I gave my partner a number of non-Cantonese options in Eastwood, as well as this single Cantonese option, and this is the one she chose. We visited Steamup Cantonese Restaurant’s Jusco Centre branch, which is not the one cited for “Fail to store potentially hazardous food under temperature control – Previous warnings given” on 10th July 2024, by the NSW Food Authority/City of Ryde. That one was their store on Progress Avenue.
We ordered a number of items from their electronic menu. Interestingly, the online menu provides an indication of what items are popular that given day, helping customers to choose not just what the restaurant believes to be its house specialties, but also what the customers think is good.
We had this fried dough 油条 you tiao ($3.50), which was fine, not the best, definitely not particularly crispy or fresh, with a bit of a self-raised taste to it.
This BBQ pork rice roll 叉烧肠粉 cha shao chang fen $15.80 was OK at the time, but pales in comparison to a better one that I had at Traditional Chinese Tate in Burwood about 6 weeks after this meal. The one here at Steamup was in comparison less bulgingly full, with a char siu that wasn’t as good as the standard of char siu you’d get at most Cantonese BBQ restaurants.
We ordered also this chinese bacon & chinese sausage claypot rice 腊肉腊肠煎仔饭 ($18.80), into which lightly gingered soy sauce was poured by the server, tableside with resultant sizzle, in an act of showmanship. I didn’t love it at first, particularly not enjoying the flavour of the preserved meat, but it did grow on me.
The bottom of the claypot rice was lightly charred and crispy, as it should be.
The egg tarts 蛋挞 (2 for $5) were terrible. The pastry wasn’t flaky, and the filling was too set and solid rather than soft, and also without an eggy flavour. The freezer aisle at your local Asian grocery store has better options. I would be embarrassed to sell this.
Unlimited refills of ginseng tea was also on offer, with the tiniest cups and the longest walk to the urn to minimise wasteage.
Overall the food was OK, and enjoyed much more by my partner than me. What this trip really did open our eyes to was the deep variety and availability of Chinese foods in Eastwood, a place we haven’t really been to much given we’ve always lived in a relatively Southern part of the city. Perhaps one day when our financial circumstances improve we’ll be able to go back to Eastwood.
Steamup Cantonese Restaurant Jusco Branch
8A-9A/1 Lakeside Rd, Eastwood NSW 2122
