i love sydney - day 2

Day 2 (14th Oct) ~

Pho An in Bankstown - Sydney's Most Famous Pho

Mizuya Japanese Karaoke and Restaurant 

Cheese Mochi

Hurricane Express at Bondi Beach

 

Half a rack of famous Hurricane Pork Ribs

Sake Restaurant (The Rocks)

Cold Sake

Sashimi Combo

 

Wagyu new style

Panko Rice Balls

Popcorn Shrimp

Miso-Cream Scallops

Crunch n Cream Sushi

 

Norita Board Game Cafe - Azn Dream Ice Cream (Green Tea & Black Sesame)

i love sydney - day 1

Omg it's been so long since i've updated this blog... i think i've been pre-occupied with my 365 project and have kinda neglected this hehe...well I know I've got sooo much posting to catch up on from the past few weeks! Drafts and all saved, but first let's get sydney done! =)

Day 1 (13th Oct) ~

Emperor's Garden Cakes and Bakery - Cream Puffs

Meet Fresh Taiwanese Desserts

Meet Fresh Signature Dessert

Chat Thai

Gai Yang (Chargrilled chicken marinated in turmeric, galangal, lemongrass and garlic)

 

Din Tai Fung - World Famous Dumplings

Famous Xiao Long Bao

Pork & Vegetable Bun

Mango Pudding

Taro Bread w/ Taro Ice Cream

hu tong

Finally!
Finally... got to try the so-called best dumplings in melbourne last night! I actually booked the day before this time and even then there was only one small table for 4 available for the late 9pm sitting which i accepted nonetheless just because the place seemed so hard to book all the time! And so my idea of getting a big gang catch up to happen there had to go out the door.

Well it was starvation (from waiting till 9!) and full anticipation walking in there...but i gotta say i came out feeling that it was quite overrated!!

The shao long bao were definitely really good - the skin was sooo thin and delicate while it still kept all the soup in without popping till u put it in ya mouth~ mmm :D But besides that, the rest seemed to be nothing special. The noodles we ordered were kinda bland...and won tons that we expected to be extra hot, weren't exactly very spicy at all... more kinda sweet and sour?

Hmm.. actually personally, i think dumplings plus on swanston seems to be just AS good and they aren't all 'exclusive' about themselves which is a bonus. You can just walk in, sit down and order without all the fuss. And they don't inflate their prices like how HuTong seem to have done...Just because they have the hype built up about em and can afford to set their prices higher than necessary. However the environment did seem to be more comfortable when compared to other dumpling restaurants. all three stories of the place looks kinda impressive i guess.

Apparently HuTong has been compared to Din Tai Fung which is suppose to be THE ULTIMATE dumpling place but unfortunately i cant even remember what the dumplings there were like because i was so sick the day we ate there in sydney but kev seems came out still raving about there and was disappointed by HuTong in comparison. lol. so i guess i'll have to go back up there and try it properly again some day~

Well anyway, even though i wasn't as blown away as i expected to be by the dumplings; at least i know what all the fuss was about. It's more hype than anything i'd say and personally i probably wouldn't bother with the hassle of booking in advance to go there again when i could easily get just as good dumplings elsewhere.


The Famous ~ Xiao Long Bao



Pan Fried Pork Dumplings

Peking Noodles (Before)

Peking Noodles (Mixed)

Spicy Wontons


:: Hu Tong Dumpling Bar ::
14-16 Market Lane
Melbourne 3000

cassava cake

I don't think cassava is a very common vegetable coz i don't see any fresh ones around not even in azn groceries nor do I even think i'd be confident in recognising it if i saw it either lol. Actually i bet most people won't even know wat cassava is? Anyhow besides steaming it like a potato, this is the only other way i know that it's eaten...?

Well I found this frozen package of it in my freezer before and so had a go at a childhood Vietnamese bakery treat: Cassava Cake aka Banh Khoai Mi.

Cassava Cake ~



It may not be the most impressive looking thing; but i really like the mild sweet taste and chewy gooey texture.

red velvet & matcha cupcakes

After a lot of browsing through numerous food and recipe blogs, i had an attempt at some red velvet cupcakes & matcha cupcakes last month~ (22nd July 2010)

I had just bought an icing decorating set the day before but i realised i had no icing sugar at home so that whole idea didn't exactly work out lol.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Matcha (Green Tea) Cupcakes


I found some left over instant frosting mix and some cherries so this one was done just for the camera :P