Tag: yum cha

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Chinese

Golden Sands 金沙酒楼 – Hurstville NSW Restaurant Review

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?

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.

Health.jpg

Health.jpg part 2

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.

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

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Uncategorized

Cha Dim House 一厘棧 – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

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

Categories
Chinese

Feng You Dim Sim 逢友点心 – Hurstville NSW Restaurant Review

Feng You Dim Sim 逢友点心 is pretty good. It is a small dim sum restaurant in Hurstville with both indoors and outdoors seating, where you order at the table by drawing ticks or circles on a paper menu. The obvious benefit of this system is that you don’t have to worry about having to catch the eye of roaming aunties with trolleys and hoping that you’re in a good table position to get the prime items before they run out. There is also a full colour menu with prices and item names in English, taking away another part of the mystery of ordering, making it all very accessible to non-Chinese reading or speaking folks.

This is the Meat Roll ($8.30), a name which doesn’t really express that it is wrapped in a sheet of bean curd. The bean curd sheet was a bit harder than expected, which gave it better structural integrity at the cost of more pleasant mouthfeel. This was prawnless, which seems to be a deviation from the standard, but my partner thought that this made it friendlier to a broader audience.

The steam pork ribs with black bean sauce ($8.30) were not bad, though it was odd tos ee it come with taro (is it usually like that?) as well as green chilli, which was not what was pictured on the photo menu. I can only assume it’s a seasonal thing?

The chicken feet with black bean sauce ($8.30) were solid, though again with green chilli. Please note that while this photo only depicts three feet, it came with four. My dining partner could not wait to sink her teeth in.

The chicken feet came with peanuts? How odd.

I’m not usually a lover of radish cakes, but the combination fried cakes ($8.30) with a selection of radish, taro (too starchy), and water chestnut (too sweet with a weird gelatinous texture) made me appreciate the radish one, which was honestly not too bad and quite umami.

The mushroom & chinese broccoli rice noodle wrap ($10.80) I could’ve lived without, especially as the prawn ones are the same price.

The chives and prawn dumpling ($8.30) were wow. The best I’ve had in a long time. Extremely fragrant, fresh and tasty chives and a good filling of prawn also. It would be worth going back just for this.

The chew chow style dumpling ($8.30) were fine. They kind of came 15 minutes after the previous dish, by which point we were pretty full. I suspect they were forgotten, and will note that they did forget some of the dishes for some of the other customers.

OVERALL

A solid yum cha experience, super accessible to non-Chinese readers and speakers, with killer jiu cai jiao. Worth coming back just for those alone.

Feng You Dim Sim 逢友点心
7/11 The Avenue, Hurstville NSW 2220
(02) 9580 2251

Categories
Chinese

Silver Territory Seafood Restaurant, 京唐海鲜酒家 – Burwood NSW Restauarant Review

We’ve been to Silver Territory an unusual number of times (4 within the last 6 months) with our friends WHJ XWO CJP and NT, but they have yet to disappoint, both in terms of a regular succulent Chinese sit-down meal, as well as for their yum cha offerings.

I will bore you only with some brief dot-pointed thoughts, after which you may feast your eyes on some photos:

  • Our first visit was meant to be for their evening yum-cha offering, but we found that this only happened on certain nights of the week, and we had to order from a usual formal Chinese menu instead. This was actually quite good, the kind of dinner my parents would have.
  • Of the sit down dishes, the king prawn omlette I thought was really good and creamy.
  • Of the yum cha dishes, their chives and prawn dumplings were good, their chicken feet were good, in fact most things were good.
  • Perhaps the goodest or most interesting was their radish cake, a yum cha item that will gain a spot as a featured item below, chopped up into bite sized portions and stir fried rather than served as large slabs. Much oil, much wok hei, much delicious.

Verdict

This restaurant is not better or worse than any other yum cha establishment in Burwood. Solid, in fact, and usually a shorter queue but more rapid and Chinese style service than Royal Treasure Seafood Restaurant in Emerald Square.

Silver Territory Seafood Restaurant, 京唐海鲜酒家
208 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134
0431 886 552

Categories
Chinese

The Eight – Haymarket NSW Restaurant Review

This will be a quick play by play of our yum cha lunch at The Eight, chosen because sadly Marigold is no more, and The Eight had 2 hours of free parking (though we overstayed by like 20 minutes and paid $9 for the privilege).

These pork spare ribs in black bean sauce were fine. Pretty meaty, not super fatty. Flavour I thought was a bit too mild.

I think these steamed chicken feet could’ve been steamed a little bit longer, but the flavour was good.

I actually also thought these bean curd skin rolls could’ve been more flavoured.

The steamed chive dumplings were fine, not extraodinary, and could’ve used more chive taste. I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my specifically, things just tended towards blandness.

The shu mai were good, and adequately flavoured.

The texture and flavour of this this doufu fa was good.

The steamed custard buns were really good! My first one burst hot liquid all over me and the table, and our friend MP gave up hers so I could have an extra.

Overall
We had a pretty decent and well priced meal, spending around $32 per person for yum cha, with 2 hours free parking down below during the day, and unlimited free parking after 6PM (important for CBD lunch considerations). My partner had had dinner with her mother and brother the previous week and had a similarly good experience.

Not bad (though I think Marigold was better. RIP.)

The Eight
Market City Shopping Centre, Level 3/13 Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9282 9988