Chocolatesuze - Sydney Food Blogger

PappaRich, Parramatta

27 July 2014, 01:49

You know what makes me happy? DEEP FRIED CHICKEN SKIN!!! So Parramatta finally got a lil bit more tastier with the opening of PappaRich (Shop 2185A – Zone G, Westfield Parramatta, 159-175 Church Street, Parramatta) and the first thing I ordered was the Pappa Deep Fried Chicken Skin ($6.90) and it was GLORIOUS! Each piece was deep fried to a golden crisp, setting my heart (and cholesterol) aflutter. You know you want it. Dooooo it.


Oops hold up, I was a little too excited about the chicken skin but I gotta tell you how much I really like places with a button ordering system haha so check out the menu, write the menu item code onto the order form and push the button for a super friendly waiter to pop by.


I had to get my beloved Milo Dinosaur ($4.90), which had a ridiculous amount of milo packed in while Noods opted for the Teh Tarik + Jelly ($4.90), a frothy pulled tea drink with cubes of grass jelly.


The Hainan Toasted Bread with Butter and Kaya ($4.50) is a DIY affair but I’m too used to kaya toast being pre spread back in Malaysia. It’s still tasty though and the bread is super fluffy with a pretty generous amount of kaya (a spread made with coconut milk, eggs and pandan leaves).


Noods satisfied his cravings and ordered the Pappa Assam Laksa ($13.50) which was sour, tangy and given two thumbs up. I would’ve loved more fish but that’s cos I love me my omega 3’s.


The Pappa Fried Mee Goreng ($13.50) was pretty bang on with heaps of prawns, tomatoes, potato and bits of fluffy egg. It was bordering on the oh-halp-it’s-spicy side but I pushed on through the pain.


On our second visit I opted for the Roti with Curry Chicken ($12.90) and yes I do prefer Mamak’s roti but PappaRich’s is still mighty fine, flaky and perfect for tearing and wrapping around the tender chicken pieces or dipping into the accompanying sambal and vegetarian dahl.


The Curry Laksa is spicy so it’s perfect for winter, the soup is a tad on the thick side but it’s fragrant and chock a block with chicken pieces, tofu, and erm eggplant. Don’t think I’ve ever had eggplant in laksa before hmm.


If you’re planning on trying the Roti Bom be sure to order it early as it does take some time to make. The roti is compressed into a disc with the condensed milk and sugar served separately in their own little compartments. It’s no roti tissue but makes for a very satisfying sweet ending to dinner.


Super glad for this new addition to the hood and I forsee multiple plates of fried chicken skin in my future :P

 

 

Malaysia 2014

20 July 2014, 01:25

Aaaand a short flight from Thailand and we’ve landed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, aka the land of gloriously pungent durian! We satiated our love for the king of fruit by stopping at a roadside stall called Durian SS2 as the usual durian stall down the street run by Donald had shut down. It was the tail end of the season for durian but you wouldn’t know it by the amount of people crammed in the area, digging into durians of all shapes, sizes and varieties. Street stalls are the best, sure they may feel a little ghetto at first but the food is super cheap and amazing and I have yet to get sick in Malaysia (knock on wood). You can choose the all you can eat durian option but only for certain types of durian but we stuck with the point and choose method because hey, moderation! Love that once you’re done eating you just chuck the shells into the nearest bin and amble away haha no fuss!


Breakfast with the rellies can be a crazy affair, HI UNCLE KEN AND MOON YEE! Village Park (5 Jalan SS 21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya) is famous for its queues for their incredible Nasi Lemak (RM9/$3)- fragrant coconut rice, sambal, peanuts, dry anchovies, egg, cucumber and a choice of ridiculously crispy fried chicken, curry chicken, sambal udang (prawn) or sambal sotong (squid). We also ordered a rainbow of drinks- syrup limau ice (RM2.70$0.90), barley ice (RM2.70/$0.90) and syrup bandang (RM3/$1). Oh and Village Park’s Coffee Set (RM7/$2.30) which came with Roti Bakar loaded with kaya and slabs of butter, 2 half boiled eggs and coffee.


The whole family unit drove from KL to Taiping for my bros formal wedding dinner and with 3.5 hours in captivity I made sure I stocked up on snacks like these ridiculously fat chicken curry puffs (RM2.70/$0.90 each) from Homi in Mid Valley Megamall which has the flakiest of all the pastries in the land.


We ended up stopping in Ipoh for lunch at Restoran Onn Kee (51, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, 30000 Ipoh) and because it was next door to a confectionary store that makes sour plum candy. Ipoh is famous for fat bean sprouts. My favourite… But luckily there was also char siu with gloriously fatty charred edges, the famous kuey teow with chicken balls and a plate of silky poached chicken.


The banquet dinner with all the rellies was held in Hu Jing Ge Chinese Restaurant (1st floor Flemington Hotel, No. 1, Jalan Samanea Saman, 34000 Taiping) starring Mr Suckling Piggy! Super crisp skin + tender pork innards = YARMMM! There’s was heaps of other food but my camera died so you’ll have to take my word that everything was tasty.


Back to KL and Restoran Ahwa (66, Jalan 14/48, Petaling Jaya) is always high on my must-eat list, this kopitiam has some of my fave dishes in KL and I always chortle when playing the game of let’s see if they understand me when I order while sounding completely ‘strayan. There was a round of chicken and beef satay with addictive peanut sauce, pohpiah (fresh spring roll chock a block with shredded vegetables) and Sarsi (sarsparilla) is always my drink of choice in Malaysia (and yes I know I can buy them here but it’s super exxy).


But oh the dish Restoran Ahwa is most famous for: Hokkien Mee! And with bonus plate of deep fried pork fat :P My cholesterol is fine I promise.


There was multiple visits to Restoran Robson Heights Fresh Seafood (10B, Jalan Permai, 50460 Kuala Lumpur) that has got you covered for all your crustacean needs. Special mentions to the Claypot Crab with Rice, Salted Egg Yolk Crab and Fried Eggplant with Meat Floss.


For dessert we’re at Kayu Nasi Kandar (No. 64, Jalan SS2/10, 47300, Petaling Jaya) for mega roti tissue for supper! That baby was a meter long and all for the low low price of (RM10/$3.30)! Buttery, flakey and with a sprinkle of sugar, this has got to be the best dessert ever!


Of course not forgetting my kaya overload there was kaya happiness from Oldtown White Coffee, Papa Rich and Annie1 and also bonus serve of glutinous rice with mega dollop of kaya mmm <3 Aaaand that’s all folks! We return you to normal broadcasting shortly :D

 

 

Brighton The Corner, Petersham

13 July 2014, 22:09

I heart crumpets. Their purpose in life is to be fluffy and soak up whatever topping is drizzled on top and generally just make everyone happy. Am I right? So I convinced my brunch buddy that we needed to visit Brighton The Corner (49 Palace St, Petersham) for brekkie for the House Made Crumpets ($14). And they were beeyootiful with caramelised pears, quenelle of Dulwich Hill honey butter and a light dusting of cinnamon. The crumpets are on their all day menu but I hear every now and then they sell out so get there early or be prepared to experience crushing disappointment!


Raff ordered the Braised Brisket ($17) and I immediately had food envy. Luckily we have an unspoken rule of sharing or we would not be friends haha :P


The brisket was tender and rich and the shards of golden potato hash along with the perfectly poached egg lifted me to my happy place. There was some mojo verde on the side to cut through the richness, and onion rings with ethereally light batter crowned the lot. Perfect comfort food for winter!


By the time we’d finished eating it was 12pm which meant the lunch menu had just started and Raff was super keen to try the Pork Belly Sandwich ($11) with fennel and quince paste. While the pork belly was nice and tender, we both wished that there was just a bit of crackle because well, crackle makes us happy.


And because I was still a bit peckish and wanted something savoury to balance out my sugar intake, I ordered the Hot Smoked Salmon ($17). I was envisioning a nice slab of salmon but what came out instead was a salad of pickled radish, fennel, peas, quinoa and topped with a gooey poached egg. The salmon is smoked inhouse and it was super tasty but oh how I wished there was more of it! I normally have issues with pickled things but I was in love with the pickled radishes and searched desperately for each and every piece and the pop of the fresh peas was just so addictive!


Oh and here’s our drinks, a piccolo latte ($3.50) to wake me up and a refreshing Watermelon and Basil house made soda ($4.50).


The service is attentive and friendly without the hipster ‘tude. The kitchen does get a bit smashed when it’s busy but the food is amazing so it was worth the wait.


There’s plenty of street parking and it’s just a 5min walk from the station which is win.