nasi goreng Archives - PEGFeeds

LEAF (Love Eating Asian Food) in Nowra – Nowra NSW Restaurant Review

As I was preparing to leave the safe confines of Western Sydney for a three month stint on the NSW South Coast my Thai friend and colleague told me about his favourite restaurant in the area, LEAF. This was high praise coming from a guy who has spent significant periods of time living and working in the Illawara, across both Wollongong and Nowra. Love Eating Asian Food, as unusual as it is as the name of a restaurant, does describe me well, as frequent readers of this blog will know. I came here with DTC and my partner for our traditional pre-handover dinner.

These crabmeat siu mai ($9.90) were really not bad. I was particularly impressed by the wrappers, which I can’t confirm but felt handmade. The filling was fine and crabby, and I can actually believe that it was crab.

The Malaysian Nasi Goreng Fried Rice ($18.90), complete with chicken satay skewer and a fried egg, was a completely normal staple. Doesn’t quite hit the mark of Sydney-based specialty Malaysian restaurants, but very edible.

Same vibes about the Malaysian Chicken Laksa ($18.90), though this was quite a difficult dish to share as we were essentially sharing a bowl of noodles between three people eating on plates.

In keeping with LEAF in Nowra’s theme of pan-Asian dining, the Vietnamese Pancake (banh xeo – $18.90) also has its country of origin in its name on the menu. It was not the most traditional rendition, but actually not bad, with good cripsiness of the thin crepe like pancake as well as good flavours and a bright and fresh sauce.

Apparently a staple dish for DTC, the Mango Sticky Rice ($9.90) was something new to me, and actually quite enjoyable. I’ve never had the combination of sticky coconut rice and mango before, and it was quite a treat. A bit odd about the little golden shovels that we got as spoons though, but maybe that’s traditional?

COMMENTS
While I don’t think LEAF in Nowra particularly excells in any one dish when judging by international standards, you could certainly do worse if you’re in the area and looking for a vaguely Asian meal, of any persuasian. My friend GD was right, even if his recommendation was based on his experience as a guy who eats three frozen macro-balanced meals a day. Not bad. Rurality bonus.

LEAF in Nowra
Unit 1 / Building B/111 North St, Nowra NSW 2541
(02) 4402 7286

Mirasa – Mascot NSW Restaurant Review

Don’t deny it. I know you’ve missed my awfully lit photos of food in takeaway containers.

Rather than go out to eat before my first in a run of four emergency department night shifts we decided to get takeaway from Mirasa. a local Indonesian restaurant we have often seen listed in the delivery apps but had never tried. Prices are what we paid Deliveroo. They may very well be cheaper in store.

The Pangsit Goreng ($3 each) were yummy. They are deep fried wontons with an ample amount of filling, which went surprisingly well with the sweet chilli sauce.

The Sayap Isi ($4 each) were not as much to my taste. I’m finding them difficult to describe, but I felt that while the chicken meat was quite tender their outsides had more of a soft steamed or boiled quality, which is not what I would expect from the fried component of “deboned and stuffed fried chicken wings”.

I was hesitant to order the nasi goreng ($15.50), as nothing on their menu suggested that this would not be a vegetarian dish. Thankfully the nasi goreng came with chicken – I don’t think I would’ve liked it otherwise. I did enjoy the runny, soft-fried egg, and think it could have even benefited from an extra egg. The taste of this dish was good, and the box was quickly polished off the following morning.

The Nasi Hainan ($15.50) was not quite classic Hainanese chicken rice. While the chicken was reasonably accurate, the toppings and flavourings are different from what you would expect from the classic Malaysian/Singaporean dish. I understand this is more authentic to the Indonesian style of Hainanese chicken rice. The rice was adequately flavoured, and this dish was my partner’s favourite of our order.

The Sup Campur ($15.50) is a light clear soup with beef balls, wonton, and fried tofu. I really enjoyed the taste of all of these three components, however the soup itself was too light and watery and left much to be enjoyed. We basically fished out the fillings, drank half the soup, and disposed of the rest. Sorry.

I think overall my ambivalence towards Mirasa is more of a reflection of my East-Asian-centric palate, and probably not anything wrong with Mirasa itself. I personally won’t be eating their food again, but don’t think this means that you shouldn’t if you’re into Indonesian food.

Mirasa
1179 Botany Rd, Mascot NSW 2020
0421 100 085