Shalom - Broadway, Sydney

Ayam bakar bumbu Bali
Balinese-style grilled chicken

-> One of the two must-try chickens at Shalom (the other one being ayam bakar bumbu rujak). This one is spicy and savory - very addictive. Served with a fried egg.

Rating: 7.5/10

Pempek
Palembang-style fried fish cake

-> One of Indonesia's most iconic dish. Unfortunately, this one from Shalom is kind of just so-so. The fish cake is not crispy enough on the outside, and the cuko sauce is not aromatic enough. However, Shalom is probably the nearest place from the CBD area to get Pempek - unless I'm mistaken.

Rating: 6/10

Es campur duren
Shaved ice with durian and mixed fillings

-> Current addiction. It's really good, at least for Sydney's standard. The durian is soft and fragrant, and the syrup is just delightful. Really reminds you of home if you're Indonesian.

Rating: 8.5/10

...and oh, haven't been to Shalom for awhile, lo and behold, they started charging for water (used to give water out for free). This blows. Although, to keep prices to a minimum, they did manage to produce their own bottled water.

NB: Shalom is opening soon at World Square in the CBD.

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...

Ten Ren Tea - Sydney

Eight Treasures Ice
(Ba bao bing)

-> A popular Taiwanese dessert. Didn't expect it to be so BIG. Might've been better if served in small portions. The eight treasures (mostly consists of beans and nuts) is fine, but the ice chips are too large. Best shared by two (it's too much).

Rating: 5.5/10

Iced Coffee

-> Bland and flavorless

Rating: 2/10

Tampines Kopitiam - Tampines Mall, Singapore

It's been a long family tradition to eat hawker food in Singapore immediately after we check-in the Hotel. The main reason is to sort of cleanse our palate from those lousy airplane food (business / first class food is no exception).

Seriously, no matter how late at night we arrive, we would immediately look for hawker food after check-in. Zion Road and Newton Circus is usually the favorite.




Char Kway Teow
-> Extra spicy. Extra MSG. Extra fun.



Pork noodle
-> Loaded with all types of guilty pleasures. Oily dumplings, pork mince, offals. Mmmm...



Ice Kachang
-> ...to wash it all off. I requested extra syrup. Mmm...sugary...

Ikan Bakar Cianjur - Cipete, Jakarta

Dinner today!
This small (yet famous) restaurant chain first opened its doors in the small town of Cianjur in West Java. After enjoying much success and a cult status over there, it expanded to Jakarta, opening its 'flagship' restaurant a couple of years ago. Ever since then, customers flocked the place from as far as the East Nusa Tenggara province.



The restaurant serves Sundanese (West Javanese) food. The main characteristic of Sundanese food is a good balance between sweet and savory, and also, plenty of grilled and deep-fried stuff. The spices are subtle and not as complex as, say, Javanese food, so, for lovers of simple and less-spicy food, I'd recommend this one.



And oh, the restaurant is the reigning champion of West Javanese cuisine competition in Indonesia. Quite deservedly so, I'd say. Their food is top-notch.



Sayur Kangkung

A simple and hearty dish. the kangkung (water convulvulus, or kong xin cai, as the Chinese call it) is lightly sauteed in peanut oil with whole garlic cloves and just a dash of salt. Sounds simple, but actually very tricky to get the texture just right.)

Rating: 8.5/10
Verdict: It's delightfully light and tasty. Simplicity is the key. Many restaurants add extra ingredients to complement the kangkung, such as quail eggs, prawns, etc, but I think kangkung is best cooked without anything else.



Ikan Gurame Goreng (deep-fried gourami fish)

-> The restaurant's specialty. Ikan Gurame (Gourami fish) is considered the staple fish in Sundanese cuisine. Many inferior Sundanese restaurants serve fried Gourami fish that was frozen, but excellent ones like this restaurant have their own live fish tanks somewhere in the restaurant. Gourami fish is very tricky to breed, because if the water condition is wrong, the meat (when cooked) will have a rather unpleasant odor known locally as "bau tanah" (literally means, "smells like soil"). This restaurant is so committed to serve the highest grade of Gourami fish available, that if there's something off about the fish, they will replace it with another one immediately.

Rating: 9.5/10
Verdict: This gourami dish is deep fried until crispy on the outside, yet moist and soft on the inside. This is very, very hard to acheive. One cannot simply season the fish and deep fried it to get this perfection. The fish is incredibly tasty, with a bit of saltiness and just a tiniest hint of worchestershire sauce. Perfect when eaten with kecap manis (Javanese thick & sweet soy sauce).



Tahu Goreng Cianjur (Fried Cianjur-style tofu), served with Kecap Cabe Bawang (relish made of sweet soy sauce, bird's eye chili and red shallots) and Sambal Bajak (Bajak chilli relish)

A variation of the famous Tahu Goreng Sumedang (Sumedang-style fried tofu). Sumedang is a town in West Java famous for its crispy and chewy deep-fried puffy tofu that is incredibly, hollow on the inside.

Rating: 8.5/10
Verdict: This Cianjur version is not hollow on the inside, but fleshy and moist instead. Tastes incredible.



Karedok

Not to be confused with the omnipresent Gado-Gado (Indonesian salad with peanut dressing), Karedok is the Sundanese take on the salad with peanut dressing. The main difference is, the vegetables in Gado-Gado is cooked, but in Karedok, it's raw. Moreover, Karedok has more bite to it and definitely more spicy.

Rating: 6/10
Verdict: The dressing is not thick enough, so the dish becomes a tad soggy. The vegetables are not chopped fine enough. And also, they don't add enough basil leaves.



Nasi Putih (steamed rice)

The Sundanese take pride on their rice production, which amounts to almost 50% of the national rice output. There are hundreds of types of rice varieties in West Java alone, yet the Kepala Pandan Wangi variety is one of the most loved in the nation, which is served in this restaurant. The rice has a hint of Pandan (Pandanus leaves) fragrance to it, and served in the famous Sundanese-style bakul (rattan bowl)

Rating: 10/10
Verdict: Sundanese restaurants should be experts on cooking perfect steamed rice. Otherwise, they shouldn't bother to run a business at all.



Es Shanghai

Desert made of various sweets and fruits, topped with shaved ice and sweet rose syrup. Does NOT originate from Shanghai, China.

Rating: 5.5/10
Verdict: I don't like it because it's sour-ish. And the raisins is an odd addition.

Ayam Bulungan - Blok M, Jakarta

Ayam Bulungan is one of those legendary restaurants in Jakarta. I don't think anyone hasn't heard of it yet, let alone tried it. They serve Javanese food.
The restaurant has been one of my family's favorites since...well...before I was born.




Recently refurbished interior. Javanese fusion swank.



The restaurant's raison d'etre, the Ayam Panggang Bulungan.
(Roast free-range chicken, Bulungan-style)

Rating: 8/10
Verdict: As with most Javanese food, it's rather sweet. The flesh is so tender and the spices fully infused even the bones taste good.



Tahu Telur
(eggs-and-tofu omelette in sweet soy dressing, served with shredded cabbage, bean sprouts and roasted peanut sprinkles on the top)

Rating: 8.5/10
Verdict: A typical Javanese dish, the eggs are purposely slightly-overcooked, so that it complements well with the chewiness of the tofu. The chewy and crunchy texture of the omelette complements well with the freshness and crunchiness of the toppings. An addictive dish.



Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay)

Rating: 6/10
Verdict: Quintessential Javanese dish. Every Indonesians know that the best chicken satays are not found in restaurants, but on the street peddlars, no matter how much the restaurants claim that they serve authentic satay (or how high is the price, as a matter of fact).



Soto Kudus (Kudus-style chicken consomme)

In Indonesia, there are a plethora of Soto (consomme / broth / soup, depends on how you look at it) varieties. Kudus is a name of a city in Central Java, from whence this magnificent consomme is originated. It is very rich in flavor, and slightly thick in consistency due to the fact that it has a high content of koyah (condiment made from ground coconut, which is mixed into the soto.)

Rating: 10/10
Verdict: An exemplary attempt of the Soto Kudus. Everything is perfect and as it's supposed to be. Delightful!



Lalapan (Fresh, cold vegetable crudites, served with chili relish)

Rating: 9.5/10
Verdict: Most restaurants don't really care about this, but it is important that Lalapan is served chilled. This one is impeccable. The relish is delightful, with a hint of terasi (shrimp paste), and it's not too hot (Lalapan is not supposed to be very hot).



Ati Ampela Goreng (Fried chicken liver and gizzards)

In Javanese cuisine, a logical accompaniment to the Ayam Panggang.

Rating: 5/10
Verdict: For some reasons, Ayam Bulungan's ati ampela goreng is declining in quality.



Es Campur Bulungan (Bulungan-style shaved mixed ice)

Rating: 6.5/10
Verdict: One of the weirdest variety of Indonesian shaved ice I've ever encountered. But still delicious, nonetheless. Contents include es coklat kopyor (traditional Indonesian ice cream made of old / matured coconut and chocolate), cincau (grass jelly), nangka (jackfruit), tape (fermented cassava), kelapa muda (young coconut meat), kacang merah (red bean), agar-agar (jelly), cendol (starch noodles made of coconut milk and pandan leaves), buah atap (palm seed fruit), and sprinkled with colorful muisjes cokelat (Dutch-inspired chocolate sprinkles)