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2015: samantha eats her way through sydney, cities: sydney, cuisine: chinese, oceania: australia, photography: food
After mum and I spent a morning running errands in the city, she took me out to lunch at Chefs Gallery. We arrived at noon, which meant it was very easy to get a table, but by the time we had finished about an hour later, the place was packed, and there was even a wee line.
Mum ordered some of her favourites, including two hot soya milks with azuki beans ($3.90), warm, comforting, and just sweet enough. Mum’s usual dish is a Zha Jiang noodle: handmade noodles with minced pork sauce, cucumber, carrots sticks, and edamame ($13.90), which she easily polishes off by herself. And I could see why–the noodles were simply delicious, having been freshly handmade on the premises, and the minced pork sauce super yummy. I would’ve liked some more of the vegetable toppings, though–especially the edamame, of which there were only half a dozen.
Yummy toppings for the yummy noddles.
More of the noms!
I’ve never been good at Chinese-style cooking, and one thing I’ve never managed to handle is tofu. After craving it for a year, I was very satisfied by the chef’s own handmade egg and spinach tofu, lightly fried, topped with preserved vegetables ($15.90). The tofu was fried just so, and I gobbled up more than my fair share of it.
A tofu tower!
Apparently, dad’s favourite dish from Chefs Gallery is the shredded Peking duck with cucumber and hoisin sauce, rolled inside a fluffy Chinese roti ($16.90). We ordered it so I could have a taste, and so we could take away the rest for dad as a snack or light lunch. I found it delightful, with the filling tasting exactly like the Peking duck dishes I’ve enjoyed in my youth, only to be wrapped in a light, crispy roti.
Mmm, Peking duck!
Visited on: Wednesday, 16 September 2015. Lunch.
Spent: $27 per person.
Overall: Although the food was delicious and “accessible” in that there was an English menu, I felt it was a tad over-priced. As lunch continued, it increasingly resembled your typical noisy yumcha restaurant, and I wasn’t sure about paying the premium for such an environment. My bias is mostly from being over-exposed to very reasonably priced Chinese eateries, so I probably won’t return on my own, but if mum were to treat me again…well. ;) 7.5/10.
Chefs Gallery
Regent Place
Ground Floor, Shop 12, 501 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(Branches also in Metcentre and Macquarie)
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