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!

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!