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.

Boon Cafe at Jarern Chai Asian Grocer - Central, NSW

Lately, the Mrs and I have been getting busier as we come up to the end of the year. If I haven't mentioned already, we're trying to plan and organise a relatively large event so our weeknights/ends have been taken up by planning, meetings and generally being super-exhausted. I'd like to apologise to the Mrs here and admit that in the midst of being stressed and generally feeling useless/not helpful, I've kinda neglected to acknowledge how wonderful she is and how much I love her. Luckily, the Mrs and I still managed to find the time to squeeze in a quick date night at a place she's been wanting to try for a while: Boon Cafe.

The most recent venture by the guys at Chat Thai: during the day, the menu is more cafe/brunch like but at night, the items change to more of what you'd find in the streets of Bangkok. The Mrs and I thought it'd be a nice idea to try it on a whim and we were lucky enough to grab one of the limited tables so I let the Mrs take charge and order away. We'd originally ordered the dessert to come later but maybe due to some minor miscommunications with the staff, the Pandan toast became the first to come...not a bad way to start a meal though. The toast was nice and fluffy but I'd have to say, the spread was mildly disappointing in that there wasn't a deep enough pandan flavor nor was it noticeably sweet...in my opinion, could have definitely have definitely benefitted from more sweetness/flavour.

Additionally, the Mrs had originally intended to order the Thai milk tea that she was accustomed to but had somehow ended up ordering Thai red tea which is essentially the same thing without the condensed milk. Due to that fact, the Mrs didn't enjoy it too much initially but I definitely did, the spiciness of the drink helped cool me down after a long day and regardless of what she had originally expected, the Mrs still grew to like the drink after a couple of sips. 

Soon after, our first hot dish came and boy, were we excited to dig in. The Mrs ordered a half order of the Gai Yang which is Thai style grilled chicken. The chicken here is marinaded really well and rather flavoursome which is good though the Mrs did say it was less juicy than another restaurant we frequent. I think it was an issue with the pieces she picked because each piece I picked was juicy and tender. It could have been a bit more charred but overall, very enjoyable. 

Next came the grilled sausages which was personally, my favorite. I love sausages from all cultures and cuisines and this one was very representative of the flavour profiles you'd find in Thailand. Intense and mouth-numbingly spicy, we identified some elements of chilli, ginger and potentially lemongrass mixed in with the meat. If you'd ordered this, be warned: have a glass of milky, sweet beverage ready as this dish is as authentic as it comes. It's so addictively spicy that the Mrs had to stop part-way and recuperate before she could continued eating it.

Shortly after our grilled sausage arrived, the beef salad also arrived at our table. At this point of the dinner, our mouths were burning from the sausages so it was a welcome and refreshing change of pace. The salad was still packed it's own punch but not nearly as intensely as the sausage did. The green leaves, onions and sweet dressing really helped calm our palates allowing us to enjoy the tender pieces of beef strewn throughout the salad.

Our meal was rounded off by the carbs that came last. At $5 a bowl, the Mrs thought it appropriate to order to separate bowls of noodles (one for me and one for her). I got the spicier Thai styles noodles which was great because I was used to eating similar noodles from Do Dee Pai Dang noodle cafe. Cheap and satisfying, you didn't get to choose the level of spice but for that price, you really wouldn't mind. I have to say, I really enjoyed the rice noodles they used a little more than the glass noodles I normally have at Do Dee and the soup I think was more sour and appetising than I was used to which was great.

The Mrs got the bowl of Thai style egg noodles which she seemed to relish because the sweet and savoury broth offered a much needed reprieve from the flames burning in her mouth. I didn't get to eat much of it but I assumed since the Mrs demolished most of it that it was delicious. From the small amount that I did get to have, the flavor reminded me most of the tiny microwavable bowls of wonton noodles you can get from Costco. 

Reminiscent of our current lives and schedules, the dinner was a bit of a mess at the beginning but regardless, what mattered most to me was that I was able to sit down and have a nice, enjoyable meal with my beloved. Super sappy of me to say but I truly believe that no matter what life throws at me, as long as the Mrs and I have each other, we'll be fine and happy no matter what life throws at us. 

From the bottom of my heart: Thank you for everything that you've done for me and for us. We wouldn't come as far as we have and I definitely wouldn't be who I am today without your constant support, patience and guidance. I'm so excited for the future we share together and for the many meals and laughs we'll have in the future.

Love you always, turtle.

Essen restaurant & beer café - Utlimo, NSW

Firstly, before we get into it, we'd like to apologise to all our readers. We know it's been some time since our last post and we're sorry, we've a little sick and as all of you who are in a dedicated relationship understand, when one member gets sick, the other will inadvertently contract the same illness as well. Neither party will be able to fully recover for an extended amount of time because as one gets better, the other gets worse. So unfortunately, the Mrs and I have been incapacitating each other by passing the sickness back and forth between the two of us leading to us not being energetic enough to blog much.

I've finally managed to muster enough motivation post-illness to come and tell you all about what we've been up to the last week and a bit. We'll start from the previous weekend where the Mrs and I decided to go out with my friends and have a nice night out. We'd originally planned on having Papparich at Broadway but one member of the party was being held up by public transport and the restaurant had a policy where they'd only give us a table if our party was complete. So we headed down the road to Essen where they were kind enough to give us a table despite not having a booking.

We ordered drinks while we were waiting for our friend to arrive and I took this opportunity to order my favourite beer based beverage, mango weizen. I love german beer, even more so when it's got a fruity, tropical tang to it. Yes, I realise I was sick and therefore shouldn't have had beer...but in my defence, it made my night. 

After waiting a little while, our group also decided it was best to order our food in preparation of our final member arriving. So the Mrs and I ordered and shortly after, the food came just as our friend arrived at the door. I was going on and on the whole night about how much I liked sausages and whilst the Mrs would have liked to order the meat platter for two, she let me order the sausage platter while she ordered a veal schnitzel and an order of cod and potato croquettes to share. Unfortunately for me, they'd run out of a specific kind of sausage and so offered to double up on the cheese cransky. I mean, I did enjoy my meal but I think two cheese cranskys made the overall dish a bit too heavy. Maybe two of the weisswurst would have been a better substitute. The rosti was really nice though.

The Mrs' veal schnitzel came out looking a whole lot better than my dish in terms of proportions. She didn't comment all too much on it though (the Mrs is a bit of a schnitzel snob) so I can take it that it wasn't up to be high standards but from the little I got to eat, I could tell it was a decent schnitzel. The veal was tender and juice which complimented the crispy exterior quite well. The dish was also accompanied by a tartly flavoured cabbage salad which helped cut through the richness of it all.

The additional order of cod & potato croquettes were nice but we could have done without it. Mainly because the dishes we ordered were so heavy that we didn't need it but also because it wasn't nearly as delicious as we'd hoped it to be. I really enjoyed the flavour of the smoked cod fish but due to the potatoes being so dense, it didn't make for a very enjoyable eating experience. I personally think it would have been better if the potatoes were creamier or if it was accompanied by slightly more mayonnaise to help lighten it up.

Overall though, the food was really enjoyable and when you pair that with great company, what food you eat really doesn't matter all too much. I think it was a great choice to pick Essen as the restaurant we visited.