Sunflower Café Again..

Hello folks, I have not gone into labour yet. Very soon though... just a few more weeks to go. Mum is coming over this weekend and I'm looking forward to her visit and spending time with her before bub arrives.

Another post on Sunflower café! It is officially my favourite dinner spot now, it's very close to where we live (just downstairs) and we love their pearl milk tea and food. We go there about three times a week and I just found out that my OB (originally from Taiwan) is their regular customer as well.

Here are more photos of their yummy home-style dishes:-


My current favourite - Gigantic serving of Crispy chicken fillet with noodle 香酥雞排麵 $9.20


The crispy chicken that is served separately.


B's regular order - Taiwanese style pork mince with rice 台式肉燥飯 $6.30.


This is one of their popular dishes - Taiwanese style beef noodle soup 台灣牛肉麵 $9.20. You can choose to have their Special beef noodle soup (comes with beef slices instead) for $9.90.


Taiwanese sausage with rice 香腸飯 $8.50

Sunflower Café
147 Broadway
Ultimo NSW 2007
Phone: (02) 9211 5298

Open 7 days

Sunflower Café - Update

Last Friday I went to Sunflower Café again! Ordered chocolate milk shake and crispy chicken fillet with rice. The milk shake is nothing special but the crispy chicken fillet is yummy! Oh I had the beef brisket with rice the other day (no picture though) and it was good as well. I will only order beef dishes when B is not around because he doesn't eat beef.

Chocolate milk shake 巧克力奶昔 $3.50

Crispy chicken fillet with rice 香酥雞排飯 $8.50

Takeru 虎瑠

Had lunch with Christine two weeks ago at Takeru and she recommended chicken namban, which I ordered and has since became my favourite.

B and I went there for dinner last Friday after work and a queue was already forming at the entrance. Luckily I have made reservation and we were ushered to our table right away.

Takeru has new menu! They now serve half-sized mains (at lower prices), so that you could order several dishes at one go. Good for sharing and trying out new dishes.

This was my 6th visit to Takeru and their service and food have not failed me. We skipped our all-time favourite, omu-soba this time and sampled some other food.


B's favourite iced UCC coffee, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. $4.20. He ordered this almost every time we dined at Takeru. Though I should not be drinking caffeinated drinks now and I'm not a coffee drinker to say the least, I was begging to have a few sips and ended up drinking more than I should. The coffee itself is not sweet and the ice-cream serves as a perfect complement.


My current favourite - Chicken namban. Succulent deep-fried battered chicken served with namban sauce (sweet and sour vinegary sauce) and tartar sauce. This dish originates from Miyazaki in Kyushu in the 1960s. I ordered a set meal for $12.90, which comes with a separate bowl of rice, miso soup and picked vegetable. You can choose to have just the chicken and salad for $9.90.


Mentai spaghetti (half-sized) $6.30. You can order a full sized dish for about $11.50.


Hotate ebi garlic cha-han. I like this garlic fried rice with scallops and gigantic prawns. The rice is a bit soggy though, but still a wonderful creation. $11.50

Takeru Japanese Casual Dining

10/11 330 Sussex Street
Sydney 2000
Tel: +61 (2) 9283-3522

Open 7 days

Sunflower Café

B and I always scout around small eateries for food rather than going for big restaurants with classy settings. Not that we don't appreciate fine dining, but nothing beats a casual and cosy atmosphere where you could devour the feeling of home.

We have been to Sunflower Café a few times but I have always forgotten to bring along a camera. Hence, a delay in this posting. This small eatery located just in front my apartment serves simple home-style Taiwanese food and is popular among Asian students. They have a good mix of food, drinks and savoury, along with fast service and friendly staff.

Some food pics of what we had yesterday:-


Pearl milk tea 珍珠奶茶 - $2.00 if you also order a meal. Sunflower specialty iced milk tea with chewy gelatinous tapioca pearls.


Taiwanese style meat sauce noodles 炸酱乾麵 - $7.90. Big serving of noodles with minced pork, shredded cucumber and my favourite stewed egg.


Peach tea 蜜桃紅茶 - $1.50 if you also order a meal. I love this refreshing black tea that is not too sweet.


Pork schnitzel with rice 香酥豬排飯 - $8.50. The crispy pork slices marinated with five spiced powder and deep fried to perfection. The dish also came with some steamed choy sum, shredded cabbage, stewed carrots and radish.

I have set my eyes on the chocolate milk shake and crispy chicken fillet with rice, which will be my order next time.

Sunflower Café
147 Broadway
Ultimo NSW 2007
Phone: (02) 9211 5298

Open 7 days

Birthday Dinner @ Takeru 虎瑠

Located on the edge of Chinatown, Takeru is a modern-age Japanese restaurant that serves a unique blend of Japanese-Western fusion cuisine, and has a perfect setting for a casual, relaxed yet affordable dining experience.

We have been to Takeru a few times and I heart their omu soba, along with other good dishes. It's been a while since we last had the fried noodles and when B asked if I want to go Takeru for my birthday dinner, I was ecstatic and was counting down to my big day (though I was not entirely looking forward to the big three-o).

It was a quiet dinner with B and our little-B. No fancy presents, flowers, cakes and such. Just good food and great company, that's all I need.

 

First came the crispy tasty treat - Renkon Chips. Thin slices of deep-fried lotus roots sprinkled with chili powder. Yum!

 

The highly recommended Omu Soba (omurestsu=omelette, soba=buckwheat noodles). Stir-fried yakisoba with chicken pieces and mushrooms wrapped in a thin omelette, served with mayonnaise and Tonkatsu sauce.

 

Tonkotsu Ramen. Generous bowl of noodles in a rich Tonkotsu (pork stock) broth with cha siu slices, egg, seaweed and such.


To round off the meal, we had a very interesting and delightful combination of black sesame and vanilla ice-cream. The black sesame ice-cream is divine, a little nutty and not too sweet! The perfect finish.

 

The bill came up to less than $35. We left with full bellies and happy hearts. :) Takeru, we will be back soon!

Takeru Japanese Casual Dining

10/11 330 Sussex Street
Sydney 2000
Tel: +61 (2) 9283-3522

Open 7 days

Nazimi, Sydney なじみ

Konbanwa こんばんわ。

We have stopped attending Japanese language course at Uni of Sydney but remained in contact with the classmates who are continuing the classes. Two weekends ago, we arranged to meet over lunch for a quick catch-up.

Jen-san has asked me to decide on the restaurant and I suggested Sakura or Nazimi, depending on how many people turned up that day. I would prefer Sakura if we have a smaller group but it is too small to accommodate the 10 of us. Well, it can definitely fit more than 10 but the small eatery would probably not welcome a group that hogs the tables for more than an hour.

It's been a while since we last dined at Nazimi and I am pleased that they have kept up with the standard of their food. Here are some pictures of the yummy food we ordered.

John-san's order - Chicken Katsu Curry Rice. It looks so yummy-licious with the colorful presentation and all. I am going to try this the next time I go to Nazimi.

I was craving for some greasy deep-fried food and ordered tori karaage bento box that came with sushi, deep fried dumpling and some tempura-like vegetables. The crispy yet succulent chicken pieces tasted jolly good and curbed my cravings for the day.

Sushi and Sashimi bento box has been the hot favourite, I reckon we ordered 3 to 4 of this bento set.

B ordered Unatama Don (unagi + tamago) - grilled marinated eel omelette served over rice. Interesting combination.

Salad bowl that came with the Unatama Don. B must be happy to see the avocado slices! He buys avocados almost every week for more than a year now, and he can just eat them with bread for breakfast.

Nazimi Japanese Restaurant
Opposite QVB
Lower Ground, 141 York St
Sydney 2000

Phone (02) 9283 2990

Open Mon-Sat
Lunch 11:30am-3:00pm
Dinner 5:00pm-10:00pm

Hong Kong Day @ The Peak 香港地 @ 山頂

Located on level P1 of the newly renovated Peak Tower, Hong Kong Day is the first Hong Kong style café by M.A.X concepts. The menu items are limited when compared to conventional cha chan teng, but it is definitely a cheaper dining option at the Peak.

Let's check out what they have to offer. I will let the picturec do the talking.

Braised E-Fu Noodles with Mushrooms 乾燒伊麵

The classic Cantonese dish has always been my favourite. Also known as the longevity noodles, the E-fu noodles taste good with only simple ingredients like mushrooms and chives. I like the chewy texture of the noodles.

Chicken Chop with Ginger and Scallion Sauce on Rice 蔥油雞扒飯

This is B's favourite. Pan-fried chicken topped with savoury scallion-ginger mixture. Check out my previous post where I used a similar sauce on steamed chicken.

Shrimp Wanton E-Fu Noodles 鮮蝦雲吞湯伊麵

Unlike the Malaysian and Singaporean style wanton noodles which is served "dry" with small meat-filled dumplings and slices of char siu (BBQ pork), the wanton noodles in HK are served in hot broth with gigantic shrimp dumplings and leafy vegetables. Just the picture itself is enough to get my salivary glands going.

Pork Chop in Onion and Tomato Sauce with Rice 鮮茄洋葱豬扒飯

This tastes alright. Nothing really special though, just like any normal pork chop rice.

French Toast 西多士

Deep-fried stacked sliced bread in beaten egg and served with slab of butter and honey. Decided to order French toast as a side dish because we have not had this for a long time. We were not disappointed, it tasted exactly how we like it to be.

Hong Kong Day 香港地
The Peak Tower, Shop P102, Level P1, Hong Kong
香港山頂凌霄閣P1樓P102號

Tel: +852 2849 7855

Opening Hours: 11:30am-10pm Daily

Indian Curries

Indian food has never been my favorite, but funny enough, I've much craving for Indian curries these days, especially lamb Rogan Josh. It's the most delicious curries ever. Yummmm...

I have Indian food about twice a week now. After our hair-cuts at the Korean salon yesterday, we decided to try the Indian curries at World Square. Ordered a super combo meal that costs $9.90 to share. You have a choice of three curries with rice and comes with a plain naan.

Needless to say, lamb Rogan Josh is my top pick, and the other two choices - mixed vegetables and mango chicken curries. Don't really fancy mango chicken curry though, it's a little too sweet for my liking. Nevertheless, I had a satisfying meal, and I know where to go for lunch next week. Can't believe I'm actually looking forward to go to work tomorrow!

Chat Thai

I have not ventured into my little kitchen for a few months now and we have been dining out or ordering take-aways. I'll start cooking again when my condition improves, but for now I am happy eating out.

Thai food is the heart of Asian cuisine in Sydney and the restaurant that we went to yesterday is an extremely popular outlet, permanently packed with diners during peak lunch and dinner times.

Located opposite Capitol Theatre in Haymarket, Chat Thai offers authentic Thai food with good service and value. An open display front kitchen showcases the fresh produce and assorted desserts, while the cooking and flaming wok actions take place in the enclosed kitchen behind.

We reached the restaurant before noon and were lucky to get a table without much waiting. I was amazed by the extensive menu and took a while to decide my order. The food is satisfyingly good, and we will definitely be back again to try the desserts though I don't really have a sweet tooth.

The 3 dishes we ordered came up to a total bill of $20.90. Awesome value!

Khao Mu Daeng ข้าวหมูแดง $8.90

An assortment of barbequed pork, crisp pork belly and Chinese sausage accompanied with sweet and savoury sauce of pickled plum, lemongrass and five spices on rice.

Suki (with or without consomm) สุกี้แห้งหรือน้ำ $9.00

Glass noodles in thick chicken consomm seasoned with fermented tofu with braised Chinese cabbage, Chinese celery and water spinach. Choice of chicken, beef, pork or tofu.

Mu Bhing หมูปิ้ง $1.50 per stick

Skewered and char grilled lean pork marinated in galangal, lemongrass and garlic. Accompanied with nam jim jeaw- a mildly spicy relish of ground rice, roasted chilies, palm sugar, tamarind essence and a hint of tomatoes.


CHAT THAI
20 Campbell Street
Haymarket
Sydney 2000
Tel: 9211 1808

Opening Hours:-
Lunch 11:00am - 05:00pm
Dinner 05:00pm till late midnight

Dralion - Cirque du Soleil

Finally, we watched Dralion yesterday! I received a call from Cirque du Soleil last week informing that the show I have booked in September has been canceled, so we took a day-off to catch the show yesterday and go pak-toh-ing (dating).

Dralion was an amazing show; it's a truly entertaining and unforgettable experience! The captivating two-hour show combined the traditional circus acts with oriental acrobatic stunts, opera singing, theater and beautiful choreography. The mystical characters, colorful and dazzling costumes, live music and special lighting effects swept the audiences into a magical journey of the senses. The acts aside, we love the comedic antics to bits. The "clowns" were funny and delightfully hilarious, and they even put a plant in the audience, part of the Cirque Formula.

Here's the opening of Dralion taken from You Tube, similar to what we have seen yesterday. You can imagine how spectacular it will be to watch it live.



After the show, we decided to head back to Chinatown. Originally we wanted to dine at the Entertainment Quarter (where Dralion is staged) but there were not a lot of Asian choices. We ended up at Emperor Garden BBQ & Noodles in Haymarket, which serves one of the best traditional Cantonese BBQ/roasted meats in Chinatown.

Roast Duck Rice - $14.00

Fried Hor Fun with pork slices - $13.00

Emperor Garden BBQ & Noodles 皇冠燒臘粥麵家

213-215 Thomas St
Haymarket NSW 2000

Tel: 02-9281 9899

Din Tai Fung @ World Square 『鼎泰豐雪梨分店 - 世界廣場購物中心』

Calling all dumpling aficionados in Sydney, rejoice, for Din Tai Fung is finally here! The world renowned award-winning dumpling house has spread its wing to Sydney, Australia. Treat your tastebuds to a delectable experience and into a paradise of delights.

We arrived at peak lunch hour on a Monday afternoon and the restaurant was house packed. Not a surprise, in fact I had kinda expected it. Since its opening in May, there's always a queue at about any hour of the day.

The interiors of Ding Tai Fung and catchy décor of bamboo steamers. The service was prompt and the waitresses were courteous even though it was busy.

Another décor - mounted soup spoons showcased with bright fluorescent lights.

Assorted buns ready to be steamed. Din Tai Fung serves a variety of buns, ranging from steamed vegetable and pork buns to savoury desserts like taro, black sesame and red bean buns.

Pork Dumpling - Xiao Long Bao (6 pcs) 小籠包 - $8.80

The house special. The world famous Ding Tai Fung xiao long bao has at least 18 exquisite pleats on each dumpling. The delicate bite-size dumplings have translucent silken skins and juicy pork filings. They were sensational, bursting in my mouth in a succulent explosion. I was in total bliss.

The pork dumplings were deliciously addictive. We ordered 2 baskets for sharing and they were gone in no time. Interestingly, Din Tai Fung even has a printed step-by step guide to eating the pork dumpling on each table. My way of enjoying xiao long bao - Dip the dumpling in ginger vinegar sauce and down it in one mouthful (that's to avoid squirting the juice all over your shirt, or worse, the person seated next to you).

Fried Rice with Fried Pork Chop 排骨蛋飯 - $12.80

This is another winner. The fluffy fried rice is so much better than the ones served in Ding Tai Fung Singapore. The pork chop is tender to bite and nicely fried, though I feel that they could have been more well marinated. Nevertheless, a delight to eat.

Steamed Beef Soup 元盅牛湯 - $8.80

Another well received dish. The soup has a subtle clean taste and and the beef is tender. Two thumbs up.

Cha Jiang Noodle with Pork Mince 炸醬麵 - $11.80

This is one of the chef's recommendations. I like the springy texture of the noodles, though a little disappointed with the sauce and the serving portion. It's good but not awesome, and I have tasted better noodles.

Wok Fried Water Spinach with Garlic 炒空心菜 - $10.80

The last dish served. I was wondering why the vegetable was late and upon checking, found that they have forgotten our order! The waitress, with her professional smile, gently apologised and asked if we still wanted the order. The simple stir-fried water spinach (or kangkung) topped with golden fried garlic has a pleasingly mild flavour. The leaves were tender and the hollow stems crisp to bite.

Total bill came up to $67.80, including a pot of tea ($2/pax). The 3 smiling ladies happily returned to work feeling all pleased and satiated.

Din Tai Fung 『鼎泰豐』
Shop 11.04, Level 1
World Square Shopping Centre
644 George St, Sydney 2000

Tel: +61 (02) 9264 6010

Open 7 days
11am-2.30pm, 5-10pm

Yum Cha at Fisherman's Wharf Seafood Restaurant

We went to Fisherman's Wharf Seafood Restaurant again yesterday after an awesome yum cha experience with friends last weekend. To help save fuel and the environment, B and I decided to walk to the Fish Market despite the strong wind and occasional drizzles. We were two hungry souls after 15 minutes of walking from the uni back home afer the Japanese class, and another 20 minutes walking to the Fish Market. -__-

Set on the water above Sydney Fish Market, the restaurant overlooks the Anzac Bridge arching over Blackwattle Bay and it's probably one of the few yum cha restaurants in Sydney with great window views.


Good ambience and classy decor. Friendly service but the waitress has brought the wrong tea after refilling our teapot. It happened to the patrons at the next table as well, the waitress left their teapot on our table after refilling thinking it's ours.


We started off with a basket of pipping hot steamed dumplings or siew mai. I don't usually fancy siew mai but I like the siew mai here with prawn fillings. The wanton skins were thin and the meat juicy.


The pork and century egg congee there is good! We were raving about the congee the whole week and it tops our dim sum order list. The congee was thick and flavourful, and had lots of shredded pork in it.


The steamed BBQ pork buns (char siew paos) were nicely done, every mouthful was a satisfying bite. I dread buns with overcooked meat.


Another favourite - zha leong or deep fried fritters/crullers wrapped with thin sheets of rice noodle served with soy sauce. We first tried this in HK and fell in love with the crunchy dough and silky smooth rice noodles combinations. It's a must-have whenever we go yum cha. Just looking at the picture makes me drool.


Tender chicken feet (fung jao) in sweet chili and black bean sauce. The chicken feet were first deep fried to puff them up, then marinated and steamed in the rich sauce.


Deep-fried fritters/crullers (yau cha kuai) with prawn fillings coated with sesame seeds. Crispy and yummy!


Another deep-fried treat. It's not the conventional dish you will find at the teahouses. The deep-fried fish balls came with a special dipping sauce. No, not the chili sauce you see on the pic, it's a green clear watery sauce that tasted Thai to me.


I was so looking forward to the egg tarts because we didn't order them last week as we were too full. The first bite was wonderful, it's so tenderly soft but it turned out to be too sweet, way too sweet for my liking.


Ordered another dessert to make up for the disappointed egg tarts we had. Silky tofu (tou fu fa) served with a sweet ginger-flavored syrup. It's not too sweet and we both enjoyed it. Great one to wrap up the yum cha session.


There's only so much you can order for 2 person, both of us were very full towards the last few dishes.

We sampled a lot more dishes last week but we were too hungry to bother taking any pics then. I am particularly impressed with the ham sui gok (pork & vegetables in chewy rice pastry), po chai fan (claypot rice), har gau (shrimp dumplings) and gow choi gau (garlic chive dumplings). Also tried this durian pastry that's really unique.

Total damage came up to $47.50 ($23.75/pax), which is more expensive that our last yum cha for four at $66.80 ($16.70/pax). So always go in fours or more for better value and food choices.

Fisherman's Wharf Seafood Restaurant
Sydney Fish Market
Level 1, Bank St
Pyrmont NSW 2009

Phone (02) 9660 9888
Fax (02) 9660 8886

Lunch:
Mon-Fri 11am-3pm
Sat-Sun 10am-3:30pm

Dinner:
Daily 5-11pm