Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Review | Wonderbao

Ever since hearing about Wonderbao, I had been squirming in my seat, waiting and waiting for the day that I could finally visit and try the goodness that is steamed baos. Not working in the CBD has many advantages for me, but I suddenly realised one massive disadvantage - not being walking distance to these little buns. In the mean time, I got by, with a daily intake of Wonderbao, visually. Facebook, urbanspoon, instagram. I was stalking these baos!

So, you can imagine my excitement when I finally ventured into the boundaries of the city, with my heart set on some steamed baos for lunch. I won't lie, it took us about five minutes to figure out exactly where Wonderbao was, but we made it in the end!

Now steaming!

Wonderbao itself is in a little shop, with the majority of the space taken up by the kitchen. There is limited seating, but since the customers are mainly for takeaway, it's not much of a problem at all. We quickly jumped in the queue and read through the little menu while we were waiting. We decided on a Cheung chay bao, a Char siu bao, a Braised pork belly gua bao and a Roast pork belly gua bao. Since the gua bao's are made fresh to order, we were notified that there would be a 5 minute wait on our order, which was fine! We scored two seats at the bench, and happily observed the busy little joint. To my surprise, our order was brought out to us not much longer. I almost didn't get photos because E and I were so keen to start eating, luckily he has good discipline!!

The Cheung chay bao (Chinese sausage bao) was different to what I was expecting. It was basically like an asian version of Pigs in a Blanket - where the sausage is wrapped up in the soft dough. Even though I am crazy for Chinese sausage, this didn't wow me. I cannot fault this bao, I think it is everything that it sets out to be. I imagined it to be chopped up pieces of Chinese sausage with some yummy herbs and spices all inside the soft bao dough, and I think my own imagination cause me to be let down by this one. 

Char siu bao (front) and Cheung chay bao (back) - $2 each

Next up was the Char siu bao (BBQ pork). This one was delicious! It was even better with some Sriracha chilli sauce drizzled over the top. The filling seemed really fresh and flavoursome, and something was just that little bit nicer than the usual mass produced yum cha style BBQ pork bun.

Inside the Char siu bao

Next in line were the gua baos, which in my mind, are like the asian version of burgers! I can't tell you what gua bao means, or where this treat originates from, but I can definitely tell you that they are super tasty. My previous encounter with a gua bao was also delicious, so I was hoping these would not disappoint me.

They didn't!

The Braised pork belly gua bao was probably my favourite of everything. For me, the combination of the soft, juicey, tender pork, with coriander and the crushed peanuts is a winning one. Add to that the perfectly pillowy bao dough, and you've got yourself one tasty little burger!

Braised pork belly gua bao (front) & Roast pork bellow gua bao (back) - $3.80 each

The Roast pork belly gua bao was also very tasty. The flavours from the fresh cucumber and pickled carrots, along with the daikon and hoisin sauce complimented the tender pork really nicely. Daikon is also known as Japanese radish or White radish, and had a nice refreshing taste.

After plowing through those four menu items, E and I were both still on a bit of a Wonderbao high and order some more food.... for the purposes of blogging (ahem). E minded our seats while I went up to order us a Fried silky tofu gua bao and Nai wong bao (Egg custard goodness!) each, and a refreshing cup of cold homemade soya milk. 

After a short wait, our food and drink was again brought out to where we were sitting and I was filled with joy in anticipation of how yummy the egg custard bun was going to be. I love egg custard buns!

The cold soya milk was very refreshing, and tasted nothing like the 'regular' soy milk you would buy from the shops. I didn't quite like the taste, but I think I would like the hot version. E loved it and sipped it all up down to the last drop.

Leaving the most exciting until last, we dove into our tofu gua baos, and I discovered that these weren't called 'silky' tofu gua baos for nothing! This tofu was a pure delight. Along with the corander and crushed peanuts, this gua bao was a winner. I think I like this one equally as much as the Braised pork belly gua bao.

Fried silky tofu gua bao - $3.80 each, Egg custard bun - $1.70 each, with a Cold soya milk - $2.8

*Drum Roll* It was now time for the Egg Custard buns! If you know me, you will know how much I love Egg Custard buns. My sister has pioneered a step by step process for eating these buns, which I employ every time, and of course teach to whoever I am eating with. It is now my pleasure to share it with you!
Step 1: Carefully peel off paper from the base of the bun, being careful not to burn your fingers. 
Step 2: If necessary, leave the bun to sit a little to cool down to 'not burning fingertips' temperature.
Step 3: Carefully break the bun in half.
Step 4: Take some time to smell the goodness of the custard in the bun, and reflect on just how tasty it is going to be.
Step 5: Put one half down, and using both hands, bring a half bun to your mouth and take a small bit out of it. It is important that you make this very specific sound effect while biting into the bun.
Step 6: Enjoy the rest of the bun. Note, biting sound effect is only necessary for the first bite into the bun.

Inside the Egg custard bun

Needless to say, the Egg Custard buns from Wonderbao were great. Please try one if you are there!

I'm looking forward to returning to Wonderbao, and hopefully trying some more of the baos.


Wonderbao on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Review | Huxtaburger

With the recent wintery weather we have been getting, on a cold and windy night, E and I ventured out to Collingwood with our coats all buttoned up, to try the latest foodie craze - burgers from Huxtaburger (yes, we are a bit late, but the early bird gets the worm, not the burger).

Huxtaburger is dedicated to the lovable American family from The Cosby Show, and all the burgers bar one, are named after a character on the show. The theme is quite fitting as these burgers seem to me like your good, old fashioned American style burgers with a tasty makeover.

This place was packed to the brim! After waiting our turn to order, we both settled on the same (delicious sounding) burger, Bills burger. In hindsight, this may not have been the best plan, since now I only have one thing to talk about.. but we were both drawn to Bill.

Bills Burger - $10.50

Bills burger, a brioche bun hugging a beef pattie, mustard, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, tomato, cheese, lettuce, pickles, bacon, egg, pineapple & beetroot, is quite literally a mouthful (or twenty). It is impossible to eat this as you would a flat cheeseburger from McDonald’s, but is also impossible to compare the two. This burger has it all. Although consuming it will be a challenge for those of you with small mouths, your taste buds will definitely be rejoicing. The highlight for both of us, apart from the fantastic taste and obvious quality of all of the elements in the burger (and the bun!) were the fresh pickles. These babies were not your average bottled pickles, they had a fresh zing to them!


Much to my dismay, we forgot to specify that we wanted the Chipotle chips when ordering, so we were served a regular chips – which were very tasty anyway! We shared one serve of chips between us both since we knew the burgers would be filling – a smart decision. These chips were somehow perfectly crisply coated, with silky soft potato on the inside. Not too salty too, which meant they were the perfect accompaniment to our burgers. Judging by how good these chips were, I am now almost aching to go back to Huxtaburger and try the Chipotle chips!


When we do return to Huxtaburger, it will be at a less peak time since it was quite crowded when we were there. I am thinking about trying the Denise burger next time..

Have you tried the Denise, or any of the other burgers at Huxtaburger? Tell me what you thought!

Huxtaburger on Urbanspoon

Review | Afghan Pamir Restaurant

After searching for somewhere completely different to venture for a family dinner, my sister and I were happy to agree on Afghan Pamir Restaurant! The restaurant has recently moved to a new location in Dandenong, and going by reviews alone, has been very popular and successful, serving up delicious food.

Our other sister is actually currently living in Kabul, and while at the restaurant I felt just that little bit closer to her, and I wondered whether she had eaten any of the foods we were about to try.

The décor of the restaurant once inside is very regal, all the furniture was solid wood, with gorgeous detail. I couldn’t help but to wonder how many people were living in these almost majestic circumstances in Afghanistan these days, which brought down my mood a little, but not a minute later I was smiling, thanks to the lovely staff and service at the restaurant. It was clear to see that the owners were proud to showcase their culture, and were very polite and hospitable, answering any questions we had about the menu in great detail.


Since we had quite a large group dining, we decided to opt for the $35 Banquet option which included salad, naan bread with dips, Mantu dumplings, Afghani traditional rice, lamb Kofta curry, Kabab skewers, and a vegetarian dish of our choice. We decided on the green Okra dish.

The naan bread with the dips was so delicious, I tried to stop myself from eating too much so I would still have enough room for the rest of the feast, but in the end, the bread won. The dips were yoghurt based – one was very similar to Raita, with cucumber and mint, and the other had carrot shavings through it (I think). The bread was great throughout the evening to clean up our plates in between dishes so nothing went to waste!

The Mantu dumplings are traditional steamed dumplings, made from mince and onions, wrapped up in a silky pastry and served with yoghurt and a kind of really mild, tomato based sauce. These were so good, I wish we had ordered another serve! The pastry was such a lovely consistency, and the flavour from the dumpling was great. Again, the toasted naan bread was such a help to mop up all of that yoghurt tomato goodness!

Mantu dumplings

Next up the rice was brought out along with the Kofta curry and Okra dish. The traditional Afghan rice is served with barberries and bright strands of carrot. The perfectly cooked pillow of rice was so impressive. Each grain of rice was loose, none of them were sticking together, and it all had been coated in amazing flavour. The grains themselves were long and thin, similar to a Basmati grain.  The barberries, which I had never even heard of before, were so small, but had quite a kick to them! The sour berry flavour combined with the soft rice was great. The rice was the perfect accompaniment to the rest of our main dishes during our evening. They even brought out another whole (massive) serve for us!

Traditional Afghan Rice

The Kofta were made from lamb mince, and served with another delicious mild tomato based sauce, along with some peas. These were nice, but the centre of the Kofta was a little dry for me – this turned out not to be a problem –the yoghurt and cucumber dip came in very handy . I did really enjoy the mild sauces. I really enjoy tasting a different culture’s version of a similar mix of ingredients – everyone has their own version of a tomato based sauce don’t they!

Kofta

The Okra was also served in a tomato based sauce with some onion and garlic, but this one was actually quite spicy! Okra, (or Lady’s fingers) are a vegetable that are quite unique. My mum actually cooks Okra semi often, and in a way that is pretty similar to the way that this dish was served, the only difference being the level of spiciness.  If you have never tried Okra - give it a go!

Green Okra

Just when we were just realising just how full we were getting, a plate of sizzling skewers were brought out and suddenly, any feeling of being full or close to it disappeared! There was a chicken skewer and a lamb backstrip skewer for everybody. After quickly sharing them all out I quickly went about eating these delicious chunks of meat. They had so much flavour and were so oily (a good kind of oily.. the kind that makes you salivate), and, the meat was UNBELIEVABLY tender. Cooked to perrrrrfection. I would go back to Afghan Pamir Restaurant just to have these skewers again. Although, while I was there I would probably have a whole other banquet too.

Chicken & Lamb Backstrip Skewers

Now at this point, I think we all got a second (or third) wind and we all decided to order dessert! There isn't too much choice of dessert at Afghan Pamir Restaurant - but this is not a bad thing. I would imagine that the  majority of people would be too full for dessert anyway! The dessert on offer is Gulab Jaman, a delicious sweet that I think may be of Indian origin, since know of it from Mauritius. Usually there is some kind of cardamom flavoured element (which I am not crazy about), but the Afghan version was super simple and super sweet. Gulab Jaman is a ball of dough, that has been fried, and then soaked in a sugar syrup overnight. The result is a sweet, moist, little ball of goodness, and served with a refreshing scoop of icecream - a perfect end to a great evening. Apologies for the blurry photo of dessert - I was just super keen to eat it!

Gulab Jaman with Icecream


I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who has not yet tried Afghan cuisine, and I am sure that once you try it, you will want to go back pretty soon, just like me!


Afghan Pamir Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Review | Nuts Chan

Nuts Chan, even though it has a bit of a funny sounding name, is a great little local japanese restaurant. I have frequented the Mount Waverley area for many years, and have never even noticed it hiding out in it's little corner shop location.

We went there for a quiet weeknight dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the freshness and homely-ness of the food they served. To start we ordered a mixed sashimi plate, and for mains, I chose the Bibimbap with Beef, and E decided on the Tonkatsu (pork) on steamed rice.

All of the dishes were served very quickly, and with very polite service. The sashimi was all very fresh and tasty. I think we got the larger size.

Mixed Sashimi

For mains, E gobbled up his Tonkatsu dish pretty quickly - it must have been really good! I had a little taste of one of the pork pieces, and it was really good - their had been an egg placed on top of the dish, and it had soaked through all of the pork and rice - mmmm!

Tonkatsu with Rice

My dish, was incredibly fresh, and just plain good. The egg was cooked to perfection, and all of the ingredients were great. From memory, there was beef, carrot, cucumber, mushrooms and a whole lot of pickled goodness. In a rather un ladylike manner, I mixed everything together, and stirred the egg yolk through it all to make it super delicious with the hot steamed rice. I would definitely recommend this dish. The flavours from all the different elements were great!

Bibimbap with Beef

If you are heading out to Nuts Chan to dine at the restaurant (they also offer take away) I would not recommend wearing your favourite clothes as I smelt like their kitchen for the next day or so. It would seem like the whole restaurant is quite open, so the (yummy) smells from the kitchen waft everywhere.

All in all, a great little local spot!


Nuts Chan on Urbanspoon

Review | Sweet Lemon Thai

One night out before seeing a play at the Malthouse Theatre, E had spotted Sweet Lemon Thai nearby on his Urbanspoon map, and seeing that it had a high rating, he was super keen to try it out! We both love Thai food, and looking back, I am so glad we tried it, as Sweet Lemon Thai was surprisingly delicious. Located just off the busy Kings Way intersection, the restaurant is tucked away in a cute little cottage style house. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is in the area.

We decided to order two noodle based dishes, with a side of roti bread. We chose the Chicken Pad Thai, and the sweet Pad See-Ew with beef to share. Everything came out pretty quickly and altogether, and all the dishes had great aromas.

Digging into the roti bread first, I discovered that it was just pure crispy, buttery goodness. This roti was amazing. Not your average roti bread at all. It was so fresh and rich, and the perfect start to our evening.  Somehow it was crispy and soft in the middle, and I just could not get enough of it.

Roti Canai - $4.90

The two rice dishes were just as delicious. The Pad Thai had a great zestiness and freshness to it, and I liked that it had tofu added to it - I don't think I have had a Pad Thai with tofu before, but it was very nice. The flavours were so authentic and I couldn't get over how fresh it all was.

Chicken Pad Thai - $15.90

The Pad See-Ew was addictively sweet, and the crunchy pieces of bright green Chinese broccoli were so great with the rice noodles. Rice noodles are my favourite kind of noodles, in particular the wide ones like this. The beef in this dish, and the chicken in the Pad Thai were both cooked to perfection.

Beef Pad See-Ew - $15.90

E and I really enjoyed our meals at Sweet Lemon Thai, and we had a great night because of it. I would love to go back to Sweet Lemon, and try some of their curries and other dishes. We were both also very surprised at how reasonable the prices were here, as well as how generous the servings were. Hopefully it will not be too long before we can return!

  Sweet Lemon Thai Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Weekend Spontaneity

On a quiet Sunday, E suddenly wanted to try the famous chocolate dumplings at Oriental Teahouse, so we quickly, we hopped in my little car and scooted ourselves to Chadstone. On our arrival at Oriental Teahouse, we were actually a bit surprised at the high prices, so even though we felt like something savoury and a bit more filling than just the Chocolate dumplings, we decided to go elsewhere later on.

We noticed that there was both Milk chocolate dumplings AND White chocolate dumplings, so we had to order both!!

The Milk chocolate dumplings were coated with sesame seeds and served with rich vanilla ice cream. The chocolate sauce that had been drizzled over the plate was nice, but a bit too sweet - and reminded both of us of the chocolate ice cream topping sauce. The dumplings themselves were very nice, but there could have been even more gooey chocolate inside, so that it exploded everywhere if you tried to cut it in half!!
Milk Chocolate Dumplings

The White chocolate dumplings were so pretty. I think the actual dumpling was made out of rice flour, and there was peanut praline and coconut sprinkled over the dumpings, which altogether combined for a great taste. I really enjoyed the ricey taste of these dumplings, with the sweet white chocolate flavour.

White Chocolate Dumplings

Although it was a bit expensive, we both enjoyed all that chocolate!

Feeling quite a bit more spontaneous, we made our way to Box Hill, for one of our favourite things! BEEF WRAP!! One of our favourite places in Box Hill is The Booth, a Taiwanese restaurant that serves up quick, cheap and tasty food. If you go there, you must try the Beef Wrap - it is amazing. 

Feeling gutsy, we ordered a Beef Wrap (surprise, surprise), a Pork Belly Burger and mostly out of curiosity, a serve of Chicken Nuggets. It all came out pretty much altogether, and as always, the kind staff at The Booth had slice up the Beef Wrap for us to share.

First up, the Beef Wrap, which never fails, was just as good as we remembered. The juicy meat wrapped up in crispy roti-like bread is just great. Please try this!! You won't regret it. We noticed on the menu that there was also a Chicken Wrap - so we will have to come back to try that one. Hopefully it is just as good (or better)!

Beef Wrap

Next, the Chicken Nuggets. These had a really strong flavour - and were also a bit salty. The batter had a nice peppery taste to it too. With the combination of the basil, the little nuggets were really tasty, but there was not enough basil! This perhaps could be served with some kind of sauce, as we were pretty thirsty after eating them all up.

Chicken Nuggets

Last but not least, was the Pork Belly Burger. Amazing. The pork was so good! It was so juicy and delicious. And I LOVE coriander! Altogether in a delicious bun - what more is there to say?! Just one more thing - the crumbs they had sprinkled over the top of it all - I couldn't work out what it was exactly, but it was so good, and so moreish. I kept scraping that plate until it was all gone. We will probably order this one again when we go back for the Chicken Wrap!



After that, we were pretty full, so we drove home and settled up on the couch. A pretty successful Sunday afternoon for eating!


Oriental Tea House on Urbanspoon

The Booth on Urbanspoon

Review | Dutchies Stonegrill Restaurant

On a relaxing few days away at the lovely Phillip Island, E and I decided to head to Dutchies Stonegrill Restaurant, since we had been curious to try is every since passing it on the way into town.

The decor of the restaurant was very retro - a kind of 80s feel. I'm not sure if that was by choice, or if some redecoration may be on the way, but either way, it made me smile when I looked around and saw flamingo coloured accessories everywhere!

After being kindly seated, E and I set our sights onto the menu. We decided to try the entree special of Crocodile Croquettes, and for mains, E selected the Surf n Turf, and I went for the Marinated Mixed Grill.

The idea behind the Stonegrill dining is that it is a healthier meal, since no oils or fats are added for cooking, and that the diner can cook each item to their liking. An added bonus is that the meal stays hot - and doesn't cool down while it is eaten as the stone stays hot for around half an hour.

The croquettes were brought out, and we dived into them with enthusiasm! The dish was served with a delicious and moreish chilli jam and aioli. The croquettes themselves were so crispy on the outside, and so so soft and creamy on the inside - so good. The crocodile had quite a salty taste, but with the combination of the aioli and the chilli jam, the flavour was great - I really enjoyed these.

Crocodile Croquettes

Next up were the mains - and these came out pretty quickly, since they didn't really have to do too much cooking behind the scenes. E's Surf n Turf looked pretty impressive. His cut of meat was quite high, and such a lovely colour as it stood proudly, sizzling on the hot stonegrill. Looking back at my photos, perhaps he could have had a few more prawns, but otherwise, E enjoyed his dish very much. Both of us had fun chatting while tending to our sizzling cuts of meat, cutting off pieces and cooking them to our liking.

Surf n Turf

My dish, the Marinated Mixed Grill, was quite a large serve. There was some marinated beef, pork tenderloin, lamb and chicken. I'm not actually sure what the marinade was, as it was not mentioned anywhere, but the meat was very tasty, and so tender and moist. I think the chicken may have been my favourite, but all of the different kinds of meat got a lovely golden and crisp outer, and I do have to say, everything stayed so hot right until the end of my meal.

Marinated Mixed Grill

The vegetables and salad that came out with both of our meals were also nice. Both of us thought that our meals were going to be served with chips, but we were not fussed at all, since veggies were probably a healthier option. They were actually good to have something not too heavy in between all the meat. You can see in the photos that there was some kind of béarnaise sauce with the cauliflower - that sauce was also great with some of the meat - I always love sampling all the different combinations on a plate!!

All in all, I would recommend Dutchies to anyone in the area, or anyone heading down to the Island for some time away from the bustle of the week. It is a little more expensive than usual for me, but we had a great experience in return.


  Dutchies Stonegrill Restaurant on Urbanspoon