The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Around 4 years ago, I had a delicious fried prawn head snack from the Korean grocer in Strathfield Plaza. It was crispy, crunchy and umami. Not getting the name nor the photo of this snack was one of the regrets of my life, and though I suspect it was from Jung Sae Woo, I have never again seen it for sale.
Today I came across what appeared to be a similar snack at a local Chinese grocer. This packet of deep fried spicy shrimp was only around $2, and so relatively low risk to try. Unfortunately they ended up being not very similar to what I remember of the Korean shrimp. These Chinese spicy shrimp were not just the head but the full animal.
They had a sticky exterior coating which meant that they were a bit softer rather than truly crispy. The stickiness of the coating made the snack seem sweet even though the flavour of it wasn’t particularly sweet – more of a spicy with a little bit of numbing and a bitter aftertaste
I didn’t really enjoy these as much as I had hoped, although my orange cat did enjoy one (and he will probably therefore die).
We were the only Asians at a packed Hearthe on a Sunday morning not long ago, not counting the two in the kitchen, and thus the only people to have their very good congee, though more on that later.
The first item that arrived was the salt bush scone with dessert lime marmalade and cream ($14). The scone itself was savoury, with a light, chive like flavour do them that suberverted expectations of a wholely sweet-spectrum dish.
The cream, whipped well, is always a welcome addition to any scone dish, whilst the “dessert lime marmalade”, which I can only assume is a play on words based on the “desert lime” its made of, was a less sweet, more bitter concoction. My wife enjoyed this dish more than me.
The ham and cheese scroll ($9) was up next. Though plucked from the display cabinet, it was served warmed up, semi-gooeyfying the relatively large high density of cheese within this pastry.
The layers of the scroll were very buttery and dense, contributing to an overall sense of luxury to this scroll, though again, similar to the marmalade, there was an overall hint of bitterness to it.
The rice congee with paperbark smoked barramundi, with karkalla, samphire and finger lime with a toasted croissant crouton ($19) was completely different to everything else on offer at Hearthe. The croissant “crouton” functioned much like a youtiao, though tasted a bit burnt and was on a whole less good than the traditional alternative. The native greens (karkalla and samphire) weren’t that tasty, and the finger lime was not able to be found or tasted.
Looking past the croissant and native greens, the dish as a whole was an extremely traditional rendition of a Chinese congee. The flavour was umami and warming, and just as a classic congee, not overly rich. The flakes of barramundi within the bowl were perfectly proportioned, and permeated through each spoonful. It did a really good job as a congee, much better than many Chinese restaurants we’ve been to, and despite the superficial attempt of being fusion, was deeply traditional in its overall execution, tasting more of shallot and fish than it did of native things. It’s a shame we didn’t see any of the other (non-Asian) patrons ordering it.
The unforgettable cake ($10 for a small slice), was actually much more forgettable than Hearthe proprietor Christopher Thé’s original claim to fame, Black Star’s strawberry watermelon cake. Though it was built in a sandwich like construction featuring jelly and cream between multiple layers of sponge, I didn’t feel that this really made up for the relatively uninteresting and subdued flavour, and it ultimately ended up seeming like too much structural effort for little flavour pay-off. At least it wasn’t too sweet.
The paperbark cake ($10) had a nice, floral and peppery top layer, with a honey-drenched mimille feuille centre and a rich, chocolatey, dense mousse-like base. This was probably the most “native Australian” tasting item on the menu, though overall too sweet for my liking.
UPDATE – We found our way across the bridge to a community cultural event, where Christopher The was doing some live baking with his kids whilst one of his other kids played music.
We were served these very unassuming tarts with kiwi and mango pearls on arrival.
The music was intermitted by these fresh-out-of-the-oven blueberry cupcakes, which had a taste of self-raised flour. I reiterate add at this point that the whole thing was one professional baker and his kids, who are definitely not professional bakers and just there to do their best to help out.
The cherry strudel with fresh and sour cherries, anise myrtle, and a coffee and wattle seed ice cream turned out to be quite good, despite Christopher leaving his dry flour at home. We enjoyed the tartness of the sour cherries, and that it was overall not too sweet.
A surprise showing of a work-in-progress next generation strawberry-watermelon cake. I think it would be better with less sweetness.
OVERALL Despite criticisms, I enjoyed my meal at Hearthe, and the little Australian twists present in most dishes. It almost felt like what BUSH should’ve been, and it just happens to have some of the best fish congee around.
If you’re really into classical guitar and live North of the bridge, the live-baking thing could be a thing too.
Another family birthday, another cake from somewhere in Sydney – this time from Maki’s Patisserie, the bakery run by the Japanese daughter-in-law of an Auburn Singaporean restaurant patriarch.
Ordering was simple via text message and payment via bank transfer, and pickup was from within Peranakan Place Nonya Cuisine, a Parramatta Road restaurant I’ve driven past hundreds of times but never eaten inside.
As I waited for my cake to be brought out, I had a nice chat with the (very nice) owner of the Singaporean restaurant, and promised him that I’d try to eat there in the future.
We had the Strawberry Shortcake (small – $51), which was a deliciously light sponge, with multiple layers of cream, strawberries and a diplomat cream and strawberry topping. It was very moist, creamy, and fit the bill of being not-too-sweet – perfect for the East Asian palate.
Jimmy’s Chicken, completely unrelated to the Merivale outlet by the same name in Coogee, is a local poultry butcher and cooked chicken shop near the Coles of Burwood Westfield.
I’d previously seen someone enjoying a piece of their fried chicken sitting on a step outside of Westfield, but today chose a Family BBQ Chicken ($14) for my first foray into Jimmy’s arts.
I actually didn’t enjoy this chicken at all. The skin was extremely crispy, which was a good thing, but the rest of it was worse than unexciting. The meat, by and large, was dry, with minimal flavouring applied.
I ended up eating it with some packet gravy that I had lying around in the pantry at home.
For what it’s worth, their raw marinated Tandoori chicken drummettes are quite good.
I haven’t thought about this place in a decade, but digging through old photos for this fortnight’s low effort nostalgia post led me to this photo of bukkakeontama ぶっかけ 温玉, which cost an unreal $4.90 in the 2015 era. This was my first bukkake experience, and just delicious – such a simple meal with plain, muted flavours that brought the creaminess of egg and the bounciness of the noodle to the forefront.
Great quality to price ratio at the time, and even now it is only $9.90 in 2026. I wonder if it still good.
Menya Mappen Shop 11/537-551 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
