Sydney Eats

Hi Folks, sorry for the long hiatus!

I have been busy with relocation.

And now, here are the things that we have been eating...

Fresh seafood and fish at the iconic Sydney Fish Market:


Jordon's Seafood Restaurant at Darling Harbour:


Seafood Platter for 2, impressive looking, but freshness was only so so.


Our best restaurant experience so far, Wildfire at The Rocks (facing the Sydney Opera House):



Super ultra fresh oysters. You know how sometimes in Singapore when you eat oysters, even if they are fresh there is that metallic taste of the sea? Well, over here, it tasted Sweet! and Fresh and sublime! and no funny smell.

DH had the wagyu beef and I had the angus beef and they were both delicious.

We didnt find a marked difference between the 2, so we concluded that the wagyu didnt have a high marbling index and that the beef here in Aussieland is so good anyway it wasnt really necessary to upgrade.

Our souffle which was fluffy and delicious.. and because it was a hazelnut souffle it was super rich too. The other souffles that I have had (at Au Petit Salut) were all fruit ones (like passionfruit) so they tasted somewhat sour.


Lunchtime specials can be really cheap here. Here is our 9 dollar rumpsteak! What great value! Funny thing, the caesar's salad on the menu cost more - $14! They tell me, here in Aussieland, some things which we think should be more expensive are cheap and vice versa (like salads more ex than some meats, chicken breastmeat more ex than chicken drumsticks, fruits are super sweet and ch


And DH bought himself a new toy. We have been indulging in one capsule everyday.

Din Tai Fung, Royal Coppenhagen Tea Lounge, Roland Restaurant

After my checkup with the gynae, I walked over to Paragon Shopping Centre for a bit of lunch.

DIN TAI FUNG @ PARAGON

I originally wanted to have shimbashi soba (I am still in a Jap food phase)... but there was a queue and Mei Mei was hungry... so I went to Din Tai Fung. There was a queue too, but the lady said it was only a 5 minute wait and I could place my order first so that the food would arrive shortly after I sat down.

OK, so I did. and yes, the food arrived quickly.

Appetiser of shredded vegetables (SGD2.50). It was an interesting medley of things - seaweed, beancurd, beanspriots, crunchy and savoury. It was doused in lots of sesame oil, making it fragrant but a bit overwhelming. I would have liked to taste the other flavours too, like vinegar, chilli.

Chilli Crab dumplings (SGD5.80, or SGD4.80 with Citibank). I thought this sounded interesting so I ordered it to try.

It was filled with shredded crab meat, with a little soup that was not at all spicy.

Their signature xiao long baos - They were nice, thin skin but resilient enough to be picked up with chopsticks without disintegrating. But not enough soup. I remember now why I am not that impressed by the xiao long baos here. I like my xiao long baos very soupy and these do not have much soup. Only maybe 1 teaspoon.

I felt dissatisfied with the xiao long baos I ordered, as they weren't as good as I expected. So although I was rather full by then, I ordered another dan dan mian (SGD6.50). It was one of the cheaper noodle options on the menu, as it is served plain, with a savoury peanut sauce. DH likes dan dan mian now. He ordered it both times we went to Crystal Jade Shanghai Palace at Terminal 3 Airport.

I found the noodles very nice, good bouncy texture, and fragrant with peanutty flavour. The crispy crushed peanuts were a nice touch. This is a good one.

ROYAL COPPENHAGEN TEA LOUNGE

I have never been to Denmark, but I would love to go someday.

This place is hidden inside Takashimaya, so I have never been there.

I was tired and wanted to rest my feet a bit, so I popped in here to get a drink. No more armchairs available so I had a normal table and chair instead.

Their guarantee of good food and drinks, on beautiful Danish tableware.

Chey, but my hot chocolate came in a normal boring old porcelain mug! The teas and coffees came in fine china, with beautiful prints leh. SGD5.5o. It arrives with a good head of foam, and is very sweet, by my standards, so don't add any sugar until you have had a sip.


ROLAND RESTAURANT

This is one of DH's and my favourite restaurants because it's air-conditioned, big and spacious, the food is good and reasonably priced.

We ordered the usual stuff - home-made spinach beancurd, and crab bee hoon soup. You can find my past pictures and reviews here and here.

We also ordered a new item, recommended by their waiter: live scallops in a garlic black bean sauce (SGD16). They were sweet and nice, and were a little spicy.

Only grouse was that they did not arrive at our table piping hot. But otherwise we liked it very much.

Cutie likes the crab bee hoon here. It's the thick laksa bee hoon, which is very slurpy and nice with the hot crab broth.

What's that on your hand, daddy? A callus?

Yes, they both enjoyed their dinner, and you can tell!

Weekend Eatings

Lunch on Friday - Frens(c)h @ Vivocity



I had a late lunch, and wanted something quick and light. This was from the French Cafe, and their tagline is Fresh and French - that's why they have that witty name.



I always go for the Avergnate, as it has everything I like - mesclun, mushrooms, ham, blue cheese and croutons.




Lunch on Saturday



I've been saying that I want to eat crab for some time... but there was just no chance for us to hit a crab joint..





Anyway, DH goes to work on Saturday morning and then calls home to ask what our lunch plans were. As it turned out, I hadn't made any lunch plans, so his options were to buy lunch home for both of us, or I could run out and buy something from the nearby eateries.





DH promises to buy something home. "Nothing too spicy!" I reminded him... I felt like I had a sore throat coming on.





DH returns with: Crab Bee Hoon Soup from a famous shop in Balestier and Herbal Jelly (Gui Lin Gao) from Original Herbal Shop in Balestier.





They were super yummy! The crab bee hoon was full of umami sweetness and the herbal jelly slid down my throat smooth as silk. I didn't take any photos because I was too busy gobbling the food up.





He bought crab bee hoon soup because he knew I'd been craving crab, but shouldn't eat anything with pepper or chilli because of my sore throat... and then bought herbal jelly to soothe the throat... Isn't DH such a sweetie?





He does the sweetest things when I least expect it... :)

Dinner on Sunday - Roland's Restaurant - Marine Parade Central

Anyway, the lunch was fantastic... so much so I wanted more of this crab bee hoon... so the following day, for dinner, we went to Roland's Restaurant @ Marine Parade Central #06-750. It's pretty old school and the furniture is garish, but the food is consistently good, and I have always liked it very much.

Signature Honey BBQ Pork Ribs (SGD8.80) - It's rather expensive, but it's very meaty and smoky tasting.

See, it's not fatty at all.. it's just tender meat.

Home-Made Tofu (SGD12) - Super Good, it's wobbly and tasty and slippery. I can taste the soya beans. Loves.

My small bowl of crab bee hoon (SGD28 for 1 claypot with 1 crab, good enough for 3) - it's full of roe and is oh so sweet. Loves.

And then, to replicate my sweet lunch of the day before - Gui Lin Gao (Herbal Jelly). Not as good as the one that DH bought for me from Balestier... not as herbal tasting. But it costs only SGD5, whereas the Balestier one cost SGD10!

Monday Dessert - Donut Factory

DH is super sweet these days. Look, he bought donuts home for dessert. I like the ones with nuts and chocolate.

DH wonders how a donut can be called a donut if there is no hole in the middle.

DM didn't fancy these donuts, she thinks its full of processed sugars and preservatives and bicarbonates. Donuts in her time didn't use to have such a soft texture, so she is very suspicious. She reckons that they add bicarbonates to the donut flour and then have to mask the taste with lots of extra sugars and cream. She said her tongue was stinging after a few bites, which confirms her suspicions. DM is a kitchen sleuth.

Typical Activities

Usually, after dinner, DH, Cutie and I go for a walk. We used to walk to the petrol station nearby or to the community centre across the road. But since Cutie really loves buses and all other large vehicles like garbage trucks and fire engines, we now take a bus (must be double-decker!) to the shopping centre nearby (3 bus stops) and then walk around the supermarket, and buy some groceries.

We then end our excursion with a short stop at McDonald's with an ice cream cone for Cutie. Once, Cutie accidentally knocked his cone over, and DH said, uh oh no more. too bad. You should have seen poor Cutie! His eyes turned red, the corners of his mouth drooped and his heartbroken wail was so sad... DH can be so tough on Cutie sometimes. He cried and cried... Anyway I told Cutie, it was an accident right, so you have to be more careful... let's see if daddy will get you another one. Daddy did, in the end... but sigh, I wish it could have been less traumatic.

here are my 2 favourite boys, waiting for the bus!


Cutie at home, he's still in his pajamas, so I think he must have just got up.









And here is video of Cutie, taken maybe just after he turned 2. He can spell lots of words now. Here are some of them.

Happy Birthday Choc Reindeer!

This blog is 1 year old!

How time flies.

I started this blog exactly a year ago to commemorate a lovely birthday surprise organised by DS... and this year was just as lovely!

Ah Yat Seafood Gallery @ Shaw Tower

We had a combined birthday dinner celebration for Kong Kong and I.

Lots of yummy seafood... This place was a little crowded though.

We started with geoduck sashimi, SGD 114. the most expensive dish that day. I think we kena cheated cos the waitress purposely picked a geoduck that was very heavy for our table of only 6 people - 1.4 kg! I should have gone to the tanks to pick out my own.

We could either eat it sashimi style or cook it in a steamboat of herbal stock.

Actually it is very nice, crunchy and sweet, and just a hint of chewy texture. But, for SGD114, I think I will stick with prawns, thank you very much.

We then had each had one yummy abalone braised in thick sauce, with a choice of sea cucumber or goose web as accompaniment. So nice. I don't like to share my abalone! So glad DH ordered one serving each for everyone!

I also liked these bamboo clams, also 1 serving each. It is steamed with lots of garlic, just the way DH and I like it! They do it by slicing the flesh of the clam into large pieces so it retains it succulence and juiciness. Some other restaurants slice it more thinly, but then it would require more skill to cook it right.



Then some other thingies...

scallop in yam

seafood claypot

The chili mussels (half eaten) were the most worth it - SGD9 for a big plate!


Thanks DH for the birthday dinner!

















Cutie loved playing around the fish tanks... seeing the fish and trying to catch them.










Birthday Cake @ Home











Then on the actual day, we had a birthday cake with lots of candles (haha, old already). Cutie had fun blowing out the candles and helping to cut the cake.

Kong Kong's birthday @ Home

Cutie likes this part best I believe.

Look at how engrossed he is in this photo, cutting Kong Kong's birthday cake.

Cutie's birthday is coming up soon, I will update you all on that shortly!

Lao You Ji @ 245 Outram Road

This place is an air-conditioned coffee shop that serves live seafood, tze char and steamboat.



Many places around this area have the same business model, but I like this place because the food is fantastic and fresh, the service is cheerful and polite, and the place is clean and air-conditioned. I don't think my criteria is very stringent. But, if a place meets only 2 out of the 3 factors mentioned above, it has to compensate by being outstanding in the other 2 areas. What about places with only 1 out of 3? That is a failing grade, and therefore the restaurant shall not be considered worthy.



Steamed frogs' legs in chicken essence (SGD18 for a small serving). Hmmm, only 1 bottle of essence, but this was very tasty nonetheless. It was slightly less tender than the Sin Huat version, but the gravy was somehow sweeter because there was the addition of some ginger and I think, some Chinese rice wine.

Steamed Large Bamboo Clams with garlic (SGD 10 each). This clam is much bigger than the other species of bamboo clams commonly served at seafood restaurants (those typically cost SGD8.80 elsewhere but only SGD8 here). These were great, chewy and tender, like very good squid. The addition of some mung bean vermicelli (tung hoon) on the top was a little unique, but it was good, as it soaked up the flavoursome clam juices, and was delicious.

Steamed Fish head with Sticky Red Sauce (SGD14). I am not sure what this sauce really is, but it tasted very savoury and fragrant with garlic. There was also some vinegar I think. It reminded me of that dish of braised lamb ribs which I had in a mainland Chinese restaurant.

So, this was yet another affordable and yummy meal.

Roland Restaurant @ East Coast

Roland is a restaurant whose prices and decor are still set in the 1980s. Red fabric covered chairs, middle-aged aunties who serve you with nary a smile, classic dishes like veg in crispy yam basket and desserts like Orh nee (sweet yam paste).



Coffee pork ribs (SGD12.80 per serving). It was thick and meaty, a carnivorous neanderthal's delight (read: DH's favourite). The gravy was sweet and sticky with a hint of bitter coffee. One of the best pork ribs I've ever eaten.

Steamed Home-made Tofu with Spinach and Gingko Nuts (SGD8.80). We order tofu whenever we eat out with Baby so that he gets to try some of our food too. This tofu was excellent. Soft and wobbly and smooth. Tastes definitely home-made.
Braised Seafood Claypot (SGD18.80 for each individual serving). This contained deer tendon, a slice of abalone, fish maw, scallop, mushroom and broccoli. It was rich and savoury and really good.
Now, this is what we really came here for. Crab Bee Hoon, soupy version (SGD35). This creamy milky broth is like the fish head bee hoon one gets, but it is much sweeter and more flavourful because of the whole crab that it is cooked in. Ginger slices and spring onions help to make this a warm, comforting meal. Slurpiliciously good.

And again, a very affordable meal.