In possession!

I am going to be a proud owner of my own baby that will be delivered on the 5th Jan 2011!  My baby will have bright eyes, nice shades, a bigger behind than normal but I love it never-the-less. Most importantly - other than being the biggest possession up till now - Freedom!

Can not wait!

Oh and obviously, premium plates!!!

Backlog #2 Galileo

During one of my visits back to Sydney, I was fortunate enough to be involved - some what - in a couple's (or should I say one person's act of) commitment to the next stage of their relationship.

The day started with purchasing a BIG bunch of flowers - which unfortunately I didn't get a picture of as we were too busy scheming/thinking/hoping that our plan would work - Roses to be exact.

Next, to hide it without crushing it, destroying it or ruin the beautiful arrangement for the next 3 hours where it will safely and (un)happily reside in the boot of the car. Thinking back, it was good that we were in the middle of winter, and not a scorching hot day in summer - don't think flowers agrees with saunas...

Then we happily made our way to our dinner destination:

Galileo at The Observatory Hotel - 89-113 Kent St, Sydney, 9256 2222

I first went to Galileo in 2007 during the much lesser known SMH Good Food Festival (now better and more widely known as Sydney International Food Festival) where we had fantastic soft, juicy and perfectly seasoned pork belly on top of mash and bok choy drizzled with plate licking worthy asian style sauce. That meal was simply too good to forget, I still reminisce that $35 let's do lunch - have not found one that matches the pork belly!

 Selected pictures taken 2007

I simply adore The observatory Hotel. Decorated in the old 1920s (correct me if I am wrong) glamour. The whole place is decorated to make you feel like home, inviting, welcoming and the furniture actually says 'sit on me, be comfortable and a butler will serve you tea shortly'

Entree of Crab Mille Feuille layered with (perfectly) sliced avocado & tomato coulis

We opted for the al carte menu and even though I never liked avocado, but with crab I'll eat anything and I was willing to try this. I am glad that I did, not because it tastes good (did not go beyond 2 bites) but because I realised why I did not like avocado in the first place - allergies! As soon as I swallowed the first bite, my throat slowly swelled up and I began coughing quietly, took a sip of water and swapped my entree with K.

Entree of pork belly.... *item no longer on menu hence the descriptiveness*

 The pork belly was rather dry and despite the pretty presentation which I promptly went "Ooo" for, it was huge disappointment!

Principaux of Duck and fois gras pie with mesclun salad and sauce aigrie doux

Forget about all the fancy stuff after the 'duck and fois gras pie...' THIS is a pie, this is a HUGE and expensive pie! The extensive description reads:-

"The duck pie is a long process which requires a level of experience to integrate the marriage of flavours with optimum ingredients. The duck and fois gras has been marinaded in Hennessey XO and truffle jus for 3 days, which is then encased in a traditional hand made French style 'puff' pastry"

X-section of the pie with visible chunks of fois gras and duck meat

With the first bite I was blown away, literally with the powerful and intense flavours that was hitting my taste buds like...(how do I put this)....whip. Don't get me wrong! It is very nice, and I can understand how it would take a very experienced chef to be able to integrate, work with and make all the different flavours of each individual ingredients really complement each other.

With each mouthful, I come to appreciate the skills of the chef in presenting these bold and aromatic flavours. I polish off 1/2 of the pie and swap with K. This pie is definitely not for cowards and this would definitely appeal to a particular crowd of diners with a very matured palate. Much like preference of red and white wines!

Principaux of fillet of grilled wagyu marble score 9+ 150g tenderloin fillet cut with baby vegetables and pomme paillasson

What can go wrong with steak, as a matter of fact Good steak. Have to say though after 5 months, I cannot remember much about this steak meaning it was good, but not memorable!

Petit fours which came with coffee/tea

We were so full to the brim - me especially with my tastes buds trained up for this meal - we have to battle on with dessert! Not before a cup of coffee to aid digestion! These petit fours were "complementary" (not quite when tea/coffee cost $10.50) but we still needed to try the dessert!

Dessert persimmon tart?

Excuse my unbelievable memory. We picked a dessert to share and as I have seldom seen persimmon used in desserts I picked this. In hind sight, it was probably not the best choice! It was nice, but still not memorable. 

I came out of Galileo thinking when is bed time when I realised 'Hey! There's still a flower dying in the trunk!' We ventured over to circular quay where Vivid Sydney was transforming the opera house into a huge canvas.

Finally, after a tiny mishap, the guy drops down on one knee and pops the question with an enviable ring in his two hands. Just as the back drop of the opera house projects 'LOVE' the girl screams hysterically excitedly and graciously consent to building what will be the next stage of their long and happy relationship/marriage.

Ahh love stories with happy endings!!!

Backlog #1 Sushi Tei

Was just uploading my backlog of pictures from my camera and realised, wow I have so many good material (food porn) in there - what have I been doing?

Well mostly procrastinating on my days off, being a major hermit/homebody. It is really bad! Need to be pro-active - do things that I want to do, when I say I will do them, and not putting it off again and again.

This will be the nth time I have said that to my self - it doesn't hurt to try again right?

First up Sushi Tei - Chiefly Square, Ground floor, Cnr Elizabeth and Hunter Street 9232 7288

Came here for a good friend's 'farewell' dinner. It is funny how I came to know her; you know you will be good friends with someone when they make the same mistake as you do. Meaning you think alike - even if it means in a stupid way!

Anyhoo short story short, we went to the wrong location at the same time for a class we were all quite late for and since then we've became good friends.

 

Pretty flame 

I love restaurants that has pictures with their menus, even if it means the menus are big enough for you to knock hands with the person next to you. The good thing about the picture is that you get to 'taste' - with your eyes that is - and decide whether the food appeal to your eyes. After all, the 'look' is what really attracts your attention, regardless of what the Japanese letters beside it means!

I know it sounds awfully superficial, ordering food based on 'looks' - or partially based on looks. But it is true in reality isn't it? Whether it appeals to you with its smell, aesthetics, texture or its description.

Enoki mushroom wrapped in wagyu beef slices

We ordered a few starters, first up these bite sized, juicy and flavoursome parcels. The melt in your mouth beef bursts open to reveal delicate enoki strands soaked in the salty marinade of the beef.

Grilled salmon cheeks with mayonnaise

Next up, we ordered salmon cheeks. When my dad was young, he lived very close to fish farms, when ever we had whole fish at home, he would always pick out the 2 fish's cheeks and place it in front of me and he would say, the fish's cheeks are the best part of the fish and I am giving it to you because ... (something along the lines of how you should get the best etc etc). Corny! I know but now I think about it, he is a pretty awesome dad - at times.

Somehow the surface of the mayonnaise formed a skin from the grill and it is interesting, when you bite into it, it feels like you are biting into a fish roe but instead of a burst of brininess, you get smooth creamy salmon goodness!!

Mornay scallops

Nothing more can be said about this dish, the simple classic mornay scallops. Fat juicy scallops covered in a rich creamy sauce topped with cheese and baked to golden brown.

Wagyu Sukiyaki

After the 3 starters, we had to fill our stomach with a filling staple and we opted for the wagyu beef sukiyaki. It was good, hearty and decent sukiyaki - I am always surprised with so many Japanese restaurants not being able to do a good sukiyaki!

The share for all this was on the costly side, but after having the excellent starters and a good sukiyaki, I would say I really like the food here and would come back again despite slow service. It didn't seem too bad as we had a huge group of people.

*Salivating for decent Japanese food now! the down side of living in Coffs Harbour!*

Planning my first dinner menu

Haven't blogged in zonks, been busy just with work, boring domestic house keeping and the odd social life. Now the weather is finally warming up - still with odd showers - outdoor sport is becoming a good option when I am trying to find stuff to do on my days off and so far I went swimming in the newly refurbished pool, played golf (range + course) and tennis!! Ahhh those childhood memories!! 

But back to the topic - planning my first dinner menu. I have toyed with the idea of cooking for our tiny social group before and last time I 'nearly' went for an Italian themed menu with:-

1. Greek salad with fetta cheese, olives, cucumber, tomato and lettuce

2. Garlic prawn linguine with a tomato based sauce

3. creamy bacon, onion mushroom spirals 

4. chorizo with cheese stuffed bell peppers pizza

5. Tiramisu

But then again I chickened out like I always do (lack of confidence + afraid of what others will think of my food....) I did however make the tiramisu.

Now 2nd chance in overcoming my fear, I am planning something more closer to my traditional cuisine ie Taiwanese/chinese home cooking.

1. 3 cup chicken with carrots and shallots

2. taiwanese style pork chops

3. cabbage with shitake mushroom

4. pickled cucumber with chili flakes

5. mango pudding

and of course rice!

Fingers cross it goes well!

!!! Exclaimation mark !!!

The past 4 months have flown by without any major drama - except for the time when my washing machine flooded my laundry at 1am in the morning. I am back in Sydney for the 3rd time since moving north - with an inverse relationship with the amount of frequent flyer/velocity points accumulated in the process and $$ in the account. No I am not saving much, but it is so good to be back home - for 2.5 days.

Back to the busy streets with shops that open past 2pm on weekends, Asians, lots of cars, traffic jams, city(fail)rail and of course my friends and family!

Food wise I have been extremely diligent and proud of myself having cooked every night for dinner - apart from dinner out with friends - I have always packed my lunch for the next day for the past 4 months at Coffs. Whether it be a boring sandwich with various fillings or a hot meal like a pasta or rice dish with plenty of vegies. Of course not to mention my staple snacks at the office - a serving of plain low-fat yoghurt with muesli or frozen berries and a piece of fruit.

I admit I still don't get enough exercise, not with work being only 10 minutes away from door to office chair and shops being 5 minutes away.

Finger's crossed for tomorrow, for something might go majorly right/wrong which might change my situation now!

One busy Saturday back in Sydney Part I

(Exactly) 5 days after I have made my brave move up north to Coffs Harbour, I got myself a 3 day weekend. As soon as I knew that I told my friends that I am back to Sydney for a visit:-

Friend #1: "What? And how long have you been up there?"
Me: "...."

Friend #2: "Huh? its only been 5 days"
Me: "...."

Friend #3: "Gee that was quick"
Me: "..."

With my friends missing me HEAPS, I just HAD to go back....

The Saturday started with breakfast at Newtown's Badde Manors.

I was starving by 7:30am and quickly ordered the biggest breakfast - the Badde Manor Big Breakfast from their extensive menu. Badde Manors specialises in vegetarian and vegan choices - not that we realised when we went in, I was just hungry...

The vegetarian/vegan menu, no trace of meat to be seen!

I had a big day ahead of me, breakfast and a big day of shopping in the city, as I will no be able to go on random shopping sprees in Coffs Harbour! Having breakfast outside is also a luxury for me, I often go out for lunch or dinner but I can count with my both hands the number of times I have been out for breakfast - mostly because I'm just too much of a sleepy head to get up just to have breakfast.

My big breakfast arrive with scrambled eggs, and gee did it look healthy!

Badde Manor Big Breakfast - (scrambled) eggs, with spinach, mushrooms, baked beans, seasoned chat potatoes and grilled tomato served on rye bread $13.50.

The mushrooms were excellent cant have better mushrooms than these for brekkie! And of course a traditional pancake won't go amiss!

Homemade pancakes - served with maple syrup and topped with fresh ricotta and blueberries $10.50.

The pancake was light and fluffy, I just wished that the bottom 2 pancakes weren't so thoroughly soaked in the syrup!

We left the cafe with our stomachs protruding (how embarrassing) and slowly made our way to Broadway where I started my shopping. By the time we got to Paramatta 2 hours later we were craving something, something that we haven't yet had in that day......MEAT!

That just shows how important a breakfast rich in protein is. (*ahem* even though there were eggs, baked beans +/- bread and potatoes, we did share this between 2 peeps so there is NO way that's enough protein!). So we trekked to the food court to get us some KFC which we devoured in a matter of minutes! Disgusting - I know - but Oh so satisfying!!

3rd week

In the process of settling in at Coffs and this is the first week I have spent the weekend alone. Suddenly, the reality of living at Coffs alone REALLY dawned on me!

Coffs is quite a small place, and without a car, my living circle is even smaller. Being restricted to about 1 km radius to where I live and only venturing away from home - 3.2 km to be exact (love google maps) - everyday to the hospital for work via the extremely expensive bus!

Coffs is a great place to live, I am 1.2km (again google) away from the beach (if only I had a car, I would've travel there often with my laptop/book and a pot of tea and spend a whole afternoon there)

The place reminds me of New Zealand, or what memories I have of kiwi-land. Kids running around the street bare-footed, people saying Good morning to you on the street, and lastly no asians in sight.

Quite a confronting experience really, I have always had a tiny little - ok probably isn't tiny - problem relating to non-asians. Even if I have spent nearly all my life in either kiwi or kangaroo land! It has always been something I wanted to get rid of/overcome, and I guess this environment is really giving me the chance/forcing me to improve that about myself.

Moving out also means paying the bills, cleaning the house, laundry and of course COOKING - which I have really never done when I still lived with my parents! I have always loved making desserts/baking etc, but not cooking.

It is weird eh!? a Dietitian/Nutritionist who doesn't cook! I sometimes am embarrassed about this, when people respond to my chosen profession:-

"Ah! So you MUST be a GREAT COOK!"
 Me ashamed/defensive/mixed emotion response:- "Er... I like baking!"

Our 4 year course did incorporate a commercial cookery component - 6 lessons x 6 hours, but who doesn't know how to dice up onions and shred cabbages - the right way, make short crust pastry - from scratch and pip little towers of mashed potatoes?! Ok heavy sarcasm there.

In my defence, I just never had the opportunity/never needed to cook. Full stop.

Now that I need to/have the opportunity, I guess I will be more qualified - in my opinion - to tell people how to eat?

Enough rambling, back to the food! Since I need to find something to do in my days off instead of sitting flat on my bum youtubing, I will be resuming food posts (woot?!) Probably less of the eating out (Have no one to eat with unless I pluck up the courage to ask for a table for 1) and more of the home made mess goodness.

Lets see what is on the menu for tomorrow?

1. Chinese dish called "lion's head" - meat balls with chinese vermicelli and tofu (if i can find it) slow cooked with chinese cabbage
2. Pumpkin soup
3. thinking of making a sour cream carrot cake - if i have time

One thing bad about living alone, cooking for 1 otherwise I'll end up eating the same stuff for aaages!

Toodles for now and hopefully I'll be able to take pictures without getting my camera dirty in the kitchen!

Growing up

This is going to be a food unrelated post.

It is about my big - growing up process - move up north, to a place called Coffs Harbour

I will be moving away from what I've become familiar to me in Sydney. The people, my friends, the places/food/restaurants I love, the places I hang out just because I am bored, even the extremely stupid public transport system. But since public transport is literally non-existent at Coffs Harbour, ironically, I WILL miss the endlessly failing city rail and in the past 2 days I have been fully appreciating the 'wonderful system'.

As the saying goes, you won't miss it until its gone... and now I am really going, going away from it.

I will be missing so much and I will miss you Sydney, despite all your faults and failures.

Tiramisu + personal random nutrition beliefs (a.k.a RnBs)

After having a fairly disappointing tiramisu, I decided I would make my own.
I followed a tiramisu recipe from taste.com.au taking into some reader's comments mainly suggesting to beat the hell out of the thickened cream and egg whites as so soggy tiramisu are not very palatable.

Ingredients (I made ~10 individual glasses)
1 cup strong black coffee (or what ever you have at home, I used instant!)
1/2 cup marsala (I used tia maria)
3 eggs, seperated
1/3 cup caster sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
300ml thickened cream (whip until it's cement like)
1 packet of savoiardi biscuits (bought at coles)

1. Pour coffee + tia maria together in a dish, set aside
2. Beat egg yolks + sugar until pale and white using an electric beater. Add the mascarpone and whipped cream and mix until just combined.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff (defies gravity) and gently fold into the mixture in (2).
4. Dip sponge fingers on both sides into the coffee mixture (max 3 seconds, you don't want it soggy) and create a layer at the base of your container. Layer the mascarpone mixture on top.
5. Repeat the process in (4) and create how ever many layers you want (I did 3) finishing the tiramisu with the mascarpone mixture at the top.

Tada and ooh sooo gooood especially with a cup of unsweetened coffee.

They may not be restaurant worthy in appearance - a dusting of coco powder/shaved dark chocoalate can help with that - but the taste definitely were!!! 

One thing I would change next time would be using espresso coffee as the instant stuff just doesn't cut it - even though I put 4 teaspoons to 1 cup - and probably opt for a liquor/spirit higher in concentration to get that extra ooomph

Side note: 

I do believe in healthy eating (contrary to what people have said about my dessert consumption ) but I definitely don't believe that telling your self to NOT eat certain foods help at all. Yes, most desserts are extremely unhealthy BUT I do eat them because:

1. Desserts are a sometime food, not regularly and definitely not for everyday

2. If I am to eat dessert, I'd rather eat the full flavoured version (none of the low/reduced fat/sugar free crap as it just doesn't taste the same - you'll end up wanting more

3. Hey, if I was eating them once a week, I'd rather eat the best/most delicious

4. I keep my daily consumption balanced so I will be able to afford (not $$ wise) to have dessert without growing sideways (exercise does help!) 

Toodles

Chocolate Lava Cake

Was bored today at home, so I decided to make chocolate lava cake - hmm the gooey goodness. A bit ironic as it has some reference to the lava erupting out of the Earth's crust in Iceland, as the volcano continues to puff smoke and dust onto the atmosphere.

No these aren't as gooey as I would have liked them, but hey they are damn delicious and chocolate is one of the feel good foods too! (Perfect for the little grumpy me at home) Dark chocolate is what I used, although being only 40% coco solids, they were the only thing I had in the house.... none of those fake imitation chocolate flavours in sight around my house!!! (white chocolate is NOT chocolate!!!). Still don't have the courage to open/use the 99% coco solids I bought last month!!!

I followed this recipe from famous french desserts (yes I believe in the "I'm feeling lucky" button) with a few modifications (ie more chocolate, less butter):

Oozing Chocolate Lava cake - I made 8 little lava cakes 
200g dark cooking chocolate
140g butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup plain flour
butter for the ramekins

1. Butter the ramekins with softened (not melted) butter and place back into the fridge
2. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees
3. Melt the butter and the chocolate together (by either having a bain marie, or microwave)
4. Beat the eggs and the sugar together until pale and fluffy (electric beaters makes life so much easier)
5. Mix in the melted chocolate and butter followed by the flour
6. Pour into ramekins
7. The time is takes to bake really depends on your oven... mine took around about 12 minutes

I made them about 3 hours ago and there is only 2 left.... The irresistible and decadent chocolate smell can not be missed and if this can cause my parents to stop watching their TV show and come down stairs with their cups to enjoy a bit of dessert after dinner... then it is definitely a real winner.

Tre Pesci

*while K drives back from Broadway*
Me (whining very loudly over James Morrison's Undiscovered): I'm hunnnngrryyyy

..... (I admit that I am very annoying some/often/most of the the time)

K: Let's try that place thats always full on our way back.
Me: What place?
K: The place I told you last time
Me: ???? (poor memory)

Tre Pesci - 105 Victoria Rd, Drummoyne, NSW 2047, (02) 9719 2100

We were the first diners that night, we waited outside (me super eager) until the sign was flipped to 'Open' by the charming restaurant manager Danny.

A few words from Danny on the menu 

We order an entrée to share, 2 mains and a dessert =] its kind of out of our normal budget, but hey it is the week leading up to both our graduation and our 3rd year anniversary on the same day!

Inside the restaurant

The ambience was warm and inviting. Some good sound insulation went into planning this restaurant as it was dead quiet inside (us being the only ones) beside the noisy Victoria road traffic.

What's on in Tre Pesci

As we wait for our meal, I took note of the $12 pasta available on Wednesday and Sunday nights - If the pasta I ordered are any good!

Bruschetta $8.50

I love bruschettas, I love the salty/oily/aromatic tomatoes. I know its probably dead easy to make but we always order this in a decent Italian restaurant and these are just what I expected. However these are SUPER over priced! 

Filetto Con Dijion $35 - Grain fed eye fillet with king prawns, dijion mustard and mash potatoes

The fillet was recommended by the super cherry Danny and was requested to be medium rare, however these are more like medium/well done. That said, these were extremely tender and the mustard sauce was smooth, creamy but light. I ate the piece of fillet lathered in in the sauce with a great deal of mash - awesome! If I made a comparison with the steak at Mad Cow - which I recently went to, for the same price I would definitely get this!

Pappardelle con Gamberi $25 - flat ribbon past with prawns, garlic, bacon and cherry tomato

I don't normally like tomato based pastas as I find it too sour most of the time - or maybe I just haven't tried good pasta? But I ordered these as I love flat ribbon pastas. There is just a hint of the chilliness, saltiness from the bacon and the cherry tomatoes had just enough sweetness to make these pasta extremely satisfying.

We both stay silent as we savour the different flavours and being extremely satisfied with what we have ordered.

Tiramisu $10

Happy customers are more likely to spend more right? We normally don't stay for dessert/coffee at the same place as our meal (won't lose the chance of trying other places!) but we ordered - a very Italian dessert - the tiramisu. It is decent enough, but as I find out later on - when I made my own tiramisu - I can totally make it better than them! 

As I was finishing my beloved peppermint tea, I took a look around, the restaurant was now full with only 2 tables left at 7pm on a Sunday night. We chuckle to ourselves as we realised we probably brought down the average age in the Restaurant by 10 years! 

Baja Cantina

Ever since I graduated, I have the urge to explore Glebe and Newtown more. Like the age old saying along the lines of you won't miss it until it's gone.

Once while we were trekking through Glebe we came across Baja Cantina. After a while I realised it is actually one of the restaurants on the show 'The Chopping Block'.

Baja Cantina - 43-45 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, NSW 2037, (02) 9571 1199

Baja Cantina Menu

We order a Mojito and a Pina colada to start with, being in a Mexican restaurant, who can resist these!?

Mojito and Pina Colada $12 each

We were super hungry (why are we always super hungry???) and we got a bit ambitious and tried to order 1 appetiser or antojitos and 2 mains, luckily the waitress 'stopped' us saying that the 1 entree and 1 main is plenty =]

Antojitos - Quesadilla $12 (Crispy flour tortilla filled with jack cheese and jalapeños with house made Mexican Chorizo and potato)

The quesadilla was delicious with a smear of the sour cream, the cheese was oozing slightly out of the crispy tortilla pockets. I didn't taste any jalapeños nor any hint of spiciness, should have tried the sauce that was sitting on our table... 

The hot sauce. I am too much of a chicken!

After polishing the quesadilla off we were pretty sated, ahhh the cheese working its magic!

Plate 1 of 3 for the Fajitas $25 - salsa, cheese, crema, onion, lettuce, rice and beans

This plate came first, followed by...

Plate 2 of 3 for the Fajitas - guacamole, tortillas and an extra serving (3) of tortillas ($2.50 extra)

When we were ordering the Fajitas, the waitress informed us that we would be making or wrapping the tortillas ourselves. 

I remember having this little 'thing' against eating with my hands. Especially the first time at a Korean BBQ where traditionally your suppose to get a piece of lettuce leaf, place a piece of cooked meat which would be cut up, a pickle and smear some sauce on it, and basically wrap or squish the 'package' as small as possible and stuff it in your mouth - whole. Not take a bite out of it, but put the whole thing in at once. 

Well at that time I basically felt stupid, because the lettuce wrap was so BIG. I can hardly chew! There is no looking dignified while eating lettuce wraps at Korean BBQs... or at least I can't...

Plate 3 of 3 for the Fajitas - marinated prawns with sautéed capsicum and onions.   

The prawns were still sizzling when it arrived. The waitress recommended the prawns over the steak or the chicken. So this is what you basically do. Spread some guacamole on the tortilla, put on a bit of everything from plate 1 and 3 and you get...

Tada! Fajita with marinated prawns, sautéed capsicum and onions, guacamole...etc etc etc! 

Wrap it up, with your hands...

I know your hungry, but I need to take a picture!!

... and basically munch!

Random shot of the décor

I'd have to say I am thoroughly impressed, I mean its simple and delicious and its fun to make! If we forego the drinks it would have been pretty nice on the pockets and for large groups of people - for my graduation dinner on Friday!! 

Toodles for now, Italian coming up!

Taiwanese part 2

Me: "Ooo!! it's new!!"

Taiwan - 52 Dixon St, Haymarket, NSW  (02) 9212 2220 
This is a hybrid to what caused the public to flock to Wagaya (well, kind of?) with the touch screens, atmospheric booths settings and of course the food!

Ground level with the touch screens at each table. Check out the black chandelier!

S and I went at around 4pm for lunch (after our 4 hours of butt-flattening hair dressing appointments), we were extremely hungry and I was on the verge of chucking a tantrum... me and low blood sugar don't get along too well!

'Screen shot' of the English menu

I proceed to order the 'combe B' thinking that the deep fried chicken I love so much will satisfy my empty stomach. Note: the English menu isn't very detailed in the thumb nail view, we ordered with the Mandarin menu. Ordering was very easy and much like Wagaya; you have tabs on the top (appetisers, noodles, rice, soup, drinks ...etc), you tap on the item of interest and it will - sometimes - show you the full description. 

MINE all MINE!!! Fried chicken + mince rice + green tea

The good thing about having a touch screen ordering system is this: it gets the food quicker to you as it cuts down the waiter's 'walking' time.  

The crispy chicken came first, despite its looks, it was steaming hot inside and being the hungry person I unfortunately burnt my mouth....

Photo perfection of the mince rice, 1/2 egg and slices of pickled daikon radish.

The mince rice had a generous helping of the mince + sauce. Soft and flavoursome, the pickle served as a perfect palette refresher in between mouth full of mince rice.

S's grilled chicken + mince rice + drink

The grilled chicken that comes with S's combo had me nodding and shoving plain white rice into my mouth.  Thanks to the thinness of the chicken and the sweet and salty sauce it was the perfect dish for a hungry human with plain white rice. 

The portions didn't seem big, but the satiety score of the meal was high (mainly due to the high fat/protein content). I couldn't finish the rice nor the crispy chicken! I tried my best! I really did!! 

Other dishes that I have tried included the 'bamboo shaped rice' which looks like this:

Yum, sticky rice with bits of meat through it. 

The sticky rice 'pudding' was warm, but not hot enough which was a disappointment. I like the one in Chatswood night market more. It can be ordered as part of a combo with a side dish and a drink ($10.90), the side dish we ordered was - don't freak out - pig ears. 

Pig ears, don't be fooled by the name, it is high in collagen which is good for your skin

 The pig ears were good, it is a bit chewy, flavoursome and the perfect - if we were in a izakaya (Japanese drink establishment which also serves food) side dish to drink a cold beer with.

Crispy chicken with rice

And because we like to compare stuff, we ordered the crispy chicken rice. The batter for the chicken looks less appealing compared to the one from Sunflower and the side dishes weren't as good either. Even though  the cabbages are there - hiding under the chicken - but stirred fried eggs?! Sunflower crispy chicken rice wins on flavour, balance and portion size, as well as being cheaper! 

After all the deep fried, salty goodness I can say that I have satisfied my taste-buds' craving for Taiwanese foods. Time to move on to something else...

Taiwanese part 1

For some strange reason, all I've been eating are Taiwanese foods... I think its my taste-bud's message telling me that I miss Taiwan - and the food there.

Taiwanese foods are mostly, heavily flavoured with spices/salt and/or deep fried oily goodness. It is not a very healthy choice, but - oh so good - when enjoyed once in a while!

There are 2 places in the city that I often visit. One being so close to uni/work and the other one in the heart of Chinatown. These places serve up 'street' foods that you would normally get for under AUD$3 equivalent in Taiwan and although they are not really authentic (slightly modified to adapt to local - Australian tastes) they are extremely appetizing.

Sunflower - 147 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007. (02) 9211 5298

Loyal to the name - cute decoration

I remember being introduced to this place when I first attended Sydney uni 4 years ago and upon joining TSA (Taiwanese Student Association) - a bunch of us first years jigged a lecture - an exhilarating experience for me as I have NEVER been absent for class my whole life - we trekked down to this little Sunflower Crepe Cafe.

After finishing our lunch, we forgot - seriously! - to pay and left. Oh, life's little stain! While we were walking and talking, the owner runs up behind us and nicely (I think) told us that we haven't paid!!! I don't think I went back to Sunflower for over 2 months hoping the owner would forget our faces. Now they have implemented the system where you order and pay before being served...

Awesome modern art 

But ever since I've been visiting this place when ever I'm in close proximity - not just out of guilt, but mostly for the food. When K and I visit, we normally just go straight to the counter to order. Me having tried most of the dishes/crepes they have on offer stick with my regular crispy chicken rice with lemon tea and for the two of us, a red note ($20) would be just enough to fill our extremely empty stomachs. The portions are large and filling, the food is fantastic and I love a bargain =]

Pork mince rice

This time however, we chose to order 3 dishes as we are more hungry than usual (me: no breakfast/lunch and worked 5 hours standing and talking to customers, K: no lunch and contracting pipetting hand syndrome in his lab) - how that is possible is beyond my capacity to explain! 

The pork mince rice is just like its description + other little side dishes which I appreciate as they kind of balance the meal on the food pyramid. The mince is soft (thanks to the fatty bits), flavoursome with onion and pepper and lovely to eat. We ate the mince with the large amount of rice packed in at the bottom. The spicy potato stands (at the far end) are excellent and slightly crunchy. The cooked cabbage are a permanent side to every rice dish on offer and there is a reason why - they are there to balance the meal and are perfectly cooked and flavoured. 

Curry crispy chicken rice

K chooses the variation to my beloved crispy chicken rice - with curry. As you can see here, the thin pieces of chicken are deep fried to perfection, golden brown! Look at the size! It's spilling out of the dinner plate!

Pan fried dumplings

For our 3rd dish (what were we thinking) we ordered the pan fried dumplings, 10 flat but juicy dumplings filled us a little too much! The bill + 2 ice teas = <$30... well the amount of food there would feed 3 people with no problem!