Review: Shanghai Nights, Ashfield

Since before Christmas, SK had been organising for a group of us to head over to Parramatta to try the famous Temasek, but unfortunately, when I tried to make the booking the night before, we found out that it wouldn't be opening until the 14th of January! So with less than a day left to decide where we could eat, JC suggested we head out to Ashfield for Shanghai Nights, which is 'cheap and delicious' - that's reason enough to make the 45 minute drive for me!

We got there fairly early, at around 6:30pm and stood outside to wait for the rest of our group but the lady inside, who I assume was one of the owners, asked us how many people we were waiting on and kindly offered to set-up a table for us while we waited. Brownie points for that warm service and I wasn't even in the door yet!

Our ordering process was short and simple. We knew what we wanted and we wanted it fast - most of us were starving!

Deep Fried Shallot Pancake with Sesame $4.50

I'm a big fan of deep fried foods, though in the recent years, being a bit more health conscious, I've tried to reduce my intake of such delicious dishes. This night was an exception and I was definitely not missing out. I know you're all going to be bored of me saying this by the end of the post, but it wasn't oily which made me feel a bit better about giving into my fried food urges. It was made fresh and came out extremely hot (watch out!) but crispy and light - perfect little appetiser to get us started for the food battle that would later unfold on the very same tables!

Fried New Year Cake with XO Sauce $10.80

Although it wasn't quite Chinese New Year, we thought that we'd pretend that it was close enough since it was actually a New Year and a new beginning...with traditional Shanghainese Fried New Year Cake with XO Sauce. I'm a big fan of this sauce - you can really just add a touch of it to most dishes and it adds a nice bit of subtle spicy flavour to the chewy texture of the rice cake.

Pork & Vegies Wonton Soup $4.50

Truthfully, I didn't find this particularly attractive at first. I've never been a huge fan of wontons, and to be honest it doesn't get presented that nicely. But when you take your first nibble of it (yes, I have a large mouth) you can feel the soft, smooth pastry wrapped around a generous amount of pork filling - divine! Past experience with wontons is that the filling is either close to non-existant, or the pastry is to bundled up and dried out. This tasting featured neither of those so I was quite happy with it settling in my stomach for the night!

 Shanghai Shao-Mai (Sticky Rice & Pork Steamed Dumpling) $6.50

This was the first time I've seen this version of Shao-Mai let alone tasted it. I can't say it resembles your typical shao-mai from yum cha very much, but it was definitely delicious. The sticky rice was slightly moist and overall, not too oily and as with everything I tried that night, extremely filling. I did manage to fit another one down to satisfy my tastebuds though!

Pan Fried Pork Buns $8.50

This was probably the most filling out of everything we ordered that night and although I'm not particularly fond of the thickness of the bread outer layer of this dish, I have to say my food loving brain took the better of me. Taking one bite out of these little buns is like taking on the flavour army! Inside my mouth I could feel the little imaginary characters dancing on my tastebuds as it filled my mouth with the flavours of the pork. Hopefully that wasn't too graphic as to put anyone off - you'll be missing out!

Pan Fried Dumplings $8.50

Now, moving on to my favourite Pan Fried Dumplings! Since it's a dumpling, the pastry wasn't too thick and dry and being pan-fried it played well in my mouth of the crispy texture. Add a little big of vinegar to it and this made my experience here all the more worthwhile! If I'm not going back to this place for anything else, I'll be going back for this. Simple, cheap and delicious!

Sesame Fried Sticky Rice Cakes $4.50

We finished off our meal with a bit of a spontaneous guest to the table! While we were looking through the menu, our multilingual abilities as a group must have confused the waitress - we actually never ordered the Sesame Fried Sticky Rice Cakes but were curious as to what it was. I guess she just assumed we would want it? In the end, we shared it but was a bit disappointed that it wasn't that different to what we could get from yum cha - it was a big bigger and stickier inside. I think I prefer the typical yum cha styled version!

We were lucky to have gotten in early because by the time we had finished, there was a huge crowd outside. The owner of the store came over and apologised and asked politely if we could start finishing up. We were perfectly happy to do so. What I love about this place isn't just the food and how kind it was on both our tastebuds and our wallets for the night but the fact that they had the warmest customer service, especially in light of the bustle of their store. I think that there are lots of restaurants out there who could learn a thing or two from the owners of Shanghai Nights - all customers understand the fact that a restaurant is busy and would be happy to stick to time limits and seat restrictions - if you're nice and polite about it, then the night concludes happily with satisfied customers. A huge thumbs up from me for satisfying all these criteria! =) Definitely worth a repeat visit!

Shanghai Nights

275 Liverpool Rd

Ashfield NSW 2131
PH: (02) 9798 8437

Review: Rhodes Phoenix, Rhodes

Once upon a time I read a newspaper article on how much lard goes into make all the individual dishes at yum cha. Being a young woman growing up in the 21st Century, I should be madly taking mental notes in order to live up to my supposedly image-obsessed self. To that article, there is only really one thing that could describe my reaction.

"Meh."


In fact, that's my reaction to most articles about which blame obesity on possibly every other factor except the one thing that really means - self-control. That's not to say that informative articles are a waste of time altogether - in fact, I think exactly the opposite. It's always good to know what you're eating, but when it comes to controlling obesity, I really think people should stop pointing the finger at KFC and Maccas and spend more time encouraging people to manage their eating habits and doing more exercise (something which I definitely need)...

/rant

Steamed Tripe

To be honest I don't know why I went on that rant. Perhaps someone could gather up some sort of quasi-Freudian explanation for me so that life makes a little more sense. Either way, some things just don't need that, much like steamed tripe. This is my mother's favourite dish. Chewy and slightly crunchy, it is little wonder why this is considered a delicacy to most Asians.

Steamed Rice Noodles with Prawns

Steamed Rice Noodles with Prawns makes the usual appearance on our table. The noodles are slippery and soft, and the prawns inside perfectly bursty. When done right, it's just one of those few things you can't really get sick off.

Eggplant with Minced Prawns, deep fried in Tofu Skin

This was actually my favourite for the day. It is eggplant with minced prawns, wrapped in tofu skin and deep fried. It bursts with a wonderful amalgation of flavours with every bite.

Deep Fried Savory Dumplings (Crescent Dumplings)

The Deep Fried Savory Dumplings are also regulars on our table at yum cha. I find the ones at Rhodes a tad poor with the dough-to-filling ratio. The dough is also sweeter than most other yum cha's that I've been too. Nevertheless it's still delicious.

The Banquet of Yumminess

This stuff I can only call Kuih, even though that's the Malaysian name and I could be very misinformed about the minor differences between real Kuih and what is presented here. Oh well, what's in a name anyway? Despite the green in this glutinous dessert, it is not made from Pandan, but actually Green Tea. For those who have followed this blog will note my strange lack of fascination for sweets in general, but AW and my mother both loved this very much.

Rhodes Phoenix once again did not disappoint. Being so close to where I live, this place will undoubtedly be revisited many times on future Sunday mornings.

Rhodes Phoenix
Level 5, Rhodes Shopping Centre
1 Rider Boulevarde
Rhodes, NSW 2138
Tel: (02) 9739 6628

Review: Golden Century, Haymarket

It's not everyday that you get to pick up a 6kg crab.

After spending a day at the marriage registry for JX and AD, the group of us were well and truly dying for some good food. It was a small group of people - according to JX it was the perfect number to divide a King Crab with, and seeing as it was his day, we all happily obliged.

I was tempted to call this baby Clyde. Don't ask why, but it was simply the first name that came to mind. I think he was 5.6kg or something thereabouts.

In retrospect I don't think it was very wise to have subconsciously named him...

First course was a Hot and Spicy Crab Royal Soup. The first thing anyone noticed was the bright orange colouring coming from the crab royal. At first I had expected the soup to taste somewhat fishy, but luckily the soup was far from it. There were shreds of black fungus, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and shrimps floating around in the thick orange soup, with a light egg flower tossed around. Definitely a great starter to the evening.

Judging by the extended silence from everyone on the table as they drank this, it was definitely welcomed by all.

Next came the Ginger and Shallot Crab which I found to be a tad on the bland side. Adding to our misfortune, despite the size of the giant, there was very little meat (which caught JX by surprise as he assured us that it was not so on the previous occasions where he came here). Lady Luck just wasn't on our side that evening.

The salt and pepper crab was more flavoursome that evening, and the crab came out hot and crispy.

A simple sauteed spinach with garlic was ordered to appease the ladies' need for vegetables. They're a good source of iron too!

AD ordered this Taro in Coconut Milk thinking that it was something complete different. Taro was still very hard in the centre, and as such, became the only dish left over on the table in the end.

The roast duck was definitely a highlight for me on the night. Being a person who could practically demolish half a roast duck by herself, this definitely hit the spot. Skin was crispy, meat was tender and sweet - perfect with a dash of plum sauce served.

Lastly we received complimentary buttercake and fried wonton wrappers coated with icing sugar for sweets, as well as a bowl of red bean soup for all to enjoy. I absolutely loved the wonton wrappers.

So simple, and yet so perfectly light and sweet to end the beautiful evening evening.

Golden Century Seafood Restaurant
393 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9212 3901

Pork Egg Rolls in Broth

I'm going to warn you now. This is one helluva time-consuming recipe, but highly suited to being made in large amounts for dinner parties and the likes of that.

I recently visited Shanghai Nights in Ashfield and tried their egg wontons. It was scrump-diddly-umptious to say the least, and it wasn't long before I was dying to do my own little rendition of it.

Let's just cut to the chase shall we?

First you'll need to crack about a half dozen eggs.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of chicken powder. This is the only flavouring that will go into the eggs, so make sure you do it. If you're wary about using chicken powder then by all means use salt or light soy sauce, except the latter will change the colour of the wrappers from a bright yellow to a dull browny colour.

Next give the eggs a quick whisk.

Add a teaspoon of corn flour to the mix. This will stop the egg wrappers from breaking up when you're trying to fold them into shape. Whisk and make sure you break up the lumps of corn flour.

Next add a tablespoon of water. I don't know why. My instinct told me to.

In a hot pan, proceed to pour the mixture in as you would when you make pancakes. Essentially this part is just like making crepes, except the batter is much thinner and prone to breakage. In other words, be gentle when you flip!

When the wrappers are cooked, drain them well on paper towels, making sure you lay a piece of paper towel between each layer so they don't cook each other and then mold themselves into one another. I hate how eggs like to cuddle themselves.

Once you've finished the mixture, leave the wrappers aside to cool while you make the stuffing. I made about 6, only because I wanted the rolls to be quite large. Feel free to go miniature.

You'll need about 200~250 pork mince. And a food processor.

Look. If you don't have a food processor then you're just going to have to buy one. Or chop the stuff up manually, but you won't get the same elastickkkkkky texture to the stuffing - or as Asians would describe it - the Q factor.

Nah I'm just kidding. Manually chopping is fine.

You'll need about a cup of diced Green (or as the bag tells me, King) prawns. Whether it's Green or not doesn't really matter. Just don't use stuff that's too mushy.

A cup of bamboo shoots.

A cup of black fungus. (Yes I know I rehydrated about a tonne. Just fridge the leftovers)

And a small knob of ginger. It's in the picture somewhere. Add about a teaspoon of chicken powder, 3~4 tablespoons of light soy for steaming (Lee Kum Kee), or just plain light soy.

Best to add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil as well.

Put the lid onto the food processor and give it a good whizz.

Once all the components come together, crack an egg into the mixture.

Proceed to whizz it some more until the egg is combined with everything else. You might need to give it a little scrape on the side once in a while.

Once it is done, grab the cooled egg wrappers and proceed to spoon a little of the stuffing onto the centre in a log shape. Don't overfill or the wrappers will burst.
Wrap it up as you would with a spring roll, then place the roll onto a plate ready for steaming.

Rinse and repeat until all egg wrappers are used up. The remaining stuffing can be rolled into balls and steamed as meatballs or used as Wonton stuffing.

Place the plate in a steamer (or a wok with a metal stand placed in the centre like mine) and steam for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of your rolls. You'll also need to drain the liquid that gathers in the plate after steaming.

Once the rolls are done, boil about 250mL of chicken stock (Campbell's Real Stock is fine) with 4 tablespoons of oyster sauce. Stir vigorously to combine. In a separate bowl combine a cup of water with a tablespoon of corn starch and stir until corn starch is suspended in water. Pour into the chicken broth and let the mixture thicken. Stir well so no lumps form.

Garnish plate with steamed bok choy/choy sum/anything you fancy. Pour broth over everything and serve.


Pork Egg Rolls in Broth
Makes 6 Egg Rolls

Buy:
Egg wrappers

• 6 Eggs, lightly whisked
  
• 1/2 tsp Chicken Powder
• 1 tblsp Water
• 1 tsp Corn Starch
• Oil for frying

Stuffing

• 200g Pork Mince
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Bamboo Shoots
• 1 cup Black Fungus
• 1 cup Green Prawns, diced
• 1 knob of Ginger
• 3~4 tblsp Light Soy for Steaming/Plain Light Soy
• 1/2 tblsp Sesame Oil

Broth

• 250mL Chicken Stock
• 4 tblsp Oyster Sauce
• 1 cup Water
• 1 tblsp Corn Starch

Steamed Bok choy to garnish

Make:

1. Whisk eggs with chicken powder
2. Add corn starch and water and whisk until well combined
3. In a pan, slowly pour mixture to fry as you would with crepes
4. Remove from pan and drain well on paper towel. Repeat until all mixture is used up
5. Set wrappers aside and cool
6. In a food processor, add all stuffing ingredients except egg and whizz until combined.
7. Add egg and whizz until mixed thoroughly
   
8. Take one egg wrapper and place on flat surface. Spoon enough stuffing mixture onto the centre so that it creates a small log shape. Leave enough space on the edges for folding.
9. Fold in the sides of the wrappers, and place wrapped roll onto plate with the opening on the bottom.
10. Repeat until all wrappers are used up.
11. Place plate in steamer for 20 minutes and once cooked, remove plate from steamer and drain all liquid in plate. Place steamed bok choy on side of plate
    
12. In a wok or pan, cook stock with oyster sauce
13. In a separate bowl, combine water with corn starch until corn starch is evenly suspended
14. Pour corn starch mix into wok and bring to boil
15. Once the broth has thickened, pour over egg rolls and bok choy
16. Serve with rice
    

Review: Red Chilli Sichuan, Burwood

Be warned. My photos came out TERRIBLY. I shall refrain from fiddling with the camera settings next time. I promise. Please also excuse my description of the dishes. We ordered everything in Mandarin and I stupidly forgot to take note of the English translations

Last night was my dad's birthday. While his first choice was to head towards some Korean BBQ restaurant in Strathfield, if you know anything about this family, you'd realise that half the time it is my mother who calls the shots.

Nagging power wins. Lots.

Either way, my mother's tastebuds forever linger for the incredibly your-stomach-will-make-you-regret-it type of chilli flavours of Szechuan cuisine. Luckily for her, Red Chilli Sichuan decided to open store in Burwood, and for the past year or two, it's possibly the most frequently visited restaurant by this family.

Fu Qi Fei Pian - (夫妻肺片)

This was a really refreshing starter to the night. Sichuan cuisine is definitely not the place to take anyone who cannot take chilli flavours, but having said that, this dish, when compared to others, is quite tame in terms of heat. It has a well balanced flavour of vinegar, chilli, sugar, soy and garlic, and definitely what the Chinese would describe as kai wei, meaning "opens the stomach" or a good appetiser.

Suan La Liang Fen - 酸辣凉粉 - Sour and Chilli Vermicelli

I personally love this dish. The slipperness of the vermicelli and the tanginess of vinegar mixed with the aromatic spices is really a delight that lights up the tongue on a cold, wet evening.

Stewed Sliced Fish with Sichuan Chilli and Pickled Vegetables - 山椒酸菜鱼

Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to present to you a dish that you would definitely find in heaven.

Do not doubt me, but just embrace this dish should you ever find yourself in a Sichuan restaurant.

The fish meat is SOOOOOOOOO delightfully tender and full of flavour. The pickled vegetables are really a highlight as well and complements the sweetness of fish as if a match made in heaven.

Seriously, just do yourself a favour and give this dish a go.Mud Crab fried in Salted Egg Yolks - 金黄蟹

To be completely honest I was really looking forward to this dish. I love salted egg yolks and crab, except while the dish was well executed, the quality of the crab itself was a really huge let down. The meat was dry in places, and there was really little of it. Overall I probably wouldn't be ordering it from this place again.

While we did have other dishes on the table, the quality of my photos simply did not do it justice, so I've decided to leave them out for next time. We'll definitely be returning as this place really does produce consistently good food at a great price.

Just word of advice, leave the non-chilli-eaters at home with a bowl of soup or something. They'd just wilt and die in this place.

Nom it like it's hot hot hot.

Red Chilli Sichuan - Burwood
35 Burwood Road
Burwood, NSW 2134
Tel: (02) 9745 2258