Sunday 12 August 2012

Crown Dragon Seafood Restaurant (Brunch)- Kogarah - Sydney, Australia

Crown Dragon Seafood Restaurant
 

Since moving South, I've noticed that the amount of food options have increased dramatically. I have trouble deciding what to have every weekend.

Located within St George Leagues Club is the Crown Dragon Restaurant. It serves the typical Chinese fare and Yum Cha daily.
 
 

 
We arrive just before 12pm for Yum Cha and the tables start to fill up very fast. The restaurant is spacious and modern. The staff are very efficient and attentive to our needs. Steaming hot tea is brought to the table and refilled very often.

 

'Siu Mai (Pork Dumpling)'


'Pork Dumplings with Scallops'


'Chive Dumplings'


'Prawn Dumplings'


'Chicken Feet'


'Pork Congee'

The selection of dumplings on offer are fresh and hot which are the two most important things I look for when eating at Yum Cha.
 

The 'Tofu Pudding (Small)' is a disappointment. The tofu is very soft to the point where it appears to be melting and the syrup is very bland. I think they must have forgotten the key ingredient gypsum power.
 
A place I will definitely drop by again for its delicious dumplings.

Where?
St George Leagues Club
124 Princess Highway
Kogarah NSW 2217
Australia

Phone no: 02 9587 1022

Opening Hours
Refer to Website

Website

Crown Dragon - St George Leagues Club on Urbanspoon

Saturday 11 August 2012

Ajisen Ramen - Hurstville - Sydney, Australia

Ajisen Ramen


Opening its doors just a week ago on Forest Road in Hurstville, Ajisen Ramen is a restaurant franchise founded in Kumamoto, Japan. It has a chain of restaurants throughout the world and it's first outlet opened in World Square a few years back.

I worked just around the corner from Ajisen Ramen in World Square and have only ever managed to have it once. The flavours didn't appeal to me back then. I still however prefer the ramen from Menya Noodle Bar.

Walking past this restaurant, seeing the 'Opening Soon' signs grabbed my attention and I found the desire to try it again.

It opens at 12pm which I think is fairly late for lunch but I arrive a few minutes after and people are starting to come in groups and seating reaches full capacity with a few tables remaining on the outside due to the crazy, windy weather outside.


The interior is nicely furnished with a wooden look. It is spacious and doesn't have that cramped feeling I experience in a few Japanese restaurants.





As the name suggests, Ramen is their speciality. They specialise in pork bone soup which is also known as tonkotsu  soup. I couldn't decide between the ramen or the curry rice.

 
The 'Gyoza's ($5.95)' for 5 pieces was pan fried to perfection and steaming hot. It went well with the soya dipping sauce.
 
 
I ended up with the 'Ajisen Ramen ($8.95)' which came with two pieces of chasu (pork), half an egg and vegetables. I added heaps of the dried garlic as that gave it more flavour. The soup was rich and the noodles were al dente. The egg was precooked leaving it to be cold and lacking that running yolk texture which was the only negative.
 


M had the 'Tempura Prawns with Udon ($11.95)' in which the prawns were requested to be put separate. For it's price, two little pieces of tempura wasn't enough. M found it bland and would probably avoid this dish next time around.


Overall, a decent ramen place that's close by and won't require that long drive to the City.

Where?
270 Forest Road
Hurstville NSW 2220
Australia

Phone no: 02 8065 9588

Opening Hours
12pm till Late

Website

Ajisen Ramen on Urbanspoon

Saturday 4 August 2012

My Canh - Bankstown - Sydney, Australia

My Canh
 

We always seem to walk past this restaurant looking into the windows to see what diners are having but have never actually step foot into the restaurant cause the interior didn't look very appealing nor were there much customers as its neighbour, Pho An.
 

One day, after noticing many tables having this bright yellow pancake, called 'Banh Xeo', we decided to give it a try and see how it was. Banh Xeo is a Vietnamese fried pancake made of rice flour filled with pork belly, prawns, beans and bean sprouts which is then wrapped in lettuce leaves with mint and dipped in fish sauce.
 



On this occasion, I have the 'Com Tam Bi Suon Cha ($9.00)' which is broken rice with shredded pork, pork patty and pork chop. It sort of tastes like my mums version but I don't find anything special about this dish. It's rather dry and the complimentary soup is a great addition to balance this out.
 
 
The 'Banh Xeo ($9.00)' at first glance its huge. The pork belly slices aren't fried which makes them rather soft and unappealing.
 
A decent Vietnamese restaurant if you want to avoid the queues but not a place I would frequently visit as you can get better Vietnamese food else where. I hear it is quite popular for dinner.

Where?
29-31 Greenfield Pd
Bankstown NSW 2200
Australia

Phone no: 02 9796 7586

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday 11am - 11pm

Website
None 

My Canh on Urbanspoon

Peking Duck Restaurant - Beverly Hills - Sydney, Australia

Peking Duck Restaurant
 

If you've read about this restaurant on other blogs then you probably know this place isn't in Hollywood but is located in South Sydney. Beverly Hills, has expanded itself with bustling restaurants filled with hungry diners. The walk down the main road has foods from different cultures including German, Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese and the list goes on.

After reading numerous reviews on this restaurant, I decided it was time to go and test it out myself.


We arrive at 6pm without a booking and it appears the restarant is fully booking. Luckily, there is a little table for three in the corner and they usher us in. We get full front view of the carver doing his work the whole night. We notice that others without a booking after us are told they have to wait in the half an hour to an hour range.


 

The lady brings a plate of complimentary peanuts for the table. I, however, prefer the complimentary soup that Chinese restaurants usually offer.



There are so many items on the menu, its overwhelming. But the main reason we're here is for the crispy peking roast duck. There are three duck courses on offer, each with additional condiments but we opt for PD3 ($58.00) which includes a roast duck which is sliced up by the carving man, plain flour pan cake, sweet bean sauce, spring onion and cucumber.





The 'Pork Belly and Vegetables in Spicy Sauce ($16.80) ' and the 'Chinese Vegetables in Garlic' are first to arrive at the table. Shortly, the steamed rice bowls arrive after asking the waiter a few times. I found them to be ok tasting but something I would order again.






Two plates of carved duck arrived with the skin on. The skin was shiny and crunchy. The duck pieces of duck are wrapped in the pancake together with cucumber and shallot with a dashing of hoison sauce. The duck meat was moist and succlent but it lacked that flavour I was after which I find those BBQ shops seem to achive. But it did fill me up and I struggle to finish a bowl of soup that was to come.
 

The 'Duck Soup' was made from the leftover bones from the carving process. It was bland but a great finish to the meal to wash away those fats.

Where?
493 King Georges Rd
Beverly Hills 2209
Australia

Phone no: 02 9570 5130

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday 5:30pm till 10.00pm/10.30pm
Saturday - Sunday 11:00am - 2:00pm/5:30pm  - 10:30pm

Website
NA