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.
My wife and I are fans of bears, as animals that are vaguely friend-shaped, and so probably the fourth or fifth time we walked past YOU YOU Bear, we decided to go in.
We had a cup of thick-cut fried yogurt (though I don’t know how it’s fried, I think it’s more like a flash frozen sort of deal), for $14.80, consisting of an assortment of all the flavours that were available, ranging from oreo to succulent grape, and everything in between.
The whole thing wasn’t that great to be honest, most were a little bit sweet (true: not too sweet), and a little bit salty, but not something that really made either of us that happy, despite quite a long walk in the evening heat.
Google Maps lists Yummy Noodle King 巴蜀小面 as a self-service restaurant rather than a Chinese restaurant, and in a sense that’s true.
We walked in with no expectations and asked for two noodles to be recommended by the staff, resulting in two noodle dishes and a plate of dumplings.
The pork and peas noodle 特色豌杂面 ($14.80) was really yummy, with great umami flavour from the soy braised pork mince, as well as a bit of chilli oil and the weird creaminess of the corn. The dish was, I thought, better eaten as pictured rather than mixed together, as mixing it up made the pea goo go everywhere, making it impossible to avoid when I wanted at times to just have a purely meaty mouthful.
The braised beef noodle soup 红烧牛腩面 ($15.80) was quite delicious, apart from the actual beef, which I had mixed feelings about. The taste of the broth was good, as was the presence of the sour Chinese pickles, though the beef itself had a bit of a corned beef or silverside flavour, which was weird to contemplate in the setting of a Chinese noodle bowl. Overall, I don’t think this made the bowl unenjoyable, however, I probably would have preferred a more Chinese tasting braised beef.
The pork and chive dumplings 水饺, which were 12 pieces for $13.80, were below par for the local area. Though the filling was reasonable, with sweet chives, the wrappers were a bit thicker than I would have liked, making the dumplings more floury and less meaty.
Overall, quite a nice restaurant, and we do have vague inclinations to come back, probably before this post is published.
The self-service nature of this restaurant refers to the fact that once the food is ready, our number was called and we had to go pick it up from the counter. The restaurant, similar to My Aunt’s Handmade Noodles, offers free noodle topups, though we did not take advantage of this as the shop was closing and we were very full already.
Lovin’ Lamb was closed, and this stall in Burwood Chinatown was the nearest alternative.
We had these spicy but less spicy secret recipe lamb skewers ($12.60), which presented a good mixture of fatty and lean lamb coated in an enjoyable chilli-cumin seasoning.
I had the PLEASURE of eating these chive and egg “dumplings” from Ruyee a few minutes ago. They were new to my local Asian grocery store, and what a delight they were.
Though labelled dumplings, I would not really characterise them as such as they were each quite large (shown in a 10-inch carbon steel pan above). The Chinese label, 韭菜盒子, is much more accurate, indicating that they’re more of an egg and chive pocket. The cooking instructions suggested heating them in a small amount of oil for a total of six minutes, however due to the three dimensional shape of the pockest I found it neccessary to hold the straight sided edge against the pan to ensure that that portion of the pocket was not left raw.
The taste of these, however, was really good. There was a strong chive taste, with an excellent filling to dough ratio – honestly even better than ones I’ve paid for at literal restaurants and food stalls.
At a pack of 5 for $6-7, I have no notes – hopefully I will be able to find more yummy frozen snacks from this company in the future.
Ruyee Chive and Egg Dumplings 如意 韭菜盒子 UPC 936999818197
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.
