Miss Saigon Hurstville NSW

Stir fried flat rice noodles buried under a heap of veg, chicken, corn bits and carrots.

I recall having dropped by this restaurant many years ago when Hurstville was already showing signs of being one of the most non-mainstream suburbs in the southern part of the greater Sydney area.  


The restaurant's name resonated with a spectacular and popular musical staged at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney's Chinatown, with the inevitable Filipino artiste taking the lead about the evacuation of Saigon at the end of the American War.


Well, this modest place at one end of the now crowded and bustling Forest Road, the main business strip for Hurstville, continues to dish out standard fare from the Vietnamese cooking genre.   Perhaps the strategy is to provide good old simple fare that is modestly priced, consistent with expectations of the target market, who could be families out on a social outing, singles and couples who cannot bother to cook and those in a hurry to have a quick meal after alighting from the nearby rail station or from many of the passing buses.


I did notice an interesting section this recent visit on the menu - starch noodle soup or the Hu Tieu Dai.   They come served  steaming hot with the usual seafood or pork chops.  Why starched? To me, it looked like the Koay Teow Thng soup found in many street food locales in south-east Asia,  especially popular amongst Fujian diaspora who settled away from southern China overseas for  many generations by now.


Pho, of course is a useful, iconic test for any Vietnamese food place and Miss Saigon serves only beef options here, still tasty according to my mates.


One of my fav orders at such places is the Chim Cut, or marinated quail pieces then deep fried to give an extra crunch on the bite.    Another quick snack is the Banh Xeo, where bean sprouts, pork slices, prawns and chopped shallots are whipped up into a pancake fold, which is presented with fresh mint leaves, fish sauce dips and freshly peeled lettuce on your plate.


The restaurant looks a bit jaded in its walls - and although the framed wood cuts are lovely, perhaps need a refreshed overhaul in look and feel, away from its rather current brownish feel.  There are competitors nearby, but perhaps mainly from the mainland China variety, which does offer another sort of cuisine, more affecting the traditional Cantonese culinary places. 


Still, Miss Saigon is open the whole day and echoes comfort food for many Asian- Australians, even if the younger ones have moved one in taste, residential base and mindset to other parts of greater Sydney - or even to London, California, Singapore and back to Vietnam itself.


I did enjoy my serve of the Viet-Chinese version of Sar Hor Fun.  The wok heat came through the noodles,  the serving size was not over the top and the stir fry was thorough  (first photo on this blog post).   There was no pennywort drink that day but we settled fro the young coconut juice at AUD3.50, a bargain price compared to most similar restaurants these days.

Miss Saigon is located at 185C Forest Road, Hurstville NSW.

Opening hours are from 10am to 10pm every day.
Contact    + 61 2 9585 0068



My impressions of Miss Saigon at Hurstville NSW:
Ambiance: 2.5 out of 5

Customer Engagement:  3.5 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  3.5 out of 5
X Factor: 2.5  out of 5
Overall:   12 /4  out of 5

 

Cool Mac Cafe Kirribilli NSW

Eggplant Benedict.

This is Cool McCool to me - and reaffirming that after so many years, Australia is still flowering with experimentation, fusion and coming out with delightful culinary results perhaps not so easily found else where. 

Japanese and French disciplines have bloomed some time ago in combination, exchange of techniques and in using the best of ingredients.  What about Japanese or other Asian inspirations with modern Australian?  Here in this seemingly unassuming cafe on the lower end of Burton Street, Kirribilli, on Sydney's lower north shore, something good is happening, even if small and gradually.  Whether for lunch or breakfast, I do find some interesting variations being served here.

Siracha and sesame are used to marinate chicken.   Ramen is cleverly labelled "Cool Men" and there are Kinoko mushrooms on simple toast.   A twist on noodle soups is the green tea flavoured soup, although I am not sure I will go down well on this.  Katsu is provided in a  roll remniscent of Mr Bao at York Street Sydney CBD or at the markets at the Bondi Beach Public School on Saturdays and at the Central Park Markets on Sunday mornings.   Coffee is by Campos.

There can be limited seating on a busy day but you can always take away.   The place is rather upper crust Sydney - I can hear of conversations about returning from New York, performing in London, the glories of running in cold weather and more.  Darling pets wait on the pavement fro their owners.  The cars on the street are Tesla, BMW and Benz. 

The Cool Mac Cafe visited is located at  Shop 2, 34 Burton Street, Kirribilli NSW.

Opening hours are from from 6am to 4pm every week day and from 7am to 4pm on weekends.
Contact + 61 2 9955 3087



My impressions of the Cool Mac Cafe in Kirribilli NSW:
Ambiance:  3 out of 5

Customer Engagement:  4 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  3.5 out of 5
X Factor:   3 out out of 5
Overall:     13.5 /  4  out of 5




My recommended dishes from the menu are:

Bang Bang Chicken Salad  -  tomatoes, cucumber and greens grace the sesame and Siracha flavoured chicken.


The Notorious Pig Roll -  old fashioned sweet soy pork belly, garnished by cabbage, pickles and black garlic , all stuffed in a Baguette.


Eggplant Benedict with toasted Pancetta and 63 degree Onsen eggs.

The Saint Aloysius College Junior School across Burton Street.

JJ's Indian Wollongong NSW

Goat curry ala Indian style  - much more sumptious than the south-east Asian version.  

We were greeted by smiling faces, whether from the lady taking our food orders or the young gentleman bringing us our dishes.   The restaurant was well patronised even on a week night, especially for Wollongong.   The steamed rice was impeccable.  Nobody made a fuss about the rather chilling weather outside.  

Spicy food can be accompanied by a matching drinks list, and JJ's has the usual mix of beers, wines, Lhassi, mixer drinks and soft drinks.   There are three main categories in the  food as I see it - a rather extensive vegetarian,  some seafood and other mains.

Barramundi fillet curry as in the Mallabari - fresh fish and  creamy curry that brings out the best of the ocean flavours and spices of the land.   The scent of curry leaves and mustard seeds lift this dish up as well.

The Australian practice is to ask what level of chilli hotness do you prefer as a dining customer.    We settled for the medium level.  Even if personally I have a preference for hotter curries, I did enjoy the texture and taste of the curry gravies served.   I reckon this comes down to the harmony with an optimal amount of spice mix and in the end it is the overall flavour and outcome of each Indian culinary dish.    If any fault is to be found, a mate remarked that perhaps the curries we had seemed too creamy for his taste.

There is  a rather delightful consistency in the dishes created and cooked at JJ's.   The careful use of ingredients shows in the bite and experience.   The Wollongong restaurant is decked out with a tasteful dining lay out and some displays of cultural icons, which help to add to the atmosphere.

Our prawn Masala  - a pretty sight and even more tasty!

JJ's visited is located at  3/50 Crown Street, Wollongong NSW, not far from the junction with Corrimal Street and near two large apartment blocks.Opening hours are from noon to 230pm for lunch and from 5pm to 10pm for dinner every day.Contact +  61 2 4225 0888There is also another outlet of JJ's in Kiama NSW.

My impressions of JJ's in Wollongong NSW:Ambiance:  3.5 out of 5Customer Engagement: 4 out of 5Culinary Delight: 3.5 out of 5X Factor:  3 out of 5Overall:  14/4 out of 5

My other recommended dishes from the menu are:

Machli Raye Tamatari  - a tomato based fish curry.

Gulbadan Kofta -  these are deep fried veg mince balls served in a sauce made cleverly from cashew nut paste.   Totally vegetarian, looks colourful.

Barrah Kebab - an Iranian inspired serving of grilled lamb cutlets, which have been marinated in hung curd, peppercorns, Cardamoms, cloves, ginger paste and garlic.  Also made with mutton in traditional cooking.

Garlic prawns, flavoured with yoghurt and cooked.