Archive for the ‘Chinese’ Category
V Rating: VVVV I really love Sammy’s Kitchen. It used to be a Canberra staple for me, back when I had a casual job in Civic. But it is somewhere I have not been going to so much recently. Partly because that part of Civic has been a bit of a no-go-zone with all the construction going on for the new Canberra Centre extension, and the consequent lack of carparking. Sammy’s and other traders in the area must surely have suffered during this period. But now, with the construction just about finished and the new Canberra Centre and carparks open, maybe things are getting back to normal for them. I found myself at Sammy’s a few weeks ago for the first time in over a year, to have a quick lunch with my Mum. We shared the vegetarian spring rolls ($3.80) and curry puffs ($4.50), and I had the stir fried snow peas with chinese mushrooms ($11.50). We also shared a vegetarian nasi goreng ($9.00). All were delicious. I was reminded of how much I love the food, and made a mental note to go back there soon for a proper meal with a few people so I could have a chance to sample more of their dishes. And go back there I did, only a few days later. Unfortunately, though, of the five people I went with, four ordered meat dishes (evil, unsharing carnivores!) and the fifth ordered a vegetarian dish (sizzling fried bean curd with chinese broccoli and needle mushrooms, $11.50) that I couldn’t eat, but which he assured me was excellent. I had the snow peas and mushrooms again: I really can’t go past this dish. The crunchy snow peas go so well together with the thick, fully flavoured chinese mushrooms, which have a sort of gelatinous texture. The blend of textures and flavours is so simple but works so well. I’ve recently been back to Sammy’s a third time, and this time I thought that, as much as I love that dish, for the purpose of this review, I should venture out and try something else. So I tried the vegetable laksa ($11.00). Laksas can be hit and miss, in my opinion, and as a vegetarian who does not eat tofu, I find that asking for a vegetarian laksa sans tofu too often means I just get a noodle soup with one green vegetable. But not at Sammy’s. The laksa was a real treat, with a range of vegies, and a tasty, spicy broth. Other vegetarian options include mixed chinese vegetables with fried bean curd ($9.50), english spinach with garlic or belacan sauce ($11.00), and stir fried green pepper and dry bean curd with chilli bean sauce ($9.00). Sammy’s Kitchen scores a VVVV. There is a good range of great-tasting, very reasonably-priced, vegetarian options, including a couple from the specials board. I think I’m definitely going to revert to being a regular. AC
V Rating: Super V Ever since I’ve been writing this blog I’ve had a niggling feeling of inadequacy. How can I claim any credibility as a Sydney vegetarian restaurant reviewer when there’s no mention of Green Gourmet on the site? Green Gourmet has been around for years and is one of Sydney’s best known and most loved vegetarian restaurants. The Newtown restaurant was so successful that a small vegetarian grocery store was opened next door, and a second restaurant was opened in St Leonards. Fortunately, the stormy weather on Saturday helped me convince our group of friends to swap yum cha at Bodhis for yum cha at the original Green Gourmet in Newtown (nb: love a city where there are multiple vegetarian yum cha options).
Green Gourmet is a novel dining experience. You can order off the extensive and highly recommended menu. Alternatively, there’s a big dinner buffet where you pay according to the weight of your meal. I love the endless plates of vegetarian stiry-frys, fried snacks, and vegetable dishes, but not the moment of reckoning when my plate consistently seems to be the heaviest of everyone in my group (I figure it’s the guilt weighing me down). On the weekend Green Gourmet runs vegetarian yum cha. We arrived about half an hour after yum cha started and before the restaurant was full. While the staff were lovely, it was a slightly slow process with one or two dishes carried out on a tray at a time. This is no problem for a small table, but for our hungry group of six it meant taking whatever we were offered, rather than choosing from a selection. The yum cha options were diverse - fresh rice paper rolls, fried spring rolls, sweet and sour fake pork, fried fake drumsticks and seafood rolls, green vegetables, dumplings and satay skewers. The choices were distinctly different from what I’ve had at Bodhis, which focuses more on steamed dumplings and steers clear of fake meat. This may just have been luck of the draw - the menu suggests that there is also a range of vegetable and steamed yum cha offerings.
Another highlight of Green Gourmet is the long and unusual tea menu. Like many of Sydney’s vegetarian restaurants, Green Gourmet has a Buddhist ethic so there’s no garlic, onion or alcohol to be found on the premises. Green Gourmet definitely rates as one of my favourite vegetarian places in Sydney - but I’d try the dinner / buffet option ahead of yum cha.
V Rating: VVV Amazing how time flies when you’re having fun. Last Friday it was time for the next instalment of Book Grub (my Asian book club). This time around we were reading 10 000 Miles Without a Cloud. It’s the fascinating story of a lone Chinese woman who decides to retrace a Seventh century Monk’s pilgrimage from China to India.
His record was particularly important for Buddhism in India because it played a large part in 19th century attempts to track down (or as archaeologists prefer, excavate) significant Buddhist sites. Sadly, I had only reached Pakistan by the time Book Grub came around so was feeling the heavy weight of slacker bookclub guilt when I trudged through the door.
We gave 10 000 Miles Without a Cloud 7.5/10 and Sea Bay a VVV / 8. …
V-Rating: VVV On Wednesday night I headed to Chinatown for dinner with some old friends. We were running through the list of places to eat when a clued-in friend suggested we try Chinese Noodle House. This turned out to be a tiny restaurant tucked away on Quay Street just down from Paddy’s Markets - the kind of place you have to stumble across, or hear about by word of mouth. When you arrive Chinese Noodle House will probably be full, and there will probably be a line of people waiting to go in. That’s OK, because you’re handed the menu while you wait and can order from outside.
Vegetarian options included egg and tomato stir fry, Ma Po Tofu (Sichuan tofu), and braised eggplant. In addition to the eleven vegetarian options, you can also order vegetarian noodle dishes, a house specialty because the noodles are hand made, steamed dumplings, and rice pancakes (essentially over-sized rice paper rolls). I have it on good authority that these all rock. A few minutes after we ordered we were ushered into the restaurant. We arrived at the table at the same time as our food. This has to rate as the fastest meal I’ve ever been served in a restaurant, and certainly puts the MacDonald’s lot to shame.
One of the best parts of the meal was that our three large dishes and tea came to $24. For great veggie options, tasty food and bargain basement prices, I’d rate Chinese Noodle House a very easy VVV. |
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