Tim Ho Wan

So the wait is finally over and Tim Ho Wan is in Melbourne, after months of delay with their opening.  Yum Cha is a common meal in Hong Kong and to have a Michelin star one in Melbourne was really exciting. Located on Bourke St, it's a central location and easy to get to. However be prepared to wait. I went on a Friday night with O, A and D (yes I thought yum cha on a Friday night was a good way to avoid crowds... I was wrong) and after 1.5 hours of waiting we were finally seated.

It was straight into business and we got ordering. First was the chicken, sausage mushroom pot rice. It was a single serve with pieces of chicken, Chinese sausage, shiitake mushroom on soy sauce flavoured rice. It is quite heavy, so would recommend to share it as you normally do at yum cha anyway.

Second was the Pan Fried Turnip Cake. Turnip cake is one of my favourite dishes to have at yum cha, Tim Ho Wan's turnip cake was more on the soft side, not as firm as other places. Full of flavour but not enough diced Chinese sausage for my liking.

Third was Chicken Feet. This came braised in abalone sauce. You can tell it has been braised for hours, as the abalone sauce penetrates into the chicken feet. A and D both liked this dish (I'm not a fan of chicken feet myself).

Fourth was Har Gow. Balls of prawn filling in a crystal skin. Standard yum cha and they do it well here.

Fifth was Black Bean Sauce Pork Ribs. The meat was marinated and soft and the sauce not too oily. Similar to the Har Gow, it was done well but nothing too special.

Sixth was Spinach Prawn dumplings. This was my favourite out of all the dumplings; the f;avour of the spinach was delicate and balanced out the prawn well. As you can tell from the picture, it was a generous filling and full of flavour like the other dumplings.

Seventh was Century Egg Congee. I am a big congee (rice porriage) fan, so it's one of those things I just love to order at yum cha. THW's version of the yum cha classic was generous with century egg and the pork was well salted. Congee consistency was very smooth too.

Eighth was Fish Maw. This is definitely for the fish lover. I would consider it silky however my counterparts called it slimy. This dish divided the table's opinion - the conclusion being that if you like fish then you will like this dish.

Ninth was the famous Baked Pork Buns. Crispy external bun, filled with BBQ pork. I can easily eat 3 of these myself. Definitely a Michelin dish here and something you should order from THW.

Tenth was Lo Mai Gai. Steamed sticky rice with mushroom, Chinese sausage, pork, dried scrimp, salted egg wrapped in lotus leaf. I didn't mind this dish and it was quite a generous serving.

Eleventh was Beefball with Beancurd skin. Marinated beef was a big meaty bite (strong flavours) and on the heavy side.

Twelfth was Vermicelli Rolls with Sesame Sauce. This came lightly pan fried, with hoisin and sesame sauce drizzled on top. The sweet hoisin and sesame worked perfectly together.

Overall a very satisfying yum cha. Those pork buns were an absolute delight as was the vermicelli rolls. They don't have as much variety as other yum cha restaurants, but that didn't bother me too much. Service was average but I didn't really expect any different from a busy Chinese restaurant.

Peko Peko

D loves Taiwanese food and one of his favourite place to get it from is Peko Peko in South Melbourne. So on a Friday when we were just after a simple date night, we headed towards South Melbourne so D could get his fix.

To start we got some small eats. I picked the Fomosa Soup, this is one of my favorite things to order when we get Taiwanese food. Peko Peko had theirs thick with meat balls and cubes of winter melon. It wasn't too salty and the thickness was just right. There was also crispy won ton skins on top which was a nice addition.

The other small eat we got was the 5 spice tofu. This came as small cubes of tofu, deep fried with a 5 spice batter. A spicy, sweet sauce came with it. This was a refined version of the popular street version, strong garlic flavors, crispy and not too dry.

For our mains D got the Singapore Noodles. Strands of perfectly cooked noodles with carrots, chicken and lettuce. This dish had a kick, even after mixing in the lettuce, the hotness factor didn't wear down. I happily took the heat but this dish didn't quite feel Taiwanese to me.

I got the Pop Chicken, cubes of deep fried batter chicken with a dusting of salt and pepper. It was drizzled with a sweet chili mayo. I would have prefer the mayo on the side as it made the chicken on the top slightly soggy, if you didn't get to it in time. The chicken was succulent and juicy, definitely one good cube of fried chicken.

To balance things out and to feel less guilty, we got a side of Sesame Broccoli Salad. This was a simple dish of broccoli with sesame dressing and almond flakes. I loved the simplicity of it, I loved it so much I went home and made it a few times (it's now a regular in my household).

For dessert we got the Salted Caramel Yoyo pancake to share. This was a small pancake, paired with salted caramel sauce with vanilla ice cream and caramel popcorn. It was simple and not the most creative dessert out there but it did hit the spot. It was the perfect sweetness to finish the meal.

Overall 17/20 I always enjoy eating at Peko Peko, there is a great range of selection on the menu. It does a good slight modern twist to a lot of the typical foo you will find at night markets in Taiwan. Don't come here for fancy out of this world food, come here for a good feed that leaves you satisfied.

Momofuku Ma Peache & Milk Bar

So what does one do, when she is tired, hungry, and alone in New York for 2 nights? She will brave the snow and find her way to Momofuku Milk Bar but then be convinced to stay and eat at Ma Peache! So yes, that basically sums up how I ended up here alone.

I was in NY just for the weekend and dying to get my hands on the Milk Bar cookies so I hit up the Momofuku Milkbar 56th Street. When I got there I was delighted to be greeted by all these cookie choices. It's not often that I come to NY, so I decided to buy one of every cookie to try and enjoy over the next few days.

As I approach to pay, it only just hit me, behind milkbar was Ma Peache. It was 9.30pm on a Friday night and I had no booking so I didn't expect to get a seat but I thought I would try my luck. Fortunately, it worked in my favour that I open my mouth to ask because there was a seat available at the bar. I had worked on average of 12 hours plus for the whole week so I thought "what the hell, YOLO!" and that's how I ended up devouring the following.

To start, I got the chopped salad, this was a twist on the American classic with crab, smoked egg and bleu cheese. It might have been called a starter but it was massive.

Next was the cod fritters which was made using bacalao, chilli and marjoram. This was a little ball of flavour that would explode in your mouth. It was more on the salty side but the more bites you take, the more you get use to it and want more.

The waitress warned me that I didn't need anything else but I insisted on getting the lobster rice as well. This was served in a bamboo holder wrapped in a banana leaf. I was glad I didn't listen to her because this was my favourite dish of the night. I love the intense flavour in the rice. The butter and sesame throughout the rice was heaven. I was so full I couldn't finish it, but I couldn't let it go to waste. I ended up taking away what I couldn't finish and it was still delicious 4 hours later when it was cold and I was back in my hotel room.

For dessert, there was no way I could pass up an opportunity to have the cereal milk soft serve. It was a milky, creamy texture with intense flavours of cornflakes throughout the body of the soft serve and traces of grainy cereal. I loved the crunchy cereal bits on the side and the bottom of the cup. If only I lived closer to this place or they offered it in Australia. I would definitely be a loyal fan.

Overall 17/20 that lobster rice made my trip and together with that soft serve, I can fully appreciate why people rave on about Momofuku in New York. My previous trip to Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney was slightly disappointing but this meal made up for it.

Eastern Dumpling House

After I posted the New Shanghai review last time, a few of my Shanghai friends suggested a few more places to try for pan fried pork buns. One of the few suggestions were Eastern Dumpling House located in Carnegie.

As a local store on the busy Koornang road, it is easy to find and not too much of a wait.

D and I only came here to grab a quick dinner. D was in the mood for some XLB so what the hell, might as well. This came steaming hot with 8 delicate soupy dumplings. I was quite surprise, I wasn't expecting much but it was soupy and tasty for the filling. Skin wasn't too thick and just right to pick it up by the tip with chopsticks and it won't collapse. Thumbs up here.

To make my give a bit of balance we also got oyster sauce broccoli. These didn't come out oily and wet like most other dumpling places. They tasted like they were steam and the veges retained the natural sweetness.

Lastly, the pan fried pork buns. These looked like any other pan fried pork buns on the plate but when I flipped them slightly I noticed sesame on the base. The buns has soft, crisp and slightly sweet casing. The filling had just the right amount of soup and the meat stuffing was cooked perfectly. They were really delicious and weren't too heavy. The sesame on the based gave it the extra texture which I really enjoyed.

Overall 14.5/20 I found all 3 dishes to be impressive and I think they set the standard high for pan fried pork buns!

New Shanghai

If you read my blog regularly, you would remember how excited I was, when I discovered New Shanghai in Brisbane. New Shanghai is now also in Melbourne. They recently added another store to their chain, with a new store in the food court section of Emporium. I purely discovered this by serendipity as I was looking for Jimmy Grants.

D was just as excited when I told him, he use to love getting New Shanghai for lunch each time he visited me in Brisbane.

To start we got the famous pan fried pork buns. These buns have a juicy centre of pork encased with soft yet crispy base sweet casing. With a dashing of vinegar, these little bun were absolute delish! I was not disappointed and already craving to go back.

Hot and sour soup was very sour. It had a good assortment of ingredients but I felt the sour and spiciness needed a better balance and possibly could do with more stock base to balance out the sourness.

Next on the menu was salted egg fried tofu. I have never had this before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was quite different to all the other Asian tofu dishes I've eaten in the past. Small cubes of fried tofu, sprinkled with salted egg yolks was a combination I never expected to work, but it did. The saltiness from the egg yolk worked well with the bland but silky texture of the tofu. I won't eat a whole plate of this alone, but I would order it, if I was in a large group and sharing. It does make a nice twist to the usual Chinese tofu dishes such as mapo tofu, pipa tofu etc.

X.O sauce fried rice cakes was very heavy and filling. The doughiness of the ricecakes filled D and I up fast. The X.O sauce wasn't anything memorable and a tad oily but still very satisfying.

Overall 14/20 most dishes pretty good with the exception of the hot and sour soup. Their overall execution were done well. They have consistences with their Brisbane store which is good to see.


 

Din Tai Fung - Shanghai XinTianDi

I was sent to Shanghai, the land of  XLB for a week. I was expecting to find XLB everywhere and I wasn't disappointed. Ironically when I asked the locals, what they would call the best XLB in Shanghai, they named a Taiwanese chain. I have been to Din Tai Fung in a number of countries/cities and I tend to walk out quite satisfied.

When I was exploring and stumbled across it, I found myself sitting down and happily ordering in a number of minutes. The one thing that really sucks when you are travelling/eating alone, is you are limited in choices when you dine. Anyway, the inner glutton in me took over and I still ordered more than I could finish.


Green beans with mince meat. This was actually served as a cold dish, I was slightly surprised as I am use to this being a hot dish. Crispy green beans and tasty mince meat, only down side was the level of oiliness. 

With the XLB I thought I would go all out and get the crab roe with pork. This was delicate and had a lovely crab sweetness laced with the pork. The soup within the XLB was warm but not so hot that it would burn your tongue. Together with the ginger/vinegar dipping sauce, it made a very satisfying dinner.

Glutenous rice, pork shao mai was an interesting twist of the shao mai that I am familiar with. The glutenous rice made it a filling dish and pork was slightly overshadowed by the rice.

Overall 17.5/20 It was definitely a good meal and the waitress had a higher level of English and service skills than the average in Shanghai. The XLB was definitely one of the better ones that I tasted in Shanghai, however I still think the Din Tai Fung in Hong Kong still ranks at number in my eyes.

HuTong Dumpling Bar

If you live in Melbourne, enjoy eating dumplings and have not heard of HuTong then you are in for a nice treat. HuTong is considered by many as one of the best dumpling bars of Melbourne. Located on Market Lane, opposite Flower Drum, it's a small 3 story restaurant with a strong emphasis on oriental decor and a big dumpling making area at the front of the restaurant.

  I took my grandparents here on the weekend as a bit of a treat for them. To start off we got the hot and sour soup. This was quite spicy, so I would not recommend it for individuals who cannot handle their spicy dishes. It was a thick soup with lots of black fungus and mushroom bits. I would've liked another element in the soup, such as a stronger pork or duck broth base. But it's not bad, I am just being picky.

Spring onion pancake, done in the more articulate manner. Fluffy centre and generous amounts of spring onions and chives. Glad to see they don't just serve the frozen variety like a lot of other dumpling places.

Xiao Long Bao (aka XLB)  is their hero dish. They have the skin in the just right thickness, it never falls apart when you pick it up. It holds the soup beautifully and the filling is just the right level of saltiness and temperature.

Pan fried dumplings also made on premises and as the visual suggest, with care and consistency.  Crispy base but soft top. The filling again was done just right for my liking. Not too oily and not too salty and MSG-y (I know it's not a word, but you get what I mean).

Won ton with chilli oil is a more delicate parcel of pork, prawn and small amount of greens. The chilli oil is not as spicy as it looks. I love the hint of sweetness in it and the silky won ton skin.

String beans with mince pork is always a favourite of mine. The pork and lap cheong bits make it that much more interesting. The beans give that lightness to the meal to balance out all the meat and carbs. Beans weren't over cooked and retained the bite.

Dong Po pork is something my grandad use to get as a treat, when he was a child. To him this was a dish that bought back a lot of memories. He really enjoyed it, however I found too fatty and too heavy for my liking.

Shredded pork with bamboo shoots was very sweet. I would have prefer maybe a bean paste in this dish as well to balance that sweetness. It's not something I can eat a lot of, as I can see myself getting sick of it quickly.

Shanghai fried noodles is like you would expect in any other restaurant. Nothing exciting about taste in or ingredients. The noodle was cook to the right softness but in terms of taste it was your typical dark soy sauce combination. 

Seafood claypot was a nice surprise, the sauce was just right and not too thick. The scallops and fish still have their freshness and natural flavours in tact. Didn't feel like that thick heavy sauce, but more of a perfect finishing for the claypot.

Overall 16.5/20, they excel with their XLB and pan fried dumplings in my eyes. Good thing is most of their other dish were of a decent standard as well. They are well priced too. It's good for both a family dinner, date night or catch up with friends.