Categories
Bakery Filipino

Tita’s Cakes – Rooty Hill NSW Restaurant Review

My semi-itinerant working situation led me to Rooty Hill and Mt Druitt’s high density of Filipino restaurants and cafés. One such example is Tita’s Cakes, which offers a variety of Filipino-inspired cupcakes, cakes, and slices.

I originally intended to have only three cupcakes, however, I was talked into having four ($22) because they were “a lot cheaper”. Not having the adequate mental capacity after a harrowing PAC to analyse the cost difference, I agreed to have the 4 suggested by the woman working there, even though the overall saving ended up being only 50 cents each.

It was a true cupcake omakase experience, as I agreed to have all four that the lady (I assume she was too young to be the actual Tita) recommended. The Ube Cheese Macapuno was pretty good, in that its topping was relatively varied, with ube-flavoured cream frosting, cream cheese frosting, and a coconuttopping centre, though sadly everything under the topping was simply cake.

This theme carried through the Mango Royale (our favourite), and indeed every other cupcake on offer. Only the toppings added any excitement, whilst the rest of the cupcake was an unexciting and unspecial sponge.

This is the Buko Pandan. By this point, I don’t know why I kept bothering to cut them in half for photos.

The Ube Overload was similar to the Ube Cheese Macapuno, except that the topping was all just ube.

Overall thoughts
I have some regrets that I was talked into getting four cupcakes that were essentially the same with different food colouring under the top 20%, but it was a true omakase experience and one does not complain.

Tita’s Cakes
6/2 Rooty Hill Rd S, Rooty Hill NSW 2766, Australia

Categories
Bakery Chinese

QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 – Ashfield NSW Restaurant Review

I’m surprised I hadn’t already written a post about QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 , a place that I had visited on the recommendation of a colleague and PICU registrar of the month JL.

The place runs as a normal Chinese bakey, with a pick-your-own structure with tongs and trays, but with one exception. Unlike most Breadtop-style Chinese bakeries, QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 has quite a nice selection of dim sum snacks, ranging from egg tarts/蛋撻/dan ta to glutinous rice fried dumplings / 咸水角 / xian shui jiao , steamed buns, and other puff pastry delights.

I haven’t had anything out of the freezer yet (frozen shao mai, mostly), but everything I’ve had has been reasonably priced and of good quality, especially if you catch them when they’re still warm. Good for a quick bite.

QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點
297 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield NSW 2131

Categories
Indonesian

D’Penyetz & D’Cendol – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

We avoided the hustle and bustle of D’Penyetz & D’Cendol Burwood’s grand opening, only to land there a few months later during Ramadan, an equally peaky time.

The wait to order was a little bit longer than your average Asian restaurant on Burwood Road, but eventually we were greeted with the Iced Cendol Original ($5.90), a sweet, coconut milky drink which we did not love. The green wormy jellies on top, made of rice flour, had a mouthfeel and texture that was enjoyed even less than the drink itself. I am informed that this drink is quite popular in South East Asia, so perhaps it is just not for me and my partner’s East Asian-Australian palates.

We had the ayam penyet sambal mild ($12.90) and a more saucy version as well. Ever the lover of fried chicken, I can’t fault D’Penyetz’ rendition, though neither the fried nor saucy ones were as enjoyable as at ATL Ayam Tulang Lunak in Mascot. The side of fried tofu was fine, but I did not love the tempeh, which reminded me too much of natto, even though it did not taste as strong.

We rarely order fish out, but the ikan bakar aroma special (mild) ($25.90) caught our eye. It was moist and flavourful, with extra tanginess added by a liberal application of lemon wedge juice. Eating it felt like something my parents would approve of, ignoring for a moment that it was deep fried. This stood out to me more than the chicken, but was not reason enough for me to go back any time soon.

D’Penyetz & D’Cendol Burwood
183C Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134
(02) 8526 0199

Categories
Thai

Holy Basil – Parramatta NSW Restaurant Review

I came here with work so I couldn’t really take the time to individually review each dish and write down and collect my thoughts. If I remember I will queue this post as an extra in the middle of the normal post cycle, as it really is quite low effort.

We basically had a work dinner at a local Western Sydney restaurant and ordered the banquet menu to absolve individuals of tyranny of choice.

The spring rolls were vegetarian and not bad.

The curry puffs, also vegetarian, were even better.

The Thai beef salad was quite nice – tangy and meaty.

The pork belly in Thai basil was good.

We had a vegetarian Pad Thai but had enough meat to go around from the other dishes that I did not miss the protein in the pad thai itself. I have no photos of it.

I did not fancy the grilled prawns and squid dish which I felt was not that flavourful unless paired with the difficult to administer sauces it came with.

Holy Basil Parramatta
Shop 5/330 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150

Categories
Chinese

Harvest Foodie 聚丰源 – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

Panned by both the NSW Food Authority (1) (2) and Google Maps reviewers alike, Harvest Foodie sits adjacent to the Burwood Chinatown arcade and somehow became our choice of a second breakfast meal one morning, after a salty visit to Cha Dim House.

While the majority of negative Google Reviews seem to be about the attitude and communication skills of the aunties working here, my partner and I found no problem with this. I actually thought they were pretty chill, even taking my beef noodle order through me showing them a photo of what I wanted from the placard outside. Sadly the food was not as good as I had hoped.

This is a soy milk ($3). How can I really describe essentially the same soy milk made by a couple of similar machines across Burwood? Why does my partner always order them? Should I buy a soy grinding machine for home?

This is a soy egg ($2), not the same as a soy milk. It was fine. Totally adequate.

These pan fried dumplings 鲜肉锅贴 (8 for $10) were very cheap, but not particularly good. I felt that the wrappers were far too thick, with a leavened texture to them, which is the opposite of what I like. Dumplings, I feel, should be filling forward.

This homemade beef noodle soup 红烧牛肉面 ($15) was deeply disappointing. It was very salty, but had none of the spiciness that the menu picture implied. We didn’t finish it.

Other thoughts
Commenters on Google Maps seem to feel that the restaurant offers a dynamic pricing model, based on how much cash the aunties think you have in your pocket. Whilst this would be hilarious if true, and would be supported by the lack of prices on the placard outside, I just feel like it would be too much work to put into practice.

Harvest Foodie 聚丰源 Burwood
135 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134