Penang Buddhist Association Revisited

Outside the main building is this well known pagoda with a moated pond that contains fish.

The Bodhi tree flourishes on the temple grounds in 2016.

My childhood memories of lotus bloom covered floors - tiles cool on the feet - remain intact.

The ceilings of the prayer hall are high, creating a much appreciated natural cooling effect.

Lights adorn the prayer area.

Cushions are stacked ready for use by devotees.

Candles are available for those wishing to add brightness to the occasion.

A peep to the outer grounds through a side window.

Mother of pearl inlaid on public use furniture echo the Chinese heritage and origins of the building.

The stair case that leads to to the upper floor but is now not allowed access.

Detail of planted pot outside.

Saigon Senses - Wollongong Central NSW

It was the interior deco that caught my eye as well.  There were far and few in between Asian food outlets in the Wollongong area when I first moved there many years ago, perhaps a few Indian and Indo-Chinese ones selling pan -Asian menus.   Now that the demographic diversity of the greater Sydney Basin is more reflected in gastronomic choices in this seaside town, I can now cite three recently opened places selling the pork roll ala Vietnam - the Quay Canteen at Crown Street Mall, the Bakery Boys at lower Crown Street and now Saigon Senses.

And yes, the belly pork roll which I had as takeaway at Saigon Senses is the clear winner - wholesomely generous, bursting with flavour and brimming with the garnish of pickled slices of crunchy veg.  Roast belly pork per Vietnamese recipe is closer to the Cantonese version than to those in Spain, Germany or Italy.  maybe it is the added spices for taste, perhaps it is the French effect with a baguette - make your choice as to multigrain, wholemeal or more.   The meat is tender here, well cooked for the palate, better than pulled pork and the crispy crackle is the bonus of the experience.

There is only a simple menu here, but easily divided in to wraps, soups, rice dishes, vermicelli and rolls.   Normally I gyrate towards the combination of broken rice, served with side garnish and a well charcoal grilled meat like chicken or pork chop, but here they have beef as an option as well.  This one plate combination is a good idea for a lunch time selection and can be a take away.  I am not partial to those mixtures of meat and dry vermicelli but do like the wraps, especially those packed tight with fresh veg and ingredients like prawns and bite-sized meat cubes.

 I had one evening walked into Saigon Senses, knowing it had closed up for the day,and said hi to Mr. Bao Dang, who is one of the co-owenrs of Saigon Senses with Ms. Thuy Huynh. This affable young man has a natural smile - and when I next dropped by on a nearly lunch hour, Bao seemed to do everything in preparing the food for me.  Easygoing, Bao was efficient in getting the orders from other customers.  I like the way Bao displays the bread rolls as if it is in a French cafe.   Both Bao and Thuy left behind their training and career in IT and education to go into the food business - they previously operated at the food court in Wollongong Central.

I have yet to try the Vietnamese meatballs, an interesting choice that plays on the Wollongong market's penchant for meatballs from such diverse places as Italian  restaurants and Subway rolls.
One thing that stood out is the lemongrass flavoured tofu - soy being essentially neutral in taste, this brings a rather Thai twist - lemongrass is also available for beef.    The roll I may go for on a next visit is one containing mayonnaise and egg.

The iconic item of pho served here relies on its gentle soup stock, not over powering with five spice powder but simmering along easy on the palate like a slow boat along a quiet stretch of Halong Bay.    Pho as you know originated from the Hanoi area  - there is an image of an elephant and farmland vista from Sapa on the wall of  Saigon Senses.   I found the breast meat cuts woody and not as juicy tender as I have had at some other cafes in a few Sydney suburbs.

 Saigon Senses is located on the ground floor of the GPT Shopping centre in Wollongong Central, opposite Coles supermarket and one floor above the car park level.
Address is 200 Crown Street, Wollongong NSW.
Saigon Senses is open every day from 10am to 4pm.
Contact +61 403 831 368

 

Blue River Chinese Restaurant - Woonona NSW

Tasty, tender and uplifting - lamb braised with garlic on a hot plate.

They  have San Choy Bow for entrees; butterfly shaped prawns which are deep fried with spicy salt or garlic butter;a rather unusual prawn and bacon rolls entree; satay chicken skewers; the popular crispy skin chicken; a traditional boneless chicken with plum sauce;and instead of Mongolian lamb, there is  a chicken  version  of the dish.   The location is suburban, the guests come from residential areas and the name of the restaurant is Blue River.

There are several accompaniments to the sweet and sour, a formula well tested and tried when Chinese immigrants started cooking outlets to survive in a  foreign land many years ago.   Pork is offered in fillets, ribs or cut as small slices.  The menu is not new fangled Hong Kong or fusion South-east Asian, but rather a southern Chinese based menu that also caters for the preferences of more Caucasian tastes.

Ready to start the meal!

Pineapple fried rice was under in my expectations.  However I was taken with the so many different ways they can cook chicken, lamb, beef and seafood in a rather extensive menu.   The basis of this all is good wok technique.  Chinese dishes tend to be prepared bite-sized, there is no chunky stuff here.  Also lots of different kinds of vegetables that can be picked up by chopsticks.   Deep fried tofu is symbolic of the extensive use of frying in this restaurant.  My eye caught the dish called King Prawn Fu Yum, egg omelette with succulent prawns.   Noodles are categorised nicely - crispy, pan fried or steamed, linked to the name "Chow Mein".

NZ stand out from Hawkes Bay, this was a BYO.

Long and short noodle soup still remains on the menu, with that iconic corn and crab meat version that is a staple in Western countries but which you don't see much in Asia itself.   I always had problems distinguishing between the terms long and short for noodles, for to me they are simply egg noodles and wantons.

For seafood, Blue River has fish, scallops, King Prawns and squid cooked with a combination of flavours like chilli, garlic, King Doo sauce, shallots, black pepper and more.

One of the popular dishes in south-east Asia for Chinese restaurants is steamed fresh fish, but alas this is not offered here.  Instead, deep fried fish fillets come with lemon or mushrooms or black bean sauce or snow peas and broccoli.   I do not find black pepper sauce goes with fish, but they also have that with lamb and beef.

Prices are reasonable and service for us that evening was rather on time, there was no mucking around in the kitchen.  Next time I must try their garlic infused chicken,  the steamed duck done Cantonese style; omelettes for dinner; and some vegetarian choices.

Cashews with prawns and veg - not exactly my favourite and the wok heat could have been better in the outcome.

Oh yes, Blue River has deep fried ice cream,  banana split and banana fritters, very much devoted to a  market that still yearns for a Chinese menu from 1970s Australia.  And why not?  The restaurant is not that big, has tables in a compact space but has a lovely Caucasian lady at the counter and interacting with customers, perhaps a rarity in Chinese restaurants in Sydney CBD.   There is in house wine list but Blue River is also BYO for wines.  We sat not too far inside and I could see McDonalds obviously across the Princes Highway.  Not far up is Emerald and Moon Sushi is on the northern side.  Woonona is coming up with a bit of variety in the commercial strip, although Blue River has been in business for many years.




Blue River Chinese Restaurant is located at 365 Princes Highway, Woonona NSW, north of Wollongong city centre.
The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
Opening hours are from 1130am to 230pm for Tuesday to Sunday lunch and 430pm to 930pm for Tuesday to Thursday plus Sunday dinners.   For Friday and Saturday dinners, it is from 430pm to 1000pm.
Contact +61 2 4284 9711

The Eight Restaurant, Langham Auckland

I was tipped off about the modern interactive lunch experience at the in-house restaurant of the Langham in Auckland's Grafton precinct, especially its ala carte offerings.   Due to time scheduling and logistics one weekend, we could only try breakfast - but I was sufficiently impressed.

Omelette met my expectations, although the lady making this was not chatty and reserved towards customers.  My benchmark for breakfast omelettes are those made in Vietnam, fluffy, delightful, with many ingredients and full of flavour.   There is a usual  queue to the omelette making place but i did not notice this on that Saturday morning.

Dried fruits, cheese and other nibbles; waffles and pancakes; and the several choices of fresh morning juices made me happy.   The croissants and breads came from a good baker in practice, for I loved their brown colours and crispy textures.   Presentation was paramount; at times I thought i was at a corner of a village bakery, at others at a garden party's spread.

Oh yes, there were pork and chicken sausages, hash browns, baked beans and other reminders of a New Zealand breakfast from not too long ago.  Add to this the variety of colourful and varied fruit cuts and slices that only a successful agricultural nation can bring - peaches, plums, Kiwis and more.

The variety of muesli and breakfast cereal at the Eight astounded me.  What caught my eye most were the NZ produce and brands which I do not normally see in Australia.  And the accompanying milk, what a treat!  I especially treasured the Bircher muesli - that Swiss concoction that combines currants, chopped dried apricots, rolled oats, grated apple with skins on, seasonal berries, chopped crispy almonds before garnishing with fresh orange or apple juice,ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon.

Most of the staff attending to our table were alert and responsive, but one did forget to bring a tea blend requested, as opposed to the rest of us having the ubiquitous coffee.  We did get good seating, a private corner removed from the main traffic going to and fro from  the tables with the food spread.   There was even soup, fried rice and what you may call brunch items as well - that is generous. What was missing if I may say so was sushi and sashimi, but hey this is still breakfast time.  The staff cleared our plates diligently on a regular basis.

There are five hours every day available for guests to relax and partake in the offerings in the main hall, but outside in a kind of sunken lobby area, one can have ala carte breakfast but for shorter hours.

The ambiance at the Eight is just nice for a meal get together.   There is no outdoor dining but think of smoked salmon, pickled offerings like "mops", ice cream available for breakky and platters of cheese and other dairy products.

And now for lunch and dinner!


The Langham Auckland is located at 83 Symonds Street, Grafton, Auckland.
Opening hours for the Eight Restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel are 6am to 11am every day for breakfast.
Contact +64 9 379 5132.


 

Viet Kitchen, Mount Eden - Auckland

Rolls packed with brimming freshness and delicate taste.

A new player in Dominion Road's food scene offers a lilting menu and a variety of yummy Vietnamese dishes for take away or for an easy time out.  The Viet Kitchen has a modern decor, has a spacious interior and friendly staff.   My group was seated in an friendly and efficient manner and staff made sure to ask if everything was going all right with the food after we had started taken them. Young Kayley was captivated by the framed paintings and photos on the wall - and took time out to also check the bamboo plant with her Mum.  The restaurant is sited in an already existing hub of food outlets and not far from the Countdown supermarket in Mount Eden.

Grilled offerings are popular in Vietnam - the Viet Kitchen provides this entree which is flavourful, authentic and  wholesome, grilled pork on lemongrass sticks.

The egg noodles in soup are a must to try.  The day the four of us visited, with an infant in tow, the stringency, freshness and texture of the noodles stood out positively.  The other test for such a delicate and simple dish is the satisfaction the soup gives you on the palate - this one for dinner time was not over whelming, not salty and you could taste the chicken in the stock.   In contrast, to my palate, I found the tomato based soup with vermicelli and garnishing (photo above) did look colourful but in taste lacked a certain oomph.

Other recommended items to try are the duck flavoured soup with egg noodles, the traditional iced coffee using condensed milk, grilled beef skewers, Pho noodles, combination plates of grilled meat with rice and salad and deep fried spring rolls.
The menu pricing is moderate and practical.  I suggest this place to keep in mind after a busy day, when no one feels like cooking and is suitable for couples, families or friends gathering.


The Viet Kitchen is located at342-344 Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024.
Opening hours are 11am to 10pm every day.
Contact numbers are  +64 212787999 and +64 96302218