I stayed about a 10 minute walk from Chinatown, so I was able to enjoy several local restaurants in the area. During my first night in Sydney, I had finished dinner but was looking for a late night snack and came across Emperor’s Puff, which usually has a fairly long (albeit quick moving) line. They only sell one thing, which is a custard filled pastry that is served piping hot.
The puffs were exactly as I expected – hot, fresh and sweet. They make for a good snack, as you are walking around Chinatown looking for other food options.
As I was walking around, I found A Yogurt Cow, which is something that I had wanted to try as it is quite popular in China nowadays. It is a yogurt based drink filled with your choice of topping, which ranges from red bean to purple rice. I ordered the one with purple rice and it did not disappoint.
The next day, I had lunch at Biang Biang, which is famous for their “biang biang” or wide noodles. Biang biang noodles are popular in China and are usually served in a spicy oil. I’ve never had such thick noodles before, and the long sheet of thick noodles actually reminded me of uncut pasta.
It was a neat experience to try the thick noodles, but the consensus is that I prefer thinner noodles. I found that the thicker noodles absorbed the flavours less, so even though the bowl of noodles was full of spice, I found that it seemed to lack flavour.
I also ordered a roujiamo, also known as a Chinese hamburger. This is a specialty of Xi’an, and I did try one when I was there, so I was looking to compare. They only had chicken available at the time I visited and perhaps it was because I left it until after I finished my noodles but I definitely do not recommend their roujiamo. It was dry and quite tasteless, so I couldn’t even finish it.
As an afternoon snack, I went for the Korean “hot dog” shop of M.R. Hotdog. I’ve always been really confused about why Koreans call corn dogs “hot dogs”. But regardless, I was really excited to try one of these as the last time I had a Korean “hot dog” was over 10 years ago.
I opted for the “half half hotdog” which is supposed to be half sausage and half cheese. The crispy outer layer coated the combination of meat and cheese perfectly. With Korean hotdogs, you also have the option of dressing them up with sugar, spicy cheese, ketchup, mustard of a combination of any of these. I chose to add sugar and ketchup and it was absolutely delicious.
My favorite meal in Chinatown was at a Malaysian restaurant called Ho Jiak. I had read many reviews of this place previously and the rumors are true, as I walked in around 10pm on a Wednesday night and the place was packed and there were even people waiting to get a seat. I can’t even imagine how busy they must be on a weekend.
Ho Jiak is actually a Chinese word that translates to delicious. I ended up ordering an appetizer which I’d never seen before called Pai Tee. Pai Tee turned out to be a crispy, deep fried shell made of flour, and you fill them with a stir fry of thinly sliced vegetables. Although the shells are deep fried, the appetizer was quite light.
I had previously heard many people say that the Char Koay Teow at Ho Jiak is very popular, so I knew that I definitely wanted to try this dish. I have had Char Koay Teow several times before, but each restaurant has their own version. At Ho Jiak, their version comes with Chinese sausages, which I had never seen before. Aside from the normal version, Ho Jiak also has many different variations that include king prawn, crab, duck egg and marron.
I have to agree with all of the reviews only as I was quite fond of the Char Koay Teow. It was spicier than the other Char Koay Teows I have tried, but I really enjoyed the extra ingredients, such as the Chinese sausage.
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