Si Ji Min Fu Restaurant Qianmen Beijing

Mung Bean snacks.

Thinly sliced pig's ears in a refreshing light savoury mix.

The branch of Si Ji Min Fu here in Qianmen runs on a unique profit sharing arrangement between owners, management and staff.    It is reported that this  Qianmen branch made a profit of 3 million Yuan in 2015.   

The service for my group of ten was impeccable.   The staff made sure of our dish orders and then they came out fast, delightfully filling up the table.   Being seated upstairs meant we could look at the upper floors of neighbouring houses, which remained low key, retro and had sounds echoing the street life below.

There was emphasis and care in preparing sauces, ensuring the texture of food and in the harmonisation of overall flavours.   One way I noted in ensuring the desired texture was in the careful slicing and presentation of meat.

There was a family enjoying their food on the next table - the atmosphere was like being invited to a good mate's home.   We were careful with the stair case in this narrow spaced shop but it was worth the effort, even if we could have sat on the street level.   There are other branches of Si Ji Min Fu elsewhere in the Beijing metropolitan area, but this was one that looked and was authentic, chosen by us on gut feel and offered an excellent meal between shopping, walking the lanes and taking it easy.

My impressions of the Si Ji Min Fu Restaurant in Qianmen, Beijing are:


Ambiance:  3 out of 5
Staff Engagement:  4 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  4 out of 5
X Factor:  4 out of 5  (the Beijing Duck)
Overall Score:   3.75 out of 5

Pho Toan Thang Vietnamese Restaurant Homebush NSW

It was a rather early Sunday morning - the crowds had not arrived as yet.   Some shops, cafes and restaurants were already opened for business, including Pho Toan Thang.


PTT is a family run business that has both Vietnamese and Cantonese hues in its food and atmosphere. People were having breakfast here!    The grocery across the paved walkway, Tan Hung Long, was awaking from just opened mood, but next door, K.W. Barbeque, already had people lining up.    The roast ducks, pork and soy chicken were going fast from the display window - and I saw a fresh batch of marinated chicken feet brought in form the kitchen behind.  


The PTT menu can be seen replicated across many such comparable Indo-Chinese themed restaurants across metropolitan areas in Australia today.    Many Aussies are familiar with now staple items like pork chops with tomato flavoured rice, beef Pho and hotpots of seafood.   I was more curious as to why many people would line up at TT for lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner soon later in the day.


The PTT staff spoke Cantonese, but also was conversant in Mandarin and English.   I chose a typical dish to test the waters at PTT.   The chicken rice noodles soup I got had a different taste from traditional Pho in Vietnam.   It may be just me, but it seemed more southern Chinese in character than Hanoi.    PTT provided generous clean cuts of breast meat slices.  The mint and bean sprouts were there on a  separate plate.  The soup however was more clear than expected.   The narrow rice noodles served were what I like best in a  soup, with its rather appetising texture.  A squeeze of lemon, some sauce and the piping hot bowl became better.


The colour of the tomato flavoured rice here is not so orangey.   I noticed the pork trotters, crispy chicken, Bahn Mi, and salt fish flavoured fried rice with chicken at other tables.    Many of my mates with a Vietnamese family background have told me this restaurant is one on the familiar weekend  circuit on countless family routines around Sydney.


 Not much time to ponder more about food....there is more grocery shopping to do, and then head to a home party!




Pho Toan Thang Vietnamese Restaurant visited is located at  Shop 9, 90-95 The Crescent, Homebush NSW.
Opening hours are from 9am to 8pm daily.
Contact +61 2 9764 3687

Qianmen Beijing

The big kettle !   In a traditional food restaurant off a side lane.

Our pawed friends out for an early morning rumble.   Qianmen Emperors Avenue.

Hand pulled or Zha Jiang noodles, freshly made before the soup is poured in.  I note the rather fatty pork bits but most people I encountered are not obese, probably due to copious consumption of tea.   Two doors away from the Jing Tai Long International Hotel.

A demonstration of calligraphy.

Small serves of snacks you may consider from the touristy shops.

Tea sets are popular and come in a variety of designs and materials.

The Beijing suit, circa 2016.   Display from a tailoring shop.

One of those designs street side which caught my eye.

An impressive and interesting Chinese calligraphy related place along Qianmen Emperors Avenue.

Steamed buns with a dash of cooked meats inside are popular in Beijing, especially good in wintry weather.

A celebration of times past, with cultural icons like the abacus and echoing the spirit of trading and learning.

Off a side lane just after dawn.

There are various restaurants preparing Beijing duck.

A uniquely preserved architecture  - the upstairs balcony, glass doors and roof styles caught my imagination.

Starbucks at Qianmen is housed in a retro classical building.

The modern decor inside Starbucks, but notice the traditional windows as well.

Getting ready for the October 1st national holidays.

Rather large sized bird cages hung up as street decorations.

BBQ King Restaurant Haymarket NSW

The competition for southern Chinese barbequed meat shops can be intense.   Almost every self-respecting suburb with sizeable Asian populations in the metropolitan areas of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne these days boast of  such a butcher and BBQ outlet.

 The meats - duck, pork or chicken - provide for an easy take away especially for busy families.   It is not just in the marinades utilised, but also in the cut of the meats, the critical drying of the skins and the presentation, that distinguishes quality from the ordinary.

Char Siew Yoke -- lean cuts of pork with the well known sauce.

After 33 years sited at Goulburn Street, BBQ King began a new chapter moving to Liverpool Street in mid 2016.   Owner Philip Chau has transformed the self-owned restaurant from retro comfort to a spanking three level facility that is more in tune with contemporary customers, of which he can seat around 200 in one go.   If you get a table at a higher level, you can even view the goings-on below.   Kitchens are more transparent, even if the de rigour practice of hanging those marinated roasted meaty birds continue. 

Despite a good move to an upgrade of premises, the food menu still has your ever green favourites.   Reliable are their version of fried rice, suckling pig, steamed chicken, marinated boneless trotter and if you dare, chicken feet bathed in vinegar and soy sauce.

Little touches of brewed pork bone soup offered at the start of communal tables, the freshness and bite of greens spewed with oyster sauce and the use of fresh ingredients help to continue BBQ King's reputation.   Service is fast, requests are not turned down and hot soups predominate.  

The old school, echoed by the veteran chefs in the kitchen, seem to blend with a renewed sense of staff engagement and interior vibes that appeal to to the younger  generation.    One has to be careful of the stairs, but they are short ones.   The high ceilings that form the main portion of the revamped restaurant is a definitely good idea - it breaks down any feelings of being caved in, even if the audio levels can be so stereotyped Chinatown at times.

Yummy and compulsory must have roast pork cuts with crispy crackle and tender juicy meat.

Are prices higher than most at this BBQ King?   Look at what is asked for Beijing duck.    BBQ King also holds yum cha sessions.   Servings are reportedly smaller than what regular customers are used to from the old days at the old place at Goulburn Street.   Is BBQ King transitioning to a new world and business model?    The restaurant ambiance has improved and staff are attentive.   What can we say.....

The bite and experience of roast pork here is inevitably compared to those at Tawandang  Thai along lower George Street and that of the Laotian Green Peppercorn at the Civic Hotel.

Cantonese styled roast duck on a plate.

The duck roasted Guangzhou style seem more oily, are more chunky in serve and yet provide more yumminess in the meat than in the skin.   Five spice powder, both ground and fresh ginger plus vinegar are essential components utilised when preparing such Guangzhou ducks.    BBQ King is an institution in the history of Chinese-Australians and their recipe is a treasure to behold.


A quick question from a child - why must Chinese food have such a reddish glaze for its meats?   We know the colour red is culturally auspicious.   Hmmn, even the staff at BBQ King here have a bright red coloured uniform.   That colour does capture attention.    Another explanation is the use of the seasonings and flavourings, like maltose, red fermented bean curd, honey and Sherry.  


Next I aim to try the noodle dishes and the Beijing duck, served with wraps, Hoisin sauce and all....

Scallops, mushrooms, prawns, squid and Tofu slabs - life is good.

The test of any self-respecting Chinese restaurant is in the uplifting flavours from a quick wok stirring of bite sized veg and seafood ingredients.    Simplicity and good taste is the best outcome from such tests and I reckon BBQ King passes on such parameters.   

The kids at my table wanted omelette, and so they did, filled with glad tidings.    Our group of more than a dozen persons were given a huge table on the uppermost level, from which we could see the street below, with lights and all.   

Bitter gourd slices are stir fried  - one of my fav dishes!

My impressions from my visit to BBQ King in Sydney Chinatown are:

Ambiance:  3  out of 5
Staff Engagement:  3.5 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  3.5 out of 5
X Factor:  3 out of 5
Overall Score:  13/4  out of 5

BBQ King Restaurant visited is located at 76-78Liverpool Street, Haymarket, Sydney NSW, near the junction with Sussex Street, across the junction from Hawker and a short walk from Darling Harbour's Darling Quarter.
Opening hours are from  10am to midnight every day.
Contact + 612  9267 2568

Preparing Char Koay Teow

Clockwise from noon - Kuchai,  chili mix, rice noodles,a concoction of soy and oyster sauce, ground garlic, eggs, Cantonese sausage or Lap Cheong, fresh prawns de-shelled or not and fresh bean sprouts.

Wok must be heated up to a right start.

Some prefer to sizzle the garlic first, others the biggest ingredient to get them going.

Some put preserved radish, others do not.  Once the wok gets going, the aromas rise up to the nose.