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’ve been wanting to try Monkey’s Corner for a long time, but it’s been difficult to get our work schedules to sync up with its limited Thurs-Sun 5PM-9PM opening hours. This afternoon I finally got the call – to come try out Monkey’s Corner to see if it’s good before bringing the wider group.
Monkey’s Corner, located next to its sister restaurant KOI, is a Japanese-influenced eatery run by the Poernomo brothers. Its menu consists of doburi, noodles, and other japanese inspired dishes, and patrons are free to order desserts and coffee from KOI next door.
I had the Uni egg noodle with dashi cream, sea urchin, salmon roe ($27). The first thing to mention is that the portion was absolutely tiny. The photos on instagram and even the photo that I’ve taken don’t do justice to the miniscule size of the portion. Perhaps the best measure of the size is the spoon in the background of the image. This dish was about three spoons long and one and a half spoons wide.
What I think was most disappointing was that this dish was clearly pasta, rather than noodles. Noodles in an Asian context does not describe super-al-dente noodles in a heavy cabonara-like sauce. That’s what this was, and it caught me off guard. Pasta was not what I was expecting, and pasta was not what I wanted. The portions of uni seem large in this photo, but were actually very small in person. I had high hopes for this dish, but it was not meant to be.
I really wanted to enjoy Monkey’s Corner, but it was not meant to be. I would not bring a friend or colleague.
Banh Xeo Bar in Rosebery is a mixed-race family affair. Helmed by Benjamin Sinfield and Tanio Ho, the restaurant serves up Vietnamese inspired dishes with a dash of Western flare. This sense of co-operation is also seen in the staffing at the restaurant – with front of house being run by Caucasians and the kitchen run by Asians.
We were initially skeptical about this hip looking bar with a clientele of mostly Eastern Suburbs types (although we ourselves are technically Eastern Suburb locals at this point) and $15 banh mis, but quickly settled in to an authentic and tasty meal.
The Vietnamese iced coffee ($5.50) was really good! It was not too sweet.
Crispy pork trotter in salt and vinegar butter ($12.50)
We started with the crispy pork trotter in salt and vinegar butter ($12.50). This dish consisted of two deep fried pork trotters in a butter sauce with a slice of lemon. The pork was very deep friend and crispy, and the internal fats were nice and rendered. The meat itself was very oily, and I thought that the lemon was absolutely necessary to cut through the fat a bit. The butter was a bit of a superfluous addon to such an already heavy and oily dish. Overall a recommendation.
Banh Xeo with roast berkshire pork ($26.50)
Our first main was the Banh Xeo with roast berkshire pork ($26.50). This was the first time I’ve ever had Banh Xeo, and I didn’t quite know what to expect. The egg pancake was fried to a very good warm and cripsy level. The filling inside, with pork and bean sprouts, had varying textures that amused the tongue, with a good umami flavour. The banh xeo was served with lettuce wraps and BXB’s marinated carrots and pickles, which when eaten together were able to provide multiple levels and types of crunch, crispiness, umami, and cut through the fat. This was an absolutely delicious dish.
The Combination Special Bun Bo Hue – beef flank, beef tongue, and pig head nugget noodle soup
The Combination Special Bun Bo Hue – beef flank, beef tongue, and pig head nugget noodle soup ($22.50) was a delight. We optioned it with 2 additional eggplant croquetas (on the plate in the photo), to be described separately.. I really like all the different types of meat in this soup – and also that despite being in the Eastern suburbs they didn’t shy away from serving things like beef tongue and pig head. I loved the varied textures of the meat, and also the high meat and vegetable content of the soup – there was never really a boring spoonful. A special mention goes out to the pig head nuggets, which were just delicious parcels of meatiness and fatiness that added a whole different dimension to the beef tongue and flank. The soup itself unfortunately doesn’t make it into my top soups, as my personal feeling was that it had too strong a soy flavour for my liking, but I recognise that this probably just a personal preference – I enjoyed the The Combination Special Bun Bo Hue more with the supplied lemon squeezed in. The lemongrass and chilli condiment, allegedly made by Ho’s mum, was good however didn’t find much use in this dish.
The eggplant croquetas (2 for $5) were enjoyed by my partner but not me. They were very smooth inside, and the form is made purely by the fried exterior, which I guess is a technical achievement. I think I’m a little bit allergic to eggplant.
Overall I can really recommend Banh Xeo Bar in Rosbery. It manages to straddle the line between authentic Asian cuisine and the rice paper rolls and banh mi that are more easily palatable to the South East Sydney populace. There really is something for everyone, to post gym yoga mums to two hardened deep-Asian diners.
This review is about China Bowl in Waterloo (Sydney) NSW Australia, not China Bowl in Waterloo Ontario Canada.
Pan-fried pork and cabbage dumplings
The pan-fried pork and cabbage dumplings were minimally fried, with juicy insides and no breakage in the pastry. Pretty good. Also comes in boiled.
shredded pancake with beef
My partner’s order of shredded pancake with beef was not our favourite. It was a huge portion of food, but taste did not meet the expectations set by the other dishes.
The Biang Biang Noodles were yummy, a large portion with lots of toppings. It’s important to eat this with a spoon as otherwise the toppings sink to the bottom and you end up just filling up on noodles. The noodles themselves were very jin dao (bouncy)
cold poached chicken in chilli oil and peanuts
The cold poached chicken in chilli oil and peanuts (口水鸡, mouth-watering saliva chicken)were delicious. My partner’s second favourite dish, even though she doesn’t normally like Sichuan cuisine. It was also a large portion.
All in all China Bowl is good food at a good price. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to a colleague for a quick late night meal, especially if you live in the area.
Slurp Slurp! That was the sound I made as I tucked into my lunch at this Chinese noodle and dumpling restaurant in Rosebery today. Spoiler alert, it was excellent.
The little copper pot rice noodle ($12.80) with pork mince and an additional tea egg ($2.50) was delicious. The flavour of the soup and mince were the right amount of saltiness, and helped along by the copious serving of shallot. The tea eggs were perfectly cooked and a real treat. We had a small amount of chilli added in as well. The rice noodles themselves were very bouncy and 筋道. Definitely easy to slurp. Overall a great dish. My only regret is that I had to share the one egg with my partner.
I quite enjoyed the Pan Fried Shrimp Dumplings (6 for $13.80) the filling inside was light flavoured with a lot of prawn and ginger. It was almost the same as a 蝦餃 but inside of a fried dumpling. Even my partner, who hates prawn, finished an entire dumpling. The dumpling shell was fried perfectly and crispily. I do wish that they had offered a boiled variant however.
The Pan-fried Pickled Chili Coriander and Beef Dumplings (6 for $12.80) are part of their limited seasonal menu. I found the fillings tasty, with a strong coriander flavour. Again the dumplings were well pan-fried, and again I wish there would have been a more wholesome option for this one, like boiling or steaming.
The Steamed Pork and Chives Dumplings (10 for $11.80) were cheap and wholesome. My partner liked them more than me, but I did appreciate that they didn’t drench these ones in oil.
The Fried Pork Buns (6 for $8.80) were really cheap and filling. Like everything else at the restaurant they came out piping hot and fresh, and gave a good splash of the juices inside!
I think that overall Slurp! Slurp! was a very impressive, small, and clean Chinese restaurant. Their noodles were the star of the show, and if I were to go back I’d definitely try and make it through their extensive noodle menu. Their dumplings are good, but their over reliance on pan-fried dumplings over boiled or steamed dumplings makes it less impressive than if they were able to deliver delicious and wholesome boiled dumplings.
The service at Slurp! Slurp! was perfect for my liking. Attentive enough when you want things, but not so attentive like at a Western restaurant where they ask you how your food is every five minutes. Thanks for leaving us alone to enjoy our delicious meal.
5/5 dumperonis.
UPDATE 23/12/2020
We went back to Slurp! Slurp! last night to try a few more items. Our meal, whilst good, was not that great. My partner remarked that if we had had this meal the first time we probably wouldn’t have gone back for seconds.
Minty Beef Rice Noodles
The minty beef rice noodles ($13.80) were, true to their name, quite minty and beefy. I enjoyed the broth with its beefy flavours, and thought that the serving of beef was reasonably generous (however if ordering this again I would option it with extra beef). The addition of a tea egg ($2.50) is an absolute must. While not as good as the copper pot noodles, these minty beef rice noodles had the same kind of noodles, which remained tasty when paired with the broth even after the meat and other toppings were eaten. I can recommend this dish.
The unforgettable ghost chicken ($8.80) ended up being quite forgettable and neither spooky nor very good. It was cold chicken in a salad of onions and cucumber with a tangy vinegar dressing. Though billed as two chillis in heat the dish wasn’t really very spicy at all. The quantity of chicken was small, though I guess just on the cusp of reasonable given the dish’s low price. Don’t get this.
The pan fried shrimp and bamboo shoot dumplings ($13.80), distinct from the prawn-only dumplings from last time, were again a very strong dish. Given my goal of trying new dishes I wasn’t going to order these dumplings, however the lady ahead basically incepted me with her order consisting of two servings of these babies. The dumplings were perfectly pan fried, this time in a reasonably open wrapping as opposed to a fully sealed wrapping. The flavour of the filling was good, though I thought not as tasty as the prawn dumplings from my previous visit, and not as prawny. My partner, hater of prawn, ate two whole dumplings – perhaps as she also agreed that these weren’t as prawny as before.
The big wonton in chilli sauce ($10.80) was pretty good but pretty standard. They were indeed quite big, with a large and generous meaty filling. Compared to other similar dishes that I’ve had – for example at Lilong by Taste of Shanghai – this dish was a bit more spicy, with its heavy smattering of chilli paste. Pretty tasty, but wasn’t a standout.
The cabbage and pork dumplings ($11.80)were pretty standard fare. More wholesome than the more fancy pan fried dumplings. I think of equal quality to their pork and chive dumplings.
