Hulu at King Street Wharf - Barangaroo, NSW

Chinese food has had a long standing history in most developed countries, that holds especially true for a place like Australia where "Salt & Pepper Squid" has unofficially become the national dish. I bet for every suburb in Sydney where there is a shopping strip, you will find at least one Chinese restaurant or takeaway shop and you will be able to get Chinese food relatively easily. But unfortunately, I feel like Chinese food hasn't always had the most glamorous of images...historically, people tend to only think of Chinese food as greasy and MSG-laden meals you can get at food-courts. Even our oldest venues like Golden Century have these images where it's the place you go when you're really drunk off your ass.

My point is: it's hard to tell someone that Chinese food is a refined ordeal. It's really not until recent years that we've had a surge in newer establishments that focused on produce, quality, presentation and highlighting the best parts of Chinese food (Mr. Wong, Lotus Dining, Billy Kwong etc) and I can see the image slowly start to shift in the minds of the people. Our recent visit to Hulu at King Street Wharf is a prime example of a restaurant that's trying to do one of the oldest cuisines in the world justice by giving people a look at what a refined and high-class Chinese dining experience would look like.

The Mrs and I were fortunate enough to have been invited to attend one of four sessions of complimentary dining intended to showcase what Hulu has to offer and generate excitement about this new venue. We had originally intended to attend one of the first sessions but due to a clash with my ACL reconstruction surgery, we had to push our attendance out to the very last session which wasn't a bad thing at all as we got to dine with some interesting and colourful people (have to admit, was a bit star-struck when @spooningaus walked in as I had been watching him eat on Where's The Food on Youtube)

We were ushered into a small private dining area near the back of the restaurant where we were seating at a round table with a large glass lazy-susan which you typically find at Chinese restaurants. The decor of the restaurant was brightly coloured with some mellow blues and Chinese themed ornaments all around. I was most impressed by the abacus shaped lighting which reminded me of when I was a child, first learning to calculate on a similar device.

As soon as all guests had arrived, we were promptly served where @teafortammi quickly and efficiently picked up the menu, asked what was recommended and got us sorted with a plethora of delicious delights including dumplings, soup and various chef's specialities.

For the night, we ordered:

The Hulu Mix Appetisers (served in a specialty hulu shaped dish)

A hulu is a traditional Chinese gourd used to store liquids and medicine

Pan Fried Mushroom Dumplings

Hulu's Signature Crispy Cheese & Prawn Dumplings

Nemo Dumplings

Pepper & Pickled Cabbage Soup w/ Pork Intestines

Sweet & Sour Pork On Ice

Spinach in High Soup, Eggs Trilogy

Homemade Tofu & Mushrooms, Fried with Egg White Sauce

Half Duck Smoked in Jasmine Tea

Beef Cubes Pan Fried, Black Pepper Sauce

Egg White Fried Rice w/ Fish Roe

and for desserts, we got the:

Osmanthus Cake

And, the Deep Fried Ice Cream w/ Chocolate Syrup

Overall, the Mrs and I had a great time dining at Hulu at King Street Wharf and we were really glad we got to share this experience with some other like-minded people. The venue itself is fabulously fit out and suites the location quite spectacularly as a finer establishment for diners to get an authentic Chinese feed by the wharf. My personal favourite item of the night had to be Hulu's Crispy Cheese & Prawn Dumplings which had a texture like Ham Sui Gok from Yumcha but with a more seafood based filling. I Imagine that if I got to eat that piping hot, I'd be able to down plate after plate of those dumplings.

Thank you again to Hulu at King Street Wharf and Red Productions for inviting the Mrs and I and we look forward to the next time we get to dine at such a fine establishment whenever the opportunity presents itself!

Reflective Piece - Does anyone remember Dixon Restaurant in Hurstville?

I've been feeling rather nostalgic and sentimental lately...memories of simpler times floating in and out of my daily thoughts. Each glimpse bringing back a sensation, a feeling, a flavour that takes me back to my childhood. We all have a restaurant like that right? One which means the absolute world to us because of all the happy memories you've built up there. Restaurants that have stood the test of time and have become the fabric of what you consider to be your home and local community. A place where the moment you walk in, the staff greet you like an old friend returning for maybe the second or third time that week. Where they instinctively know what you're going to order because you've been ordering the same thing all your life without ever getting sick of it.

For me, that happy place unfortunately shut down some 6 years ago. See, there used to be this restaurant in the middle of Hurstville called Dixon. I hadn't started blogging or taking photos back then so I don't have any photos to show you other than what I can find online (I do not own any of the photos) but I can remember the place like I'd just been there yesterday. Not the most glamourous of fittings but the place certainly had a very welcoming character to it. Old, weathered black seats surround multiple burgundy coloured tables with a bright neon sign out front and shutters permanently half drawn as to not let the sun distract or blind the diners. One small window allowing a glimpse of the kitchen and your food being prepared.

*Sourced from Google Search*

Though it's been some time already, everytime I bring it up with my younger sister, our eyes light up again and as if transcending space and time, we're both instantly brought back to our childhood where we regularly enjoyed a plethora of culinary delights they had to offer. My sister will happily claim that they made the best Vietnamese spring rolls ever and that they had amazing fried chicken wings that usually came as as side to a steaming bowl of hot soup noodles. What amazes me even further is the fact that, my work colleague, who used to live in the same area as a child but had moved to New Zealand for most of her teenaged life still remembers Dixon as well. On her very first day on the job, whilst getting to know each other better, we learnt that we had shared the same experiences at Dixon and that she still fondly remembers the Laksa she used to have with her parents when dining there. It's absolutely amazing how many lives that restaurant had touched.

*Sourced from Google Images*

Dixon was in operation for exactly 18 years....how do I know that for a fact? My mum loves telling the story of how my sister was born the year they had opened. And from when she was a baby until she had matured and reached adulthood, we ate there weekly and almost religiously. For me, the place means so much because it's where I learnt to appreciate food and the joy it brings to people. I am the glutton that I am today partly because of that wonderful restaurant. It's where I had my first bowl of Pho...where little by little (and then exponentially from there on) I learnt to appreciate the intense pain of spicy chilli. Thinking back, I know for a fact that their Pho probably wasn't even that good...but it held a special place in my heart and still does. I'm still honestly trying to find a bowl of Pho that'll make me as happy as the very last one I had all those years ago. The owners I believe have since retired but if anyone knows if they've re-opened elsewhere or have passed their recipe on...please let me know.

*Sourced from Google Images*

For me, this post isn't simply about telling people about this place, it's my attempt find kindred spirits who have also had the same experiences. It's also my way of immortalising an amazing part of Hurstville history as the suburb continues to change into something I barely recognise anymore. I'm sure we all have that place, that dish, that flavour that brings us back to our roots. I'm interested to know: has anyone else had a similar experience with Dixon? Does anyone else remember the restaurant I'm talking about? What about another place? What's the place that means the world to you? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments below.

Ho Lee Fook - Central, Hong Kong

Don't you just hate it when you write up a whole blog post, and just as you prepare to publish it...it's all disappears? That's what happened to me...I had originally written a huge post about our time in Hong Kong but due to some unforeseen technical difficulties, I lost most of the content...Oh well, had to happen some time right? So, having being dejected from the loss of so much content, I'd held off on blogging again until I regained my momentum. Now that I'm back, I thought it'd be a great idea to blog about the two highlights of my trip.

Part of me believes that the purpose of the trip to Hong Kong was to show the Mrs my hometown, let her experience my culture and feed her my childhood delights...but I know that a majority of my motivation came from my compelling desire to dine at two specific restaurants: Ho Lee Fook and RONIN. For me, this was like a holy pilgrimage that's been two or so years in the making...so, one night, the Mrs, my sister and I headed out to dinner at Ho Lee Fook. It was really, really surprising that we managed to even get a table at all since we were just walk ins but we got our after a very short wait...which was amazing because I couldn't wait to dig in.

A great way to start off any night is with a few delicious cocktails which we all certainly did indulge in. The Mrs wasn't feeling too well so she stuck to a mocktail, but I ordered a yakult gin fizz which was everything I could have wanted: crisp, creamy, foamy and layered with the herbaceous taste of gin and the sweet taste of yakult. 

Shortly after our drinks landed, our first dish of the night arrived at the table: Wagyu steak tartare served Yunnan style. The menu described it as hot and sour which was a very apt description: the spicy element was definitely very obvious but it made the dish all the more savoury and delectable. Each bite of meltingly rich and tender beef was followed by a fiery sting and then mellowed out by the aromatic herbs. Pair that with the crunch of the crackers and you get this amazing textural experience. It reminded me quite a bit of the tartare the Mrs and I had at Ms.Gs (which isn't really surprising since Ho Lee Fook's head chef, Jowett Yu is ex-Mr.Wong...he is someone I admire very much and one of my biggest reasons for dining at Ho Lee Fook).

Second to arrive at our table was Ho Lee Fook's Mom’s “mostly cabbage, a little bit of pork” dumplings. The dumpling wrappers were a little softer than I'm normally used to but nothing out of the ordinary for blanched/steamed dumplings as they are quite high in water content. This didn't detriment how simple and beautiful this dish was though as the filling contained in this sophisticated package was light yet juicy with each element layered and pronounced. The sauce accompanying the dumplings bumped up the umami tenfold.

After the dumplings came our order of the fried cauliflower and brussels sprouts with maple bacon chilli jam. By far, this was the most surprisingly delicious dish as we didn't expect all the components of the dish to work so well together. The veggies had a perfect crunch and a really pronounced, clean flavour. In addition to the above, you have that sweet, smokey flavour from the bacon chilli jam...oh so good.

Next came the prawn lo mein with shellfish oil, grilled shallots and crispy garlic. Although good, this was probably the dish that I found...underwhelming. I'm a massive carb fiend and what this means is that I love and appreciate any form of noodles, rice or pasta. While I did find this delicious, it really lacked in impact to me. The prawns were cooked perfectly...plump, juicy and meaty but in Hong Kong, I somewhat doubt the fact that you can find anywhere that doesn't do prawns well with such fresh produce. Personally, these noodles just tasted too simple...like plain XO sauce noodles.

But then, came the piece-de-resistance....the holy grail and the culmination of my visit to Ho Lee Fook...the roast wagyu short ribs served with a jalapeño purée, green shallot kimchi and drizzled with soy glaze. Each piece of beef had a crunchy, smokey exterior which held together the tender, melt in your mouth beef ribs. This is all accentuated by the spice of the jalapeno puree, the sweetness and umami of the soy glaze and the fresh, crunchy shallots...legitimate heaven on earth.

If you (like me) like to live life on the edge, you can single-handedly try to polish off the non-meaty side of the dish which contained all the cut offs and tendony bits. In my opinion, this was the most delicious (yet dangerous) part of the dish...after finishing that whole side, I felt so full that I was gonna burst....but it was so, so worth it.

Although I didn't get to see one of my food heroes in the kitchen that night, I can say with absolute certainty that this was one of the most memorable nights of my honeymoon and certainly worth the visit. In a city that's filled with so many packed with culinary delights, Ho Lee Fook stands out as a beacon of the new-age: fun filled, no boundaries Chinese inspired fare designed to delight the senses. If given the opportunity, I would return again and again without regret.

Moving out! - Peakhurst, NSW

There's been a slight slowdown of posts lately and there's a very good reason for this....it's because I've just moved out of home! For the first time in my life, I've branched out on my own and started living independently from my family. Aside from not initially having electricity, gas or internet for the first half of my first week...I think I did well! Just before I moved out though, the parents decided to give me a proper send off by cooking all of my most requested dishes. Although they didn't explicitly specify that it was for me, when every dish is your favorite, it's pretty obvious.

The way my family interacts is weird one: we don't really verbally show any affection towards one another. Instead, you learn to take in little hints here and there and slowly, you pick up how to interpret each other's true feelings and motives, That night, it was very obvious that my family loved me very much and were feeling sentimental. My dad cooked up a storm as per usual but he made sure that each and every dish was one that I would thoroughly enjoy and remember...I'd always appreciated that about him.

As with most Chinese banquets, there's no particular order in which things come out. Instead, everything is laid onto the table as they become ready and you just dig in when we all come to the table. With that in mind, I'll speak about the dishes in no particular order. Firstly, dad prepared oysters two ways: deep fried and steamed with ginger and spring onions. I love oysters in all shapes, sizes and forms but I have to admit, fried is probably my number 1 most beloved way of consuming these bivalves. A super crunchy exterior coats the piping hot and creamy oyster flesh which makes each bite a hazard and a joy. The steamed oysters were also amazingly fresh tasting and delicious...the aroma and taste of fresh spring onions and ginger complements the oysters so well.

Aside from the oysters, dad also made XO sauce pipis served with a side of crispy egg noodles. On a normal day where my appetite has been piqued, I can single handedly down a whole dish of these with no issues...that's how much I love XO sauce pipis. Adding in the carby, chewy noodles makes the experience so much better as the crispy exterior clings to the sauce and makes it easier for you to sop up that hot and spicy gravy.

By the time I'd gotten around to gorging on the third item, I was most definitely getting full. Still, my stomach will always make room for Peking Duck. I recently had an experience where I had authentic Beijing style Peking Duck with my friends and for some reason...it just didn't taste right. It's something about how Cantonese chefs do this dish that make it so, so good...it's probably the grease but I'm not complaining. Juicy, succulent slices of duck in the perfect ratio of meat to crispy, spiced skin wrapped in a chewy, doughy chinese flour tortilla and consumed with slices of cucumber and hoisin sauce. When I was a kid, there was no greater joy to me than to eat out with friends and family and be able to get parental approval to eat the two or three extra plates of Peking Duck wraps. I still feel the same nostalgic happiness when my dad decides to make this for me.

Not to disappoint the other family members, dad also decided to make steamed fish (his favorite). There's something rather elegant about this dish's simplicity: it really is just a fresh fish that's steamed and then served with ginger, spring onions and special soy sauce but it's just irresistibly good. I'd never really learned to appreciate this dish until I started dating the Mrs...fish can sometimes be very hard to appreciate (especially for picky eaters) since they can be "fishy" and boney but when you have something as fresh and delicious as this...you learn to get over it.

As if there wasn't enough food already, dad also decided to make Chinese style braised pork as well as a dish of woodear mushrooms marinaded in a chinese chilli vinaigrette.  The pork was tender and fall-apart which made it wonderful to have with rice. The accompanying veggies were also great in that they soaked up all that braising liquid and added a layer of flavoring. The woodear mushrooms were crunchy and fresh and the vinaigrette was super appetising which worked really well since it cleansed the palate and allowed you to consume more delicious food.

When reminiscing about this meal (that occurred a week and a half ago), I find that I'm filled with a sense of regret and sadness. Regret in that in my time at home, I'd never been able to verbally show or even just tell my family how much I appreciated their support, kindness and care for me and sadness in that although I can always head home and have the same kind of meal every Tuesday, that familiar care-free feeling will forever be lost to me as that chapter in my life closes and a new one starts. But with that sadness, I'm also filled with a sense of excitement and renewed energy with the upcoming events that are about to unfold. For now: I'm proud to announce that chopsticks headquarters has officially moved and settled into North Parramatta.