Archives for : Asian

Ben Gongs Tea and Bakery : Burwood

Recently randomly stumbled upon Ben Gongs Tea and Bakery in Burwood. The place looks great, very modern aesthetics and clean looking. It seemed very popular so I decided to give it a shot.

 

I decided to try one of their Strawberry buns. Other flavours were also available.

 

However, unfortunately looks are very deceiving. Most would imagine biting into something rather sweet,  but in this case it was failed. The bun was a bread bun, not a sweet pastry bun , was plain and unflavoured. The cream was not a sweet whipped cream, or sweet cream but rather a plain yoghurty tasting yoghurt. I’m not sure who creates this and thinks people will want to eat plain yoghurt on plain bread?

 

 

The tea was nothing special. Just plain tea with some fruit thrown into it.

Ben Gongs is aesthetically pleasing but in terms of taste, it falls very short.

Fat Panda- Canley Heights

Been a while sine my my last post. To be honest, I’ve been kinda lazy…

Anyway this post doesn’t require much explanation. Just your standard Japanese dishes.

Fat Panda is a Japanese restaurant located in Canley heights. It’s usually pretty busy, and the quality is usually top notch.

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Malis -Phnom Penh

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Malis is a high end style restaurant, with a beautiful setting..Malis owner, Luu Meng, was also named Asias top chef in 2014.

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Complimentary snack.

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Shellfish in tamarind sauce. It was ok.

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A different variety of coconut was used compared to what you normally get around Cambodia.Typically they are green, and larger. Quite refreshing, and plenty to drink.

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King crab. Very well cooked, plenty of meat. Most of the flavour/sauce was hidden down the bottom though, and I wish it had been evenly dispersed around the crustacean. Otherwise a good dish.

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Jasmine flower infused mousse with hints of Cambodian honey and ginger, circled with fresh seasonal fruits.

I had high expectations of a restaurant like Malis after reading all the reviews. The ambiance, decor, setting, and attention to menu detail – could not be faulted. The food was also great. The service was good. However, as with fine dining establishments, it had a certain air of snobbishness/pretentiousness about it. Although the service was good, it was a little robotic, as is the same case with the food unfortunately. Sure, it was cooked well, but it lacked character and flavour. I had high expectations, and wanted to write a good review, but Malis fell short, just.

 

Bau Truong Canley Heights

Bau Truong is a Vietnamese restaurant in Canley heights.. Probably one of the lesser frequented restaurants by locals. More reason to try it out 🙂

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Inside is suprisngly very clean and colourful.

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Salmon Pho with a generous amount of dill on the top. Not sure any other place in Canley heights that does this? Could be the only one 🙂

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Pennywort Drink Pennywort is a plant. Not really sure how to describe the taste. I like it 🙂 I find it refreshing.

Red Sichuan – Canley Vale

WP_20150529_19_16_09_ProThere aren’t a great deal of Hot Pot specialty restaurants in Sydneys south west. So I thought i’d give this one a try.
Red Sichuan -basically offers an all you can eat hot pot option or a la carte option. I went for the Hot Pot.

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You have a choice of broths to cook your food in. Mild to Spicy, and a plain chicken broth option too. The medium spicy broth was chosen. It had great depth, and was plenty spicy for medium.

WP_20150529_19_44_36_ProWP_20150529_19_19_49_Pro WP_20150529_19_18_34_ProAn array of options are available.

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Sliced beef looks nice when it comes out. But disappointing as it is frozen.

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Very cool tea pots.

In summary, The Red Sichuan isn’t too bad of a place to go to for dinner if you are feeling something a little spicy and warm. There are a great deal of options to choose from,  the food tastes alright mostly with the exception of the frozen meat. However the broth is pretty tasty.

The only qualm I had was in regards to the service. The staff were friendly but they didn’t really have the basic hospitality skills. Basic greeting, order taking, etc would go a long way. They did seem a little timid and shy.

 

Mini Hamburger Meal : Kracie Kits.

Hello all,

I have been really slack with posting for the past few months now, but will try to post a little more frequently the next few weeks.

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Todays post is a little weird. Here is one of many mini food items you can make by Kacie.co.jp – the mini Hamburger Meal.

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Utensils are provided in the packet so all you need is a Microwave. To be honest the instructions did confuse me a little, since I can’t read Japanese but there are plenty of tutorials online.

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And here is the finished product. Pretty cool huh?

Did a taste taste. Verdict? Horrible. But for the novelty of it all, it is worth getting.

Green Peppercorn: Fairfield

It has been way too long since my last post. I have been way too busy as of late. Anyway – here is another review on a Thai Restaurant in the South-West of Sydney.

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This is Green Peppercorn, located just a short stroll from Fairfield station.

Green Peppercorn gets really busy on a Friday and Saturday night. I think we waited almost an hour on both occasions we visited.

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They make up for it though with complimentary fruit shakes. Yum!

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Some sort of Thai Salad. Can’t remember which one it was…
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Tom Yum Soup (Seafood). It was good. But nothing that was amazing.
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Lychee Fruitshake.
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Vegetarian Curry Puffs.
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Normally I get the Massaman curry with Beef. But this time I got it with lamb. Quite tasty.

And now on to the deserts.

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Paparich: Parramatta

Finally Paparich opened a restaurant in the Western Suburbs of Sydney.

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Expect to wait a while to get in. So make sure you dress warm.

WP_20140801_20_20_58_ProPaparich uses a buzzer style system of ordering accompanied with a sheet of paper.

WP_20140801_20_20_45_ProBasically you write down the menu number (which is listed on the menu) , quanity, table number, and number of people, press the button and a server comes and collects it off you.

WP_20140801_20_28_11_ProMango Mania. Basically a fruit Frappe, with Lychees on the top.

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Ribena Melon. Fruit frappe with fresh lychees, jelly, and melon balls.

WP_20140801_20_46_04_ProWe started off with Hainan Steamed Bread & Kaya. Kaya is a sweet creamy, coconut spread. Nice dish, wish it was a little less soggy though.

WP_20140801_20_46_18_ProVegetarian Dim Sum.

WP_20140801_20_39_40_ProRoti Canai, Tandoori Chicken. Delicious. Should’ve gotten another serve of Tandoor Chicken.

WP_20140801_20_42_40_ProBiryani Rice with  Vegetarian Curry Mutton..

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Biryani Rice, Grilled Prawns, Fried Chicken, Sambal Eggplants. The Sambal Eggplant is delicious.

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Macha Soya, red bean, and green tea ice cream. Classic combination of asian flavours. Very nice.

WP_20140809_20_44_43_ProIce Blended Bandung with Glass Jelly. Banddung is condensed milk and rose cordial.

WP_20140801_21_28_28_ProWe finish off with 2 plates of Banana Fritters. We were stuffed by the end of it, and realised we should have just ordered the one plate. They have an option to get the ‘premium’ ice-cream. The standard option is more like a soft style ice cream.

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Loving Hut #3

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Heavenly Salad. Very evident South Eastern flavours. The prawns (vegan) actually taste like prawns. Served with Vegan Prawn chips. yummy. Quite a lot of salad for a side dish.

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Sweet and sour soup. A light style of dish. I recommend to have it with rice.

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Braised fish pot. I quite like this. Tasted a lot like fish. The only criticism i have is that it should have been a little more flaky to mimic the texture of fish. Otherwise a nice dish.

IPPUDO – Sydney

A couple months ago I was approached to do a review at Ippudo Sydney. Unfortunately due to busy schedules on both our ends – it didn’t end up taking place.

Now, skip a couple months forward, and here I am – ready to stuff my face with Ramen.

Ippudo Sydney is located at Westfields on Pitt St, Sydney.

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Simply, take the lift up to level 5. Conveniently named Food on Five.

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We went for dinner on a Tuesday night, and since Ippudo is situated amongst other restaurants, and a Food Court that operates during the day – you could imagine the area to be a little lifeless at that time of night.

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However, Ippudos presence is made obvious as the sound of restaurant patrons talking, and music playing fills the atmosphere. There was a little bit of a line-up for a Tuesday night. I can imagine it being chockers on a friday and saturday night.

Ippudo Entrance

Bar area near the entrance, and singular stools for the lone diner.

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The restaurant space inside Ippudo is not really designed for prams, but the Ippudo staff were definitely more than accommodating to our needs.

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Nice parking job by the Pram Valet.

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We were seated at one of the tables outside. Not as much going on out here. But with a energetic one year old, the quieter area was a good choice.

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I did manage to grab some snaps of the inside though.

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Cool spoons for the little man. Why don’t they make stuff like this for adults?

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Well designed minimalist style menus. Typical of the Japanese aesthetic.

Ippudo’s origins go as far back as 1985 in Fukuoka. Its first international outlet opened in 2008 in New York and has been expanding globally ever since.

Enough with the history lesson. We are here for the food.

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Steamed bun with braised pork and IPPUDO original sauce

I quite enjoyed this. Full of flavour and the pork was perfectly tender. The sauce creamy and almost Caesar-like. The bun, although nice, was a little on the verge of sogginess. A little more fluffiness/sponginess, and we would be looking at a cracker of an entree.

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CAMEMBERT TEMPURA

Camembert cheese dipped in batter and deep-fried

Holy clogged arteries – look at that amount of rock  salt on that cheese. I was a little concerned seeing the amount of salt on it to be honest, but thankfully it wasn’t. The Tempura Camembert alone is a little too oily and too cheesy, but the greens and vinaigrette  help balance the dish. I recommend stacking the greens on top and eating it like that.

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I think I was a little too hungry, and way too eager to eat Ramen that I didn’t realise I hadn’t taken a photo of the star dish. Doh!

I ordered the Spicy Black. A seasonal dish.  Good spicy kick, and nice heat from the sesame and black oil. A nice springiness to the noodles. Probably would go a little better with some extra bean sprouts. I think I will get the extra Ramen toppings the next time I go!

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VEGETARIAN NOODLES $13

Topped with avocado, cherry tomato,
cucumber, yogurt, mandarin, corn flakes,
mixed nuts, and a side of greens.
Noodles mixed with special sesame
based sauce and topped with balsamic vinegar.

Wait what? Mandarin? Cornflakes? Strangely enough though, my partner did enjoy her food, and actually does want to go back for more.

It would be interesting though to see if  Ippudo does create a soup based Ramen  that is Vegetarian friendly in the future.

gettingreadyfordessert

Getting Ready for dessert.

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Matcha Anmitsu

Vanilla ice cream served with shiratama mochi, matcha, and milk kanten (jelly cubes), sweet black and red beans with Kinako (roasted soy bean flour) 

Not a bad dessert. You can taste a slight bitterness that pairs well with the sweetness from the vanilla ice-cream. I grew up eating desserts like this all the time.

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Jockey glass man reveals  that his feelings towards the dish is satisfactory.  I agree.
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Winter in Sydney

Deep fried green tea ice cream tempura served with fried noodles, topped with cream and fruit

Not really a aesthetically pleasing dessert. (The fried noodle decoration is quite nice though). Pretty tasty overall.

Overall

Overall I enjoyed the experience. The staff were very  attentive, friendly, and accommodating to our requirements. However they were perfectly aware that I was there as a reviewer, which makes me wonder what it would have been like if I was just a regular patron?

The Ramen is definitely amongst one of the best I have tried in Sydney. And I have tried some pretty good Ramen all over Japan.

I do  think the average of $20 for a bowl of Ramen is a little on the dearer side – as it is considered to be a quick, and affordable street-style food. It is pretty on par with the pricing of other eateries, and the general demographic of shoppers within the center.

They do say however, that you get what you pay for. Whether that statement holds true or not, that is a subjective matter, and for you to decide for yourself.

We will definitely be back.

A new store will be opening in Mid september…
New store address: IPPUDO SYDNEY Central Park
Level 1 RB07, 28 Broadway, Chippendale NSW2008