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.
One of our Asian friends had reached her mid thirties without ever having bingsoo, and it was our solemn duty as friends and colleagues to correct this. Mango Coco, located within a particularly Thai part of Pitt St, was the chosen destination for this Korean shaved ice dessert.
The Mango Bingsoo was pretty good, but not really a standout from other similar bingsoos. The addition of dry ice was pure superficial presentation, and no additional mastery demonstrated in the design or construction of the dish.
The Egg on Nest was really quite good. It consisted of black mochi balls filled with salted egg yolk filling, atop a bed of thinly julienned sweet potato strips and fruit. The mochi balls which were bursting with golden sweet and umami filling were the star of the show.
At my insistence the squad agreed to order the Matcha Churros Parfait. The matcha sauce was unsweetened and quite strong – great for us, though many may not be as appreciative. The ratio of churro to matcha dirt and sticky ice cream and matcha sauce was adequately matched so that no dirt remained unstuck and no churro undirted by the end of the meal.
VERDICT Would I go back? Probably. Whilst our meal was dessert focused (our colleagues had already had dinner) there are quite a few Thai fusion savory dishes on their menu that I wouldn’t mind trying if I were in the area.
Our family has been a big fan of the Taste of Shanghai chain of restaurants since the mid 2000s, frequenting the Eastwood store back when we had family living in Epping. My mother has in fact been a VIP member of Taste of Shanghai for around the last decade, and I have in turn enjoyed dining at Taste of Shanghai with my partner and her family (who have been also going independently for a long time).
I was surprised, therefore, to be disappointed by the delivery service (via UberEats) from Lilong by Taste of Shanghai. I found the xiaolongbao, the shenjiang bao, and the pan-fried dumplings to be universally disappointing. At least part of it has to be due to the travel time (approx 10 minutes from Hurstville to Kogarah), but I do think that if a food is unable to be satisfactorily delivered then it shouldn’t be delivered at all.
Thumbs down. Possibly thumbs up if eaten in person, but until then we will not know.
UPDATE – November 2020
Despite my negative review above, and despite my strong preference to the contrary, my partner decided that she wanted to go to Lilong to eat in person. What we found was better – but not much better.
Unfortunately the first complaint needs to go to the cleanliness of the operation. Pictured above is the state of the booth seat that the diners sit on. It doesn’t look like it’s been cleaned in recent memory. The crockery we received was also dirty – the cups had a black sediment in them, as well as stains that could easily be rubbed off by hand. This is absolutely not good enough.
We started with the braised duck in special soy sauce ($12.80). This is some of the worst duck we’ve had in a while. The flesh was very tough, seemingly overcooked. The flavour was straight soy sauce flavour, with no interesting components. The salad that they served on the side looked like they came straight out of a Woolworths bag – mostly baby spinach, some shredded carrot, and other basic greenery.
spicy beef brisket noodle soup
The spicy beef brisket noodle soup ($12.80) was not special. I thought that the soup was very watery and in fact had a bit of a tap water taste. We ended up only finishing the toppings, leaving a lot of the boring noodles to spare. Not a specialty of theirs at all.
Shanghai Turnip Croissant
The Shanghai Turnip Croissant ($10.89) was actually the reason we came to Lilong by Taste of Shanghai at all. My partner had a big craving for these, but was disappointed. I personally didn’t mind – I thought the pastry was light and fluffy, and the ham filling inside was tasty, but not enough to justify the 30 minute drive.
Pan-fried pork buns / Sheng jian bao 生煎包
The pan-fried pork buns (sheng jian bao) (生煎包 – $12) is one of Taste of Shanghai’s top specialties. The shengjianbao today were mostly bald and naked – I wonder if there is some kind of global black sesame seed shortage going on. At the very least the bao were still excellent. The filling is still the same, with plenty of fresh hot soup bursting out with each bite. The bottoms were perfectly fried to a crisp. Overall, eating the sheng jian bao at the restaurant was much, much better than getting them delivered.
Wontons in Red Chilli Oil Sauce
If the sheng jian bao was one of the stars of the meal, the other would be the Wontons in Red Chilli Oil Sauce ($12.80). This is something that we almost always get when we eat at Taste of Shanghai, and one of the dishes I remember loving from my childhood. The filling is housemade pork and chive. The wonton skins are quite springy but not too undercooked. The red chilli oil sauce is, as always, delicious. I personally like to eat the wontons with a spoon in order to get a good amount of red sauce with every mouthful. This is an oft-imitated dish (for example by Dumpling Queen in Eastgardens), but only Taste of Shanghai seems to be able to execute it perfectly.
Overall I would say that dining at Lilong by Taste of Shanghai was better in person, however there are still a lot of misses on the menu. Stick with what they do best, however, and you will not go wrong – unless you are disgusted by the environment and general uncleanliness.
I hit up Souvlaki Bar just after midnight in the small hours of Boxing Day 2020. It’s one of a few restaurants that are open late into the night, staffed by its regular crew within normal hours and a culturally and linguistically diverse cohort after hours. I feel like we shared a connection, working Christmas and Boxing days in what is essentially a service job (ED fast track).
Service was fast as I was the only customer of the two South Asian women working in this Greek restaurant. They were quite accommodating of my request of one dish to have there and one to take home.
Lamb Yiros
Souvlaki Bar’s Lamb Yiros ($12 with the addition of tabouli) was alright for a late night feed but not great. The meat I felt was too heavily marinated and tasty, whereas the tzatziki sauce was too mild. It felt quite imbalanced, with different bites producing quite different flavour profiles (the bites with salad and not meat were quite plain, whereas the bites with meat and not salad were too salty). The serving of meat was quite generous, though I think that for $11 tabouli should have been included.
Chicken double souvlaki
The chicken double souvlaki ($14 with tabouli) with chilli sauce was not very good. It consisted of pita bread wrapped around two chicken skewers. Tabouli was again a dollar extra on top of the $13 price tag. I felt like the chicken souvlaki skewers were too dry. The chicken wasn’t juicy at all, and this was generally a disappointment.
VERDICT It’s 1AM, you’ve just worked eight hours in the local emergency department on Christmas Day, and you’ll be back again that night. You just want food in your mouth, and Souvlaki Bar provides that, but not much more.
3/5
Souvlaki Bar 78 The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands NSW 2216 (02) 9567 7988
Our party of six went to Del Punto one Thursday evening, looked at the a la carte and tasting menus, pulled out our phones and decided we could do better. Instead of $80 per person for dishes picked by the restaurant we calculated that we could either get one of every item on the menu, or multiples of the things we wanted (read: everything with meat, only one dish without meat) for cheaper. Our waitress’ eyes widened as we finished telling her our order. She told us that we ordered way too much food. John took it a a challenge and ordered some more.
This air conditioner was about as decorative as the flowers surrounding it. Throughout the entire meal we felt like we were working on a quick paced production line. The food kept coming and coming in such rapid succession, with no attention paid to the small geographical size of our table. There was just no way that we could eat so fast so as to clear the table for more dishes to come. It almost felt like they were trying to punish us for ordering so much. Like we were running a spring that had turned into a marathon. Like we were hamsters running on wheels that generated power for the neighbouring town, and we would fall and get churned into the mechanism of the wheel and get crushed if we faltered. Twice during the meal we did ask the kitchen for a pause. It was just too much.
We shared a carafe of Peach, Strawberry, and Mint Sangria ($33.50). It was very refreshing, though not as refreshing as the large quantities of water we drank from reused spirit bottles. The strong flavours of the meal, the close proximity in which we were sitting, the rapid pace of food delivery, and the weak air conditioning meant that our meal was a very warm and thirsty affair.
The duck crepes ($20.50 for 4 pieces) were quite nice. They were served drizzled in a plum sauce, kind of reminiscent of what you would get in a Chinese restaurant. They were however much meatier than their Chinese counterparts, and as the first dish of the night really did herald a very meaty meal overall.
The garlic prawns ($23.50) pan fried and served with “a hint of chilli and parsley” were pretty good. The prawns were large and juicy, and there were quite a few for the price and location. The hint of chilli and parsley were just hints, however. They were very much garlic prawns, as advertised.
The beef empanadas (4 for $19.50, 6 for $28.50) were pretty good. Freshly fried with a nice filling of beef brisket and caramelised onion. I quite enjoyed the freshness of the jalapeno and feta dipping sauce.
I thought the salt and pepper whitebait ($17.50) was a bit weak. They were quite oily and salty, which aside from being dangerous to the coronaries are also not great to taste. My colleagues thought that they were OK when matched with the aioli, but I think that if I were to ever come back I would skip it entirely.
The chicken skewers (4 for $17.50, 6 for $25.50) marinated in yoghurt, paprika & oregano were pretty good!. I think they were tenderloins but my colleagues thought they were cut up breast. Regardless of what part of the chicken they came from they were quite tender and moist. The bed of rocket on which the chicken was served was demolished by one of my colleagues keen to get in his daily fibre intake. Ultimately though I think it was a mistake to get them, as they also came included in the paella.
Del Punto’s Lamb skewers (4 for $25.50, 6 for $38.50) were also very good but quite expensive. The meat was marinated in chimichurri, and very tender and flavourful. The sweet potato crisps on top were superfluous though I’m sure someone enjoyed them.
The Plato de Baleares ($16.50) with grilled halloumi, asparagus and cherry tomato in a pomegranate reduction was delicious. The cherry tomatoes were extremely juicy and made for the perfect burst of flavour and freshness when popped in the mouth.
I enjoyed the Baby Octopus ($18.50), topped with basil oil, lemon and lime juices, pesto, and sun dried tomato. The flavours were well balanced, and the octopus tender. This is some of the best octopus I’ve had recently.
The Pork Belly ($28.50 for 4 pieces, $43.50 for 6 pieces), is one of Del Punto’s house specialties and a real delight. The pieces of pork are very large, thick, and juicy, served with its crispy skin intact. The shots of green apple and brandy sauce added a welcome dimension of tart freshness. I can recommend this dish.
The Prawn & Chorizo skewers (4 for $19.50, 6 for $30.50) were pretty good, with big juicy prawns and slices of chorizo. This was our second prawn dish and first chorizo dish. We would soon feel the weight of repeated ingredients.
The sea scallops (4 for $20.50, 6 for $30.50) with sliced morcilla blood sausage served on a bed of pea puree I could’ve gone without. The scallops were small and unimpressive, as were the flavours. I’ve certainly paid less for better scallop dishes.
The Tumbet ($17.50) – layers of potato, eggplant & grilled capsicum topped with fried tomato & garlic – was our only vegetarian dish and the biggest disappointment of the night. It was all a bit mushed together, with no contrasting textures or flavours to really define its different components.
Our second chorizo dish, aptly named Chorizo ($17.50) consisted of longitudinally sliced chorizo with zucchini ribbons. This chorizo dish did nothing to really set itself out from the chorizo in the prawn and chorizo skewers. A mistake.
Del Punto’s Paella (Mediana size – $65) is their other signature dish, and a stark reminder of why we shouldn’t have just ordered everything that looked yummy on the menu. Notable repeats of this dish included 6 chicken skewers that were identical to the previous 6 chicken skewers, as well as a bunch of chorizo and prawn. That aside, and even though I was absolutely full at this point, this paella was the best paella I’ve ever had. I loved the flavorful and moist rice, mixed in with diced chorizo and pipis. My friends were less impressed however, being more widely eaten in the Spanish cuisines. A few of them thought that the bottom of the paella wasn’t extra-crisped enough. I didn’t realise that was a criteria for judgement.
VERDICT Overall we had a good but sweaty time at Del Punto.
Protips for dining at Del Punto include:
Avoid the set menu, just pick what you want. You will get more food for less money
If the waitress gives you an uneasy look and tells you you’ve ordred too much food, she probably knows better than your mate who has no stretch receptors in his stomach.
Make a special point to ask the kitchen to go slowly, and make sure to ask for pauses if you need. Otherwise they will try to feed you all at once until you drown.
If you’re going to get the paella, don’t double or triple up by getting all its constituent ingredients as share plates.
4/5
Del Punto 40 St Pauls St, Randwick NSW 2031 (02) 9398 2027
I don’t know why you follow this blog, but I’m guessing it’s not to look at blurry, low light pictures of pizza atop an increasingly large pile of uneaten pizza crusts. Unfortuantely for you, that’s exactly what you’re about to get in my brief and undetailed review of Maybe Frank’s all you can eat Pizza Wednesday.
Back when I was a small child one of my friends had a birthday party at Pizza Hut. Whilst I was not invited, I understand that it was quite a middling all you can eat affair, and not a cheap one at that – perhaps $30 a head. Maybe Frank provides what I imagine may be a much better experience. For just $20 with the purchase of any drink ($10 negronis and aperol spritzs are on offer all night), diners are able to enjoy a selection of eleven different pizzas to their hearts delight. We went with a crew of 9 (essentially the Randwick ICU contingent with a Kogarah ICU +1), and I definitely recommend going with a larger group to experience all that Maybe Frank has to offer.
Mixed salad. Not much to say, but look at that artichoke.
Tartufo (White base, mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, truffle oil, grana). A nice, truffly pizza that was widely enjoyed.
Diavola (Tomato sauce, mozzarella, hot salami, olive). Pretty good, one of the best pizzas of the night, in fact, but not the best I’ve had. I actually recommended to my Eastern Suburbs colleague sitting next to me to try out Da Mario‘s.
Napoletana (Tomato sauce, mozzarella, capers, anchovies, olives, oregano). As you may be aware, I’m still trying to train my palate to like anchovies. This was ok, owing to the fact that it was quite light on anchovies (and therefore saltiness).
Patate (White base, potatoes, italian sausage, rosemary). They asked if we had any more pizzas we wanted to order, and everyone said no except for my girlfriend, who said yes. She’s rarely ever said no to potato. Not bad.
The Nutella Slider was more of a donut ball with Nutella atop it. One of my colleagues had two, then cleaned off the Nutella on the plate. I was too destroyed by the seven slices of pizza before this to really enjoy it.
VERDICT $30 for a cocktail and unlimited pretty gourmet woodfied pizzas with nice thin crusts. Great value.
