It would be silly to go to Guangzhou and not try dim sum. I had seen pictures of the adorably cute (and hopefully delicious) items at Panxi. The restaurant is set beautifully near a park and lake and also a museum that was on my list to visit.
The har gao in the pictures included a standing rabbit which I didn't receive (maybe only for a larger serve) and the fried potato dumplings were more for looks than desire. But the food is nice and the presentation is unlike any I've had.
I must admit my experience with Filipino food is extremely limited. My first adult trip to Asia back in December 2005 included a initial stop to visit an ex-girlfriend in Manila. This was a trip of firsts - my first adult Asia trip, my first experience on Air Asia (including a 4 hour delay for the KL to Manila leg), my first overseas trip with an ex-girlfriend (which is probably not something the majority of people do...)
I hadn't quite embraced the food revolution at this point in my life and so there isn't much I remember about Manila and Puerto Princesa. What I do remember is sinigang, an incredibly strong flavoured fatty pork adobo at a street stall, the underground river canoe, and a whole lot of humidity. I also DJed at a club somewhere and nearly forgot to bring back my Sennheiser HD25 headphones. Fun times.
Kusina was a restaurant on my list for several months. The bonus of being in the entertainment book make it more enticing. The place seems to be family-style and the menu is filled with good sounding options. Sago't gulaman (brown sugar syrup, gelatin, tapioca pearls) and calamansi juice (sweetened cumquat) were a sweet and sour drink to balance between.
- Ukoy (prawn fritters, sweet potato, tofu, bean sprouts) $9.50
- Crispy Pata (deep fried pork hock) $22 - delicious smelling and tasting meat. I thought the meat was a little dry, but nothing to complain about;
- Grilled fish of the day (with tomato, potato, bacon) - nicely cooked fish although not seemingly in the spirit of Filipino food;
- Pritong Talong (fried eggplant, tomato, red onion, salted duck egg, garlic sauce) $9
- Sinangag (garlic rice) $4pp;
- Turon (banana spring roll, caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream) $9.50 - something sweet to finish with. It was ok but nothing special.
I'll definitely be coming back. There's too many other things I want to try and would probably go for a whole new menu next time. Crispy chicken wings, fried soft shell crab, beef rib curry, braised beef cheek, thrice cooked pork, pork belly... not to mention the classic adobo and sinigang. I'm hungry thinking about it.
07-2015
I turned up to Kusina on a Monday night hoping for a quiet place and the try all those dishes listed above. On arriving I discovered they have a weekly Monday night limited menu. This essentially gives you $19 all-you-can-eat white rice, an excellent mildly vinegared thick-cut green papaya salad, and a choice of either the deepfried chicken and pork belly or grilled chicken and pork belly.
Luckily I managed to try both.
The deepfried chicken had a good crunchy coating which went particularly well with the vinegar sauce. Deepfried pork belly was even more crisp and the benefit of the fat layer being fried (and partially disintegrated) meaning the whole piece was easy to eat with less guilt. I actually probably preferred the flavour of the grilled meats, which had excellent sauce coating them and complemented well with the adobo-style soy-vinegar dipping sauce. The chicken particularly was moist, tender and perfectly cooked. That was probably my favourite and also the healthiest of all the meats.
The layer cake was a gelatinous mix of jackfruit (although couldn't taste it to be honest), coconut and a purple yam layer. A nice sticky mess to finish off the meal.
12-2015
Enroute to Thredbo to hike Mount Koscuiszko, I made a final trip to Kusina. It's (sort of) on the way and a cuisine I haven't found an equivalent for in Melbourne at this point.
- Adobong combination (chicken & pork marinated in a traditional sauce of vinegar, soy & garlic) $19.5 - the national dish had excellent succulent meats with a sauce heavy in soy. I tend to prefer (and make mine) more vinegar based but it's good to remind myself how salty the traditional is supposed to be;
- Inihaw na pusit (grilled squid stuffed with tomato, onion, salted duck egg) $22 - I'm used to the Vietnamese version and this was fine but not overwhelming;
- Ensaladang talong (grilled eggplant salad) $8.5.
I'll miss Kusina. It's a shame about the location as otherwise it would be easy to recommend to Canberra visitors who don't have a car.
Even after importing my 22.5" Weber Smokey Mountain from the USA, I haven't had a chance to use it. The amount of effort involved in obtaining the meats and the wood, and the time to compile the beast for 16 hours of close observation is something I can't dedicate to at the moment. Nonetheless the day will come when I use my Pitt Cue Co recipe book and try and recreate the magic I miss.
In the meantime, Melbourne has sprung a heap of smoked BBQ places to try and fill that previous void. Le Bon Ton had been on my list for a while, and so considering the unusual location in the dark backstreets of Collingwood, it seemed a much easier option than heading into the city to brave the cold, masses and queues.
- Crab cakes (Gulf style with streaky bacon, bell peppers, onion, celery & Old Bay aioli) $16.5 - remarkably fishy rather than crabby. Quite expensive for 2 pieces given that;
- Chili Cheese Fries (traditional Texas-style beef & bean chili with sharp cheddar sauce on crispy fries) $16.5 - nice thick cut fries topped with a good quality beef chili. Not really hot at all but good flavour;
- Fried Chicken Southern style (buttermilk soaked tenders with cracked pepper white gravy) $16 - decent chicken tenderness but the coating was much too salty to be enjoyable;
- “Shrimp & Grits” (grilled Tiger prawns with cheddar grits, smoked tomato bisque & spring onion) $17 - decent prawns
- Brisket (1/2 lb) (grain-fed Riverina Angus beef) $22 - disappointingly not tender and dry;
- Pork (1/2 lb) (Otway Ranges pork shoulder) $19 - surprisingly good and moist tender meat with nice flavour. I'm not usually one for pulled pork but this was an excellent one;
- Tangy coleslaw With cabbage, carrot & onion $8.5;
- Le Bon Ton Pickles (house mix of radish, gherkin, carrot, baby onion & jalapeño) $7.5.
Next time I would order pulled pork (or pulled pork sandwich) and chilli cheese fries. The other dishes were just too average (and on the expensive side). In the meantime I'd prefer to try other places (such as Meatmaiden) first, but Le Bon Ton at least has the bonus of being away from the masses meaning easy parking and unlikely long waits.
I've been meaning to try Lilotang since it opened in January. Month after month there was a tentative plan, a special occasion, some murmurs of interest from friends, but in the end work and life got in the way. Finally after 5 months of planning, I made it. On a chilly Tuesday night, I drove and parked at Hotel Realm (free parking after 4:30pm - who knew?). On approaching the entrance, the invisible cloud of charcoal grilled everything permeated around and whet my appetite. The inside decor is a nice combination of cosy, modern, refined, mixed with a little Japanese manga and text.
Sake-tini (Junmai nihonshu sake, dry gin, citrus twist) and ota shuzo 'dokan umeshu' started off proceedings. I'm quite familiar with Choya umeshu, so being able to finally try another one was exciting. This recommended umeshu had a much lighter flavour and body, and as such very easy to drink.
There's a good selection of foods of which the grilled items tended to pique the most interest.
- (complimentary) shichimi grilled edamame - excellent rendition of the usually boiled beans, with this one chargrilled and topped with spicy shichimi;
- Umami-jime Snapper Sashimi (with josephine pear, heirloom tomato) $15 - very clean fish with delicate softness and the slight chew that characterises snapper sashimi. Instead of soy and wasabi, the slightly tart pear sauce gave it a more refined and less overpowered touch;
- Nagoya-style Quail Kara-age (with sweet sansho soy) $18 - the classic kara-age chicken is replaced by a more juicy and succulent bird coated in thin crispy batter laden with sesame seeds. An excellent snack;
- Pork Belly Skewers (with yuzu kosho miso) $16 - excellent chargrilled pork belly slices topped with a thick citrus miso paste. The meat and fat layers weren't easily discernible so just eat the lot and enjoy the flavour;
- Roast Umami Root Vegetables (with orange miso in orange pot) $12 - interesting presentation in a hollowed out orange filled with cubed vegetables (daikon, radish, eggplant etc.) and a orange miso sauce. The sauce is excellent and enhanced further by squeezing some juice from the orange lid. My only issue was this was served prior to the mains, meaning I couldn't mix the vegetables and sauce with rice.
After a brief intermission, it was time for mains.
- Black Cod Saikyo Miso Yaki $32 - I had this first at Nobu in Tokyo. As good as that was, this one is better (and cheaper). The cod is immaculately cooked to soft tender perfection. The miso seems much milder than the Nobu counterpart. Outstanding;
- Chargrilled Wagyu Sirloin (with herb miso) $48 - after the meal at 511 in Tokyo (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/511-tokyo-01-2012) , I realised the only way to eat wagyu was grilled sirloin. This is best one I've had elsewhere. The meat was medium-rare with 2 pieces meltingly soft and another 2 a bit more chewy (presumably the side parts). The meat had a wonderful flavour that I've found lacking in steaks recently, which is why I stopped ordering them;
- Kaki-age Tempura Rice $3.5 - rice was a bit too moist on this day (felt more like sushi rice). The vegetable tempura on top is a nice touch;
- Cauliflower (with walnut dengaku miso) $8 - strong umami grilled cauliflower texturally varied by the walnuts.
There was an extreme case of fullness within me. After a few deep breaths and sitting forward with elbows on the table, a little extra space for dessert was created.
- Sticky Mochi-mochi Tofu with Green Tea Ice-cream $12.5 - very unusual type of tofu being a balance between the usually thick, sticky mochi and thin tofu. The flavour on its own is a little odd but mixes well with the other elements. The green tea ice-cream is exceptionally flavoured and strong;
- Roast Persimmon, Yuzu ice-cream (with walnuts & umeshu) $15 - very refined ice-cream with subtle citrus sourness drawn from the yuzu. Served on a ridiculously hot plate. Watch your fingers!
Overall the food at Lilotang is outstanding. Of the Asian restaurants in Canberra, it sits equivalent to Lanterne Rooms. It's better than Malamay, Chairman & Yip, Akiba and Wild Duck. Of the rest, I'd only pick Akiba over Lilotang for the location (if you were in the city) or you wanted a more rowdy place. But for quality of food, Lilotang is the place to select.
(I won't mention price comparisons because in reality all are expensive.)
Next time I would order again the quail, pork belly skewers, miso cod and Wagyu. Dishes I haven't tried but are focussed on the chargrill would be next, including baby octopus, ox tongue (one of my favourites usually), pork ribs or prawns (as a cheaper alternative to the Wagyu) and cabbage.
For some reason there was a craving for duck. Maybe it was just that I hadn't had Peking duck for a very long time and the memories of China (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/li-qun-roast-duck-restaurant-beijing-01-2010) and my favourite duck of all time in London (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/hkk-london-04-2013) was on my mind.
Luckily Mr. Wei's not only specialises in Beijing duck but also conveniently has an Entertainment Book 25% coupon.
- Baby eggplant - I thought that for a balanced meal with vegetables, fried eggplant was a good idea. It was a decent mix of sauce and fried eggplant whilst waiting for the duck, but largely unnecessary;
- Beijing duck - a whole duck is a huge amount for 2 people. The duck skin wasn't particularly crisp (which was a bit disappointing) and had a small fat layer (less than is traditional but more than I probably prefer for eating without picking it off) and reasonably soft meat. Once wrapped up, it was a nice combination without having an overly memorable duck flavour;
- Duck soup - this was a delicious strongly flavoured duck broth (like I'd want my duck congee to taste) with tofu, vegetables and meat. On a cold night, this was hearty and soul-warming;
- Duck fried rice - the filler dish that was more. Duck fatty meat and skin pieces bringing flavour and fragrance to fried rice. Much better than expected.
Overall although the duck wasn't as good as I'd hoped (or expected), the overall meal was lifted very well by the soup and fried rice. I'll definitely be back with my next Entertainment Book voucher. I wouldn't get the extra entree next time.
The first time I heard of Dan Hong was on the 1st episode of the terrible Australian version of Iron Chef, where he squared off against Neil Perry. Even though Dan lost this battle on scoring, anyone who actually watched the episode and listened to the judges' comments could have sworn he should have won. Nonetheless, it seems he's doing pretty damn well on his own now.
I had read a little about Mr. Wong and it's place in the stratosphere of trendy as well as the 2 chef hat rating (with prices to match). As I was in Sydney to have a look at Vivid around the Opera House, Mr. Wong was ideally located for this.
I was a little bemused that I turned up at 8pm to be told there was no availability for 2 until 10pm. This wouldn't seem so odd if it wasn't for the restaurant policy not to take bookings for less than 6 people (for dinner) and that I saw several 2 seat spots at tables or the counter vacant. If you don't take bookings, who is going to use those? Perhaps they have a written waitlist for people who turn up and place names at the door. Who knows.
Anyway the next day lunch seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a booking and attend. Strangely enough on a Saturday noon sitting, the place wasn't completely full. Good overall for me I suppose.
- Scallop & prawn shumai $12 - I had read about this as one of the best dumplings in Sydney. It was a half-sliced scallop atop a standard yum cha dumpling. It was fine, but very expensive and not all that memorable;
- Prawn & crispy dough chueng fun $15 - a sensational combination of prawn stuffed inside a Chinese doughnut and enveloped lovingly in chueng fun. The best version I've had of this anywhere in the world. I wonder if adding char siu to the mix would be a good or bad thing...;
- Abalone, snow crab & white rice bamboo roll $15 - for some reason I expected a thick, fried roll and instead received stick rice with a small piece of chewy but tasty abalone, a bit of crab meat and a bit of lap cheung (Chinese sausage). Quite underwhelming for the price;
- King crab & sweetcorn fried rice, trout roe & crispy conpoy $22 - I hadn't considered this dish until the waiter asked if I wanted rice with the mains. This was phenomenal. It takes the salted fish (of the Cantonese-style salted fish & chicken fried rice) and adds succulent King crab meat and roe. The overall dish is a multi-textured, umami fried rice that is easily one of the tastiest I've eaten in the world. The small size is quite big for $22, but next time I'll order the large version for $29;
- Crispy fried Balmain bugs with spicy salt $38 - tender bug meat morsels coated and fried in a light coating of very salty batter. There was a hint of chilli to it, but I'd personally prefer more Sichuan pepper and less saltiness;
- Sweet & sour crispy pork hock $28 - I couldn't decide between this (because of Longrain), the Shandong beef shortrib or the sweet & sticky pork ribs (as ribs are my thing). The waiter suggested the pork hock was a house specialty, so this was it. The pork hock meat is pulled apart then stuck together and cubed, before being deep fried. The meat itself had a crisp surface and a slightly chewy middle. The sauce wasn't the sweet, sticky, palm sugar Longrain/Ezard-type that has become my standard. Nonetheless it was a fine dish and smelt lovely.
Dinner here is expensive. That's what you get in the middle of the trendy district in an expensive town at a place that is hip and new where people will queue up as you can't get decent bookings. What do you expect? At least the food is good.
Next time I would order the chueng fun from the dim sum menu. The king crab fried rice is the delicious carbohydrate which I'd supplement with the other two dishes that I couldn't decide upon - Shandong style Wagyu beef shortrib and Grandma's sweet & sticky pork ribs. I'd probably go hunting for dessert somewhere else.
