Sashimi and Sushi at Izakaya Arigato, Chatswood

The "Sashimi and Sushi Dinner Bento Set"

In Chatswood, you can find a Japanese restaurant or a Sushi Bar on every nook and corner of this delightful City. I have tried a number of places for sushi and sashimi in Chatswood but for some reason, none of them satisfied my sensitive palate until now. My family and I discovered Izakaya Arigato located at Shop P7, 1-5 Railway Street, Chatswood by chance. After attending our children’s music recital, we were hungry and lzakaya Arigato happened to be the first restaurant that we encountered en route home. Scheming through the menu, I decided to order their “dinner bento set” which consisted of sushi and sashimi. The “dinner bento set” costs AUD23.00 which is very reasonable by Sydney standard. With such a price, I did not expect anything great. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be served with what I would considered as one of the best plate of Sashimi and Sushi in Chatswood . The Sashimi was fresh, succulent and literally melts in my mouth. By dipping the Sashimi into the wasabe (Japanese green mustard), and “Shouyu” (Japanese soy sauce), I was in heaven. The Sushi was equally good. The salad was also refreshing and complement the meal really well. Based on my dining experience, my rating are as follows:- Izakaya Arigato is 9/10 for its “Sushi and Sashimi Dinner Bento Set”, 7/10 for ambience and 7/10 for service.

"Lunch Special" at Oriental Dream (Korean Restaurant), Chatswood

The Korean side dishes at Oriental Dream

There are quite a number of Korean restaurants in Chatswood that offer “lunch special” in their menus. The prices for the “lunch special” range from AUD10.00 to AUD15.00 which is quite reasonable by Sydney standard. We noticed that almost all of the restaurants that offer “lunch specials” have their own regular customers. As many Korean food lovers would know, there are always side dishes such as “kim chi” (spicy pickled vegetables), steamed or fried bean sprouts, spicy radish, spinach with sesame seeds, sliced fried bean curd that accompany the main course. These dishes are included in the main course and the customer can request for refills if they want additional helpings. The number of side dishes that accompany the main course will depend on the individual Korean restaurants. We had come across one that gave us 3 side dishes and there was one that offered 10 side dishes plus a complimentary fried tofu with egg! But the norm is about 4 to 6 side dishes.

For this posting we will share with you our dining experience at Oriental Dream (Korean Restaurant) which is located at Shop G3C at 7 Help Street, Chatswood. Oriental Dream is quite a small restaurant and gets pretty crowded during lunch hour. However, the server is attentive and prompt in taking orders. We ordered a variety of “lunch special” - “short ribs jjim”, spicy pork, wagyu beef teriyaki and soft tofu stew (seafood). Unlike my days living in Los Angeles where I used to frequent Korean restaurants, here in Sydney, they do not serve complimentary barley tea or any other tea for that matter, here the Korean restaurant serve only complimentary plain water.

"Short ribs jjim"

Our first order was “short ribs jjim” which was made up of short ribs cooked in soy sauce with assorted vegetables and glass noodles served with steam rice. The beef was tender and well cooked that came attached to the rib bone. The meat was easy to cut and melts in the mouth. The only thing that we could think of that perhaps would make this dish better was to reduce the sugar in the dish. The “short ribs jjim” is one of the “lunch special” where the price is above AUD10.00. The “short ribs jjim” costs AUD13.00. We enjoyed the “short ribs jjim” and would rate it 8/10.

Spicy pork

The second dish was spicy pork which comprised of stir fried spicy pork with carrot, onion, zucchini, cabbage, onions and fresh chilli served with steam rice. This is quite a colourful dish due to the various vegetables that added colour to the spicy pork. However, we found the meat to be dry and lost its flavour due to lack of moist. We will rate this dish 6/10.

Wagyu beef teriyaki

Our third dish was wagyu beef teriyaki which comprised of stir fried wagyu beef in teriyaki sauce, red capsicum (bell pepper), cabbage, onions, some sesame seed and a fresh garden salad. The wagyu beef was nice and moist. The combination with the hot steam rice made it palatable and delicious. We rate this dish 8/10.

Soft tofu stew with seafood

 Our final dish was sofu tofu stew with seafood. The soft tofu stew came with a choice of pork, chicken or seafood. In view that we already had quite a few meat dishes, we decided to have the stew with seafood. The sofu tofu was cooked with chilli paste, baby clams, slices of fish and some squid -all combined and made into a hot steamy stew. The stew was delicious and it came with a bowl of hot steam rice as well. The best way to eat this dish is to put the hot steam rice into the stew and eat it as a hot and spicy stew porridge. We would rate this dish a 10/10, simply delicious.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we find Oriental Dreams a pretty decent Korean restaurant providing good service and wonderful food at reasonable price.  As a matter of fact, except for the “short ribs jjim”, all the other “lunch specials” which we ordered cost AUD10.00 each. We will definitely make this one of our regular Korean restaurants.

Food review at Sedap, Malaysian cuisine at Westfield, Chatswood

Sedap at Westfield, Chatswood

Today takes us to Sedap, a food stall selling Malaysian cuisine at Shop 432, Level 4, Westfield, 1 Anderson Street, Chatswood. Sedap is located in a fairly large food court and gets really crowded during lunch hour. Even though it sells Malaysian cuisine but I noticed that the stall was run mainly by the Thais. We ordered “loh bak” (Malaysian deep fried meat roll), “Assam laksa” (Malaysian sour and spicy noodle), “Char Kway teow” (Malaysian fried rice noodle), Hainanese chicken rice and “Wah Tan Hor” (Cantonese style fried rice noodle) and a cup (in this case, a tin cup) of “teh tarek”. Once you have placed your order, the cashier will give you a device that will buzz when your food is ready.

"Loh Bak"

The first dish was “loh bak” which is the Malaysian deep fried meat roll. We found the “loh bak” very meaty and when we took a bite, we couldn’t taste anything else but meat, meat and more meat. Oh yes, the “loh bak” came with some chilli sauce, so it was the taste of meat and chili sauce. As the dish was just meaty, we give it a rating of 3/10.

"Assam Laksa"

The second dish was “Assam laksa” which is made up noodles, chopped onions, chopped pineapple, mint leaves, sliced chilli, slices of fish and prawn paste. It was served in an old canteen style “tin plate” and metal spoon. The broth was quite average with a tinge of sour and slightly spicy. The presentation was well done using the “old canteen” concept. We will give “Assam laksa” a rating of 6/10.

"Char Kway Teow"

The third dish was “Char Kway Teow” which is Malaysian fried rice noodle. It is made up of  rice noodle, a few pieces of prawns, some fish cakes and bean sprout. The “Char Kway Teow” has got the “wok hei” or “burning” smell and taste, which speak well for the dish. We will rate this dish 8/10.

"Wah Tan Hor"

The fourth dish was “Wah Tan Hor” or the Cantonese style fried noodle. Sedap’s “Wah Tan Hor” is made up of some meat, a couple of prawns, some vegetables, a few pieces of squid, fried rice noodle all soaked up in a gravy which in our opinion is nothing more than an “egg drop soup”. We find this dish rather disappointing and give it a 3/10.

"Hainanese Chicken Rice"

The fifth dish was “Hainanese chicken rice” which made up of rice cooked with chicken stock, steam chicken, a few slices of cucumber, tomato and some pickles on the side. A small container of chili sauce is given together with this dish. The rice wasn’t aromatic and the steam chicken in the soy sauce were just plain average. We will give a rating of 5/10 for the “Hainanese chicken rice”.

"Teh Tarek"

As for the “tin cup” of “teh tarek” which is boiled tea mixed with condensed and evaporated milk and then “pulled” to create the bubbly appearance was rather good. It has the right amount of sweetness, milk and the strength of the tea was just right. It was served in a “tin cup” which made it really authentic. We will rate the “teh tarek” a high 9/10.

In conclusion and based on our dining experience, we didn’t find Sedap (at least the one in  Westfield Chatswood) all that fantastic as some friends suggested. Some of the dishes were good while others, could be better. Overall, it was just an average dining experience.

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.

"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.

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!

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 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.