Joomak, Chatswood

Joomak is a Korean restaurant near the Chatswood branch of Fitness First. It's not far from the train station or the Victoria Avenue shopping strip, but it's still a little out of the way compared to the other restaurants and shops. It was thus surprising that the restaurant was half full on a week night - the food must be pretty authentic because the other diners were Korean.

Considering there are so many baby chairs, I'm thinking young families are most welcome...

The ambience was cosy, even with (or should I say because of?) the video clips of KPop bands that were projected onto one of the walls.

 

The Boy ordered a steaming pot of pork backbone immersed in pork bone and cabbage broth (ppyeodagwi gukbab). The meat was soft and came off the bone, but the stock was a little lacking in salt. You could regard that in a positive light - restaurants tend to add too much salt to food. Since the Boy's meal came with rice, small plates of condiments appeared in front of us- bean sprouts, chilli potato, lettuce and some onion. Sadly no kim chi.
 

Ppyeodagwi Gukbab ($13.00)

I'd selected the dumpling ramen, as I wondered at the time what the Korean equivalent to ramen was. It was pretty much instant noodles in a spicy stock (possibly instant noodle msg soup) with 5 boiled dumplings. If it did come out of a packet, I'd like to know what brand they use, because that was really satisfying - and it'd probably be heaps cheaper. I felt like Cheon Song-Yi in one of the scenes from You Who Came From the Stars, slurping down the noodles and gulping up the soup.

Dumpling ramen ($12.00)

Verdict? Undecided, leaning towards average. I need to pay another visit to figure out whether I like it or if I simply feel indifferent- instant noodles doesn't really require much cooking. Plus, the soju cocktails sound really yummy!

Elbow Room Espresso, Chatswood

Although cafes such as Houlihan's have been serving the Chatswood community faithfully all these years, I'm glad that something like Elbow Room has set up shop. It certainly injects freshness to the tired list of breakfast places around the area. Tasty brunch, decent prices and gorgeous plating makes this a new favourite.



I can't say much about the coffee because I've recently developed a severe intolerance, but there is a wide variety of coffee extraction methods to choose from - including the use of a cold drip, V60 coffee drips or an Aero Press coffee maker.

Elbow Room Espresso Menu

I liked the banana smoothie for the frothy texture and generosity of honey, though I think it would have been better served a few degrees colder.

Banana smoothie ($6.00)

 The green power was a juice jam packed with healthy-sounding ingredients - kelp, spinach, dulse seaweed and alfalfa were married to apple, passion fruit, plum and lemon. Though it's indeed very green, I could mostly taste the plum/ apple combination. All vegetable flavour was pretty much annihilated by the sugary sweetness - not a bad thing if you're looking to indulge, but not great for anyone trying to minimise their carb-intake!

"Green power" ($5.00)

The Boy ordered the elbow room de hot dog - a fancy hot dog with chorizo, fried egg (with runny yoke!), mustard, chipotle, tomato salsa, and gherkins on the side. 

Elbow Room de Hot Dog ($12.00)

I'd requested the eggs benedict - two lightly toasted slices of sweet brioche with a generous portion of salmon, 2 poached eggs, spinach, and (of course) Hollandaise sauce. The harmonious presence of the mustard seeds and dill were the finishing touches that brought a huge smile to my face!

Eggs benedict on brioche ($16.00)

Om nom nom

We'd also ordered a side of mushrooms. They'd pan fried a mix of ordinary (field?) and enoki mushrooms, which were really nice with the cracked salt, though I was expecting the portions to be a bit bigger than what we received. Not that it mattered in the end because our mains were so filling we pretty much waddled out with food babies.

Mushroom side ($3.50)

Thainatown, Haymarket

Thainatown's a really basic Thai eatery which, as its name suggests, is in close proximity to Chinatown (although further east along Goulburn Street than the main strip of pubs and restaurants near World Square). With white tiled flooring and garish lighting, my friends and I felt a prick of dubiousness, but we ruthlessly squelched these misgivings and ventured inside. Please excuse the photo quality - taken with phone camera.

Chrysanthemum tea (~$3.00)

I ordered the crying tiger, expecting a plate of chargrilled steak with an accompanying spicy sauce. What I received was a pretty underwhelming plate of slightly grey, limp beef strips. There was no sauce - looking back in hindsight, I think we were expected to scoop sauce from the little metal bowls on each table. The beef was tasteless and not particularly enjoyable to bite into. I guess I got my money's worth, though, because there was a LOT of beef on that plate.

Crying Tiger (~$11.00)

The sticky rice was a large bowl's (2 - 3 rice bowls?) worth of rice, steaming hot inside a woven bamboo basket. They made it pretty well and it tasted great with the ingredients of the tom yum soup.

Sticky rice (~$3.00)

The tom yum soup stock was flavourful (albeit a bit sweeter than expected and not spicy). It had strong flavours of lemongrass and cooked coriander, while mushrooms and prawns made up the majority of solids.

Prawn Tom Yum soup (~$9.00)

My overall feelings are torn. It's certainly value for money because what the crying tiger lacked in flavour, it made up for in portions, and vice versa for the tom yum soup. I just don't think I'll be trying much meat here next time.

La Latina, Chatswood

Excluding Salsa's in the Chatswood Chase food court, La Latina is probably the only Latin American eatery around the area. It's a welcome change, with its focus on crunchy corn pockets (arepas) and Colombian coffee. It also sells a variety of South American products, including pepper pastes, chilli sauces, grains (e.g. Bolivian quinoa) and frozen pre-mix smoothies in exotic flavours like lulo, a citrus fruit, and feijoa (also referred to as 'pineapple guava').

Sauces and salsas for sale

The coffee's not bad - Colombian coffee beans, not too milky, not too watery :)

Flat white

I also liked the mango smoothie, but it came with a normal straw, which wasn't practical for this particular drink. It was so thick that I had to drink straight from the glass.

Mango smoothie ($5.00)

The arepas have an addictive light crunch, but they're also quite dense, heavy and a tad overpowering. This is easily overcome by adding hot sauce (see below). It's actually quite magical as the spiciness somehow draws out the flavours of each ingredient and takes the emphasis away from the starchy corn bread. The fillings range from pork and beef to vegetarian. The Boy and I picked similar fillings - chorizo and the "Monster" (containing the whole works - beef, shredded pork, chorizo, sour cream and cheese).

It wasn't love at first bite, but these corn pockets really grew on me. Keen to return to taste the lulo and feijoa smoothies!

"Monster" Arepas ($10.00)

Hot sauce

Chorizo Arepas ($9.00) + Guacamole ($1.00)

Xin Jiang Handmade Noodle, Chatswood

Xin Jiang Hand Made Noodle is located above Hu's Inn and La Latina. This is also the shop lot that Hinode, the Japanese restaurant, used to occupy. The last time I was in the area, I spotted a steady stream of Chinese people heading up the stairs, so I figured it might be authentic.

It's not too different from the Chinese coffee shops around the area, such as Winsure BBQ Restaurant, except with even less emphasis on aesthetics...

I wanted to go for the noodles, but the Boy preferred the sound of fried rice, which he came to regret ordering. I quite enjoyed it, as bits of the rice were hard and chewy (see 2nd photo), like the crunchy bottom layer that's left over after you cook rice (in a rice cooker or a stone pot). However, it was these favoured bits that made the Boy wrinkle his nose in distaste - apparently he hates bibimbap too. No wonder he never orders any at Dukbaegi :/

Fried rice (chicken) ($10.80)

Crunchy bits

The deep fried pork had lots of batter. Overall liked this dish, but the pork had chunks of chewy sinew and nerve. I picked the batter off of these and left the inedible parts on my plate in the reject pile.

The Boy had requested that this come with chilli, and I guess they forgot, because it came with none. While some chilli might have been nice, I was relieved it was left out after tasting the skewers.

Deep fried pork with pepper ($13.80)

 The BBQ lamb skewers were a little tough and spicy as. The Boy was fine with them, but I could only have a couple of bites before my lips felt like they were on fire. Also, despite our best efforts, we couldn't dislodge the meat with our chopsticks. In any case, once I surrendered all the skewers to the Boy, he adopted the "manly" method and ate them right off the skewers.

BBQ lamb skewers ($11.80)

I'd come back to try the hand made noodles, and the menu is really extensive. The food is pretty cheap and the portions would be great for groups, but I haven't had the greatest luck with their meat.

Hu's Inn, Chatswood

Hu's Inn has been around for quite a few months already. Every time we've walked past, its punny name would beckon like a siren to a boat of sailors. We eventually paid a visit when the Boy decided to side with millions in the New Year's battle against fat:

Him: I've put on weight since Christmas, but I can't just stop eating :(
Me: I'll eat half your food!
H: That's not really part of the plan...
M: Salads for you then!
H: *grunt*
M: What are we going to do for dinner tomorrow? :/
H: Japan City?
M: Closed for dinner until Thursday. Salad at Palings, Ivy? :D
H: No salads! >=[
M: Hu's Inn?
H: I'm innnn!

The group of shop lots that Hu's Inn now inhabits has housed a vast range of businesses, including a branch of Subway, a clothing shop, and the French cafe Le Petit Paris. Though I'm sad Le Petit Paris moved to Mosman before I managed to pay it a visit, it's great to see Chatswood now has two Taiwanese eateries (the other being Bao Dao). It'll certainly add variety to the "Chatswong/wu" stereotype. (Well, not really. It's still Asian. Whatever the case, it's not Thai/ Japanese/ Korean/ Cantonese/ Shanghainese. IT CAN ONLY BE A GOOD THING!!)

Condiments

Food

Ordering system is similar to Bao Dao and is as follows:
1. Be seated
2. Order and pay at the counter
3. Return to table and wait for food
4. Food comes to you

Condiments include pickled chilli and their specialty chilli oil - reported by the Boy to be pretty hot.

Cuttlefish ball soup and iced green/ black tea are half price when you order a main. I forget the prices but each were only a couple of dollars.

Iced black tea (~$2.00)

The traditional Taiwanese braised pork rice was pretty decent but probably wasn't good for the Boy's diet - the minced pork was slathered in liquid fat, reminding me of pork belly in gua bao. Although the meat was only laid out on top, the sauce had trickled through the rest of the rice, which is really all that matters.

Braised pork rice (~$6.00)

Wonton noodle soup was the other main we ordered. Portions were large considering we'd ordered  small dishes from the "Fried Delights" half of the menu as well, but would be what you'd expect from a casual Chinese restaurant. I'm always a sucker for clear broth, so where I have to prioritise my food, I'll go for the soup first. The wonton pastry and noodles were firmer than I'm used to getting in Cantonese restaurants - I'm not sure if this is typical of Taiwanese food in general...

Wonton noodle soup (~$8.00)

I avoided the offals and opted for the less adventurous "fried delights". The cuttlefish balls and American hot dog were sprinkled with a LOT of salt and pepper, making it difficult to taste anything else. While it looks pretty, it's probably better to serve it on the side (or to avoid it all together since condiments are displayed on each table).

Aside from the pepper, the cuttlefish balls and sausage were pretty standard stuff.

Cuttlefish balls ($4.00)

American hot dog ($4.00)

We had no idea what tian bu la is, but once I sank my teeth into one piece, I was relieved that it isn't a dish of organs. It's pretty much like the fried fish paste that my family eats at home with our laksa.

Tian bu la ($4.00)

I also had my first taste of American corndog, which was the sausage from the American hotdog coated in a thin layer of cornmeal batter. Sorry America, I don't think I'm a fan.

American corndog ($4.00)

Service is friendly, though a little difficult to communicate with in English - kudos to the Boy for speaking for me in Mando.

There's one thing that's been bothering me, though... Hu's Keith??

Bao Dao Taiwanese Kitchen, Chatswood

Bao Dao's fairly new to Chatswood, having been around for a little less than a year. Since it first opened, I've heard many good things about it. Indeed, it's one of the more affordable sit-down restaurants around the area, the service is fast, and the food is tasty - even according to my dinner buddy that night and one of my fussier friends when it comes to Shanghainese and Taiwanese cuisines.

Said friend duly noted that the lanterns as depicted in the photo below are pretty accurate replicas of the ones that those in mainland China use during lantern festivals. During these festivals, people write riddles on the lanterns for others to solve throughout the night in return for small prizes.

Service is semi-self-serve. You are led to your table and provided your food, but ordering and immediate payment occurs at the counter. The food didn't all come at once, so the order in which the dishes arrived was at random.

First was the fried basil chicken, which was surprisingly not too dry and bore a pleasant crunch from the light batter.

Fried chicken ($7.20)

 We ordered soup as a winter-warmer. Chicken and mushroom soup is usually standard chicken broth, but the herbs here gave it an extra punch of flavour.

Shiitake mushroom & chicken in master stock ($6.60)

The highlight for me were the pork wontons, the skin of which could have been fairly dry, if they had not been served in their 'house spicy sauce'. The sauce was more peppery than spicy, which is great for those who can't eat anything too hot.

Pork wonton x 8 pieces ($7.70)

We each had one braised pork belly bun. Garnished with chopped peanut and coriander, this was mouthwateringly good - though I think they're sold for less at their stall during the Chatswood markets.

Pork belly bun ($4.50)

I'm not a pork knuckle fan - biting into the fat was too overwhelming for me, but the sauce went well with it. Probably for the more traditional Chinese palate.

Pork knuckle ($7.70)

Bao Dao is definitely a welcome addition to the food scene in Chatswood. Next time, I'll be back to try their noodles and more of their wontons!