260. Sydney - Turkish Delights

Another thing that you can get as a souvenir from Sydney - Turkish Delights. I got a 100g at AUD2.80 just to satisfy my gluttony taste buds. It was a kind of chewy, soft and sweet jelly gummy alike but does not have any gelatin content. It had a strong floral taste - rose. Pinkish in colour and looking very appealing. Covered in icing sugar. Additional sweetness. Normally found covered in chocolates. I felt eating it as it is, was nice too. The trigger being the tangy texture. However, the level of sweetness was the reason why I stopped eating after a few. Too sweet, I thought.

It is very similar to the traditional corn starch candy that our parents would have loved to eat when they were young. This candy is still available at those traditional bakeries. Made in white and pink square cuts and covered with flour. No idea what it is called but it is not as sweet as Turkish delights. Freshly made ones can be much softer and of course, more delectable than Turkish Delights.

Available at all nuts selling outlets.

259. Sydney - Michel's Patisserie

Cappuccino @AUD4.50

Spinach Pie @AUD3.20

It may not be a bad idea to grab a snack at Michel's Patisserie when you are hungry at times which is not near lunch or dinner. I personally preferred spinach pie over those beefy, meaty pies. The buttery crust alone contained so much kilocalories, it will be better to have some greens to complement. The spinach pie was very tasty. Cheesy, chewy and crispy on the exterior. Moist greens on the interior to balance the overall taste. It was not dry. Michel's Patisserie is quite common around Sydney. I grabbed mine at the outlet at the direct factory outlet (DFO) in Sydney.

255. Sydney - Seoul-Ria

Seoul-Ria is located directly above Fujiya. Always packed at meal times. Be early or else you will have to queue. I felt it was very enjoyable to be treated to watch Korean dramas airing on their channels while having our meals.

Soju @AUD11

I'm not a fan of soju and I can't understand why Koreans like soju. It tasted like thinner. And if you realised, Koreans like to suck in air to the back of their mouths after gulping down the soju. Out of curiousity, I tried and I understood why. There will be a alcoholic after-taste akin to sniffing in thinner smell. Just like when you try red wine, you suck in air before bubbling it in your mouth. I still preferred sake over soju.

Ban-chan (side dishes). I was quite surprised that salad macaroni is also one of the ban-chan in Korean cuisine. Usually, the ban-chan are marinated food. At Seoul-Ria, mashed potato and mung bean jelly (aka in Korean - Nok Du Mook) were also served. I was excited to taste the mung bean jelly (far end of pic) as it's the first Korean restaurant that I have visited which served mung bean jelly. I had expected it to be bland but I didn't expect it to be relatively tasteless. All I could taste of was sesame oil.

The taste was pretty similar to the kueh that Hokkiens eat, called gee-ya-kueh, made of rice flour. Slightly yellowish in colour. Hokkiens eat the kueh along with sweet dark soy sauce or braised meat sauce. The difference between mook and gee-ya-kueh being in the texture. The mook is like jelly, like with gelatine added.

Kimchi Chigae

Kimchi pot stew. Bubbling hot, sour and spicy. Makes you the ardent fan of Korean cuisine. Very hook-inducing, I would say.

Jajang Myun

Portion was for 2. The plate of noodles served was the size of a large pizza. Geez. I remembered I had once bought an instant cup of jajang myun at sol mart in Singapore and the taste of the jajang sauce was weird. Very different from the Jajang myun I had in a Korean restaurant in Shanghai. And the taste of the Jajang myun I had at Seoul-Ria was another different taste. It was sweet. Though it was black, it looked very appetizing and it was. Plus, the noodles were tangy. The only flaw being there weren't any marinated radish slices to go along with.

Total bill worked out to be AUD48. I have forgotten the price of the jajang myun and kimchi chigae but both cost AUD37 after deducting the cost of soju. I felt the price of food was cheap. Food was delicious and service was good and prompt. These factors are the pull to the crowd to Seoul-Ria. Highly recommended place! One good practice was observed at Seoul-Ria. Even though the food portions were relatively big, I realised none of the diners left unfinished food. Seoul-Ria provides takeaway plastic boxes for diners who could not finish their food. Diners packed the leftover which I thought was relatively different compared to Singapore. Can you imagine packing the unfinished bibimbap?

Seoul-Ria

Level 2, 605-609 George Street

Sydney NSW 2000

254. Sydney - The Rocks Market

Introducing a good snack! At the entrance to The Rocks Market, there is a stall selling steamed corn. Well, you may have thought steamed corn isn't a big deal, you could get steamed corn everywhere. There is something different. The steamed corn was very sweet! And surprisingly, besides adding butter and salt, they added a dash of black pepper too. I was surprised and wondered if it will taste good. It was delicious! Simple food can be nice and fulfilling too. The butter which melted instantly brought out the fragrance of the corn. The black pepper created a mild tinge of spiciness and blended well with the sweetness of the corn. 1 corn cost AUD3.50. Get it with a drink for AUD5.

253. Sydney - Fabulous Fudge

(In ascending order) Bailey, Boysenberry and Kahlua

While I was planning for Sydney trip the other day before I embarked on my trip, I pondered what kind of food souvenirs can I get in Sydney. So, I did a search online for souvenirs from Sydney. Most results showed opals, a kind of stone. The most common food souvenirs that people get were nougats and macadamia nuts. But, I didn't want any of these because they were easily available in Singapore.

At the weekend shopping at The Rocks Market, I saw this - Fudge bars made in different flavours. I got 3 for AUD10. Fudge bars....of course they were sweet. In fact, some were excessively sweet. 1 fudge bar could have last a week or more if you nibble a tiny bit at a time. The ones with mint were more refreshing and less sweet due to the mint. Go for liqueur ones if you like liqueur chocolates like me. However, I felt the kahlua didn't taste nice, a tad too sweet. Boysenberry on the other hand, a kind of berry yogurt tasted less sweet.

If you missed the weekend Rocks Market, you could also get the fudge bars at Darling Harbour. The fudge bars outlet is directly opposite to [Cotton On] on level 1. If you are lucky, you will even get the chance to see the live demostration of making of the fudge bars. And pss...I did.

251. Sydney - Shanghai Tang

Pork Ribs Noodles @AUD8.80

The pork was served in fried form, like our Japanese Pork Katsu, accompanied by noodles in clear broth. So it wasn't really pork ribs, it appeared more like pork fillet to me. The fried pork was pretty oily and salty. We waited for at least 30 mins for this bowl of noodles to be served, yet the pork was not crispy at all. I supposed the temperature of the oil was not high enough, resulting the pork to be oil laden.

Braised Beef Noodles @AUD9.80

When it was first served, I thought...oh my! AUD9.80 for a handful of noodles and 2 pieces of pathetic braised beef chunks. But hey....I was mistaken. There was actually a generous serving of braised beef, most of which had submerged to the bottom of the bowl. The broth had a strong beef taste which I didn't quite like. The braised beef chunks were good. Very well-flavoured and tender. The noodles was slightly different. It was the kind of egg noodles that Koreans used for their jajang myun (Jajang noodles). The texture was tangy.

We didn't try the other food that was available because our stomachs couldn't hold any more after the noodles. Service was not prompt. We were seated directly opposite to the cashier where about 4 waitresses were at. My friend and I kept looking towards the direction of the kitchen when the pork ribs noodles was still not served after 30 minutes. The waitresses saw our reaction but none took the initiative to ask if we needed any help or helped to check our order until we asked. If you ask if I will patron it again, my answer is most probably a no. If I were to base on the noodles that I have had, the noodles was not palatable enough to make me yearn for it again.

Shanghai Tang
Shop E, Mezzannine Level
653 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000

250. Sydney - Wagamama

My SQ flight back to Singapore got delayed for 3 hours due to some operational reasons. We were given meal vouchers. It wasn't really something to be delighted about. The Sydney airport has nothing much to do or eat. If you have been there, then you will realise why Singapore Changi Airport stands out to be the World Class Airport. In order to fully utilise the meal voucher, I decided to have my meal at Wagamama. Have a proper meal and not merely snacks.

Spicy Beef Noodles @AUD19.80

Thai-style. Clear broth, big chunks of beef, lots of bean sprouts and chopped shallots. It was a big bowl of noodles. The broth was light. The beefs were presented in big chunks which I felt had spoilt the whole dish. Beef was overcooked and thus too hard to chew. It would definitely be better if they were thinly sliced.

Ginger Chicken Udon @AUD19.60

Comments reserved*

Wagamama

Sydney International Airport

249. Sydney - Emperor's Garden Restaurant

Chinatown is located right opposite Paddy's Market. Identified by the Chinese-textiled roof entrance. Emperor's Garden Restaurant is the first Chinese restaurant at the entrance. It doesn't look like it's in Sydney ya?


Egg tarts with crispy crust. They have the non-crispy crust too but I will go for the crispy ones. Asked for 2 times before I got my tarts. I thought the Cantonese makes nice egg tarts but not always so. It was just a pop-sized mediocre tasting egg tart. The custard wasn't sweet enough. Nor was the wow factor there. Crispy crust was a tad dry.

The rice rolls filled with prawns. The rolls was tangy but I felt they were made thicker than what we usually have. I didn't like thick rice rolls because the soy sauce didn't soak well into the rolls and made them taste bland.

Char siew buns, the all-time favourite at dim sum tables. We can find 2 types of char siew buns on the market if you have noticed. I meant the way of the buns were kneaded. What we see in the pic here was like a flower face bun, with holes to see through the innards. The other type being the conservative type, all wrapped up and you see nothing but a red dot to signify its identity. I personally preferred the former. The skin for flower face type was more fluffy but if the bun maker isn't skilled enough, you find yourself having the bun's skin stuck to your teeth. The one I had at Emperor's Garden was pretty good. The skin was fluffy and it didn't stick to my teeth. Char siew filling wasn't too dense or overly sweet.

Siew mai. The texture would have been better if it was made smaller, smoother if some prawn paste was added.

Prawn dumplings (In Cantonese, har gou). Very fulfilling innards. Prawns whole and some pork and celery were added. Prawns were tangy. It tasted better than our mini har gou.

You can see the dim sum wasn't really exquisitely made like we had at Royal China, Wah Lok and etc. The dim sum were maybe placed slightly higher than those Hong Kong Cha Can Ting. Only 2-3 trolleys were on the move. Not many choices of dim sum to choose from. Though food was decent, taste was mediocre, the price was rather steep. Bill worked out to be approximately >AUD30+. It was a treat from a friend so not so exactly clear of the total amount. A few steps away, there is East Ocean restaurant.

Emperor's Garden Restaurant

96-100 Hay St

Haymarket

Sydney NSW 2000

248. Sydney - Zozo Korean Experience

Walk along Liverpool and George street and you will be surprised to encounter at least 6 koreans out to 10 pedestrains. In fact, I was shocked by the number of foreigners, especially koreans, in Sydney. It seemed like it's a transit city, just like people do transits in airports. When I asked for directions, many times, they were also tourists like me. Geez~

It was through a friend's recommendation who is currently studying in Sydney that I should give Zozo a try. It was pretty easy to locate because it was just under the monorail station at World Square Tower.

Ban-chan (In korean - side dishes). Miserable, I thought. The portions were miserably little. For koreans, will that small chunk of kimchi suffice?

Seafood Tofu Hotpot @AUD35

The hotpot consisted of octopus, prawns, clams and lots of tofu and sprouts. I personally have no special liking towards seafood but I liked tofu and zuccini. It was a big pot. But having skipped lunch and it was already dinner time, this pot was finished by 2 iron ladies. Given the chilling weather, the warm and spicy hotpot warmed our stomach.

Taste was mediocre, like soups that Koreans or even us could have cooked at home. It wasn't too spicy nor sourish. The seafood ingredients used could have been fresher. If I'm not wrong, the seafood they have used weren't those freshly bought from the markets, instead, they were frozen ones. I wouldn't say Zozo is a very authentic Korean restaurant, it was more of a place where people who wants Korean cuisine would gather. It was cheap for that pot which could have fed more than 2.

Zozo Korean Experience

Shop 10, 26 World Square Tower

Liverpool Street

Sydney NSW 2000

246. Sydney - Fujiya Japanese Restaurant

When the sun goes down, this place will be filled with people. The number of diners eating happily away at Fujiya intrigued the pedestrains looking up from the ground. It was a brightly lit place. The long benches in the middle of the restaurant made the place looked like a school canteen. Seats separated by the wooden walls by the glass walls gave diners privacy.

California rolls

It wasn't nicely rolled. The avocado and roe looked all mashed together, creating a gross sight.

Spinach salad

Miso and sesame paste was mixed to the boiled spinach. Taste was quite bland. The paste wasn't really mixed well as clots were still visibly seen from pic.

The Japanese waitress kindly suggest to cook the sukiyaki for me. I asked for a shot of her whilst cooking and she agreed. Look, how happily she was smiling! Arigato goizaimasu~

Beef slices for the sukiyaki. Wasn't really those top grade beef but at least the marbling looks pretty well distributed.
Jajang...the sukiyaki's ready! I would say it wasn't exceptionally tasty. Instead, I find it was a tad too sweet. But, it went well with rice. I vividly remembered the price of the sukiyaki cost around AUD33+. The amount of ingredients in the sukiyaki wasn't a lot but suffice for 2.

Overall bill worked out to be AUD51, which I felt was rather cheap as compared to Singapore. Taste of food was just mediocre. I supposed the pricing was the main attraction factor for the diners.

Fujiya Japanese Restaurant

Level 1 605-609 George Street

Sydney NSW 2000

245. Sydney - Baker's Oven Cafe

* Pictures adapted from other source

If you are going to The Rocks Market, you will pass by Baker's Oven Cafe. In fact, I was attracted by the pastries they had displayed at the window. Very Aussie style.

Lamington @AUD3.50

When I looked through the travel guide books, it was mentioned that one should taste lamington while in Australia. So when I entered Baker's Oven Cafe, I saw the lamington and I bought one. I have no idea what a lamington is. From the books, I had thought it was like those soft fluffy snacks, akin to marshmallows.

No, it wasn't. Lamington is actually a sponge cake. Coated with chocolate and coconut shreds on the exterior. The sponge cake was exceptionally light, soft and fluffy. Bakeries in the supermarkets have lamingtons too but they don't look as appetizing as those sold freshly baked in bakeries. However, the price came a tad higher for the better quality. In fact, I realised the price can differ quite a bit. Or maybe those sold at Baker's Oven Cafe were slightly higher priced. I saw the al fresco bakery at the paragon-alike shopping centre at Bondi Junction selling lamingtons at AUD2.80.

Baker's Oven Cafe
121 George St

The Rocks 2000 NSW

244. Sydney - Peter's Fish Market

Peter's Fish Market is one of the seafood outlet at the Sydney Fish Market. It even had a sashimi bar where customers can just ask them to slice the salmon or tuna slab, all ready for eating with the wasabi and soy sauce. I was pretty surprised that they had actually sold cooked prawns. I wondered how hygienic they were, considering that the cooked prawns were placed on ice like the other seafood were placed. Food poisoning on the prowl, you know?

Feast on the seafood when you get to Sydney's Fish Market! It's cheap! Look at the array of seafood laid before your eyes and you would not want to leave without tasting them.

Rock Oysters @AUD7 for half dozen

Not to be missed. I would say they ain't the largest. They were the medium sized oysters. Larger ones were sold at roughly AUD15+ for a dozen. Fresh and juicy! Oyster lovers are going to love this place.

Grilled lobster and chips @AUD18.50

Great deal. It came with a can of soft drink, price inclusive. Nice crunchy leafy salad with a tinge of lemon in the salad dressing, very appetizing. The chips, or fries as we commonly known as, were fat and crispy. Very sinful. The grilled lobster smelled nice. The meat was firm. However, I felt the tenderness and sweetness was lost in the process of the grilling. Overgrilled.

Unagi @AUD9.95 per pax

Oh lord! We would not have got a whole piece of unagi for just AUD9.95 in Singapore. It was cheap! The only flaw being it was slightly chilled. I drooled at the thought of having a bowl of piping hot short grain rice to go along with the unagi. They sell uni at the store too!

Seasoned seaweed @AUD3

They have all that makes a simple Japanese bento except for the rice.

Salmon @AUD10.30

Salmon sliced on the spot. Got them to cut a slab, weighing roughly 250g. It would not have cost just a mere $10 in Singapore for this amount. Didn't like tuna so tuna was out of the picture. The salmon was sweet and juicy. The meat was tender. The salmon simply melted in the mouth. It was the best that I have ever tasted. Fish hauled up and sliced into sashimi. What a luxury! No doubt for the long queues on weekends.

Peter's Seafood

Sydney Fish Market