fried tofu Archives - PEGFeeds

Chef’s Gallery – Parramatta NSW Restaurant Review

My first ever encounter with Chef’s Gallery was outside their Sydney CBD store back in 2012 or so. My friend ACYL and I were looking for a place to eat, and even though I don’t remember if we ultimately went inside I distinctly remembered reading this high-gloss white menu in the midday sun, and having the afterimage of it seared directly into my optic nerve for many minutes after.

Flash forward almost a decade to 2021 and I’m sitting in Chef’s Gallery’s Parramatta branch, and not for the first time in mere weeks. Their food is good, reliable, though perhaps on the expensive side with more of a focus on presentation than strong value. Throughout the course of the lockdowns in Sydney in 2021 I order takeaway several times from Chef’s Gallery, though to be honest I prefer Taste Gallery across the road for their more homely fare.

My partner loves some good deep fried tofu, and these Spinach Tofu with Soy Sauce ($17.90) fit the bill. These tofu were large and plump and soft inside, with a dusting of what I can only assume is eggy batter on the outside. The soy sauce was not overpowering, though the effect or benefit of the spinach was a little lost on me. Though in itself a solid dish, I feel $18 was perhaps a little too much to ask for it.

The Wonton in Chicken Soup ($11.90) was appropriately priced, warming, and delicious. The wontons were meaty with no signs of skin breakdown, and the soup clear, light, and wholesome.

The Dice Pepper Wagyu Beef ($29.90) was alright. Definitely a more expensive dish, that perhaps did not really live up to expectations set by its price and “Wagyu” flag. I feel like this is another one of those dishes where being Wagyu is more of a glamorous name and less of a meaningful attribute taste or texture wise. The black pepper sauce was good.

I have mixed feelings about the Dan Dan Noodles with Pork Chop ($18.90). I enjoyed the pork chop, but after enjoying the pork chop I found that the noodles by themselves were a bit plain and difficult to finish. Perhaps better optioned with an extra chop.

COMMENTS
Chef’s Gallery is not bad, and a known quantity. The food is definitely Chinese, but I do feel that they focus more strongly on the presentation and the price to value ratio therefore takes a hit.

Chef’s Gallery Parramatta
Shop 2184/159-175 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150
(02) 7805 2303

ATL Ayam Tulang Lunak Crispy – Mascot NSW Indonesian Restaurant Review

I will readily admit that certain East Asian cuisines hold the lion’s share of airtime on this blog. It’s not strictly abnormal to enjoy the kind of food you grew up with, and I’m not going to go out of my way to eat at and review a restaurant I don’t think I’ll like.

Indonesian food seems to be a particular victim of my East Asian-slanted palate, but in an attempt to broaden my horizons I have eaten at and will try and give a fair review of ATL Ayam Tulang Lunak Crispy, a local Mascot (ex-Kingsford) Indonesian eatery specialising in soft bone fried chicken.

ATL’s main attraction is the Ayam Goreng Tulang Lunak (1/4 fried soft bone chicken, $9), served with sambal sauce. As with all of their chicken the diner is given a choice of thigh or breast piece, and I have chosen the thigh piece for all dishes of this review as it appears to be the more popular of the two. Ayam Tulang Lunak Crispy’s chicken is first cooked in a pressure cooker overnight before finished off at time of ordering. It is this pressure cooking process that ensures uniform cooking of the chicken’s meat, as well as gives the bone ATL’s characteristic soft and edible nature. The chicken meat I thought was a tiny bit drier than the best fried chicken I’ve had, but more than made up for by the strange soft bone which was easy to chew and eat. The Ayam Goreng Tulang Lunak was coated in a large quantity of light deep fried batter, which was crunchy and tasty (though only of a salt flavour). I can recommend this dish, if only because I don’t think there’s anywhere else in Sydney to have deep fried soft bone chicken.

The batter of the Ayam Goreng Telur Asin (1/4 chicken with salty egg sauce) was less in quantity than the Ayam Goreng Tulang Lunak, replaced somewhat by a salty egg sauce. This was a relief in and of itself, as I don’t think I could’ve had more of the high-guilt batter after my first piece of chicken. Though eggy, the sauce tastes more or less the same as that of the normal fried chicken – mostly a salt flavour. The rest of the details of the chicken are identical to the first dish.

The coconut rice ($4) was really good. It was topped with fried onions and possibly some other ingredients that added a umami kick. In a strange way it provided a bit of balance to the very oily chicken dishes.

The Tahu Goreng (fried tofu – $5) was nice and crispy on the outside with only a light thin batter, and soft and warm on the inside. My partner enjoyed the piece that I took home for her and so did I.

Interestingly my favourite morsel of the meal was actually the Ayam Bakar (1/4 grilled chicken in sweet soy sauce – $9) that I got for takeaway for the following day. Unlike the fried pieces this grilled chicken actually had a flavour other than saltiness, and it also felt less unhealthy. The sweet soy sauce flavour and sachet of chilli sauce provided a much more interesting flavour profile. The bone in this chicken is soft as well, so it would be my recommendation if you were to go to ATL and only wanted to order one thing.

CLOSING REMARKS
I don’t normally enjoy Indonesian food – more of an issue of personal tastes than a criticism of the entire country – but I did enjoy ATL Ayam Tulang Lunak Crispy. I think that while not every dish is amazing and it is probably not the most healthy thing you can eat, ATL does offer something that no one else does in their crispy boned chicken. Worth a visit.

ATL Ayam Tulang Lunak Crispy
1/702-710 Botany Rd, Mascot NSW 2020
(02) 8339 0660