Food Review | Bar Asia, Parramatta

Before I start, just wanted to say that I started another blog on stuff like anime and manga reviews + me trying to study Japanese and maybe some Chinese every now and then lol, just to separate things and make it more organised but also give me some more freedom in rampaging on about my interest in anime haha. This is the link if you're interested! =D

I think the day that food in parra is all going to become expensive is soon lol especially since they're trying to make Parramatta like the next CBD zzz. While I'm glad that there's more options of food in parra these days, the prices seem to go along with it. Everything I fondly remember of this place when I studied here in high school is sort of lost but whatever, my opinion won't stop this place from changing and it's supposed to be a 'good change' after all~ 

Anyway, I saw a drool-worthy dish of Bar Asia's (277B Church Street, Parramatta) on Instagram, so I happily suggested it to my friend for us to try it out for lunch. Although it is a bit more on the expensive side, we thought we'd just treat ourselves once in a while! (Although I probably treat myself all the time lol) There was no line and there were around 10 tables inside with a couple outside so pretty spacious and the food was served really quickly after I ordered at the counter. Efficiency at its best!

Lemon Grass Beef Vermicelli ($13.90)

This was the one I saw on Instagram! It looks pretty good yeah?! It has fresh herbs, bean sprouts, cucumber, fried onion, peanuts and dressing that makes it look so appetising~ The beef was very tender and the best part of the dish obviously hehe but I wasn't very fond of the dressing. Maybe it's because I usually eat pho when I have Vietnamese food but I thought that this was too sour for me. It was refreshing but it had that strong taste of fish sauce that I didn't really like with the noodles since it soaks it all up. The dish also has a lot of veggies so it's a well balanced meal but yeah, not my thing.

Grilled Chicken Vermicelli ($13.90)

My friend ordered this one which was basically the above except with grilled chicken; which was really tender and yummy as well. 

Pork Belly with cucumber + hoisin sauce ($5.90 each)

Dayuum, these sliders were expensive hahaha. Saddeningly, some of my pork belly was a bit hard so it wasn't as tender as I thought it would be. In addition, there was an overload of hoisin sauce which even the freshness of the cucumber couldn't save and so it just became super salty after a few bites. Otherwise, nice and fluffy bun yay~

Vietnamese Iced Coffee ($5.50)

Frankly, I've never actually tried Vietnamese iced coffee, so this was my first time! But, surprisingly, I really liked it! It was a tad bit too sweet but that's okay, I love sweet stuff. It was also really smooth and milky. I would recommend this. But, don't leave it for too long, otherwise the ice will melt (just like minee) and then it'll taste like water eughh.

Overall, I think it was an all right place but considering the price and that I don't often eat Vietnamese food anyway, probably unlikely I'd come back. Maybe I should have tried their Shaken Beef dish, that sounds yummy haha! But yeah, nah, I think I prefer my food more plain.