Prince Restaurant - Parramatta

Spur of the moment Yum Cha in Parramatta - we chose Prince Restaurant on Church St.


When we got there, we were promptly escorted to our table. And that's probably where the decent service ended LOL. Our first encounter with bad service occurred with us getting tea. They completely neglected to ask us if we wanted, and what type of tea we wanted. When we desperately looked around for a waiter (and was duely ignored), we finally got a non-waiter to pass the message (of what tea we wanted) onto a waiter. She umm... took ages. So long in fact, that we managed to get another waiter to get us the tea. And yes... eventually, we ended up getting two (of the same teas).

Food-wise was a bit better. There was the short spare ribs in plum sauce. This is my partner's favourite dish. And admittedly, it really wasn't bad. The meat was tender and the taste, not overpowering.

pork ribs in plum sauce

We also ordered chicken feet in black bean sauce. These were like any other - not bad.

Chicken feet in black bean sauce

Then my favourite - Siu Mai (prawn and pork dumplings). These were slightly disappointing. They weren't as good as siu mai's from other yum cha places. They also had a slight wierd taste to it that I couldn't quite put my finger on...

Siu Mai

The beef tripe, on the other hand, was very very much yummy. Very oily though. But taste before health ... right? (ish?)

Beef Tripe

Now here's a new invention. It's like a combination seafood steam dumpling. There were baby clams/pippies and other wierd tiny seafoody marinara mix encased in an oversteamed, super-thick, somewhat gooey white outer layered skin topped with umm... caviar type substance that didn't really taste like anything. I was not a fan of this wierd tasting and wierd looking thing...

Seafood dumpling

We also had a lou mai gai (lotus leaf rice). Inside the lotus leaf is a glutinous rice ball with egg yolk, dried scallop, mushroom, chicken, shrimp and chinese sausage. This appeared very much quite fresh and my partner loved every bit of it.

Lotus leaf rice

And lastly, we ordered egg tarts fresh from the oven. Because they were freshly taken out of the oven, these are probably one of the best egg tarts we have ever eaten. Everything about this egg tart just seemed right. The flaky puff pastry, the crumbly type (my partner's fav) was suprisingly light, crispy and fresh. The middle eggy bit was also nice and hot. Because eating this was such an enjoyable experience, my partner decided to order three more plates (takeawayed... and no, we didn't eat them LOL).

Egg tarts

So... the egg tarts (takeaway) were delivered by a nice friendly kitchen hand "ah sum", after which, we were again met with bad service. We wanted the bill. AND we had asked for it... AND waited for it... for like half an hour... They had started to corden off bits of the room with room separater thingis and we were basically claustrophobicised into a tiny cordened-off bit of the restaurant. The waiters also saw us in the room and rudely asked us if we'd gotton the bill yet... Then we waited some more. When the lady FINALLY came with our bill we placed money on their plate and expected her to take the money away, only to be met by her somewhat rude comment that we ought to take it to the counter ourselves... er... ok?

Anyway... crap service aside, the food was pretty good. The price was also very much quite good. For so many dishes (including 3 takeaways), the final bill was $50.30. Not bad at all.

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 28/40

Prince Restaurant
100 Church street,
Parramatta
NSW 2150
Tel: (02) 9891 5888

Queen Cake Bakery - Carlingford

When does food get too cute to eat?

It just should not be done. Cute food needs to be preserved, not gobbled :P

At Carlingford Village, we found super cute buns at this Queen Cake Bakery store.

Queen Cake Bakery

There were mini crabs and piggies and turtles. The crab wasn't as cute so we only bought the Piggy and the Turtle. The piggy was a spam and cheese bun. The turtle had chocolate filling.

Lil miss Piggy

Lil tiny turtle

Ngawwww.... look at the cute adorable turtle? How can any one even contemplate eating these?
I couldn't (stares iffily at my partner ... grrrr).

Well, to check out the bun quality at this backery, I bought a normal looking sausage bun. And the verdict?

Errr... let's just stick with how cute the bun was :)

Queen Cake Bakery
372 Pennant Hills Road,
Carlingford,
NSW 2118
Tel: (02) 298726088

Gallery Tea Lounge ('Sugar Hit') - Sydney

I love sugar hits! It's one of the best things about Good Food Month.

It's when many restaurants and hotels around Sydney offer yummy dessert plates and wine for $20 from 9-11pm every night.

Our first Sugar Hit pick landed us at Gallery Tea Lounge (Sheraton on the Park). Having booked, we were escorted by the friendly waitress to a comfy corner with a chillaxy lounge and large comfy arm-chairs. What's offered here for dessert is a warm chocolate pudding sprinkled with golden almond splinter, accompanied by honeycomb ice cream and a drop of chantilly cream. The dessert wine was Brown Brothers orange flora muscat.

Brown Brothers Dessert Wine

Warm Chocolate Pudding with Honeycomb Icecream

The soft-centered warm chocolate pudding was deliciousness! I would have preferred it to be a little tiny bit less sweet, and a little tiny bit more soft centered - as I found that I ran out of the gooey chocolate stuff and found the last bits of choc-spongy-cakey stuff a little bit dry. However, the honey-comb icecream, which was more on the icey side compared to being creamy (which is just the way I like it), was not overly sweet and complemented the chocolate pudding wonderfully. Very much yum. I wish I got more of this icecream!!! :)

If you were hoping that the dessert wine would dampen the sweetness of the chocolate pudding, even just a tiny bit... you'd be wrong! The dessert wine was super super super sweet as well. Hence, water for the table was on the order :P

In all, we had a great night here! The dessert was yummy and the service and ambiance was brilliant. Though our company of friends were late, and we stayed and chatted long after we gobbled up our dessert, the waitress did not hassle us to leave - not even once!

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 9/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 32.5/40

The Gallery Tea Lounge (Sheraton on the Park)
161 Elizabeth Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9286 6650

Hog's Breath Cafe (2) - Blacktown

Hog's Breath Blacktown

One of my friends was nice enough to read over my thesis draft (yes it is thesis month >.<). We met up for lunch so that I could get my draft back. We met in Blacktown Westpoint and he took us up to "on four" for Hogs Breath. Interestingly, a comment my friend made was that this place scored a dismal 4.1 on Eatability to which my partner and I instinctively said "err...soo... why are we here?!?!?!?". His reaction was that he absolutely loved this place and comes here again and again and again with his lovely partner. What he left out initially was that he and his partner also orders the same thing again and again and again...

So, first impressions are important. The ambiance is cool - like any other hogs breath - and filled with awesome posters and wierd and wacky hogs breathy stuff. The waiters and waitresses on the other hand.... errm.... we were first served by "Ketchup", then served by "Spunk". Umm... cool? ish? unsure.

I ordered a crispy chicken burger ($12.75). I don't eat beetroot. So I asked "Spunk" if I could substitute beetroot for something else. The answer was a dissappointing NO. I could, if I choose, just eliminate it. And that was exactly what I did.

The bun was... erm... atleast a few days old (very bordering on the stale side)? The chicken coated in seasoned crumbs was not bad. Lettuce, tomato and onions also featured in this burger. The cheese was dissappointingly un-melted... >.<

crispy chicken burger - $12.75

My partner ordered a new york grill ($26.95) and asked for it "medium rare". This came out medium-well on most bits, and well done on the outskirts. soo.... ummm.... yeah.

new york grill - $26.95

Now onto what my friends order time and time again. There was the chicken caesar wrap ($12.95) which was "char-grilled" chicken breast with chopped up cos lettuce, bacon, and croutons wrapped in a "grilled" tortilla (which is WAAAY too pale to even be considered "grilled) and seasoned with parmesan cheese and caesar dressing. Nonetheless, my happy friend chomped this down very happily. No complaints whatsoever.

chicken caesar wrap - $12.95

The other usual was the chicken dijonnaise ($22.95). This was meant to be "marinated" (yet again, very very pale and non-marinated looking) chicken breast char-grilled to "perfection" (only if you like your chicken dry or very dry). I asked my friend how his meal was. He LOVED it. But... he did concede that the chicken would be quite dry if the sauce was not present. I definately have my doubts about the chicken - but he comes to this hogs breath very often and orders this dish very often.

Chicken Dijonnaise - $22.95

So, by and large, my two friends were quite pleased with their meals and enjoyed it thoroughly. My partner and I had our reservations about it. I would have given a bit more than the eatability 4.1... maybe about a 5? But then that score does not explain why keeps my friends coming back time and time again *confuzzled*... The service was pretty good. The "Spunk" was quite friendly and attentive throughout our meal. Don't really know where "Ketchup" went - but I think I prefer "BBQ sauce" more anyway :)

Ratings:
Food - 5.5/10 (factoring my friend's liking for this place)
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 26.5/40

Hog's Breath
Shop 4005, Level 4
Westpoint Shopping Centre
17 Patrick St
Blacktown
NSW 2148
tel: (02) 9621 1900

L'etoile ('Let's do Lunch!') - Paddington

It's Good food month!!! *jumps for joy*
In my mind, this is a month filled with eating lotza lotza good good yummy food.
In my wallets mind, this is the month where it starves.

Well, my first pick of the month was a 'Let's do lunch'. Our options was limited by the fact that we were only available on Saturdays (which takes out a HUGE bunch of restaurants >.<) and that I didn't think my friends from the south would be willing to drive north north north (eg. to Pilu).

L'etoile

And so, we settled for L'etoile, a one-hat restaurant situated in Paddington.
Booking this place immediately revealed the French authenticity of this place, the waiter carried a very heavily accent and I had to repeat several times when I wanted the booking and for how many people LOL

Anyway, as expected, it was a raining, dreary day and so, the nice cozy atmosphere of this restaurant was a warm welcome.

Though there appeared to be a limited menu, with no more than three choices for each section of entree, main, dessert or side dishes, we still found ourselves being extremely indecisive. My choice, for once, was easy - the 'Let's do Lunch' with chef Manu ($35). This included a Papillotte of John Dory and Foie Gras on a Bed of Tarragon-scented Spring Vegetables as the main, a brown brothers chardonnay, and a coffee at the end.

I unwrapped my john dory with much much excitement as it smelled sooo super super good. The taste, however, was quite interesting. Despite much aroma, the foie gras bought along with it just a subtle taste. The veges were soaked in a tarragon butter oil mixture. Despite the yellow buttery goodness that the fish was swimming in, the dish did not strike me as a heavy... the taste was actually quite light.

brown brothers

John Dory and foie gras

awesome lemon

My company each ordered a two-course meal ($45). A basket of bread ($4) was also wanted by my partner. The bread was warm and awesomely fluffy on the inside and crunch on the outside... and my partner made a HUGE mess (and even dumped some crumbs on my side of the table! grrrr >.<).

bread - $4

The entree that my friend opted for was the Terrine de lapin et foie gras, confiture de pruneau. What that means in english is simply a terrine of rabbit and foie gras, with prune and armagnac jam on the side (and some nice looking greens in the middle). According to my friend, the foie gras (the pale orangey yellowy patch in the terrine) in this was awesomely heavenly.

terrine of rabbit and foie gras

My partner's entree was a salad of watercress and smoked rainbow trout on a bed of kipfler potatoes. To increase the refreshingness of this salad, the chefs added bits of crunch juicy apples. The smoked trout in this dish was very tasty and smoked-like and complemented the blandness of the watercress very very well. The bed of potatoes were mixed in a kind of seeded mustard? type thing. The taste was very subtle and again, the dish was nice and light.

smoked rainbow trout salad

Now onto the mains. The three of my company each ordered one of the three choices of mains. There was the spelt risotto with wild mushrooms. This was ... umm... interesting? Not being a risotto fan to begin with, the taste of spelt (a hardy wheat grown mainly in Europe) in my mouth reminded me of very very wholegrain wholemeal cereal... only warm. It had a very rough type of texture - not smooth and creamy at all. The wild fungi were good. But I think overall, this taste did not sit well with my tastebuds.

spelt risotto

The steak with paris butter was prepared "medium". However, it was more medium-rare-like in the middle, and well done for the two edge pieces. Maybe that's how the French people do it? Overall, the steak didn't look too bad. Still juicy and pink :)

steak with paris butter

My partner's kingfish was a bit of a dissappointment. I guess it's really really hard to cook a multi-thickness fillet of fish. To start off with, the fish did not have much taste. It was sitting ontop of a whitebean salad and truffle vinaigrette - which my partner (who normally likes beans) didn't appreciate too much). The fish, on the whole, might have been a touch overcooked (which is super not good for a one-hat restaurant) and I reckon that the skin was a bit on the soggy side. Hmmm....

Pan-roasted kingfish

After the mains were done, my mocha and my friend's cheese plate came out. With a variety of cheeses (and yet another basket of bread), this ensured that we were all very thoroughly full.

mocha

cheese plate

Overall, the food wasn't as awesome as I had expected. The 'let's do lunch' offer was good... but I guess still not the best fish I've had. However, the waiters were super friendly and nice. They let us chat and chat and chat and chat... The French sure do have courtesy. Even after they had cleared our plates for ages, they never once hassled us for the bill. They let us take our own good time, and it wasn't until three hours later (and the once busy restaurant became empty) that we figured that it was time to go :)

Ratings:
Food - 6.5/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 6.5/10
Overall - 30/40

L'Etoile
211 Glenmore Road
Paddington
NSW 2021
tel: (02) 9332 1577

QQ Pot - Carlingford

A bunch of 20 or so of us were looking for a lunch spot after church. We did settle for Carlingford Village Food Court and were all lining up for the food court chinese takeaway until one of us suggested going to a newly opened "viet" place (and what looked like a super popular takeaway disappeared in a flash!). I think the place is called "QQ Pot"... but... umm...

So what's enticing about this "Viet" (but not actually viet) restaurant? Not really too much. The decor was kind of interesting, with newspaper stuck on as wall paper. The place looked kind of like a cafeteria... However, the waiters (who spoke wierdly accented canto) were friendly and I loved how you get to just tick the meal you wanted (kinda like how you would order dim sims at yum cha in HK).

ticking menu

We ordered thai fish cakes ($8.80) and viet spring rolls ($6.80) for starters. The fish cakes were of the frozen packet variety. Mmm.. very average. The spring rolls were miniature and quite peppery. However, not too appetising... even though I was STARVING (and that's saying something...)

thai fish cakes - $8.80

spring rolls - $6.80

Some of my friends ordered sizzling clay pot rices (all $10-12). There were chicken and chinese sausage clay pots, chicken and chestnut clay pots, pork ' n vege pot... etc etc. The clay pots came out before any of the other dishes... which is kinda wierd (as it normally takes around 20 mins for one of these to be done)... and kind of gives you an indication of how slow it took the food to come out. However, my friends seemed to much appreciate these clay pot rices :)

clay pot rice varieties

Another friend ordered pork chop with fried egg rice. Mmm... I don't really know what to make of this dish. I ordered a malaysian noodle in casserole ($9.80). The picture on the menu looked much better than it actually was. What it essentially was is a small bunch of tiny frozen marinara mix, shrivelled pork pieces, bits and pieces of veges and a fried egg on top. This was... ermm.... essentially tasteless. LOL

pork chop rice

Malay noodle hot pot - $9.80

This was the last dish to come out on our table (some many many many minutes later). It was crispy chicken with tomato rice. According to my friend, the rice was extremely extremely soggy. The chicken seemed alright though.

crispy chicken tomato rice

Overall, the food here was very non-consistent. Other than the clay pot rices, the other dishes were quite plain and ordinary-ness. I think most of us would have preferred to eat outside in the food court. However, the service was quite good. They didn't kick us out even though we were making a huge ruckus :P

Ratings:
Food - 6/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 6/10
Overall - 26.5/40

I.T (??? ... I don't actually remember what this place is called)
Carlingford Village Shopping Center
372 Pennant Hills Rd,
Carlingford
NSW 2118‎