Rump Steak at Cafe New York, 426 Victoria Ave, Chatswood

Yesterday’s lunch took us to Cafe New York located at 426 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood (near to the Chatswood train station). Please note that there are two Cafe New York Grill in Chatswood. The other one is at 316 Victoria Avenue, same street as No. 426 but at the other end of Chatswood (opposite of Chatswood Chase shopping centre). We have passed by Cafe New York at 426 Victoria Avenue many times but never had the opportunity to try the place until now.

The $12.00 Lunch Special

This restaurant has 2 tiers. The ground floor has a few dining tables with a coffee bar but upstairs, the place is huge. Their dishes are written almost every part of their wall on the first floor. The good thing about this Cafe New York is that they have the AUD12.00 
“lunch special”. The “lunch special” changes every 2 weeks. For this week, they have Smoked Salmon Salad, Cajun Chicken Salad, Pulled Pork Burger and the 200g Rump Steak. On this particular day, both of us were yearning for some steak, so we ordered the 200g Rump Steak (which was quite unlike us). However, just to differentiate both steaks, one was with mushroom sauce and to be cooked “well done” while the order would be with pepper sauce and to be cooked “medium well”. As for drinks, we ordered Lemon Lime Bitter.

Nice and spacious

Balcony overlooking the Chatswood Mall walkway

Chatswood Mall walkway

While waiting for the food, we can’t help but admire the layout of the restaurant which is really spacious. The tables are nicely spaced out and there is a balcony overlooking the Chatswood Mall walkway where you can sip your coffee and do some people watching. For ambient, we would rate this place 8/10.

The "transparent" Lemon Lime Bitter

Rump Steak ("medium well") with pepper sauce

Rump steak ("well done") with mushroom sauce

Our orders came rather quickly, less than 10 minutes. First came the drink which was Lemon Lime Bitter. At first glance, the Lemon Lime Bitter wasn’t very appealing as the colour was rather light and not that darker pinkish colour that we are familiar with. As a matter of fact, it was translucent and we could see through the glass! However, when we took a sip, we were pleasantly surprise to find that the Lemon Lime Bitter did taste like it and very refreshing nothwithstanding the colour of the drink. Well, looks can certainly be deceiving. Next, came the two orders of 200gm Rump Steak. The Rump Steak was served with mixed salad and chips (french fries). The “medium-well” Rump Steak was dry and not tender. We would prefer the meat to be slightly moist, so that it would not be too tough to cut with the steak knife. We felt that the chef must have cooked it a bit too long. The pepper sauce was average and we could find a few pepper corns swimming in the sauce. For this dish, we will rate it 5/10. As for the 200g Rump Steak “well done” with mushroom sauce, we find that the “well done” steak is no different from the “medium well”. The mushroom sauce was equally average. We would rate this dish a 5/10 as well.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we would rate the service which is prompt and courteous a 7/10 and we hope to visit this place again as we saw the next table which ordered the Cajun Chicken Burger, it looked quite good. Can’t wait to try that.

Recipe -"Nasi lemak"

Homemade "nasi lemak bungkus"

Today is Sunday and one of our family’s favourite Sunday brunch is “Nasi lemak” (Coconut rice) with the usual condiments (eg: anchovies, cucumbers, egg and sambal). One of the secrets in making a good “Nasi lemak” is creating a good coconut “pandan” flavoured rice.  Today I am going to share with you my recipe in cooking the “nasi” (rice) in the “Nasi lemak”. Let’s get on with it.

“Nasi lemak” (Coconut rice) recipe

“Nasi lemak” is a fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut cream and pandanus (screwpine) genus aka ‘pandan’ leaves. “Nasi lemak” is commonly found in Malaysia where it is considered the national dish.

Once I cooked “nasi lemak” for dinner when my parents came to visit us.

Me: Dad, how do you find my nasi lemak?

Dad: To be honest, the rice is not nice.

Me: (Hmmm… having followed the recipe and ingredients, yet not good enough)

Me: How come, dad? Why not nice?

Dad: You don’t cook “nasi lemak” in the rice cooker. Girl! You have to steam the rice.

I am pleased to share with you the ingredients and procedures here.

Main ingredients

3 cups of rice
3 pandan leaves
200ml coconut cream
½ tsp salt
Water

Wash and rinse the rice. Drain the water. Set the rice aside.

Heat a pan or wok. Adjust to low heat. Stir fry the rice for 2 minutes. Add salt and pandan leaves. Stir fry for another 30 seconds.

Transfer the rice into a line baking tray. Get wok ready for steaming. Spread the rice evenly in the tray. Pour in the coconut cream with water and make sure the coconut cream and water cover slightly above the rice.

Steam it for 30 to 40 minutes at high heat.

Serve it with eggs, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, “kangkung”, “sambal” and etc…

Just a few days ago, I steamed the “nasi”(rice) in the “ nasi lemak”. My husband had two helpings of the “nasi” (rice) and my daughter asked me to pack the “nasi lemak” for her lunch the next day. I am happy with the result of steam (kukus) “nasi lemak”. I hope you will enjoy eating and cooking it too.

"Smoked tea duck" and Chinese fried rice at Tasty Bites, Chatswood

Today’s food review takes us to a small shop located near to the Chatswood Train Station. It is called Tasty Bites (Chinese Cuisine) and its address is at 455 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood. Since we didn’t have much time to spare, we ordered two dishes from the menu. One is the Chinese style fried rice with shrimp and egg and the second one is the Chef’s Special which is the “smoked tea duck”.

Chinese style fried rice with shrimps and egg

The Chinese style fried rice with shrimp and egg was pretty good. It has the “wok hei” taste which means the rice was fried with a strong flame. Even though it was a simple dish but it was tasty with a nice flavour. We would rate this dish 8/10. This plate of fried rice is sufficient for two people.

The Chef's Special - "Smoked tea duck"

The next dish was the Chef’s Special (as stated in their Menu) which is the “smoked tea duck”. As many of us know that when it comes to preparing a duck dish, the challenge is to get rid of the “gamey smell”. We were not sure whether this particular duck dish would have that “gamey smell’. When the “smoked tea duck” was brought to our table, there was a hint of “gamey smell” coming from the dish. We also noticed that the “smoked tea duck” was deep fried and not “smoked” as we first thought. Due to the fact that the “smoked tea duck” was deep fried, we could see that the plate was quite greasy and oily. Now, that was only what we could see from the dish, we had not taken a bite of the dish yet. When we took our first bite of the “smoked tea duck”, we were pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t any “gamey smell” from the meat. The skin and bones were crispy because they were deeply fried, the meat was succulent and had the “tea” and “smokey” flavour to it. We believe that the “tea” or a similar seasoning must have “cured” the meat and removed the “gamey smell”. Given the fact that the “smoked tea duck” had the “gamey smell” when it was first brought to the table but the flavour was good and tasty. We couldn't taste any “ gamey smell” when we took a bite. Therefore, we would give it a rating of 7/10.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we would rate the service at Tasty Bite a 7/10. Keeping in mind that the restaurant is rather small and they only had one server, the service was prompt and polite. As for the ambient, we would give a 5/10 due to its size and  layout.

"Nasi Briyani Ayam Masak Merah" and Iced Lychee Soda at Pappa Rich, Chatswood

 When we were living in Malaysia, one of our favourite restaurants is Pappa Rich. So last year, we were elated to find out that Pappa Rich was going to open an outlet right here in our neighbourhood. As a matter of fact, the outlet in Chatswood was Pappa Rich’s first outlet in the State of New South Wales. The food served in Chatswood may not be of the same standard or quality found in Malaysia but close enough to enjoy some good Malaysian cuisine.

"Nasi Briyani Ayam Masak Merah"

So, for today we are going to review a dish that is not in the Pappa Rich menu in Malaysia but it is in their Chatwood’s menu. The dish is “Nasi Briyani Ayam Masak Merah”. This dish consists of fragrant basmati rice cooked with cloves, cardamons and fried shallots, 3 pieces of fried chicken dipped in sweet spicy chilli sauce (“Ayam Masak Merah”), some sambal prawns, few slices of cucumbers and “papadam” (a type of cracker normally served with Indian dishes). The basmati rice gives a rather strong flavour to the dish due to the various spices such as cloves and cardamons. If you are not used to the spices, you may find the flavour of the rice overpowering, especially if you bite into one of the cardamons or cloves. The wise way would be to remove the cardamons and cloves and put them aside before digging into the basmati rice. As for the “Ayam Masak Merah”, the chicken pieces were deep fried with crispy skin and succulent meat. The sweet spicy chilli sauce goes well with the chicken but personally, it was a bit too sweet for us. The sambal prawn was well cooked with a good balance of spiciness without compromising the flavour of the prawn. As for the cucumbers, they were fresh and the “papadam” was nice and crispy. We would give the “Nasi Briyani Ayam Masak Merah” a rating of 9/10.

Iced Lychee Soda

In order to compliment the “Nasi Briyani Ayam Masak Merah”, we ordered the “Iced Lychee soda”. We find the “Iced Lychee soda” very refreshing as it contained some lychees, soda water, lychee juice and some mint leaves that made it a good concoction and brought out the beautiful flavour in the drink. We will give it a 10/10 rating.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we will give the service 7/10 for prompt service due to its systematic approach in ordering and requesting for service. Like the Pappa Rich in Malaysia, the one in Chatswood adopted the same method where you tick whatever you want, the quantity and any specific instruction. After that, you just need to press the bell and a server will come to your assistance. Immediately after your order has been taken, the server will place the bill on your table. You can bring your bill to the payment counter once you are ready to leave. As for the ambient, we will rate it 7/10 for  its decoration and being spacious. However, for its toilet, we will rate 4/10. Somehow, the toilets remind us of being in Malaysia. So guys, please spend some time on keeping your toilets clean and friendly. 

Food review at Ichimaru Japanese Restaurant at Chatswood

Hello everyone, today’s food review takes us to Ichimaru Restaurant, a Japanese restaurant located at 226 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood. Prior to this, we have not been to Ichimaru even though we have passed by Ichimaru a number of times and noticed that it got really crowded especially during dinner time. So, just for the experience of it, we walked in at 5.30pm without any reservation. The first thing we noticed was that there were already a number of  “Reserved” signs on the tables. We informed the server that we didn’t make any reservation and was promptly directed to the end table meant for two. We had a quick look on their chalk board and noticed that they had a few specials going on. So, we ordered the “Special White Dragon”, “Alburi Niku Jyaga” and the “Teriyaki Wagyu beef Bento set”.

Assortment of sushi

Salmon and Tuna Sashimi

 The first dish that came out was the sashimi and sushi plate which is part of the “Teriyaki Wagyu beef Bento set”. The sashimi and sushi plate consisted of 2 slices of tuna sashimi, 3 slices of salmon sashimi, an assortment of sushi made up of prawn, kingfish, tuna and rolls topped with mayonnaise and salmon caviar. We find that the sashimi and the assortment of sushi were just average. In other words, nothing spectacular about them either in freshness or the way it was prepared. We give it an average score of 5/10.

Teriyaki Wagyu beef set

 The next dish was the Teriyaki Wagyu beef set which consisted of a few slices of beef, salad and white rice topped with black sesame seeds. The beef was tender but we find it a bit too sweet for our liking. Perhaps this could be due to too much teriyaki seasoning? We would rate this an average score of 5/10 as well. Just in passing, a bowl of miso soup which was quite ordinary was served with the Bento set.

Using a portable flame torch to melt the cheese

The end product - "Alburi Niku Jyaga"

 The next dish was the “Alburi Niku Jyaga” which consisted of grilled beef and potatoes topped with melted cheese in a bowl filled with some sweet broth sprinkled with some spring onions. We think the sweetness in the broth came from the miso. The unique feature about the “Alburi Niku Jyaga” was that the chef would come to the table with a portable flame torch to melt the cheese. It looks impressive and appetizing but the flavour in that dish didn’t quite satisfy our palates. This may be a unique dish but it wouldn’t be something we would order again as we didn’t quite like the sweet flavour (as a matter of fact, just too sweet for us) in that dish. We would rate it just 4/10.

Using the portable flame torch to grill the scallops

The grilled scallops

The final dish was the “Special White Dragon” which made up of grilled scallop sushi sitting on a bed of salad with slices of lemon. Like the “Alburi Niku Jyaga”, the chef used a portable flame torch to grill the scallops in front of us. After that, the chef would sprinkle some salmon caviar on the grilled scallops. The food presentation was good and the “show” was wonderful but the dish itself, again it was just average to us - in fact as one would normally expect of grilled scallops. It doesn’t make any difference whether the scallops were grilled in the kitchen or  right in front of us - the taste and flavour remain the same. Therefore, for this particular dish, we will give a rating of just 5/10.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we would rate the service 4/10 as we didn’t find the server friendly at all - pretty mechanical if you asked us. When we requested for spoons and plates, she appeared reluctant and wasn’t pleasant at all. As for the ambient, we would rate it 7/10 as it is clean and quite cosy. As to why the restaurant was frequently crowded, we really do not know. Could it be because we ordered dishes that are not so popular? Maybe, but we did asked the server what is Ichimaru famous for and she replied, “our wagyu beef”. We ordered that but as you can see from the ratings, it wasn’t spectacular. Could it be the food prices? Yes, we did find that the food prices in Ichimaru were relatively cheaper if compared with similar Japanese restaurants in Sydney, but then again there could be other reasons. We will visit this restaurant another time and then will see how it fares. Stay tuned!

Jennifer's "secret ingredient" in her cooking

"Crispy fried shallots"

Shallot oil

Shallots

Today we are going to share with you Jennifer’s “secret ingredient” which she used as a condiment in her cooking. Cooking is all about eating and sharing. So let’s get on with it.....................

Crispy fried shallots and shallot oil

Crispy fried shallots and shallot oil are the essential condiments for my cooking. Crispy fried shallots add loads of flavour to any dish and the flavourful oil can be used for cooking.

Step by step

Peel shallots and slice thinly. Heat your pan or wok. Pour suitable amount of vegetable oil and heat oil to medium flame. Once the vegetable oil is heated, adjust the fire to low flame. Slowly add all of the slice shallots into the pan or wok.

Constantly stir until most of the shallots have turned lightly brown. Turn off the burner/stove and leave the shallots for a minute or so until all of the shallots turn completely nice golden brown.

Pour the crispy fried shallots and oil through a sieve. Transfer the fried shallots to a paper towel lined to drain.

Once the crispy fried shallots have cooled, put them into an airtight container/jar. The same goes with the shallot oil, pour them into a jar for future use in your cooking.

I normally sprinkle the crispy fried shallots when I fry noodles, vegetables or even into certain soups to add that additional “kick flavour” into the dishes. As for the shallots oil, I will use it to fry vegetables, to make yam rice, sauce for dry wan tan noodles or to kneed my dough when I make “pan mein”. There are many things that you can do with the crispy shallots and the shallot oil, the above are just some of the examples. So try it and enjoy the experience!

Food review at New Shanghai (Lemon Grove Plaza), Chatswood

There are two New Shanghai Restaurant in Chatswood. One is located at Shop B-03, Chatswood Chase while the other is located at Shop 20, Lemon Grove Plaza. We noticed that the one in Chatswood Chase is always very busy while the one in Lemon Grove Plaza is a better bet to get a table without hassle. New Shanghai Restaurant is famous for its “Xiao Long Bao” (steamed mini pork bun). We visited the one at Lemon Grove Plaza and ordered “New Shanghai crab meat Xiao Long Bao”, “New Shanghai pan fried crab meat  and pork bun” and the deep fried pastry.

New Shanghai crab meat "Xiao Long Bao"

 When it comes to “xiao long bao” at New Shanghai, there are 2 options - with crab meat or without. We decided to order the one with crab meat. The waiter who is a rather friendly guy advised us that it will take 15 to 20 minutes to steam the “xiao long bao”. We told him that we wouldn’t mind waiting. We noticed that he did the same thing to every table that ordered “xiao long bao”. We just want to say here that the reason for the 15 to 20 minutes  advice was because it was 11.15am and perhaps a bit too early for lunch, thus they needed time to prepare and steam the “xiao long bao”. In actual fact, we got our order in less than 15 minutes. The “New Shanghai xiao long bao” comes in an order of 8 pieces where they are hot, steamy and soft. The best way to eat “xiao long bao” is to dip it into a bowl of vinegar and then slowly bite into it. As you bite it, you can feel the juice in your mouth as well as the slightly rough texture of crab meat mixed together with the pork. Unlike in Malaysia and Singapore, here they do not serve “xiao long bao” with finely chopped ginger. In spite of that, we find this dish rather tasty and give it a rating of 8/10.

New Shanghai pan fried crab meat & pork bun

As for the “New Shanghai pan fried crab meat and pork bun”, it is similar to “xiao long bao” except it is bigger in size, sprinkled with some black sesame and well, it is pan fried. Be very careful when you take a bite of this pan fried bun as the contents are really hot and the bun is full of juice. If unknowingly, you take a big bite, your mouth may get burnt and the juice from the bun will splatter everywhere. Just be careful but a tasty dish nevertheless. Another tasty dish which deserved a rating of 8/10 from us.

Shanghainese deep fried pastry

 The third and final dish we ordered was the deep fried pastry filled with white radish, ham and coated with sesame. In order to enjoy this dish, one must have acquired the taste for it. The deep fried pastry is rather bland and does not have much flavour to it. Perhaps, one may need to dip the deep fried pastry into some gravy to add some flavour to it. The texture of the pastry is flaky and crumbly yet strong enough to support the filling. For this dish, we would rate it as 6/10.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we would rate the service 8/10 for been efficient and courteous. As for ambient,  we would rate it 7/10 for spacious and clean family environment. This is one of the restaurants that we would like to visit again.

Food review at Petaling Street Restaurant (Malaysian cuisine), Sydney CBD

Petaling Street Restaurant at Sydney CBD

We heard so much about the Malaysian restaurant called Petaling Street in Sydney CBD that we need to try at least once. So, recently we had the opportunity to have dinner there before proceeding to watch Disney’s Lion King, the Musical at Capitol Theatre which is just nearby to that restaurant. Petaling Street Restaurant is located at 760 George Street, Sydney CBD. As you probably guessed by now, Petaling Street or Jalan Petaling in the Malay Language is a famous bazaar in Kuala Lumpur that sells hawker food as well replicas of branded goods.

The rather diluted "Air Bandung"

We were there early so we got a nice table on the ground floor of the restaurant. We ordered its famous “char kway teow” (fried rice noodle), “fried tofu with condiments” ,  “Nam Yu Pork Rib” and a glass of “Air Bandung”. Even though there were not many people at that time but it took a while for us to get our food. For some reason, the “Air Bandung” took longer (about 20 minutes) in spite of the repeated reminders to the servers to check on that drink. “Air Bandung” is a concoction of rose syrup and evaporated milk and it is relatively easy to make. We couldn’t really understand the delay. The “Air Bandung” which was served to us was rather disappointing. From its colour, one can already see that it was diluted and not that bright pink colour which it ought to be. The “Air Bandung” had insufficient rose syrup and evaporated milk. It tasted more like milky sweet tap water, to put it bluntly.

"Char Kway Teow"

As for the “char kway teow” (fried rice noodle) - it was delicious. The “char kway teow” was made up of rice noodle, baby clams (not to be confused with cockles), bean sprouts, a couple of prawns, chinese sausage, a few slices of fish cake, egg and sprinkle of fried lard to give that extra flavour. The “char kway teow” has that beautiful “burnt” aroma and flavour or better known as “wok hei” in Cantonese. “Wok hei” denotes that the “char kway teow” was cooked in a wok under a very hot and high flame which gave it that “burnt” flavour. We would the “char kway teow” a strong rating of 8/10.

Fried tofu, sliced cucumber, and bean sprout with prawn paste and "kicap manis"

Our next order was a simple dish of fried tofu, sliced cucumber and bean sprout served with a sauce made up of prawn paste mixed with “kicap manis” (sweet soy sauce). Some people may find this dish rather plain but when the fried tofu is dipped into the sauce, it changes the taste of the fried tofu which we find it delightful. We will give a rating of 7/10.

"Nam Yu Pork Rib"

The last dish was the “Nam Yu Pork Rib” which is fried pork rib in bean paste. Even though it was supposed to be rib but we found it to be rather meaty and the seasoning was very light which did not do any justice to this dish. We will rate as 5/10.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we would rate the service in Petaling Street Restaurant a 6/10 for courteous service even though there was delay in serving the food and 5/10 for ambient as the place can be rather cramped when it gets crowded.

Recipe for "Assam Chye Buey" (Sour and spicy vegetable)

"Assam Chye Buey" (Sour and spicy vegetable)

Chinese mustard ("kai choy")

 Today we are going to share with you a recipe that is rather unique and popular in countries like Malaysia and Singapore. In the Hokkien dialect (Chinese language), it is called “Assam Chye Buey”. “Chye Buey” in Hokkien dialect means leftover dish while  “Assam” in the Malay language means sour. This dish has a sour and spicy flavour which makes it rather tasty. Some people would feast on this dish like a soup.  Since we have the leftover from the peking duck (the dish was reviewed here a few days ago) which was in fact just the bones from the duck, I am now going to use it to cook a simple “Chye Buey” dish. Here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

3    bunch of Chinese mustard vegetable (kai choy)
6     dried chillies
5     slices of tamarind
500g    peking duck bone (You may use other combination of roasted duck, chicken, roasted meat, chicken feet)
1    tomato
½ tsp    salt (optional)
½    dark soy sauce
Firstly prepare a big pot. Blanch the vegetable and set it aside.
Use the same pot.
Throw away the used water.

Heat the pot with 1 tsp of vegetable oil. Add in the peking duck bone, dried chillies, tamarind slices. Fry them for a minute or so.

Add a litre of water, let it boil, put dark soy sauce. Add in all the vegetables, tomato and simmer it for 2 hours with low heat. Serve it with white rice.

The dish is tastier if left overnight in the refrigerator and then heat it up the next day. I hope you will enjoy cooking it!

Food review at Watervue Steaks & Fresh Seafood, Manly

Manly beach - nice and quiet at this time of the year

Tony Abbott's (PM of Australia) constituency office

Recently, we took a drive to Manly, a northern suburb of Sydney famous for its beach to get some fresh air and to recharge ourselves. Since we are coming close to winter, there were not many people on the beach. Nevertheless, the stroll along the beach was nice and refreshing for us. We took a walk down to the shops and noticed that amongst the shops  is the Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott’s constituency office. It is really cool to have an office close to the beach. We also noticed that there were quite a number of restaurants selling seafood. The perception that most people have is that whenever you have a place next to the beach, the seafood would be really fresh and relatively cheap. However, in reality, the seafood could be “imported” from other states and for all you know, you may even get fresher seafood from your local market.

While checking out the shops, we noticed a seafood restaurant which appeared to be quite popular with the locals called “Watervue Steaks & Fresh Seafood”. It could either be the food, the price or perhaps even both that attracted the crowd. The prices were quite reasonable with a list of orders going for AUD10.00 if takeaway and AUD15.00 or higher if eaten in the restaurant itself. We decided to do a takeaway order of grilled barramundi with chips and salt & pepper calamari with chips. The lady who served us told us it would take 10 minutes for our takeaway orders to be ready. In fact, we noticed the “10 minutes”  was the standard advice given to anyone who ordered a takeaway from this restaurant. We paid up and decided that we would come back later to collect our takeaway. After about 20 minutes or so, our orders were still not ready. We had to repeatedly asked the staff to follow up our on orders for us. Finally we got our order after quite a long wait. There wasn’t any apology given, it was just “Here’s your order, thank you”.

Grilled Barramundi with chips

Salt & Pepper calamari with chips

We took our food to the picnic table and bench along the beach to enjoy them. As many of us would have experienced, the sea breeze and air tend to make one feel hungry. The grilled Barramundi was fresh but unfortunately didn’t have much flavour. Even after sprinkling some pepper salt and a dash of lemon, the flavour of the fresh Barramundi just didn’t come out. It  would have been better, if they have given some tartar sauce to go with the grilled Barramundi. The Salt and Pepper Calamari fared much better than the grilled Barramundi. The calamari was fresh and chewy and sufficiently seasoned. As for the chips (french fries), it was quite tasteless and not soft. It would have been better if the chips were cooked a little longer.

In conclusion and based on our experience, we would rate the grilled Barramundi 5/10, the Salt and Pepper Calamari 6/10 and the chips 4/10. As for the service, even though it was only takeaway for us, we would rate it only 3/10. It would have been better if the waitress or waiter would have given us a more realistic waiting time so that we can do some planning. Also, it would help greatly if an apology is given for the delay. This is a construction opinion and hopefully the next time when we visit Watervue, the restaurant would fare better in our ratings.

Food review at Peking Duck Chatswood

In this food review, Ian Davidson SC (a Senior Counsel in Sydney) joined me in the food tasting at Peking Duck Chatswood (“PDC”) located at 308 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood. PDC is famous for its Peking Duck. Almost everyone who patronised that restaurant will have a Peking Duck on the table. On this particular evening, we ordered Peking Duck and the dry handmade noodle with seafood.

The Chef skillfully carved and sliced the crispy skin off the duck

The sliced Peking Duck meat

The condiments

The sliced Peking Duck meat wrapped in a pancake

When it comes to ordering the Peking Duck, the customer has 3 options. Option 1 will be just the Peking Duck and the usual condiments. Option 2 will have the Peking Duck and a choice of either “San Choy Bow” (lettuce with fried shredded duck meat) or fried noodles with shredded duck meat. Option 3 will give you the Peking Duck and you have a choice of  2 out of 3 other dishes which consist of “San Choy Bow” , duck bone soup or the fried noodles with shredded meat. We opted for Option 1 which is just the Peking Duck and the usual condiments. The Peking Duck which we ordered came with 24 pancakes (wraps). The size of the Peking Duck could easily feed 4 to 5 people leaving each and everyone satisfied. Each of us were given a plate of the usual condiments that came with the Peking Duck. The condiments consisted of fine shredded spring onion, cucumber, sweet dark sauce, sweet chilli sauce and a small plate of sugar. The Peking Duck which had a beautiful brown colour was rolled out from the kitchen by none other than the Chef himself. The Chef then expertly sliced and carved layer by layer the crispy skin of the duck. The crispy skin of the duck was sliced very thinly which made it look really palatable. I have been to a number of restaurants in Sydney where the Peking Duck which they served were cut in the same manner as a roast duck. In other words, in big pieces and then represented itself as “Peking Duck” which is a  no-no. The sliced pieces of the duck were perfectly cooked with a beautiful texture and the appropriate moist. The duck wasn’t as fatty as some of those which I have eaten. What aroused my curiosity the most was the small plate of sugar which came with the Peking Duck. I asked the Chef why do we need sugar when we have the sweet dark sauce and the sweet chilli sauce? The Chef replied that in Beijing, that is how the Peking Duck was usually consumed - the sugar was to give a different texture and flavour to the dish. I guess it is a personal preference - something I wasn’t willing to experience. As Ian Davidson was the guest reviewer, I asked him for his rating of the Peking Duck. Ian rated the Peking Duck, 8/10. I agree with Ian as I can say that this is one of the best Peking Duck that I have ever tasted in Sydney.

The handmade noodles with seafood

Next came the dry handmade noodle with seafood which consisted of “la mien” (hand pulled noodle), squid, fish, prawns, chopped green vegetable and carrot. When it comes to dry noodle with seafood, I have my bias and tend to prefer the crispy noodle kind. However, in this instance, the word “handmade” caught our eyes and we decided to give a go. I was pleasantly surprised as the handmade noodles were soft (not tough like the egg noodle) and easily melts in my mouth. The seafood was also fresh - the fish was tender, the squids were chewy and the prawns were succulent. Ian gave this dish a rating of 8/10 while I will give it a rating of 7/10. A slightly lower rating from me is not because of the quality of the dish but rather the helping was small. For a dish that costs almost AUD20.00, one would expect a slightly bigger helping.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we will give 8/10 for its efficient and  courteous service. The customers can actually request for the duck bones to be wrapped and take away which made this a rather friendly restaurant. As for the ambient, we will rate it as 7/10. A good and satisfying experience.

Food review at Xic Lo Vietnamese Noodle Bar, Chatswood

This afternoon, we went to Xic Lo Vietnamese Noodle Bar at 17 Spring Street, Chatswood for lunch.  The restaurant is relatively spacious and each table has its own flusk containing hot Chinese tea besides the usual sweet sauce and chilli sauce. We ordered the “summer rolls” (“goi cuon”), charcoal grilled beef with tomato rice (“com bo nuong”), charcoal grilled pork (boneless) with tomato rice (“com thit nuong”), charcoal grilled pork chop with tomato rice (“com suon nuong”) and the special beef rice noodle soup (“pho bo dac biet”).

Summer rolls ("goi cuon")

The “summer rolls” were made of prawns and pork topped with lettuce and herbs wrapped in rice paper served with a peanut sauce. The ingredients were quite refreshing, especially when we heard that beautiful “crunching” sound of the lettuce and herbs when we took a bite. The “summer roll” by itself does not have any significant flavour to it, therefore, you need to dip it into the peanut sauce which was served together with the dish. We would rate this dish 7/10 for its freshness and as a nice appetiser before the main course.

Charcoal grilled beef with tomato rice

Charcoal grilled pork (boneless) with tomato rice

Charcoal grilled pork chop with tomato rice

The charcoal grilled beef, the charcoal grilled pork (boneless) and the charcoal grilled pork chop were all served with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, pickles, fish sauce and soup. We have a choice of either having white rice or tomato rice (for an additional AUD1). We would recommend the tomato rice which we found to be rather tasty. Unlike some of the restaurants that served tomato rice, the one found at Xic Lo Vietnamese Noodle Bar has the right combination of flavour which is not too sweet, cooked just right with a tinge of garlic. The tomato rice goes really well with the grilled meat. Amongst the three different types of meat, the charcoal grilled pork (boneless) was the best. The meat was succulent and well cooked. The charcoal grilled beef was a bit too dry and tough to our liking. The same goes for the charcoal pork chop as well. Therefore, our rating is 8/10 for the charcoal grilled pork (boneless), 6/10 for the charcoal grilled beef and 6/10 for charcoal grilled pork chop. As for the tomato rice, we would give a strong 8/10.

Special beef rice noodle soup

The condiments - raw bean sprout, lime and mint leaves

No one can go away from a Vietnamese restaurant without ordering the “pho” or beef noodle. We ordered the special beef rice noodle soup which consisted of rare & cooked beef, beef balls, tripe and a plate of raw bean sprouts, a piece of lime and mint leaves. We found the sliced beef to be tender, the beef ball to be chewy and the broth to be rather rich and tasty which is the result from hours of boiling the meat in the soup. The best way to enjoy the beef noodle is to soak the raw bean sprouts into the soup really well, sprinkle a few mint leaves and squeeze the lime into the broth to give it a nice flavour. Then dip the slice beef, beef ball and tripe into a small plate of mixture of the sweet sauce and chilli - the taste is simply outstanding.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience at Xic Lo Vietnamese Noodle Bar, we would rate the service 7/10 for moderate efficiency and 7/10 for its spacious and clean environment.