Don Quixote, Sydney

EDIT: Don Quixote has closed and been replaced by The Sanctuary Hotel.

Suckling Pig.

Two words which trigger salivary overdrive for many a gluttonous foodie.

In search of the perfect venue for a foodie Christmas function, we headed to Don Quixote to er... pig out.

Don Quixote has been around since 1968, but has only been in its current premises in the heart of the Spanish Quarter since 1999. Inside, the restaurant is open and airy with plenty of rustic wooden chairs and tables, red brick walls and terracotta tiles.

We elected for a banquet menu with a few edits at our request.
NB. Prices quoted are a la carte prices.


Mejillones frescos a la marinera $18.50
Mussels cooked in onion, tomato salsa and aromatic herbs


Gambas al ajillo $19.00
Prawns cooked with olive oil, chilli and garlic


Calamares $18.00
Deep-fried squid rings with lemon and tartare sauce


Paella Valenciana $50.00 (for two)
Spanish national rice dish cooked with chicken, prawns, mussels, scallops and blue swimmer crab.


Jamoncitos de pollo a la catalana
Chicken cooked in tomato, onion, capsicum, mushrooms and white wine sauce


Toston Sancho Panza $30.00
Suckling pig, basted and stuffed with a traditional seasoning.

The mussels and chicken were both tasty and the suckling pig was tender, but somehow our grand visions of carnivorous satiation weren't quite realised. There was plenty of pork available, but a bit of wow factor was lacking by the pork being presented already carved, rather than whole. Maybe our expectations of suckling pig were too high, or maybe my tastebuds were clouded by (inaccurate) visions of fatty pork with crispy crunchy crackling, as the Chinese do.

Indeed roast suckling pig can be prepared a myriad of different ways as I have since discovered. Try Balinese, Cuban, Russian or Lithuanian. Don't have a spare piglet in the larder? Then make one out of sausage. Plenty to get your snout into.

Don Quixote (CLOSED - now The Sanctuary Hotel)
545 Kent St (Cnr Liverpool St) Sydney
Tel: 02 9264 5903

Superbowl, Haymarket--Part II

I've reviewed Superbowl before but this time we opted for different choices and hence another posting seemed worthy.

I originally had noble nutritional intentions, ordering the cleansing, life-giving comfort food of congee--essentially minimal rice cooked in a big pot of water or chicken stock until you get a watery rice porridge.

Plain congee fat content = negligible.

But as any self-respecting congee fan will tell you, having congee without you zha gui is like a meat pie without sauce, bread without butter, apple pie without ice-cream. Sure technically it can be done, but will your abandoned tastebuds ever forgive your betrayal?

Plain congee + 2 sticks of you zha gui fat content = moderate.



But surely you may as well order a main to share as well. Say, like...


Deep-fried squid with spicy salt $11.80

Plain congee + 2 sticks of you zha gui + deep fried squid fat content = significant.

In retrospect I probably should have ordered seafood or chicken congee which would have arrived with far more interesting ingredients to trawl through, and come with shallots and deep-fried onion shards. However I was somewhat inhibited by the complete absence of congee from the menu. Apart from a banner on the outside restaurant facade, one presumes congee enquirers are expected to make conversation with the waiter--intimidating for many at the best of times.

But congee is one of the big drawcards here if the nearby table occupants were any indication. Families, couples and even a couple of non-Asians in the know were chowing down into communal bowls of congee so huge they almost merited their own postcode.

I livened up my plain congee by adding soy sauce, chilli sauce and the shallots and chilli shrapnel from the deep fried squid dish.

The you zha gui were freshly fried and crispy, although probably not as good as the freshly kneaded and fried ones at Mother Chu's.

The squid was relatively tender but I tend to prefer my squid with a heavier coating of flour and much crispier.

Having said that, we ate till we could eat no more.

Then we ate a little more.

Sigh factor = considerable.




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Super Bowl Chinese Restaurant
41 Dixon Street, Chinatown Haymarket, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9281 2462

Open 7 days 8am-2am
Unlicensed BYO, Corkage $2 Person

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Super Bowl Dixon Street-May09, Jul06, Nov04 and Oct04

PJ O'Brien's, Sydney

We grabbed a quick pre-movie dinner at PJ O'Brien's.

Located in the elegant art deco building the Grace Hotel (originally built in the 1930s as a headquarters for the Grace brothers--really pre-Myer!), PJ O'Brien's has plenty of olde world charm. The menu here is significantly expansive; a dizzying choice from ten entrees, ten pizzas and fourteen mains.

We opted for comfort food: burger, bangers and Irish stew.


Ballymun Tower Burger $13.00
100% beef burger served with chips and salad


Irish Pork Sausages $13.00
With roasted onion, creamy mash and stout gravy


Grandma's Irish Stew $14.50
Stewed lamb with floury potato and vegetables in a thick broth served with brown bread

Irish stews are never exciting or dazzling. It's all about lining the stomach for Guinness one suspects! We found this stew comforting, wholesome and filled with plenty of lamb morsels. The sausages were fair but now that we have the Porterhouse sausages as a benchmark, we have definitely more picky and spoilt.

The winning meal was probably the burger which was simple but effective and arrived with the largest portion of chips we've ever clapped our eyes on!

If I came back, I would probably go for the burger, or maybe I should try the beef & Guinness pie or the steak sambo. Or the chargrilled eggplant pizza. Or the...

Pub grub with potential.

PJ O'Brien's
57 York Street, Sydney
Tel: 02 9290 1811

Glebe Street Fair

Bellies distended from our late lunch and with energy still in our legs after our foodie trek, we decided to catch the tail end of the Glebe Street Fair, celebrating its 21st birthday!

Crowds were expected to be 120,000 for Sydney's oldest fair. There were probably more...



Glebe is known for its bohemian, free-thinking and leftist atmosphere originally cultivated by a strong communinity of students and artists. The hippie-looking cyclist wheeling his dog on his bike was just another passerby.



Probably the most exciting drawcard for the festival was the appearance on stage by the quintessential Aussie rock band, the legendary Mental as Anything.



Yep they all looked exactly the same! Churning out all those memory flashback hits got the little 'uns dancing...



and the big 'uns.


The other big celebrity out and about was Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, the genius who made science cool! Dr Karl sat at a little booth all day signing copies of his 22 books. Dr Karl is a two-year-old's best friend--he knows the answers to every "but why...?" question.



Unfortunately there wasn't much in the way of exciting food stalls. Instead we counted seven, yes seven, gozleme stalls. If gozleme is so popular, how come no-one has ever set up a gozleme shop? Or is part of the appeal because they're only ever available at street stalls? And yes, I love 'em too. Click here for a recipe for ispanakli gozleme (spinach gozleme).



Plenty of bongo drums, hand-made jewellery, Tibetan-style robes and African tribal art. However for true ingenuity with more than a twist of irony, how could you go past this pitch...

Trojans, Balmain

Breakfast seemed like eons ago and we were ravenous after our foodie trek from Rozelle to Balmain.

Trojans looked promising with outdoor tables, plenty of punters and a buzzy atmosphere.


Grilled fresh sea scallops served on rocket, parmesan and truffle mayo $16.00


Steak sandwich $13.00


Turkish bread with roasted eggplant, tomato and bocconcini
and pasta of the day: spaghetti with fresh crab meat, capsicum, asparagus and basil in an extra virgin olive oil $14.00

Overall we found the food fairly average. The pasta was a little overcooked and over-oily for my liking, but the turkish bread with eggplant was definitely a winner. The steak sandwich was also given a thumbs up.

Reasonable to good cafe food.

Trojans
237 Darling Street, Balmain
Tel: 02 9555 4155

Foodies on the run--Rozelle to Balmain

With a Grande Bouffe breakfast churning its way down our digestive tracts, we set off on a fearless foodie frenzy from Rozelle to Balmain.

Darling Street was but a row of white pellets in our mind's eye, and we were individual Pac Men, determined to consume everything in sight...


The Fine Food Store has its own cheese room and stocks a mind-boggling array of gourmet goodies including a good range of Pastabilities fresh pasta, Tetsuya's products (including his divine Black Truffle Salsa for Butter and countless other tantalising treats essentials.

But man cannot live on bread alone... a healthy daily serving of chocolate is also required. How about a colossal serve, say, from this chocolate Colosseum by Belle Fleur?





Laden with sugar, we made tracks [groan] up the road to stumble upon more bread at Common Ground, all organic and all very tasty!



A quick browse through Inside Traders & Co...


a breath of fresh air at Bonsai and Beyond Garden Centre...




and a few jetsetting pangs of envy at The Travellers' Niche.


These snags raised a smile at Ralph's Delicatessen.


And I've always loved the ceiling festooned with hanging garlic and chillies at Emile's Fruit and Vegetables.


The walk down Darling Street from Rozelle to Balmain is easy and always fascinating. The pics here are just a few of the places we browsed. Key words in the Rozelle/Balmain area are gourmet, organic, eclectic and vintage. Don't forget Rozelle Markets either, Saturday and Sundays 9am-4pm at Rozelle Public School.

Next we had lunch to tend to.
~~~
The Fine Food Store 595 Darling St, Rozelle. Tel: 02 9810 2858

Belle Fleur Fine Chocolates 658 Darling Street, Rozelle.
Tel: 02 9810 2690

Common Ground Bakery 586 Darling Street, Rozelle.

Inside Traders & Co 499 Darling Street, Balmain. Tel: 02 9818 1499

Bonsai and Beyond Garden Centre 427 Darling Street, Balmain.
Tel: 02 9810 3517

The Travellers' Niche 381 Darling Street, Balmain. Tel: 02 9810 2869

Ralph's Delicatessen 337 Darling Street, Balmain. Tel: 02 9810 2340

Emile's Fruit and Vegetables 321 Darling Street, Balmain.
Tel: 02 9810 2759

La Grande Bouffe, Rozelle

EDIT: La Grande Bouffe has closed

We treated ourselves to an indulgent breakfast at La Grande Bouffe, bright and early on a Sunday morning.



With owner David Poirier (ex-Salt) and accomplished Irish chef Colin Fassnidge at the helm, La Grande Bouffe is often mentioned in the SMH's Good Living section, most recently with regards to its use of Bangalow pork.

The emphasis here is French country fare. We were enamoured with our delightfully polite French waiter (such attention to detail, one kept musing) and were pleased with the efficient, courteous and pre-emptive service.

Our meals were all well-executed although with hungry appetites, the corn fritters and rice pudding servings barely scraped the sides of our ravenous bellies. However the food presented was virtually faultless and best of all, the coffee (which is roasted on the premises) was tres bon!

Stomaches lined, we then set off for our self-planned foodie tour of Darling Street.


Omelette with chevre (goats cheese) and rocket $13.50


Zucchini and sweet corn fritters, steamed asparagus with dijon $12.00


Citrus and coconut rice pudding $7.50

La Grande Bouffe (CLOSED)
758 Darling Street, Rozelle
Tel: 02 9818 4333

Sticky fingers...

Has it been too long since you basked in the indulgent joy of crunchy artificially coloured spheres of sugar (Hundreds and thousands) on buttered soft and fluffy white bread? Contrasting textures, gorgeous colours and oh-so-satisfying sticky mouth-staining sweetness.



I was at a kids party today and it was hard to tell who had more fun raiding the treats table--the kids or the kids-at-heart!



Of course a kids party isn't complete without Chocolate Crackles(R) (yes, apparently this name is registered by Kelloggs) which we all dove into with sticky-fingered gusto. Isn't it time you got yourself some sticky fingers too?



CHOCOLATE CRACKLES
(from the www.kelloggs.com.au website)

INGREDIENTS
4 cups Kellogg's Rice Bubbles
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
250g copha, chopped**
3 tbsp cocoa

METHOD
1. In a large bowl, mix the Kellogg's Rice Bubbles, icing sugar, cocoa & coconut.
2. Slowly melt the copha in a saucepan over a low heat.
3. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Add to Rice Bubbles mixture, stirring until well combined.
5. Spoon mixture into paper patty cases and refrigerate until firm

Makes 24 (approximately)

**For non-Australians, copha is coconut-based vegetable shortening. Despite two years of frantic searching all over London whilst I was there, I was never able to find an equivalent to satisfy homesick cravings, not even in the Jamaican and West Indian grocery stores. The only clues I can offer is that it looks like lard (ie. white solidified fats) and smells of coconut. You easily forget this though, even when you're crunching through your second Chocolate Crackle.

Alio, Surry Hills

EDIT: Alio has closed

Just off the main drag of Crown Street and Cleveland Streets, Alio is modern warm furnishing with funky circle cut-out dividers adding a 70s-style feel.

Service was attentive, napery was crisp, and the sound of cutlery and conversation was appropriately muted.

Standouts here were definitely the fried zucchini flowers and the pappardelle with prawns. The zucchini batter was crisp, the goats cheese contrasted sharply, and the crab sauce was divine. The flavour of crab was amazingly intense--I was tempted the lick my plate clean.

We also really enjoyed the pappardelle which were smooth ribbons bathed in a tasty sauce, and covered with juicy fresh bursting-with-flavour prawns.


Complimentary potato and leek soup


Fettuccine with spicy sausage, tomato and basil $17.00


Salad of pear, witlof and gorgonzola with a verjuice dressing and walnuts $17.00


Deep fried zucchini flowers filled with blue swimmer crab, goats cheese and semi-dried tomatoes $18.00


Organic chicken in a fragrant broth with baby spring vegetables served Bolito Misto style with traditional accompaniments $28.00


Char-grilled 400g rib eye of beef with porcini and field mushrooms $35.00


Pappardelle with king prawns and a pernod sauce $27.00

Alio CLOSED
5 Baptist Street, Surry Hills
Tel: 02 8394 9368

Se Joung, Campsie (CLOSED)

EDIT: Se Joung at this location has closed. You can read about their all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ Buffet at Se Joung in Sydney CBD.

Se Joung is an unassuming restaurant sitting on the pedestrian ramp next to a suburban Woollies. Shoppers pushing trolleys or laden with bags continually stream past this eatery marked only with a green neon sign reading "Korean Restaurant". Which is confusing for first-time visitors, considering the name of the restuarant is Se Joung. Locals know this place well though, and every night the restaurant is full of Korean families, couples and young people.



Campsie is perhaps Sydney's Little Korea and it is here where you can find authentic, cheap and honest Korean fare. We've been to Se Joung a number of times and consider it one of the best-value best-tasting Korean joints we've frequented so far (no small claim).

As always, we ordered the pajeon or seafood pancake--an enormous dinner-plate-sized serving of pancake batter bursting with prawns, calamari, spring onions and mushrooms. The pancake is light and crispy and golden brown. Although this is listed on the entrees page, this is more likely ample for four as a starter.


Pajeon--seafood and shallot pancake $11.00

An assortment of pickled vegetable side dishes will arrive at your table depending on the number of people at your table, and what they currently have available. The kimchee (chilli pickled cabbage) here is particularly potent but some, like the seaweed and bean sprouts, are free from sinus-clearing spices.


Assorted sidedish pickles, seaweed and vegetables (complimentary accompaniments)

The japchae, or potato noodle, was tasty--served with beef, capsicum, carrot and onion and scattered liberally with sesame seeds.


Japchae - stir fried potato noodle with vegetables and beef $11.00

The oxtail hotpot arrived steaming hot--the broth was faintly sweet with a touch of chilli and perfect for dousing over bowls of steaming rice. There was plenty of green vegetable in here--slightly bitter--and a couple of oxtail pieces which warranted plenty of bone-picking attention.


Hotpot of oxtail $12.00

However the highlight dish which we always order is the jeyuk bossam--a delightful roll-your-own mouthful of joy. Thin slices of boiled pork belly are placed in blanched cabbage leaves, topped with a spoonful of fiery hot kimchee and gobbled quickly. The kimchee mixture arrives with tiny oysters scattered through it, and the burst of sea-saltiness as you munch through crunchy cabbage, the pork and the chilli pickled cabbage is immensely satisfying.

If you order nothing else, make sure you order this one!


Jeyuk Bossam--kim-chi bundle of cabbage leaf with pork $20.00

The only downfall here is the service which worsens as the night progresses. We've seen customers turned away at 9.00pm when the restaurant is supposed to close at 10.30pm. We've also had half-finished drinks whisked away whilst staff hover in the background tetchily, itching to clock off.

Patrons can eat 'authentic'-style by sitting cross-legged on cushions at low tables, risking lack of sensation to the lower legs and complaining back muscles forced into action. The other half of the restaurant has the standard tables and chairs, which are always more popular for some reason!

This is good food at unbelieveable value. Eating here will painfully distend your belly for under $20.

Our tip: Order the jeyuk bossam and don't eat here too late and/or linger. Best to eat early and leave with a grin.








Se Joung CLOSED 
You can read about their all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ Buffet at Se Joung in Sydney CBD

68-72 Evaline Street, Campsie
(next to Woolworths)
Tel: 02 9718 4039