Category: Chinese

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Chinese

Pancake King 煎饼王 – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

This was a good meal which was made slightly more difficult than it had to be due to language barrier and a terribly translated menu.

We had this handmade tofu brain (手工豆腐脑), $5.50 which was quite good. The only actual Tianjin style doufu nao I’ve had in Australia, reminiscent of early childhood memories that are only barely hanging on. It was the savoury variety with soy sauce, pickles, and shallot and even though it wasn’t what my partner grew up with (her people seem to have a sweeter gingery variety), both of us enjoyed it.

The Tianjin pancake, also known as pancake fruit 煎饼果子 ($8), depending on which version of the menu you look at, was not bad and quite inexpensive for what it was. It was no better or worse than other jianbing guozi in the local area. The deep fried dough stick/ fuel strips/ youtiao 油条 ($2.50 supplement) are of course a necessary addon to any jianbing guozi order, while we chose not to add heat the dog / hotdog / 热狗 for $2, both because I was already warm enough and the man explained it was just a sausage from Costco.

The the leek egg pie 韭菜鸡蛋馅饼 ($3) was not bad, though had less egg than I would have liked and also a less strong chive flavour than local competitors. The wrapper was also thicker than those available at for example Jinweigu in Campsie, so overall I would not get it again.

The pork pie 猪肉馅饼 ($3) was otherwise relatively good, here with the same filling to wrapper ratio as the leek egg pie, but more appropriately so given the saltier filling.

Overall
A reasonably good, well priced outlet for Tianjin style food. The banner translations are very silly and need to be updated to what’s present inside on the tables (helpfully enough only visible once you’ve already ordered your meal.)

Pancake King 煎饼王
Burwood Plaza, Shop 61/50 Railway Parade, Burwood NSW 2134

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
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

Categories
Chinese Drinks

SOTEA 抒茶 – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

I shouldn’t call this a review, and it’s not even a restaurant, but the title syntax has been established for so long now that it feels impossible to breka.

We had the magnolia milk tea at SOTEA back in June, a few months after opening, once the hype and the lines had died down. Some meals I remember with clarity a few months later – mostly if it was either really good or really bad. This was neither.

I’m not completely convinced that we needed a 19th bubble tea shop in Burwood, and yet I’m sure we will find ourselves trying the 20th once it too pops up. This not-review will get posted outside of the usual schedule.

SOTEA 抒茶 Burwood
75 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134

Categories
Chinese Groceries

Sydney Best Dim Sim – Eastwood NSW Restaurant Review

There’s a joke in the beloved but ill-fated Netflix series “The Brothers Sun”, where they talk about going to the “Number 1 Seafood Restaurant in Alhambra,” only to find that this was merely the name of the restaurant and not a reflection at all about the restaurant’s quality.

This is similar to what happened to me, as I fell victim to a puff piece by 7NEWS Australia, and ended up at “Sydney Best Dim Sim” in Eastwood, purchasing a selection of frozen disappointments to steam at home.

While I don’t have photos of every individual thing, I do have a representative sample. I had the scallop dumpling 带子饺 (8 for $9)
, which was unenjoyable. It was difficult to ascertain the presence of scallop, and the texture of the filling was very homogenous, pasty, and sticky – nowhere near the quality of a yum cha restaurant or one of my preferred frozen dim sum suppliers in Sydney. You’re simply not meant to be able to squeeze filling through the tines of a fork like that.

I faced a similar problem with the gow choi gow / prawn and chives dumpling (韭菜饺) (6 for $7.80), again with filling that was a sticky clumped mess, minimal evidence of actual seafood, and this time with not much chive flavour either.

Overall
I am somewhat doubtful that the ones spruiking this place have even tried the dim sum on offer. They are demonstrably inferior to options from Lai Shing Dim Sim Factory, as well as Ho’s Dim Sim Kitchen, both in Marrickville, and both of which provide truly restaurant grade frozen dim sum for the same price.

At the end of the day it’s my own fault for trusting traditional commercial media, when I don’t even trust food influencers who may even take a free meal.

All meals on this blog are paid for independently. Many, like this one, with regret.

Sydney Best Dim Sim
Shop 23/185 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122