Sushi Tei, Chiefly Square - Sydney CBD

Crunchy on the bite - deep fried lotus roots, very East Asian but goes well with any beer

Fusion offerings like the Salmon Wafuu Carpaccio or the Aburi Salmon rolls (made with both normal crab meat and soft shell crab variety) caught my eye as we studied the menu at Sushi Tei.  Twilight was evolving outside but we were cocooned in a corner, dabbling in small talk and enjoying a reunion of sorts.  There was a certain elegance of this place, for it was no street side noodle joint nor having the feel of eat and go, but more of a place with time on hand to enjoy the pace and discover hidden delights.

What stood out was the sauce to accompany the salad.

We commenced with a simple but uplifting salad mix, enhanced by an extraordinary sauce.  We did not choose seaweed nor avocado, but simple greens like an Aussie serving.  We skipped over king fish, oysters, beef, tofu or octopus. We longed for sea urchin ( the Nama Uni) but it was no longer available that evening.  Service was satisfactory although the place was rather busy for a work day evening.  Cuts were petite, presentation was with care and the ingredients used were full of flavours.  I reckoned what won us was the attention to detail and a sense of uniqueness.

Spring specials - and I like the Bonito dishes.

Spring menus were advertised in this late October visit.  Boutique wines like Verdelho vintages and organic chardonnays grace your choices.   There are loyalty cards to spur return visits but I figured the quality and variety of the menu at Sushi Tei were sufficient to entice me back.  The restaurant is open every night and also has a sister operation at Liverpool Street in Sydney CBD.

Sushi Tei is located at the corner of Hunter and Elizabeth Streets in Sydney CBD North and shares a ground floor site with an ANZ Bank branch.

Salmon roe or the Ikura,  tuna and seaweed creations.

Apart from the expected items of tuna sushi and tender flavourful cuts of salmon sashimi, I particularly enjoyed the Salmon head Oroshini, readily inviting bites of addictive snacks that exude taste and crunchiness.  Another seafood item of interest is the Hotate miso mayo, or golden looking scallops on the shell grilled with a marinade of miso and mayonnaise.   Unagi avocado temaki rolls are also one of my weaknesses, for my introduction to eel has been happily made through Nippon cuisine.  The      uninitiated may find peculiar the availability of fish floss, as opposed to meat floss, and Sushi Tei combines such floss with fried prawns in a Maki.

A classic Cawan Mushi, with subtlety of steamed egg custard and ingredients such as mushroom bites.

A twist on a soup is the salmon belly Misoshiru, a rather rich ingredient to grace the otherwise plain miso soup.  For beer lovers, there is nothing better to accompany your drink than with the Hanasaki Ika tempura, or simply squid battered stuff.  Soft shell crab is a favourite ingredient in Asian cuisine, especially for those blessed with long coast lines, whether they be Thailand or Vietnam.  In Japan, the art is to attain the aromas of the shell crab with the crunchy bite of texture. Japanese cuisine is also fond of croquettes, although they are not strictly traditional and have been influenced by the Westernisation period in history.  Sushi Tei in this respect offers the Hokkaido Kani Cream Croquette, looking pretty and wholesome.

A dollop of ice cream flavoured by black sesame - the Kurogoma Aisukurimu.  They also serve Matcha (green tea ) and the Azuki (red bean) varieties.

There is often a limited range in Japanese dessert, so we reverted to relying on good old ice cream.  The spectrum of jellies, sweet dumplings, chocolate creations, sweet buns, Nagasaki sponge cake castellas and deep fried doughs like the Sata Andagi is not fully available in a single outlet in Australia.

Chiefly Tower and shopping centre beckons from across the road.

Squid and smelt roe, grilled mackerel, edible wild plants, these are some of the captivating items on the Sushi Tei menu.  Try to get seats beside the windows, for you can also watch and stare at the street life that passes by.  Whether for an evening gathering (as for seven of us) or savouring the food and drink at a business lunch, it may be worth checking out items other than standard fare like katsu - and suss out their unique small snacks, including the black caviar sushi (Gunkan).

The Kebaya Restaurant at the Seven Terraces - Georgetown, Penang

The Nyonyas and Babas were affectionately accepted by Queen Victoria as the 'King's Chinese".  The Kebaya reflects on such sentiments by offering the fish mousse (the otak-otak) to be eaten with miniature chicken pies.

Christopher  Ong and partner Karl Steinberg have done an excellent job in restoring several formerly decrepit Victorian styled terrace houses into a  swanky and yet historically beautiful abode for visitors in the Seven Terraces.  Their most noted restoration before Georgetown's Old Quarter was the Galle Fort Hotel in Sri Lanka.

Tads too sweet that evening when we were there - the Tub Tim Krob, a Thai dessert to illustrate pomegranate fruit floating in a sea of milky white.

Cream Brulee with a twist  - with lemon grass, spice and everything nice -  a Thai layer over the French idea. The two main chefs at the Kebaya are Penang born but French trained.

The Kebaya's dining room is straddled along the fronts of the restored Seven Terraces, located behind the iconic Goddess of Mercy Temple in old Georgetown.  Kebaya refers to the esteemed traditional and elegant dress worn by Nyonyas for special occasions - the cut is such that women need a lithe and slim figure to bring out the best in the look of a kebaya.  There is  teak panelled art deco bar on one side of the restaurant.

Dishes, on first glance,  that would have been an everyday menu for the Straits Chinese family in the 19th and 20th centuries in the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and Singapore.  However, sitting down at the table and sampling the food, I realised that this was a new genre of cuisine, although based on historical conventions but all given a fresh attitude and approach.  This may set the menu at the Kebaya apart from its fellow practitioners in commercial Straits Chinese cuisine.

A snack of pai tee - vital are fresh ingredients, textured cuts to enhance the bite and a crunchy though petite holder.  The name for this unusual creation comes from a southern Chinese dialect pronunciation of the English word "party".

A place to read, a corner to hide away and a seat to soak in a Penang island moment.  The adjoining hotel has only 14 guest rooms with reproduction wedding beds and furnished liberally with antique porcelain.

The buffet holding side dishes, water jugs and drinking glasses.

A stringent and tasty stir fry, perfect for vegetarians, with broad beans  and corn slices in a mish-mesh with cashew nuts and capsicum - an idea for a working day's dinner at home as well.

Fujian sweet dumplings (mua chee) or Japanese mochis adapted to a tropical clime - served in sweet coconut milk although still sprinkled by sesame seeds.

A classic Vietnamese favourite - sugarcane sticks skewering deep fried prawns, combining the best of land and sea.

Fish fillet in a wet curry sauce, echoing Thai styles and flavours.

A porcelain egg tray cleverly holds sauces and condiments, essential to the taste buds when delving in the various forms of south east and east Asian food.

I am so glad that Kar Wai, Sue Chee, Henry Quah and Fai Keong took me to the Seven Terraces and dinner at its Kebaya Restaurant - it was an eye opener and excellent illustration of how UNESCO heritage status can help renew and reconnect Penang's rich historical background to a viable present and hopeful future, giving each island resident a vital appreciation, glimpse and reality of Georgetown's multi-cultural past.  Committed funding, a spunky determination and an innovative vision lay behind the developers of such recent architectural and socio-cultural dimensions.  Our group was also introduced to Chris Ong, whom I found affable and with a friendly countenance - and at that moment I realised that history of growth is often made relentlessly not only by politicians, but relentlessly by individuals in the background, quietly making their mark as leaders.

Location:Stewart Lane
Georgetown, Penang Island

Gowings Bar & Grill, QT Hotel, Sydney CBD

The bar and grill is not obvious from the street but it was only breakfast time. Located on the second floor of the QT hotel and next door to the iconic State Theatre, it can be impressive that Gowings B & G opens its doors as early as 630am, considering that people do party at the same venue rather late the evening before. There is always a smiling young woman or man at the street level entrance to the QT itself - and this person often is a traveller from Canada or Europe with a friendly countenance.  The rooms at the QT are on the high side of pricing, already for a city that asks for much in hotel accommodation. Once you come out of the lift, you are settled into the rather cosy and cocooned world of the Gowings.  This name once referred to a department store but memories of that Australian business is carried on through association in the very building which once housed sales of clothes and accessories.

Breakfast can be a sophisticated affair, suggesting of early morning money deals or lingering a whiff of a torrid evening before.   At first glance, I thought it may look like an elderly gentlemens' club but no, there is the odd Asian tourist, the gathering of women out in town and the business team in suits.  Wooden panels, old fashioned lighting and well mannered staff can add to an environment where we willingly pay lunch meal prices for early morning works of art like the free range egg white omelette cooked in flax seed oil - with Swiss chard, kale and shitake mushrooms (how very Sydney!), it is priced at AUD21.  I chose for myself the Eggs Rockefeller, feeling a longing for the USA that day, and I was more than a happy puppy with farmed black caviar, warm brioche, steamed Warrugal greens and Tarragon all bathed in Hollandaise sauce (photo above).

The devil is in the detail, some say, but I reckon it is also how they make you feel.  Chocolate milk there is stated as from Jersey cows, but that was not as significant as how each staff member approaches you and your group.  This place is highly recommended to allow leisurely time and act as if you have an unplanned day ahead.  The conversations around you can be low toned for there is ample space between your company of diners and those of another.  The bar and kitchen have been stylishly designed, there are high ceilings and the outside world in whatever shape or weather is so far away. The person behind this establishment is Robert Marchetti who values unique cooking techniques using fired rotisseries.  And the bar closes at midnight.  In the meantime, the well dressed, those who want to be seen and watch as well, gather throughout the day.  It is not burlesque, neither cabaret like but more Euro elegant, maybe indulgent and obviously enjoyable.

There are underlying influences of Mexican, Australian and Asian in the varied menu.  Imagine custard duck egg tarts, eleven seeded hand made bread loaves, a simple Cantonese congee and smoked ham baked in hay.  They also could not resist offering the Big Breakfast, naturally labelled Gowings, with air dried cured bacon, goats cheese and garlic buttered mushrooms in its description.  Would I return? A definite yes, but next for the dinners and the wines.  They have a Paul Bara Brut from a French vineyard, a Philip Shaw No. 19 from Orange in central New South Wales and a Von Buhl dry Riesling from Germany.  For both lunchtime and evenings, there is the beer steamed prawn cocktail; partly boned whole roasted quails; hand dived wild scallops; rib eye of the Angus hereford from Tasmania's Cape Grim; and creme brulee made with double baked dark chocolate.

Chinese Cuisine in South East Asia - Iconic Ingredients

Fresh king prawns, often required for festive meals and family gatherings.

The ubiquitous tofu squares from Southern China.

Kumquats freshly plucked form the garden.

Contrasting flavours - the subtle soy bean based foochok, used mostly in soups and stir fries (background) sits next to the vinegar and chili based condiment for Hainan chicken rice (background).

A ginger heady concoction to highlight flavours of otherwise bland dishes.

Cantonese styled roast pork with crackle, utilised to be eaten with soy sauced egg noodles, steamed rice or just for themselves.

Lebanese cucumbers - a vital and useful ingredient used in Fujian poh pniah wraps and Beijing duck servings, whilst accompanying grilled satay skewers and Indonesian nasi lemak sets.

Hainan Chicken Rice - national dish of Singapore

Mr Wong, Bridge Lane - Sydney CBD

What intrigued me - green apple ice garnished with chestnuts, coconut sorbet and Osmanthus jelly.
The staff took pains to describe this creation to me with a smile.


The entrance is foreboding, the atmosphere darkish and the possibilities naughtily limitless.  A light shower had come down in an emptied banking district,  so it was with relief that shelter was found in another of the Merivale Group's creative outlets. The maitre'd was efficient, matter of fact and productive.  No bookings can be made at Mr Wong's if I understand correctly but the place was chock a block by 8pm. With all our national consciousness of Australian Chinese restaurants and my heritage of southern and central Chinese cuisine, I was obviously curious.  Was this going to be a romanticised make up of what China is today, or was in the minds of backpackers and colonials, or will be in the cyberspace-connected generation of the near future?

The delicate porcelain hanging on brick-broken walls under really low lighting provided a startling contrast on arrival.  The lady showing the table was smiling friendly even if she had a busy evening.  You walk carefully to the basement, laid out more like a drinking bar than a Chinese tea house, even if there are plenty of tea variations, liquor and cocktails to choose from.  An unrenovated warehouse atmosphere suggested this was more of a club than a standard Asian restaurant. Music streamed in from above, the level of chatter was relatively high and I felt more like in an Aussie or English pub than in anything else.  Were people there to be seen, or to try the food, or just to hang out after a long day at work?

Preparations in Mr Wong's kitchen are open and sort of a display - especially with the  hanging ducks on a rack.

The menu is rather extensive, with many options for entrees and dessert. Still, somehow, some may feel it can be a place to eat and go, and not to hang out too long, especially at lunchtimes.  Others may feel more relaxed and linger on with more drink than food, especially when  it does close late near midnight.  It may be a place to entertain clients but I would not rather go there to negotiate or lock in difficult deals.  Cutlery is optional, as there are chopstick sets, together with Japanese soy sauce bottles, condiment and sauce plates and drinking water bottles.  Day or night, Mr Wong's seems to be the only lively place this side of the lane.  If people still cannot accept the synergy of Western wines with Chinese food, they should come observe this restaurant - it need not be Tsingtao forever.  I appreciated the glass of moscato (AUD11) to down with the dessert.

A setting of five spiced roast pork belly  (siew yoke), accompanied by the must have Cantonese hoi sin sauce, the optional Brit styled mustard and a weaved basket container of steamed rice.  

The offering of items like fried rice, beef in black bean sauce, salt and pepper pork ribs and deep fried vanilla or chocolate  ice cream (though with butter scotch sauce, instead of caramel) point strongly to the preconceptions and preferences of the team who dreamed up and actualised the concept and reality of Mr Wong's.  These dishes are not in the wish list of serious fine diners in east Asia but hark back to a time when Mr Wong's targeted market of diners first had their taste of a typical Chinese restaurant in some residential suburb.   So it made sense when the clientele of Mr Wong's are not your gathering of Chinese family groups, but twenty somethings who do meet up on week nights and have the discretionary ability to spend and soak up a life that is still relatively free and easy.

Cool, dark and handsome - the bar tender surrounded by diners and a depiction on a bricked wall of a Shanghai woman from the 1930's.

You may think twice before inviting along children or grandparents, for there are low lit stairs, diners sitting too close together or moving behind your back.  The old folks will however acknowledge the extent of the wine list and may relate better to the made up surroundings better than Gen Y or Gen Millennium.

Steamed fresh fish with ginger and shallots and putting delicate shitake strips on steamed tofu are very traditional  and obviously can be found in Sydney's Chinatown down George Street, so what do diners find special to try here?  I reckon it is the whole package of the experience - so whether some find the prices more suited to corporate budgets or not, whether some dishes are made better elsewhere or whether it reminds one of eating in a bunked down recreation of old London under the German war bombings, it really does not matter.  The experience is one of uniqueness, of a performance and of a surprise.   It reminds us of fusion, of a bazaar and of all our comfort food Christmases apparently coming all at once, but also in unusual combinations. The use of ingredients like foie gras on prawn toast may seem a mismatch, but any full blooded Caucasian back packer or jet-setting business person or ex-Singaporean would stay loyal to an offering like the Singapore styled mud crab stir fried on a wok with black pepper.

Somehow the ubiquitous fish tanks of typical Chinese restaurants was mostly empty that evening.
Fresh fruits are parked ready not for diners but to use in cocktails.

The den of Mr Wong's is really not hard to locate - just stand in front of the rail station exit, at the corner of Hunter and George Streets in the Wynyard precinct of Sydney CBD.  If you had been a past patron of the now defunct Tank Nightclub, when the set of pedestrian lights turn green, you would then naturally walk down the slope of Hunter Street  on the right hand side and turn on the first lane.  This short, unassuming and often darkish lane leads to your food cabaret, a theatre of southern Chinese cuisine mixed with 20th century notions of Shanghai and an experiment of fusing ambiance with an all night bar - whether of tea, alcohol or trendiness.

Would I return?  Maybe to tickle my palate with yumcha creations such as pork and pumpkin dumplings.  Or the intriguing char siu fish and the abalone shui mai, as my latest visit there was for dinner. I hear that No upright connoisseur of food in Hong Kong would dare to have dim sim dishes after 2pm, just as any full blooded Napoli resident would not even think of latte after 11am.
Outstanding must tries I am told by mates are the deep fried aromatic duck spring rolls and eggplant made with a dash of Chef Dan Hong's magic from Ms G's.  Most of all, I would return to soak in a comfortable and relaxed time.

Aunty Gaik Lian's - Straits Chinese, Georgetown, Penang

A simple but appetising egg omelette as starters.

Gulai Ikan Tumis or sour and spicy fish curry.

The previous long standing branch of jewellers B.P De Silva, almost at the corner of Bishop and Beach streets in the old quarter of Georgetown, has a few months ago been transformed into a hub of Straits Chinese cuisine. Straddling two shop lots, located in an evening quiet location but near to the banking district on  business days, Aunty Gaik Lian's provides a refreshing change to the Nyonya food landscape on Penang island.  I have always found that the best Straits Chinese food is found in homes in Penang, like what my Mum dishes out, and it has been exasperating to be really satisfied with commercial outlets in this cuisine.  The Penang variation of such Peranakan food tends to be more influenced by ingredients and cooking styles from Thailand and the Malayan peninsular , when compared to the Malacca version (with more of stronger Indonesian influences and the use of the buah keruak fruit).

A dish for the 15th celebration day of the Lunar New Year festivities (the Chap Goh Meh) - the Pungat, made of selected fruit cuts, yam and carrots in a swirl of cooked coconut milk, rich but rewarding.  The ingredients cannot be too soft when served and the whole dessert not overly sweet.

With family in tow - and they had tried Gaik Lian's earlier through an introduction from one of my aunts in London - I already had expectations when we walked into the spacious surrounds of the cafe restaurant on a Sunday evening. I had phoned Adrian the son to book a table and he was most friendly making the table booking for me. There was a respite from the daily rain pour - vehicle parking was most easy on such an evening but it can be difficult otherwise on working days.  The theme at Aunty Gaik Lian's was retro, practical and easy going.   There were other tables filling up with more people that night.  We wanted to sample what Aunty could offer.

The Inche Kabin chicken, marinated in a recipe originated by a ship's captain and making use of both Western and Eastern ingredients, one of the modern world's first culinary fusion creations.  The marinade is important, miss one ingredient and one can be caught out and such deep fried chicken is best served when still crispy.

There is an old Honda motor bike displayed at the shop window and the kitchen is discreetly hidden away on the right hand side. A gentle and underlying reminder of yesterday in Penang was balanced by the quality and freshness of ingredients used. Aunty Lian is perhaps one of the best students of a well known cookery and Straits Chinese cuisine teacher from yesteryear - Mr Beng Yam.  So the nuances and attention to detail, so significant in what separates good from ordinary Nyonya cooking, did show up that evening.  Penangites are careful and critical about their food.  So the conversation inevitably went to compare the strengths and bite of Aunty Gaik Lain's Choon Pneih with those produced by her competitors at the CRC, Penang Swimming Club, the Littler Kitchen at Noordin Street and Mama's Nyonya Restaurant at Abu Sittee Lane.

The Choon Pnieh, or deep fried spring rolls influenced by Hainan cooking traditions, accompanied by the all
important dipping sauce (right of photo) which includes British Worchestershire sauce.

Aunty Gaik Lian came out herself, to chat with the clientele and asked us of we wanted more servings of steamed rice.  As the meal progressed, we were delighted to discover that Lian's husband is a classmate of my eldest brother and he could recognise each of us int he family.   It suddenly brought me back good memories of being with all my brothers at home, me still growing up with vague but sure recollections of friends of brothers dropping by to visit.

The menu is not extensive but sufficient, in my view.  There are starters lined up and then several choices for the mains, with perhaps a limitation on curry options or dessert choices ,but servings are optimal and neither too little nor too much.

You can look out on the street which has nightclubs nearby and the place is close to where both backpackers and cruise ship passengers can wander by.  People doing the walking heritage trail in the old precinct of Georgetown can choose to have a lunch here as well.  In the end, I reckon having a meal at Aunty Gaik Lian's is akin to being at home, partaking in dishes lovingly cooked by a close relative.

Would I return?  A  definite yes. The dishes I had preference for had flavours, texture and a wholesomeness much to my taste.  I particularly liked the Choon Pnieh and the signature egg omelette.
Adrian could recommend dishes and their serving size to suit our numbers.  Nothing was over salty or under whelming on the palate.  Gaik Lian had generously provided us a special touch with the dessert.  Tables were not packed too close like in some smaller establishments.   I would be confident to bring both locals and visitors here.

A cooling drink before dinner starts.