Farewell to Munich

A happy new year to you all!

While I may have just returned from enjoying the company of family in Hong Kong, that doesn’t stop me from wondering whether the year ahead will hold any promises of travel and also has me reminiscing about the final week of our European holiday mid-last year. Of course as with any holiday, local or overseas, there are always must-see sights as well as must-try eats. So how could we make it all the way to Germany without sampling at least some of the following delights?

Hong Kong Series: Hokkaido Dairy Farm Milk Restaurant (北海道牧場餐廳)

The husband had several bad coffee experiences in Hong Kong. We’re not talking about bad local-style coffee, which is made stove top with evaporated milk added, but espresso coffee – and by “bad” I don’t mean that it was burnt, but rather that it was thin, watery and weak. Apparently milk sourced locally is lacking in creaminess and is often the reason for lacklustre coffee. So in the vein of “cha chaan teng” (Hong Kong-style cafés), Hokkaido Dairy Farm Milk Restuarant is one which uses eggs and 3.6% fat milk sourced only from Hokkaido. Both are known for their rich flavours plus the milk for its creaminess.

There are several branches of Hokkaido Dairy Farm and whilst we plan to visit the original in Causeway Bay, I spot the one in neighbouring Wan Chai from the tram. Out we hop, and lucky we did as we’re told the kitchen is closing in 5 minutes but we’re welcome to stay until the restaurant closes at 10pm. We order quickly and receive our “Supreme macaroni in soup” minutes later. It’s a meat-lover’s fest of luncheon meat, ham, char siu and a sausage then topped by a sunny-side-up Hokkaido egg. Elbow macaroni sits in a cloudy broth underneath which is surprisingly light and clean. With the yolk popped and mixed into the soup, the husband drinks most of this.

The “3 inch scrambled eggs with Hokkaido milk sandwich” has my name all over it. Scrambled eggs on untoasted white bread was the comfort food of my childhood and, for some reason, I remember Mum making it typically on rainy days. It has nostalgia stamped across it and one bite of the crust-less spongy sandwich transports me back to when my feet used to dangle from our dining chairs. The eggs are rich and creamy without being overly rich.

We’ve also ordered an iced coffee (unpictured) which we fail to finish by closing time, but this is kindly transferred to a takeaway cup for us. The velvety smooth drink is strong in coffee flavour but lighter than its usual evaporated milk cousin, with the Hokkaido produce really living up to its reputation.

Hokkaido Dairy Farm Milk Restaurant (北海道牧場餐廳)

At four locations, all on Hong Kong island:

            Shops D2-D3, UG/F, Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd, Admiralty

Shop B, G/F, Capital Building, 6-10 Sun Wui Rd, Causeway Bay

8/F, The Loop, 33 Wellington St, Central

            Shops A& B, G/F, 211 Johnston Rd, Wan Chai

happy eating!

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

Danks Street Depot, Sydney Airport

There are many things I associate with airports – tearful farewells, joyous reunions, the romance of leaving your cares behind and travelling to faraway places and, unfortunately, bad airport food with jacked up prices. But all this has changed with Danks Street Depot’s outpost at Sydney Airport, with many more non-fast food dining options to come.

I first ate here when seeing Mum off on a trip in November, and again a month later when Monsieur Poisson and I left for holidays ourselves. There were small changes to the menu in that short period between visits, which is testament to Danks Street Depot’s mission to use seasonal, sustainable produce.

Firefly Lodge Lane Cove (again!)

The lure of good pizza, share plates of snack foods and ever-changing seasonal menus (not to mention easy parking) keep Monsieur Poisson and I coming back to Firefly for easy, casual meals. Combined with reasonable prices and the provision of Campos coffee has meant that we’ve also managed to convert a few friends to being frequenters as well.

Birthdays Part 3: Luxe Bakery & Wild Sage

With Monsieur Poisson’s birthday and mine being just over a week apart, it makes for an extended period of excuses/reasons for eating. When the dates fall on or in the lead-up to a weekend like this year, it leads to a whole day of eating, rather than a single celebratory meal to in the name of the event.

It is a sunny Saturday and although we are a little slow to get going, we still manage to enjoy some brunch at Luxe Bakery. Located just across the laneway from Campos Coffee, we score the last available table as we step into Luxe. I can’t go past the ‘Schultz Wagyu melt’ which is served like an open Reuben and blanketed with a generous helping of melted Swiss cheese. A bedding of pickled cabbage proves to not be too tart, unlike some sauerkraut, whilst a small amount of horseradish along with a finely sliced gherkin help to alleviate any the heaviness from the cheese.

Monsieur Poisson decides on something a little more breakfast-y with the ‘Organic free range eggs on sourdough toast” which he chooses to have poached. The eggs burst open with bright orange yolks and sides of meaty and firm Lebanese sausages plus baked mushrooms complete the meal for him. Coffees are a little delayed partly due to my starting a conversation with the waitress about her nail polish, but when they arrive the coffees are strong and piping hot without being burnt.

At some point in time, I detect the unmistakeable waft of truffle oil in the air and it is a neighbouring table receiving the ‘House-cured ocean trout with hash, poached egg and truffle oil.” Now, how did we miss that even though we were sitting right under the blackboard menu?

The afternoon is spent moseying about Newtown before heading to dinner at Wild Sage, a place we’d happened upon quite by accident one afternoon. It is a full house on this Saturday evening and it’s encouraging to see that there are plenty of families along with kid-friendly coloured pencil packs to keep them entertained.

‘Chargrilled king prawns with sand crab tabouleh & preserved lemon’ form a component of our starters and are able to be ordered as a serve or 2 or 4. They are smoky and contrasted by the refreshing tabouleh although there is little detectable sand crab. ‘Tuscan spiced meatballs with tomato relish’ and ‘Feta & olive arancini’ are available as little share plates with both being tasty, incredibly more-ish and comforting.

Monsieur Poisson has his eyes on the ‘Twice cooked crispy pork belly, seared scallops, asparagus, watercress, with sticky soya dressing’ with the only disappointment being the sticky soya dressing being, well, too sticky and sweet. Perhaps being Asian, we were expecting a certain salty and umami component to the sauce. I opt for an entrée-sized ‘Chilli spaghettini with fresh local seafood, cherry tomato, sea salt, flat leaf parsley, virgin olive oil’ and am most impressed by the seafood-to-pasta ratio. The chilli is subtle and provides more a note of heat after each mouthful rather than being in-your-face spicy. The dish does get a little oily towards the end, however, with a small pool of olive oil collecting at the bottom of the plate.

The ‘Soft-centred Belgian chocolate pudding‘ is a chocolate fondant by another name and requires a short wait as expected, but is perfectly oozing when it arrives. Flanked by a strawberry, double-cream and our request for ice-cream, it is surprisingly light and not as sugary as I expect.

An encouraging local-ish delight, we definitely need to discover our own surrounds more!

Luxe Bakery

195 Missenden Rd (cnr Longdown St), Newtown NSW

Tel: (02) 9439 8988

Opening Hours:  Mon  7am-4pm

                        Tues-Fri  7am-9pm

                        Sat & Sun  CLOSED

Wild Sage

Shops 17 & 18, Stockland Mall, cnr Miller & Amherst Sts, Cammeray NSW

Tel: (02) 9929 8455

happy eating!

Mango Restaurant (不見不散)

Just like how a song can remind you of a person, an event or a scene from a movie, impressions of food are steeped in the recollections of past experiences and the stories behind them. Understanding why ingredients tend to be used in a particular fashion, where and who you are with when you first try a type of food, cuisine or eatery all combine to influence the future likelihood of you eating similar food or at a similar place again.

For me, Mango Restaurant will forever remind me of the passing of a family member as it was here that I had lunch that day. Scatterbrained due to it being an immediate family member and someone who had lived with us in the past, I decided to eat here as it is a type of food I find familiar. It’s not the type of food we tended to share together but it brought comfort to me in any case. I took my camera along to do something “normal” – well, taking photos of food is normal for food-bloggers in any case – on an otherwise unusual day.

Mango Restaurant is situated in the shop space above Café New York via a dark-coloured staircase entrance on Archer Street. Past the pay counter featuring a pyramid of Carnation milk cans, the interior is light-filled and decked out in contemporary, brown, faux leather furniture no doubt to in attempt to appeal to a young clientele. Its Chinese name has nothing to do with mangoes, nor does the menu. The food is a touch pricier than similar offerings in the area but, for better value, Mango does offer a couple of set meal deals.

I have one of these set deals for lunch where there is a choice of main dish preceded by a soup-of-the-day (cream of chicken on this occasion) with sweet, Asian-style baked bun and rounded off with a Hong Kong-style milk tea to finish. I opt for the comforting ‘Baked spaghetti Bolognese’ which is served in a typical Asian-fusion way with a random mix of vegetables in a sweetened tomato sauce. The tea is smooth and a highlight however, and manages to avoid leaving a chalky feeling around the teeth like so many others.

Monsieur Poisson decides to order the seafood soup mainly for its puff pastry lid, which arrives gloriously domed and holding the contents of a tomato-based broth. This is followed by the ‘Baked Portuguese chicken rice’ which has doubtful Portuguese origins, but does have a most fragrant sauce of coconut milk and curry powder.

Despite many years of living together this family member and I were not close emotionally and only ever close in proximity. I acknowledged their quirks, frustrating as they were, but was essentially too different in personality, upbringing and outlook to find anything common over which to bond. There is a strange sense of being unsure of what it is exactly that you’ve lost in such a case, apart from the mourning of a relationship and possibilities which could have been. And I’m very sad to say there are no standout shared food memories to look back fondly on either.

Mango Restaurant (不見不散)

Level 1, 77 Archer St, Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9419 6591

Opening Hours:  7 days..11am-9:30pm?

*EDIT*: As at October 2012, Mango Restaurant is closed for business.

happy eating!

Food bloggers’ dinner at Garfish Manly, 14 March 2011

The weather had taken a cool turn during the day and the wind was picking up. The sky was greying and I started to suspect this was some cruel conspiracy of nature, as my last visit to Garfish Manly had been met with similar weather conditions. All we needed now was some rain.

photo supplied by The Digital Marketing Agency

Luckily the rain held out and the skies stayed clear enough for us to admire the relaxing ocean views from Garfish Manly’s private dining room, where a group of Sydney food bloggers are gathered for a tasting of Garfish’s autumn menu. Glasses of ‘Geppetto’ brut help to warm us up as well as break the ice for those who don’t know each other.

Canapé-sized versions of entrée dishes are served to showcase greater variety alongside the Three Ponds semillon, a variety of wine for which I’m gaining an increased interest in recent years. Cubes of ‘Treacle cured yellowfin tuna’ are a deep maroon hue and are dusted on either side with bonito powder, negating any slippery textures when placed in the mouth. Mistress, my date for the evening, hits the nail on the head when she describes its complex flavours being akin to Chinese master stock. The ‘Atlantic salmon tartare’ contrasts the tuna with its bright shades of orange and coral. Delicate diced salmon is served on ceramic soup spoons, concealing Persian fetta which offers creaminess, with fennel confit, citrus dressing, an orange segment and salmon roe providing refreshing crunch. ‘Crisp fried zucchini flowers’, served with a sumac dipping sauce, hold centres of smoked hiramasa kingfish which are pleasantly meaty and a change from the usual soft, mousse-y fillings. I do miss the crunch of the mini-zucchini stems which are normally attached to the flowers however.

Conversation halts when our entrées of ‘Seared Hervey Bay scallops with fennel remoulade, orange reduction and bacon crumbs’ are presented and paired with ‘The Zeppelin’, a fruity Riesling from South Australia. We are told the fennel remoulade is dressed with lemon juice which seems to temper its aniseed undertones. Its crunchiness contrasts well with the plump and smooth scallops.

Wafts of shellfish aroma fill the dining room and we are completely silent as we tuck into ‘Prawn and scallop cannelloni with white beans, grilled cherry tomatoes, Avruga caviar and shellfish bisque’. The prawn and lobster bisque is fragrant and light, unlike most which are thicker and creamier, lending itself well to the steamed – not braised, nor baked – cannelloni with housemade pasta. This is also where the sourdough on our table becomes a handy tool for mopping up the beautiful bisque.

Our assiette of desserts consist of a slow-baked hazelnut pavlova which is wonderfully chewy in the centre, a smooth nougat and honey semifreddo with passionfruit coulis, and a baby version of Garfish’s signature Belgian waffles served with caramelised banana and rum & raisin ice-cream. Paired with the not-too-sticky dessert wine, Cookoothama botrytis semillon, it is a sweet end to an enjoyable evening.

Earth Hour 2011

This Saturday, apart from the New South Wales state election (don’t forget to vote!), it is also Earth Hour. As per last year, all Garfish restaurants will be participating by offering a dine-by-candlelight experience which adds a romantic touch to the underlying environmental cause.

Mademoiselle Délicieuse and Mistress dined as guests of Garfish Manly and The Digital Marketing Agency. Thank you to the lovely waitstaff and to executive chef Stewart Wallace for taking the time to introduce each of the dishes to us.

Garfish Manly

1/39 East Esplanade (cnr Wentworth St), Manly NSW

Tel: (02) 9977 0707

Opening Hours:  Mon-Sat  12pm-3pm (lunch)

  5:30pm-10pm (dinner)

                        Sun  12pm-3pm (lunch)

                                5:30pm-9pm (dinner)

happy eating!

Epicure Recipe Card #18: Italian Seafood Salad

Yes, these recipe cards are still going… Although it is some consolation that there are only around a third left? *hangs head in shame*

Well it’s been back to the daily grind for over a week, and that’s where these quick recipes come in most handy. Gone are the lazy, unstructured days where I could sleep in until whenever and have the luxury of pondering over what to cook, perhaps pop out for a shop of fresh ingredients and invite a few people over to while away the time over some relaxed conversation.

The weather is still warm thankfully, although decidedly muggy, making for perfect seafood times. When meat seems too rich on account of the heat, then seafood is a most welcome alternative. This recipe card is for a salad but, as with many of these recipe cards, mine transformed itself magically into a pasta dish through the, err, not so magical addition of pasta.

Spaghetti Marinara (serves 2)

(adapted from The Age – Epicure 50 Best Recipe Cards, recipe by Jill Dupleix)

Ingredients:

·         around 300g spaghetti or other long pasta

·         1 tbs olive oil

·         1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

·         1 small red chilli, finely sliced (optional)

·         around 200g of any selection of seafood (I used baby octopus and scallops)

·         ½ cup chopped cherry tomatoes

Method:

1. Cook pasta in a pot of well-salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Return pot to a medium heat and oil along with garlic and chilli (if using) until fragrant. Add seafood and move around pan until just cooked.
3. Reduce heat to the lowest possible setting, tip pasta back into pan with the tomatoes. Season liberally with salt and pepper and toss everything together until pasta is heated through, adding a little olive oil if the mixture is too dry.

happy cooking!

The Vineyard, 23 April 2010

Monsieur Poisson and I were feeling particularly lazy one Friday evening and were in need of a date night. For the month or more beforehand we had been in the throes of the final stages of wedding planning (including the stress of having to organise a cake, last minute) and hadn’t had much quality time to ourselves. We didn’t go away for a honeymoon either, as we plan on lumping it in together with a more extensive trip later, so it was pretty much straight back to work for the both of us. And, you know, it’s nice to go out on dates every now and again, even if it’s with your own partner!

Mistress recommended The Vineyard to me after having visited for a work gathering. There is a relaxed area at the back of restaurant with large throw cushions and couches definitely suitable for small group functions or people just dropping in for drinks. Monsieur Poisson and I are seated at a table along the wall of a narrow section of the restaurant between this area and the main dining room at the front. There are decorative vines and grapes hanging from the ceiling of the whole place.

The wine list is attached to a beautiful wooden clipboard which I want to take home and I start the evening with a rather orange-hued and sweet bellini. We don’t do the name of the restaurant justice though, as this is the only drink I have for the evening while Monsieur Poisson forgoes any drinks altogether as usual.

And because I am feeling like salty cured meats, I lightly influence Monsieur Poisson to share the ‘Antipasto plate’ with me. It is quite substantial and advised to be shared with its spread of prosciutto, olives, salame, marinated capsicum, pecorino and housemade focaccia. A meal or picnic in itself, really.

For mains, as often happens with us, we get distracted by what’s on offer on the specials menu and order from there instead. I have the ‘Papardelle with duck ragu’ which has wonderfully soft and wide pasta noodles in a meaty sauce with plenty of depth. The duck is minced and has a livery taste rather than the shreds of duck meat that I expect, but it packs plenty of flavour and is very warming.

Monsieur Poisson’s main is the special of ‘Braised beef cheeks with potato-celeriac mash and prosciutto-wrapped beans’. Beef cheeks are seriously understated. They’ve been braised until they are fall-apart tender here, requiring only a fork to prise apart the strands of tasty meat. We discover the meal serves are rather generous and realise we’ve over-ordered with neither of us being able to finish our meals.

Somehow, of course, albeit after a much-needed break, Monsieur Poisson finds the room to have dessert. The ‘Chocolate tortino with Baileys anglaise’ has caught his eye and neither of us have qualms about having to wait the 10 or 15 minutes required for it to be made fresh. Along with his usual caffe latte, he is one happy camper when he digs his spoon in to reveal a molten tortino centre.

I stick with my usual coffee/ice-cream hybrid in the form of an affogato for, as Wifey has said, “There is always room for ice-cream!” For only $6 the scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream here is quite generous as opposed to when I literally do have my ice-cream drowning in a shot of espresso at other places!

The Vineyard has mainly Italian influences in its menu, although there’s an occasional French touch here and there. They get pretty busy on weekends and I have been turned away previously when I rocked up with another two people without a table booking, so I’d definitely recommend phoning ahead to check. Oh, and it’s a good idea to take a few people along to share the food too.

The Vineyard

104 Willoughby Rd (opp intersection with Holtermann St), Crows Nest NSW

Tel: (02) 9966 0906

Opening Hours:  Mon  CLOSED

                        Tues-Fri  4:40pm-6:30pm (happy hour)

                                     dinner from 6pm

                        Sat & Sun  breakfast from 9am

                                        12pm-3pm (lunch)

                                        dinner from 6pm

happy eating!

Twelve, 15 Jan 2010

Monsieur Poisson and I have been eating at Twelve for years. The first year we were dating we spent my birthday here. When I left my last job, knowing that I like the place, it was here that colleagues chose to hold my farewell. That same year I gathered a large group of friends together to help me celebrate a significant birthday. We first ate at Twelve when the restaurant frontage was brown and now it’s red, although the blackboard wall featuring the specials is still here as well as their reasonable prices. The funny thing about us having eaten here so many times is that we have not actually sampled much of their menu. We are far more often than not attracted (or distracted) by the description of something on their specials board which changes on a regular basis.

Today we’re here to catch up with Ms Japan and we expect it to be a long dinner – when you get Ms Japan and I together the conversation can last absolute hours upon hours. Ms Japan settles back with a glass of red wine (unpictured) while I order a lemon, lime and bitters which arrives in a tall glass and is the colour of a beautiful, golden sunset – a reassuring sign that the bitters have not been skimped upon.

I am lucky that I know so many friends who are happy to share their food rather than digging into their individually ordered dishes. (Just as an aside, I’m always surprised and intrigued when I spot couples dining who both order the exact same thing. Most funny when I once saw a couple eating a pizza each, both with the same toppings!) This practice, of course, allows for a much more varied dining experience and a greater ability to taste-test different things. And thus we start our dinner with the ‘Risotto with prawns & porcini cream’ from the specials board.

Prawns and porcini is not a coupling that springs to mind when I think of risottos. The mushroom brown dish arrives with a slightly wet and sticky appearance punctuated by orange curls of shelled prawns. But then it somehow seems to work – the sweetness of the slippery prawns, the earthiness of the porcini and the mushroom-fragranced al dente rice. I’m surprised!

This is followed by another offering from the specials board: the ‘Spaghettini with crab, napolitana, basil & chilli’. This is a real summery pasta for me with the strands of sweet crabmeat, which is light in texture, tossed through the thinnish pasta and bound together by a sweet tomato sauce given a bit of a kick with the addition of chilli. The pasta is perfectly cooked and I keep digging in for more.

And then finally for something from Twelve’s standard menu! It’s their ‘Pumpkin & fetta pizza’ and pizzas are something that are done consistently well here, especially if you like your bases thin and crisp. Unfortunately you’re out of luck if you prefer a doughier or fluffier base but no complaints can be made about the toppings which usually revolve around a couple of starring ingredients which are always evenly spread with care.

Sadly it is much more difficult when it comes to sharing the desserts. We order two and the first to arrive is the board special of ‘Trio chocolate - mousse, sorbet & tart’. We have been given individual plates to aid our sharing but they’re warm, so the mousse and sorbet melt almost instantaneously upon contact. We all like the mousse which is light and airy but the sorbet is a little heavy on the cocoa which gives a slight bitter and powdery aftertaste. The tart is rich and dense with a firm texture and is encased by a crunchy biscuity base.

The other dessert falls under my husband’s category of favourites – it’s a dessert pizza and features banana. A crêpe-like base is the vessel for banana sliced thinly on the diagonal and dotted with chocolate chips. A dusting of icing sugar and scoop of vanilla ice-cream following the pizza’s stint in the oven and the dessert is complete.

Along with some coffees (unpictured) we are thoroughly stuffed full of food. We linger on with our conversation and have our water glasses diligently and continually refilled by the waitstaff.

Twelve

222 King St (btwn Brown & Whateley St), Newtown NSW

Tel: (02) 9519 9412

Opening Hours:  Sun & Mon  CLOSED

Tues-Sat  dinner only from 5:30pm

happy eating!

Café Andronicus, 9 Dec 2009

Chatswood has a distinct lack of cafés. There are plenty of little coffee kiosks peppered along Victoria Avenue Mall and throughout the shopping centres but, apart from Café Andronicus, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the area that stays open beyond standard business hours. It’s been around for years with a menu which has changed very little and is widely acknowledged for its sub-par service. Although I’ve never received rude service here, it has never been sparkling or even warm in my experience. But we keep coming back because the food is generally good and predictable.

Batman and I meet here for lunch one day as we know we won’t be hassled for sitting and chatting too long. I order a ‘Gourmet Burger’ as I have a major soft spot for warm meat sandwiched between bread with crispy fries on the side. This doesn’t disappoint with a narrow but tall, soft burger roll piled high with salad, a juicy mince patty, bacon and cheese. The fries are golden but underseasoned, however that is easily rectified.

Batman treats herself to the beef lasagne which looks and tastes seriously cheesy whilst being adorned with a generous shaving of further parmesan over the top. A healthy serve of salad can be found on the side dressed with a tangy vinaigrette.

It was more than a surprise to see Café Andronicus closed with all its floor-to-ceiling bifold windows obscured by newspapers not long into the new year. It reopened a couple of weeks later, seemingly without much change, but under the new name of Café New York. The furniture appears the same as does the menu, and I wonder whether the kitchen staff have changed at all. I had the ‘Gourmet Burger’ again recently and it was the same as depicted above. More worrying was when Monsieur Poisson ordered Eggs Benedict (at 2pm) and received a tasteless, runny, Dijon mustard tinted ‘sauce’ instead of the usual Hollandaise…

What style of eatery do you feel is missing from your area? And how far are you willing to travel in the name of good food?

Café Andronicus (now Café New York)

316 Victoria Ave (cnr Archer St), Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9413 1494

Opening Hours:  7 days  9am til late

happy eating!

Excelsior (無國界), 28 Oct & 28 Nov 2009

There is a perception that fusion cuisine is something that has been conceived by the minds of chefs in high end restaurants in relatively recent times. But the truth for people like myself who have grown up in or grown up eating food of a colonised land, this is the only food that we know. Over years of rule by governments and people of a different racial background comes a marriage of foods from both cultures – you see it in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Macau and Hong Kong to name just a few.

The fusion influences are sometimes obvious and, at other times, subtle. Think Vietnamese pork rolls, kaya toast and Portugese egg tarts. An example of this type of food in an eatery is the ‘sai chaan teng’ (西餐廳) or ‘western restaurant’ that serves Cantonese-ified western food. You will often see spaghetti stir-fried with beef in black pepper sauce on the menu as well as mixed seafood in a white sauce baked atop rice gracing the menu.

A place that does this variety of food rather well is Excelsior at Kogarah. It’s been around for around ten years now and is family run, I understand, so it closes for extended periods around public holiday occasions. If parking cannot be found on nearby streets then there is a handy underground carpark around the back of the building, which also happens to be free on weekends.

I’ve eaten here countless times over the years and one of their standout items is the ‘Prawn Bisque’ which is creamy and very prawny and is served with a small crusty bread roll with butter on the side.

If you’re looking for a puff pastry fix then I would recommend the ‘Bouillabaisse with puff pastry’. Although it’s definitely not a French bouillabaisse by any description, it doesn’t skimp on the seafood and is fresh with its tomato-ey flavours.

I quite often have the ‘Baked linguine Bolognaise’ as the herb-less but slightly sweet tomato mince sauce is comforting after being baked on top of pasta and developing a crusty top. The serving is generous and I usually find that I can’t finish it.

On one occasion, Monsieur Poisson has the ‘Curry chicken with rice’ which is a very mild yet fragrant but not overly yellow Cantonese-style curry. The pieces of chicken served are on the bone and are usually a mixture of thigh and drumstick. There’s a piece of potato or two thrown in for good measure and the sauce is lovely mixed through some plain rice.

And on another of our visits, I opt to order items from a set menu while Monsieur Poisson orders just a main dish. His is the ‘Lamb cutlets with chips’ which comes not only with chips but also a side of vegetables and a thin gravy-type sauce.

My spread starts with the ‘Seafood ravioli in prawn sauce’ where the ravioli wrappers are definitely white gow-gee (dumpling) ones instead and the sauce tastes like a thinner version of the prawn bisque described above.

Next is a ‘Spicy vongole soup’ which has a moderate but not overwhelming amount of heat and features plenty of clam meat and no shells. Alongside is the usual bread roll with butter.

For the main meal I’ve chosen the ‘Minute steak with garlic mushroom sauce’ which is intensely garlicky and comes with vegetables as well as a small serve of potato gratin.

The included dessert is never the highlight for me as it’s usually a cold, gelatine-set panna cotta type of thing – not my favourite. On this occasion it is a ‘Papaya pudding with azuki’ which is smooth and served with a drizzle of evaporated milk on top. The best part of course is that the set menu costs only around $19 and includes a hot drink as well!

Excelsior (無國界)

Kogarah Town Square, AR16, 7-9 Belgrave St, Kogarah NSW

Tel: (02) 9553 1866

Opening Hours:  Mon  CLOSED

Tues-Sun  around 11:00am-10pm, I think…

happy eating!