Eating Sydney: Longrain Restaurant and Bar

(Click the above to view 6 pictures. Best viewed with Internet Explorer 7.) Thanks to my friend Syrie at Taste Buddies, I savored some of the best Thai food that I have ever tasted in my life--at the famed Longrain Restaurant and Bar in Sydney today. The food was sooooooo good that I just had to buy the cookbook right there and then. I have to call your attention to the restaurant's signature dish--eggnet with ground pork, prawn, peanut, bean sprouts in sweet vinegar; it is practically to-die-for. Despite its "netty, creative, and somewhat fusion" appearance, it's every bit distinctively SIAM--sweet, sour, spicy, and salty... While in Sydney, one has got to try out the world-famous rock oysters, so I ordered one freshly shucked rock oyster with red chili, lime juice, and deep-fried eschalots. Heck, I don't even know what eschalots are but they sure tasted heavenly on top of the silky smooth rock oyster. (Darn it, I should have ordered half a dozen instead of one!). After this treat, I don't think I can go back to the plain cocktail sauce and lime with oysters anymore. It's heaven and earth. Longrain Restaurant and Bar 85 Commonwealth Street Surry Hills, NSW, Australia 2010 Note: I am not a big fan of fusion food; those over-the-top and neither east-nor-west food. There are definitely Thai/Chinese fusion dishes at Longrain, but they still retain the signature flavors despite the western presentation and plating. Just reading through the recipes, I know that the cookbook is a keeper...just the eggnet recipe is worth shelling out $16 for. Continue Reading "Eating Sydney: Longrain Restaurant and Bar"

Eating Sydney: Steamed Oysters and $48/kg Pippies!

Seafood is exceedingly expensive in Sydney--think $150/kg lobster sashimi (average 5-7 kg per lobster, so do your math), $88/kg mud crab, and $48/kg clams or "pippies." (Edited: Read the comments area) OUCH! I'm not moving to Sydney anytime soon, regardless how nice and how much closer it is to Malaysia. (Edited: I just came back from the Sydney Fish Market today and have a much better picture about the price of seafood here. They are still more expensive compared to the US, and with the weakening US$ which is almost at par with AU$ now, it doesn't help. But, they are acceptable to me now. So, I might move to Australia sooner than you think. *wink*) Anyway, these big, fat, and succulent New Zealand oysters are affordable. Priced at $3 per oyster, they were delicious. Steamed oyster with ginger and scallions is something that I miss dearly since moving away from San Francisco; somehow steamed oysters are impossible to find in Chinese restaurants in LA and Orange County. I don't know why?! Now onto the insanely expensive pippies, but probably the best stir-fried style I've ever tasted, after the jump... What a great recommendation from Grab Your Fork! Unlike the Manila clams we get in the US (which could get mushy sometimes), or Kepah/Lala in Malaysia, these pippies come in a different shape, the texture is slightly chewy and rubbery, but they taste heavenly stir-fried with the XO Sauce. (XO Sauce is a Cantonese-style sauce made of chilies, onion, garlic, and dried seafoods such as scallops, shrimp, and fish.) I just love them so much! If you love shellfish like I do, I strongly recommend you to try them out if you are in Sydney. Golden Century Seafood Restaurant 金唐海鲜酒家 393-399 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Tel: (61) 2 9212 3902 Note: just some quick comparisons, in the Chinese seafood restaurants in the LA area, you can get live Boston lobsters for $19.95/lb. For king crab, you can get it about $39.95/lb or less, and Dungeness crab for only $9.95/lb. For manila clams, they are sold for $3.95/lb in Asian stores. 1 kg = 2.2 lbs US$1 = AU$1.10 Continue Reading "Eating Sydney: Steamed Oysters and $48/kg Pippies!"

Some New Food Pictures at Shanghai Ding, Penang

(Click on the image to view the complete photoset of 15 pictures) I haven't done telling you all the stories about my recent trip to Penang, Malaysia--all the foods I devoured, my fun little getaway and other escapades, but I will share with you some food porn today--a small food photography project that I did for my sponsor Shanghai Ding /上海鼎 in Penang, Malaysia. If you are in Penang and haven't checked out Shanghai Ding /上海鼎, do pay it a visit. (You can read my previous review here.) If you have tried it and haven't been there lately, they have expanded their menu with new dishes such as the Shanghainese specialities Dongbo Rou/braised pork stomach (东波肉), vinegar pork ribs, etc. Other than the location near Queensbay Mall, Shanghai Ding /上海鼎 has recently opened up their second branch at the New World Park (next to Swatow Lane) in Penang. Shanghai Ding /上海鼎 (NEW BRANCH) 102-E-3, New World Park Jalan Burmah, 10500 Penang Main Branch (at the right hand corner shop before Queensbay Mall) Blk H, 4G, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Bayan Bay, 11900 Penang Tel: 04-644-1644 Check it out and let me know what you think of my photography project... (note: it was raining and not a lot of sun when the photo shoot took place; sun really is the secret ingredient to very good photography!). Related Posts: Photoblog: Food, Glorious Malaysian Food Belacan Grill Malaysian Cuisine Continue Reading "Some New Food Pictures at Shanghai Ding, Penang"

Eating Beijing: Paper

Last night, I had a fantastic set dinner at Paper, a chic restaurant serving modern Chinese cuisine in Beijing. (Paper is owned by my fellow Malaysian Cho, who is also behind the hugely popular and successful Cafe Sambal and Bed Bar in Beijing.) Clockwise from left: fried calamari & fruit salad, cucumber, lotus root, ground pork patty. Soup, grilled cod, jumbo prawn tempuras, egg plant. Pipa tofu, sweet & sour pork, cold noodles, stir-fried veggie and black fungus. My personal favorites: the melt-in-the-mouth grilled cod fish, jumbo prawn tempuras, and the dessert. They were exquisite. At Paper, there is no menu to order from. All you have to do is tell your waiter/waitress what you don't eat. Then just sit back, relax, and enjoy the meal. No hassle, great food--the kind of dining experience I like. Paper 138 Gulou Dongdajie Dongcheng District Beijing, China Tel: 010-84015080 Notes: The 14-course menu is priced at RMB150 per person. A & P, thanks for taking me there. Continue Reading "Eating Beijing: Paper"

Seafood Fest – Bukit Tambun, Penang

Bukit Tambun--a quaint and small fishing village about 30-45 minutes across from Penang Island--is a seafood lover paradise. While Penang is blessed with a wide array of great seafood eateries, many Penangites often drive across the Penang Bridge to look for the best, freshest, and cheapest offerings. The answer is simple: sitting by a kuala (the river mouth where it meets the sea), Bukit Tambun is blessed with countless seafood restaurants dotting its main street and these restaurants offer loads of fresh bounties of the sea. While I have tried out quite a few seafood restaurants at Bukit Tambun, my favorite is Gee Seng Seafood Restaurant at the end of the main strip. There are a few reasons I love it: 1) It’s one of the two restaurants floating on the river at Bukit Tambun, 2) There are many varieties to choose from, 3) The price is darn cheap, and 4) Last but not least, the taste of the seafood dishes are always heavenly. I went there with my best friend and my niece tonight and here are the pictures of our catch. A plateful of fresh scallops on the half shell; steamed with only soy sauce, garlic, bird’s eye chilies and shredded garlic, these sweeties are just RM11.00 or US$3.00. Now, I can’t even buy fake scallops with that money in the States! Tom Yam Stingray. Rasa Malaysia certified jilatable (lickylicious). It was so good I almost ate the soft bones of the stingray wings. Sour, spicy, and downright addictive, this is not the typical Tom Yam. A must have. These somewhat scary looking sea creatures are called Mantis Prawns. They are not the best looking seafood around and look like centipedes, but the flesh is sweet with a great texture. Above is the picture of the mantis prawn after you peel off the shell. In Penang, the best Hokkien Mee vendor tops his divine prawn noodles soup with these killer mantis prawns. Nestum Prawns. The crunchy bits (Nestum corn meal) were a tad too sweet and the aromatic curry leaves were missing in action. However, it was still a great dish considering the price was just RM14.00 or US$4.00. As a die-hard clam lover, I had to have my clam-du-jour. Stir-fried clams “kam heong” (savory and aromatic) style was a mere RM7.00 or US2.00. Can you say “bargain?” Baked mud crabs. This was the only dish that was disappointing; not that the chef didn’t know how to bake them, but they were too small for my taste. I love my crabs big, fat, and fleshy. To wrap up the meal, I ordered some chicken satays from the hawker beside the restaurant. Perfectly charred and juicy with a tint of turmeric and lemongrass, they had me wanting for more. Total damage of the meal (fresh coconut drinks and rice included) was only RM95.20 or US$27.00 for 3 people. With all these seafood sitting happy in my stomach, I think I will have a good night of sleep tonight. Restaurant Makanan Laut Gee Seng/Gee Seng Seafood Restaurant 860 Bagan Bukit Tambun 14110 Simpang Ampat Penang Tel: 04-588-7220 Click here to view my photo album of Bukit Tambun. I love Bukit Tambun as it has a lot of character and very original. Wait no more, hop on a plane, car, train, or bus and visit Penang now; as much to offer and yet so cheap. Continue Reading "Seafood Fest – Bukit Tambun, Penang"

Shanghai Ding Dumpling House Queensbay, Penang / 上海鼎

One lazy afternoon during my recent visit to Penang I was driving along the coastal highway in Bayan Baru and found a Shanghainese gem in Bayan Bay (where the new Queensbay Mall is). Shanghai Ding is a new Shanghainese restaurant recently opened in Penang. You know me, I just can't pass up the opportunity to try a new restaurant. And their food certainly did not disappoint. As Penang is no Shanghai, I was very impressed by the quality of food there. This is their flagship specialty: Crab Meat Xiao Long Bao / 蟹肉小笼包. Trust me, I am not a novice in this delicacy and have had the best in Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong. Theirs are as authentic and as delicious as you can get. The skin is thin and the dumplings were filled with hot and juicy broth. The traditional Shanghai Xiao Long Bao / 上海小笼包 (with just pork meat) were equally good. A must try! I couldn't keep my mind off these precious buns when I saw them on their menu. Called Pokey Mouse / 奶皇刺猥, these little porcupine buns are filled with sweet custard. I loved the "popping" texture of the bun as they are sparsely coated with poppy seeds. This is pan-fried Shanghainese Bun / 上海菜肉包, steamed to perfection and then pan-fried, the contrasting texture of steamed softness and pan-fried crispiness works very well with the light filling of vegetable and meat. I am a huge fan when it comes to red bean paste, interestingly their red bean paste bun / 南乳豆沙饼 is like nothing I have had before. With a tint of red fermented bean curb cheese (南乳), these buns are both tender and aromatic in a very pleasing way. I had two desserts: Ginger-flavored Rice Balls with Black Sesame/ 姜茶汤圆 and Durian Pancake / 榴莲煎糕. Unfortunately, my pictures didn't turn out right to do them justice. Both were equally delectable especially the Durian Pancake (with real Durian inside!). Other specialties of Shanghai Ding: Shanghainese La Mian / 上海拉面 Sweet Yam Bun - 香芋包 Deep-Fried Mango and Cheese. Char Siew Pastry / 叉烧酥. Pineapple Buns - 菠蘿包. Shanghai Ding / 上海鼎 Blk H, 4G, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Bayan Bay, 11900 Penang Tel: 04-644-1644 Business Hours: Monday - Sunday 8:00 am - 10:00 pm Note: Below is their Chinese tagline, which is very poetic and well-written. It basically outlines the basic steps to eating Shanghai Xiao Long Bao. 慢慢移, 轻轻提, 先开窗, 后吮汤, 馅儿滑, 肉更香, 别把嘴儿烫, 莫让包儿凉. Continue Reading "Shanghai Ding Dumpling House Queensbay, Penang / 上海鼎"

Belacan Grill, Redondo Beach, California

I am a food snob when it comes to Malaysian food / Penang food. It's hard not to be one when you were born and raised in Penang. We are just too lucky as great foods are plentiful. There are more and more Malaysian restaurants in the US these days but it's sad to say that most of them don't do justice to Malaysian food. Belacan Grill is one of the few Malaysian restaurants that does things right and I would recommend you to go there if you want to taste what Malaysian food is really all about. Roti Canai is a very popular breakfast or late-night supper in Malaysia. We usually eat Roti Canai over a glass of teh tarik at roadside mamak stalls that are scattered all around Malaysia. There are two ways of eating roti canai: dipping them in curry sauce or with sugar. In the United States, Malaysian restaurants serve them with curry sauce, and sometimes they are called Roti Prata. The Roti Canai at Belacan Grill was almost 100% authenthic in the sense that it was thicker instead of the typical crispy kind found elsewhere. The curry sauce that came with it was also very well-cooked and flavorful. I particularly liked it that the curry sauce was cooked with indian leaves so it had this aroma that was signature in all Malaysian curries. I wonder where they got those curry leaves! Next up was Curry Fish Head. I am never a big fan of Curry Fish Head, but it won me over as the dish was loaded with all my favorites: tomato wedges, fried tofu cut in pieces, okra, and green beans. It was like eating my mother's curry. Too bad the fish head was not really a fish head, instead the head were cut into pieces. But overall, the curry paired well with our rice. It was spicy, hot, and very tasty. Kangkung Belacan is a famous dish in and outside of Malaysia; in fact, a lot of people from Hong Kong came to know about Malaysian cuisine and Belacan (shrimp paste) through this dish. Naturally, we just had to order it and it was no disappointment even though the belacan was definitely on the mild side but the chef used a lot of dried shrimp to kick it up a notch. Personally, I love dried shrimp and thought the dish had a nice balance of taste, texture, spices, and aroma. It was great! Whenever I go to a Malaysian restaurant, I always order Char Kway Teow as a litmus test if the restaurant is authenthic Malaysian. The Char Kway Teow at Belacan Grill was probably the best this part of the world. The only thing missing from it was cockles, which are hard to get in the US, so I gave it a 9.5! The taste still lingers in my mouth. The least interesting dish that night was probably the Belacan Crab, even though it was touted as a MUST TRY on the menu. Don't get me wrong, I love crabs but the cooking wasn't that different from the typical Salt and Pepper Crab you get in Chinese restaurants. I wished they cooked the crab Malaysian style, that is, "Kam Heong" (translate literally to "Golden & Aromatic") style, or sauteed with black pepper and butter (Black Pepper Crab), or Chili Crab. Also, it was over-fried so the flesh was sticking to its shell, which made it hard to eat. On our way out, we ran into the male owner of Belacan Grill and we had a chat about their food. Mr. Owner told us to go back and requested that we asked for him the next time we go to Belacan Grill. He lured us with "dishes not on the menu and more authenthic specialties. I can't wait to go back and give you my complete report. Stay tuned! Continue Reading "Belacan Grill, Redondo Beach, California"

Tropika Malaysian Restaurant, Tustin, California

A friend of mine at work told me about Tropika, a new Malaysian restaurant in Orange County. After reading a couple of good reviews on the internet, I've decided to give it a try and below is my verdict after two visits to the restaurant. First Visit We ordered Nasi Lemak, Assam Laksa, and Ice Kacang / ABC (a popular Malaysian desert with shaved ice, syrup, corns, and red beans). We were disappointed with the two signature Malaysian dishes. The Nasi Lemak was OK but not great. Their anchovy sambal should have been cooked with sambal but instead it tasted like they cooked it with ketchup and some chili sauce. The chicken on the Nasi Lemak was too hard and "tough" and the coconut rice wasn't "lemak" enough (not enough coconut milk), but overall the taste was passable. Assam Laksa wasn't good at all as the broth tasted more like chicken soup instead of the typical pungent, spicy, and sour taste. As Assam Laksa is my favorite and the reason why I went in the first place, I was really disappointed. Ice Kacang / ABC was great as they got it right. We were quite impressed that Tropika actually put "Atap Chee" in their ABC. "Atap Chee" is one of those things that is getting harder and harder to find and kudos to Tropika for trying to keep this desert authentic. Second Visit The next day, I went back there again with my co-workers because I wanted to give the restaurant another shot. This time, we ordered Roti Canai, Char Kuay Teow, Pineapple Shrimp, and Beef Rendang. Malaysian restaurants in the US usually do a good job when it comes to Roti Canai, but I am sorry to say that the Roti Canai at Tropika wasn't good at all. First of all, their roti canai was too thin and crispy and the non-crispy part was chewy. It was hard to tear them off actually. The curry sauce was another disappointment because it was just too watery and tasteless. It didn't have the rich coconut curry taste and so so it wasn't good as a dipping sauce. From the presentation of the Char Kuay Teow, I knew that it wasn't going to be good as it looked dry (not enough cooking oil used) and the color was too dark brown (too much dark soy sauce used). To make good Char Kuay Teow, your wok has to be super hot and you need generous use of cooking oil. Dark soy sauce is used to add color to the dish rather than for taste. Beef Rendang is a tough dish to cook and I reckon that even in Malaysia, not many people can cook it right. Tropika's Beef Rendang and Pineapple Shrimp were both good choices, especially the shrimp. I loved the pineapple cubes in the Pineapple Shrimp. All in all though, I think Tropika is an OK restaurant if you have never tried Malaysian food. However, if you are a Malaysian, especially Penangite, you will be disappointed. Tropika Restaurant 17460 E. 17th St., Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 505-9908 Continue Reading "Tropika Malaysian Restaurant, Tustin, California"