands of rice noodles from the Supernova level 7 spicy noodle from Do Dee Paidang in Haymarket

I like my chilli like I like my war, nuclear.

…Wait, that didn’t come out right.

But I do like my chilli hot, and Do Dee Paidang in Haymarket has certainly thrown down the gauntlet, serving up a bowl of spicy noodles that have beaten many a food. Their Supernova Noodles are labelled as Level 7, for the 7 spoonfuls of chilli that they put in it.

Supernova Level 7 Spicy Noodles from Do Dee Paidang in HaymarketSupernova Level 7 Spicy Noodles

When you place the order, the waitress doesn’t just give you the dubious look that she saves for drunk men trying to pick her up. No, she first assumes that you mean something less spicy, and she points to the Level 3 and Level 5 options on a menu so filled with pictures it looks like a child’s storybook. I firmly stand my ground, and point to the Level 7, and her eyes widen slightly as she’s processing what I just said, and then followed by a look of uncertainty. “Are you sure?” She asks, “There are 7 spoons of chilli in that one. It’s very spicy”. I reassure her that it’s okay, and she shrugs and takes the order, recommending rice noodles as the noodle option.

And the rice noodles arrive, shrouded in a fiery red soup, and topped with fish balls, pork ribs and crispy deep fried wonton skins. The first chopstickful looks very promising – the chilli flakes cling to each strand like an over-the-hill woman going through a mid-life crisis clings to a man. I bite into it, and well, I didn’t exactly get swift kick in the pants that I was expecting. I wanted my mouth to feel like it was on fire, and my eyes to start tearing…not this slow burn business.

To be fair, it does build up slowly, but beyond causing a bit of a coughing fit, I don’t actually think it was all that spicy. In fact, I was more distracted by the slightly burnt aftertaste of chilli flakes that had been roasted too far, and that acrid bitterness was just something I couldn’t get rid of. Just a touch disappointing after all the chilli hype.

The fish balls and pork ribs were tender and delightful, and the wonton skins did add a nice touch. Especially with the Som Tum Pu we ordered – a Thai Papaya salad with fermented crabs.

Som Tum Pu Papaya Salad from Do Dee Paidang in HaymarketSom Tum Pu (Papaya Salad with Fermented Crab)

This dish is not for the faint-hearted. By all western standards, this dish stinks like a fish rotting in a sewer, but for me, it was all sorts of salty deliciousness that I crave on hot days. Sour, tangy, salty, spicy, Som Tum consists of shredded green papaya, carrot, green beans, and fresh tomatoes, pounded in a mortar and pestle with lime, fish sauce, sugar and chilli. This particular version includes fermented crab the colour of a rotting corpse on NCIS, and I particularly enjoy sucking out the salty juices from the tiny pointy legs.

What can I say? The stereotype is true that Asians will eat anything.

Durian and sticky rice dessert from Do Dee Paidang in HaymarketDurian and Sticky Rice Dessert

And because the portions here are similar to what you get in Thailand, we order a dessert as well. Durian and Sticky Rice brings back comforting memories of family trips to Thailand, where my parents and I would share a small plate of this food hall staple while taking a break from all the sightseeing and shopping. Here, it’s served in a bowl, probably because the durian is pulpier in texture due to the difficulty of getting fresh durian in Sydney. It’s still every bit as comforting as I remembered, though. Warm, sticky glutinous rice is topped with creamy durian and coconut cream, lightly salted to bring out the sweet. At Do Dee Paidang, they finish with a small pinch of Foi Thong – golden strands of egg yolk made by drizzling a mixture of duck and hen yolks into a hot sugar syrup. So rich, so addictive.

The food here really reminded me of food that I had in Bangkok, and I especially enjoyed the portion sizes. It may seem stingy, but really, the small order of noodles is only $5.50, and it allows us to try more things off the menu. I left feeling full and satisfied, but not wishing that there were napping options right in the middle of Chinatown for me to nurse my food coma. The service was well, what it was: not entirely attentive, but not rude either. It took awhile to get someone’s attention when it got busy, but once you got a hold of them, you never had to ask twice for what you wanted. Efficient.

We really enjoyed ourselves at this little eatery on Ultimo road. Makes me wonder what the grilled menu items are like.

This meal was independently paid for.
Do Dee Paidang Thai Noodle Bar & Cafe
9/37 Ultimo Rd
Haymarket, NSW 2000
Phone: 02 8065 3827

Do Dee Paidang Thai Noodle Bar & Cafe on Urbanspoon

Thai Glass Noodle Salad

Recipe 4 Comments
Thai Glass Noodle Salad on a white plate, with yellow chopsticks and a glass of Thai Iced Tea on the side

Thai Glass Noodle Salad on a white plate, with yellow chopsticks and a glass of Thai Iced Tea on the side

For quite a few years when I was a kid, one of my aunts – the cool one, in case you’re wondering – moved abroad and lived in England and Vietnam, and came back with all sorts of amazing dishes, like a kickass potato salad, shrimp fried chicken, as well as this glass noodle salad, full of amazing Thai flavours.

This salad became a fridge favourite when my aunt dropped off a batch – I would sneak a bowl between meals when my parents weren’t looking, and at one point I just ended up eating straight out of the tub during those midnight trips into the kitchen.

What? Sleep eating is a thing right?

Over the years, the recipe has evolved a touch. I’ve added loads of fresh veggies – because my mind lays on the guilt like an Asian mother – and taken out the chicken, just for preference. It’s not quite the same as what my aunt makes, but it’s become my own version of the fridge favourite of my childhood, ready on hand for lunch boxes…

…and of course, midnight trips to the fridge.

It just so happens that the theme for this month’s #LetsLunch is noodles, so I’m sharing my recipe for this Glass Noodle Salad, for the last weeks of summer!

Thai Glass Noodle Salad on a white plate, with yellow chopsticks and a glass of Thai Iced Tea on the side

 

[yumprint-recipe id=’2′]

This post is also part of the Let’s Lunch linkup! If you’d like to read some of the other noodle themed Let’s Lunch posts, check out these blogs below:

Lobster with your eggs? Rustic Pearl, Surry Hills

Review
Bosphorus Benedict, from Rustic Pearl in Surry Hills, Sydney

rose-infused watermelon salad with watercress, mozzarella and capers.

I think it’s fair to say that Sydney has a cafe on every corner, and then some. Whether it’s a coffee obsession or a casual-dining obsession, we seem to express it in a myriad of coffee and food options.

But I haven’t yet had lobster to go with my eggs. Until now.

Turkish Apple and Rose Iced TeaTurkish Apple and Rose Iced Tea, with Lemon and Mint

We started off first with a couple of refreshing drinks.

Avocado Smoothie with honey and pistachioAvocado Smoothie, with honey and pistachio

The Turkish Apple Iced Tea with Rose Lemon and Mint was lovely and what you’d expect an iced tea to be, but the Avocado Smoothie was the one that really caught my attention. Notes of honey and pistachio were laced through the creamy smoothie, and it was a really nice departure from the crazy sweet Avocado smoothies I’m used to having from Vietnamese restaurants.

bosphorus benedict from rustic pearl in surry hillsBosphorus Benedict

And the main event. The Bosphorus Benedict involves two toasted buns topped with smashed avocado, poached eggs, housemade hollandaise and bay lobster, finished with coriander and chilli.

Oozing egg yolk from the bosphorus benedict

I can’t even begin to explain how ridiculously luxurious this breakfast is. Besides the fact that there was a perfectly cooked lobster sitting on your breakfast plate – and trust me, because I detest overcooked shellfish with the fire of a thousand suns – there is the texture of a creamy buttery hollandaise, mixed in with the oozing yolk, mixed in with that smashed ripe avocado. Besides the fact that the bread was toasted so well it was just slightly hard to cut and eat, this plate was utter perfection for me.

rose-infused watermelon salad with watercress, mozzarella and capers.Rose infused Watermelon Salad with Watercress, Mozarella and Capers

And they’re not a one-hit wonder either. We also ordered the Rose infused Watermelon Salad with Watercress, Mozarella and Capers to freshen things up. It comes with an option of grilled scallops on the side, but it doesn’t need it. The cubes of watermelon was lightly scented with rose like a fruity Turkish delight that Mother Nature ought to have made, and the mozzarella and capers brought a great contrast in flavour and textures to keep things interesting. The watercress, I could’ve done without, but it really needed something else crisp and fresh on the plate, so fair enough.

Besides the food, the service was also commendable. We were put on the waitlist when we first arrived, and were still seated relatively quickly. They were attentive without hovering, and managed the crowded, packed restaurant with apparent grace and calm.

Well done Rustic Pearl, well done. /slow clap.

This meal was independently paid for.

Rustic Pearl
415 Crown St
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Phone: 0406 930 083
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rustic-pearl/299165660201187

Rustic Pearl on Urbanspoon

Free Burma Cafe, Springvale

Melbourne Review Travel
Htin baw thee tho (Spicy Papaya Salad)

I must admit that even though I’m from the Southeast Asian part of the world, I don’t actually know very much about Myanmar, or Burma as it was called.

My information was pretty limited to The King and I, and now hopefully, Free Burma Cafe.
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Banana Blossom Asian Salads, Bondi

Review
Aerial shot of the Triple Chilli Chicken Salad

It’s summer, and that means it’s the dreaded swimsuit season. Dreaded, for this foodie, because it heralds the end of what’s meant to be seasonal gorging and gluttony. And the beginning of a tenuous time of watchful eating, because we all want a little more beach body, and a little less beached whale.

Enter Banana Blossom Asian Salads, who are touting themselves as an easy breezy healthy lunch solution, just in time for the beach season.
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Yuzu Peri Peri Chicken

Recipe 4 Comments
A mixed cabbage and herb salad is served on a wooden board, and topped with 3 portions spicy browned chicken marylands. On the side, a singly portion of salad and chicken maryland sits on a black plate with a textured rim, and green chilli decorate the shot. The food is arranged on a hessian fabric covering a dark wooden table.

I get inspired by the strangest things, sometimes. This time it comes in a bottled condiment, called Yuzeful, which I found at the condiments table (every restaurant should have a condiments table) at Chanoma Cafe in the city. It tasted like a funky delicious Japanese Tabasco.

And in my kitchen, that means a new recipe!

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Grain Salad

Recipe 6 Comments
A salad of black rice and pearl cous cous, served with a roasted garlic and tahini dressing, greek yoghurt, baby beetroot and smoked almonds. Here, it's served on a blue-rimmed tin plate and laid next to a fork and spoon, on a blue tea towel.

I think salads can often be maligned as a boring, bitter, only-eat-if-you-got-no-other-option type of dish. And sometimes, salads are the forgotten cousin, thrown into a menu as a side so that some people can push around salad leaves on their plate to assuage their guilt.

Well, salads don’t have to be sad, and if you’re not a fan of leaves, they don’t have to be leafy either!
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