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!

Outback Steakhouse Australia Event - North Strathfield, NSW

So this sudden resurgence of my motivation to write is...odd. My last post was at the end of August (almost 2 months ago) and though I may have mentioned here and there why I suddenly stopped, I never went into full detail. This sudden hiatus was caused by a multitude of factors but mainly, something had happened between someone else and I that I thought it best not to mention but regardless...it made me lose faith in the community (of food bloggers). Let's just say: try not to meet your heroes...they probably won't be who you expected them to be.

For a while, I was out of it and that, compounding with the increased momentum at work...I became really, really dejected. I really thought it was all over for me...then I got invited to an event by Outback Steakhouse Australia.

I mean, I'm not in it for the events but...it's Outback Steakhouse. That name may only mean an Australian themed American restaurant to most but amongst the Mrs' circle...it's the communal hangout where friendships and good times are forged. People in the north western community gather around the Parklea branch like a community hub...first jobs, gossip, news and occasionally, lunches where you ask for permission to marry people are had there. So I had serious bragging rights when I could say that we were personally invited to attend an event.

We originally assumed that it was just a small event over drinks but oh, we're we so wrong. The turnout was surprisingly big and despite all that, it felt really tight nit. We got to see someone we knew and got to meet a some new people who were really, really nice! Shoutouts to Drool Worthy World! It was really nice meeting the both of you and we can't wait to see you again at another event.

Now, the unfortunate thing is that it's been some time since the event so I can't clearly recall every detail however, I still have the photos from that night and you know what they say...a picture speaks a thousand words:

Needless to say, there was plenty to eat, drink, share and snap so the event turned out to be a really, really lovely evening. We even got a signature Outback Steakhouse mug to take home as a prize which was really an added bonus. Overall, the Mrs and I had a wonderful time enjoying Outback Steakhouse's phenomenal hospitality. Not that we didn't already know they were amazing but this experience really just cemented the spot they had in our hearts as long-time, loyal customers.

Manpuku Ramen - Kingsford, NSW

My father-in-law said during dinner that "Manpuku means immense happiness in Japanese". I can't exactly verify that as a fact (I'd studied Japanese at UNSW for three years, kanji was always my worst enemy) but based upon the intense satisfaction I felt during consumption...I'd say he was pretty on track. When I was studying, I'd never ventured previously to try this ramen joint... mainly because one of my closest friends (and occasional ramen buddy), Zhen said that this place wasn't worth the visit. That was when they'd first opened and years later, after the second shop in Chatswood opened up, their popularity steadily grew as you could undeniably see the jump in instagram posts. So, when I knew we were all heading to Randwick on Tuesday night, I'd quickly jumped on it and made the suggestion to take everyone there.

Upon entering, the server greeted us with a lovely, cheerful hello and as we made small talk, he asked us if we were Indonesian as we'd come in in a large group but I mentioned that the Mrs and their family were Filipino. He then broke out into many Filipino words (most of which I still hadn't learnt) and that, I believe, endeared him very much to my in-laws. It wasn't too busy and we weren't in any particular hurry to order so we took our time in deciding and boy...I really needed it. My choice should have been obvious as I have one rule when visiting a new ramen restaurant: always try the miso ramen. But ever since I was lucky enough to try Chase Kojima's first gyoukairui tonkotsu...I'd been addicted to gyokai style ramen (pork bone stock mixed in with fish stock). Naturally then, I'd picked the gyokai with the most: the manpuku mk II.

The whole package is a sight to behold....droplets of flavoursome black garlic oil sits in this milky white broth that's barely viscous. On top are bean sprouts, sliced wood ear mushrooms and not one, but two eggs and two sheets of nori. And then...the piece de resistance: tender, fatty and decadent pieces of braised pork. I am not lying when I say it's incredibly delicious....it can't not be. The broth lacks the finesse and layering of Sokyo's gyoukairui but that doesn't matter, because it's own charm is how well it owns the flavour. The pork is a definite highlight of the dish...you don't even care that you don't get chashu as each bite brings you to a transient state of porcine enjoyment. The noodles aren't my favorite yellow, wavy variant but that's hardly a detriment.

My mate, Preston who joined us for dinner that night ordered the tsukemen. A thick layer of oil hides this opaque and aromatic hot broth which by itself is rather intense but when mixed with the thicker noodles is simply divine. Amongst the other condiments provided, the most notable is the sheet of branded nori and a chunky slab of the same tender, braised pork I got in my soup.

The brother-in-law chose to have the miso ramen (we'd ordered it before he arrived just so it'd we could save some time) and luckily for him, it's arrived not long before he walked through the door. The magic of ramen is truly a wonderful thing...it can turn an exhausted and agitated man into a calm and collected individual through the meditative and therapeutic slurping. As he took each spoonful of soup and each strand of noodle, you could see the grin of utter satisfaction grow on his face. The soup of the miso is nutty and filled with umami. Have a big enough spoonful and you'll taste the slightest hint of a kick for what I assume is the chilli bean paste mixed in with their house blend of miso. The two slices of chashu are torch seared slightly to give it a charred, smokey ambient flavour which works really well in this dish.

The Mrs reaaally missed out as she was on a no-carb diet (faux pas on my part...taking her to a noodle bar) so she stuck to salad but she did order an interesting item which were these two pancakes (at the time, she didn't realise they were made with flour) which were served on sticks and topped with aonori, bonito flakes and kewpie mayo. The filling had bits of seafood and cabbage so basically...an okonomiyaki on a stick....delicious. The father-in-law also order teba gyoza or chicken wing dumplings which were these two chicken mid-wings stuffed with dumpling fillings and then deep fried.

Although we all agreed that Menya was our preferred ramen establishment, Manpuku definitely has it's place on my list. The soup is thick but still drinkable and plenty flavoursome and the ramen is actually a pretty solid and satisfying bowl. If I was ever in the hood again (or in Chatswood), I think I'd certainly return for a bowl of the ramen with the unbelievably hard to pronounce name.

Song Fang Khong - Fairfield, NSW

Happy new year!!! Apologies again for the minor delays between posting content but between juggling christmas, new years and our upcoming event, it's been super hectic. I've had this one saved in my backlog of places to post about for a while now but I'm only just getting to it now that I have some 15 minutes to spare, The Mrs was finishing up work for the term and so we decided to grab a bite somewhere near where she works. When asked where we should eat, the immediate image that came to my mind was Song Fang Khong. I had previously had a wonderful dining experience at Song Fang Khong before when my friend took me here to grab a bite to eat prior to us attending a wedding and because of this, I wanted to replicate that experience for her.

When we arrived, we were super lucky to be able to still grab a table as although this place is small, it's super popular with the locals. As we sat down and looked at the menu, I let the Mrs decide (with my input) what to order. The lady at the counter then proceeded to promptly take down our order and gave us a bottle of table water while we waited...the Mrs then asked the lady for "iced tea". This thoroughly confused me as the Mrs would never order any bottled drinks (I had assumed the Mrs wanted a bottled drink from the fridge) but sure enough, the lady took our bottle of iced water and poured in this dark tea from a pot which looked like it'd been steeping for a long time. As the dark liquid mixed with the water, it turned into a bright, opaque orange which had a fragrance reminiscent of the Thai milk tea the Mrs loves so much. Super refreshing with a spicy bitterness, the water was enough to distract us as we waited for our dishes which arrived shortly after.

First to arrive was the rice and papaya salad. Rather than go for the thai version, I had asked the Mrs to try the authentic Laotian version available on the menu. Fair warning: this dish isn't for people with weak stomachs as it does pack a very funky (yet delicious) taste. This exotic flavour stems from the primary difference between the Thai and Lao versions of the dish: padaek or fish sauce. This ominously dark paste gives the salad it's signature black dressing and funky aroma. Uber delicious with coconut rice and meat but for those who don't like the flavour of fermented fish, stick to that Thai version.

Quickly after our salad arrived, our order of grilled Lao sausages also arrived at our table. By now, everyone should know how much I love sausages...and I have to say, this is the epitome of an amazing sausage. The casing is grilled until it's charred and almost crunchy which it an amazing textural experience as you bite into it, allowing the sausage to release the fatty, spiced meat inside. The meat is flavoured with all sorts of aromatic, southeast asian items of which, most prominent is the lemongrass.

Finally, the plate of grilled ox tongue arrived after the sausages which completed the Laotian feast we had ordered. My usual experience of eating ox tongue is generally restricted to Japanese yakiniku restaurants where they slice the meat rather thinly but in this case, each piece is cut into thick, finger sized pieces which gives it more chew. This also means though that it has a deeper beef flavour and more of a rich, fattiness that it can release when you eat it.

When trying to describe Song Fang Khong to someone who's never been, I find that you can only really describe it with the words "pleasantly surprising". Surprising in that such delicious food and amazing hospitality is hidden away in this gem behind Fairfield station and surprising in that this place has managed stay away from public attention for so long. I would definitely recommend anyone wanting an authentic Laotian dining experience to go try this place.