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.
This songpyeon is a rice cake dessert with variable filling, slightly salty and sweet but not too sweet on the inside. I had never had these before, but they are a candidate to have again in the future.
The green tea and red bean bingsoo (medium – $25) was different to all other bingsoos I’ve had with its dusting of injeolmi. I don’t really know if I’m at a stage where I can differentiate between the nuances of different bingsoos. This post serves only as evidence that I ate it. Adequate sizing for 4 adults post Korean BBQ.
I had this half meat half cheese pizza ($7) towards the tail end of my overnight on-call shift when I had to sleep at work. Alhamdulillah no one tried to have a stroke in Western Sydney overnight.
Physically it was no better or worse than your average half meat half cheese pizza, but emotionally, eating it on the footpath working back to work ready to do my third of five 12 hour days in a row, it was there for me when the NSW public health system was not.
One of my favourite things about Xi’an restaurants is that they are almost invariably named “Xi’an Restaurant”. We ate here in the first week of having moved house, in a flurry of cheap and cheerful dines out whilst we were still unpacking our kitchen.
The food was generally good. This Chinese pork burger Roujiamo 肉夹馍 ($8) was moist and meaty, flavourful though lacking any visible vegetables or herbs.
The Pan Fried Chives Pancake韭菜盒子 ($7) is a relative favourite of mine. This example had a good crispiness to the skin, which was kept thin so as to maximise the filling to pastry ratio. A good example in a sea of good examples.
The Rice with Yuxiang Eggplant鱼香茄子 ($16) was a vegetarian version of the dish, well priced, tasty, and very filling. Something my partner enjoys and I am yet to make an edible version of.
Comments Though readers will note that only the roujiamou was particularly Xi’an in origin, this restaurant executed good versions of Northern as well as Sichuan cuisine at good prices. I’m sure we will be back for more.
We stopped at New Shanghai Workshop in Ashfield on our way to see a house that we ultimately locked ourselves into a $10,000/month mortgage on. Whether or not that was the right decision ultimately remains to be seen, but every day looking at my bank account and a series of consecutive interest rate rises I do wonder.
We had a number of pastries, that were all generally quite good.
Specific memories that I had include the egg yolk short cake with custard crisp ($5.50), which was rich, flaky, and not too sweet.
And the pan fried prawn bun ($5.80) which was only slightly above room temperature, didn’t have much flavour, and kind of sucked.
It’s just a shame we won’t be able to afford to eat here again for the next thirty years.
New Shanghai Workshop Ashfield 269 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield NSW 2131
I saw this Korean deli from across the road, which had only recently opened in the past week or so.
Inside were a number of foods already prepackaged in single-use plastics, laid down on a wooden bench nicely labeled with prices and names for the Chinese-majority population of Ashfield who may not be able to identify such delights by eyesight alone.
I purchased this bulgogi beef with rice set ($13) for my partner to take to work for dinner, but of course had to try each element while it was still fresh (to ensure it was non-poisoned, of course). The rice was nice and soft and fluffy, and the beef deliciously moist (and absolutely better than the bulgogi beef I had eaten recently at La Lune Market. Importantly, the juiciness and sauciness of the bulgogi beef was well proportioned to the amount of rice, meaning that no bite was too bland, nor was any bite too flavoured. The mixed shredded salad I honestly didn’t taste, but the potato salad was yummy and creamy, and the marinated kimchi was also quite a tangy and refreshing addition. Overall I felt this set was quite good value with quite a few different flavors and textures in one box each of which was appealing. I’m sure she’ll enjoy her dinner tonight at work.
I also had a original kimbap ($8). which was also pretty good – nice and crunchy, with the flavours from the daikon, fish cake, carb stick, carrot, egg and cucumber tasty but not at all overpowering. Similar to the bulgogi set, this is also quite a suitable to-go meal for a good price.
Overall A number of other variations of kimbap (including onigiri-style triangular), set boxes, and bibimbaps are on offer, which I have yet to but may eventually try. Hopefully these this place will see success in their new endeavor.
