Iron Chef, Cabramatta

My first visit to Iron Chef in Cabramatta. Actually the only other time I've been to Cabramatta was with my aunt six years ago when she went to buy some fabrics; no food involved. However over the last 2-3 years, I've been wanting to drop by as a certain friend kept raving about the food and cheap groceries! This trip almost didn't happen as the initial plan was to visit the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition. Cloudy skies changed our minds and we ended up in Iron Chef.

We didn't have to wait long to get a table. This was because I got lost on my way there and my colleague K had to wait 45 minutes by himself before the rest of us arrived. The rest of the gang was waiting for me you see... Sorry K! My bad.

Prawn Dumpling

Pan Fried Rice Roll

Chicken Feet

Vegetarian Roll

Pork Dumplings

Beef Tendons

Steam Prawn Roll

Deep Fried Taro Ball

Soy Bean Dessert

Egg Tarts

Overall, the food was pretty similar to what you would get in Chinatown but way cheaper. Service was pretty good too although I've heard some stories against this. Will go back if I'm ever in the area.

Iron Chef

84 Broomfield St

Cabramatta NSW 2166

(02) 9723 6288

Chophouse

I first heard about Chophouse in Chocolatesuze's blog and since then I've been waiting patiently for an occasion to visit. Last Saturday, 11 of us dined at Chophouse to celebrate a birthday.

When we arrived we were shown to the private room upstairs. I would have preferred eating downstairs, dining under the huge rib like structure, but the private room was nice too. The walls were covered with cow hide, fur still intact, a private bar (but unattended) and dark wood furniture.

When we arrived we noticed that it was pretty warm in the private room. The waitstaff informed us that they had switched on the air-conditioning and it would take a few minutes to start up. In the mean time, they opened the windows to let the cool air in but that was a bad mistake as the hot air from the kitchen (window was directly above the kitchen) made the room even warmer. Not a good start.

Another peeve (since I've started on this train) was that they served bottled water without even asking what we wanted. I do understand that a restaurant needs to make money, and we usually get bottled (sparkling) water anyway, but the right thing to do would be to ask first? Is it just me or am I being paranoid?

Well, enough about that, lets get on to the food.

We started off with warm, soft and yummy bread with loads of butter spread on top. Heaven.

We also ordered two salads to share.

Warm Peking Duck Salad ($24.90) which had lotus root, yam bean, cucumber, black bean and shallot dressing was awesome. The clean taste of lotus root, yam bean and cucumber accentuated the flavours of the duck. The shallot dressing was delicious too that I wished they sold it in a bottle.

The best salad of the night was the Crisp Pork Belly and Sea Scallop ($25) which was made with chinese cabbage, coriander, pea shoots and soy vinaigrette. Imagine warm crispy skin and soft melt-in-your mouth fatty meat inter-mingled with fresh chinese cabbage and peat shoot. Everyone's favourite salad of the night.

A side of Cauliflower Gratin ($7.90) with sourdough, gruyere and parsley. I liked how the cauliflower was slightly crunchy with baked gruyere cheese on top.

Double Double Lamb Chops w/ mint jelly ($26.90). The lamb, 30 day Grain-Fed from Margaret River, WA, was awesome. The lamb was superbly cooked, pink on the inside and super tender while still retaining the meaty taste of lamb.

350g Rib Eye Hereford Beef ($26.90) which was from the Special Menu. I love a good steak and this was very good. For me, a good steak starts with the taste of the meat. I've had a number of bland steaks where sauces are used to hide the blandness but the steak at Chophouse packed a punch taste wise. They were also cooked perfectly as the meat was pink and melt-in-your-mouth with an "almost" burnt aftertaste which I love.

By the time we finish our mains and two bottles of wine the room was hot! Some of the boys were sweating from the humidity in the room. The upstair hallway was also very smoky which I guess was due to poor ventilation. Due to the heat we decided not to stay for dessert although I was very tempted by the chocolate block!

Overall, I would go back to Chophouse because the food was so good. They do need to fix their air-conditioning and ventilation though.

Chophouse

25 Blight Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Lemon @ Surry Hills

H and I had brunch at Lemon recently. It was our first time and I loved how they served each dish with a slice of lemon (per the name of the cafe). The walls were also covered with pictures of lemon and there was a petition to save the big lemon that was above the signage of the store. I guess the council won in taking the big lemon off the roof, OH&S you see..

H's Skinny Flat White ($3.30). His verdict - good coffee.

Lemon's version of Salmon Benedict ($14) - Poached eggs served on smoked salmon, wilted spinach, grilled tomato, avocado and a toasted bagel, topped with hollandaise sauce... and it came with a slice of lemon! H said the Hollandaise sauce tasted like it came from a packet and the smoked salmon rather fishy. I guess he won't be ordering this the next time round.

Mango and Orange Smoothie ($5.50) - I detected only a hint of mango and overall it was pretty sour.

I had Eggs on Toast - Scrambled ($6) w/ extra Mushrooms ($3.30) and Spanish Sausage ($3.30). I loved the mushrooms. It was cooked just right. The scrambled eggs was pretty good too; soft and milky.

Lemon

393 Crown Street

Surry Hills NSW 2010

(02) 9380 5242

Gia Hoi

A new addition to the numerous eateries on George Street (Chinatown side) was Vietnamese restaurant Gia Hoi. This place opened its doors sometime in May and the banner advertising a 10% opening special is still hanging above the entrance to the shop when H and I visited. The whole shop was outfitted in bright orange which brought a smile to my face. I love the colour and even own a bright orange jacket but that's a story for another time.

Service was warm and welcoming and we were quickly shown to our seats (which by the way was bright orange) and provided with bright orange coloured menu. We quickly decided on our dishes as we were famished but I was still undecided if I should order the Durian Shake or be good and have water instead. The durian shake won in the end and it was the best durian shake I've had in Sydney. It tasted exactly like a D24 (Malaysia's grading / name of a particular durian breed). Click to find out more about Durians.

Durian Shake ($4.50)

H's Vietnamese Ice Coffee ($4.50)

Gia Hoi's Special Beef Noodle Soup ($9) - One of the better ones I've tasted in Sydney. It had generous servings of rare beef and noodles. The broth was full of flavour however, it was pretty oily as you can tell from the picture above. Still, a great dish to warm you up on a cold wintry day.

Grilled Chicken w/ Rice ($9) - I loved the chicken as it was well marinated in lots of herbs. The marinade penetrated through the chicken pieces beautifully and you can taste the flavours not just on the skin and outer layer of the chicken but infused into the meat as well. Call me fussy but I dislike grilled meats that have been marinated only on the outer layer and when you reach the middle or towards the bone they taste bland. All that gorgeous flavours on the outer layer gets me excited for more and when you hit a bland patch it's just.... off-putting (is that a word?). I digress, the grilled chicken here at Gia Hoi was beautifully marinated and tasted gorgeous.

Gia Hoi

709 George Street

Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 9211 0221

Alchemy Cafe & Restaurant, Christchurch

Recommended by the friendly staff at our B&B, we didn't realise that Alchemy is a multi-award winning restaurant until after we had tasted the food (more on that later). Alchemy is located in Christchurch's Art Gallery, situated next to the Art Centre and we didn't suspect a thing as it looks like a normal cafe. Service was slow (we had to wait more then 20 mins to put in our order all the while trying to get the attention of the 3 staff on the floor) but more than made up for it by the food.

H's Works Breakfast w/ Cressy Farm bacon, 2 free range eggs, venison sausage, sauteed rosemary potatoes, grill tomatoes, mushrooms and ciabatta (NZD $21.50) was awesome. The bacon was succulent and meaty and I loved, loved, loved the venison sausage. All was cooked perfectly and you can really taste the difference when good quality produced are used.

I had ordered the Seared Akaroa Salmon on mushroom filled french toast with sauteed spinach and watercress (NZD$22.50). This was an award winning dish and I agree full-heartedly. The mushroom filled french toast was gorgeous with meaty mushrooms and eggy goodness. The Akaroa salmon was cooked perfectly, slightly pink in the middle and looked awesome on top of the french toast.

H and I both agreed that we would definitely be back for more the next time we are in Christchuch. Just fabulous food, quality produced and "outside the box" cooking.

Alchemy Cafe & Restaurant

49 Worcester Boulevard

Christchurch 8001 New Zealand

+ 64 3 366 3018

www.alchemycafe.co.nz

Mu Steakhouse, Christchurch

Mu Steakhouse, recommended by a colleague of H was situated smack bang in the city centre. We decided to rock up and try our luck as we did not ring before hand to make a booking. Once there we were told that they could seat us but we would have to leave by 7.30pm. An hour and a half for dinner was fine by us. Just feed me a decent meal.

Mu Steakhouse has a bar section and 3 floors for food. It was all dark wood illuminated only by dim red lighting (a nightmare for photographs so please excuse the poor quality pics).

A picture of meats on display at the front of the kitchen. This got me salivating but alas I had chosen the wrong dish for the night (read more to find out).

For entree we started off with Mu Steakhouse Tart which was made up of creamy blue cheese & onion on top of rocket with confit of tomatoes. H loved blue cheese so when he saw this on the menu he just had to order this dish. I'm not a big fan of blue cheese but this was quite good as the blue cheese wasn't that pungent.

The best of the night though was the Chicken Liver and Cognac Pate topped with white truffle butter and accompanied by hazelnut wafers. The pate was made absolutely more delicious by the white truffle butter topping. I just couldn't stop eating this although I could feel my arteries clogging up.

H's 500g Rib Eye on the Bone was awesome. The meat was just superb; full of natural flavour and cooked to perfection.

Unfortunately my dish which was the special Lamb Trio wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not a big fan of offal and 2/3rd of this dish was made up of 'em. The lamb chops were pretty good but sausage which was made with liver ...eik!

Dessert made up for my main though. We had ordered the Espresso Brulee which was delicious. A slightly burnt crust which cracked with a flick of the wrist revealed coffee infused, creamy, delicious innards. The brulee was accompanied by olive sorbet made in house which was also delicious.

Mu Steakhouse

92 Lichfield Street

Christchurch, NZ

(03) 377 0681

50 on Park, Christchurch

Our first dinner in Christchurch and we were both very excited to try 50 on Park. Before our trip I've researched (as a good foodie should) places to eat and found this on Dine Out, New Zealand's equivalent to eatibility.com, with great reviews. They have a 3-course dinner for NZ$65 which I reckon was a steal.

Although we didn't have any wine that night, I really loved this picture and have decided to include it anyway in my review ;) The other pictures though are not as nice due to the yellow / low lighting. Apologies.

We did have a bottle of Bollinger (NZ$155) though as it was a night to celebrate! (H proposed and we were in NZ for a short engagement holiday. Plus claiming the GST back on the ring means the holiday was kind of paid for!)

For entree I choose the Confit Akaroa Salmon w/ wholemeal bread herb crumble, egg, avocado and watercress. This was absolutely delicious. The herb breadcrumb was tasty and went really well with the salmon, avocado puree and egg. The breadcrumb also added a different texture to the dish.

H ordered the Rabbit Pistachio Terrine w/ carrot relish, orange seeded mustard, truffle toast and celery cornichon salad which was also delicious. The bacon complemented the terrine really well that H commented that it tasted better with the bacon wrapped around it then without the bacon. The other accompaniments to the terrine were well thought of as it accentuated the taste of the terrine beautifully.

We both decided on the 300g Prime Beef Ribeye, cooked medium-rare, served w/ Bernaise sauce and Jus. The beef was cooked just the way I like it.

We also had a choice of 2 side dishes and mine were Creamy Potato Mash w/ Truffle Butter (absolutely yummy that if I could lick the plate I would have) and Carrot Cardamom Coriander & Edamame Salad. I found the Carrot Cardamom Salad very refreshing and makes a good palate cleanser too.

Carrot Cardamom Coriander & Edamame Salad

H decided on Hand Cut Fries w/ Ginger Salt & Wasabi Aioli and Mixed Lettuce & Micro Green Salad w/ Passionfruit Dressing. The hand cut fries or wedges were good. Crispy on the outside and soft on the insides. The passionfruit dressing on the salad was WOW. It brought normal salad leaves up a notch to restaurant quality salad. H however regretted not ordering the Cabbage & Bacon Saute (in duck fat). Next time perhaps as we will definitely be back.

White Chocolate Marquise, Dark Chocolate Textures and Tart Cherry Gel. I love the texture of the marquise and the melt in your mouth dark chocolate. Yummy!

Recommended by the knowledgeable waitress this "not so lemon meringue pie", lemon curd, rose meringue, shortbread crumble and raspberries was not just gorgeous to look at but delectable to eat. Note the different textures on the plate which added to the experience of eating this dish.

Hmmm.... Can I classify this as modern Australian even though it's cooked in NZ?

50 on Park

The George Hotel

50 Park Terrace

Christchurch New Zealand

www.thegeorge.com