Mr. Wong

If you are after excellent Chinese you can't go wrong with Mr Wong in Sydney. It serves up beautifully delicious Chinese fare in a classy environment. Our only bug bear was they got our order for a small crab fried rice wrong and didn't do anything to fix it. They still charged us for the beef noodles and a large one at that. We had:

Sichuan style wagyu beef carpaccio with chilli oil and Chinese doughnut (AU$21) - A good upsell by our server when taking our order. Turned out to be an excellent choice as it was simply delicious. Slightly spicy, you can taste everything on this dish. Just make sure to get a little of everything in each mouthful.

Crispy eggplant with fish fragrant sauce (AU$24) - This is how perfect crispy eggplant should be. Beautifully crispy, it is a slightly oily fish but tasty indeed.

King crab and sweet corn fried rice, trout roe and crispy conpoy AU$22) - This is what we ordered but sadly did not get. Rice would have been a better option with the dishes we ordered and the small size would be perfect for two. We did see another table receive theirs and it looked wonderful.

Crispy fried Balmain bugs with spicy salt (AU$38) - Delicious salty bite sized morsels served golden and crispy.

Hong Kong style stir fried rice noodles with wagyu beef,  bean sprouts and garlic chives (large AU$28) - A good version of this but the large size was way too much for two especially with the other dishes ordered. Because it was oily as it should be, it did not go well with the other oily dishes we ordered.

Service: :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star  ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star  ½

Type of venue: Chinese

Worth a return visit? Yes

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Address: 3 Bridge Lane, Sydney 2000

Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan in IFC has no queues unlike the original outlet which had since closed however service here is average and the bbq pork buns did not look perfect. Just tick off what you want to have on the order form and it is promptly delivered to your table. We had:

Baked bun with BBQ pork (HK$20) - their signature buns are crispy and biscuity with a slightly sweet bbq pork filling. Quite delicious and is served piping hot.

Steamed rice rolls stuffed with pig's liver (HK$21) - Pillowy soft and smooth, the metallic taste of the liver isn't overpowering but there is certainly no mistaking what you are eating. Quite nice if you enjoy offal.

Osmanthus and goji berry cake (Hk$12) - Chinese style jelly that is cooling and refreshing. Quite sweet but not sickly.

Service: :star :star ½
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star ½

English menu: Yes.

Type of venue: Yum Cha, Chinese

Worth a return visit? Yes/Maybe

Address: Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall) , Central, ifc mall

Wing Wah Noodle Shop

Ok, so we're back in Hong Kong for a 2 night layover this time before heading to Japan. Hong Kong is one of our favourite cities to visit especially for its food. We have some favourites but are always keen to try some new places as well.

Wing Wah Noodle Shop located in Wan Chai is a noodle shop featuring one of the best wonton noodle soups you will find anywhere. Just bear in mind that the shop itself does not have its signage in English (look for a gold 永華麵家). You can also order a variety of other things on the menu which has English on it. We had:

Wonton noodles (HK$40) - small but delicious bowl consisting of a wonderfully rich broth, 5 delectable morsels of wonton and al-dente handmade noodles. What first inspired us to try this place was the fact that the noodles were handmade the traditional way with a man using a bamboo pole to knead the dough.

Service: :star :star :star :star ½
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star 

Type of venue: Chinese,  Wonton

Worth a return visit? Yes.

English menu: Yes.

Address: 89 Hennessey Road,  Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Red Hot Wok

Whenever we feel like some Malaysian Chinese dishes, we head to Red Wok in South Yarra to get our fix. We usually order three dishes to share and this time was no exception. We had:

Sambal kangkung - our go to vegetable dish. Slightly spicy, the water convolvulus is cooked perfectly with just the right amount of seasoning.

Flaky tofu - deliciously soft egg tofu with a light soy dressing.

Salted egg chicken ribs - chicken ribs are popular everywhere right now. The seasoning on this is just right; slight saltiness from the salted egg granules, the taste is reminiscent of butter prawns as there is the addition of curry leaves as well. Juicy, crispy goodness.

Service: :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Chinese,  Malaysian

Worth a return visit? Yes

Address: 313 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141

Shanghai Street

Melbourne's best xiao long bao is probably found in Hutong. The best version found anywhere in the world is undoubtedly Din Tai Fung and good news for Meburnians as it is opening soon in Emporium. In the meantime however, there is Shanghai Street on Little Bourke St, which is an extremely popular dumpling restaurant. It is fast, efficient and cheap. We had:

Xiao Long Bao - for the price you pay, this isn't too bad. Just don't go comparing it to Din Tai Fung. If it is your average dumpling restaurant you are comparing this to, then you won't be disappointed. The broth actually stays in the dumpling skin and it isn't too oily. Just a shame the dipping sauce doesn't come with any sliced ginger.

Dumplings in chilli oil and peanut sauce - the combination of peanut sauce and chili oil make this extremely addictive. Slightly spicy and makes you want more and more. Quite a large portion as well so well worth it. Tried to buy the peanut sauce in the Asian supermarkets but could only find sesame sauce so maybe they make their own?

Service: :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star  ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star 

Type of venue: Chinese

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 146 Little Bourke Street,  Melbourne VIC 3000

Spice Temple

Spice temple offers the best yum char we have had. We have had yum char in many countries and although Spice Temple isn't cheap, the quality and uniqueness on offer is something we will gladly pay for. Just a shame it is only served during lunch times on Thursday to Sunday. We had:

Salt and pepper squid, pickles and XO Slider - good to try as the squid is cooked perfectly and the slider is just a dainty morsel to get things started. 

White cut chicken gua bao - deliciously moist chicken, with accompaniments not unlike what you would find with a Hainanese chicken rice, except it is enveloped not in rice but a pillowy bao.

Jade scallop and crab - delicately sweet seafood flavours in this steamed dumpling and the dumpling skin is super thin.

Glutinous rice dumplings with chicken - lightly fried, the dumpling shell is made from the glutinous rice. Crispy and delicious.

Tea smoked duck breast with pickled cabbage and Chinese mustard - we order this every time we eat here. Beautifully light smokiness and perfectly pink duck breast. Goes extremely well with the pickled cabbage and mustard.

Egg custard with crab and XO sauce - just love the fried spanner crab meat with the pillowy soft egg custard and house-made XO sauce. Slight hint of spiciness but so tasty you could have it on some steamed rice.

Egg custard tart - are these the best egg tarts in the world? They could be. Extremely flaky pastry and the egg custard is just set and it is so wobbly you'd think it isn't ready yet. One never seems quite enough.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star 

Type of venue: Chinese, Fusion, Yum Cha

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: Crown Towers, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank VIC 3006

Supper Inn

Our go to place for a late night meal. Supper Inn is a popular joint and although the service can be hit and miss, they do quite good congee which is the main reason why we go there. This time we had:

Suckling Pig - not many places do this Chinese style roast suckling pig. Slices of suckling pig with tender meat and crispy skin. Need we say more? Yes, there are better versions in Hong Kong etc, but this will do.

Sliced pork fried noodles - fried noodles and congee go well together and this version of "yuk shi chow mien" is really good. Crispy noodles with a nice gravy, generous thinly sliced pork and crunchy bean sprouts complete this dish.

Pork and century egg congee - they have a good congee list and we quite like their sliced abalone and chicken congee. Decided to try the pork and century egg congee this time and it was just ok. The congee texture is good but the century egg isn't the best in terms of taste and quality. Will stick with the abalone one next time.

Service: :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Chinese ,  Asian, Supper

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 15 Celestial Avenue,  Melbourne VIC 3000

Supernormal

A very popular modern Asian restaurant so do come prepared for the long wait for a table. Dishes are perfect for sharing and the staff are very attentive. 

We ordered:

Smoked beef, mustard leaf, clam mayonnaise - loved the flavour combination and it was very much like beef tartare done really well. Wish there was more!

New England lobster roll - interesting to try but probably won't order it again. We love lobster but in a buttery roll, the flavour of the lobster was a little lost and certainly the price was a little steep.

White cut chicken, cold noodles, sesame, peanuts and chilli oil - perfectly poached chicken, this was moist and delicious with the peanuts and chilli oil.

John Dory, mussels, wakame, celery and ponzu - a few school prawns tossed in, the seaweed flavour was quite nice and the fish nicely cooked though we did not think it went well with the rice and salad as recommended by the waitress.

Peanut butter parfait, salted caramel and soft chocolate - sweet with hints of saltiness equals a perfect way to end the night. Deliciously smooth. In our humble opinion,  we think this may be the best in Melbourne!

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Modern, Japanese,  Chinese, Asian

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000

Kitchen Inn

We parked on Elizabeth Street and surprisingly stumbled upon this restaurant. Kitchen Inn specialises in Sarawakian cuisine. Their noodles are handmade and the two stand outs appear to be the kolo mee and the Sarawak laksa (which unfortunately we did not get to try as it had sold out). They seem to attract predominantly the student population and at the pretty reasonable prices, it is not hard to see why that is. We ordered the kolo mee and teh tarik.

We had:

Kolo mee - a local (Sarawak) favourite, this is a Chinese type of dried noodles served with minced pork and sliced BBQ pork. Mix it all up with the accompanying sauce/oil dressing and it is a delicious meal indeed. Except for the missing lard, this version is the best I have had outside of Kuching.

Teh tarik- Malaysian style hot pulled tea. This version is served in a traditional looking cup and is frothy just like a good one should be. It has the right colour and taste; but is quite strong and kept us awake till 3 in the morning!

Certainly worth going back just for the kolo mee and teh tarik though hopefully we'll get to try the Sarawak laksa next time.

Service: :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Chinese, Sarawakian

Worth a return visit? Yes

Address: 469 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Wonderbao

Wonderbao is truly wonderful in so many ways. Cheap, tasty and quick. All washed down with some cold or hot homemade soy milk. Yummy indeed. Our favourite has to be the roast pork belly gua bao (see photo). It is wonderfully seasoned, meltingly soft and juicy or you can opt for 'da pork bao' which has pork mince with Chinese sausage, egg and shiitake mushroom. Good selection of sweet and savoury baos. Highly recommended.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Asian,  Chinese, Fast Food

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: Shop 4, 19-37 A'Beckett Street,  Melbourne VIC 3000

Tim Ho Wan (Melbourne)

Super excited and can't wait for the cheapest Michelin Star restaurant to open in Melbourne this April!