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.
I’m surprised I hadn’t already written a post about QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 , a place that I had visited on the recommendation of a colleague and PICU registrar of the month JL.
The place runs as a normal Chinese bakey, with a pick-your-own structure with tongs and trays, but with one exception. Unlike most Breadtop-style Chinese bakeries, QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 has quite a nice selection of dim sum snacks, ranging from egg tarts/蛋撻/dan ta to glutinous rice fried dumplings / 咸水角 / xian shui jiao , steamed buns, and other puff pastry delights.
I haven’t had anything out of the freezer yet (frozen shao mai, mostly), but everything I’ve had has been reasonably priced and of good quality, especially if you catch them when they’re still warm. Good for a quick bite.
QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 297 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield NSW 2131
My parents have been going to Golden Sands for yum cha for just over ten years now, which corresponds loosely to around the time they made their way out of the West (where my heart still lives).
I find it generally hard to review yum cha restaurants because you always eat so many different things, and for the most part it’s hard to tell good quality from quality that simply isn’t terrible. Through all of my visits I’ve never had a bad meal, which I guess is saying something.
Please enjoy the following as photographic evidence I’ve attended
Prawn and Chive dumplings 韭菜饺 – my go to at any yum cha restaurant that has them available (serious red X next to Vinh Phat Cabramatta). Pretty good, good chive flavour.
These egg tarts 蛋挞 were sadly missable. We ordered them (not off the cart) and yet they still came lukewarm.
These shao mai 烧卖 were fine. I wouldn’t even know an English name for them.
These steamed pork ribs in black bean sauce 豉汁蒸排骨 I actually didn’t enjoy either. I guess thinking back on this meal there was more to discuss and complain about than I had imagined. I thought that these pork ribs were too fatty, too ‘porky’ in flavour, and did not have as much black bean to them. I’m not looking for saltiness – just the black bean flavour itself.
The sticky rice chicken 糯米鸡 was great. Always something I enjoy.
My wife has absolutely ruined me, because once upon a time I definitely would’ve had some of the mixed beef offal 牛杂, but having been with her for over ten years my culinary landscape has contracted.
The century egg and lean pork congee 皮蛋瘦肉粥 was ok, at least that’s what I think it was. I can’t really see any century egg in the photos and my memory fails me. Kind of an unusual thing for yum cha but we had like 10+ people.
The fried dough sticks / you tiao / 油条 were actually excellent. Amazing. So fresh and crispy. So savoury. We got a second order.
The BBQ pork puff pastry 叉烧酥, again not something we normally have, was not too sweet. A bit cool though.
After having the world’s best chang fen 肠粉 at Traditional Cantonese Taste I can’t take any yum cha chang fen seriously any more. I think this was beef?
The braised chicken feet 凤爪 never miss. A true cultural export.
The fried dough sticks wrapped in rice noodle 炸两 is something my wife’s family usually gets at yum cha, not mine. We enjoyed it – more opportunities to enjoy Golden Sands’ fried dough crullers is always welcome.
More chang fen? Why?
These deep fried prawn and chive spring roll things were pretty good, but I still like the steamed dumpling version better. It just feels cleaner.
The radish cake was whatever.
Mango pancake served in cling wrap.
DINNER VISIT It’s hard for me to present too many views when I’m not the one ordering or paying for dinner. Thanks mum and dad.
This abalone/shark fin soup was nothing special. The price to enjoyment ratio just isn’t there.
The lobster with e-fu noodles. No complaints.
This char siu was really good! The roast goose was too.
The beef in this was pretty tender. Nice.
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I did not enjoy this fried rice. I agree that there was good separation between grains, but thought that overall it was too dry. Definitely not a special special fried rice.
Dinner Visit 2
Small coral trout for $148. At this point Chinese people are just going here to get scammed.
Small lobbywith e-fu noodles on a meal deal.
Hokkein Fried Rice ($33.80) is solid.
The steamed pork belly and pickles ($38.80) is salty, but not oppressively so. Reasonable with rice.
Salty Egg Tofu ($33.80).
The roast goose is very muscular.
Thoughts Overall good, but not the best.
Golden Sands 金沙酒楼 Hurstville Times Plaza, Level 2/127-141 Forest Rd, Hurstville NSW 2220
We ordered a number of items from their electronic menu. Interestingly, the online menu provides an indication of what items are popular that given day, helping customers to choose not just what the restaurant believes to be its house specialties, but also what the customers think is good.
We had this fried dough 油条 you tiao ($3.50), which was fine, not the best, definitely not particularly crispy or fresh, with a bit of a self-raised taste to it.
This BBQ pork rice roll 叉烧肠粉cha shao chang fen $15.80 was OK at the time, but pales in comparison to a better one that I had at Traditional Chinese Tate in Burwood about 6 weeks after this meal. The one here at Steamup was in comparison less bulgingly full, with a char siu that wasn’t as good as the standard of char siu you’d get at most Cantonese BBQ restaurants.
We ordered also this chinese bacon & chinese sausage claypot rice腊肉腊肠煎仔饭 ($18.80), into which lightly gingered soy sauce was poured by the server, tableside with resultant sizzle, in an act of showmanship. I didn’t love it at first, particularly not enjoying the flavour of the preserved meat, but it did grow on me.
The bottom of the claypot rice was lightly charred and crispy, as it should be.
The egg tarts 蛋挞 (2 for $5) were terrible. The pastry wasn’t flaky, and the filling was too set and solid rather than soft, and also without an eggy flavour. The freezer aisle at your local Asian grocery store has better options. I would be embarrassed to sell this.
Unlimited refills of ginseng tea was also on offer, with the tiniest cups and the longest walk to the urn to minimise wasteage.
Overall the food was OK, and enjoyed much more by my partner than me. What this trip really did open our eyes to was the deep variety and availability of Chinese foods in Eastwood, a place we haven’t really been to much given we’ve always lived in a relatively Southern part of the city. Perhaps one day when our financial circumstances improve we’ll be able to go back to Eastwood.
Cha Dim House 一厘棧 was the first of three Burwood restaurants we ate on a single day, and the first of two of which made up my post-night breakfast with my partner. This particular location was chosen by her in part to help me with my post-night shift decision fatigue.
We had this five spice pork and taro roll 芋絲五香豬肉捲 ($3.80) which was fried, crispy on the outside and tasty, though a little bit salty on the inside. Not bad.
The pork siu mai 猪肉烧卖 (4 for $8.50) was quite well structured, with meat and large prawns however, very very salty, too salty for enjoyment and thus cannot be recommended by me.
The radish cake 蘿葡糕 ($2.30) was pretty good, and not a large price to pay for one variety of food.
The puff pastry egg tarts 酥皮蛋挞, which were $3.50 each were pretty good.
And finally, the steamed pork ribs with black bean sauce 豉汁蒸排骨($10.50) I wouldn’t recommend, given the price, as well as the fact that I’ve easily had better steamed from a frozen pack from one of my preferred frozen dim sum purveyors.
THOUGHTS Despite variable quality of its offerings, this kind of restaurant is a particularly good place where a solo eater could get a number of different things for a relatively small price. For that reason, it’s not neccessarily a pass.
Cha Dim House 一厘棧 Murray Arcade (Burwood Chinatown), Shop 7, 127/135 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134
I had the opportunity to not enjoy this pearl custard/egg tart almost 2 years ago, not post about it, and have the photo sit on my computer until now.
I had in fact forgotten about the experience, until I revisited it when I was served baked goods from Fujimi during a recent echocardiogram course.
Clearly not learning from my mistake, I had again the same tart. My main criticism about this arises from the fact that I don’t actually enjoy the pearls in bubble tea that much, let alone on top of a tart. They’re OK one by one, surrounded by a large mouthful of bubble tea, but when clumped in a group together I think they’re just too sticky and flavourless.
I also had this purple tart, which I can’t identify, but was slightly better. My main complaint about the pastry was that it was soft, rather than crispy. Was this due to the travel-and-wait time, or is this a factor inherent in these tarts?
I don’t know, but I don’t want to have them again to find out.
