[Sydney Jun 2009] Din Tai Fung @World Square

Din Tai Fung
644 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9264 6010

First night in Sydney...still raining.....orz.........

I made plan to meet with cousin, H, who lives and works in Sydney. Oh, I haven't seen him in ages, like, two years.

I gave him pandan chiffon cake and leftover cruller frm Chat Thai lunch. Hehe, hope he doesn't mind that it's not as good as his dad's.

This was the queue when we left at around 7.30pm. The place was half-filled when we arrived at 6-ish and thus were promptly seated.

We were so excited to be visiting Din Tai Fung Sydney as we remembered our meals from DTF Taipei with utmost fondness.

Default order, xiaolongbao, dainty little morsels of gastronomic delight.

Hmm, I popped one in my mouth and frankly speaking, taste was average and filling was a bit dry even with the soup swimming inside.

H had chicken chop served with fried rice. I stole some chicken from him. Yum.

Big (pork-chop face) King had what else but pork chop served with fried rice.

Fried rice here was rather good but still miles away from Taiwan's version who used top-notch rice (from who knows where) and spring onions from Yilan complete with wok-hei.

Oh, sesame paste noodles, my favourite. I had been dreaming about this for ages. Can't find the likes of this in Brisbane, sien. I had it mild, they normally comes spicier, as I am sharing with Princess.

Stir-fried spinach with garlic

Finally, some green for fibre. This was executed well and nicely seasoned to my taste.

[Brisbane] Shangpaign Shanghainese Cuisine

Shangpaign Kitchen
Centro Pinelands
Pinelands Road
Sunnybank Hills
Qld 4109

There are not many Shanghainese restaurants in Brisbane, I can only think of three other on top of my head.

The newcomer to the scene is Shangpaign which in my opinion serves the best xiaolongbao (steamed minced pork dumplings) in Brisbane and kick-arse soup filled pan-fried buns.

Braised gluten 四喜烤麸

A classic Shanghainese cold dish consisting of gluten, peanuts, black fungus and shiitake mushroom. Salty and sweet with a hint of star anise.

Salted duck

Another cold dish, duck is nicely seasoned.

Xiaolongbao (steamed minced pork dumplings)

Ver tasty morsels of soup filled dumplings with thin and resilient skin. A must order.

Pan-fried pork buns

These are absolutely delicious! My personal top pick. Soft buns with crispy bottom filled with soupy minced pork filling (probably the same as the xiaolongbao's.) Heaven!

Yam and pork ribs in earthen? pot

Yam is hard and not cooked enough but ribs are soft and fell apart without much prying. Finger licking good, hmmm.

Garlic chicken

Deep-fried chicken pieces tossed in crispy seasoned garlic. The chicken pieces were mostly bones and the garlic is too salty. Presentation is good though.

Sweet and sour fish 衳鼠黃魚

Umm, the chef really should brush up their knife skill *cough* ahemmmm. Lacklustre and forgettable.

The restaurant itself is pretty tiny with 10 tables or so amd can get pretty busy. But turnover is quick and especially if you are a fan of xiaolongbao, it's definitely worth the wait.

[Sydney Jun 2010] Chat Thai

Chat Thai
20 Campbell St
Haymarket
Website: www.chatthai.com.au


As soon as I saw Chat Thai featured in Food Safari, I made a mental note that I would make a visit if I were in Sydney.

My cousin strongly recommended it when I told him I was going to Sydney.

'It's very authentic,' he said. Magic word. Now I die die must go.

But weather was not kind to us when we visited, it ws pouring on our way from Westin to Myer, luckily the Myer building was connected to QVB via an underground passage.

We found the free CBD shuttle outside Sheraton, hopped on it and alighted at Chinatown. Campbell St was just a few steps away from the stop, opposite Capitol Building.

It was early when we arrived, the legendary snaking queue was nowhere to be seen. We scored a table easily.

The place was quickly filled up as the dining room was quite compact, long and narrow. The tables were within inches of each other and the patrons sit elbow to elbow.

Not a place for private chit-chat.

Crullers with kaya dip

My uncle made better ones :-(. Kaya was weak and very (too) lemak.


Suko thai AUD8.90 (with or without consomme)

Thin rice noodles in spicy chicken stock with fish paste dumplings, dried shrimps and pork loin; finished of with peanuts and finely sliced green beans.

Very tasty dish, the soup packed a punch and the flavour was incredibly complex. You have sweet, salty, sour and umami swmming in your mouth and the back of your head.

Khanom jeeb AUD5 for 4 pcs

Steamed wonton dumplings with chicken and prawn filling.

Very good eaten with the smoky sweet and salty chilli sauce.

Oh, before I forget, there is a reader who wants to know where to get cake flour.

You can get them from Chinese supermarket which will say low gluten flour in Chinese or you can use 'Lighthouse' brand 'Cakes, biscuits and pastry self raising flour' available from Coles or Woolworths.