About Chocolatesuze
i am susan thye. aka chocolatesuze. lives in sydney, australia. born 30.5.83. hitched to noods. started The Biscuit Tree. this is a food and lifestyle blog. i like cheeseburgers, ice cream, macarons and Reuben sandwiches :D
email: susan@chocolatesuze.com
twitter: @chocolatesuze
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PERSONAL DISCLAIMER. this is a foodblog; a personal journal where all opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions. Although it may claim otherwise, this blog does not offer legal, medical, psychiatric, veterinary, logical or any other kind of professional advice. all text+photos by me - S. Thye, unless otherwise noted. i will hunt you down if you steal or hotlink any of my images and/or text. have a nice day!
China Beach, Manly
18 October 2010, 03:40
“I’ve got the day off let’s go eat at China Beach… I’ll drive you home!” came the promise from Lex one email not so very long ago. True, the promise of a lift home may have been a strong factor in attending dinner but it turns out that the food at China Beach (43-45 North Steyne, Manly) is actually pretty awesome, a tad on the pricey side but hey with a waterfront restaurant, location is everything!
It may have been a school night but we couldn’t go past the cocktail list. Shez the drinks monster has already downed some pre-dinner drinks but has decided to try the Fistful of Yen ($12) more for the name I suspect than of the ingredients making up said drink and oh boy was it a doozy. It tasted like alcohol mixed with alcohol and topped with more alcohol. My Apple Orchard ($12) wasn’t quite as boozy so I could actually taste the apple with an edge of spicy cinnamon but boozy enough that some of the dishes later on has become a little hazy in my memory banks.
Betel leaf with house smoked trout, grilled eggplant & green chilli nam jim ($4 each). Hello morsels of deliciousness! Betel leaves are the perfect serving plates, leafy greens just big enough to hold itty bitty pieces of trout marinated in awesomeness, slightly sour and with a chilli kick.
3 huge oysters on a bed of rock salt magically appear thanks to Lex’s connections with the kitchen. Fat, briny bivalves sitting in a row, a dash of rice wine vinaigrette and topped with shallots equals sea bliss.
Sashimi of kingfish & ocean trout with blackened chilli dressing ($20). Now this was an entree I could have ordered x 3! Thick slices of uber fresh, top notch sashimi lying atop crunchy julienned apple and doused in a dressing that had a heat level just above ‘hmm zingy’ and below ‘oh crap the burning’. It was win.
Crispy pork belly stir fried with mama’s curry paste & snake bean, lime leaf & basil ($28). There was an unanimous decision to order the pork belly once we spotted it on the menu. Dude if it’s pork belly and it’s crispy it’s gotta be good right! Hells yes it was good! The plate was a treasure trove of porky goodness which was equal parts juicy tender meat to crispy delectable crackling and a jumble of beans and capsicum to balance out the richness. Don’t ask me what ‘mama’s curry paste’ is. Whatever it was, I’d love the recipe!
Stir fried beef tenderloin with black bean chilli, bamboo shoot & asian mushrooms ($30). I have absolutely no recollection of eating this. Seriously I must have the memory of a peanut but I do not remember eating this. Doo di doo. Moving along now. Nothing to see here folks.
Braised wagyu beef shin in broth of vietnamese mint, chinese broccoli, pickle & chilli ($30). This, however, I DO remember! It was awesome and we ended up fighting over the last shreds of beef and drinking the heavenly broth which was rich, intense and perfect on that crazy cold night. It was like the most incredible bowl of pho you could imagine with baby soft beef just melting away into delicious heaven. I know I sound slightly delirious which may be due to my lack of sleep but that was one dish I will return for. Yeah I would drive all the way to Manly for this.
Spicy southern thai dry curry of goat, green peppercorn, eggplant and holy basil ($30). The goat was tasty but unfortunately the spice level shot way, way past my chili tolerance and into another realm of burning.
Three flavour warm sticky rice in a banana leaf with Thai custard & mango sorbet ($12). I ♥ sticky rice! A second dessert stomach will miraculously emerge if the menu mentions sticky rice! The sticky rice was unfortunately laced with the one spice I have issues with – cardamom. There’s just something about cardamom that makes me twitch. Cumin is also another spice I have issues with but I digress. The layer of cardamom over the sticky rice made it near impossible for me to tell apart the different flavours of the sticky rice other than sensing the different textures. Later Lex tells me the flavours were pandan, coconut, saffron. Tis a shame since pandan sticky rice would’ve been way awesome. The mango sorbet is refreshing and the Thai custard was almost creme caramel smooth.
Crispy pancake with coconut caramel & a warm fruit compote ($12). Totes wasn’t expecting roti! It was a nice surprise, the roti was crispy and flaky, hiding the kaya-like innards within. Wasn’t a big fan of the fruit though think I would’ve liked a scoop of ice cream on the side? Mmm ice cream.
Buddha overlooks the room of hungry diners and we roll ourselves back to the car where an hour’s drive home filled with the sounds of Alanis Morissette soon lulls me to sleep…
Back to home
Memory of a peanut? lols. I love betel leaves and yes, crispy pork belly calls me everytime I see it on a menu!
— Helen (grabyourfork) Oct 18, 04:49 AM #ohhh dang!! never heard of this restaurant before .. all the dishes look absolutely amazing…esp the sticky rice! YUMMO!
— Rhonda (TheDaintyBaker) Oct 18, 10:14 AM #Oh my – your photos are wonderful!!!!
— Lisa (bakebikeblog) Oct 18, 10:57 AM #Drinks monster no more – I was dry for at least two weeks after this night! It was (as far as I remember) a very tasty night though, and one that I would happily repeat. Sans pre-dinner drinks.
(Alanis must have made an impression in my mind too, I bought the same album a week later…)
— shez Oct 18, 10:58 AM #Love the look of the entrees! Actually, everything is calling out to me, and yay for the surprise roti!
— Betty @ The Hungry Girl Oct 18, 11:08 AM #The offering here looks more impressive than China Doll. I really love all the colour in the dishes and those cocktails look dangerous!
— Zina @ tastedbytwo Oct 18, 11:08 AM #Pancake with coconut caramel … me wantee!
— john@heneedsfood Oct 18, 11:19 AM #fortunately Buddha looks after those made vulnerable by excess nomming and boozing
— the ninja Oct 18, 11:36 AM #that place looks so chic , food looks awesome as well
— thatssoron Oct 18, 11:54 AM #The food looks modern Thai influence, looks like a great meal on the north shore end.
— billy@a table for two Oct 18, 11:56 AM #LOL drinks ahoy when there’s a lift offered home! And I am guilty of falling asleep during car rides all the time…even when no alcohol’s involved =p
— mademoiselle delicieuse Oct 18, 12:31 PM #It all looks really delicious. Love crispy pork belly.
— Sara @ Belly Rumbles Oct 18, 01:32 PM #Wow – your photos are totally amazing and the food looks so yummy! I wish my photos looked 1/2 as good as yours do…
— MelbaToast Oct 18, 01:35 PM #food looks really good! but manly…so far…..
— sugarpuffi Oct 18, 02:40 PM #Oh man, the thing I miss most about Sydney is the blow-your-head-off spicy Asian food. Everything looks amazing!
— Yas (aboutthefood) Oct 18, 05:29 PM #Those oysters look SO deliciously fat and juicy! I feel like I could gobble a whole plate right now!!!
— Spotted Pufferfish Oct 18, 06:56 PM #I lub betel leaf! And great shot of it too ;)
— Tina Oct 18, 07:47 PM #Looks great – well worth the drive :)
— Ladybird Oct 18, 10:10 PM #Mmm, I love sticky rice desserts!
— Missklicious Oct 18, 10:48 PM #Wasn’t this place a former workplace of Lex’s?
Food looks awesome but the portions look so tiny when compared to the dollar value attached to them.
Guess that’s what you get for quality and water views :)
— Simon @ the heart of food Oct 19, 12:25 AM #I loved my China Beach experience, can’t wait to go again. We went on a girls night out and the Espresso martinis at the end of the night might have had a lot to do with my very lovely memories of the place :)
— shaz Oct 19, 02:00 AM #The sashimi and pork belly dishes look awesome! Hopefully if it wasn’t too burny for you that means I can eat most of it as well, my chilli tolerance is fail.
— Jac Oct 19, 02:06 AM #Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The pork belly and the beef tenderloin is calling out to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee <3 <3 <3
— Melody Oct 19, 02:24 AM #cocktailing on a school night! tsk tsk tsk hehee… good (pricey) chinese food is sometimes just awesome though.. and I do like my oysters with vinaigrette and shallots!
— catty Oct 19, 02:31 AM #so tempting to go manly to try it out cause they all looked so good!
— Melissa Oct 19, 09:27 AM #Oh my oh my the tummy is rumbling! Even with my small iPhone screen it all looks delish! Love betel leaves, they ad such a nice element to the food they are served/cooked with
— Angie Oct 19, 11:44 AM #$12 for a boozy, boozy cocktail and some awesome looking pork belly. Please, Brisbane, copy this damn restaurant so I can become their most regular customer!! p.s. Alanis is still VERY cool
— Gastronomy Gal Oct 19, 08:18 PM #Oooh la la! Your apple orchard sounds so lip-smackingly good.
— Maz Oct 20, 02:08 AM #I think China Beach is on the road to outdo China Doll!
Great pics! I’ve been meaning to head here for a little while now. And you post has made we want to head there even more! The betal leaves in particular look delicious!
— Miss Feathers Feb 20, 07:45 PM #