Hong Ha Hot Bread - Mascot

What's making soooooooooooooo many people line up on Saturday (and every other day of the week too)? It's bread rolls. Not just any bread rolls but Hong Ha bread rolls.

Hong Ha Hot Bread

Now, when people generally get viet rolls for lunch (or dinner or a snack), most tend to get pork rolls. I think it's because people like variety and when you get pork rolls, you tend to get three different types of pork slices - along with the creamy white pork lard stuff they put on - compared to just chicken in the chicken rolls. And they're normally right - the pork rolls tend to be super tasty.

True anywhere - but at Hong Ha - the big deal is actually the chilli chicken rolls. My partner, who works at Qantas - really close to Hong Ha, vouches for these chilli chicken rolls - talks them up, and tells me that at their work, they do chilli chicken roll runs where they order hundreds of these rolls. So logically, I just had to make my partner take me here so I can experience what it's all about.

When we got there, line was already long! And alot of people in front of us ordered the Pork roll. But when 100s and 100s of Qantas staff have nothing but the chilli chicken rolls, well, we have to look at the bigger picture and go with the bigger majority. So a chicken roll I got.

Chilli chicken roll - $4.50

I was not dissappointed. The bread roll itself was super crispy, fresh and crunchy, but soft and fluffy inside. There was a whole heap of chicken, carrots, onions, tomato, a long slice of cucumber, and ofcourse - the taste of that lard stuff and that special sauce stuff that they put on top to make it all taste tip top awesomeness. And who can ignore that chilli? (Just me I guess as I got it with no chilli... but my partner's one was HEAPED with chilliness). All this with a drink for just $5.50 (or $4.50 with no drink).

So it tasted awesome, it was quick (once you got to the counter), and it was cheap. No wonder the hundreds of Qantas staff go for chilli chicken roll runs :P

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 30/40

Hong Ha Hot Bread
1151 Botany Road
Mascot
NSW 2020
tel: (02) 9667 2069

Christopher's Cake Shop (2) - Mascot

Christopher's cake shop

We were around Mascot area on the weekend and having tasted their Baklava's not long ago, I was begging for us to swing around Christopher's for a sugar hit.

For a Saturday afternoon, there was still a decent selection of cakes left. I took my pick - the Duchess. The way the girl behind the counter described it sounded like, "chocolate with chocolate with bits of biscuits throughout then covered with chocolate". Sounded good to me! LOL

Duchess - $4.10

The cake sounded so tempting that I decided to dig into it whilst my partner was driving (hence, the photo was taken in a moving car).

The cake was deliciousness! Chocolate fudge consistency with small spongy biscuits throughout then covered with more belgium chocolate. It was sweet but not overly so (or might be okay because I'm a chocoholic). However, it was a bit dense. It tooke me two sittings to polish it off. Definately an indulgent kind of cake but probably well worth all the calories. Wedding diet? Pshhht. What wedding diet? LOL

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 30/40

Christopher's Cake Shop
1213 Botany Road
Mascot
NSW 2020
Tel: (02) 9667 0300

Christopher's Cake Shop - Mascot

Christopher's cake shop

I've always had trouble with pronouncing 'Baklava' and hence, I will typically just refer to those yummy turkish sweets made of pastry and nuts (yummiest is pistacchio or caschew I think :P) and drenched in syrup.

On one awesome occasion, my partner bought over a WHOLE TRAY of Baklava from Christopher's cake stop (medium tray - $18.50).

Baklava

Layers and layers of filo pastry, which are extremely moist and light, with lots of chopped almonds... all super soaked in syrup. Omgosh - it's sooooooo rich and really rather super sweet. Well worth the calories or whatever you're comsuming.

Christopher's also have lots of other cakes and slices and my partner swears that the Tiramisu is absolutely awesomeness! Guess I need to go there and try again one day :)

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - ?
Ambiance - ?
Value for money - 8.5/10
Overall - 17/20

Christopher's Cake Shop
1213 Botany Road
Mascot
NSW 2020
tel: (02) 9667 0300