Tag: pork belly

Categories
Chinese

Taikoo Li 太古里 – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

We were the only diners at Taikoo Li at 4PM on a Tuesday, which was weird to us at the time because there’s quite a bit of real estate for just two Asians, but less weird to me now that I think about the way our schedule differs from that of the average Burwood human.

We had this very good braised pork belly with preserved veggies & chilli with rice ($15.80). The moist fattiness and umami flavours of the pork melted into the rice, stretched and complimented by the pickled chillis and other green pickles. Though the helping of rice was relatively large, the dripped through braising liquid from the pork belly, as well as the selection of delicious pickles meant that there was enough yummy flavour for us to finish it in its entirety.

The braised sweet duck (half) ($20) was not bad, though nothing in particular to write home about. I think I would still prefer your average Cantonese roast duck, but it’s good to have some variety once in a while.

The spicy boiled beef (Sichuan boiled beef) ($17.80) was a huge serving for the price, and great with rice, which was an additional $2.50. Can recommend for 水煮牛肉 fans.

The pork dumplings with chilli on side 8pcs ($10.80) tasted good, but were disappointing in their own way. They had a meat only filling, which was flavourful, as well as a dipping sauce that was savoury, oily, and not very spicy, which were all winning ingredients for success. What made me sad however was that some of the dumplings still had raw dough in them, which made it difficult for me to want to eat them, despite their good taste. I also dropped two out of eight, which was completely my fault, but this meant that the ratio of cooked to raw dumplings available for me to eat decreased even further.

Overall thoughts: I agree with my friend PMR that this is good quality, Chinese cuisine. Oddly enough, he and his partner were also the only customers when they ate, also at 4PM on a weekday.

Taikoo Li 太古里
47 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134

Note 2025: This restaurant may have moved to 150 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134

Categories
Café Chinese

Park Cafe – Campsie NSW Restaurant Review

My PMR friend stopped by Campsie for an impromptu visit, and I found us a place to eat with record decisiveness and in record time. He very kindly allowed me to choose two Taiwanese dishes from their combination Western and Taiwanese menu, which is all available all-day long.

This Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (卤肉饭 – lu rou fan) ($16.80) was really good, with a mixture of soy braised pork belly and pork mince, plenty of braising fluid as gravy, white rice, and a runny-yolk but solid-albumen sunny side up egg. The fatty pork belly was really soft and delicious, with the minced portions being more lean and providing textural contrast. The supplied braising liquid was enough to flavour the entire mound of rice, which was a generous serve and definitely enough if if you’re a rice lover. I enjoyed this, and may actually have to come back with my partner so that she can enjoy this too.

The Taiwanese Beef Brisket Rice ($18.80) was the lesser of the two dishes. It too featured an egg, which was not pictured on the menu photo, but lacked bok choy, which was. The meat was relatively tender, but the flavours and textures of the more lean beef and its composite sauce were less rich and indulgent than that of the pork belly rice. My friend agreed with me, but still enjoyed it. I will attach below a photo of the menu for photographic comparison of its components.

Park Cafe
Shop 5, 20-22 Anglo Rd, Campsie NSW 2194

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Chinese

Ladies & Gentlemen Cafe Diner – Marrickville NSW Restaurant Review

Looking at these photos from our meal at Ladies & Gentleman Cafe six months ago I wasn’t particularly excited, but then looking back at the notes that I took from our visit it looks like the taste and quality of the food was more impressive than its visual appeal alone. Allow me to try and represent faithfully what I was thinking of when I ate there.

This Porky Belly ($18) sandwich, in particular, did not look exciting from the photos. The visual side of things is decidedly boring, but my notes from our meal reflect that it was actually very good. I’ve made reference to the fatty and soft soy caramelised pork belly, the crisp and tart apple, and soft and sweet Japanese milk bread with the crust cut off – just like my mum used to never do, because who can afford to waste a crust?

The Ladies and Gentleman Rice Bowl ($22) with teriyaki salmon was also very good, with a runny onsen egg perfectly coating the sushi rice, delicious miso eggplant, and softly cooked salmon all adding up to a variety of different tastes and textures in one bowl.

All I have written down for the Taiwanese deep-fried pork chop ($8) is “Pork chop is just my gf secretly took me to hot star”.

Thoughts
Past-me thought it was very good. Reliving those previous photos and notes, I guess Asian-fusion brunch is right up my alley. Future-me might even go back.

Ladies & Gentlemen Cafe Diner
295 Enmore Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204

Categories
American

SoCo Kitchen – Wollongong NSW Restaurant Review

Hearing-to-eating time at this restaurant was around 18 months, waylaid by COVID-19 closures, my partner finishing up in Wollongong and moving back to Sydney, and then finally facilitated by a trip down the South Coast to Shoalhaven for my work.

These Buffalo chicky nuggz ($13) were excellent. More like actual pieces of fried chicken than nuggets, these are made of proper pieces of chicken breast rather than mystery mincemeat. The pieces were big, juicy and moist on the inside, with a pleasantly sour and not too spicy buffalo basting on the outside. The side of blue cheese dressing that it came with was alright, though didn’t have such a strong blue cheese taste, really more of a creamy thing. Overall these were huge, however, and excellent. They triggered me to fry my own chicken at home whilst writing this review.

The Cuban pork bites ($12) were the first dish that I had heard about from SoCo, and the actual reason that I had been keen to visit. Though I had been keen, I ultimately didn’t love them. I found them a bit dry yet oily, and not so tasty. While the bowl looks small, the fact that it is full of pork belly means that it is actually quite a substantial entree. If you can only choose one though I’d strongly favour the Buffalo chicky nuggz instead.

I’d never had or even seen gumbo on a menu before, and so we had to get the SoCo Gumbo ($31 including $6 for prawns) to cross that experience off the bucket list. It was a rich and dark stew with a bit of beery bitterness, filled with vegetables, chicken thigh, house-smoked andouille (pork sausage), and a few big prawns. It was really ok, a good experience to have had, but not mindblowing in a way that I would think that I’d eat it all the time. My partner did surprisingly enjoy the andouille, which was a bit unexpected for a woman who does not usually eat parts of the animal that are not muscle.

The gumbo was served with two pieces of cornbread that deserve their own mention. Incredibly heavy, rich, and reasonably sweet these drenched in oil breads were more of a deep fried dessert than a carb in the regular sense. Very tasty, but definitely only in moderation. I can definitely see myself dying an early cardiovascular death if I were to keep eating these.

I thought this bathroom had quite a witchy vibe. My partner didn’t agree.

Overall not bad, pretty-good, worth a stop-by. I wanted some burgers but we just couldn’t eat any more. There really aren’t that many places to get Gumbo and other specifically Southern dishes in NSW and I think they have carved out their niche well. Do note that the restaurant is tiny, so if you’re set on eating here it’s best to call ahead.

SoCo Kitchen & Bar Wollongong
Shop 4/63-65 Crown St, Wollongong NSW 2500
0447 556 816

Categories
Malaysian

Malaysia Small Chilli – Campsie NSW Restaurant Review

My partner was HIGHLY DOUBTFUL that there’d be any possibility of good Asian food in Campsie. We’d have to go to Burwood, she said, for anything yummy. Boy was she wrong.

The Stir-Fried Pork Belly with Salted Fish on Hot Plate ($23.90) was a very tasty dish that also comes as a cheaper and smaller combination with rice, which we foolishly chose to have its own. It had good but strong salty flavours, though probably not something I’d want again. I’m more of a red braised pork belly fan than a sliced pork belly fan.

The House Chilli Chicken Nasi Lemak ($18.90) was excellent. I must be honest that with my limited understanding of Malaysian food I did not know that this was essentially going to be just fried chicken with condiments. This was a huge serving of fried chicken, with wonderfully umami rich chilli sauce, served with rice seasoned with little anchovies and peanuts. Everything about this dish was so fragrant and delicious that it’s clear why this is one of Malaysia Small Chilli Restaurant’s signature dishes.

Not knowing that the house chilli chicken nasi lemak was essentially fried chicken, we also ordered the Chicken Wings with Shrimp Paste ($14). No one stopped us. I wish they had. There is less chicken than the Nasi Lemak, with less fun taste. Definitely not a double up we needed, and not even a double up we finished.

They didn’t ask how much sugar we wanted in our Iced Teh Tarik (Malaysian Iced Tea – $4.50). It was not too sweet, just as it should be. Excellent.

OTHER COMMENTS
We had a good meal in Campsie, and hopefully opened my partner’s eyes to eating out in our suburb a little more, without having to travel elsewhere. I’d come back, possibly for their curry chicken, which my Malaysian friend BCSY has recommended.

UPDATE, VISIT 2

I wanted Malaysian food again, but was too shy to go back to neighbouring Ipoh Dynasty for the third time in a week.

This Hainan Chicken Rice ($17.90) was actually very good, perhaps the best I’ve had in recent memory. I loved how fragrant and oily the rice was, it being more delicious and more of the focus of the dish than the chicken itself. I’d definitely get this again from here.

The curry chicken signature laksa ($17.90) was ordered following my friend’s recommendation to try their curry chicken but with us not willing to order a full dish of just chicken itself without any roti available on the menu. This laksa was really pretty good, with a huge serving size, a rich creamy broth, and a really large amount of chicken that we struggled to finish, all at a good price. It even had pieces of potato in it. How crazy. Two carbs in one.

Malaysia Small Chilli Restaurant Campsie
148 Beamish St, Campsie NSW 2194
(02) 8068 2433