Categories
Chinese

Marigold – Haymarket Sydney CBD NSW Yum Cha Review

For most Sydneysiders Chinatown’s Marigold, a yum cha institution of 40 years, needs no introduction. This was not true for me, an ex-Western Sydney local whose yum cha haunts centered around Parramatta and Auburn, and who only heard about Marigold for the first time this year.

We often think about what is in a name, and when one of my colleagues first mentioned Marigold I took note of the distinct lack of the words “Golden”, “Jade”, “Empress”, “Dragon”, and “Seafood” and doubted its legitimacy. How wrong I was.

We dined on a weekday lunch in December 2020 with a group of our learned friends. Around us were tables mostly of middle aged Chinese people, as well as the odd group of young Caucasians. We were the only young group of Chinese-Australians in the expansive level 5 dining hall, and while we were all doctors we probably still disappointed all the aunties and uncles around the room when we ordered in English.

Rather than go through each dish in detail I will tell you just about a general vibe. Every little steam basket and plate of food we had was good. The selection was reasonably varied, and there was nothing that we craved that they didn’t have. Service from the ladies wheeling around the trolleys was a bit pushy, but that’s how yum cha operates and was fine. One of the waiters kindly obliged when I asked for a knife and fork for my chopstick-capable colleague as a joke – and this ended up coming in handy to cut the egg tarts.

On the note of egg tarts I didn’t think these were the best I’ve ever had. They weren’t fresh, and the pastry was not as light as they could’ve been. Marigold was, apart from the egg tarts, one of the better Yum Cha restaurants I’ve been to, and I can recommend it wholeheartedly.

Parking was $9 for 2 hours in the CBD on a weekday. Pretty good.

5/5.

Marigold
683 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9281 3388

Categories
American

Ribs & Burgers – Eastgardens NSW Restaurant Review

My first experience with Ribs and Burgers was in March 2020, when I had the luck and pleasure of availing a brief 50% off offer for frontline healthcare workers. While the concept of providing discounts to healthcare workers with stable employment in the face of widespread job losses seemed a bit iffy to me I must admit I did enjoy the huge amount of (unphotographed) food that I got for under $50.

Ribs and Burgers, without a discount, is a much different beast. While there’s nothing particularly wrong about the food that they serve, the prices are sky-high, even compared to competitors like Hog’s Breath.

Mexican Wrap

This Mexican Wrap ($17.90) of grilled chicken and guacamole was fine but not amazing. The chicken was tender and there was a large serving of guacamole, but at $18 I’d sure expect there to be.

Crispy Louisiana

The Crispy Louisiana ($18.90) is a burger in the vein of fried chicken. As you can probably see from this photo the “crispy” component of the name is mostly in the imagination. While it was not bad it was not quite a $19 burger. If you have a hankering for a Southern fried chicken burger I’d suggest you look to a specialty store like Belle’s Hot Chicken instead – cheaper and more delicious.

The Pork Babyback ribs ($49.90) – not pictured were quite tasty and tender, but again very expensive.

Spicy Mexican Burger

The Spicy Mexican Burger ($14.90) was actually pretty good. Juicy, tasty, well sauced, and the meat had a nice chargrill flavour to it.

Potato salad

The potato salad ($7.90) was pretty middling, although my partner did appreciate that the pickles were on top and not mixed into the salad – she doesn’t like it when potato salads are too sour.

CONCLUSION

I wouldn’t get Ribs & Burgers at full price, but I would at a steep discount.

3/5

Ribs & Burgers Eastgardens
FC3/152 Bunnerong Rd, Eastgardens NSW 2036
(02) 9344 7788

Categories
Bakery Portuguese

Sweet Belem – Petersham NSW Bakery Review

After hearing many a story told by my colleagues of Sweet Belem’s Portuguese tarts I decided I absolutely had to try. Unfortunately for my wallet and my HbA1c, I was sidetracked into getting quite a bit more than just a few tarts.

Portuguese Tart

First things first. The Portuguese Tart. Sweet Belem’s Portuguese tart is not quite the tart that I grew up with. One of my best friends throughout high school (co-incidentally the one I ate at Din Tai Fung with eight years ago) was a little bit fancy, and would often get Portuguese tarts at the school canteen, never settling for a mere custard tart. On the odd occasion where he and I would partake in such opulent pleasures together I would find a soft, multilayered puff pastry crust around an eggy, custardy filling. For the longest time this is what I thought a Portuguese Tart was meant to be.

Sweet Belem changed my mind. As the benchmark for Portuguese Tarts, what Sweet Belem delivered was much different to my youthful experiences. The crust was flaky, hard, and crispy, made up of layers upon layers of pastry. The filling, caked in cinnamon, had a sweeter but also more complex flavour than any tart I had in high school or in the many years since. This is something you’ll definitely want to try for yourself.

And now for a brief description of some of the other baked goods I had. These are not labelled but I think you can figure it out.

Pineapple cake ($5.50) – NOT your Chinese style pineapple cake. Literally a pineapple slice on top. Soaked in sweet syrup. I didn’t like it

Baked chocolate tart ($4)- Enjoyed by my partner. Not too sweet.

Almond tart – Pretty good!

Egg and almond croissant ($4) – I actually really liked this, especially the parts with the eggy custard filling. A recommendation.

IN SHORT

I liked Sweet Belem’s Portuguese tarts, and I think that if you’re in the local area they’re definitely worth a visit. Their other baked goods (even the excellent almond and egg croissant) range from middling to good but aren’t worth making a separate trip.

Sweet Belem Cake Boutique
35B New Canterbury Rd, Petersham NSW 2049
(02) 9572 6685

Categories
Café Middle Eastern

Kelby’s Cafe – Marrickville NSW Restaurant Review

Colby is the name of one of my two favourite cats in the whole world, and I’m sad that I wasn’t able to bring him with me to Kelby’s Cafe. I have, in fact, never taken Colby with me to a single cafe or restaurant in his entire little life, but I’m sure that he would love running around and stealing everyone’s food.

I’m not usually a fan of shakshuka, but I was surprised to find just how much I liked Kelby’s Kibbeh Shakshoukah. The crunchy Lebanese bread was deliciously light and crispy. The shakshouka was meaty and tasty. The Lebanese stringed halloumi was something I had never had before, and an interesting spin on what is usually just a salty squeaky block of cheese. The baked eggs, chickpeas, basil, and tomato base were all delicious. I liked this dish so much I was hesitant to share it with my partner.

Klassic beef burger with side of chips

Kelby’s Klassic beef burger is one K away from a cult name, but many more Ks away from cult worthiness. I won’t go too far into it, but basically the beef patty was thick but not juicy, and not tasty either. While seasoned readers of this blog will know that I often complain about too much seasoning, this particular burger had very little taste at all. Coupled with the quite frankly weird dark, floppy and oil drenched chips this was not the pick of the day.

Of note for the hydration fans out there, water was a fill-your-own bottle affair from the chilled filter tap.

Would I come back? Maybe – but probably only if I’m already 90% pho by volume and Kurumac is closed. Would I recommend it? Yes – especially while the shakshuka is still on the menu.

4/5

Categories
Café Japanese

Sandoitchi – Darlinghurst NSW Cafe Review

You will recall from that last week I visited Cafe Oratnek in Redfern, where I ate a very green and legumey meal whilst I watched my senior intensive care colleague chow down on a deliciously juicy pork katsu sandwich. What you won’t recall (as I haven’t told you yet), is that I was struck down by such an acute and severe pork katsu sando envy that I went to Sandoitchi to get my hit the following day.

Pork sando

The pork katsu sando ($13) was disappointing. Where the katsu sandos from Oratnek and Kentaro are all thriller no filler, warm and delicious, Sandoitchi’s has more than its share of filler. The cold slab of cheese and various salads do nothing but ruin the temperature of the sandwich. The pork itself was nowhere near as juicy as its competitors, and the presentation also left something to be desired. I can’t recommend this sandwich.

Swordfish and bacon sandwich

The swordfish and bacon sandwich was actually very good. The swordfish was nice and tender, even for my partner, which was a major sticking point the last time she had swordfish. The bacon added a degree of salty umami that complemented the swordfish quite well, and this was overall a very nice package. I can recommend this.

The strawberry sando ($13) is pretty authentic to the classic Japanese convenience store strawberry sandwich, only at around four times the price. The strawberries are quite tart and don’t have much sweetness, but this is made up for by the sweet cream.

Coffee is by Single O, and just fine.

OVERALL
I came looking for a classic pork katsu sandwich, and in this regard I left disappointed. What did appeal to me, however, was the swordfish and bacon sandwich, which I hadn’t expected (it’s not on the online menu). If you’re looking for your classic pork katsu sando I think you’re best sticking with Kentaro in Surry Hills or Oratnek in Redfern. If you’re looking for something a bit different, Sandoitchi in Darlinghurst is a reasonable bet.

3.5 sands + 0.25 spooky witches / 5

Sandoitchi
Shop 3/113-115 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
0491 092 958