I love yum cha, but I don’t love how it’s largely limited to daylight hours. I am 100% not a morning person, to the point where I’m reluctant to even get up for food unless it’s something really special. Coupled with my preference for getting all my chores and errands out of the way earlier in the day rather than leaving it to later, I end up rarely having yum cha despite wanting to very much. That’s where Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine comes in.
My dinner at Cheek was a very, very special one. Not only was it easily the most enjoyable meal I’ve had all year, it was also followed up by one of the most wonderful and exciting things that has ever happened in my entire life. But hold up, let’s start from the beginning (or y’know, just scroll to the bottom of this post if you really want to know right this instant – I’m not the boss of you).
Last week, I finally bit the bullet and dropped a couple weeks’ salary on flights and accommodation for a trip to Thailand at the end of the year. This proved to be an excellent move, as it’s given me something to look forward to and obsess over for the next couple of months, providing a sorely-needed reprieve to the huge amounts of study I’ve been (and will be) doing. And did I mention? The hotel I’ve booked apparently has a blinding breakfast buffet included in the room rate, complete with noodle station, omelettes made to order, dim sims, and freshly-squeezed juice! Just that alone is enough to get me hyped for my trip!
Sydney is a city full of good ramen and discerning noodle-slurpers, so for a bowl of ramen to stand out, it really has to be something special. And in late 2017, that came about in the form of Gogyo and its burnt miso ramen, which had the city lining up for a taste. So what’s the deal with this ramen? Well for starters, it’s definitely not your regular miso ramen. Instead of miso paste worked into a broth, the daring chefs heat a ladle-full of pork lard until it’s at a searing 300oC, before dousing the (sometimes literal) flames with miso and chicken broth. The result is an alarmingly dark broth, suspended with globules of charred pork fat. IT’s easy…
Sydney’s vegan scene is the bomb. Not only is there a wide variety with something for every occasion, they also really make the effort to get the food to taste genuinely good, as opposed just ‘good for what it is’. Even my token vegan foodie friend (yo Jillian!) agrees that the vegan food around here is rather special, and if that’s not high praise, I don’t know what is. One of the most popular casual vegan restaurants around Sydney is Golden Lotus Vegan, which serves up animal-free Vietnamese cuisine, with just a smidge of Thai and Chinese thrown in. Normally I’d avoid places like this, as I usually find the food to be overpriced and uninspired. But of course, Sydney…
Like the next person, I love a good freebie. Nothing gets a restaurant into my good books like a quality serve of bread and butter, or a complimentary nibble served before a meal. And one thing that completely won me over in Korea was the generous varieties of free banchan that came with free refills, or better still, the self-serve station at the airport where I totally gorged myself on pickles and fish cakes. Being used to Melbourne’s banchan situation – that’s to say, 2-3 small dishes with each meal – I was already rather impressed with Sydney’s offerings, which usually ranges between 3-5 options. But when I heard about Meyongdong Korean Restaurant, my mind was completely blown. 12 banchan…