Categories
Chinese 广东 (Guǎngdōng/Cantonese)

Sun Ming BBQ Restaurant – Parramatta NSW Restaurant Review

Sun Ming’s been around in Parramatta for as long as I can remember, with my parents frequently buying shāo kǎo (烧烤) from this and nearby barbecue restaurants throughout my childhood. Though frequenting the BBQ counter, I had never been further inside the restaurant until now.

Complimentary soup was served with our meal. It was light and a bit sweet with a bit of pork bone, similar to many entree soups at larger Cantonese restaurants. I certainly wasn’t expecting this from a neighbourhood BBQ restaurant at 3PM in the afternoon, but it was a nice surprise.

This chicken congee was warm and delicious, with light flavours of chicken and ginger, and crispy fried wonton bits on top. I feel like I could drink one of Sung Ming’s congees every day – they just feel so wholesome.

While it’s not strictly against the law to have congee without Fried dough sticks – Yóu tiáo (油条 – $3.70), it’s definitely unwise to forego them if available. Sun Ming’s dough sticks are freshly fried, warm throughout, and crunchy on the outside with a softer inside, perfect for dipping into congee. Whilst nothing out of the ordinary, these sticks are special just for being ordinary – a perfect rendition of what they are meant to be.

I had my first taste of Fujian (Hokkein) Fried Rice as a child in the early 2000s, in a small Chinese diner in Burwood called Canton Noodle House. Since then, I have travelled the world trying Fujian Fried Rices from all over Sydney and Melbourne. Some have been better, many have been worse, and out of all of these Sun Ming’s ranks within the top tier. The fried rice component of the Fried Rice Fukkien Style ($17.80), as it is known at Sun Ming, is less fried than its counterparts across Sydney, more resembling a normal rice that has been tossed in oil. The size of the toppings is greater than what I’ve experienced elsewhere, with both vegetables and seafood coming in larger chunks rather than minestrone-sized pieces – a point of differentiation rather than a point of advantage or disadvantage. The toppings themselves were warm and full of umami flavours – not too heavily salted but salted just right to add flavour to the rice, and of adequate quantity that no grain of rice was left untopped and boring.

The beef brisket in hot pot ($18.80) was exactly as stated on the label. It is a more strongly flavoured dish, with a huge amount of nice, fatty beef brisket and wombok cabbage in a hot pot. It’s a bit too salty to eat on its own, but just perfect with rice, which is how it is designed to be eaten. I liked this very much – I only wish that there could’ve been an option to mix beef brisket and tofu within the same hot pot.

I’ve recently discovered that most BBQ meats from Chinese BBQ shops aren’t actually made on site, due to the significant difficulties in small spaces and therefore the significant advantages of economies of scale when it comes to roasting entire ducks and huge slabs of pigs. Whilst I can’t confirm where Sun Ming Parramatta gets their roast duck from, (or perhaps they actually do do it in house), I can confirm that it is very delicious, plump, juicy, and not too salty.

Char siu is char siu. There is generally a good mix of fatty and lean pieces.

I’ve always wondered what these sausages were, and it took the help of my girlfriend speaking in Cantonese to actually order a little bit to try. Though I still don’t know what they’re called (the English-speaking internet is divided on this topic – perhaps siu cheong), I can describe them for you in reasonably good detail. They are a thick sausage with a soft internal structure and a sweetness similar to that of cha siu or your standard dried lap cheong. The thickness and softness however give it much more presence in your mouth than just chewing a twiggy-stick-esque lap cheong, and while I enjoyed it by itself I think it would also be great with rice.

UPDATE MARCH 2023
We went back. Of course we did.

The combination and bean curd in hot pot ($22) hit every single mark it was meant to, with a generous serving size, jam packed with fried soft tofu, beef, chicken, some prawns, vegetables, and roast pork belly. This is a universal classic dish that the restaurant pulled off with no problem.

I have been searching for a good Sang Tung Chicken (Shandong Chicken – $20) for what feels like many years now, and none has come as close to what I remember and enjoy as Sun Ming Parramatta’s. This chicken was crispy skinned on the outside whilst remaining moist on the inside, with a deliciously sour, sweet, and savoury sauce and topping of chillis, garlic and shallots. This was exactly what I was looking for.

The BBQ Pork and Roast Pork with Rice ($16) was sadly not as good at the end of the day as when we usually get takeaway from them, with only a limited portion of roast pork still available by around 8PM. I also didn’t love the char siu this time around, which I found to be more fatty but also with a bit of a porky aftertaste – not as good as what they usually have on offer.

UPDATE MAY 2023

Between stroke calls at the end of the day when essentially all other nearby restaurants had closed their kitchens I inhaled this Roast Pork and Soy Chicken with Noodles ($16), which wasn’t particularly spectacular (especially the noodle soup, I think rice might be a better option), but came with this excellent complimentary soup of the day.

This soup of the day, free, was unlike any other I’d ever had. Though the day was generally bad for me (7 stroke calls in a 24-hour period), the soup of the day was good, with a nice tomatoey and slightly spicy flavour. I liked it much more than the noodle soup that I actually paid for.

UPDATE, in retrospect, May 2021

I just found this photo from a delivery order 3 years ago on my computer. (writing now in October 2024). It’s a photo of Baked New Zealand Rice ($20), although that pricing is probably historical and might not be accurate any more due to rampant inflation since peak COVID-19 times. The rice, as I remember was delicious. Super cheesy and creamy, lots of umami flavour from the seafood and ham, and overall a terribly unhealthy delight. Maximal HK-Portuguese fusion.

VERDICT
Sun Ming BBQ in Parramatta is a centre of excellence for authentic, well-priced Chinese food in the heart of Parramatta. They are my pick for Cantonese/Hong Kong BBQ meats over the nearby Mr Ping’s, which in my opinion is not as nice and also a bit more pricey. Recommend.

Sun Ming BBQ Parramatta
145-149 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150
(02) 9689 2178

Categories
American

Lenny Briskets – Botany NSW Restaurant Review

I lived in Botany for an entire year, but it was six months after I had left that Lenny Briskets set up shop in their Botany warehouse location, and another six months of mouth-wateringly looking at Instagram posts before I was able to go and see what all the fuss was about for myself.

The strengths and weaknesses of the food truck business model are centred, unsurprisingly, around its mobility. While having your restaurant on wheels might mean that you’re able to service geographically diverse populations and get your product in front of more hungry eyes and mouths, the itinerant lifestyle also means that it’s difficult to establish a home base with a loyal local following and reliable opening times. It’s the balancing act that’s birthed a million SWOT analyses – but eventually we took ourselves to Botany and got our mouths around that beef.

This Pastrami on Martin’s ($17) was perfection. The meat was so incredibly juicy, tender, and flavourful, not to mention generous, absolutely overflowing the soft, tumeric-coloured potato buns. The yellow theme was continued with just a bit of French’s classic yellow mustard, enough to add a second degree of flavour interest, without being overpowering. The three simple flavours of smoked meat, a bit of mustard, and the sweet bun all worked in perfect harmony, so much so that I found the included side pickle (happily not too salty, but ultimately not needed). While Lenny’s offers a similar sandwich with 500g of pastrami, I think the bread to filling ratio of just the regular one (I think it might be 250g?) is the sweet spot.

The New Amsterdam ($18) of BBQ brisket, American cheese, sweet red peppers and Russian dressing, again on a Martin’s potato bun was my second favourite, but still good. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, though I thought that the red capsicum made it just a bit too wet and sweet for my liking. The flavours of the pastrami sandwich just hit the right spot for me. The cheese was nice, and I wonder if it could be added to the original pastrami sandwich.

This samoyed, known as Bibi, is hyper friendly and super soft, and though we ate our meal with our hands we could not resist giving Lenny’s mascot some well-enjoyed pets.

COMMENTS
Good. Catch them if you can.

Lenny Briskets
9 Margate St, Botany NSW 2019
+61 492 907 215

Categories
Chinese

The Alley Lujiaoxiang – Parramatta NSW Bubble Tea Review

This will be brief.

Ah yes, this brown sugar cone was quite bad.

I enjoyed this early grey iced tea, much more so than my partner who hated it.

That’s all.

You’re welcome for the high quality content.

The Alley Lujiaoxiang
Shop 4067, Level 4/175 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150

Categories
Indian

Mazaidar Foods – North Parramatta NSW Restaurant Review

Finishing work at 9PM in Westmead means that the best food options available are generally Subcontinental in nature. Mazaidar Foods in North Parramatta is a late-closing Pakistani restaurant, offering a variety of Pakistani and Indian dishes paired with really great and welcoming service.

Mazaidar’s naan was very good. I suspect that part of this was us having it fresh instead of having to wait for naan to be delivered, but really it was just so warm and nice right out of the tandoor. We enjoyed the garlic and cheese naan (Left – $4.75), which had cheese between two layers of bread, a little bit more than the butter naan (Right – $3.50), though both are safe choices.

Sadly the papadums ($3.50) were not free. They didn’t have any spices adherent to the dough – rather these were ground into the flour. My partner didn’t like this as much as most other papadums, but I actually liked them more.

The half tandoori chicken ($10.50) was of normal quality. No better or worse than any other, though the price was quite good.

The seekh kebab (4 pieces for $12) were nice, soft, moist, with a little bit of gamey flavour but not enough to overpower us.

The beef nehari ($17.50) featured huge chunks of beef, slow cooked in a only-slightly spicy thick sauce. The beef was quite tender, and it was quite good to eat with the naan. I’m told that this is quite an authentic nehari as far as neharis go, but I wouldn’t be able to confirm or deny this myself.

My partner loved the Aloo Mutter ($15.50), a thick, spicy curry of potatoes and peas. I don’t normally go for a vegetarian curry, but these two legumes worked synergistically to create a good dish with differing mushy textures. Pretty good.

VERDICT
I’m by no means an expert in Pakistani food, but I think that Mazaidar Foods provides both good food and good service for the late night Parramatta market.

Mazaidar Foods
515 Church St, North Parramatta NSW 2151
(02) 9630 0319

Categories
American

Little Weiner – Homebush West Restaurant Review

I’ve driven past Little Weiner’s playful, multicoloured sign many times on my way home from an extra-Western Sydney feed, and each time up until now I’ve been too full to stop. It’s taken, therefore, an actual plan and effort for us to finally cross this Western Sydney food truck off the list.

Service on this rainy Thursday night was brisk. There’s a tiny amount of awning to the food truck, but otherwise Little Weiner’s seating is fully uncovered, and we decided to eat our meals in the car.

Little Weiner’s signature Weiner Roll ($8) is served with your choice of halal certified beef, chicken, lamb, kransky, and lamb chorizo sausages, each freshly cooked to order. We chose the chorizo, listed elsewhere on their menu as their signature sausage. The sandwich was otherwise loaded with garlic, onion, and our choice of sauce and cheese. I thought this was a very adequate sausage sandwich, with all the requisite flavours and textures. My only regret is not adding an additional sausage for $4 to optimise the meat to filling to bread ratio.

Little Weiner’s beef burger ($10) was even better than their weiner roll. The patty, again freshly cooked to order, was extremely succulent and tender, whilst retaining a good, meaty flavour. The fillings were essentially the same as the weiner roll, except for the addition of fresh lettuce, which added a much welcome degree of wetness and freshness. If you can only order one item from this food truck, both my girlfriend and I would recommend you order this one.

VERDICT
It’s heart warming that the two guys at Little Weiner have taken their little weiners and made them work for them. Their weiner inspired food truck is a good, though quite unhealthy halal-friendly option that’s open late into the night. I don’t have any plans to go back, but if I did I make their snack pack with loaded fries my next target.

Little Weiner
199 Parramatta Rd, Homebush West NSW 2140