Marukame Udon (& a yarn about motherhood)

Childbirth, motherhood and everything that comes with it are the hardest yet most rewarding things I have ever done. I didn’t partake in any antenatal courses but I doubt that attendance would have prepared me for the onslaught of emotions, frustration, helplessness and tears, from baby and myself, that motherhood inevitably brings. People warn you of the sleepless nights, the fatigue, the crying... but there are the secrets that no class, book nor other mothers mention – that breastfeeding is hard work and is accompanied by many poos (oh, the poos!) and a crazy amount of nappies early on, that textbook advice rarely yields the described results in your non-textbook baby, and that you will have less time to yourself than you ever expected. And now, seemingly all of a sudden, Mini-human is 9 months old today and my feelings about motherhood are quite well summed-up by Catty. Though there are days when I feel that he is stretching my newfound levels of patience so much that I may have to chuck him in the bin, he can win me over effortlessly with nothing more than a flash of a smile. I’m now convinced babies are evil alien masterminds cloaked in mini-human cuteness with an intent to rule our worlds, but I remind myself that I have only another 2 months day-in-day-out with mine before the return to work beckons.

Hong Kong Series: Congee, noodles & rice

There are many eateries in Hong Kong which sell a combination menu of “jook, fun, meen, faan” (粥粉麵飯) – congee, (rice-based) noodles, (wheat-based) noodles and rice. The origins of these were originally, of course, on the street – first by trolley vendors, then “dai pai dong” (大牌檔) street-side stalls and now either in temporary markets or permanent shop spaces.

Congee, steamed plain rice noodle rolls, stir-fried noodles and deep-fried dough sticks

Wontons

When I was a kid there were much less Chinese eating options in Chinatown, let alone in the suburbs. Plus the options that were available tended to be more for dinner dining; you know, ordering various dishes to be shared and eaten with rice. But what of the more quick lunch options of noodles, congee and the like? Well, that was not to come for many years which meant that these were often recreated at home instead.

I spent a lot of time making wontons with Mum as a child all the way through to when I left home. It felt like a craft project when I was younger and, although slow, my little hands and stubby fingers found it easy to pleat neat little dumpling parcels without tearing the delicate wrappers. (Apparently it was also a good way to keep me quiet and occupied.) Mum, on the other hand, would be either short on patience, greedy for greater amounts of filling or both, and ended up with many exploding wontons instead.

Mum’s go-to recipe was a beef one and any leftover mince filling was great used in an omelette. I’ve made a pork version here, with minced prawns, wood ear fungus and bamboo shoots, which is more reminiscent of the first ones I ever tried on trips to Hong Kong. Through repeated trips there to visit relatives, I also discovered that wontons didn’t have to be pleated (although the repetitive actions to produce neat results appealed to my Virgo nature) and that the trails of “hanging” wrapper pastry when cooked were meant to make the wontons resemble fat goldfish. A definite bonus to know they’re meant to look a little messy, and each a little different, when time and/or patience are a premium. And, as opposed to Northern Chinese dumplings, wontons are eaten with red vinegar.

The broth that Mum made for the wontons was always from stock cubes. Time spent on slow simmering was reserved for Chinese (medicinal) soups instead. I’ve used a chicken stock paste diluted with water and thrown in some ginger for a more Chinese flavour, but spring onions or coriander could be added too. Unless you’re lazy/disorganised like me and realise you have neither until you start cooking, ahem.

Pork & Prawn Wontons (makes 60, with some leftover filling)

Ingredients:

·  450g pork mince (with a small amount of fat)

·  3 tbs light soy sauce

·  1 ½ tbs dark soy sauce

·  pinch of ground white pepper

·  8 medium prawns, peeled & deveined

·  1 piece of dried wood ear fungus (available from Asian grocers)

·  handful of bamboo shoot slices (available from Asian grocers in cans)

·  1 pack of egg wonton wrappers (60 sheets)

·  4 tbs chicken stock paste (I used Campbell’s Real Stock Paste)

·  1.5L water, plus extra for cooking wontons

·  ginger slices, spring onions and coriander to taste

·  fresh or dried egg noodles, Asian greens, red vinegar to serve (optional)

Method:

1. Combine pork mince with light soy, dark soy and a sprinkling of ground white pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside to marinate.
2. Soak wood ear fungus in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes, making sure it is completely covered. Drain and chop into short, thin shreds.

Wood ear fungus - before and after soaking

  

3. In the meantime, chop bamboo shoots into similar short, thin shreds.
4. Roughly chop prawns until they resemble a mince and the mixture is slightly sticky.
5. Mix pork mince thoroughly with other chopped ingredients. Place approximately 1 teaspoonful of filling mixture in the centre of a wonton wrapper and pinch together to close. Repeat with remaining wrapper sheets until all used. 

6. Bring 1.5L water to the boil and dissolve the stock paste into it. Add ginger and any herbs (if using) and allow to reboil before adding salt to taste. Reduce to a simmer and keep hot.
7. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Drop in wontons in batches and they are cooked when they float to the top and water reboils. Take care not to overcrowd the pot. Remove with a slotted spoon and ladle over hot stock to serve. 

Extra wontons can be frozen flat on a tray or plate and transferred to a freezer bag once completely frozen. Excess mince filling can be flattened into a shallow dish, steamed for about 8 minutes on high heat and served with rice - tada, steamed Chinese meatloaf!

happy cooking!

Mademoiselle Délicieuse received samples of Campbell’s Real Stock Paste courtesy of Nuffnang Australia.

Kenji & Guylian Café

Sitting at the counter of Kenji, your back faces one of the world’s iconic landmarks – the Sydney Harbour Bridge – but the dozen or so counter seats at this open air eatery make it feel like you’re sitting at a kitchen island bench as there is nothing to separate you from the action of your food being prepared. (Well, albeit the kitchen of a very expensive place which has views of Sydney Harbour.) There is no barrier, no glass partition, no sushi conveyer, nor chilled display cabinet. It’s quite comical when our order is taken by a waitress standing behind us and moments later we hear the whir of the docket being printed from a machine sitting just in front of Monsieur Poisson, whilst I sit directly facing a sink.

We are familiar with Kenji-san’s skilful sushi and sashimi from having eaten at Koi previously. Kenji is Kenji-san’s latest venture and we notice a few familiar items such as the ‘Seared scallop carpaccio’ on the menu. We start our dinner, however, with the ‘Small chef's selection sashimi’ which is all about the fresh produce and nothing else. Monsieur Poisson is a little disappointed as he was hoping to order uni (sea urchin) as well but, alas, is it not uni season.

It is the proximity of the seating and the casual setting which affords us an opportunity to speak with Kenji-san. We discover the high standards he sets for his food and his passion for quality ingredients. He insists on using Japanese nori sheets which cost $10 per pack and rice from Japan which he finds less gluggy than local variants. When we tell him we really enjoyed his version of the ‘California Roll’, something which is inherently not Japanese, he offers a simple reason and justification for its $15 price tag – the filling is a combination of scallop and crab meat. As in, it is real seafood and not the usual seafood stick/extender stuff.

The ‘Soft Shell Crab salad’ is a jumble of mixed leaves and crispy crab legs with a light, tangy dressing topped with matchsticks of crunchy radish. It is the perfect contrast to the steaming bowl of ‘Tempura Udon’ where the crunchy tempura prawns are cooked before your eyes and served separately on the side (yay!) negating any soup-induced sogginess.

A short stroll later and we find ourselves at Guylian Café wanting something sweet. We share a larger than expected milk iced chocolate (because Monsieur Poisson is not a big fan of dark chocolate, unlike me) which comes with a little square of Guylian chocolate for nibbling on.

And then comes our plate of petits fours which Monsieur Poisson has devised. As soon as you step in the store there is a display cabinet of these dainty creations for takeaway purchase, but because they had so captured our attention we wanted to try them in house. Monsieur Poisson chooses several and we are surprised when they are presented with the extra effort of chocolate and fruit gel decoration on the plate – thoughtful!

A choc fudge slice sprinkled with the finest trail of salt flakes. A passionfruit cake-let with a mini-syringe of raspberry sauce for injecting into the centre. A tiny tiramisu in a miniature chocolate teacup! And a bite-sized lemon meringue tart. Everything was so adorable and had Monsieur Poisson talking about Sugar Hits again – not long to go now!

Kenji

Opera Kitchen, Lower Concourse, Sydney Opera House NSW

Tel: 9247 0480

Guylian Café

Shop 10, Opera Quays, 3 Macquarie St (entrance on harbour foreshore next to Dendy Cinemas), Sydney NSW

Tel: 8274 7900

happy eating!

Burwood Korea House

Humans are creatures of habit who like to return to places which are familiar for comfort and assurance. Dining falls into this category and especially so when seeking something quick and reliable. Céci has always been in this category for Dr King and Kiki, with its value-for-money serving sizes, until they noticed the food starting to taste different and the noticeable absence of the expertly coiffed and well made-up lady owner.

When I told them that Céci had upped and left its original location leaving its name behind to be reincarnated as Burwood Korea House, they were relieved to find out that there was somewhere to reclaim the familiarity. Soon Monsieur Poisson and I find ourselves accompanying them there for a meal where the picture-heavy menu echoes that of Céci as well.

A small handwritten sign on the window mentions that they are behind the original Céci and, stepping inside, we are greeted by similar décor as well as the reassuring sight of the owner lady. Side dishes are brought to us soon after ordering and before we know it our table is crowded with food.

The ‘Seafood Pancake’ with fillings a-plenty and crunchy ‘Japchae’ with its slippery glass noodles act as appetisers as well as non-chilli relief from the ‘Pork and sausage hotpot’ below.

The hotpot is loaded up with strips of thinly-sliced pork belly, tinned luncheon meat, skinless frankfurts, a mixture of vegetables and a cake of instant noodles. Hotpots with noodles always get my attention as they provide a vessel for which to slurp up the tasty flavours of the soup in which they’re cooked.

Between the four of us there is leftover food to take home and change for each of us from $20. Now that’s a familiar situation I don’t mind revisiting!

Burwood Korea House

175 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW

Tel: (02) 9715 5098

Opening Hours:  7 days..11am-11:30pm

happy eating!

Food to nurse hangovers

It’s hot and stuffy. The sun is blazing outside and rudely creeping in through the blinds. Oh, my eyes! Why is it so bright? You move to roll over. Whoa…the bed, or wherever you parked yourself last night/this morning, feels like a tiny dinghy bobbing about on rough seas. *Bob, bob, bob, bob…* It’s too hot to keep sleeping and you really need something to settle down the party which has been continuing in your stomach and bloodstream despite you stopping hours ago.

Good morning (or afternoon), and a happy new year to you, your stomach, your pounding headache and…so nice of you to join us, Hangover!

Although there are no foods which can miraculously cure hangovers, there are certain foods that somehow make you feel better through nothing other than comfort or placebo effect. If you’re wanting something fast-food yet can’t bear the usual international chains, then Ocean Foods has many deep-fried and more virtuous non-deep fried options. The grilled barramundi with chips (below) is just one of them – it is unbattered and cooked on the spot like all their hot foods. Paired with some sweet, crunchy and not-at-all greasy crab claws as well as a small tub of salad (coleslaw in this instance, pictured below) and you can soothe that hangover whilst having a balanced meal. For something in a more central location, there’s that famous soft-shell crab omelette (unpictured) from Café Ish which the husband keeps raving to everyone about.

Or perhaps you want something a little more pure and soothing. Pho An has any combination of beef, fatty beef, beef meatballs, beef tendon, tripe, chicken, etc in a fragrant Vietnamese beef or chicken broth with slippery flat rice noodles where chewing isn’t even required. Topped with fresh herbs to awaken the senses, stir in chopped chillies for warmth and slurp to restore some much-needed hydration. Noodle bowls are available in small (regular) and large sizes, and your food will appear almost instantly by magic. Peruse the menu at the doorway or ask for a printed menu when seated, as the wall menus are in Vietnamese and Chinese only.

To combine the best of both worlds Ton Ton Regent has ramen, karaage chicken, gyoza and tempura amongst other things, whilst Menya Mappen has udon, soba, lots of fresh crunchy tempura and kakiage, poached egg and small rice bowls all for very affordable prices. And runny eggs always make things better.

Gumshara will give you a thick, sticky, flavoursome and soul-restoring soup where each bowl is taste-tested by the master himself before being served. The noodles are springy and the pork is plentiful. Add a soft-boiled egg and you’re absolutely set for the day. If you want an alternate to noodles the ‘Special Rice’ bowl is serious value at around $8 with a foundation of rice mixed with sesame seeds, soft-boiled egg and vegetables topped with roast pork, and then the whole thing repeated on top of it again – it will satisfy the most ravenous of hangover hungers.

For a variety of eats including deep-fried things, rice, noodles, soups and Hong Kong fusion-style pastas then you simply cannot go past a “cha chaan teng” (茶餐廳). Iced lemon tea rates highly on my long-time loves even though it’s only black tea, sugar syrup and fresh lemon slices. You’ll find sweet drinks incorporating azuki (red) beans and grass jelly as well as Hong Kong-style French toast “sai dor see” (西多士) – typically two slices of white bread sandwiched with peanut butter, deep-fried in eggy batter before being served with butter and golden syrup. Trolley/cart noodles used to be street food sold, well, from a mobile cooking trolley, allowing for personalisation of soup noodles (flat rice noodles, rice vermicelli, Hokkien noodles, flat egg noodles, thin egg noodles, etc) and toppings (dried squid, fish balls, fried fish skin, luncheon meat, ham, pig’s blood jelly, beef meatballs, pork meatballs, chicken wings, mushrooms, etc and an array of vegetables). Not available at many Hong Kong fusion-style cafés in Sydney, Victoria Noodle Restaurant offers a great selection of noodles and toppings as well as other menu items. Try their salt and chilli chicken wings with rice – hangover or no hangover – if you get a chance.

For something healthy and sweet, wowcow serves 98% fat-free yoghurt with active cultures that is smooth and slides easily down the throat. One of Sydney’s earlier frozen yoghurt chains, mix in whatever toppings take your fancy from their display window and pair with cinnamon-sugared wow-sticks (baked churros) for dipping. I spotted Joh Bailey bringing a group of friends here late one night, and don’t forget to crane your head back (provided it doesn't induce too much dizziness) to marvel at the cow feature adorning the ceiling!

Ocean Foods

Corner of Lyons Rd & Gipps St, Drummoyne NSW

Tel: (02) 9181 4336

Opening Hours:  7 days  9am-9pm

Café Ish

82 Campbell St (cnr Foster St), Surry Hills NSW

Tel: (02) 9281 1688

Opening Hours:  Mon-Tues  7am-4pm

                        Wed-Fri  7am-10pm

Sat  9am-10pm

Sun  9am-2:30pm

Pho An

27 Greenfield Pde (near cnr Stewart Ln), Bankstown NSW

Tel: (02) 9796 7826

Opening Hours:  7 days  7am-9pm

Ton Ton Regent

Shop 10.16, Ground floor of Regent Place, 501 George St (cnr Bathurst St), Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9267 1313

Opening Hours:  7 days  11:30am-10pm

Menya Mappen

Shop 11, Ground Floor of Meriton Tower – Skyview Shopping Plaza, 537-551 George St (near cnr Liverpool St), Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9283 5525

Opening Hours:  Sun-Wed  11:30am-10pm

                        Thurs-Sat  11:30am-10:30pm

Gumshara

Shop 209, Lower Ground Level, Harbour Plaza, 25-29 Dixon St (Chinatown), Haymarket NSW

Tel: 0410 253 180

Opening Hours:  Mon  CLOSED

                        Tues-Sun  10am-10pm

Victoria Noodle Restaurant

Shop A8, Lower level of Victoria Plaza, 369 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9410 1822

Opening Hours:  7 days…11am-10pm

wowcow

Shop 2, 304-308 Victoria St, Darlinghurst NSW

Tel: (02) 9326 0400

Opening Hours:  Mon-Thurs  11:30am-11pm

                        Fri  11:30am-12 midnight

                        Sat  11am-12 midnight

                        Sun  11am-11pm

happy eating!

Hurstville Chinese Restaurant (華英小廚), 27 March 2010

This restaurant is a firm local family favourite, even though it’s not that local to us. We started eating here about 15 years ago and have all our celebrations here – birthdays, Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) – and keep coming back for their quality Cantonese fare and friendly service. It is a family run business, with three son-in-laws who look after the various parts of it.

Monsieur Poisson and I stop by for brunch one day en route to visiting my mother, and I hone in on some common Cantonese breakfast/brunch/lunch items. We start with sampan congee (‘teng jai jook’ – 艇仔粥) which gains its name from the vessel which housed fishing families who are the ones credited with ‘inventing’ this type of congee.

The ingredients used vary from place to place but typically include, of course, fish, minced pork or beef, peanuts, dried squid and dried pork crackling. Our large bowl here comes topped with sliced spring onions and deep-fried pastry bits to give added crunch, much like croutons to soup. We’ve also ordered some deep-friend dough sticks (‘you tiao’ - 油條) on the side for dipping.

And how I miss seeing street vendors (usually old men) in Hong Kong frying these up in bubbling vats of hot oil! Stretching and shaping premade dough, deftly wielding long chopsticks, turning the ‘you tiao’ in the oil until golden and fishing them out to drain on a wire stand, awaiting to be placed into brown paper bags upon purchase. Absolute simple bliss.

Next we have some stir-fried soy sauce noodles (‘si yau wong chau meen’ – 豉油王炒麵) which are egg noodles tossed in a combination of dark and light soy sauces, and bean sprouts as well as garlic chives. A bit lacking in the garlic chives in this instance, however the flavour balance is right and the noodles are neither greasy nor clumped together. I used to order these at street-side eateries in Hong Kong for breakfast and would liberally douse the lot with toasted sesame seeds from canisters provided at tables.

We finish with another breakfast staple – steamed plain rice noodle rolls (‘ju cheung fun’ – 豬腸粉) which gains its Chinese name from its appearance resembling pig’s intestines, apparently. A lot of places don’t serve this unfilled variety of rice noodle rolls in Sydney, as opposed to the ones with filling seen at yum cha, and I’ve never understood why. When made well, they are smooth and slippery and shouldn't be rolled up too tightly otherwise they're too stodgy in texture. Here we are served a mound of the noodle rolls covered with light soy, a thin sesame sauce and a thin hoi-sin sauce. Chilli sauce is a common addition as well.

So between the two of us, we fail to finish all this food but staff are more than happy to package up the remaining half plate of noodles for us. I take it along to my mother’s where it serves as a welcome afternoon snack.

Hurstville Chinese Restaurant (華英小廚)

184 Forest Rd (cnr Park Rd), Hurstville NSW

Tel: (02) 9586 0828

Opening Hours:  7 days  11am-3pm (lunch)

5pm-10:30pm (dinner)

happy eating!

Ju Ge Mu & Shimbashi (again!), 25 March 2010

It had been too long since our last meal at Ju Ge Mu & Shimbashi and we missed the slippery smooth texture of their handmade soba as well as their okonomiyaki. Monsieur Poisson suggested it as a catch-up location when his friend was back in Sydney for a brief stint from London, and the place was most accommodating when we had last minute additions (2 adults and 2 young children, no less) to our dining party.

Once we have everyone assembled, we settle in with some soba chips which are a hit with the kids and allow the rest of us some time to peruse the menu.

I’m surprised when the soba chips arrive as a tangle of deep-fried stringy noodles, as I’m sure I’ve seen photos of it somewhere as flat, potato chip-style things? They’re crunchy and not at all greasy, but could do with some liberal salting in my opinion.

Next up we have some more nibbling-type food in the form of edamame, which turn out to be quite a revelation for me. I am normally not a fan of these boiled, young soy beans as the squishy texture of the overcooked pods – although discarded and not eaten themselves – are a bit of a turn-off for me. But the edamame here are just cooked enough for the sweet little gems within to be popped through and, in contrast to the soba chips, are very well seasoned.

We’ve also ordered a serve each of chicken and pork gyoza to share. They’ve been split so that four of each appear on each plate and there is an initial confusion as how to tell, and taste, the two apart. It transpires that the chicken ones are sweeter and juicier, whilst the pork ones have a meatier flavour. Nevertheless, both are enclosed in thin dumpling wrappers and are fried to golden-bottomed crispiness.

Once again Monsieur Poisson and I find it hard to go past ordering something from the specials menu, especially when our attention is caught by the promise of flavoured soba. In this case it’s the ‘Three-flavoured tori & kinoko seiro soba’ with green tea, Earl Grey and plain soba served cold accompanied by a hot chicken and mushroom dipping broth. The soba is wonderful without even a hint of graininess and the tea flavoured ones are most refreshing, with the Earl Grey being much more subtle in taste than the green tea variety. As with our last visit, the staff considerately split this serve of soba in two when Monsieur Poisson indicates that we will be sharing it between us.

And then we have the okonomiyaki. It’s the ‘Ju Ge Mu Special’ which features such wonderful things as bacon, scallops, prawns and calamari covered in a tangy barbecue sauce, spring onions and squiggles of mayonnaise. As always served with a tin of nori flakes and bonito shavings (AKA sawdust, by one Dr King) alongside for sprinkling, the okonomiyaki is savoury, sweet, salty and tangy all at once – should rate highly on the umami scale, yes?

Monsieur Poisson and I do not pass up on dessert this time. He goes for the ‘Zenzai ice-cream’ which has the simple combination of green tea ice-cream, azuki beans and ‘slippery dumplings’. Actually, at first, he orders this entirely out of curiosity for what the ‘slippery dumplings’ could be, and all is revealed when the dessert arrives with flat discs of unfilled mochi – chewy glutinous goodness!

As for me, I revisit the ‘Ice-cream Tempura’ fondly remembered from a previous visit. There’s actually not a lot of ice-cream within, but I’m quite taken by the hidden raspberries and their tartness contrasted by the chocolate sauce. The tempura coating is crisp and any possible greasiness is negated by the pieces of fresh fruit alongside.

Ju Ge Mu & Shimbashi

246 Military Rd, Neutral Bay NSW

Tel: (02) 9904 3011

Opening Hours:  Mon  CLOSED

Tue-Sat  12pm-2pm (lunch)

Tue-Sun  6pm-9:30pm (dinner)

happy eating!

New Shanghai Chatswood (新上海) (again!), 31 Dec 2009

After a particularly late but enjoyable night catching up with a childhood friend visiting from London, which culminated in us getting home not long after sunrise, Monsieur Poisson and I understandably did not awake until the early afternoon. Lunch ended up being at around 3pm that day and instead of the usual oily, fried breakfasts in which I usually seek comfort after a big night out, our appetites were drawn towards the soul-restoring comforts of dumplings.

As we were not feeling very energetic, we only got as far as New Shanghai Chatswood and not the newer one at Chatswood Chase. We start off with the requisite Shanghainese soup dumplings, ‘xiao long bao’ (小籠包) which we happily slurp up easily as they require little chewing.

This is followed by Shanghainese stir-fried noodles (上海粗炒麵) which appears as a larger than expected serve. A mound of thick noodles flavoured with soy sauce are intertwined with strips of pork and ‘choy sum’ (菜心).

Strangely the dish that we order first is the last to be served. The savoury ‘Shallot Pancake’ (蔥油餅) makes for a great flaky, pastry snack and also satisfies our need for something a little oily. So I may not be indulging in a fried breakfast but I never said I was foregoing oiliness altogether!

New Shanghai Chatswood (新上海)

Shop 20, Lemon Grove Shopping Centre, 427-441 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9415 3536

Opening Hours:  Mon-Wed  10am-8pm

                        Thurs-Sun  10am-8:30pm

happy eating!

Chatswood Melody Market

The Chatswood markets, like most markets, took a break over the Christmas and New Year period but did not reappear even by early February. I started to get worried when barriers sprung up sectioning off parts of Victoria Avenue Mall, as there have been notices up for a while regarding the mall’s revamp which involves the laying of grass amongst other things. Although it is nice for the local council to be redoing this high paedestrian traffic area which has uneven surfaces in some parts, my first concern was of course the future of the markets and the ability of my stomach to still access their foods! The weekly markets are not exclusively comprised of food stalls alone, but they do make up the bulk of the stall holders.

But as of a few weeks ago, the familiar market stands have reappeared but are now cramped down the eastern end of the mall instead of being spread across the length of it as in the past. I’ve previously mentioned my love of the Mojo Picon stall which seems to constantly have a sea of people around it but then there’s also the gozleme stand…

Oh, how I do love a good, fresh gozleme! The filling to crèpe-like crust ratio mustn’t be too high or low and the crust cannot be soggy nor rubbery. This stand at the markets always seems to get it right in my opinion but, alas, I do not know their name! Be prepared to wait though, as everything is made fresh and it is popular with the masses.

The other stall which keeps drawing me back is Jackie M with its Malaysian cuisine. Perhaps it is the lack of access to Malaysian food in Chatswood, or perhaps it is the rich aromas of garlic and soy which emanate from their little gas burner woks. However the most important thing is that the food is decent and affordable.

On an afternoon walking past before Christmas and in desperate need of a snack, I had the following interesting combination: roti with kaya (squishy, flaky, coconutty and buttery goodness for $5), chicken satay skewer (sweet and very nutty) and vegetable curry puff.

More recently for dinner, Monsieur Poisson and I bought a couple of things before seating ourselves in the Lemon Grove food court to enjoy them. We had one of ‘The Works’ as I was captured by the variety of curry dahl, cucumber, chicken satay skewers, coconut rice, roti and choice of curry (beef rendang for us). I had several gripes about this box unfortunately which included everything being at roughly room temperature and nothing being piping hot. The other gripes were about the chicken satay skewers being noticeably shorter in the meat department than previous and why was the sauce such a creamier, paler shade now?

However all was redeemed with the char kway teo with chicken. It was steaming hot, fragrant of garlic, fried shallots and chilli and had nicely separated flat rice noodles as well as Hokkien egg noodles.

I have a big weakness for markets, be it for stalls of food or little knick-knacks. I may not necessarily buy anything but I am always curious to have a look. My husband is a sucker for stalls that sell corn on a stick. Are you a fan of markets? And is there a type of stand you can never walk past without taking a peek?

Chatswood (Willoughby Council) Melody Market

Eastern end of Victoria Ave Mall, Chatswood NSW

Opening Hours:  every Thurs  10am-9pm

happy eating!