Mosaic, Westin Hotel (Sydney CBD)

By St

Hello again blog world. With the mad rush and gluttony of Christmas beginning to subside, it’s time to stretch my fingers and jump back on the bibbity bopping blog wagon. (You know how it is, so hard to break away from all the delectable festive food. And let’s be honest, how many chocolate boxes did you receive this Christmas? Ans: Too many to count!)

A few months back, Filoman Mong invited a few of us to dine at The Westin Hotel’s Mosaic restaurant. Describing their cuisine as Mediterranean on the website, I was expecting punches of flavours and fresh seafood (I was disappointed). We were going to have the 3 course dinner selection which is usually $68 pp, but Filoman had some specials up his sleeves so it was only going to cost us $35 each. Can’t say no to that! (Keep it coming Filoman.)

I clearly remember it being a stormy, howling night, the clouds were marching in, rain was upon us and King Lear was calling out for his Cordelia... Actually on second thoughts, it was just an average Wednesday night and the restaurant was pretty empty- one or two couples and the odd business people. 

Straight off the bat (definitely not the Aussi cricketers’ bat this Boxing day test), the starters were the best dishes of the night. Cyndi and I being clever (or greedy?) shared the duck ravioli and king crab tian. The pea puree complemented the ravioli and although I enjoyed it, the duck may have been slightly over processed (duck twice cooked). The crab meat tian was my favorite. This was the first time having gazpacho and it reminded me of salsas and mixing it in with the chunks of king crab meat really lifted the freshness of the dish without overpowering the crab. If you prefer lighter entrees, than this may not be your best pick especially with the heaviness of the gazpacho. Comparing us to the boys, we were probably greedy as they went for quality and ordered the Harvey Bay scallops instead.

Complimentary bread

Duck ravioli with pea puree

King crab meat tian with gazpacho, avocado, baby herbs

Harvey Bay scallops with soft polenta, truffle tapenade, farmer speck

You couldn’t split Cyndi and I at the mains and we both ordered the Mosaic seafood trilogy: kingfish, battered yamba prawns and scallops. The kingfish with baby veges and scallops were well cooked and surprisingly flavoursome. The battered prawns and aioli sauce was mediocre, the non-fuss batter masking very dull prawns. 

Mosaic seafood trilogy: Kingfish, battered yamba prawns, scallops

Black angus beef tenderloin, lemon pepper crust, artichokes, cherry tomatoes

Keeping the trilogy theme alive, a few of us ordered the Mosaic dessert trilogy: Crème brulee, strawberry waffle, white pepper ice cream. The crème brulee was like any other crème brulee- good but nothing to rave about. The waffle was atrocious. I don’t use such strong words to label food but this waffle was as hard as a rock, most likely reheated from the freezer. Besides the hard fact that you will have trouble swallowing it, the strawberries and sauce tasted like it came from a supermarket tin. Fortunately we weren’t like the Filoman who ordered just the strawberry waffle. Another first time was the white pepper ice cream which was very interesting. It wasn’t sweet and tasted a bit plain Jane but then came the unexpected spicy after taste. A friend didn’t like the “dryness” of it and a few coughs later the ice cream was left unfinished on many plates. I think the lesson this night was not to be greedy. Barry ordered the warm chocolate pudding and indicated it was worth the stated 15 minute wait.

Mosaic trilogy: crème brulee, strawberry waffle, white pepper ice cream

Strawberry waffle

Warm chocolate pudding, white pepper ice cream, raspberries, honeycomb

My rating is based on the quality of the food in conjunction with the special deal we had courtesy of Filoman. Had it been the usual price ($68pp), the rating will be half a wok less. 

Wok rating /5:

Mosaic, The Westin Hotel

1 Martin Place, 

Sydney  

02 8223 1110

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Charlie & Co. (Sydney CBD)

By St 

Have you gone shopping for Christmas pressies at the new Westfields yet? After all that tiring walking trying to find a gift for that difficult relative (and trying to navigate the new retail landscape), you just want to sit down and grab a bite and feel accomplished as you tick "end-rumbling-tummy" off your list. 

One of my good girlfriends, Jo, has been raving about the parmesan and truffle fries, "the best" she claims so Timmy and I had to test it out. 

We stopped and admired the new eateries in the small food court (the level is not fully complete) and came to an end and there was Charlie & Co. It's not easy to miss when it is the only place with a queue system in place. Are you for real? It's just fast food after all... right? So at 7pm on a Thursday night we joined the queue which slowly moved up and I stalked out the burgers which we will try another time (this was Mission: Parmesan and Truffles Fries after all).

Like lining up at the bank ...

... but with better views!

The moment I've been waiting for, drum roll *brum*brum*brum*brum*. Ok the truth. Yes they were good, fat and crispy. The parmesan was a nice touch but I wouldn't have known there were truffles unless you told me. It was very oily and ultimately I found it too salty due to the abundance of sea salt (this comes from a girl who sometimes dips her strawberries in salt- it's a Vietnamese thing).  

Parmesan and truffle fries $8

So the fries were a bit disappointing and it didn't help that we had to queue for them, that just added to my great expectations. The Mission was over but Timmy had already put it in jeopardy when he ordered The Charlie Chilli Dog. And, we were having proper dinner afterwards. Containing pork sausage, green chilli, fried onions, mustard and sweet tomato relish on a baguette, the hotdog was something Uncle Charlie would be proud of, plus extra spicy from the chilli and mustard.

The Charlie Chilli Dog $12

I bet you're wondering, who is Charlie? I surely was. According to the pamphlet staff were handing out, "In 1885, 15 yo Charlie was selling meatballs at the annual Seymour Fair in Wisconsin... sales were slow, so Charlie decided to smash a meatball and some onions between two slices of bread so folks could eat and walk around the fair at the same time. Charlie called his sandwich a "hamburger"- and the rest, as they say, is history!". It might just be folklore but an creative concept, if not a bit Americanised, from Justin North.

Did someone just say "Justin North"? You might recall that I called him the Johnny Depp of cooking (http://wokyoutalkingabout.blogspot.com/2010/10/siff-becasse-sydney-cbd.html) so no wonder people were queuing up to eat at his new venture which has only been opened for 3 weeks. Eating burgers and fries from a 2 chefs hat chef is like watching a special screening of Pirates of the Caribbean in an empty cinema with only Captain Jack Sparrow besides you :p

In summary, the chips are good but not the best. I would love to come back and try the burgers. Here are some tempting choices:

- The hand-crafted chilli crab burger: infused crab cake with Asian salad, lime mayonniase and sweet chilli jam. ($15 takeaway/ $17 in)

- The maiden Marrakesh burger: premium lamb flavoured with parsley, mint and cumin served with harissa, tzatziki and preserved lemon. ($13 takeaway/ $15 in) 

- The rustic chorizo classic: pork burger with smoked paprika, chorizo, fennel, with soft peppers and fried egg. 

Charlie & Co. is trying to separate itself from fast food with its premium meats and fresh produce. You can also dine in (the decor is quite classy) instead of having take-away but sadly, there was a queue for this too.

Like Arnie said, "I will be back".

Wokking rating /5:

Charlie & Co.

Westfield Sydney, Pitt Street

Sydney 

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Chefs Gallery (Sydney CBD)

By Boo_e & St

First of all we would like to say a full-and-fat THANK YOU to all who attended the launch dinner for this blog! Woohoo! It was a terrific turn out and we are very lucky to have such great colleagues supporting our mission. Thank you Biljana, Lana, Lucy, Greg, Paul, Ngaire, Ann, Will, James, Tammy, Mike, Tyrp, Becc, Nate and Daniel.

Other special mentions goes to Thanh and Wes who helped out with the blog’s designs. To Timmy and Daniel, thank you for your boundless support.

Back to business. Some people prefer panoramic views of the ocean or hills, while some people like Lucy, enjoy views of the kitchen hands at work. Come in early and you can see them make their signature “piggy face” bun as one chef was nice enough to model for us. Otherwise catch them folding dumplings or winding up seriously never-ending strings of noodles (see handmade noodles below). If you want some free cooking lessons, I recommend sitting down at the table top benches around the kitchen and observe until you think you can replicate the dishes at home or until you make the chefs feel uneasy and there is a good chance they might call security on you :p

Lucy making sure the chefs are hard at work

You will feel like a superstar working in this kitchen *snap*snap*

We split into a few groups and each ordered a few dishes to share.

Pork belly rolls with carrot, cucumber, garlic and vingerette dressing $8.90

Zheng bao zi steamed buns with cabbage and pork $5.90

Thick handmade noodles wok fried with shredded pork and black fungus $13.90

Wok fried rice with 3 types of eggs (chicken, salted duck and century egg) $13.90

Chao shao pork and prawn wontons in a Shanghainese style spicy sauce $8.90

Congratulations for persevering. While all the above were good, (perhaps except the wontons which were not spicy when you bite into them), some dishes were obvious stand-outs and popular with all.

First of the food-stoppers is the fluffy Chinese roti with pork floss. I’ve had pork floss before with rice (you can buy them alone in jars) but how nice was it mixed with some roti? These roti are light and easy to rip apart, unlike the heavy ones you might get from other cuisines. 

Shou zhua bing fluffy Chinese roti with pork floss $6.90

It’s a good thing we listened to Lucy and ordered two of the noodles below. No wonder these are her favs. As mentioned earlier, these handmade noodles stretch for miles. When you think you’ve swooped them all, you see another noodle still dangling with no sign of its end. You feel like asking for some scissors so you can dig in quicker. It’s essentially a dry noodle dish with the spicy sauce heavily infused. Unlike the wontons above, these noodles were smothered in a perfect amount of spiciness that make your lips tingle but without the need to gush litres of water afterwards.

Prawn and pork wontons with handmade noodles in a Shanghainese style spicy sauce $12.90

If you don’t think dumplings and noodles will fill you up and prefer some meatier stuff, try the pork ribs. This was the star of the night as agreed by most from Boo_e’s side of the table. It was deliciously sticky with a sweet caramelized soy flavour. It gained comments on the night along the lines of “finger licking good!” so I think it’s safe to say that it is a dish worth trying if you’re going to visit Chefs gallery. 

Sweet and dark pork ribs $18.90

I wonder what the best dish on Steph’s side was? What dumplings? You got to be kidding!  The dumplings shells were thin and moist and then you had parts that were crispy. Tammy called them “immaculate” and it sounded like she was having some sort of religious awakening. Biljana’s trick to eating more dumplings when one is full is to burp! These were so good that everyone became too polite and not daring to grab the last heavenly piece. 

Guo tie lightly pan fried prawn dumplings $11.90

As with most Asian restaurants, it seems that we are destined to be disappointed with the dessert selection and it seems that Chefs gallery was no exception, granted the little piggy desserts were cute to look at but in terms of taste it was rather lacking.  It would have been a brilliant idea if they had options for fillings such as green tea, mango, custard or like Tammy said, oozing warm chocolate. They, Mr and Ms Piggy, at least are good for taking photos of.

Steamed sesame “piggy face” buns $5.90

James and Tammy had the strawberry ice cream which they thoroughly enjoyed. Greg also enjoyed the strawberry ice cream after giving up on his bland combination of green tea ice cream.

Strawberry ice cream with chef’s own strawberry sauce and fried sweet potato ball $7.90

Green tea ice cream with steamed pearl dumplings and almond flakes $7.90

The service was slow with one half of the table waiting for 10 minutes to place their orders. In the meantime, the other half had already started eating. So cruel when one is starving. The waitress had limited English which made asking for anything without pointing it out on the menu a little difficult. (This shouldn’t have come as a surprised as St spent 5 frustrating minutes on the phone trying to make a booking.)  We had to ask several times for more wine glasses and they tried to charge us corkage on an unopened bottle. The final straw was a mix up with the bill which was handled very poorly by staff and one of the managers and had put a damper on an otherwise great night out with good friends and good food, which is what Wok You Talking About is all about.

Wokking rating /5:

Chefs Gallery

501 George St

Sydney
02 9267 8877

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Din Tai Fung (Sydney CBD)

By Boo_e

“World’s best dumplings” is their claim. I just had to see for myself just how good these dumplings were. We wandered down George St towards World Square after work drinks, and our anticipation grew with each step. In fact I was so excited that by the time we got there I had shouted, “that’s us”, loud enough for the whole floor to hear when our number was called out. It was quite embarrassing, but not enough to put us off our long awaited date with Din Tai Fung’s dumplings.

I'll have one of those on the wall please.

We ordered 2 serves of the soup dumplings because that’s their most famous dish. It even had instructions on how to eat them. I didn’t follow the instructions because let’s face it, I’m a seasoned dumplings eater and need no direction in that part of my life. One advice I would give you though is to wait a little before you pop one of those suckers into your mouth- it will burn the begeeezes out of your tongue and ruin the rest of your meal. These soup dumplings were quite good, the soup to dumpling ratio was perfect but the flavour of the dumpling itself was not so much different from the usual pork and chive dumplings you can get at any other dumplings restaurant.

Xiao long bao (soup dumplings) $8.80

For me the best dumpling dish of the night was the wanton style dumplings in spicy sauce. They were delectable! The sauce had a spicy, peppery sweetness that went so well with the dumplings. There was a choice between pork or prawns. I liked both of them.

Prawn and pork wonton in spicey sauce $8.80

 We also had some non dumpling dishes as well, such as: the hand made sesame noodles, pork and cabbage salad, hot and sour soup and Din Tai Fung's vegetarian salad. I liked having the option of getting a small salad and some noodles with my dumplings. There seem to be lots of dishes on the menu but you’ll find that if you look closely, the dishes are just various combinations of the same things. 

Sesame noodle, dry $10.80

Picked vegetable and shredded pork salad $3.80

Hot and sour soup with shredded pork, reg. $7.80

DTF vegetarian delight with seaweed, dried tofu, glass noddle with sesame dressing $3.80

For dessert we had the mango pudding. It was very ordinary and I would not recommend sticking around for dessert at Din Tai Fung. You’re better off just moving on to another place for your sweets.

Mango pudding $5.80

Wokking rating /5:

Din Tai Fung

644 George St

Sydney

02 9264 6010

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