Tag: sydney

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Ceci Korean Restaurant, Strathfield, Sydney

This is a very late post, never quite finished it all this time and while cleaning up my drafts saw it again. Anyway, we went here in June while mom visited us – in fact, this was the last dinner before mom went back to Indonesia again. We chose Ceci based on Zomato reviews and to tried a new restaurant in the area as well. Also mom loved the Korean black bean noodle (Jajangmyeon), but since not many Korean restaurants in Strathfield does it. Those reasons were what bring us to this restaurant.

We didn’t take many pictures here but here are the food we ordered:

Pork, Sausage, Vegie & Tofu Soup with Noodle – $38
Black Bean Noodle – $12
Seafood Pancake – $12
Deep Fried Spicy Boneless Chicken – $25
Fried Dumpling – $10

The food were not bad, but not outstanding that made us want t0 go back again either. Jajangmyeon was a let down, too greasy and not tasty, the noddle was cooked a tad too long. Then the crispy chicken with spicy sauce, I guess would have been a better choice if we ordered just fried chicken without any sauce whatsoever. Seafood pancake was nice, tasty and not too floury. The noodle soup was also good with generous pork and sausages.

All in all, we had a decent meal, it was not really that horrible but may be just not to our liking. There are plenty of positive reviews on Zomato of this place, but maybe it was not our lucky day or what not. But considering there are many more Korean restaurants around, we would try many others than coming back here.

 

Ceci Korean Restaurant

37 The Boulevarde, Strathfield, Sydney

Phone: (02) 8084 3171

 

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Maenam Lao & Thai, Strathfield, Sydney

December is generally a festive month and truly the time when we have many gatherings and catch up sessions going on. Not just for Christmas celebrations, but there is also the end of year, then my husband’s birthday, also my sister in law’s birthday. And yesterday, we had dinner at Maenam Lao & Thai for my sister-in-law’s birthday. It’s the first time we branched out from our usual Green Peppercorn for Laos/Thai meal. Apparently, Maenam means mother river that divides as well as connects Laos and Thai.

Maenam is located in the main strip of Strathfield, few doors next to the Strathfield Plaza on The Boulevard entrance. The restaurant is semi open air, where the front part of the restaurant is totally open. There are plenty of seating, however the walkway in-between chairs are narrow so there could be awkward moments when you bump into other chairs when walking in/out.

The menu itself is quite extensive, with choices of salads, stir fries, curries, noodles, desserts, and drinks. And these are the food that we ordered last night:

BBQ Ox Tongue – $11.90
Red Duck Curry – $18.50
Crispy Pork Belly – $16.90
Garden Fish Pla Liu Suan – $38.90
Vegetable Crispy Noodle – $13.50

So, the verdict? The food were delicious and tasty, love the ox tongue and crispy noodle most! The ox tongue is very tender without any chewiness at all, seasoned well and goes perfectly with the dipping sauce. The crispy noodle is tasty with that goodness thick gravy, and the noodle texture is lovely. This is something we have never ordered at Green Peppercorn, in fact I am not even sure they have it. I think their red duck curry is creamier and very slightly less sweet than Green Peppercorn. We prefer the Green Peppercorn’s version of deep-fried snapper with mango and green apple salad, mainly because the fish has been filleted and de-boned for easier eating plus the salad/sauce is more refreshing. Crispy pork belly is deliciously seasoned, cut in generous chunks which may be why some pieces are not as crispy as others, nonetheless tasted very yummy.

In general we’d still prefer Green Peppercorn, however if for any reasons we don’t feel like going to city for a Laos/Thai meals, this definitely be a great substitute. Price wise is in similar range and taste almost on par anyway. Just maybe, a reservation ahead will save you troubles waiting for a table if you coming in bigger group.

Maenam Lao & Thai Restaurant

31 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135

Phone: (02) 9746 5882

http://maenamlaothai.com.au/

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Dos Senoritas, Gladesville, Sydney NSW

Although we have been getting buritos take away for dinners fairly often and thoroughly enjoy them, I have never had a proper meal at a real Mexican restaurant. And since my brother and his wife have been talking about Dos Senoritas for a long time and speak highly of it, so here we went on one Saturday. This restaurant is located on the busy Victoria Road at Gladesville. There is parking space at the back of the restaurant for driving patrons.

More seating are – this part was not used when we were there, probably only open during busy times

I think the restaurant is not very stand out and you could easily just drive pass without noticing it. The interior is a little outdated as well, but seating area is bigger than it seems from the outside. They are mostly booked out for dinner, so we were fine walked in for lunch that day. A friendly waitress then led us to our table and passed on the menus.

The menu

And these are our orders:

Chipotle Chopped Salad: Grilled chicken breast, iceberg lettuce, jack and cheddar cheese, pico, black beans and avocado. Tossed with chipotle ranch and tortilla chips – $24.00
Gringo Burro: Stuffed with choice of chile verde, shredded beef, chicken or ground beef with black beans, sautéed peppers, onions and rice topped with sour cream and green chile sauce – $25.00
Pollo Fundido: Shredded chicken with jack and cheddar cheese topped with jalapeño jack cheese and cheddar cheese – $25.00

Did you notice the size comparison of cutlery to serving size? Yes, they are so massive! The burritos are solid packed and super filling. I love the rice on the side, reminds me a little of friend rice without the grease. All the dish tasted great, but I had hoped that the jalapenos on Pollo Fundido be more spicy. That salad bowl made of deep-fried tortilla was the bomb, love this most! I feel that the crunchy tortilla is what takes the salad to the next level and I would really love to order this again and again. Personally I think they are a little steep in price per dish, but then again you get a massive serving of food; I’d rather they charge less for a smaller servings so people can order multiple dishes to share and try out different dishes or at least still have stomach space for desserts. Nonetheless, these are good meals and feels authentic – not that I have been to Mexico myself (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

Dos Senoritas

New address: Shop 2/3-7 Cowell St, Gladesville NSW 2111 (Updated 29/12/20)

265D Victoria Road, Gladesville 2111

Phone: (02) 9817 3737

dossenoritas.com.au

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[Review] Kingston & Co @ Eastgarden Westfield, Sydney

We went to Eastgarden Westfield last weekend to hunt for few bits and bobs for our new place. We left home quite early that day for church in the city first, so hadn’t had breakfast. And by the time we got to Eastgarden, we were totally starving! We walked around and decided to settle for brunch at this cute eatery.

Kingston & Co offers modern Australian cuisine, the decor is interesting, reminds me of older style of little cafes around Paddington. The service was friendly and very prompt. When we got there, there was only 1 table occupied, so we were told to sit anywhere we liked. Our order came within 30 minutes after ordering and are huge portions!

Hubby ordered a Kings Breakfast and I got myself a 2 Eggs & Toast. A King’s Breakfast includes 2 eggs, chorizo, mushroom, tomato, bacon, avocado, hash brown, spinach and toast. Meanwhile mine just like what the name suggests is basically 2 eggs with toasts and I also added mushroom as side. The eggs are cooked however way we requests, either poached, scrambled, or fried.

kingston&co2
Kings Breakfast
kingston&co1
2 Eggs & Toast with Mushroom

The highlight for us was the mushroom, super tasty with strong earthy flavour. I prefer their scrambled eggs over poached ones, as they are more fluffy. Hubby thinks the chorizo is nice as it is not as salty as the ones you usually get elsewhere.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to taste their coffee as those meals have left us filled up well. When we left, there was a bit of queue for the coffee so I assume they are not bad either. So next time we went to Eastgarden again, we might want to try their coffee as well 🙂

 

 

Kingston & Co

Level G, Westfield Eastgardens, 152 Bunnerong Road, Eastgardens, Sydney, NSW

Phone: (02) 9314 2578

————–or—————

Level 3, Westfield Chatswood, 1 Anderson Street, Chatswood, Sydney, NSW

Phone: (02) 9419 5341

https://www.facebook.com/KingstonandCo

 

 

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Breakfast at Ikea Rhodes

We went to Ikea yesterday morning to look for a sofa cover for our 2-seater couch. Ikea is such a fun place to spend time, don’t you agree? I am sure it is such a playground for many people, men, women and even kids; or at least, to many people I know of, it is. There are always something to admire, to wish for every single time I go to Ikea store.

And of course, a visit to Ikea is not complete without eating something from its cafeteria hehehe. Since we were there in the morning and they were still serving breakfast, we ended up choosing the big breakfast with extra side mushroom. They are not only cheap and cheerful, but also taste not bad at all. With the big breakfast you get one scoop of scrambled egg, 1 sausage, 2 hash browns, 1 big piece of bacon, 5 pieces of their famous meatballs, and half-baked tomato. And all that comes to a bill of $5.99 – that would probably be the cheapest big breakfast meal you could find in Sydney, don’t you think?

 

ikea breakfast menu
The breakfast menu

 

Big breakfast with extra mushroom side
Big breakfast with extra mushroom side (please pardon the little drop of ketchup on the tray) 😛

 

In the spirit of the coming of Chinese New Year 2016 which happens to be Monkey Year, they have even decorated their dining area with “monkeys” and chinese lanterns. Check out their cute decoration on the picture below.

 

How cute are those monkeys? :)
How cute are those monkeys? 🙂

You could probably see there were many people in the dining area, a lot of families with little kids. Told you, it is a playground for everyone (☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞

By the way if you curious, we didn’t get the sofa cover we were looking for, instead we came home with new pillows and duvet covers – such a cliche story of Ikea visit eh? ◔̯◔