[FOOD REVIEW] Flavour Shanghai, Ashfield

My sister and I used to love the dumplings at New Shanghai in Ashfield but after the renovations and everything, their buns went smaller (just like all the other shops) and I feel like they didn't have the same quality and taste they used to have. So, I thought it was time to explore other dumpling restaurants around Ashfield since there's so many! After strolling for a bit, my friend and I decided to go to Flavour Shanghai (267c Liverpool Road, Ashfield) which is like 1 or 2 shops away from New Shanghai haha and super close to the train station (5 mins)! It's also just across the road from Ashfield Mall so it's a really convenient place for a break or for lunch. There's also a lot of different dishes catered for takeaway if you're busy but want some pre-prepared food. They were quite tempting and there were a lot of people that came in and out for it whilst we were waiting for our food but I was focused on getting my dose of dumplings today haha~

Pan Fried Pork Buns (8 pcs) $8.80

One of the classics that I'll always order when I'm craving dumplings! After my sister first introduced these to me, I've been sold to these. This one was more on the soft side of pan fried pork buns where the top was nice and fluffy and the bottom was light and a bit crunchy but still mostly soft. It tasted really good just as it came out! So warm and so juicy! Personally, I prefer my buns a bit more crunchy but I can't say no to fluffy buns and meat! The only downside to it was that this took quite a while to come out and so my friend and I had already finished the other dumplings and were quite full. 

Pan Fried Pork Dumplings (8 pcs) $7.80

I haven't had these in soo long! My friend told me that this is one of her usual orders as well since it's her brother's favourite so I thought might as well get these! Personally, I thought these were okay but the skin was a bit hard on the tips making it a bit difficult to chew and bite without pulling on it and the meat dropping haha. But overall, it was good. I was satisfied eating my share <3

Steamed Mini Pork Bun/Xiao Long Bao (8 pcs) $7.80

HAHAHA, sorry for the empty photo lol! I was deciding whether I should even bother taking a photo afterwards since I was so hungry and forgot lol. But I thought, might as well let you guys look at something instead of nothing loll. Anyway, xiao long bao have been one of my core favourites for a while now and I always order them along with the pan fried pork buns. These were quite good but definitely not the best I've had. They were a bit more on the soggy side and the meat inside was a bit dry, probably from over-steaming or leaving it covered for longer than needed and causing the moisture to be locked inside and making them soggy. Otherwise, they pretty much tasted like every other ones I've tried. Fulfilled my cravings but nothing to rave about.

Overall, I think this place was pretty average. I'd come again for the pan fried pork buns when I want them a bit more on the fluffy and soft side or to try the other dishes such as noodles since it seems like they might be popular for those dishes instead but otherwise, I think I'd like to try the other Shanghai restaurants around Ashfield or other suburbs and taste the other dumpling options~

Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy Movies

Two posts in a row! I'm on a roll! Not really. I've had this as a draft for a while..And I never ended up finishing it.. So I thought I'd publish it anyway~ This is what happens when you take a break lol. I had to delete the rest of my food post drafts because I remember eating the food but I can't remember how it tasted like lol. Totally heartbreaking. It's amazing how appalling my memory is lol. I always remember the feelings I get from them but I can never remember much of anything else, so I didn't really want to just say every dish was edible lol. Anywho, for a change of pace, I've always wanted to try reviewing movies, anime and books and stuff as well since I don't always have the time and money to eat out so here ya go!

This is mainly stemmed from my love for Rurouni Kenshin since I was a child. I usually don't like live action adaptations of anime because they're never the same and usually never do justice for how good the anime/manga was but I think this trilogy was a nice light-hearted and simple dose of Rurouni Kenshin.

RATING: 3.5/5

RATING: 4/5

RATING: 3/5

If you don't know about Rurouni Kenshin, I would definitely recommend reading the manga! Probably more so than the anime just because I'm not too keen on his voice in the anime. It's basically the story of an ex-assassin whovows to never kill again and wanders around helping people and thus carries a sword with a reverse blade to keep to his word which is one of the main appeals of Kenshin. The fact that he won't bow down and go back to killing no matter how hard it gets is something typical but I think Kenshin makes you think that even though it's cliche, you can see his determination and perseverance to keeping to this. If you're aware of the plot, the 1st movie is about the fake battosai, about Megumi and the drug dealer. 2nd movie is about helping out Kyoto and 3rd movie is about defeating Shishio Makoto.

For the movies, I personally loved the second movie the most. It was engaging and exciting and there was lots of action! More action than the first one hehe! It was also interesting to see Shishio and the others and it would make you feel excited to watch the third movie. However, the third movie was quite lacklustre in comparison to the others. I'd say it was quite dramatic and draggy. I guess it just wasn't the way I liked it. I guess the excitement and expectations of what was to come made the second movie shine. But I think mostly, it was the nostalgia of seeing Kenshin again that made me really like the movies haha. The fights with Kenshin were always the best for obvious reasons and they were really cool and exciting to watch. It's always a good change from the explosions you usually see hahaha. That is the charm of Kenshin I guess. Also, the soundtacks for the fights and the suspenseful and anticipation of what is to come is felt pretty well through the music. Wouldn't say it was amazing but I admit that I did like it and it did seem to fit the mood pretty nicely.

As for the actors, I think Sato Takeru portrayed a live Kenshin pretty well, I was impressed! I've always been a person that is always like "the original is always the best" but as I've gotten older, I think I've come to appreciate adaptations more and are more open to them. For me, I think I could see Kenshin in him. But I have to say I really did not like how Sanosuke was portrayed. I'm not sure if it was the actor or his scenes but I really didn't like it. I'm well aware that Sanosuke can be an idiot at times but overall, he was cool. He wasn't cool at all in the movies so I was disappointed. As for Kaoru and Megumi, I really couldn't see them in their roles, maybe because they look too young and their scenes are rather static. Megumi didn't have that mature feel to her that I loved. To be fair, they're movies so if Kenshin doesn't have enough screen time, how could the others, but I was still sad. Yahiko was really cute and funny though. And my memories of Misao and Aoshi aren't good enough for me to compare to their anime or manga counterparts but I have to say the costumes were done really well because the moment I saw them, even if I didn't remember their characters, I could tell that I knew them. The only gripe I have with Kaoru is that she never had that beautifully coloured ribbon on her head that defines her character in the anime. I always loved how Kaoru looked and dressed in the anime and I think the movies didn't do that justice. Oh and Shishio looked goood~

All in all, I'd say I enjoyed the movies and would recommend Kenshin fans to watch it just for him cause there is no such thing as too much Kenshin in your life. Otherwise, I'd probably just watch the anime or read the manga just because there's much more depth to the other characters in there rather than just his side kicks. I mean, seriously, Sanosuke is one of my favourites!! I can't get over it lol. And just because Kenshin's "Oro?" face in the anime and manga is just irreplaceable, I don't know how to describe it. Sato Takeru did a good job in it but an anime is an anime and there are expressions that you just can't imitate in real life and this one is quite the memorable one.

[QUICK FOOD REVIEW] Ramen Zundo, World Square + Life update

IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG!

Yes, it's been at least half a year probably lol. Initially, I intended to update this blog every now and then after uni started but then the law student life became way too hectic. As the Chinese saying goes where "there's time to die, but there's no time to get sick", that's how I really felt when I went through that semester and probably this semester as well but man, Australian Constitutional Law has got to be the absolute worst subject I've ever done just because I don't even get what I don't understand about it ugh. Anywho, just wanted to update and say I'm alive. The break between semesters was such a blessing, I completely forgot about this blog lol, until yesterday when I was a bit curious. So, I thought I'd come back and do some random food posts or reviews about stuff I've been liking etc~ Just so it feels like I'm doing something that isn't related to studying but not too bludgy like watching anime lol. Been having an anime marathon and I'm so behind on my studies because the procrastination is strong this semester. I'll probably try and update every fortnight or so but no promises because I never keep my online promises. They're like New Year resolutions, I make plenty but keep to none. Anyway, that's probably it for my life, on to what I had for lunch on Monday! <3

So, I was really intent on rewarding myself after doing an oral presentation on Monday but I remembered the date wrong and it wasn't on Monday but I felt like I should reward my idiocy anyway so I went out for lunch with my sister. And what better choice than to have ramen? I've heard about Ramen Zundo (644 George St, World Square) every now and then but I never realised it was so close to my sister's work place lol. It was quite busy but we managed to grab a table outside after ordering our meals. This is located in that alleyway of food that reminds me of a mini Chinatown or something near Guzman Y Gomez.

Light Zundo Original ($12.90)

I was looking for some miso ramen on the menu but I couldn't find it so I just opted for the most popular option because you usually can't go wrong with that lol. Apparently this is the combination of chicken soup and 12 hour boiled pork soup and I have to say, you can really taste the pork in this one, to the point that I'd say it had the chicken flavour but the pork overpowered it in smell and in the foundation of the taste. It always tasted like pork with a hint of something else. It felt like Gumshara but with a lighter broth and with the extra chicken taste. Personally, I'm not a big fan of pork soup broth but I thought this was pretty good. The noodles were average, they were springy and good. I'd say, a bit better than instant noodles, there's a bit more substance to it than those instant noodle packet ones but otherwise, nothing special. The egg was good but could've been a bit more gooey. So, near perfect, I liked it. The main highlight of this dish was probably the chashu. There's only two pieces but they were pretty big and they were so soft but they could've been softer. It didn't melt into my mouth like others have but the taste of it complemented really well with the broth and the fattiness of it, yep that was good. It might be a tad too fatty for others though. Overall, I really enjoyed it. But I still want miso ramen lol.

For a side that I forgot to capture a photo of, we had the Panfried Pork Gyoza 5 pcs ($6.90) and the skin wasn't to my liking. It was pan fried very nicely where it was a bit crispy but also soft and I really wanted to say it was perfect but the skin sadly could not live up to it. The skin broke quire easily and the contents didn't have enough juice(?) to make the gyoza mesh well as a whole. I felt like I was eating the meat and skin separately and I wasn't very fond of that. It really made me want to eat my mum's handmade dumplings though~

Overall, I think this is a nice pit stop for lunch or dinner. The service is quick and efficient and it's in the CBD close to Town Hall and Central so super convenient whether you're taking a break from shopping or on a break from uni/work. I don't think it was memorable enough for me to have the urge to go again though. If I were to go again, I'd probably try the curry, my sister liked it.