Tag: chicken roll

Categories
Australian Fast Food

Chargrill Charlie’s – Drummoyne NSW Restaurant Review

Our colleague from India is moving interstate to Victoria, and asked us for a suggestion of the pinnacle of Western cuisine to try in Sydney before he leaves. This was my friend’s suggestion. This review is from a visit to the Drummoyne store, but I assume can be applied broadly to any of the outlets in the chain.

The half chicken & chips ($15.90) was actually quite good. The chicken was very similar in flavour profile to that of a rotisserie chicken from Coles or Woolworths, but much moister and fresher. Charlie’s advertised smoke-free charcoal cooking technique did produce a less burnt product than for example El Jannah, whilst still retaining some charcoal flavour.

The chicken roll with mayo and gravy ($13.90) was very moist and flavourful, with enough tomato and lettuce inside to create a sense of healthiness similar to that of a KFC twister.

Full disclosure, I had this charlie’s chop salad ($7.90) after a day in the fridge. One of the problems I faced ordering at Chargrill Charlie’s was that very few of the online reviews actually mentioned anything about the chicken. Most reviewers raved only about the salad, but again without any direction as to which one to get. This was fine. I think it would’ve been bette rwarm.

I’d never had Chargrill Charlie’s before. It seems like Red Rooster for the Harris Farm crowd. The quality was pretty good, but I don’t know that I’d recommend it to a visiting cardiologist, dignitary, or ex-teen heartthrob Justin Bieber as a representation of peak Australian cuisine.

I’ve also been informed by my friend that her peak recommendations for this place are: “marinated chicken drumstick” and “avocado vinagarette salad”, and that I ordered the wrong thing.

Chargrill Charlie’s Drummoyne
172 Lyons Rd, Drummoyne NSW 2047

Categories
Bakery Vietnamese

Botany Hot Bread – Botany NSW Banh Mi Review

For most of this past year I’ve been waiting in the long lines outside Hong Ha for my banh mi fix. It’s only now that I’ve come to realise that there is an absolutely reasonable alternative with no waiting lines and closer to home.

While not necessarily true in my recent Eastern Suburbs experience, one of the key rules about growing up in Western Sydney was that the most legitimate pork rolls came from places with “HOT BREAD” in their name. It was felt that any proprietors with such little imagination were sure to have put all of their effort into perfecting their art. Botany Hot Bread, a takeaway only place with little frontage but significant bakery room in the back keeps the the HOT BREAD tradition alive. The greeting I received was warm and familiar, like an old friend even though I had never been to Botany Hot Bread before.

The selection is short and sweet – a range of housemade baked goods with all of the expected items like snail, croissants and danishes, a small pie warmer of housemade pies, and of course a separate refridgerated cart for the banh mi ingredients. I partook only in a pork roll and a chicken roll.

Pork Roll

The pork roll (around $5) was very good and cheap. It had all the requisite meat and salad components in a soft bread roll. Absolutely no complaints here, and more or less the same quality as the more famous Hong Ha down the street.

Chicken Roll

The chicken roll (also around $5) I have a bit more bones to pick with. I found the chicken a bit too salty with too much soy sauce flavour. This would’ve been fine had the chicken been evenly distributed throughout the roll, but as you can see in the cross section shot all of the chicken was towards of the outside of the roll. This meant that alternating bites were either fresh and delicious salad or very salty chicken, and it was hard to mix the two into one mouthful. I’m not an expert hot bread man but I think this ingredient distribution problem could probably be improved through some sandwich engineering.

VERDICT

Yummy and worth a try – come here if you’re east of Mascot and you don’t want to wait.

Botany Hot Bread
1405 Botany Rd, Botany NSW 2019
(02) 9666 4257

Botany Hot Bread Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
Categories
Bakery Vietnamese

Ho’s Bakery & Cafe – Sydenham NSW Banh Mi Review

Installing Doordash for the first time and taking advantage of their first month’s free delivery gave me the opportunity to try foods from a whole different catchment. Ho’s Bakery and Cafe in Sydenham, while not available to me on UberEats or Deliveroo, was ripe for the picking on Doordash.

I really enjoyed all the rolls that Hos’ had to offer.

bacon and egg roll

The bacon and egg roll ($6.50) was excellent. The crispy, salty bacon and the mellow egg complemented each other perfectly, and the bread was soft, unintrusive, and not too much. One of the better bacon and egg rolls I’ve had. I’ve literally ordered the bacon and egg roll multiple, multiple times. It’s just that good.

chicken roll

I don’t normally go for chicken rolls ( $7) but for Ho’s I made an exception. I enjoyed the roast chicken, and the slightly peppery sauce that was provided. It did feel a bit more wholesome than the sliced cold pork roll that I usually get. Many stars.

Ho’s pork roll ($6) was good and filling. In my honest opinion the quality rivals Hong Ha’s. I liked that the bread was soft and didn’t cut my mouth.

The fish burger ($6.50) let me down, however, which I guess is understandable as it is outside of their wheelhouse.

The pho ($14) is quite bad and I cannot recommend it.

What can I say? I really enjoyed the pork roll, chicken roll, and bacon and egg roll from Ho’s Bakery and Cafe. Their rolls are imbued with all round good quality and good taste. I would however stay away from the fish burger and far away from the pho.

5/5 with a caveat. Just stick with the basics.

Ho’s Bakery And Cafe
262 Unwins Bridge Rd, Sydenham NSW 2044
(02) 9517 2773