Every year, the Refugee Council of Australia organises Refugee Week, a period where awareness is spread about the journey of refugees, and when we celebrate their positive contributions. This year, Refugee Week falls between 15th to 21st June, and to commemorate it, the I Ate My Way Through Meetup group went on a food crawl to explore these cultures the best way we know how: through food.
Dumplings and noodles – two of the foods that we can never get enough of in my house. To me, they are deeply comforting, and have the ability to take away all the tension from the day.
So when you open a dumpling and noodle shop right outside Aldi (my usual hangout), it’s like the heavens have opened and smiled down upon me, enabling me to get my noodle fix, anytime.
Victor Churchill, to me, is an absolute wonderland of charcuterie and meats. I’ve previously written about my work experience there – culminating in meeting Anthony Bourdain! – and how much in awe I am of head chef Romeo Baudouin’s food philosophy. He taught me that within running a business – that is, keeping an eye on being profitable – there is space for good food and good practices. There is so much that goes into every product that he puts up into those glass cabinets, I still don’t know where he gets all the inspiration. So when Google City Experts invited me to canapés and drinks at Victor Churchill, I absolutely could not say no!
After going on my first official food crawl, I have to admit that I’m hooked. There’s just something really exciting – to me anyway – about the prospect of eating a huge variety of dishes with a large group.
Which is why when Jen of I Ate My Way Through organised a dinner at Naruone for foodies, I leapt at the chance, hoping that this innocent dinner would turn into an epic food crawl.
After all, when you have foodies together in a group, who knows what will happen?
Sydney certainly has no lack of dumpling joints. From Din Tai Fung to New Shanghai to Taste of Shanghai, a craving for dumplings need never go unsatisfied.
So when a new dumpling place opens up. it certainly needs something to set itself apart.
I’m always envious when people talk about going on pub crawls, since I’m slightly allergic to alcohol – tasting is okay, drinking is apparently not. I always feel like I keep missing out on all the fun!! So when Thang from Noodlies organised a food crawl in Canley Heights with the Fairfield Council, I jumped at the chance!
6 restaurants in 3 hours, will we SURVIVE THE EATING????!!!! Well Thang, Jeroxie, Amy, Christine, Isaac, Kate and I were going to find out.
First stop was at VyVy Garden Cafe, to start the morning off with some Vietnamese drip coffee.
Coffee is different in Southeast Asia. From the roast to the grind to the brew to the sweeteners, there’s a certain richness and aroma to the coffee that I’ve yet to find from local baristas around Sydney.
The mere mention of Vietnamese coffee instantly conjures up images of the drip filter, passed down from the French colonial times. Coarsely ground dark roasted coffee is added to the top of the filter, which is placed on top of a glass that contains your condensed milk. Hot water is poured over the ground coffee, and the resulting brew drips through onto the condensed milk below. The drip filter process is long – there isn’t anything more than gravity to hurry it along – but the resulting coffee is thick and rich, and the condensed milk add a creamy sweetness to it.
When warm, the aromas hit you as you raise the glass to your lips, providing an instant wake-up call. When poured over ice, the coffee provides a refreshing pick-me-up, a great cure for the monday-itis!
Takeaway coffee cups in hand, we move on to our next stop – Bau Truong.
 |
| Clockwise from top left: Bun Bo Hue and Cha La, Bo Lui, Ngheu Cuon, the spread that greeted us, fresh vegetables to accompany our noodles, Pork parcels in banana leaves, Bun Suong |
The original Bau Truong started in Cabramatta when times were violent. The owner used to have drug addicts come into her restaurant, eat, shoot up at the table, and then leave without paying. There were even people passed out on the street in broad daylight.
But a belief in her food has held her through those dark days, and today, her daughter and son have joined her in opening up two other branches in Canley Heights and Marrickville.
Beautiful vietnamese tiles adorned the walls in this recently-renovated restaurant, and a gorgeous graphic design stretched out across the ceiling.
But I had to tear my eyes away from the gorgeous decor because there was an epic spread laid out especially for us! It instantly reminded me of family and home – the spread was the homely feast my friends’ mothers would put out when we visited for a meal, but on a whole other level!
We were greeted by Michael, the son, who painstakingly explained every dish that we were about to eat. We started with Ngheu Cuon, which were fresh rice paper rolls filled with water chestnuts and pipis. Michael explained that in Vietnam, snail meat is often used instead of pipis, but they’ve changed it slightly for the Australian palate.
Bo Lui followed, which consisted of curried spiced beef cooked on skewers, and today we were having it with slices of unripe plum, enveloped in lettuce leaves and dipped in a sweet-salty chilli sauce. Apparently in Vietnam it sometimes is served with starfruit or raw banana instead, for a slight astringency to balance out to flavourful beef.
Of the three noodle dishes we got to try, I highly recommend the Bun Suong, vermicelli and prawn cakes are served in a sweet pork knuckle soup base that is heightened by fermented bean paste and chopped peanuts, and is oh-so-addictive. The slices of pork are tender, and the prawn cakes are bouncy and light, like an extremely premium fish ball. Michael informs us that the prawn cakes were made fresh the night before, and I could definitely taste the labour of love. With the addition of shredded fresh water spinach and thinly sliced banana flower, this bowl of noodle soup was almost reminiscent of a salad, and I wouldn’t have any qualms ordering this in the hottest of summers. Let’s put it this way: I knew we were going to be eating lots and had to pace myself, but I finished the bowl of soup anyway. It was that good.
No sooner did I have the last slurp of my noodles, we were off again, this time to Diem Hen, down the road.
 |
| From left: Sweet and Sour soup, Caramelised fish in clay pot |
Diem Hen, which means “meeting point” in Vietnamese, is an extremely traditional family-run restaurant serving meals found typically in Vietnamese homes.
Thang recounted how his mother would often serve similar dishes while he was growing up – she would buy a whole fresh fish, and use it to cook two dishes: a hot pot of sweet and sour soup filled with fresh vegetables and chunks of firm white fleshed fish, and a caramelised fish cooked in a clay pot, with its dark salty-sweet sauce that serve as an aromatic partner to soft white rice.
The Sweet and Sour soup came in a unique looking pot that had a wide, flat rim around the top. The bottom held hot soup, and the rim was to hold the raw ingredients, to prevent the crisp vegetables from getting soggy and overcooked while the soup came to the boil. The stock had a great depth of flavour, while the wide range of vegetables on the top added a freshness to the dish. Amongst these was something called the elephant ear stalk. When sliced, it resembled large celery stalks, except for its spongy interior, perfect for soaking up all the intense soup.
The accompanying caramelised fish was deep and dark in its flavour, which was a perfect use of the fatty belly of the fish. Apparently the flavour could get deeper and darker still, when the fish is braised for a longer period of time. The use of the clay pot is customary, and Thang recounted times when he’s had this fish dish at home with clay pot-cooked rice, with a brown rice crust at the bottom to add another dimension to the meal.
With three eateries down and three to go, we were starting to feel the effects of food coma starting to fog our brains. What will become of us by the time we reach the end? Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Canley Heights Food Crawl!
Note: Tammi of Insatiable Munchies and other bloggers mentioned in this post dined as guests of Fairfield Council and the restaurants listed.
Clockwise from top left: Suckling pig on a spit from 4fourteen, Woodfired lamb from Porteño, Mussels in Apple Cider from 4fourteen, the most bad ass name card holder I’ve ever seen
Zzzzzzzzzz….
I finally popped my Chur Burger cherry!! After being so incredibly tempted by all the instagram photos of people enjoying good burgers, I finally made it down there myself for a bit of that brioche burger bun action.
The first sight that greeted me when I walked in was a table of people, burgers open, picking out the filling!!! But why? Why would you not want to eat a glossy, buttery brioche bun?
Read More
Breakfast with the Sakuma’s
Sometimes, your food news feed explodes with a new cafe/restaurant that’s opened up. That’s when eating out becomes a mission, rather than just a meal. My twitter and instagram feed were absolutely flooded with food from Devon Cafe, and I knew I had to make the trip into Surry Hills.
Now I don’t live/work/have activities near or around Surry Hills, so this was a special trip into the city for me. I brought a hungry tummy and a skeptical dining partner, and ordered three dishes between the two of us. I wanted to order one of the specials, but they were sold out.
Breakfast with the Sakuma’s (pictured above) was the first one out of the bat. With a grilled miso king salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63C egg, kewpie mayonnaise, and a radish salad, I had very high hopes. A dusting of furikake (Japanese rice topping) over the top? I’m just jumping at the bit to take a bite.
Well, it might be all the hype, but this particular dish was slightly disappointing for me. I found the salmon to be slightly overcooked – I think that salmon should be cooked to medium and this was brought all the way, so it was a touch dry – and the yolk didn’t really have that much ooze. I put a fork through the egg and it separated easily and nearly solidly.
The second dish we had was the Ogre’s Happy Meal, and after the last dish, I was trying to temper my excitement a little.
Ogre Happy Meal
I felt like this dish was very nicely presented, and was everything that it was advertised to me. There was a certain playfulness to the dish – I thought that it kinda looked like Shrek’s swamp – and you could just tell the technique that was put into the creation and execution of this particular ‘happy meal’. The flavours were dark and comforting in a grumpy sort of way – like an ogre would want – and textures were also of a similar fashion. The ox tongue pulled apart in the mouth without being mushy, and the only criticism I could think of is that there wasn’t just that little ray of sunshine in the flavours – everything tasted so rich and dark that I almost felt like I wanted a kick of acid to maybe lift the dish a bit. Not that an ogre would want that, so it’s just a personal preference.
The last out of the kitchen was the Citrus Cured Salmon.
Citrus Cured Salmon
This is the highlight of the brunch for me. Light and delicate, the salty-tender flesh of the salmon is balanced by the wafer thin slices of apple and fennel, and the creaminess of the soft boiled egg. Simple and satisfying.
In all, it was an alright experience. The food didn’t quite live up to ALL the hype, but it was very good fare. The prices were decent too, but the service fell slightly under par for me. I understand that it was a Sunday brunch and they were really busy, but for the waitress to constantly not hear the other people at my table (we were at a share table) while they were desperately trying to get her attention, and then to take so long with a coffee order that they had to cancel it was kinda not cool. That, and the sourdough for the Heirloom Tomato special at our table was forgotten, (twice!) and the scrambled eggs ordered by someone at our table came out looking overdone.
It was a bit of a touch and go experience for me. Have you tried Devon Cafe? How did you find it?
We ate at:
Devon Cafe
02 9211 8777
76 Devonshire St
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Peking duck was a dish that was developed for royalty in ancient China, and once you know the process that goes into making it, you’ll understand why it was a royal dish. Chef’s used to blow air – yes, mouth to duck – into the duck to separate the skin from the meat, before par cooking it in a master stock, drying it for 24hrs, glazing it, then roasting it in a brick oven. It’s not a recipe I would really attempt at home – I keep wanting to but am still daunted by the task – which is where places like Waitan come in for my Peking Duck fix.
Waitan is decked out in the opulent style of ancient China. One room actually features booths styled like the lazing areas of the rich during opium times. Prints featuring chubby women – chubbiness used to be associated with wealth, and so beauty – smoking opium pipes adorn the walls, transporting you to a romanticised version of old money during a past time.
But as much as I like interior design, we all know that my tummy will always lead me to the food. And lead me it has.
Waitan features open kitchens – for the more voyeuristic of us – and built near the back of the establishment is a hung oven for Peking duck. Flames leap as browning succulent ducks shamelessly parade in front of you, seducing the hungry diner.
But with all these theatrics, how does it taste? On launch night, Waitan served up canapé versions of their best dishes for us to sample. Peking duck pancake was of course one of them, together with fresh offerings from the oyster bar, wagyu beef steamed buns, prawn spring rolls, and prawn skewers with a Singapore chilli crab sauce.
And to finish the night, there was a black sesame cheesecake.
The food was executed in a classy way, but I’m not sure whether it really hit the spot for me. I’m very impressed that they actually built a Peking Duck oven, and am equally impressed with the 10 million dollar fit out. But is it food that you can’t get any where else in Chinatown? Perhaps not, especially with the accompanying price tag. But it’s definitely a place where you would wine and dine someone you’d like to impress, and is offering very decent food with extremely lush surroundings.
If you’re more business minded, then there are also private rooms upstairs from the main restaurant with a huge selection of fine wines.
Note: Tammi of Insatiable Munchies and her dining partner dined as guests of Waitan and Hill+Knowlton Strategies.
We ate at:
Waitan
405 Sussex St, Haymarket New South Wales 2000
(02) 9212 7999
