Sonamuya - Eastwood

I was intrigued by this Korean restaurant in Eastwood as their banner says 'Joyful eating for Healthy Living'. They serve a bibimbap buffet and unlimited pork cutlet rice for lunch, both for $11. We had that one time - good value, good tasting food. However, for this day, we came with a few friends for dinner.

The banchan (side dishes) here were pretty deliciousness. I guess they would be making heaps of this stuff as some of these ingredients go on the bibimbap buffet spread also.

We ordered a hotpot, fried chicken, and beef ribs to share. The hotpot was a good size and filled with delicious ingredients - beef, octopus, mushies and veges. The soup was sweet ish and really tasty. Seems tasty and healthy enough :)

The marinated beef rib mini pot was absolutely deliciousness! Slightly too sweet but the beef was soooo melt-in-your-mouth. Zomg, I could eat this and nothing else. It was so good!

And just to round up the night with something slightly less healthy - korean fried chicken. Half spicy, half original. Lots of crunch. Tender, juicy chicken. Pretty awesome~

I was pretty happy with this meal. I would definitely come back for more. Be aware, however, that this restaurant is tiny... so getting a table here may be a bit hit and miss.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall - 30/40

Sonamuya
Rowe Street
Eastwood
NSW 2122

Huong Xua - Canley Heights

It's been cold. It's been windy. It's been windy. Perfect weather to curl up in bed. And perfect weather for a hot bowl of pho. As I work in Bankstown, going to Pho An (in Bankstown) on a non-work day did not seem appealing. We were also already frequent flyers at our favourite Flemington pho joint. So for something a bit different, we trekked to Viet town Canley Heights in search for a delicious bowl of noodle and we ended up at Huong Xua.

Being early, we were seated quickly and service was relatively attentive. They order on a smart phone so it initially felt like the waitress was texting her friend whilst taking my order, but all was good as my delicious looking beef ball and beef tripe pho came out promptly. The soup tasted really really clean. Delicious aromas, not too sweet, not too overpoweringly herby, and did not leave me wanting to drink endless cups of water. To me - that's a pretty perfect bowl of pho :)

People all around seemed to be ordering this chicken thing, so we didn't want to be left out. Hubby ordered their steamed salty chicken noodle soup. The plate of chicken wasn't big but it sure looked tasty. You dip the steamed chicken in a salt and kaffir lime type mixture and it makes the chicken really tasty, tender and strangely addictive. The noodles and the soup base were also pretty good.

So I guess we were both pleased with our decision to trek to Viet-town, rain and all. Can't wait to go back for another bowl of super tasty noodle soup! (oh, and btw, we ordered the small bowl. They have this crazy massive bowl and a food challenge for all those big eaters - with the prize being a photo and the joyous pride of being able to keep the bowl)

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 8.5/10
Overall - 30/40

Huong Xua 
4/219 Canley Vale Road
Canley Heights 
NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 8764 4117

Cafe Shenkin - Erskineville

It was the long weekend and my uncle was over from Hong Kong. He seems to like coffee so I had every intention of taking him and my parents to Brewtown for some delicious coffee and cronuts. The plan was thwarted as a million other people also seemed to want coffee and cronuts that same day. Plan B? Cafe Shenkin we went.

Having some larger communal tables up back, our party of 5 were seated quite promptly (I did call ahead to put my name down on their list 10 mins before we arrived). Coffee was good. Better than I expected. The milk and froth in my cappuccino melded in smoothly and creamily with my coffee.

My mum ordered their Israeli Big Breakfast, only to be shocked by why it was so big. Two pita breads, two eggs, labne, smoked salmon, avocado, tuna and a cucumber and tomato tabouleh type salad made this plate look pretty impressive.

I convinced my uncle to try their shakshuka with chorizo. He was initially confused as to how to tackle this big pan full of red soup - but one he dug in, he seemed to quite enjoy the middle eastern flavours. My only gripe with this is that it looked heaps watery. I'm pretty sure I can make less watery but just as tasty shakshukas at home!

Hubby got the Ziva - which was a olive and sesame puff pastry with hard boiled egg accompanied by a plethora of dips. The hommus was tasty and came as a generous serving. The other dips and chutneys were also really tasty - I just don't know what they're called...

I ordered a spinach and feta puff pastry with fried egg and salad. I was a little underwhelmed by my choice. There was barely any puff to my puff pasty and any spinach and feta that was promised was scarce. The egg was just that... and nothing too impressive about my salad either. Rather a 'meh' dish.

My dad went for non-middle eastern flavours. He played it safe with the 'eggs benny'. Two poached eggs on english muffins with hollandaise sauce drizzled on top. A classic that really can't go that wrong.

So all up, I think my uncle was pleased to have tried something different - something that Honky people don't have much exposure to. I felt like the coffee was good, the waiters were patient but the food was a bit hit and miss.

Ratings:
Food - 7/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40

Cafe Shenkin
53 Erskineville Road
Erskinville
NSW 2043
Tel: (02) 9550 5511