Fooshion

Bistro Vinden

It was a flawless sunday; sunny but with shades of winter. A perfect day indeed to go out for a roadtrip to Hunter Valley. Luckily, a friend, who knows her way through the food-globe charters, have suggested we go to Vinden Estate Winery as she had read that they supply their wines to famous fine-dining restaurants like Becasse, Aria and Quay. 

We decided to have lunch at the estate, in its restaurant called Bistro Vinden.

Tomato with anchovy sourdough

This entree was just beautiful, but onion-haters beware as the taste of onion is very strong. Crisp baked thin slices of sourdough with ‘Vinden-grown’ tomatoes soaked in garlic and white wine vinegar. 

Cheese platter

For dessert, we decided to have a selection of cheese ranging from bree, blue vein and cheddar with lavosh and quinche paste. The bree was no doubt the best cheese on the platter. 

What’s a better combo than this: fine dessert wine, cheese and good friends? Truly, as I have said, it was a perfect Sunday. 

Golden Century Seafood

Where else can you get fresh live seafood served with Hong Kong style sauce? To me, Golden Century holds the crown for fresh seafood, especially abalone. It’s probably uncommon for most of you, but I like to choose my own abalones that gets served on my table. Well, not me frankly but my dad. So whenever we eat seafood in this place we would always get our pick fresh from the fish tanks in the restaurant. 

Green baby abalone 5 pcs $62.10

There are different types of abalones, and the one above was the green abalone. Its chewiness drenched in Hong-Kong soy sauce was divine. 

Large Black abalone $71.10

Steamed thin strips of abalone with chopped shallots and Hong-kong sauce, what better way to cook abalones? I enjoyed this dish more than the previous one because the thin slices were just perfect! Well and neatly sliced.

Braised Noodle Fujian $22.00 

I liked the braised noodle, it was a good mix with the abalones, you could eat them together. Indeed, it was an appetizing lunch right off from stressful uni. The lobster in this place is also highly recommended. But do not try the Alaskan crabs as they are only big in size due to their shells. 

Tan Viet

Another famous Vietnamese eatery, the most awaited one in fact. We had to eat in Tan Viet Noodle House. Previously, when we came to Cabramatta it was closed since it was Chinese new year. 

Presenting, Tan Viet’s glorious fried chicken with tomato rice. The original, finger-licking and awesome goodness of Vietnamese fried chicken that derailed our healthy diets.

We just had to say hello to a couple more pounds due to this day. 

Cabramatta dessert

Reminiscing from past visits, my mom remembered well of this dessert place located at the back of the markets. A variety of asian desserts that are similar to Chat Thai’s but you can get them for a much cheaper price. 

There was a variety of delicious-looking sweets to choose from. One that did not slip my attention was the colorful jellies floating on coconut milk with bananas. 

Sticky rice had never been tastier when you mix it with coconut milk. The soggy and sticky taste you get from eating this dish was just intriguing. 

My favorite was this one. The yellow ping-pong looking balls that were so bouncy and soft. I have no idea what’s inside, but I guessed it might have been grounded yellow beans. Then again it was sweet. The balls were drenched in coconut milk and ginger. 

Pho Tau Bay

Another rendezvous with pho noodles in Cabramatta.

We stayed loyal to the Pho Dac Biet in Pho Tau Bay. A pleasure-full of large-sized warm beef soup, mixed with chopped chili, lime and wan-sui leaves. I’m starting to feel like Pho Tau Bay’s gonna have a regular customer soon. 

Pho Dac Biet Special beef (Rare beef, beef briskets, tendons, beef balls & beef bible) L-sized  $12.50

Another dish we ordered to share was the bun bo hue noodles: bun spicy beef & pork. The dish was distinct from pho, the noodles weren’t silky flat and the taste was spicy-scrumptious. Both were undeniably fulfilling. 

Bun Bo Hue (Bun spicy noodles with beef & pork M-sized $10.00)

The next few posts would hint you more of the foody-treasures you can find in this suburb. 

Mad Spuds

Mad for potato? Then you’re going to go insane in Mad Spuds cafe at Surry Hills. It’s like a world of spuds with potatoes conquering the menu. A potato drool-over!

Soy chai latte

I went there on Holy Thursday, a day where Catholics had to avoid eating meat. So it was pure herbivores day for the family. Looking at the day specialties on the board, we decided to order 2 of the specials:

The Crispy sweet potato and feta cake with organic spiced lentil salad, coriander, green beans, apple and lime $15

Roasted mushrooms on sour dough with overnight baked tomato, goat feta, poached egg and basil $16

The Crispy sweet potato salad was fulfilling. The feta cheese gave a whip of saline, and the sweet potato was perfectly crunchy and soft in the inside. Mixed with sour apple and lime, it was a collaboration well-done indeed. This was my favorite dish from the ones we ordered. 

I’m a big sucker for sour dough, moreover if it’s toasted. But the sour dough was nothing special, the overnight baked tomato also did not ignite any specialty. The poached egg was runny, but the whole dish was average. 

Veggie stack $16

Then, we ordered the Veggie stack with slices of avocado on the top, giving it a green-veggie texture. Well, it is a veg diet after all. It topped off the roasted mushroom with sour dough, but not the salad. 

Overall, Mad Spuds was a 7 out of 10 for a day of no-meat. I would definitely be back for more, and this time red meat would be on my order.

Bassim Strathfield

Bassim is one out of loads of other Korean restaurants in Strathfield. It stands out because of the unique futuristic-looking interior. The placement of the exhaust pipes looked like cave rocks falling out from the ceiling.

Sundubu jigae

We ordered the Sundubu Jigae to find its taste very warming compared to the cold weather outside.

So Galbi

Marinated So Galbi

The So Galbi was tender and if you mix it with the sauces given it would probably enhance the taste better. The Marinated So Galbi was flavorsome, but it was quite similar to normal marinated beef. It had that sweetness and juicy feel.

Ox tongue

Chili chicken

Koh-Ya at Neutral Bay is probably still at the top of my list for ox tongue. The ox tongue in Bassim was not as succulent as the one in Koh-Ya.  Their chili chicken is rated normal, nothing special really.

Overall, it was just quite a normal visit to a Korean BBQ place. I still preferred the Korean BBQ restaurant I usually visit called Se Joung in Campsie. 

Reuben Hills: another visit

Another visit to Reuben Hills; a small cafe nestled in Albion St. The place was packed with people as it was lunch time. As we entered, the smell of coffee came unto us in just a millisecond. However, I was not there for the coffee but I was there for the famous ‘Not reuben-wagyu sandwich’ that I missed during my prior visit to this industrial-looking café.

The wagyu salt brisket was soft, softer than I expected. The taste of salt, pickled slaw and horseradish cream combined was a perfect balance of salty and sour (‘soulty’ we call it). The fact that sourdough was used made the dish a lot more enticing and sophisticated-looking.

Then, the pork baleada came out looking very uninviting. It looked like plain soft taco and we were disappointed when it came out. But truly we should never judge food (people) by their outer looks. This meal had a secret weapon that delivered us from down-bottom towards contentment: pork. Shredded tender pork can never go wrong.

Alast, lunch was over and we left the place feeling ‘just right’. That kind of feeling when you know you’ve eaten good food at the right portion and at the right place.