Simplicity

Does anything need to be said about the delights of a perfectly toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich?


P.s. I ate this every day for lunch for 2 weeks before I got sick of it! haha

Omelette Thai

Omelette Thai is a Thai restaurant situated across the road from Xin Jiang Noodle Restaurant. Too lazy to walk to the other side of the train station, we ducked into Omelette Thai for a quick meal.

Chicken Red Curry

The main reason I always order red curry is purely for the sauce. I don't even really care what meat or veggies is in it as long as I get the sauce! hehe Omelette Thai's sauce is mild and creamy. I loved the thinly sliced Kaffir lime leaves they scattered over the top. Once you mix it in, you get a lovely citrusy aroma that just added to the taste.

Chicken Cashew Nut

My all time favourite Thai dish. I love the sweet and spicey flavours of this dish. Omelette Thai's version is quite nice. But I'm not sure if it was my request for extra sauce that made it quite runny. It didn't seem to have that thick sticky consistency I love in this dish. It didn't stop me pouring all the sauce over the rice though!

Omelette Thai seems to be a simple local restaurant suitable for a quick bite. My only gripe with the restaurant is that it is one of those Thai Restaurants that likes to serve you your rice. Whilst some people really like that extra level of service. I prefer to have a big bowl/pot of rice on the table to help yourself. But that's cos I feel greedy when I keep asking for more and more rice! hehe

Omelette Thai
190 Liverpool Road
Ashfield NSW 2131
(Ph) 02 9716 0360

Xin Jiang Noodle Restaurant - Ashfield

I'm sure you've all seen the Xin Jiang Handmade noodle truck around one time or another. For some reason I keep seeing it in the city? There really isn't any reason I can think of for them to be around Martin Place?

Despite being inundated with fliers and advertising, I never even thought of going even though its 5mins walk from my place. However, one cold freeeeezing and wet winters night had me craving shanghai buns. But all my favourite locals were completely packed out, leaving us the option of finding somewhere else to go.

Xin Jiang Noodle Restaurant is on the quieter end of Liverpool Rd near the public schools. There were 2 other tables when we arrived half way through their meal. I noticed everyone was having a huge bowl of steaming hot noodle soup, which was exactly what I needed!

Handmade dumples and noodle soup

This was so comforting. The chewy noodles, the crunch of the vegetable and the light clear broth. The dumpling filling is actually quite rich and very different to what I was used to. It was also a lot softer than what I was expecting. It was still delicious regardless.

Pan fried pork buns

When I saw these I was so excited! I could get my Shanghai Pan Fried Pork buns! But what came out was far from it. Firstly, these were small. These are about the size of a Xiao Long Bao. The little bite size steamed Shanghai Pork dumplings. The wrapper is also have way between a dumpling wrapper and a bun skin. The filling was the same as the soup dumplings. Rich and soft. But the biggest difference? There was no squirt of scorching hot liquid to give you 3rd degree burns.

Spiced Lamb Ribs

My friend was craving something meaty. We didn't really feel like ordering a hot pot or their sweet and sour meat balls, so we opted for this. This was spiced with lovely cumin, salt, pepper and other herbs. These were really tasty, except sometimes you will pick a piece that is 90% bone and 10% batter. But even when you do get a meaty piece, its quite fatty meat. I would probably order it again, but would want to try some other dishes first.

Xin Jiang Noodle Restaurant
205 Liverpool Rd
Asfield, 2131
(Ph) 02 9799 9989

(hehe That's such an asian phone number!!)

Mama's Kitchen

Wow.....its been atleast 8 years since I've been to Mama's Kitchen. Mama's Kitchen used to be one of our favourite restaurants back in the days of Uni simply because it was one of the cheapest places around. What used to be $3.50 for a Spaghetti Bolognese or Napolitan now costs $6.50. That's inflation for you!

We visited the Mama's Kitchen on Liverpool St (Is this the only one left?!) to catch up with Moishii one night. I remember when the 2 of us used to come here, we'd always end up with a stomach ache later. Luckily this time we fared better. And the food has certainly changed for the better!

Creamy Chicken Fettucine

Procuitto and rocket pasta with a chilli, garlic and lemon oil

I loved the taste of the fresh ingredients piled ontop. Quickly mix it in so the heat of the pasta releases the aroma in the fatty procuitto and rocket. I did find the oil a bit sickly by the end of the dish, but that's cos it had started to cool down. I'm definitely going to try making this myself.

Dessert!

Sticky Date pudding

Tiramisu

I went the Tiramisu. Cool creamy bites packed with a coffee punch. Sooooooooo good! I almost finished the whole thing. ALMOST. Its actually a huge serve packed into a deceivingly small glass!

Oh, I've also given you a hint as to where I will be going on my holiday!

Mama's Kitchen

57 Liverpool St
Sydney NSW 2000

(Ph) 02 9264 5841‎

Welcome!!!!

Welcome to my new home! Have a browse around, look at some old posts and enjoy yourself! I'll be on holidays for a while, but there will be PLENTY of food posts when I get back! MmMmmm nom nom nom nom....

Subsolo Cafe...?

My monthly Food Safari lunch got postponed a few times as either my friend was busy or I was busy. One day we were both free and decided to go to Subsolo for lunch. Since neither of us had much time, we thought we'd try the Subsolo Deli Cafe. Except when we got there, we were told they haven't built that part of the restaurant yet even though its advertised on their website.

Not a problem though, the waiter seated us at a huge long communal table and gave us the cafe menu. EXCEPT, they didn't have the paella the day we went! NoOoOoOooo!!! We were really looking forward to that. I guess I'll just have to go back another day! hehehe

We eyed the tapas box and wanted to pick 2 sandwich rolls to share since we were both starrrrrrrrving. But the kind waiter told us we were probably ordering too much food and convinced us to get 1 roll only.

Tapas "box"

Left to right: Lamb cutlet, croquette, Chorizo, Manchego Cheese, Jamon and a lovely artichoke salad.

Everything we got on the plate was delicious! My favourite would have to be the croquette and the salad. I really don't like artichoke, but these ones were lightly pickled and doesn't have the horrible pungent smell that turns me off artichokes.

Piquillo Pepper - Twice roasted mild red peppers, Spanish goats cheese, roasted pinenuts & rocket

Wow...if vegetarian food tasted like this every day I may just convert to be a vegetarian...for a day. hehehe But this was absolutely delicious! The creamy goats cheese, the smokey peppers constrasted so well with the pinenuts! This might be a bit more of a regular lunch thing I think.

Despite the delicious food, I think both of us could've done with the other sandwich. I guess maybe we were greedy, but we wanted more! Next time I won't be discouraged by the waiter to eat til I make a fool of myself! hehe

Subsolo
161 King St, Sydney NSW 2000
Corner Castlereagh St
(Ph) 02 9223 7000
http://www.subsolo.com.au/

Loving my black bento box

I'm really in love with the black bento box my friend got for me last year. I've almost abandoned most of my other boxes in favour for this one! hehehe I don't know, I think it makes the food look so much more fresh and vibrant. Or maybe it just photos better! hehe


Left: Leftover Shanghainese pan fried pork buns
Right: Cold soba noodle salad. I had a really nice citrusy Japanese salad dressing to mix into this


Left: Chicken and mushroom ravioli in a garlic and olive tomato sauce
Right: Fennel and mandarin salad with smoked salmon. Usually I use orange, but I didn't think the orange segments will last after sitting in the salad overnight. The mandarins went really well! They also make great portable dressing dispensers. Before eating, squeeze a piece of mandarin over the whole salad as dressing! hehe


Left: Ham and veggie frittata with sliced smoked chicken drumsticks
Right: More fennel and mandarin salad with smoked salmon


Left: Smoked Chicken salad
Right: Black Pepper stir fried spam with broccoli. Really nice and peppery!


Left: Salad with ricotta cheese served with balsamic vinegar
Right: Veggie frittata with grilled veggies and beef patties


Left: Veggie frittata (Yes I had a lot of frittata! But 1 frittata can last 2-3 meals!)
Right: Tuna garden salad


Top: Lamb Kofte with Bulghur
Bottom: Baby corn, green beans, cherry tomatoes, curry puff, pea sprouts and sweet figs



Left: Chicken patties and sautéed shitake mushrooms
Right: Curry puffs and veggies