[FOOD REVIEW] 8 Dragons, Lidcombe

Rainy days are always a bit depressing but it's always these days that make hot food all the better!

Located at Dooleys in Lidcombe is this new small and comfy restaurant called 8 Dragons. Not only is it really close to the station, there is also a bunch of options inside Dooleys for dinner, dessert and drinks. I've always loved how free this place is and I'm really happy that there's finally a Chinese restaurant here with Shanghai dishes!! So obviously, I had to try the typical buns that everyone (well, me!) loves!

If you're at a Shanghai restaurant, there is no way you cannot order the Steamed Shanghai Xiao Long Bao ($8.80) which are steamed pork mini buns with delicious meat juice flowing out the moment you bite into it! I always love how this tastes wherever I go and this one gives me the same feeling! It's soft, droolworthy, not over-steamed and wonderful for cold days. I could definitely fit more of these in my stomach on any kind of day actually haha!

Next on the list is another of my favourites! Ever since my sister introduced me to the deliciousness of these, whenever I go to a Shanghai restaurant, I always order Pan Fried Pork Buns ($8.80). They make look a little plain but these are the best! I have to say, I was surprised at how good these tasted! Although they were a bit small, the taste was marvellous! The top part of the bun was super soft and the bottom was lightly crisp and just made the perfect combination with the delicious pork. This was my favourite dish for the meal! Definitely worth the effort to come here and try this!!

I've always been a fan of satay so ordering Satay Beef ($15.80) made me love my experience here even more. I really like my satay to have a tinge of spiciness to it but this one overwhelmed the taste of the satay a bit. However, it was still good, I liked it enough to eat the onions! (I usually hate onions!)

Last one on the list! This was my least favourite of the bunch. We got the 8 Dragons Fried Rice ($12.80) that we thought looked really nice in the photo but unexpectedly, this dish was very plain. It was very lightly salted and the prawns had no taste to it. It was actually quite tasteless, Now I'm wondering if they forgot to put salt in haha.. But I guess this matched the strong taste of the satay beef and made it a nice combination.

I would definitely recommend this place. It's close, convenient and has really great buns! Good to have a nice long chat with fast and efficient service. Our food came really fast and I stuffed my stomach in record time! I'd definitely want to visit again in the future to try the wonton as well and have another dose of the pan fried pork buns! I can't stop thinking about them!

[FOOD REVIEW] Baia The Italian, Cockle Bay Wharf

As a person that loves food, I think that there's nothing better than being able to eat good food at a cheap price (except for free food!). Seriously! Thus, my sister and I really like to buy vouchers from sites such as Groupon to get our share of cheaper and yummy experiences at all kinds of restaurants that are featured there. Although there will be the occasional hits and misses, I'm really glad that I have my sister that loves to keep trying these deals with me! Yee!

This time, we have arrived at Baia The Italian situated at Cockle Bay Wharf.
It's really close to Blackbird Cafe which means it is a short distance away from Town Hall Station. I'm no driver so I really appreciate these places! For this round, we came to try their breakfast menu and to get a good view of the harbour while we're at it! However, breakfast is only available from 8:30am to 11:30am. Which I guess is normal breakfast time but I'm not a morning person so it was pretty difficult for me haha! I sincerely appreciate places with all day breakfast!

Since it was a bit chilly that day, we decided to sit inside but to be honest, I don't think there really was a difference haha! All is good though because we ordered a Mocha ($4.50) to warm ourselves up! Mmm! Personally, I think the coffee taste was too strong though so I'm not a fan of it but it was relatively smooth. I love the funky spoon!

My Baia Breakfast ($18) is here! I was so excited to receive this since I was starving! It has tomato, mushroom, bacon, hash brown, baked beans and my choice of scrambled eggs. But, I was quite disappointed. The crust of the bread was really hard!! It was literally too hard to cut it so I just gave up on it. The eggs were lightly salted and fluffy though so that was good! But, I think it was a pretty regular breakfast that I could have gotten for a cheaper price. I guess the view makes up for it though if you like nice scenery with food!

My sister chose the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and Hollondaise sauce ($17) and the bread tasted much better with the egg yolk oozing onto it (so lovely!) and hollandaise sauce to complement it. The smoked salmon didn't taste very fresh and pleasant though but I'm not sure if that's because I don't really like smoked salmon. But, there really wasn't enough hollandaise sauce! I think I love the sauce too much hahaha.

Overall, this place has got a good view and if you're intending on trying this place out, I think the eggs benedict might be a better choice. In addition, it's a really nice and soothing place in the morning since there aren't many people around so it has the perfect calming atmosphere to start off a day! I'm not very impressed by the breakfast I ate but I may consider trying out their main menu for another time! I probably would if there's a voucher for it haha~

[FOOD REVIEW] Tea+, Burwood

Looking at the gloomy weather today, I suddenly felt an urge to drink the Plant Milk Tea from Tea+ again. The start of Spring hasn't exactly brought about many days without rain but it is also because of these days that I have been able to appreciate the warmth that hot food and company with others can bring. Eating food with others truly is a blessing.

Tea+ is located approximately 10-15 minutes away from Burwood Station (I love places close to the station :D). It isn't really hard to find but it might not be really obvious to some. To be honest, when I first looked at the menu, I wasn't really impressed and I really didn't think the food here would actually be good haha, I'm so judgemental! Well, I really came to try the plant milk tea after all :p

However, although the shop was smaller than I thought, it was nice and comfy. Word of warning to those that don't read Chinese though; it's like Ding Tai Fung and Papparich where you have to write down the amount of each dish that you want on a piece of paper. But this one only has the Chinese names! I'm glad I haven't forgotten how to read Chinese haha!

Let's start with the highlight of the show! This is the hot Original Plant Milk Tea ($5.80) with pearls. However, it was quite lukewarm when I received it. Possibly because of the foam and the pearls. But, don't you think this looks so yum!? It's basically milk tea with a layer of lightly salted foam, oreo flakes (as dirt) and a mint leaf (as the plant).

Anyhow, there are two ways you can drink this. In which the way that Tea+ recommends is really the best way to drink it. Which is drinking it straight from the cup where you will be able to taste the milk tea, foam and oreo flakes in one gulp. It has such a nice balance of sweetness from the milk tea and the oreos complemented with the lightly salted foam that it wasn't overly sweet at all! I really liked how creamy and delicious this was. Well, it's hard to hate anything with oreos in it!

Otherwise, for the second method, you can drink this with a straw and mix everything in to drink the pearls and oreos but to be honest, I only left this method until last because it really didn't taste anything special. I'd definitely recommend drinking it from the cup. I'd say the milk tea has a more milky taste than a tea taste though (which I like!) if you're wondering.

This Super Mango Smoothie with Coconut Milk ($6.50) really tasted like it was made with real mangoes! I couldn't really taste the difference with and without the coconut milk (my sister ordered one without) but it still tasted sweet and good with the essence of the mango in it. It had a bit more chunky blocks of ice than I would have liked but it was still wonderful.

For me, I chose the Beef Noodle Soup($10.80) for my main meal. Surprisingly, the beef brisket was so soft and tender, I loved it! It wasn't hard at all and melted in my mouth. It had a balanced level of saltiness and a hint of spiciness to enhance the flavour of the soup. I'm generally not a fan of chilli but this hint of spiciness made it taste even better! I would definitely recommend trying this if you want something warm and filling. The only thing I didn't really like were the noodles. It could've been softer but the two times I came to eat this, it was a bit hard. It didn't ruin the dish but it could've been better.

Now, for the snacks! We tried a few but I only have a photo of two. The first one is this House Special Chicken Basil ($6.90), it was crunchy and quite flavoursome but not anything special.

Lastly, the Crab Meat & Flying Fish Roe Tamago($7) was so yum! The egg was soft and fluffy and matched well with the crab meat. It also had cheese drizzled on it and that made it taste so amazing! Definitely a must try if you come here!

I also tried the Crispy Buns($3.50) which was deep fried mantou with condensed milk. I loved how it was so warm and soft on the inside whilst crispy on the outside. In addition, dipping it into the condensed milk just made it such a delicious guilty pleasure that made me really want another one!

My experience here was much better than I expected and I really liked the food here. I wouldn't say it's extremely amazing but the snacks and the drinks served here are definitely worth making a trip for if you've been wanting to try it! I came here twice in two weeks so you can say that I thought that this was a pleasurable experience and would definitely come here again in the future.

[FOOD RECOMMENDATION] The Choc Pot, Burwood

It's finally Spring!! But it's still freezing zz. So, I decided to recommend The Choc Pot for this cold weather in Sydney. Well, mainly because I tried it the other day and thought it was perfect that day! (Even though I ate a big lunch :p)

Located only 10 minutes away from Burwood Station is this small dessert bar that provides a nice variety of chocolate desserts and drinks. It's only a mini review this time because I only tried one dessert but I was honestly so amazed with it that I'm definitely looking forward to visiting again to try other desserts! There aren't many tables but it gives a nice and cosy feeling. Although I didn't try out the tea, I saw that these were served with clear tea cups! It looked so pretty and elegant! Definite must try for next time as well! Anyway, on to the signature dessert here!

Doesn't it look good?! Not only does it look good, it also tastes delicious! This chocolate fondant has heavenly oozing melted chocolate in every bite you take accompanied with a soft and moist (similar to) brownie-texture. It's so warm and fluffy, it literally melts in your mouth with every bite you take! I'm drooling just thinking about it again <3

Also, there's a new and different dessert every month to try so you'll never really run out of things to try! I think that my overall experience here was very good with the food and surroundings and thus I would come here again to try out more desserts and to spend quality time with others. It's a good place to relax and chat with friends! ^^