Temasek - Parramatta

I think of all the recent trips I've taken overseas, Singapore left he most lasting impact on me. The cleanliness, convenience and modern feel of the city thoroughly impressed me. But what impressed me more was the food which was so mesmerisingly tasty. The family and I gorged on kaya toast, laksa, fish ball noodles and hainanese chicken rice the whole time we were there. Post-Singapore depression really hit me hard....but luckily, I had Temasek to sate my immense hunger for chicken rice.

That's why I was so ecstatic when the Mrs and I (accompanied by the in-laws) went to dinner there after church. Having worked in hospitality for a long time, I normally really don't like waltzing in close to closing time but in the case of Temasek, I can always make an exception because Temasek is normally really busy. All good though, because it meant we ordered and got our food really quickly.

First to arrive was our roti and to be honest, we really weren't expecting much for Temasek. After All, they are more well known for their Hainanese chicken rice. However, we were really surprised by how flakey and buttery the roti was. Crisp, perfectly smoky and charred on the outside...it made for a perfect entree when paired with the immensely flavoursome curry. I (regrettably) demolished my portion almost immediately.

Roti: $2.50 a piece and $3.00 for curry on the side. Well worth it.

The in-law's dishes came next: Nasi Goreng and Fried Chicken rice. According to the father-in-law, it was the BEST Nasi Goreng he's had and I have to admit, it was pretty damn good. My experience with Nasi Goreng is that it's normally rather dry and lacking in flavour but they really pack in the kecap manis here which means the rice grains were nice and saucy and packed with umami. The fried chicken rice was good too though the chicken wasn't nearly as moist and I didn't enjoy the five spice flavour as much.

The highlight of the night had to be the Hainanese chicken rice though, I mean it's what they're known for right? The Mrs and I shared half a chicken and a pot of chicken rice (I wanted to go for two pots...lucky I didn't). The most tender, succulent pieces of boneless Hainanese style chicken paired with the fragrant rice made for an unbeatable meal. I won't deny it, I was mainly there for the rice. The Mrs likes chicken more and isn't nearly as picky as me when it comes to the choice pieces so she ate most of the chicken but I managed to polish off most of that bucket of chicken rice. I wasn't entirely too comfortable afterwards but I can't say I wasn't super satisfied.

After this meal, I can definitely say that my PSD (Post-Singapore Depression) has been staved off...for now. I still miss the delectable foodie treats that country has to offer and I'm most definitely hankering for a nice and affordable Singaporean chilli crab but it's places like Temasek that make it so wonderful to live in Sydney and it definitely makes the Mrs and I anticipate our eventual move to the west.

Mamak - Chatswood

The Mrs and I have been on a bit of a Malaysian food binge lately. I stand by my theory that my wife must have been a Malaysian in her past life because no matter how much we have it, she can never get enough. That is how we ended up at Mamak on Saturday night. As it was a Saturday night and we left for Chatswood quite late, the drive wasn't too bad. Parking though was horrendous....with the recent opening of Tim Ho Wan and all these other foodie joints, Chatswood really has become the hub of the North Shore.

After managing to find parking (all credit to the Mrs' keen senses and attention to detail) we headed over to Mamak and lined up in the cold. Although not nearly as ridiculous as it's other branch in the heart of the city, it was still impressive that they were pulling in a crowd at the hour that we arrived. We were seated almost simultaneously as another couple and although we were seated ever so slightly after them, we were the first to order because we already knew what we craved. Not gonna deny that we felt a bit pro.

The first things to arrive were our standard refreshments: Teh ice and Milo ice. The recipe is identical to the one they serve at Hawker (duh) and although it wasn't piled high with Milo powder, it was still creamy and refreshing. The Teh was as expected, absolutely delicious. Honestly wish they had an option to super jumbo size the drinks....I always polish my drink off in the first 5 minutes.

Next to arrive was the Kari Ayam (Curry Chicken). The curry itself was more viscous and spicy than we're used to but that's not to say it wasn't impressive. If I had an endless supply of that curry sauce and roti, I would be a very satisfied man. That said though, I personally wasn't a very big fan of the bony chunks of chicken, I prefer mine boneless.

When the next order came, we realised we may have overloaded on the chicken. We still gobbled up the Ayam Goreng (Malaysian fried chicken) all the same but it meant we neglected our curry quite a bit and had to take it home. This was my personal favorite meat dish of the night: the crispy exterior coated that juicy, succulent flesh perfectly with the delicious batter.

We each had an order of roti to ourselves (which was perfect because one dish of one type of curry as opposed to the other, no fighting over curry) and we ordered enough satay skewers to had 3 types of meat each. I still ended up having most of it though, not because the Mrs couldn't finish her portion but because she couldn't stand me constantly eyeing her food.

After dinner, we had thought about topping it all off at the choc pot. The Mrs fought hard to find the room for chocolate but couldn't do it. When we ascended the escalators though, our attention was immediately drawn to Miss Dipity. Ice cream was far too hard to deny. Good choice too as the Hojicha and Toasted Marsh mellow flavours were AMAZING.

I've very fond memories of Chatswood being that my father worked there for most of my life and I've had the opportunity to see it change again and again over the years. I'm happy to say I haven't lost any reason to visit. If anything, I've gained so much more reason to come back.

Papparich - Parramatta

Time really does fly when you're having fun. For me, life is all about good food and even better company. In that respect, I couldn't have asked for a better partner. The Mrs may be tough cookie to please but I can't deny that she's made my life absolutely wonderful each and every second I spend with her. In light of our total 62 months that we've spent together, we decided to head out to Parramatta and enjoy a nice movie date.

Despite being pelted by rain and hail, we ventured out in hopes that we could score a good spot and enjoy a nice evening together. Fortunately, due to the extreme weather conditions, no one decided to go out! Not complaining as it meant easy parking and readily available seating at the Mrs favorite place: Papparich.

The Mrs LOVES Malaysian food, more than anything. As such, I've developed a theory that if reincarnation actually exists, our favorite foods must indicate to us what nationality we were before. In this case, the Mrs must have been Malaysian Chinese. She offered to pay for dinner so I decided to go a bit nuts and order everything I wanted.

First to come were our drinks, which we ordered as soon as we sat down. Nothing makes us happier than an iced teh tahrik and milo ice. The creamy, sweet beverages were much needed for the things to come.

Next came our kaya toast and eggs, now you may be a little wierded out by the fact that we're having a breakfast item for dinner but trust me, it works. The Mrs quickly got to cracking open the egg like a pro: a dash of pepper and soy sauce to taste, butter up the toast, lather on the kaya jam and there you have one of the most delicious things you can have. Almost over-indulgent in it's mix of flavors, the abundant butter and warm, silky egg yolk compliments the sweet kaya jam and makes it a delectable treat.

We also ordered my personal favorite: Char Kway Tiew. I'm almost ashamed that I discovered CKT so late in my life and although Papparich isn't nearly the best Sydney has to offer, they definitely do make it well. The huge portioning doesn't detriment it either.

The star of the night though has to be the roti. The Mrs will not share her roti, so being the smart cookie I am, I ordered an extra roti the moment we sat down. Even that may not have been enough for us as we devoured the crispy, doughy pancakes in mere seconds. It was such a shame that there was only so little curry chicken sauce...for me, that has to be the best thing to dip the crisp, buttery roti into.

After a delicious and satisfying dinner, we went back upstairs to the cinemas to watch The Avengers and then finished off the night with Gelato Messina. I really love how far Parramatta has come in terms of the amount of options it offers, lets hope that progress continues and the city flourishes in the years to come.

*Note: you may have noticed that we stopped doing the suggestions section, this is cause we felt as though we would only be able to give a relatively positive opinion on most places. If you, the reader decided to go visit one of the restaurants we recently visited, I'm positive you'd love it as much as we do. Let us know by leaving some comments if you'd like us to bring back the suggestions section.*

Ichiban Boshi - Sydney CBD

Ramen is hands down my favorite noodle dish. I mean, I love noodles of all shapes and sizes whether they come with soup or no soup but above all else, I love ramen the most. For me, it's always been part nostalgia and part obsession. The very first bowl of ramen I had was a bowl of miso ramen that I had on my first trip to Tokyo. It changed me, opened me up to my love for all things Japan. All the countless hours spent watching anime, building gunpla, learning Japanese and eventually meeting the Mrs through our mutual appreciation for Japan....all from a single, delicious bowl of miso ramen.

So when Sydney is going through a particularly bad weather season, what do you suppose is the best thing to eat? Ramen! Meeting up with the Mrs after work, we decided to hit up one of my all time favorite ramen joints: Ichiban Boshi. This place was one of the original noodle bars which did the dish justice...of course now, Sydney's ramen game has improved a significantly (Menya, Ryo-tei, Yasaka, O-san, Ippudo...the list goes on) however this place still holds a special place in my heart. If it's one thing they do well, it's miso ramen.

On top of the fact that it was super cold and rainy, we lucked out even further when we found out that the elevator had broken down, no line! We were seated immediately and then proceeded to order our favorite comfort dishes. The Mrs was feeling like Katsu curry today so that's exactly what she ordered. Despite being a noodle bar, they do their Katsu curry particularly well! The cutlet was crispy, tender and unbelievably juicy, after a bite I was most definitely hooked. The salad and pickles were a welcome addition too.

For me however, the main star tonight was most definitely the steaming, hot bowl of ramen noodles. Nutty and aromatic in all the right ways, it was the perfect way to drive off those chills. The noodles were particularly springy today which was perfect because there's nothing worse than soft, soggy noodles. Every slurp carried with it an appropriate amount of that delectable broth, bating you into taking another mouthful and then another mouthful until you quickly realise...you're out of noodles. I normally wouldn't (be allowed) to do this but I just had to order a kaedama (extra order of noodles). Totally worth it though as that was just the thing I needed to satisfy my hunger.

Wonderful in it's simplicity.

If it's one thing I'll never get sick of it's ramen. I can only hope that one day, I too am able to live my dream and sling noodles for a living. Till then, I'm glad that Sydney's noodle scene is well taken care of by the many ramen purveyors we have available.