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Asian Fusion Café Korean

Cafe Elation – Gladesville NSW Cafe Review

Though moving to Western Sydney has greatly limited our pegfeed options, Gladesville’s Cafe Elation had been kept in the back of my mind as a sort of consolation prize to the loss of easy access to high-feed areas. Cafe Elation’s core offering of what is essentially Asian Fusion Brunch fit well with this blog’s focus, and so the 25 minute drive down A3 was made.

Pork Belly Poke Bowl + Slow Egg

The Pork Belly Poke Bowl with Slow Egg ($21) was an unfortunate let down. The execution of such a poke bowl with meat rather than raw fish was far more like a bibimbap than a poke bowl. The carrot, kimchi, cucumber, cabbage and enoki mixed with the quinoa, brown rice and gochujang in exactly the same way a bibimbap would, though we felt that it was too wet. We like our bibimbap dry and crispy, served in a claypot, and felt that though this was a bibimbap was all but in name the texture and consistency of it left something to be desired. We were also disappointed by the pork belly, as we had expected cubes but instead got strips. I think we were just envisioning something completely different to what we got.

The Eel on Egg ($24) was actually quite good. Though the serving size of the omelette, eel and nori could have been larger, the taste and contrasting mouthfeels of these elements were quite pleasing. The crispy nori was a particular delight, followed by the delicate French omelette. The soy glazed eel wasn’t as oily and melt-in-your-mouth as the eel that we had had the previous day at Hukuya, but still up to standard. Quinoa and brown rice once again made an appearance – ingredients that I don’t usually expect or like in Asian dining, where white rice reigns supreme.

For drinks we had a fairly run-of-the-mill soy cappuccino ($5) and an Iced Choco Meme ($8). The meme was ordered based on name alone, and I was not at all expecting this huge monstrosity of whipped cream and chocolate and sesame flavours. I also didn’t expect for our waitress to pronounce it “me-me”, which is the memey way to pronounce meme.

VERDICT A hit and miss 3.75 Asian brunch affair. I wouldn’t go too far out of your way, unless you’re also going to the Ryde City Council public toilets that are helpfully co-located.

Cafe Elation
226 Victoria Rd, Gladesville NSW 2111
02) 8592 7188

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Indonesian

ASLAN Coffee Roasters – St Peters NSW Cafe Review

The first thing my partner said upon reviewing the choices on Aslan’s all-day menu was “I really appreciate you always looking for places for us to eat, and I know it can be hard to always pick winners”. Though technically Indonesian-inspired, the majority of items on Aslan’s menu are classic brunch fare. As pursuers of the fine art of Asian fusion cuisine we opted for the two Asianmost looking items available. It was with these two choices that I would, over the next half hour, make her eat a great meal and also her words.

The Hot Smoked Salmon Kedgeree ($16.50) was an aromatic dish of tumeric rice with slaw and salmon mixed in, topped with an egg and a trail of shichimi and served with a small pot of curry sauce. Despite her initial misgivings my partner came to enjoy this dish. She really liked that the slaw was mixed into the rice, providing a crisp and crunchy texture with each bite. The hot smoked salmon provided a good umami flavour without being too salty, and the lemon added an element of freshness to balance out the otherwise quite substantial meal. The little pot of curry came with a warning from our waitress – “be careful, it is very spicy” – though was very good and just the right amount of spice for us to add all of it in.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the multicoloured ?prawn crackers in the Beef Rendang Indonesian Style ($16.50) way more than I should have. They were just warm, freshly fried, crispy crackers filled with umami goodness – far more addictive than they had any right to be. The stated star of the show – the beef rendang, was very generously portioned, with a mixture of melty fatty bits as well as healthier leaner bits. The turmeric rice and salad, though similar to that in the kedgeree, was not as good owing to the discordant placement of its ingredients. We much preferred to have the salad mixed in with the rice. There was adequate sauce for all of the rice, salad, beef, and crackers.

Our soy cappuccino came with an apology – soy is hard to work with to make latte art, though this wouldn’t have even registered with us had it not been mentioned. ASLAN prides itself on its specialty coffee, and their house blend as pretty alright.

VERDICT
Though ASLAN’s St Peters menu is pretty light on original Asian fusion dishes, what they do have is pretty good, as well as pretty cheap. I’d recommend a visit if you’re in the area. Just look out for the giant lion’s head mural.

ASLAN Coffee Roasters – St Peters
1 Council St, St Peters NSW 2044
0488 827 526

Categories
Asian Fusion Café French

Auvers Cafe – Rhodes NSW Restaurant Review

Our recent return to living and working in Western Sydney has given us ample opportunity to revisit some of our favourite cafes from before our 12 month Eastern Suburbs sojourn. Auvers Cafe is the Rhodes counterpart to Auvers Dining in Darling Square, and keeps the tradition of Asian-French fusion alive in a more casual daytime venue.

For drinks we had fun milk in two varieties – black sesame and hojicha. Both were quite good, though I wish their fun milk was offered with some caffeine included.

The first food I want to talk about is this bargain basement scrambled egg ($4). It’s not the best scrambled egg I’ve ever hard (Dopa’s furikake scrambled egg don takes the cake by far), but at $4 is an absolute steal.

The Beef Curry Pasta ($23) was seriously good. It’s been one of our favourites over the last three years, frequently brought home by my partner in a takeaway box after a night shift. While it was good back then, having it fresh in person brought a whole level of previously unknown joy. Eat-in plating of this pasta was quite beautiful, similar to the Ox Tongue Soba Cabonara at their Darling Square store. The curry sauce, though not written down explicitly any more, was a tasty and flavourful rendang style base that coated each strand of pasta perfectly. The serving of beef was generous and tender, and the parmesan crisp added a nice and upmarket feeling variation in texture to the dish. I particularly liked the addition of tomato salsa on top, which added a delicious freshness and contrasting flavours. A can’t miss.

The Squid Roulade ($22) was a bit of a confusing and overall non-satisfying dish. The main attraction was essentially a squid tube filled with dry and almost gamey tasting “wagyu” beef mince. This tube was situated on a bed of black rice with edamame and pomegranate seeds mixed in, topped with crunchy fried kale. The rest of the squid was battered and deep fried, served aside the roulade and next to a swirl of black cauliflower puree.

I thought that this dish ultimately failed in both taste and composition. The taste of the squid roulade was too mild and unexciting, and the mince inside so dry that I doubt it being wagyu made any difference at all. The rice mixed with edamame and pomegranate was fine but difficult to pick up and eat with the fork provided. The fried kale was my partner’s favourite part of the dish – she does like fried foods in general – but I felt didn’t fit with the theme of the rest of the dish. I would avoid this one.

The chocolate croissant looked very plain but was actually surprisingly full of chocolate cream. Quite good.

SUBSEQUENT VISIT

The Soy Cured Salmon ($26) was an interesting, beautifully presented near miss for me. The fatty cured sashimi salmon was soft and delicate, but let down by the blobs of radish and yuzu gel, which I felt were too salty, even though I enjoyed the citrus notes. The accompanying salad was probably better than the main attraction. I really enjoyed the fresh little pickled radishes, which just tasted so bright and crisp. The avruga caviar, which I am told is not actually caviar, was also great mixed into the quinoa to give it a bit of umami and salty flavour and set it apart from all the dull quinoa out there.

I quite enjoyed the Grilled Wagyu Soft Tacos ($28), even though in my weakened state I was not allowed to enjoy all of it. The wagyu beef cubes were juicy and tender, worked well with the yakiniku sauce mayonnaise, which is something I’ve never seen anywhere else. The perfectly light and moist scrambled eggs also benefited from the yakinku sauce, while the salsa with coriander added an element of freshness. The hot chips, of which I only had a single chip, were sadly extremely good and fresh. I can’t comment on the naan bread (a weirdly thick choice for a “taco”) as neither my partner nor I had any of it.

Overall I can recommend Auvers Cafe in Rhodes as one of the best places for an all-day Asian fusion brunch menu out West. Service is speedy, and the food is great.

5 French gauge stars

Auvers Cafe
 2/42 Walker St, Rhodes NSW 2138
(02) 8040 2403

Categories
Asian Fusion Dessert Thai

Mango Coco – Haymarket NSW Restaurant Review

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.

Categories
Chinese

Lilong by Taste of Shanghai – Hurstville NSW Takeaway Review

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.

Lilong by Taste of Shanghai (Hurstville)
Rooftop, Westfield Hurstville
1 PA Park Rd & Cross St, Hurstville NSW 2220
(02) 9570 9051