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. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Emperor’s Garden Cream Puffs. A Chinatown institution. The lines are long and the service is abrupt, but these hot, custard filled little balls are worth it.
Last night during our wait in the queue we were treated to a kid trying to master the kickflip, while his friends rated him on his form. His friend, no matter what, wouldn’t give him a 9/10 – a score reserved for the greats. At one stage he told him “you’re no Tony Hawk,” which is true.
I’ve wanted to eat at Flour Drum for some time, but had avoided it in view of the terrifying parking situation in Newtown. I was finally able to bundle up the spoons to brave the King St parking situation this weekend, only to find that parking isn’t so bad on a Sunday morning. We had a dish from their regular menu, and a dish from their Spring inspired menu. Allow me to discuss.
The handmade pappardelle with 8-hours slow braised South Australian Lamb Shank Ragu shallot and chili infused olive oil and Cyprian volcanic black sea salt ($26.50) is a very long name, but one which adequately describes the components of this dish. This was a safe choice, and a very delicious one. The pasta was cooked softer than al dentre, which was good for me, because I’m basic. I really enjoyed the flavours, and the fresh chopped chilli gave the ragu the perfect amount of spice. I couldn’t identify the volcanic black sea salt, but have no doubt it was present. I don’t know what this really added to the dish over and beyond what normal salt would have added.
I’m going to be honest, I was highly skeptical of the Handmade Pork and Prawns Dumplings with Egg Noodles in a Chicken Broth, Chinese Bok Choy, Japanese Roasted Seaweed and Parsley. I am often wary of Asian food in a predominantly Caucasian restaurant, as more often than not it is more expensive, and less good. Flour drum’s pork and prawn dumplings were the exception to the rule. The dumplings were bursting with umami flavour, and could compete with any other dumpling and wonton in wide circulation. They were really the star of the show, with the fresh bok choy a close second. I thought that the noodles and soup were a bit too plain and mild-flavoured, an opinion my partner originally held but subsequently changed her mind on. I would recommend this dish for the taste of dumplings alone, however the price ($22-25 from memory) is far too much, and a dish of similar quality and construction would not surpass $12 at your local Chinese restaurant (I’m aware one of the co-owners of Flour Drum (Victor Li) is of Asian descent)
This giant M&M cookie was like $7. It was fine. Its structural rigidity was poor but I don’t know how they could have done better with such a large surface area.
Overall I think Flour Drum is just fine. The food is good, and I’m impressed by how they are able to create both Eastern and Western dishes quite competently. My big criticism has to be the price however, especially for strictly Chinese dishes that have an obvious and equally high quality counterpart in your local Chinese restaurant for half the price.
Got the eponymous Little Cha and the Lychee Luscious. Both with 25% sugar, and both were still too sweet. I enjoyed the toppings (strawberry and passionfruit popping pearls in the Little Cha and lychee jelly in the Lychee Luscious) but not the drinks themselves.
I probably wouldn’t order from Little Cha again.
A Little Cha 152 Bunnerong Rd, Eastgardens NSW 2036 0450 636 940
King of Skewers is a small basketball themed Chinese BBQ skewer restaurant in Kingsford. It is co-located with Beautea, which is my favourite bubble tea place in Kingsford.
The walls are adorned with basketballs, NBA memorabilia, and posters. There is a hoop over the window that peers into the kitchen at the back of the restaurant, but I dared not to shoot as 1) the balls were too high up for me and 2) there was no telling the cost of repairing the excellent fitout by Keeyuen.
Ordering was via the nondescriptive tick a box next to the food on the piece of white paper method. We had basically no idea how our foods would look until they came.
After a reasonably long wait we indulged in these beef, lamb, and pork skewers. They were delicious.
The scallops were too salty and we felt they were overpriced. Often oversauced seafood, especially in Asian cuisine, is a mask for low quality or less fresh ingredients.
We really thought this expensive chicken wing would consist of more than one chicken wing. It was yum but a poor spend of money.
I literally can’t imagine someone painstakingly threading each corn kernel onto a stick, let alone 10 sticks. A+ for effort.
Overall: King of Skewers in Kingsford is the place to be if you’re looking for a basketball themed Chinese BBQ skewer restaurant. I’m still unclear on the relationship between basketball and skewering, but the staple foods were delicious, while the less staple foods (scallops, chicken wing) were less delicious and more overpriced. Make sure you grab a drink from Beautea on the way in.
I am glad to tell you that I think Brother Restaurant is actively bad.
We had the pork dumplings ($16.80), the small braised chicken – not pictured ($30), and the beef fried noodle XO Sauce ($16.80).
The pork dumplings were small and had strong frozen supermarket dumpling energy. I don’t want to slander them but if you set me up with a bowl of dumplings that were from the frozen section of your ocal Asian grocery tsore and these dumplings I would not be able to tell you which one was $16.80 from a restaurant and which one was $4 from the supermarket.
The beef fried noodle in XO sauce was very salty with minimal meat.
The braised chicken had a reasonable flavour with chicken and potato, however was a very small quantity (a takeaway box) for $30 – did they just make this number up? – and the chicken was very bony.
I cannot recommend Brother Restaurant at all. Skip the graded escalation and just tell me to STOP if I try to order from them again.
