Ichiban Boshi - The Galleries Victoria, Sydney

Salmon Roll

-> In Japan, a ramen restaurant is a one-person-one-dish type of restaurant. At least that's what I've noticed anyway. You're supposed to come in, state which type of ramen you want, be served a glass of water, eat your ramen, pay up and leave. That's how the Japanese do it anyway. However, outside Japan, there are plenty of side dishes to accompany your ramen. This is because ramen is considered an exotic food outside Japan, and therefore a ramen restaurant should offer a complete dining experience. Ergo, there's a need for lots of embelishments such as variety of side dishes, drinks, non-ramen items, etc - more so than in Japan. In Japan, it is very unusual for a ramen restaurant to serve sushi. Well, that's what so great (or not, depends on what kind of person are you) about ramen restaurants outside Japan. In Jakarta, Indonesia for example - they even serve 'Japanese' spring rolls and 'Japanese' triple choc brownies in one of the ramen restaurants I've been to.

Even though I'm not Japanese, I always feel that ramen restaurants are supposed to be one of those quick eat-and-go kind of place. To me, eating ramen in a place full of waiters in a proper restaurant-type seating & tables are just a tad weird. It's like, a kebab shop - surely it would be weird to find somewhere out there in another country, kebab is served in a proper restaurant with proper ambience and lots of waiters on tableclothed tables. You know what I mean?

Rating: 6.5/10

Hiyashi chuuka

-> Some people in the know would be able to tell straight away that I've been putting off posting this entry for awhile now just by looking at this food. Yup, this is one of the two absolute BEST summer dishs out there (the other one being cold somen). Not the best one I've tasted (and I've tasted quite a fair share of hiyashi chuuka around the globe), but considering that there aren't many places in Sydney that serve this thing, it's quite a pleasant experience.

Rating: 7/10

Melon soda float

-> I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm a total artificial fruit drink freak. The faker it taste, the better. I hate real juice. Well, I actually don't hate real juice, but I just hate things that even has the slightest bit of acidity to it (i.e. sour). Fake fruit flavorings are usually either 'trying to be real' or 'trying to be fake'. In the West, fake fruit flavorings are desperately trying to be real. That's why even those arificial fruit drinks, jellos, etc you find on your local supermarkets STILL taste sour-ish, because let's face it, most real fruits are sour and Western food scientists always strive to create artificial flavors that are closest to the originals.

In the East, however, artificial fruit flavorings are always 'trying to be fake' - e.g., things like mango lollies do NOT taste anything like real mangoes - but somehow, through some pre-installed information somewhere in our brain, we know that that flavor IS supposed to represent mango. Odd, isn't it.

For me, living in Australia is rather frustrating in the sense that even artificial fruit flavors are trying so hard to taste as close to the real thing as possible. I know, you're thinking "what kind of logic is that??" - but in my opinion, if I want to eat something that taste like real mango, or real melon, I would get some real mangoes and melons and eat them. When I see "mango cream biscuits" or "mango soda", I'm expecting something that taste ARTIFICIAL. I don't know - maybe it's an Asian thing. I grew up eating Japanese & Asian candies, lollies, confectionary, cordials etc that taste particularly artificial - that's why I crave those flavors every now and then.

Also, I think artificial fruit flavors that are trying to be real are just plain pretentious.

Rating: 7/10

Chashu ramen

-> Definitely a must-order. This is pretty authentic-tasting. The soup is infused with all kinds of Cantonese delights. A true representation of Chinese-style Japanese dish. I like this with loads of menma (bamboo shoots) added to it.

Rating: 8.5/10

Whisk - Wisma Atria

Sa suggested a cat themed cafe... *in shock*
we found out the reason why during sunday brunch where theres a massive line outside PS and a reservation list in Marmalade, this place is completely deserted while staring out the window to the ION construction site...

Mint & Lime Soda
there's hardly any mint at all in this... the tiny slithers of mint leaves on top is simply pathetic...
5/10



Chicken and Corn Soup with poached egg
tried and tested combination.. their version is better than most i've tried...
8/10

Timmy's Fish & Chips
crispy beer battered fish and chips. "so fresh you can almost hear the flapping waves of the sea".
superb and came in huge servings...
8/10


Rhubarb Pork Noodles
this could be so far the only dish that look better in photos than in person... the color is dull, taste no sign of rhubarb, noodles too thin and overcooked.... the only saving grace is the pork itself... extra tender, but swarmed in weird tasting sauce... ew
2/10

this place seems like someone's hobby... they need a real chef! although located in such a deserted corner of the mall might not have help either...

Tenda - Haymarket, Sydney

A new-ish Indonesian restaurant just a teeny tiny bit outside Chinatown (I honestly have no clear idea of the exact boundaries of Sydney's Chinatown - as far as I'm concerned the whole Sydney City CBD is in fact, Chinatown) LOL. Anyway, I really think that the term "Chinatown" should be gradually phased out and changed into "Asiantown". It's kind of unfair to call them all Chinese since there are so many Asian ethnicities in Chinatowns...LOL

Any new Indonesian restaurants in the City should be warmly welcomed, IMO. Most Indonesian restaurants in Sydney are concentrated in the Randwick-Kingsford-Kensington-Maroubra area (also known as the Indonesian Colony or Indonesiatown). Kind of make sense, really, since most Indonesians live in those 4 suburbs in Sydney. However, for us City / downtown kids (what the...how corny and ostentatious) it's such a hassle if we have to travel 30 minutes just to grab a bite of ridiculously overpriced, somewhat fake-tasting Tempe (soybean cake). Note: Tempe in Sydney costs a whopping 15 - 20 times more expensive than in Jakarta.

Gado-Gado
Steamed vegetable salad with peanut sauce dressing

-> Words cannot describe how BAD this Gado-Gado is. I'm really sorry, but even I can make a much better Gado-Gado. Heck, even my servant in Jakarta (who's notoriously bad at cooking) makes a better Gado-Gado. To make things worse, this dish costs 9 bucks. Oh well, I guess rent in the City is expensive.
BTW, this is a Gado-Gado Siram (a type of Gado-Gado in which steamed vegetables are arranged on a plate, then splashed / covered with dressing) as opposed to the IMO superior Gado-Gado Ulek (the whole dish, including the sauce, is prepared on a large stone mortar and the sauce is made from fresh peanut & herbs / ingredients ground with a pestle)

Rating: 2/10

Mie Ayam
Indonesian Chicken Noodle

-> A quintessential Chinese-Indonesian dish. The original fusion food that preceded any fusion Indonesian food. Whatever. Served with a tiny bowl of bakso (meatball) soup. Funny thing: on the menu, this dish is described as "Indonesian Ramen". What the?? Well, even though it's TECHNICALLY correct, I don't think they should use that description. Kind of SAD, really - Indonesian food is so unpopular in Sydney they have to use that sort of description to attract customers.

Rating: 7/10

Bakso & Pangsit Goreng
Fried meatballs & fried wontons

-> Comes with the noodle set. My foreign friend was so reluctant to try the meatball thing because it resembles nothing he's ever eaten before.

Rating: 6/10

Sate Ayam, Sate Sapi, Sate Kambing
Assorted satay (chicken, beef, lamb)

-> Ah, finally a decent dish. Averaging at around $1.70 per stick, I STILL think it's a tad pricey (sizes are small-ish). But it's good nevertheless. I especially like the lamb satay - I almost NEVER eat lamb in Indonesia because for some people...Indonesian lambs can be very strong in aroma (or should I say odor). That's why some Indonesians consider lamb as 'dirty' meat.

Anyway, that's not the main point. The main point is, Australian lamb comes from those cute fluffy and not-so-odorous-depending-on-the-situation SHEEP. Indonesian lamb comes from those skinny, dirty, catastrophically-odorous GOATS. Sheep's meat tend to be more tender and less odorous than goat's meat. Also, Indonesian goats have bad image compared to Australian sheep, and let me explain why. You see, the only chance you can see a live goat in Jakarta is around the Eid-al-Adha, which is an important festival in the Muslim calendar. During this celebration, people would buy a hewan qurban, which are live animals for offering, usually goats (for the middle-class people) and cows (for the moneyed). These livestocks are displayed on various spots in the city, usually near market complexes or open fields transformed into makeshift livestock display areas. Every Eid-al-Adha, whenever I'm driving around the suburbs passing at those poor goats waiting for sembelih (to be slaughtered), I can't help but feel terribly sorry for them. I can't bear looking at those melancholic eyes, and looking at their skinny bodies, it's not like they've had a GREAT life, they should just die naturally, I reckon.
Whereas in Australia, the only chance I get to see live sheep is at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, a festival in which farmers from around Australia compete to show their fattest, greatest, cutest, plumpest, stoutest, most beautiful and prized livestocks. Looking at those cute, fat, smiling sheep makes me feel hungry. They've had a great life. It's okay to eat them.

Rating: 7.5/10

Ikan Goreng
Fried fish

-> Someone please ID this fish...this...overpriced tiny fish. It tastes okay, but look at that face! So annoying...

Rating: 6/10

Sydney Night Noodle Markets 2008

Day one of the week-long annual night noodle markets organized by The Sydney Morning Herald. Showcasing some of Sydney's most interesting eateries, all condensed in a bustling festival on Hyde Park packed with diners who seek good food and relaxing alfresco environment. Ah, how delightful!

They've got lots of entertainment as well. Lion dance is one of them (I'm terribly sick of lion dances - which is IMHO the most exploited, overused, and ubiquitous of Chinese cultural performance. It seems that lion dance is the answer for everything. Lunar new year? Lion dance. Mid-autumn festival? Lion dance. Opening of a Wing Chun training hall? Lion dance. Some Chinese guy won the lottery? Lion dance. I'm sick of lion dances). Anyhoo, the atmosphere is perfect. The twinkly-twonkly Asian new-age-slash-chillout-slash-ethnic music from the sound system really sets an exotic mood. They even screen episodes of 1970's Japanese series "Monkey" (Saiyuuki) on a large screen. It's like every Asian pop culture and not-so-pop culture stereotypes packed into one. It's wonderfully kitschy.

What to eat, what to eat, That's always the question. Although this festival is called 'noodle markets', they've got much more than noodles - from Japanese okonomiyaki to Dutch poffertjes. There are familiar stalls such as Wagamama, East Ocean, and Zilver, but also some that I haven't heard of like the Singapore Guo Tiao King, which boasted a massive queue longer than the great wall of China.

Eventually, my choice went to Yai Surry Hills - because they've got coconut drink! Couldn't bother to wait for the Singapore Guo Tiao King - I'll try it some other time.

Pad Thai (from Yai Surry Hills)

-> Just so-so. Kind of dissapointed, because they pre-cooked the pad thai (instead of making 'em to order). It's light and simple though, which is kind of nice.

Rating: 6/10

Coconut Drink

-> As refreshing as a gentle breeze in the beaches of Phuket. Naturally sweet and mouthwatering.


Rating: 10/10 (can't argue with mother nature)

Happy Chef - Sussex Centre Haymarket, Sydney

Seafood Noodle Soup

-> Mmm. Best noodle soup of its kind (at least) in Sydney's Chinatown. Even Martin Yan likes it. I'm actually rather envious of the owner of this popular stall - he's making truckloads of money, I would imagine. According to my observations, they're making 2 - 3 bowl of noodles every minute non-stop during packed lunch hours on both weekdays and weekends. This goes on for hours. If a bowl of noodle costs $9.50, you do the math - count the profit.

The broth of this noodle soup is incredibly tasty - a little sweet with a delightful aroma of fish stock. This kind of excellent stock is rather hard to achieve, and different types of fish used to produce the stock can yield different aromas. Coupled with sumptuous wontons, prawns, squids, fish balls and other surimi-derived delights, this thing does not only satisfy one's hunger, but warms the soul, too. Best in town!

Rating: 9/10

Hot Wokmaster - Ultimo, Sydney

Stirred noodles with chilli ginger steamed chicken

-> Mmm. I smelled lard. Delectable. I always appreciate Chinese restaurants that incorporate lard to their cooking. Every now and then, I don't give a tiny rat's tush about the health hazard, let me live a little!

Rating: 6.5/10

Pork dumpling

-> Bad. But cheap. *smiles* Skin is too thick and filling is too scarce. Definitely an insult to a dumpling aficionado like myself. But it's cheap *smiles again*

Rating: 4.5/10 *frowns*

Note:
I thought I have to review this place eventually - although I'm reluctant to do so since this place is probably the most uninteresting Chinese eatery I've ever encountered. However, since I've been here like, a million times (usually to get some takeouts), I thought why not have a proper dine-in and review this place anyway. The good thing about this place is that it's incredibly cheap - a simple rice dish is only like, 7 bucks and some of the items on the menu are actually quite good. It's somewhat suitable if you're a student with tight living budget.

Anyway, if you do want to try this place out, get takeouts. dining here is very depressing. (no decor, awkward staff, and sometimes, there's this weird smell lingering outside this restaurant.

Pho Pasteur - Haymarket, Sydney

Spring rolls and grilled pork with vermicelli

-> A new favorite. Look, everybody knows that Pho tai (beef noodle soup) at Pho Pasteur is no longer the best Pho in Sydney. I happen to agree with that - the quality DID start to decline since late 2006 - early 2007. However, I think their spring roll can still kick any other spring rolls' tushy - at least compared to other Vietnamese restaurants in the City area.

Rating: 7/10

Vietnamese iced coffee

-> I kind of miss those metal drip filter thingy they used to serve coffee on most Vietnamese restaurants. I mean, that's the fun part of having Vietnamese coffee.

Rating: 8/10

BTW, I can't really stand this type of super strong coffee. It's even stronger than espresso shots, I think. It's seriously strong, the tannin is even stronger than the sourest raw mango. Everyone in my family has an intolerance towards caffeine - my dad being the least tolerant (even a sip of weak tea can make his heart beat faster than road runner *beep beep*). I happen to be the most tolerant of the bunch, so having coffee every now and then wouldn't kill me. But not THIS one, though - I only have Vietnamese coffee once a YEAR or so.

Having this coffee really reminds me of how people in Southeast Asia really like their coffee strong. Especially construction workers and manual laborers - it is amazing how they can consume these type of coffee twice or thrice a day. And it's not like they add milk or sugar - nonono, real men take their coffee strong and bitter. Those construction workers in Indonesia would drink strong coffee from a small-ish glass, filled to the brim, and coupled with a small curved plate on the bottom of the glass. The curved plate serves as a saucer, and since glasses don't have handles like cups do, people would hold their coffee by the curved plate (since it's hot). They would then pour a small amount of coffee to the curved plate, and sip the coffee from the plate. This way the coffee would cool faster...



Note:

Pho Pasteur is somewhat akin to Sederhana Padang Restaurant in Indonesia. Why? Firstly, they're omnipresent. There are lots of restaurant called Pho Pasteur and Sederhana in the world - not only in their respective native countries of Vietnam and Indonesia. For example, Pho Pasteur is available in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Sydney and Boston. Secondly, it is unclear whether each of these two restaurant 'chains' belongs to a single owner or not.

It IS mysterious.

In the case of Sederhana restaurant, there are so many restaurants called 'Sederhana' in Indonesia - in different cities, different provinces...some people even claimed that a 'Sederhana' restaurant was sighted in the distant Papua province bordering Papua New Guinea. There is no exact standard among these restaurants - some are very well maintained and frequented by the upper society, and some are so pathetic not even bums would want to eat there. Some claim that all the Padang restaurant called 'Sederhana' belongs to the same owner, and some disagree with that.

It IS one of life's greatest mysteries. For Indonesians and Vietnamese out there, any further comments on this issue would be greatly appreciated. Shed some light, people!

Rise - Darlinghurst, Sydney

Japanese fusion restaurant with very fancy-pants Japanese maitre d'. LOL just kidding, he was wonderful. There aren't many Japanese maitre d' in Sydney that acts like what a proper maitre d' should act like - most of them are very relaxed and casual, but this maitre d' at Rise is 'serious business'. Very posh and proper. He's a good sommelier, too.

Oh - as you'll notice, I'm putting a Japanese translation of the menu even though Rise doesn't actually write their menu in Japanese. Why did I do that, you ask? Good question. Hm. Now why did I do that...hmmm...let me think, let me think. Probably because names of dishes, when written / said in French, Japanese, or Italian, sounds much better than in English?

Okay, that's a stupid reason. Actually, the REAL reason is - I love to translate stuff. LOL
Anyway, I might do this for every one of my Japanese food-related posts in the future, so hope you don't mind!!

Note: I actually did put up some Japanese contents in my previous posts, but there are lots of computer-illiterate people who complained that the Japanese characters didn't display correctly in their browser. Rather than telling each one of them to change their encoding, I'm embedding the Japanese characters on the image this time...hope it's okay...

Tuna tartare, guacamole & witlof salad
(Maguro no tarutaru, wakamore to vittroofu no sarada)

-> Hm, interesting. So this is basically a tuna roll sushi without the rice, dressed in a strange dressing. (LOL what's wrong with me today??) Okay. The guacamole doesn't taste like guacamole - perhaps it's too light, it just tastes like mashed avocado. The tuna is wonderful, though.

Rating: 6/10

Potato cream soup with prawn tempura & tofu
(kuriimu potaajyu ebi tenpura to toufu shitate)

-> Ahh...the potaajyu (potage). One of Japan's favorite fancy-pants French soup (another one is the vichyssoise). Nearly every European-style restaurant in Tokyo has this on the menu. Anyway, this soup is delightful. I wouldn't imagine that potage (or potato creem zouup for you, Anglais peeple *in French accent*) would go so well with tofu. The tofu is kind of like agedashi tofu (with the sticky gelatinous skin) and the tempura is dressed with a sweet sauce. Very nice.

Rating: 8/10

Ocean trout, sea bass, and Sydney Rock Oyster sashimi
(Nijimasu, suzuki, shidonii no iwagaki no sashimi moriawase)

-> Excellent - and nice presentation as well. Love the chilled shot glasses. The Ocean Trout comes with a sweet-ish soy sauce and wasabi, and the sea bass comes with a...I actually have no idea what sauce it is - it's kind of sour and lemon-y and a tad milky.

Rating: 8/10

2007 Nepenthe, Adelaide Hills
Pinot Gris (South Australia)

-> As far as I know, Pinot Gris tend to go well with Asian meals, and that's the reason why I asked for this wine. To think of it, I've been drinking lots of Pinot Gris / Pinot Grigio lately...don't know why...maybe I like the crisp and acidic taste to it.

Rating: 7/10
Compatibility with food: 7.5/10

Rise is located at a very, very obscure street just off William street in Darlinghurst - It's seriously obscure, if you aren't looking for it, you'll never know that it even existed there. Even the entrance is obscure - double non see-through solid red doors that are always closed, so the restaurant looks like it's closed all the time. Decor is quite chic, I guess (kind of like New York-style) - the place is surprisingly small (although they did close a section of the restaurant). The service is very, very good - one of the friendliest services I've ever experienced in Sydney (or maybe I just happened to be served by a good waitress).

The Chef is Okazaki Hide - and I heard he worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy before establishing this restaurant. Apparently, Rise is nicknamed "Baby Tetsuya's" (nah, they don't deserve that nickname just yet, IMHO)

Duck and bamboo shoot with hoisin sauce in wonton cup, grilled eel rice paper rolls, and steamed baby octopus with "ume" plum vinaigrette
Age wantan ni ireru ahiru niku to menma hoishin soozu fuumi, unagi no kabayaki raisupeepaa makimono, mushi tako ume no vineguretto soozu fuumi

-> The duck is nice - kind of like Peking Duck served in crispy wonton cup (duhH, both dishes use the same sauce, hello!). The eel is kind of a hit-and-miss, I think they shouldn't have used rice paper because it conceals the flavor of the eel. The baby octopus is just weird.

Rating: the duck 7.5/10 the eel 6/10 the octopus 5/10

Steamed scallop, mung bean noodle & ginger shallot sauce
mushi hotate to ryokutoumen, shouga to negi soozu fuumi

-> I assume that all of this is steamed in one go. As a result, the noodle is a bit mushy, and the sauce is not strong enough (a little bit too tart, too) even though the scallop is perfectly done.

Rating: 6.5/10

Braised pork belly rolled with savoy cabbage,
eggplant ragu & gochujang miso sauce
Buta no kakuni no rooru savoia kyabetsu, nasu no ragu to gochujyan miso soozu

-> This dish is...really 'out there'. For many reasons, really. Firstly, when this dish arrived, I thought, what? Rooru kyabetsu (rolled cabbage)?? What is this, granny's obento? It's kind of...too plain and simple, because for those people familiar with Japanese food (and by Japanese food, I mean food that the Japanese actually eat in Japan - can be anything, doesn't have to be Sushi or Teriyaki), rolled cabbage is kind of like standard katei ryouri (home-cooked meal). And what's with the gochujang miso sauce?? (gochujang: Korean hot paste made of chilli and glutinous rice which are fermented) Is this an attempt to marry Japanese and Korean cuisine (my least favorite kind of fusion food)??

My head was filled with hundreds of complaints and reactions, and suddenly...a waiter approached and handed over...a bowl of RICE.
What the hell?? So they're suggesting us to eat this granny's obento food with RICE and mess up the beautiful arrangement of this dish? This is like, rubbing salt to a wound!
Okay. OKAY. *relax* So there are TWO interpretations of this phenomenon. Firstly, it's quite common for restaurants in Japan to serve rice on the side of everything - even in European restaurants. Because rice is a staple food (as an Asian, I always try to eat rice as often as I can for fear of being too whitewashed LOL!), and the Japanese really stick with this principle on "rice being the staple food" - that it is perfectly understandable for people to eat rice with...everything. I mean, everything. Even steaks, mac-and-cheese, pies, potatoes (double carbohydrate, hello), everything - like, in steakhouses in Japan, they DO serve rice on the side if you ask for it.

This isn't weird if it's in Japan, I guess - but this is Australia - I felt kind of weird eating rice with what looks like a French food. I mean, unless the rice is fully integrated to the dish, it's weird, know what I mean? Heck, even in Indonesia it's weird. People will stare at you if you ask for rice at a steakhouse!!

(maybe I should just shut my yap and don't eat the rice If I don't want it - it's not like they FORCED me to eat the rice)

Anyway, back to the topic - the other reason is (and this is ultimately the more feasible reason), the presence of rice signifies the end of the course meal. This is very Asian - in every Asian banquets / course meals / etc, the very good, very expensive stuff (abalone, shark's fin, bear's paw, Buddha Jump over the Wall Soup, sea cucumbers, whatever) always come out early in the course. Then, this is followed by the less-fancy stuff (beef, chicken, duck, etc), and for the finale, it's always the tummy-fillers like rice or noodles. Kind of makes sense, really - I mean, who wants to fill up on rice and noodles at the beginning of the banquet when all those nice food are waiting for you?

Okay, now let's talk about the dish...
Despite the negative images and comments in my head, the dish turned out to be quite yummy. The pork belly is soooo perfectly cooked, it's tender, juicy, and sweet. The eggplant ragu goes very well with the pork and the sauce is quite delightful - excellent miso-gochujang flavor ratio. In short, it's delicious.

Rating: 8/10

Panna cotta with kumquat, blood orange & pink grapefruit granita
Pinku gureepufuruutsu no guraniita to panna kotta kinkan to buraddo oranji soe

-> This dessert is yarisugi (trying too hard). LOL. There's too many different textures here, they don't exactly get along very well with each other. The panna cotta is sour (made with sour cream instead??) but the grapefruit is even more sour. I find it hard to acknowledge this as a single, integrated dish - it's a messy dessert.

Rating: 4.5/10

Moral of the visit: I haven't changed my mind - fusion food can be very, very tricky. Attempt with care.

La Renaissance - The Rocks, Sydney

IT'S MY B-DAY!! Sound the trumpets! Alert the Bouche du roi(*)!

Instead of grumbling about getting OLD (no, no...not old, just more MATURE. That's right. keep denying it...keep denying it...) I'll just shut up and not talk about it at all. *grin*

Aaanyway. This year, I was very much in a French mood (oh COME ON. I'm in a French mood HALF the time! The other half being the Japanese mood!) - so I decided to keep things as French as possible.

Larme de Gauguin
mixed berry mousse encased in decorative joconde and topped with glazed mixed berries

Part of their "Art Cakes" series. It's a beautifully crafted cake - and the name is inspiring as well. "Larme de Gauguin"...we're of course, speaking of the great post-impressionist French painter Henri-Paul Gauguin here. La Renaissance always name cakes in their art cakes series after famous painters - Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso to name a few.

Speaking of La Renaissance, it's still my favorite French patisserie in Sydney. I don't care if that Adriano Zumbo guy (who runs the Adriano Zumbo patisserie) gets all the limelight lately, but to me, classic French patisserie is still the only way to go. Yup, I'm quite the traditionalist when it comes to French patisserie. But it doesn't mean that I'm rigidly conservative. I do love new inventions, but within certain boundaries.


I always felt that French patisserie has reached a point of perfection centuries ago. Treats like the macarons, fraisier, mille-feuille, mont blanc, gateau opera, etc should be considered the staples and people should work based on those classics. It's when they create abominations like the TARO CHEESECAKE and claim them as French pastry I begin to severely object.

Anyway, enough about that - let's talk about this Larme de Gauguin (pronounced LARhm-duh-gah-GAHN). Well, it literally means "Gauguin's tears", hence the teardrop shape. It's very delightful - although just a tad on the sour side for my palate. However, the mousse part is a medley of berries - I can literally taste them dancing on my mouth. How delightful! ...and the Joconde (it's that thin sponge cake sheet that encases the mousse) is blissfully lined with raspberry syrup. There's a layer of coconut compote between layers of the mousse, and it perfectly goes with the whole cake.

Rating: 9/10

and oh...here's a shot of my birthday noodle. I hate to display this photo, but being Chinese- Indonesian, having noodles on your birthday is just as important as having your cake. More important, even. It is said that the long strands of the noodles symbolize long life. BTW, It was 7 am when I cut my birthday cake, so do you think I have time preparing a real, home-made fried noodle? No siree. It's just INDOMIE (Indonesian instant noodles)! Actually, it's Indomie Mie Keriting Goreng Special (Indomie special instant curly fried noodles) instead of the ubiquitous, regular Indomie Mie Goreng, because it's my B-DAY!!! (and it has to be special...)


(*) La Bouche du roi: the royal catering department in the French royal household. Literally means "The king's mouth"

Din Tai Fung - Sydney

Chao p'ai hsiao ts'ai
Cold appetizer of tofu, and seaweed in vinegar dressing

-> Must order #1. Delectable, delightful - will make you crave for more.

Rating: 9.5/10

Suan la t'ang
Hot and sour soup

-> It's nice and thick, with all sorts of delicacies inside. Tasty!

Rating: 8/10

Hsieh fen hsiao lung pao
Steamed crab meat and pork dumpling

-> Must order #2. I usually order the normal hsiao lung pao (xiao long bao, in hanyu pinyin romanization), but this one is damn good as well. The restaurant's raison d'etre - world famous. Somehow, the ones in Jakarta or Singapore is better compared to Sydney's.

Rating: 9/10

Hsia jen jou ssu tan ch'ao fan
Prawn fried rice

-> Better than expected. very fragrant.

Rating: 8.5/10

Chi p'ai mien
Noodles in soup served with fried chicken

-> The chicken could be a little bit crispier, but the noodle is very nice. Perfect texture. The soup is simple yet delectable.

Rating: 7.5/10

Hsia jou cheng chiao
Steamed shrimp and pork dumpling

-> Delightful. The pastry is firm yet tender to the bite, and the soup inside the dumpling is simply sumptuous.

Rating: 9/10

Strawberry ice

-> Just okay. Basically it's just shaved ice + condensed milk + strawberries + strawberry ice cream + strawberry jam. That's a lot of strawberries.

Rating: 6.5/10

As you might have heard, I'm crazy about Taiwanese food lately.
...and notice that I used the Wade-Giles romanization for the food names instead of the Hanyu Pinyin? (for romanization of Chinese characters, the archaic Wade-Giles method is still used in Taiwan - although now it's mostly replaced by the new Tongyong Pinyin, while the Hanyu Pinyin method is used in China and rest of the world)

First thing I would like to praise about Sydney's Din Tai Fung is the service. It's exceptional. Smiling faces, polite gestures, and enthusiastic even though the restaurant is EXTREMELY busy - and they're all Chinese!
How weird, right?
Seriously, the staff are so well-trained and courteous - in fact - you can't find Chinese people that behave this way outside...Hong Kong Disneyland.

Everybody knows that services in Chinese restaurants, especially in China, aren't the most courteous around. But we're kind of used to it, anyway. Even in nice restaurants, the waitresses may be extremely professional, but friendly they are not. Not always, anyway.
Services in Chinese restaurants in Australia are no exception. Remember those horrible yum-cha ah-ma waitresses? Jeez louise, they're rude. Caucasians might be very irritated by this, but being Asian, I'm used to it. I'm always a bit pompous towards those rude waitresses, because my restaurant rule: if you're rude, then I'll be rude.

As always, the queue is horrendous, but don't let that deter you from dining there. The wait is usually not that long - 15 minutes maximum if you're willing to share a table (don't worry, it's quite fine - the rectangular tables are spacious). They set up a free self-service Chinese tea stand for queuing customers (aw, thoughtful!), and you can even decide what you'd like to order while you're queuing, so your food will come faster. Once in awhile, those friendly, cute waitresses will check up on you with smiling faces, offering recommendations, etc. Very nice. And did I say they're cute? heeheehee they are! Very pleasant xiao jies (young ladies), very courteous and polite. Heeheehee. *smitten*

...also, I was quite taken aback when they refer to me as xiansheng (sir). I mean, it's RARE to see a Chinese restaurant staff who would call people 'xiansheng'. Most other Chinese restaurants staff would normally just avoid calling you. They also replied 'hao' when called, or after taking order. 'hao' means 'good', but in this context, it means 'yes, certainly'. How polite!

Maybe some of you thought that I'm making too much of a big deal out of this, but it IS a big deal! Chinese waitresses are good people, really, but courtesy and politeness is just not in their blood. The thing is, some Caucasians would mistakenly attribute this apparent rudeness to having a bad nature, which is not always the case. Chinese waitresses are just....like that. They're a bit odd. But we Chinese customers are used to them.

However, there are some exceptions when things become inexcusable, such as discourteous-ness in 5-star restaurants and hotels in upmarket areas / cities. If they're rude, their manager would get an earful from me.

All in all...I love Din Tai Fung. The Jakarta and Singapore ones are better in terms of food (compared to Sydney), though. The Jakarta and Singapore branches has twice as much menu items...and more interesting desserts...