Archive for the ‘Haymarket / Chinatown’ Category
V Rating:VVV When I first moved to Sydney there were two Chinese restaurants that our friends consistently recommended: BBQ King and Golden Century. Part of their cult status came from their late night hours (the mercy of not having to eat McDonald’s after a night out!), but the food was also rated highly. BBQ King became a regular haunt of mine, but until last weekend I’d never been to Golden Century. Even though we were eating on a Sunday night, I’d taken the precaution of booking a table for our group of six. This meant we could glide elegantly up the escalators to the first floor restaurant and away from ground floor room with tanks of seafood hovering in the water, moments before death. The large upstairs room was packed. Big round tables of people were eating noisily. Battalions of staff patrolled the floor. Catching their eye was a challenge, but our table saw it as part of the experience and didn’t mind. Despite being a seafood restaurant, Golden Century still has 12 vegetarian mains (excluding dishes that come with oyster sauce or meat). We started with a vegetarian san choi bow, which wasn’t on the menu but the restaurant was happy to prepare it. The waiter who served this dish was impressive - he doled out six helpings of the filling in three seconds flat, and perfectly estimated the amount for each person.
For mains, we tried the salt and pepper tofu, which had more than a touch of chili.
I was fascinated by the king mushrooms with braised vegetables. These huge mushrooms were like flanks of meat served over the vegetables, and had a soft yet chewy texture. They didn’t have a strong flavour and absorbed the salty sauce well.
The heavenly braised 4 vegetables was the last dish to arrive, but worth the wait.
At the end of the meal we were served two complementary plates of sweet biscuits, nicely rounding off our eating experience. So did Golden Century live up to its hype? It’s a different experience to BBQ King - the surrounds are more plush for starters. I thought it had an interesting selection of vegetarian dishes that went beyond ‘mixed vegetables in x sauce’, ad infinitum, but it is a seafood and BBQ restaurant at heart (for example, our waiter questioned whether we meant to order two vegetable mains, assuming he’d misheard). You will find plenty of cheaper Chinese restaurants in this area, and probably won’t notice a great difference if you stick to vegetarian food rather than the signature seafood and BBQ dishes. That said, Golden Century was a fun experience and I would go back again.
V Rating: VVV BBQ King is not a obvious choice for vegetarians. First, there’s the name. Second, there’s the string of burnished red roast ducks hanging in the takeaway section of the restaurant. Third, there’s the automated 3D wall decoration where chefs with giant cleavers rhythmically pound the necks of poultry. But vegetarians shouldn’t be put off by this carnivorous exterior. Secure a seat in the meandering, two-storey restaurant, and you’ll see a healthy 13 vegetarian options on the menu (excluding vegetarian dishes with oyster sauce). The salt and pepper tofu rates amongst some of the best in Sydney - the salt and pepper coating is not too heavy, but still well-seasoned, and the tofu is soft enough to melt soon as it hits your mouth. The garlic baby spinach is not for the faint-hearted, but who’d have it any other way. When I went last week I tried the round, brown Chinese mushrooms and braised green vegetables for the first time, which I enjoyed Is BBQ King over-priced? Sure. Is the service bad? Laughably so. Is the decor old and faded? Of course. But this doesn’t mean you won’t have a good time. BBQ King is a Sydney institution. The food comes out fast, it’s open late at night, the location is ultra convenient and the meals taste good. The last two times I’ve been there I’ve seen this guy and then these guys looking right at home as they chowed down on a meal. It’s just that kind of place.
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.
V-Rating: V-ware Musashi is hard to find, and hard to forget. The restaurant is open plan with a modern, striking design. Huge cylindrical lampshades hang from the ceiling and light up long communal tables, and more intimate lounge style dining. The open kitchen is bordered by an eating bar from which you can watch the chefs prepare intricate sushi rolls and deftly grill seafood and meat.
Musashi is always full, and unless you eat early you can’t book a table. Helpfully, there is a row of chairs outside the restaurant for the inevitable wait. Musashi is the full package - the great food-and-bucketloads-of-atmosphere-restaurant that is fun for visitors. Andy and I use to eat there on such a regular basis that we had a Musashi frequent diner card. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years our visits have petered out as the vegetarian dishes have slowly disappeared from the menu.
We went to Musashi last week with a group of friends. The atmosphere and food were still great, and our friends rhapsodised about their seafood and meat dishes. However, it was the first time I’d been there and felt that there weren’t enough vegetarian options to both sate my appetite and share with other people. There is still a lot to love about Musashi - but don’t go there expecting a vegetarian feast. |
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