Imperial Peking YUM CHA - Blakehurst

So today i went back to Imperial Peking today for Yum Cha, it was better than the first time i went there, it was fairly busy, and we were seated upstairs, which is a smaller room (see the buliding below). Actually the restaurant layout is not very good for yum cha service...

For those of you who've never been, its customary to drink tea with Yum Cha, its said to help digest the food and disperse the oil. Actually, Yum Cha is literally translated as 'drink tea'.

This is BBQ pork rice rolls - yummy.

Prawn and mango rolls - it was pastry and fried - was nice, but too oily for me, and the mango flavor was not strong enough.
Prawn and asparagus rolls coated in sesame - ok, the prawn flavour was overwhelmed by the sesame though.
Mixed seafood dumpling with corn. The corn was a nice balance to the prawns, but the mixed seafood was limited to school prawns and seafood extender..
Har Gow - Prawn dumplings.

This is my favourite at yum cha normally, but its not great here - too dry.

Sticky rice balls - sticky rice is very common, it has some meat and vegies through it. In this style it is coated in a light egg coating and steamed - quite nice.

I think that is all the dishes we had... It came out to $34 for 2 people, and we were both stuffed and took some BBQ pork rolls home with us. Its nice, and close if you live in Wollongong - but if you get into your Yum Cha, skip this one and go to China town or Chatswood.

Salt - Darlinghurst

Just to set the benchmark, below was the best meal i ever ate. It cost a lot, but was worth it. This was from 6 months ago, so there isn't detailed comments - but i cannot fault the service or food at all - except the desert was a tiny bit to strong for me. This rates 4 stars (out of 5... it was great, but i must leave room to improve!)

Note the pictures have loaded in funny order, and i dont have every course... but here we go. (the wines listed are those that came as matched for each course of the degustation)

Scotch Fillet Wagyu Beef with Figs & Prosciutto, Asparagus, Truss tomatoes & Zucchini, Balsamic dressing (2003 Sanguine Estate Shiraz)

Cocoanut Broth with Prawn, Mushroom, Nori and Foie Gras. (2003 Palacios Remondo - Spain)

Crab Ravioli, Corn Puree, Sauce Vierge (2001 Lake George Unfiltered Chardonnay - Aus)

Licorice Parfait, Lime Syrup (2001 Domaine ROtier Gaillac Doux - France)

Tempura of Quail With Sesame & Wasabi Dressing, Daikon, Watercress & Carrot (2002 DOmaine Collette Marannay - France)

There are a few courses missing here, including chilled beetroot shots, softly poached quail egg, and seared scallops with GOlden beetroot, fresh motzarella, honey and Thyme dressing.

This 8 course degustation cost AU$125pp - $165pp with matched wines. It was the most expensive meal i have paid for yet, and far and away the best. I am keen to better it!

Zouch Restaurant Young

First on the bill, Hopping Mad Brewery Ale. This is brewed in Orange in NSW. It was fairly full bodied, not overly heavy though - nice. Lighter than you would expect for the colour. And the sediment was thick, more like granules that the fine mist you get in some coopers. (See below)

For starters, this was the pan fried prawns with tomato and fennel.The prawns seemed fresh and well cooked, but for my money the flavours were not strong enough, it was very middle of the road. And i thought the olive oil butter combo was a bit too much.
This was the Duck Ragu with peper and thyme crepe - again, it was ok but not great. It was very middle of the road, and didn't jump out at me at all. The sauce was 'country style' in that it was mild, medium bodied and no strong accents really. More home-styled than fancy. And the duck seemed lean (most pieces without the skin) which meant they were a bit tuff.
This was my main meal - Rabbit braised with white wine and herbs. Again home styled, and totally lacking any zest for my palate. The meat was TOUGH - perhaps cooked too quick. It was the thigh section and part of the chest. It seemed that the flavour combinations and sides were determined more by local availability than their congruence - every main was served with asparagus and mash

Belgian chocolate Mousse with white chocolate sauce and chocolate curls. This was nice and rich, the sauce was mild - for me the mouse could have been richer in flavour though.

All said, it was a nice restaurant, the food wasn't exceptional but fine, but the atmosphere was refreshingly relaxed and welcoming.

Welcome!

Hi to all those reading along at home! I am a huge food lover (not as huge as i used to be though!) In fact i would say it is one of my three main passions: film; travel and food. Luckily having had the chance to travel a little, i have been able to try a range of native foods and i really enjoy it: i actually try to have as many local dishes as i can whilst travelling, as well as trying each of the local beers. I also like to splurge on good quality restaurants from time to time. Unfortunately, my passions of travel and fine dining are hampered by the fact that i am a poor student, and that i had gastric bypass surgery back in december 2000 (see here)- which means i have to be very careful about my fat and oil intake. It makes chosing meals at a restaurant hard - duck skin- too fatty, nuts - too fatty, avacado - nope, cream - out... etc etc. But i manage.

Seeing i keep a travel blog too, which i often upload pics of meals i've had, i thought why not make this its own page, and try to be a bit more conscientious about it. So i will try to get details of menu item, restaurant details, price, oiliness etc as well as what i think of the tastes and the establishment itself. So i will try to do this for all the nice places (and the cheap ones) i eat at here and abroad - as much as possible. I hope someone finds it interesting, but either way it satisfies me to keep this kind of record for myself. So anyway, stay tuned and take care!