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.
Following on from White Rabbit Gallery’s theme of white women collecting items of Chinese cultural significance is the White Rabbit Teahouse, located in the gallery’s foyer. The teahouse offers snacks and tea to gallery patrons and passers-by alike, however its coffee-free menu will not suit anyone looking for a rapid caffeine hit – the staff at White Gallery Teahouse earnestly recommend the cafe across the road for that.
The tea at White Gallery Teahouse is served in small glass pots with unlimited refills. The prices are quite reasonable compared to other specialty teahouses (for example Zensation in Waterloo), with our Taiwan Gingseng Oolong tea coming in at $7 for two. We were the only patrons in the teahouse at the time and service was brisk, with our waitress readily topping up our water as required.
The Lychee Iced Tea ($4.50) was nice, refreshing, and not too sweet. I regret getting a glass and not a carafe ($13).
Chicken and coriander dumplings
The chicken and coriander dumplings ($13 for 10) were not very exciting. I like that they were boiled rather than steamed or pan fried, but thought that they didn’t have much taste to them. The teahouse prides itself on serving MSG-free dumplings and the avoidance of glutamate is probably the reason for the dumplings’ lack of taste.
The large soy sauce bottle lamp ($579) was located next door in the gallery’s gift shop. I took a photo purely because it reminded me of a story of a guy who recently came in hyperthermic and obtunded and all they could find was a bunch of little soy sauce bottles in his pocket.
VERDICT
If you’re at White Rabbit Teahouse for dumplings I wouldn’t bother. Shanghai Dumpling Bar in Spice Alley, a mere 2 minute walk from White Rabbit does much tastier dumplings. If you’re not that keen on food and just want a nice place for a cup of tea after a stroll through the gallery it is absolutely fine.
Colombia is the birthplace of one of the friendliest wardspeople I have ever worked with, as well as the home of Más Tinto’s cuisine. Más Tinto, as Google Translate tells me, translates from Spanish into “More Red”, which does not look to add any additional meaning to the cafe’s name what so ever.
The first thing I need to tell you about is this amazing guava and cheese empanada ($3.50). As you can see, these empanadas here are a bit smaller than the ones at Mascot-based Chilean joint Pochito, and a bit more deep fried than baked. My partner had some significant misgivings about me ordering a fruit empanada over a meaty one, but these evaporated the moment this empanada was bitten into. The sweet guava and salty cheese complimented each other perfectly, with the soft filling contrasting in texture with its crispy fried envelope. This empanada was the best part of the meal by far, and could be a true ambassador for the café.
It’s kind of unfortunate that unbridled praise for Mas Tinto starts ands with its guava empanada. The Ajiaco ($18), a chicken, corn, and potato soup, was the better of the two mains that we ordered. The soup itself had a nice tangy flavour, especially eaten with the provided capers. The rice served was flavoured, though the rice itself was very loose and a little bit harder and dryer than we are used to. It is unfortunate that we ordered both this and the Mazorcada (shown below), as essentially both were meated with the same shredded chicken breast, something that we found repetitive and boring.
The Mazorcada ($16), a too-cheesy concoction of shredded chicken, sweet corn kernels, French Fries (the potato crisps from the packet), mushrooms, and chorizo, felt like the opposite of what I wanted. Rightfully or wrongly Más Tinto was chosen because we thought it would be a lighter alternative. The Mazorcada was anything but light. It was far too cheesy, and far too heavy. Despite this, I thought the flavours were too mild, a problem that not even the healthy smattering of chorizo could solve.
VERDICT While I didn’t like either of our mains that much, Más Tinto’ guava and cheese empanada is worth a small detour alone. I’m sure that based on the quality of this little parcel of joy there are other things on the menu that I would’ve liked more.
Just quickly, we had a couple of slices of cheesecake at The Smelly Cheesecake the other day.
The original cheesecake (L) was really not that special. It was slightly oversweet, with an airy and creamy top component and a denser bottom layer. Not really what I’d go to a specialty cheesecake shop for.
The blue cheesecake (R) was actually quite good. It really lived up to the cafe’s name of being slightly smelly. It had a deep richness with a hint of blue flavour that was present but not overpowering. Quite a special slice of cheesecake that’s worth trying.
VERDICT Get what’s special, don’t get what’s not special. Easy.
The Smelly Cheesecake Strathfield Shop2/2 Albert Rd, Strathfield New South Wales 2135 0452 273 559
When my partner told me we were going to The Tea Cosy in the Rocks I imagined an Importance of Being Earnest-style meal with thick white tablecloths and cucumber sandwiches. What I didn’t expect was a water gun fight with a flock of pigeons in outdoor-only seating.
One of the little terrorists
Our meal was had in an outdoor courtyard, on nice marble-style tables with good cross-ventilation. Service was fine but not great – when asked for water we only received one glass of tap water, and it was only on our second request that we received a jug – this time chilled (so why wasn’t the first?)
We had the Grand Stand ($28), a set of four freshly scones with double thick cream and a selection of two jams (we chose Raspberry & Vanilla and Lemon Curd) as well as six ribbon sandwiches of three flavours (choice not offered – we received smoked salmon, curried egg, creamy tuna).
The scones were large, warm and fresh, coated in a thin layer of sugar. My partner told me these reminded her of the ones she had at her Merrill Lynch cadetship orientation back in 2011, before she decided she wanted to be a doctor. She had, until now, not had scones as good as those, and was chasing the high to fill a hole that The Tea Cosy’s scones fit into perfectly. The serving of cream and jam was entirely adequate for these scones. My pick of the two would be the raspberry and vanilla, though the lemon curd (a bit sweet) was good too.
The sandwiches were pretty middling. The smoked salmon and curried egg ones were probably the strongest of the bunch. I wish we had been given a choice, as the jam and ham sandwich that they offer actually sounds a bit strange and potentially wonderful. Bread was soft and crust was pre-cut to suit the tastes of the upper echelon (not us).
We were a bit full by the time the New Zealand Style Scones with salami, fresh tomato, and Pepe Saya butter ($14) arrived half an hour later. This scone was more of a savoury cake or even a non-eggy quiche than a scone, with lots of cheddar, parmesan and spring onions packed in. The salami wasn’t special and seemed rather like the stuff you get at the deli counter at your local national supermarket chain. The Pepe Saya butter, of which we were given two, was the highlight. I wouldn’t get this again.
L : Mint and Lime Iced Tea, R: Cappucino
The Mint and Lime Iced Tea ($7.50 glass) was quite good, not too sweet, very fresh tasting. It was a hot day and I wish we had gone for a jug instead. The coffee was just coffee.
VERDICT
Visit The Tea Cosy if you’re chasing a 9 year memory of the perfect scone, or if you’re particularly fond of shooing away pigeons with a provided watergun. Skip the New Zealand style savoury scones.
4/5
The Tea Cosy 7 Atherden St, The Rocks NSW 2000 0401 730 504
To their credit, Paramount Coffee Project is situated near some pretty adequate and convenient 2-hour ticketed street parking.
I’m not usually one to complain about poor service but Paramount Coffee Project takes the concept of not trying to a new level.
After a brief wait for a table (they don’t take reservations) my partner and I were led to a very small table, given a menu, and essentially left to our own devices. During the next fifteen minutes we exchanged anxious glances with the middle aged couple at the table next to us, wondering when or if our waiter would reappear to take our orders. There was a moment of slight absurdity and an empathetic look from the gentleman on the adjacent table when our waiter took their order, didn’t look at us, and returned leisurely to the mothership to process it before returning to us.
A further point of friction occurred as we ordered our meal. I asked our waiter if we could add an additional side to one of our dishes, and he told us he’d check. He never got back to us, leaving us in suspense until our food arrived. The aforementioned size of the tables became problematic not for us, but for our comrades in the PCP experience next door. Their very normal sized order of two mains were unable to fit on their very-small table. The waiter helpfully suggested that they lay their water jug and glasses on the floor as they ate.
L: Maple Iced Coffee, R: Vanilla Malt Shake
I was initially not convinced by the Maple Iced Coffee with almond milk ($6.50) but it grew on me. It started off a bit too sour as almond coffees often do, but then the sweetness of the maple came in midway and add an interesting and nice dimension.
The Vanilla Malt Shake ($8.50) was expensive but quite tasty. The flavour was not too sweet, and the shake was really well aerated, as you can see in the photo. I would recommend this.
Ginseng Congee ($25)
Pictured here is the Ginseng congee ($25) with kale, fried enoki, soy egg, pickled ginger, furikake , with chilli ground pork, and brisket. The congee itself at its basest vegetarian state is $15, and an additional $4 was added for chilli ground pork and a further $6 for brisket. The brisket is originally on the menu as an add-on to Paramount Coffee Project’s bibimbap, but given we weren’t going to order both the congee and the bibimbap we thought it would be worthwhile to see if we could get the beef as an addon to this dish instead. When asked our waiter told us he wasn’t sure if this was possible but would check – something that he literally never closed the loop on. It wasn’t until the food physically arrived at our table that we knew what we would be getting.
I actually quite enjoyed the ginseng congee all loaded up. It had a nice heartwarming feel to it, and the flavours were not too strong (avoiding having too much of the pickled ginger). I quite enjoyed the strange addition of deep fried enoki, which is not something I’ve had before. The soy egg was yummy with the congee but I wish there had been more than half an egg for this $25 bowl. The chilli ground pork was a good accompaniment for the meal, while the wagyu brisket which did not really feel like wagyu disappointed. While a bit pricey I can definitely recommend this dish, perhaps with just the chilli pork mince. My partner didn’t really like this dish as she felt like she had to eat the pickled ginger.
Soft baked eggs
My partner’s (much weaker) choice was the baked eggs in habanero salsa, topped with blanched kale and garlic toast with LP’s pork sausage and housemade labneh ($23). It was a very sour dish thanks to both the salsa and the labneh that we ultimately didn’t finish. The only redeeming feature of this dish was LP’s reliably good smallgood. I wouldn’t recommend this one.
CONCLUSION I didn’t really have a great time at Paramount Coffee Project, and I wouldn’t recommend you spending your hard earned money and free time there either. While the congee is good, Sydney is full of good congees to try. Add PCP’s to the end of your list if you must.
