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.
Before I die of dementia afraid and alone I need to tell you guys about these amazing frozen dumplings that my parents bought me. These are plump, with a real filling of meat and chives and a wrapper that far exceeds even the best of your standard Asian supermarket frozen dumplings. My partner grew up in a household without handmade dumplings. For the first 21 years of her life she thought that dumplings were these tiny, poorly filled machine-made things with more dough than taste. Her first encounter of having handmade dumplings with my family is probably what led her to stick with me for this long, and I’m honestly afraid that now that we have found such good frozen dumplings that she may leave me as there is nothing else that I can offer her that she can’t get herself.
They’re actually better than the ones I make myself at home. A pork, prawn and chive variation would be absolutely killer.
The Temasek experience is oft lauded as one of the best Singaporean-Malaysian restaurants in Sydney, as well as one of the best restaurants in Parramatta overall. I first heard about Temasek somewhere in late primary school or early high school, when my Malaysian-Chinese childhood friend JL mentioned that he had been. I had also been with my parents some time during my teens, and I’d wanted to, but not had the chance (owing to Temasek’s limited opening hours) to go back until now.
Temasek, tucked in a narrow alleyway beside the old Roxy Theatre, looks, smells, and sounds authentic. Passers-by through the Roxy Arcade are treated to kitchen noises, chatter, and fragrances that would be unexpected for the Parramatta CBD. Service is brisk but friendly from the multilingual staff, and the portion sizes are huge.
I wanted to like the Hainanese Chicken Rice ($16.50), I really did. What should’ve been a slam dunk easy dish to bring out perfectly unfortunately did not meet my expectations. The meat was unusually rubbery, and not warmed the whole way through. The centre of the chicken breast was unfortunately a bit cooler than the exterior. It was unfortunate that the star chicken protein was not as good as the accompaniments, with the chicken rice and soup both having good flavour. I enjoyed both the sweet sticky soy sauce and chilli sauce.
The Mee Siam ($18.80), a noodle dish in a hot and sour soup, with boiled egg, prawn and fishcake was our other choice. While I think it’s probably a fine and beloved dish in general, it just wasn’t to my taste. I think the hot and sour flavours were too strong, and I wasn’t a big fan of the rice noodles either. The generously applied proteins were good, though once I had fished them all out the resulting bowl of hot and sour soup and vermicelli didn’t not inspire me enough for me to eat the rest of the bowl.
THOUGHTS I wasn’t a fan of what I had ordered, but would not be opposed to going back. The three people on the table next to us thoroughly enjoyed their mi goreng.
Temasek 71 George St, Parramatta NSW 2150 (02) 9633 9926
Supernormal was our most highly-anticipated meal of our 2022 Melbourne trip, and boy did its expression of predominantly Chinese-marketed-as-Japanese fusion cuisine not disappoint.
We started our meal with this excellent raw bar starter of nori cracker, seared tuna, and bonito ($14 for 2 pieces). The cracker was similar to the tempura seaweed snacks that you can get at the Asian grocery store, but with greater substance and rigidity suited to holding its toppings. The seared tuna was fresh and tasty with a good texture (contrasting to other seared tunas we had on our trip, for example at Lover), and while the topping of ginger was perhaps over-represented, overall both the flavours and textures of this starter were excellent. This was perhaps the most Japanese dish of our pseudo-Japanese fusion meal.
The soy-roasted pumpkin seeds, a complimentary snack, were sweet, savoury and had a great crunch. Good to pass the time between dishes, not that there was much delay at all.
The Hunan-style beef tartare with fragrant chilli oil ($20) was again excellent, with a title reflective of its inspirations. It was fresh and spicy, with a flavour profile highly reminiscent of liángpí (凉皮), but with a rawness that most Chinese people would traditionally not touch. This tartare was one of the better of the many we had in Melbourne, with quite innovative flavouring and good quality meat.
The sesame flatbread with whipped cod roe ($12) was another outstanding showing. It’s almost crazy to think that you could find the Platonic ideal of shāobǐng (烧饼) at this Asian Fusion restaurant that pretends that it’s not Chinese, but that’s exactly what this is. The flatbread was fragrant, soft, and warm, aided by a very generous sprinkling of toasted white sesame seeds. The bread, though excellent itself, was brought to a whole other level entirely by the whipped cod roe dip, which was impossibly creamy and umami. The green oil on top of the dip, for those who are wondering, was explained as the oil of scallion, though to me tasted like nothing. Even if the greenness is just for aesthetics, I don’t think you can walk past this dish. It is a great bread.
As an aside, the diners on the table adjacent to us asked the waiter if roe was a type of sauce, and the man also remarked to his dining partner “I know this will probably scare most people” as their bread arrived. I am glad they are trying.
We interrupt this food review for a photo of Super Soda ($11), a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage.
Though I have much praise for many of Supernormal’s offerings, I must say that the New England lobster roll ($18) was not extraordinary. While the buttery, lightly-toasted brioche bun was excellent, the taste of the lobster itself (presumably the star ingredient) was very mild and smothered by a large predominance of mayonnaise. The bun was quite small for $18, and sharing this roll between two people was ill advised.
The duck bao ($32) with twice-cooked duck leg ,vinegar & plum sauce was very good. The duck leg had a salty and hard exterior with crispy skin, which cracked open to reveal moist flesh within which paired well with the fresh cucumber and tangy sauces. The “bao” of this dish was bao in the same sense as most Western iterations of the word – folded white steamed dough – a form I don’t believe actually exists in China. We found that, given the abundance of duck, a superior topping to bread ratio could be achieved by splitting the “baos” in half. Very good.
Another dish, another focus of Chinese inspiration. The slow-cooked lamb shoulder with eggplant, Yuxiang sauce, crispy garlicwith a cabbage salad (small serve, $42) exhibited a strong Sichuan influence, rather than anything Japanese. Though our waiter helpfully suggested this half-size given how much other food we ordered, we found that even this small portion was quite large. The dish was replete in both má and là, with an additional element of tomato or vinegar flavour which was reminiscent of mápó tofu (麻婆豆腐). The lamb had a crispy semi-melted fatty layer atop which made for a good texture, especially combined with the crispy garlic coating. The eggplant was soft and flavourful, being an excellent soak for all of the sauce and juices, while the cabbage salad, seasoned with cumin, was just a bit too weird for me to want to eat it in any large amount. I don’t think cumin cabbage should be a thing.
For dessert we had the peanut butter parfait ($18), featuring a dark chocolate mousse that surprised me with its lack of coldness (I had misidentified it as an ice cream). It was good. It was all good.
For second dessert we got this massive box of Pocky ($2) from the vending machine downstairs. It’s actually cheaper than your local Asian supermarket?
THOUGHTS We had a great meal at Supernormal, easily the best of our 2022 Melbourne trip. The dishes were hit after hit after hit, melding familiar Chinese flavours with new ingredients and ways of cooking. My one very significant complaint would be how this restaurant markets itself as Japanese-fusion, with its use of katakana in its branding and promotional material. I feel that, based on the selection of dishes that we tried as well as the wider menu on offer, Supernormal should be considered pan-Asian-fusion at broadest, and honestly probably Chinese-fusion for the most part. I think at the end of the day it’s just unfortunate that it’s harder to convince someone to spend $100 per person on “modernised/Westernised/fused” Chinese cuisine than on Japanese.
Another weekend, another brunch. This week’s victim was Coffee Trad3rs, a large, family friendly cafe with plenty of interior decoration and a pan-Asian inspired food menu.
This short rib burger was pretty good, if simple. The beef rib was tender and plentiful, though without much variety in flavour throughout the dish I did get a bit bored towards the end. The chips were freshly fried and good.
This miso salmon soba salad is the latest in a string of recent miso salmons for me. Excitingly, this was served with soba and a light salad rather than the standard rice. While the salmon didn’t do that much for me (I thought that the miso-ness of it was a bit too subtle), I really enjoyed the fresh salad and the cool soba, which had a great slippery mouthfeel.
Not one to say no to fried chicken, my girlfriend had to order the Taiwanese fried chicken cubes. This was similar in concept to large fried chicken but served in bite sized pieces, I imagine to fit the needs of the various children around the place.
Some kind of white drink.
I thought about not including a review for this item due to not having a very good photo for it, but I just have to mention the milk tea swiss roll cake. The flavour of this creamy swiss roll perfectly simulated that of a pearl milk tea, with the light and delicate sponge melting into the mouth almost as if it were liquid. It is a top tier dessert, to be sure.
SUMMARY I think that most of the food at Coffee Trad3rs is quite reasonable, and there is a certainly a broad Asian-fusion menu with constantly evolving specials on offer. If you’re in the area I’d definitely recommend giving them a go – if you’re far away though, I wouldn’t necessarily say drive across the city for it. Overall good. Avoid if you hate families and kids.
Coffee Trad3rs Castle Hill 1/8 Victoria Ave, Castle Hill NSW 2154 (02) 9894 7876
My visit to Noodle & Dumplings Chain in Kingsford wasn’t the worst meal I’ve had in Kingsford (that honour would go to Chinese Dumpling and Noodle Restaurant, located next door), but also very far from the best.
Kingsford’s reputation for good, value-for-money Chinese food stems from its position as one of Sydney’s few “college towns”, with a population consisting largely of Chinese international students as well as price-conscious local students. It is unfortunate, therefore, that Noodle & Dumpling Chain did not live up to the hype set by its neighbours.
The Shengjian Bao (6 for $9.80) were not bad. While I would rate them below other restaurants both near and far in terms of their soup content, they were one of the most passable dishes of the meal.
The Xiao Long Bao (8 for $10.80) were also okay, though really nothing special. I think what you’re really paying for here is not having to break out the steamer at home and steam your own very similar Asian-grocery bought frozen XLBs. Quite cheap, but otherwise nothing to write home about.
I don’t think anyone who orders Shandong Chicken expects to get this brought to their table. An easy recommendation to avoid.
The Battered Egg Combination Rice Noodle ($14.80) is large and well priced, though I wasn’t a fan of the flavours, and thought that it relied too heavily on seafood extender over meat.
COMMENTS I wasn’t impressed by Noodle & Dumplings Chain, though looking at the prices I wonder how much of that is due to the sheer volume and quality of Chinese food I’ve been lucky enough to eat since my uni days. While I wouldn’t come back, I could see how Noodle & Dumplings Chain would be a reasonable place to eat for a struggling uni student.
