Yang's Food Truck - Pitt St Mall, Sydney CBD

Sometimes, it's rather difficult to be someone's partner. This is especially true when it comes time to decide what to eat. Both sides will try to gauge what the other wants and neither will be able to appropriately reach a compromise because both sides want to make the other happy. This is exactly what happened the other night. The Mrs asked me what I wanted for dinner out of two potential choices she gave me (dumplings or Malaysian) and I chose the one I thought she wanted...turns out she wanted Malaysian after all. This wasn't to say we didn't have an enjoyable first dinner...but it did mean that she was still in the mood for some Malaysian food.

Luckily, as we were shopping at Pitt St Mall, Yang's food truck rolls up and starts preparing for service. I jumped onto the opportunity straight away as I'd always wanted to try Yang's (also...rather convenient that we just so happen to want Malaysian as well). After a very short wait, the blinds go up and service began. The queue progressed really quickly and the food even quicker than that which is actually rather surprising because from experience, food trucks take a while. Even better when there's plenty of seating around!

Despite us having a full meal already, we still decided to order a feast as this was such a rare opportunity that we just couldn't pass it up. The mrs opted for the MFC slider and I ordered the soft shell chilli crab and prosperity slider (we also got drinks...milo dino and teh tarik). The Mrs has a knack for picking really great malaysian dishes and this is no exception. The perfectly fluffy and sweet milk bread sandwiched a delightfully crispy and juicy fried chicken fillet. The spicy slaw which was generously piled on top of the meat gave it a really hot and spicy kick. 

The prosperity slider brought back fond memories of late nights in Hong Kong over Chinese New Year. The double meat patty (cooked to perfection with a pink centre) paired well with the black pepper sauce which kicked up the umami tenfold. I also really appreciated the raw onions which provided the crunch that the slider needed. Finally, the crab was crisp and the sauce was incredibly spicy but appetising, though I did find myself feeling slightly bowled over by the  amount of grease consumed as aggregately over the three dishes.

I can probably say that we won't be doing double dinners again any time soon (our waistlines won't allow it) but for a rare treat, this experience was definitely well worth it. Thank you Yang's for filling our bellies with scrumptious Malaysian delights.

Belly Bao - Sydney CBD

If I had to give this week a theme, it'd definitely be fried chicken....so.much.fried.chicken. I'm not complaining (I love any deep fried poultry) just that we've probably had more fried chicken in a week than we normally do in a year. Tonight's blog will be about our visit to Belly Bao. Now, I'd tried to visit two weeks prior (mainly because I wanted their famous baoger so badly) but we couldn't find a table and there was a sign that said it'd take 90 minutes. This week, I was smart enough to make a booking ahead of time so I was guaranteed a spot.

We start our night off with a bit of dessert-before-dinner at Aqua S. They'd just introduced their new flavours: Milo and Fruit Punch. Not being a huge fan of fruity items, I'd opted for the sea salt and milo. Oh what a wonderful choice it was...If as a child, you weren't able to indulge in your love of milo, this will literally blow your mind. The creamy and wonderful texture of the ice cream paired with that intense chocolate and malt flavour just made for a spectacular start to the night. I urge any fan of milo to just get a cone and indulge, don't worry about the other flavours...the milo is all you need.

I've had very good memories with Goodgod small club as the previous food providers, The Dip run by Andrew Levins was my legit FAVORITE place to grab a burger. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive about trying the new guys as I didn't want my memories tarnished by a disappointing meal. Well, disappoint they surely did not! First to come were the sweet potato fries which we crispy on the outside and sweet and fluffy on the inside, exactly what you want it to be. The chilli mayo drizzled on top really gives it a good kick of heat which just pushes the whole package to a new level.

Next came the main reason the Mrs and I were so stoked to try this place: the much loved bao-ger. Though a little disappointing when you first set your sights on it (looks tiny to someone with a massive appetite), this thing is dense. Not dense in a bad way but dense as in it's a immense flavour and texture hit for something so small. I loved the interplay between that perfectly cooked burger patty, melty american cheese, pickled radishes (think sushi ginger), big mac-esque sauce and the soft, pillowy yet crispy steamed/grilled bun. I would have had another if I wasn't aware of what was to come next...

Realised that flash was better than no flash.

oooze shot.

The Belly Bao Fried Chicken...yep, a whole chicken between 3 people (I forgot to mention, the brother-in-law was also with us). Unexpectedly, they do fried chicken really well here too! I was initially expecting something more asian influences (like korean style fried chicken) but found the batter to be closer to the OG Kentucky Fried Chicken experience. The crispy batter was spicy and peppery which when doused with the chilli sauce (pretty much straight gochujang) made for a mouth numbing dining delight.

BB fried chicken with chilli sauce 

To be honest, I do still miss Levins and his amazing hot dogs and watermelon burgers but I have to say, Belly Bao is a mighty fine replacement. I'm so glad they now have a dedicated spot to sling steamed buns and I can say for sure I'll definitely return for more bao-gers (possibly with a much larger group next time).