The Eight Modern Chinese Restaurant - Haymarket Sydney Yumcha

Full of flavour, delicate on the mouth and elegant on the plate - steamed wantons.

With vehicle parking provided below, Market City in Sydney's Chinatown can be a hive of activity any day or night of the week.  With an upper level food court, ground floor supermarket, clothing outlets and Paddy's Market at street level, it can be a focus for many thronging the southern end of Sydney CBD.  Recently I had yum cha with four other friends at The Eight, located on the upper most floor.   The staff still converse in Cantonese in this restaurant, apart from English and Mandarin.
The food trolleys really get going from around 11am even if the place opens earlier.

And remember, do always get your tea pot topped up by the male staff members, and watch for that table card being stamped by your orders to add up.    The clutter in any yum cha session can be minimised by asking staff to clear finished plates.

Steamed pork with salted fish sitting on a bed of rice, accompanied by deep fried spring rolls and chili sauce.

I do find the tables placed very close to each other during yumcha sessions here.   The trolley drivers do find several roadblocks and tight squeezes when they try to move around the dining hall.  Lo and behold, try not to sit on a chair which faces knocks and pushes from behind, but at times one has no choice.  The food does come out regularly, the staff do try to make suggestions from their trolley and table groups just get into a pace of their own.  Sweet stuff are normally reserved for the latter part of lunch, but one may see some attractive item and not see them available again.  If you have a solid idea of a dish in mind, always ask and the staff can often provide this.  Some dishes are only made in limited portions.    Several creations of the Eight Modern Chinese are more clean cut, more elegant and more attractively presented when compared with its competitors.

Mushroom looking steamed Baos, with sesame seed paste inside.

The Eight Restaurant is located on the uppermost level of Market City shopping centre, with an address of 9-13 Hay Street, Sydney NSW.
Telephone 612 9282 9988
Opening hours are from 10am to 3pm, and then from 530pm  till 11pm.

Thai Street Festival - Annandale NSW

Cut seasonal fruits are always part of the Thai penchant for fresh and sharing.

The Thai Temple in Annandale, Wat Buddharungsee, is located at 49 Trafalgar Street.  The fair depicted above was held on the third Sunday of November in 2015, commencing at 9am and usually finishing up around noon.  It was a partly rainy day but that did not dampen the spirit and enthusiasm of the local Thai community and their friends.  Generous portions of food, non-vegetarian and vegetarian,  from starters to desserts reflecting the variety of Thai cuisine were made available to visitors.  Inside the temple itself, there were ceremonies conducted to commemorate Kartina and the offering of vegetarian food to the monks.  Thai Government representatives also attended.

Indian inspired Roti with a red chicken curry.

Rice vermicelli prepared with chili bits and shallots before pouring in the hot soup.

Two large woks bubbling along with deep fried chicken wings.

Two pawed buddies sit quietly with their owner and soak in the street carnival atmosphere.

A jacaranda tree blooms along Trafalgar Street in November.

A lovely idea of a healthy snack, with fresh veg and carrot sticks dipped into a mayonnaise.

Jellies galore, white and green, an ideal way to keep cool in the warmer season.  Great for kids.

Three choices of beverage ala Thai - longan fruit based quencher, milk tea and iced coffee.

Green beans brewed as dessert with cooked banana slices and coconut milk.

My favourite choices for this day in food were the Kuey Chap, a traditional Chiuchow influenced soup with rice based noodles and pig entrails; the chicken  satay skewers; the Koay Teow Thng, a hot served soup with rice noodles, small meat portions and shallots;   various steamed snacks and cakes utilising coconut milk; piping hot deep fried chicken wings; fresh fruit salads; Thai coffee;  fresh salads with mayonnaise; and Rotis accompanied by yummy chicken curry.  Some of the stall holders came from well known Thai restaurants around greater Sydney.   I must give a big thumbs up to the efficient, hard working and friendly volunteers present that day at the street fair.

Pagoto Gelato and Waffle House - Marrickville, Sydney

Baklava as gelato?  The ever present water melon in increasingly seen in Australian trendy use, as part of an offered flavour.  Pavlova as an Aussie touch.  Low rise seats to attract children, sitting to watch a side street.  An impressive variety of choices.  Open in the evenings.   A touch of Mediterranean shared with Italians - mascarpone, nutella.  Truly Greek wonders like Ouzo, Galaktoboureko  and Karoumbiedies.   And oh yes,  more Aussie favourites - salted caramel, mocha, white chocolate and peanut butter!  Thirty-six flavour choices in all.

Presentation, colour and taste.

Katerina Magoulias and Chris Felemegas are the business partners behind this exciting entry to the gelato field.   I understand the challenge they faced was not another similar store.  Gelatos are the speciality of Europe, despite the early involvement of Asian backed chains.  The coffee trade is maturing and yet its market and consumer spending is growing.  How does one lift up the gelato game in this part of the world?

On my very first visit to Pagoto's, I chose the pavlova with the almond based Kourambiedies.   Traditional to contrast with Greek and the exotic.   There was a balance.  I savoured the deep flavours that each gelato represented.  Marrickville is going steady as a food hub and so this post meal treat has come in very handy for diners and a night out.

The Pagoto woman

In Marrickville, Pagoto is beside a lane leading to Mitre 10 - from outside the place may be unassuming but once you get inside the gelato and waffle place, there are many wonders to explore.

Greek styled gelato  to me tastes lighter and more flavourful when compared to other varieties.  It is not over the top sweet, but what I appreciated was the texture and use of clever ingredients.

The heaviest flavour I reckon is the chocolate ice cream with crushed peanuts, chocolate sauce and chocolate flakes.  The sweetest to me is the lemon and icing sugar gelato.   In between is the combination of banana, crushed macadamia nuts and caramel sauce.  I am attracted by the garnishings that Pagoto thinks up to serve with the primary flavour.

Waffles come with a good array of accompaniments - avocado, berries and ricotta.  I particularly have a soft spot for the option with walnuts, honey, cinnamon and ricotta on my waffle.

I noticed that there are flavours at Pagoto not found anywhere else in Australia.   This may be its advantageous differentiating factor.  When dropping by in the late afternoon, there were many small kids, families and adults having an enjoyable time.  I enjoyed the customer engagement evident at the Marrickville outlet.  The place is not overly spacious but maybe just right.   Having waffles as another choice is an interesting idea, it makes kids want to sit down and soak in their experience.  Then there is also frozen yogurt and traditional ice cream.

Oh ya, you can have your Freddocino and iced coffee as well....next I must try the ginger and caramelised fig gelato!


Pagoto Sydney is located at 301 Victoria Road, Marrickville NSW.
Telephone:  61401 724  686
Opening hours;  From 12 noon every day, till 1030pm from Mondays to Thursdays and closes later from Fridays to Sundays.
In Sydney, you can also check the Pagoto pop up carts at Circular Quay and Bondi Beach Walkway.


Pagoto Melbourne is located at Oakleigh.
There are pop up carts in five distinct areas - Swanston Street; Etihad Stadium  Boardwalk at 750 Bourke Street; Royal Exhibition Building at Nicholson Street, Carlton;  Melbourne Showgrounds at Epsom Road, Flemington; and in Port Melbourne, at the Beaconsfield Parade Beach Walkway.

Pagoto Brisbane is located at Mount Gravatt.





 

Southern Cape South Africa - Coastal Vignettes False Bay

Rocky with cliffs.  Sweeping vistas as the road winds its way to hug the contours of the Cape coast.
The wind is on our faces. That is how I first encountered the southern oceans, away from those in New Zealand and Australia.  The landscape here still has rugged terrain, with not many people, more natural and yet still impressive.   There are houses, mostly clinging on to the hill sides, but there is not much vehicular traffic.  Where are the surfers, one of the first thoughts that bugged me as I am transported down the Southern Cape, beside a bay that is seen as False.

 I was not certain whether this route I was taking with my group was passing by the Atlantic, or Indian, Oceans.   The relevant question then is whether False Bay is part of the Atlantic or Indian Oceans.  Spots with English and Dutch name origins dot the coast, like Parson's Nose,  Saint James, Murdock valley, Seaforth, long Beach, mackerel bay, Fish Hoek and Shelley Beach.   By coincidence, names like Shelley Baech, Seaforth and St, James are also used in the greater Sydney area in Australia.  There is a Mediterranean climate here, nurturing its popularity as a get away route with holiday homes, fishing for the Snoek, fine dining, scuba diving and yachting sport.

Where there are no sandy beaches, the ocean meets land with rocky surfaces or slopes of thin vegetation.  May be it was the season - early spring.  I could feel excitement of budding and practising geologist when coming to this region.  South Africa's Cape province is the site of more than several high points with record breaking cliff gradients beside an ocean.

False Bay is defined in boundary by Cape Hangklip, the cute name meaning "hanging rock".   This has been emphasised to us when we had a stop over to view a quiet large inlet.  Most likely a tour hot spot, for people had written in chalk names, places of origin and dates of being there.  It was a quietly stunning experience, soaking in the panoramas of rather placid waters touching the bases of cliffs.   The roads built to circumnavigate the coast are neither too wide nor narrow.   My group stopped mainly at Simon' Town and at Boulder Beach African Penguin colony.

Empty beautiful beaches line the route and provide a getaway from it all.  The landscape is so different from the interior of South Africa but here the Great White sharks swim aplenty.

From Muizenberg to Smitswinkel Bay, along a part of inlet called False Bay, the scenic ride or drive happens.   Seals around the shore at Cape Fur Seal do attract sharks in the waters - and just like around Australian waters, incidents of shark attacks do happen.  And not just any shark species, but the Great White. There is a register kept on line of casualties involving individuals off the coast of South Africa.

A  tip of a huge continent - Cape of Good Hope, but not where the Indian Ocean's warm Mozambique currents flow.

Rocky cliffs predominate part of the scenic route south from Cape Town to Simon's Town and Cape Point.

A bay along the False Bay coast.

Land's end at the Cape of Good Hope, where two major oceans still do not meet up.  The lesser known Cape Alguhas is said to be where the Atlantic meets the Indian Oceans, as the cold Benguela currents from Antartica still touch False Bay and Cape Point.
The Cape of Storms was changed in name by Portuguese King John II to the Cape of Good Hope, for its discovery and passage use by European colonists significantly changed the history of trade, cultural intermingling and cuisine development forever.

Cape Point is also known as Diaz point, in honour of Bartholomeu Diaz and rises 249 metres above the ocean level.  There is still some distance to traverse between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point.  The latter has become another tour spot, with a funicular railway to ferry visitors up to the light house if you do not wish to climb up.  Interesting enough, Vasco da Gama Point is north of all these, along the southern stretches of False Bay, within the confines of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, south of Smitswinkel Bay and Simon's Town.


You may want to check out:

The Black Marlin Restaurant
http://kindlyyours.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/the-black-marlin-simons-town-south.html

Penguin Colony
http://kindlyyours.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/penguins-boulders-beach-false-bay.html

and

Simon' Town
http://kindlyyours.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/simons-town-southern-cape-south-africa.html

Green Peppercorn Fairfield NSW - Revisited

I found this to be the best on my recent visit back to Fairfield's Green Peppercorn - the quality of the grill  was superb.  The satay sauce was different to what you find in Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia - perhaps a and too creamy for me.

Rival Holy Basil restaurant has the similar mix of Laotian and Northern Thai cuisine - I found their version of chicken feet skin salad better in Canley Heights.

A perennial reliable  - the Tom Yum Kung.  This northern Thai version is less fiery to me than its southern styles.

Nearby nuts galore in an Iraqi styled grocery in Fairfield.

Green Peppercorn is located at 1 Hamilton Road, Fairfield not he ground floor of the Fairfield Hotel.
Telephone: 612 9724 7842
Opening hours are everyday for lunch from 12 noon to 3pm and for dinner from 530pm till late.


Green Peppercorn has another outlet on the first floor of the Civic Hotel, corner of Pitt and Goulburn Streets, Sydney CBD at 388 Pitt Street.
Telephone: 612 80807043
Opening hours are everyday for lunch from 12 noon to 3pm and for dinner form 5pm till late.