Circa Espresso - Parramatta - Sydney, Australia

It's been a few months since I last posted as life has kept me occupied or should I say I've been rather lazy. Sorry dear readers! Continuing on with the backlog of posts I've yet to go through, next up is Circa Espresso, now one of my favourite brunch places. I've been there twice and on both occasions the food has been consistently good.

Circa Espresso is situated between two buildings in what used to be a laneway, then a garage and then transformed into a fully operational cafe in the greater western suburb of Parramatta. It's located on the quieter side of the train station and away from the hustle and bustle.

Having attempted to go here a few times, I just didn't have any luck as it was either closed or another restaurant took precedence over it. It just wasn't meant to be as one would say. Then the day finally came but it was raining and from the photos we saw online it looked small inside, so once again we were about to cancel and change location. Luckily, my friend was persistent in going to have a look and thankfully we did. Seating is unavailable outside when it rains but once it clears it becomes available.

On our first visit we got a table inside within 15 minutes of waiting, which was much shorter than what we were expecting. The miserable weather  didn't stop customers from getting their coffee and breakfast as it was buzzing with patrons. However, on our second visit, the wait was close to an hour for a table inside. Be prepared to patiently wait on weekends as it's extremely popular.

From the outside it looks very small and narrow, but once you enter it's much bigger than it actually looks with more tables towards the back. Even though there is limited space, they've made use of it very well.

The rustic walls are lined with bricks and brightly painted murals, bringing back memories of the cafe culture in Melbourne.

The cheerful and bubbly waitress brings us to our tables right at the back, alongside shelves of books and encyclopedias, reminiscing to the days when we were younger. While the internal decor is quirky and fun, the lack of light makes photo taking slightly difficult but that's what creates the ambiance.

The menu is presented on pieces of paper on a clipboard, and from initial observation it looks impressive. There is a decent selection of home-style dishes from the basic breakfast items to the much more elaborate and unique, all of which are well-priced and affordable.

The 'Cappuccino (regular size)' is made using a blend of Little Marionette beans. The coffee is potent, robust and full bodied, and is ultra smooth on the palate.

On another visit, I opt for the large size cappuccino and wow it's huge for an additional 50 cents! Well worth the money as it's nearly twice the size of the regular and you'll surely get your full caffeine fix from that single cup.

The 'Baked Eggs' is made with sujuk, Danish feta, diced tomatoes and free range eggs with a hint of chilli, served in a pan. The side of crusty bread makes a good accompaniment for the perfectly cooked runny eggs. The hint of sourness from the juicy tomatoes and the saltiness from the creamy fetta balanced out well . Overall, I really liked the bold tomato based flavours and wish there was more of the bread for scooping up the sauce.

The 'Avocado Smash' looked sensational with shades of greens, reds and yellow from the assortment of vegetables. Suitable for those who prefer a lighter or less heavy breakfast as there isn't any meat. It's made with smashed creamy avocado, feta and lime juice, with a side of boiled eggs. It was fresh, tasty and popping with not only colour but also flavour.

'Baked Squid' appears to be a seasonal item as it wasn't on the menu the second time I was there. It's a shame cause it was very delicious. It resembled the baked eggs with a tomato base sauce but with the addition of chick peas and squid. A hearty and comforting dish that's perfect for this weather.

While seating is limited and the wait may be long, the quality ingredients and delicious food makes up for it. The service staff were welcoming and friendly making it even better. This cafe is definitely worth a visit. Hopefully I can try out one of their delectable desserts on display at the front soon.

Where?
21 Wentworth St
Parramatta NSW 2150
Australia

Phone no: 02 8896 6071

Opening Hour
Tuesday - Friday: 7:00am to 4:00pm
Saturday - Sunday: 8:00am to 3:00pm

Website
www.circaespresso.com.au

Hawker Malaysian Street Food - Sydney CBD - Sydney, Australia

From the same owners of the ever so popular Mamak, Hawker is also a Malaysian restaurant, but its core focus is on the Malay-Chinese street food of Malaysia, also known as hawker fare. Their simple and pocket-friendly menu offers classic items that fall under the categories of snacks, fried bread, noodles and desserts. There are certain dishes only available here and no where else in Sydney as of yet, such as the fried oyster omelette, stingray and turnover pancake.

On a Friday night we were expecting to queue for a table but surprisingly we walked straight through. On the contrary, when we left the line was going out the door.

As we were directed to our table, our eyes deviated towards the chefs cooking in the open kitchen. There was so much happening in that little space.

The dining area is spacious, airy and clean, with minimal decor.

The 'Popiah ($8.00 for 2)' was first to come out. I had this once in Malaysia and faintly remember how it tasted. It's a fresh spring roll that is filled with an assortment of ingredients. The version here is freshly made from start to finish. The paper-thin skin is prepared by the chefs on premises and the way it's made is mesmerising.

It's filled with yam bean, shredded omelette, minced tofu, lettuce and crispy shallots with a hoisin like sauce. While we found the mixture to be fresh and crunchy at parts, the sauce overpowered the popiah and left a weird aftertaste which wasn't very pleasant.

The 'Ikan Bakar ($14.00)' is a grilled stingray marinated with sambal and served with a tangy and spicy dipping sauce. The piece we got was relatively thick compared to the flat ones we usually see in Malaysia or Singapore.

On initial bite, the stingray is succulent like white fish meat. It does have big bones but don't get deterred by this as it's easy to eat once you take it out. Unfortunately, it lacks the seasoning and we find ourselves having to make use of the sauce for extra flavour.

Hawker's rendition of the 'Char Koay Teow ($12.00)' is similar to what I ate in Kuala Lumpur. It uses the thin rice noodles tossed together with prawns, cockles, lap cheong, eggs and bean sprouts.

Cockles aren't usually found in the dishes here but I'm amazed at how they've adapted it to be very much like home. We like how there is the balance of sweetness from the dark soya sauce and slight saltiness from the Chinese sausage, whilst also having the wok-hei, giving it a nice smoky taste which wasn't too overwhelming. Word of warning, there are chilli specks scattered throughout and it's quite spicy.

Crispy pork fat! Those words on the menu immediately grabbed my attention. The 'KL Hokkien Mee ($12.00)' uses the thick Hokkein noodles, stir fried with pork slices, prawns, cabbage and crispy pork fat in a rich black sauce. Not the prettiest or healthiest of dishes but it was delicious and full of flavour. The side of chilli sauce was a great accompaniment to the noodles.

We ended our meal with a dessert called the 'Apam Balik ($6.00 for 2)'. It's the Malaysian adaptation of the pancake. Special moulds are used to make these crispy turnover pancakes filled with crushed peanuts, butter and creamed corn. I've wanted to try this for many years and the day final came. Did it live up to its expectations? It sure did.  The outside was crispy and the filling was deliciously sweet.

Some dishes were hits while others were misses. We went within the first month of opening so they may have improved on their flavours since then. We would definitely return to try the other items on their menu. Fancy a durian fried fritter?

Where?
Shop G.02, 345B-353 Sussex St
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Phone no: 02 9264 9315

Opening Hours
Open 7 Days a Week
Lunch: 11:30am - 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm - 10:00pm

Website
www.hawker.com.au

Kampong Boy - Hurstville - Sydney, Australia

Kampong Boy

A Malaysian restaurant in the south of Sydney is a rare find as there aren't many around the area. Three years ago, when I found out that there was a Malaysian restaurant in Hurstville, I really wanted to go and try out the food. However, this has been delayed for years as we never found the opportunity to go. That was until I had a major craving for Hainan chicken rice a few weeks back. You would think I would be over eating chicken rice after consuming it numerous times in Singapore and once in Vietnam, but this hasn't been the case. If something is delicious, I can eat it very often.

Kampong Boy, a Malaysian restaurant located on the quieter end of Forest Road in Hurstville has been open for a number of years. The food must be decent for it to be open till now. I didn't set my expectations high as there isn't much to compare it against in the area.

On a Thursday night, there is a steady flow of customers, though not near full capacity as there are many tables unoccupied. The modern interior looks to have been recently renovated with wooden tables and traditional Malaysian style decorations around the dining room. There is a see through glass partition at the front of the restaurant where they do the grilling.

The menu offers a number of authentic Malaysian dishes such as Bak Kut Teh, Nasi Lemak, Hainan chicken rice etc. The menu looks to have been updated in recent times as it's different to what I've seen online and accordingly the prices have slightly increased too. We decide to stick with the safer options, items which we have tried before at other places.

The 'Nasi Goreng (($12.80)' is the Malaysian version of the fried rice topped with a fried egg. It contains sambal which gives it a spicy kick and unusual ingredients such as anchovies, which are not in the usual fried rice. It was cooked well and wasn't oily like the other dishes that followed.

The 'Fried Kway Teo ($13.80)' was made up of a combination of flat noodles, bean sprouts, prawns, fish cakes, egg and chives, which was unfortunately a letdown. It lacked the wok hei, tasted dry due to the lack of sauce and overall lacked flavour.

The dish that I anticipated and wanted to eat most was the 'Hainan Chicken Rice ($12.80)'. On the plate, everything was nicely presented and it was served with a chilli and dark soy dipping sauce. Even though they gave my favourite part of the chicken, the drumstick, it didn't make a difference as it was plain and dry. Unfortunately, the chicken rice was gluggy and soft. I probably wouldn't order this here again as it wasn't very good.

The 'Chicken Curry ($15.80)' was surprisingly a winner. It was spicy, well cooked and packed with a whole lot of flavour. As you can see from the layer of oil on top, it's extremely oily but what lies beneath is delicious. A very simple curry with chicken and potatoes but it sure won me over.

'Roti ($3.00)' is made fresh in house but I wasn't watching so whether it was made fresh on the day is not guaranteed. Crispy and flaky like how a roti should be but it was once again very oily and together with the oily curry, it didn't go very well together.

'Satay Sticks - 12 Sticks - Beef and Chicken ($16.00)' is grilled perfectly leaving a nice charcoal caramelised exterior, but leaning more towards the sweeter side in terms of taste. Together with a rich peanut sauce, it was delicious, but they could have been more generous with pieces of cucumber and red onion on the side.

Overall, half of what we ate was decent but half of the dishes weren't very good. I'm thankful that there is a Malaysian restaurant in the area that serves authentic food at reasonable prices but unfortunately my craving for Hainanese chicken rice wasn't satisfied. I would come again to try some other dishes but the food was mediocre on the day we went.

Where?
370 Forest Rd
Hurstville NSW 2220
Australia

Phone no: 02 8094 8409

Opening Hours
Tuesday to Friday
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm  to 9:30pm
Saturday to Sunday
Lunch: 11:30am to 4:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 9:30pm

Website
NA

Heng Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice - Chinatown - Singapore, Singapore

Heng Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice

This will be a much shorter post compared to 'Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice' as I've used up a lot of what I was going to say about Hainanese chicken rice in that post.

Heng Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice is very much similar to Tian Tian in terms of store appearance, food offerings and location. It has the same dark blue lit sign, serves Hainanese chicken rice and is located in Maxwell Food Centre. The only difference is there is no queue. Every tourist seems to have one thought in mind and that is to go to Tian Tian. Local Singaporeans seem to have a favourite and they tend to go to the same one as well. For this reason, it's not very busy.

On that particular day, I didn't feel like lining up, but felt like eating chicken rice. The queue for Tian Tian was going out through the door and this would have easily been a hour wait. There are a few places that offer chicken rice in Maxwell Road  Food Centre and the one that stuck out was Heng Heng. The chickens on display looked large, plump and juicy. It was literally calling my name.

This simple dish has become a staple in the Singaporean diet. I wouldn't mind eating it every week either if I had the chance to. As I had the chance to eat it again in Singapore, I immediately jumped at that opportunity, given the limited days we had there. To most, Hainanese chicken rice is served with steamed chicken. However, there is also the roast chicken option. I've never tried the roast version in Singapore so I thought I would give it a try.

This time I requested for the drumstick part and yay, they had it. 'Drumstick Roast Chicken Rice (SGD 3.50)' is nicely chopped and the meat is wonderfully succulent and tender. The Hainanese roast chicken is different to the usual supermarket roast chickens. It's less salty and is pleasing to eat as the layer of fat between the skin and meat has been cooked off. The generous mound of rice is cooked with an aromatic and fragrant taste.

Here they also provide the complimentary house chicken soup. The chicken soup isn't just your mediocre and diluted soup, but it's intense and rich in flavour.

Three sauces are on offer including the mandatory chilli sauce, ginger sauce and dark soya sauce. The make or fail of the chicken rice dish is the chilli sauce. The one here is good but it's not as good as Tian Tian as it seems to be lacking something but I don't know what. Although it's spicy, zesty and goes well with the roast chicken.

At SGD 3.00, it's a steal and you're getting the real deal. Couldn't find any faults and I will be sure to visit again next time. I was too quick to order and didn't notice the set meal that was available for SGD 4.50. If you like vegetables, this may be an option.

Overall the chicken rice at Heng Heng is delicious and do give it a visit if you're in Singapore. It's hard to compare the chicken to Tian Tian, as I had roast instead of the steamed. I'm such a human of habit as I tend to visit the same places over and over again, so that will be one of my goals next time, to try out more places. I hear Maxwell Hainanese Chicken Rice is pretty good as well.

A 'Coconut' to cool myself down in the heat. Unfortunately, it has matured and isn't sweet. Though, it contains heaps of juice.

Where?
Stall 44, Maxwell Road Hawker Centre
1 Kadayanallur Street
Singapore 069184
Singapore

Opening Hours
NA

Website
NA