Super BBQ, Level 3 Food Court, Market City, Chinatown Sydney NSW

I had been tipped off by a family from the north-western corner of the greater Sydney area to try this outlet.


They always go for the roast duck.  Now this can be a tricky bird, as it naturally has lots of oily portions to keep the cold out.   I had eyed this Aussie guy smilingly collecting his noodles with the duck...it did look captivating.   So I had a test with the traditional mix - soy sauce stirred egg noodles, dumplings and roast duck.


I loved it and would return!   It also made me get takeaway boxes of the Char Siew and roast pork.   The former has a juicy tenderness and the latter has a crispy top over the succulent meat.    I can only compare with the barbequed meats at the Eight Modern Chinese Restaurant at market City Sydney Chinatown and with some of similar servings at Hawker. 


The roast duck has an oomph at this Super Chef BBQ.   Its outer skin is not dry and the meat inside has flavour.   Now there is no fancy orange and cherry stuffed inside here, it is just how the skin is hung so dry to capture the honey and other coatings done Cantonese style.





Super Chef BBQ visited is located at the Food Court, level 3, Market City, Haymarket Sydney NSW.


Opening hours are from 930am to 830am every day.
Contact +612  9211 3118

My impressions of the Super Chef BBQ are  focused on one thing - the luscious and tasty roast duck.   No Hong Kong styled goose though.....but prices charged charged are practical and service is fast at this takeaway.   The meats are not overly oily as found in other competitors.

Cafe Long Shot Beecroft NSW

Owners Daniel and Melissa Farr have a busy cafe going on the weekend arvo we visited.   The staff are young and abuzz with work.   I do love the burgers here and they can be wholesome plus yummy.   The pumpkin wedges are a good idea that stands out.   There are hand crafted cakes, looking colourful and inviting.   Vehicle parking is not that hard for the shopping centre has provided that, although at rush hour one has to be patient, in this corner of a north-western Sydney suburb.


Coffee is Morgan's.  Why head down to Surry Hills or Balmain when you can have all this nearby from home?   This cafe is not to be confused a similar name sake in the Melbourne Docklands.   The brunch and breakfast menu is comparable to what I find in many of Wollongong's better barista cafes but the crowd in Beecroft can be of a different variety.   Maybe it is after Saturday morning activity for the kids and the older folks here look more reserved.  


We sampled the vegan lemon cheesecake and it was elegantly made, was rewarding and not too strong.  I would return for the burgers....

Cafe Long Shot visited is located at Shop 18, 6-8 Hannah Street, Beecroft NSW.
No reservations taken.
One Cup from the Good Cafe Guide from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Opening hours are from 7am to 5pm on weekdays; from 7am to 3pm on Saturdays and from 7am to 1pm on Sundays.
Contact  +612  9980 5377

Home Away from Home

After a long day out, whether on business or leisure, I look forward to a little pampering, some level of comfort and having a particular standard of convenience, especially when the accommodation charges are relatively expensive in a city like Sydney Australia.

Perhaps for health legislation reasons, Australian commercial abodes are peculiar in not providing toothpaste and tooth brush packs.   Cleanliness levels are increasingly observed not acceptable in some hotels.   Staff who work at the reception counter are often the first point of contact for hotel guests - and there are varying levels of training for such individuals, who may or may not realise that rightly or not, they echo and project the image,  service vibes and manner of the hotel brand and experience.  

Vehicle parking by hotel guests can be a pleasant or painful experience.   Anytime I prefer the spaciousness of car parks in regional areas as opposed to those in capital cities.   What makes me down grade hotels is the dungeon like atmosphere of their hotel parking environment, as if they want to deter guests with vehicles.   There are hotels which provide parking facilities to bot the public, their commercial clients in their office wings and hotel guests at the same time.    In such scenarios, hotel guests are often treated as the least priority, an interesting potential message that these hotels are not interested as much in their customers  - echoing experiences with telecommunications, financial and utility businesses once they have your account locked in.


I believe in utmost personal security for hotel guests, especially in these times of increased risks, dangers and violence in our city and suburban environments.    The use of a poorly working access card in hotels not so well run can cause frustrations wanting to enter their room urgently for a well deserved rest.   You and I may think the solution is simply to invest in a new and more effective system of door and lift access, but that requires money to be spent by the business.   


Australian hotels are well known in inflexibility in accommodating guests for late check outs when compared to their rivals located overseas.  At times, staff of poorly run hotel businesses forget their business is one of people, over riding everything else in the picture.
On the other end of the spectrum, I have encountered those on the front line knowledgeable about their locality's transport and logistics, willing to offer alternate suggestions and responsive to effectively help when a guest finds things not working in their recently checked in room or suite.   I often first look at the skirting on the walls, the corners of a toilet and the insides of a kitchen or laundry room on first coming into my guest room.

Okay, it is but an unavoidable truth that the ore you pay, perhaps you get better chances of a a better service, but it need not be so and it must not be so.   Some hotels are so hung up on their branded environment that they forget about customer service and engagement.
Brands of hotels must be tied back to the core of customer experience.    Issues and problems inevitably arise in providing services but what hotels must never forget is how they must have a viable and logical process and system in helping customers resolve any matters that arise.  Leaving it to the vagaries of the moods or ineptness of particular individual staff is a No-no  - the critical thing in hotel business is revenue, repeat business and the customer.


Consistently good hotels have staff naturally greeting customers.   They do not have frightened or lonely looks from housekeeping staff.  The hotel guest has and build expectations during the stay.  That consistency must be reflected across all service lines - the dining room, the bar, the gym and pool attendant, the lift greeter, the porter, the butler and the administration.  There is no point developing expectations in only certain categories of the staff.  


At this stage, no tips are required in Australian hotels, but you never know.    Tips will not be given by customers if hotel staff do not know how to provide above a certain level of quality of service.    Australia is a high cost place to survive through and the stiff upper lip attitudes from its heritage cultures can at times resurface in the hotel service.   

Kreta Ayer Eastwood NSW

The art of preparing the soy bean pudding ( or Tau Fu Fah in Cantonese) as a dessert dish is steeped in migration history, family folklore and as a quick snack.   Consuming this on a  regular basis is supposed to help ensure the face has a skin as delicate as the dish.   Making this for the mother-in-law is a test of faith and skill.   It was sold by vendors who carried them on poles over their shoulders and now served in precious porcelain cups for the elders.   Beans are a staple in southern Chinese diet and to have them ground to such fine granularity is a separate art itself.


For many years now, I have been advised to try this at Kreta Ayer, but until on this recent visit, I was told on several visits that they had sold this out.    This made me more curious and determined to find out what the fuss was all about.    It comes in a whopping traditional big wooden container, like a wine bucket and I do wonder why, for it is good enough to be shared by four persons.   Fine brown sugar and syrup is offered in the set.


Okay went in our first gulp of the silken, smooth concoction.  By itself, the soya bean is tasteless but agreeable.   It is not over powering and in the worst of opinions I hear, rather bland.   Ah ha, so the trick is to gradually add the syrup and sugar to a level that pleases your palate.   There is a hint of ginger and Pandanus leaves, but all in a subtle way.   I begin to compare with the Tau Fu Fah served at the Hong Kong Old Town in Sydney's Chinatown.


Our verdict is to try it at least once -  I would not follow up myself.  The servings here are better than at most yum cha places.   

Amongst its listing for entrees are braised pig trotters, deep fried soya bean cake (Tau Hu) and the Ngoh Hiang pork roll ( a Straits Chinese version of the Lobak).    There is also the more south Indian emphasised dry curry leaf chicken and the Ayam Kapitan, a rather unique sea faring curry made for a Dutch captain on long voyages.  


 The general impression I get on feedback regarding Kreta Ayer is to know what to call   - the iconic dish is the Tau Fu Fah as described above.    I do find the customer engagement better at the Eastwood cafe than at Kingsford.    I had found the Char Koay Teow average but Hawker in Sydney city centre is hard to beat for this street food classic from Penang.
There is also Bah Kut Teh with deep fried Chinese style doughnuts and the old fashioned Imperial pork ribs, once found in every respectable Chinese restaurant in the suburbs.


I saw an omelette with white bait, a kind of comfort food once common in home meals across the Malayan Peninsular and Singapore.   Barramundi fish with tamarind flavours can be an appetiser.    There is cereal prawns (do I get this at Albee's as well)  but I am not sure what Maggi prawns are.    I notice many China nationals digging into the Kreta Ayer version of chilli or spicy soft shell crabs.


Kreta Ayer refers to an iconic suburb in Singapore, and the menu here emphasises what close ties there really are between Malaysian Chinese and Singaporean food.    Taro flavoured ice cream is available here, together with durian smoothies, stir fried Hor fun with seafood and a variety of laksas.








Kreta Ayer visited is located at 172 Rowe Street, Eastwood NSW - along the mall and near the curved road junction.

Opening hours are from 10am to 11pm every day.
Contact  +612  9858 3203

Jonga Jip Eastwood NSW

Banchaan  -  always welcome and meant to get your appetite going further.

This was an evening when winter reluctantly seemed to still hold on, but got diverted occasionally  to allow spring to gently still come in.    Still, it was good to gather around the grill at the centre of the table, with hot coals a burning and having thin slices of well marinated meat sizzling in front of us.   There was much to chat about, to catch up and not just over food.


The place was full of diners and both of us were fortunate to perhaps get the only remaining table, albeit outside under the pergola.  My fellow diner had been to Seoul recently.   The highlight of the dinner that evening was the dumplings, looking plain at the outset, but gratifying delicate and subtle tasty at the end.    

Jonga Jip has tables crammed with young men and women out on the suburb.   I thought this was so like gatherings around a campfire spirit.    Rowe Street at this side may be a mess of roadworks but no one cares.   The dip sauces are especially good and the service is rather fast.  I think of worker's safety as the young man deftly handles the hot pan covers and at the end of the night, pulls out holder  with the dying charcoal ambers.  The tables may be small but diners clear out the food fast in a communal feast.   We abstained from alcohol but most diners do not. 


Korean prepared meats are soaked with flavour, keeping the texture on the bite uppermost in mind.   The grill styles are really for keeping warm with severe winter temperatures outside, so sitting tightly close up becomes natural.     There are more than a few outlets now in this part of Eastwood dishing up what was once a niche and ethnic food in Australia.   Jonga Jip has another outlet just around the corner at Railway Parade  - some say this one along Rowe Street provides the better dining experience.


We both loved handling the short metal chopsticks and required lots of tissues to manage the sauces.   I reckon depending on the time of day you visit this place and whom you meet, the service you get can vary.  We were happy with the staff this time around, even if they were really busy.   Downsides of the venue are that tables are packed together, it can get smoky above your comfort level and also the chatter level can increase as more drinks flow.

My impressions of Jonga Jip at Rowe Street are that it is an evening tribal hub.  Good to consider if you love your meats, do not mind sit huddled together and it is cool outside.  It is lacking in desserts but there are lots of omelette and potato noodles.   To some it may be comfort food, to others something different - and the debate goes on if the food here is more Westernised than authentic.    Those below 30 years old do not mind whatever...the wine list is interesting and a necessary accessory to all the hot meats.





Jonga Jip visited is located at   87 Rowe Street, Eastwood NSW.

Opening hours are from  10am to 11pm every day.

Contact +612 9858 5160