Satisfying my chicken rice craving at PappaRich

22 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Samantha Lin in Gastronomical Delights

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2015: samantha eats her way through sydney, cities: sydney, cuisine: malaysian, oceania: australia, photography: food

Last Thursday was supposed to be my “day off” eating…and then my family decided to go to PappaRich, a Malaysian chain that’s opened a branch in the Macquarie Centre since I was last in Sydney. My craving for Malaysian food–more specifically, for Hainanese chicken rice that’s quite popular in South East Asia–is indeed an occupational hazard: one of the Shakespearean films about which I wrote for my recent chapter on “Asian” adaptations is entitled Chicken Rice War, a comic, post-modern take on Romeo and Juliet, wherein the two families run competing chicken rice diners. So yeah, I’ve been craving chicken rice since June, and there’s none to be found in Belfast. Occupational hazard, indeed!

Wendy and I both have too-sweet-teeth (which will eventually render us toothless), so we had to have a Matcha Rocks and Open Sesame to drink ($7.50 each). It came with ice-cream and a spoon–what more needs to be said? :D

Matcha (green tea) on the left for Wendy, and black sesame on the right for meeeeeee.

As customary of our family outings, we each pick something from the menu. Mum is quite a noodly person (perhaps evidenced by our trip to Chefs Gallery the previous day), so she went for a bowl of that. (Embarrassingly, I don’t recall which–but it wasn’t that good, so isn’t really noteworthy.)

Oodles more noodles for mummy.

Chefs Gallery at Town Hall

20 Sunday Sep 2015

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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!

Cocktails and desserts at Cafe Sydney

17 Thursday Sep 2015

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2015: samantha eats her way through sydney, cities: sydney, cuisine: fusion, cuisine: modern, drinks: cocktails, food: desserts, oceania: australia, photography: food

Whenever my sister Wendy considers a restaurant, she decides according to what’s available for dessert. And when she saw the words “dessert platter” on Cafe Sydney‘s online menu, we were both sold.

Located on top of the Customs House building right across Circular Quay station, Cafe Sydney has a decent view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a once-familiar sight that now fills me with the touristy urge to retrieve my camera.

The view at twilight.

Despite a slight hiccup with the reservation (they’d put us in the system for next Tuesday), we were seated reasonably quickly, and had a drink to start. I went for the cocktail of the month, entitled “Deep Desire” (embarrassingly, I’ve forgotten what’s in it), while Wendy had a homemade ginger beer that was super gingery and delicious.

Yay drinks!

ONE tea lounge & grill: game, set, matcha!

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

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2015: samantha eats her way through sydney, cities: sydney, cuisine: fusion, cuisine: japanese, oceania: australia, photography: food

I can’t remember precisely when I first had Japanese green tea (also known as matcha), but I’ve always enjoyed the rich, slightly bitter flavour of the beverage. Better yet, I love green tea-flavoured sweets, desserts, and ice-creams, where the matcha often balances nicely with sugary noms. So when my friend and fellow foodie Ruby told me about ONE tea lounge & grill, a recent Japanese fusion addition to Sydney’s restaurant scene wherein most dishes contain an element of green tea, we both decided to check it out.

The restaurant’s interior is a little too “modern” for my tastes, with the music blasting away a little too loudly, but I’m weird and old-fashioned in that way. After Ruby and I got chatting about noms (and she showed me how to use my camera!), the music and ambience just melded into the background.

Yes, I know, this is what modern establishments are like.

Om nom nom!

Yong Feng Restaurant and its generous servings

15 Tuesday Sep 2015

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2015: samantha eats her way through sydney, cities: sydney, cuisine: chinese, oceania: australia, photography: food

On Saturday (aka Day 2 of Samantha in Sydney 2015), my parents (with whom I’m staying) decided to make a trip to Sydney’s southern suburbs and pick up a few things from a family friend. While we were there, they took me out to lunch at Yong Feng Restaurant, a local Chinese eatery–and, unlike Bang, its market was most decidedly the local Chinese population. In the vein of Chinese dining, mum and dad ordered several dishes to share, while my sister and I sat back and chatted away.

The servings at Yong Feng were very generous, and at a ridiculously low price that even my yet-to-be-recalibrated-Sydney-monetary-radar could recognise. Make no mistake: this isn’t where you’d go for an up-market gastronomical experience, complete with pressed linen and three sommeliers, but if you want to be seated while stuffing yourself with some cheap and satisfying grub, then Yong Feng is definitely worth a visit.

Halfway through our meal, when all the dishes had arrived.

Halfway through our meal, when all the dishes were happily gathered together.

Bang Street Food (but in a restaurant)

14 Monday Sep 2015

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2015: samantha eats her way through sydney, cities: sydney, cuisine: bangladeshi, oceania: australia, photography: food

Shortly after wrapping up the 30+ hours of my latest Belfast-Sydney journey, I hopped on a train into the city centre, eager to inaugurate my month-long food adventures. Since I’ll be eating my way through Sydney, with nomtastic plans practically everyday, I’ve decided to share my thoughts and photos from these various dining experiences–and they’ll be various indeed, in this spectacularly sunny city with its blooming and booming multicultural (and intercultural) cuisines.

A recent addition is Sydney’s first up-market and “accessible” Bangladeshi restaurant, wittily called Bang Street Food and bearing a set menu entitled “Bang for your buck”. I went with my friend Anika, who was born in Bangladesh, occasionally visits, and knows her stuff about food. When I arrived at the decidedly modern restaurant, spaced out and disoriented about the day/time/season/meal, Anika was calmly sipping a mango lassi ($8), which then prompted me to order a coconut one ($8)–delicious, summery, and much needed.

Mango for Anika, and coconut for me!

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

09 Wednesday Sep 2015

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cities: london, europe: england, michelin: three stars, photography: food

I went to Restaurant Gordon Ramsay a few months back because my parents were on this side of the world, and because yayayayay getting older if it means cake!

My Aunt Jane’s Tearoom (Newry)

27 Thursday Aug 2015

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cities: newry, europe: northern ireland, food: baked goods, photography: food

A few months back (it’s embarrassing to think of exactly how many—oh dear, I’m quite behind here, aren’t I?), I went to Newry with a friend and her little boy. After a stroll in the streets and an unsuccessful search for a toy shop, we sat down for a cup of tea at My Aunt Jane’s Tearoom, a lovely and quaint vintage tearoom and gift shop we just happened to pass by. I had an earl grey and a chocolate brownie loaded with nuts and awesomeness, while my (coeliac) friend had a gluten-free brownie with her tea, and her wee one had a juice drink thingy.

Mmm, tea and traybakes…!

This is basically perfection.

2015 Authors A to Z Reading Challenge – July Check-in

11 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by Samantha Lin in 2015 Authors A to Z Reading Challenge

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Apologies for the slightly late post, but it’s July, which means it’s time for our second quarterly check-in! After receiving quite a few comments and suggestions about what to do with the “X” author name, I’ve decided to allow the letter “X” in any part of a writer’s surname. If you’d still like to pick someone whose surname begins with “X”, then please go ahead–but if you’re struggling to find something you’d like to read for “X”, then hopefully this will makes things a little easier!

Anyway, how has everyone been doing so far? Has the challenge helped you discover any new writers? Have you come across any particularly awesome or awful books/writers? Are you taking it slowly with the challenge, or are you almost finished? I’d love to know about your progress!

So far, I’ve finished exactly half of the challenge, at 13 different writers, and I gotta say I’m very glad to have come across some of them (such as Daphne du Maurier and Ruth Ozeki)!

April to July(-ish): 8 funfunfun books

07 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by Samantha Lin in Booktastic

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era: 20th century, era: ancient rome, era: contemporary, reading: challenges (2015), reading: far and wide, reading: fun book reviews, reading: stunning, text type: novel, text type: philosophy, writer: cicero, writer: contemporary, writer: young adult authors

It seems real life has gotten in the way of reading and “reviewing” again… And so, here’s what I’ve read since March (I know, I know–but better late than never!):

10. Marian Keyes – Watermelon (25 April)
11. Roberto Bolaño – Antwerp (25 April)
12. Cicero – On the Good Life (trans. Michael Grant; Penguin) (3 June)
13. Lois Lowry – Messenger (5 June)
14. Ruth Ozeki – A Tale For the Time Being (12 June)
15. Sarah Quigley – The Conductor (27 June)
16. Anne Bishop – Murder of Crows (28 June)
17. Evelyn Waugh – A Handful of Dust (3 July)