Madame Nhu: Vietnamese, The Galeries, CBD Sydney (1 Nov 2011)

Shop 5, Lower Ground, The Galeries

500 George Street, Galeries Victoria, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.madamenhu.com.au

Opening special a tasty bargain

Madame Nhu has just opened this week and her opening $5 special for all dishes has become very popular indeed. It's so popular that you'd best get there early before dishes sell out and queues get really long to take advantage of one of the cheapest lunches you'll find in the city until this Saturday, 5 November. The Vermicelli Sugarcane prawn ($9.50, $5 opening special) is served on a plate but to make it easier to mix I'm thinking a bowl might have been better like they do at Pasteur. There's a little bit of lettuce I used to wrap up a bit of everything although a few rice paper sheets would have been great. The flavour was quite prawny which is quite nice with the other ingredients. The sugarcane stick was a little hard to try and chew which you can sometimes do. Their Pho noodle special beef pho ($10.5, $5 opening special) could maybe have been served a bit hotter but flavours are quite nice and the stock isn't too oily. There's a fair amount of beef balls to consume as well. The Caramelised pork kho ($10.50, $5 opening special) is slow-cooked berkshire pork belly and rice. The meat is pretty tender as hoped and nicely flavoured. Beware of the thick fatty skin if you're health conscious which simply melts in your mouth.

If I had the time I'd probably try and come back every day for the $5 lunch to try other dishes on the menu. The renovations of the food court are looking pretty good compared to the old one which was very basic. The seating in the centre surrounded by a curtain wall reminds me a bit of Spice Temple. It's nice to see a few decent new eateries are now settling in including Top Juice which make a great fruit salad that I believe also supply to David Jones Food Hall.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Food court seating and decor has been renovated, Presentation and flavours fairly decent for the special price, Buzzer provided to let you know when your order is ready

CONS: $5 special only until Saturday 5 Nov, Long queues due to special pricing, Some of the food court ceiling lights are a bit bright and angle directly into your eyes

MUST TRY: Other dishes on the menu

—

Vermicelli Sugarcane prawn ($9.50, $5 opening special) — decent flavour although if served in a bowl might be a little easier to mix and eat

A bit more lettuce would have been good to make little wraps

Signature đặc biệt - Pho noodle special beef pho($10.5, $5 opening special) — could have been hotter in temperature, flavours OK

Caramelised pork kho - Traditional slow-cooked berkshire pork belly & rice ($10.50, $5 opening special) — tender meat, fatty skin

Service counter

Limited store seating, looks a little squashed

Menu

2 dishes for only $10 during promotion. Buzzer provided for when your meal is ready

Busy kitchen

Take away bag

Bright ceiling lights can sometimes be angled straight into your face which isn't nice

Food court seating

The Galeries entrance via Pitt Street

View Larger Map

Chat Thai: Thai, The Galeries, CBD Sydney (1 Nov 2011)

500 George Street, Galeries Victoria, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.chatthai.com.au

Open and back in business

The Galeries food court renovations seem to be completed now and all is back on track for Chat Thai with it's new shop in a slightly new location. The branding police have also made it look like it's other stores. It certainly looks a lot different to what it used to look like. The seating and decor of the food court has totally changed for the better looking more modern, welcoming and a lot cleaner. Unfortunately with renovations it seems prices have also risen a bit. I was fearing this would happen but hopefully the quality remains the same if not better. I've yet to try any of the dishes but surely will in time.

Visited 16 Feb 2012

Duck noodle soup ($14.90) - good depth of broth flavours, a bit more duck would have been welcomed

Visited 9 March 2012

Menu No. 41 Gai Yaang: Grilled turmeric and lemongrass marinated chicken with smoked chilli and tamarind relish on rice ($11.90) - meat was a bit on the dry side but relish helped moisten in up, flavoursome spices

Menu No. 51 Grapao Cripy [Crispy] Pork Belly: Stir fried crisp pork belly, fresh chilli and holy basil with fried egg and rice ($13.90) - lots of flavour, fried egg could have been a bit runnier, holy basil gave the dish a nice taste. Best not to eat this one if you have a meeting or they'll know about it.

- - -

Menu

Service counter

Limited store seating available

Food court seating

The Galeries entrance via Pitt Street


View Larger Map

Charlie & Co: Wagyu Burger, Westfield Sydney (17 Nov 2010

The Sydney Room, Level 5, Westfield Sydney

Cnr Market and Castlereagh St Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.charlieandco.com.au

High-priced burger expectations

Justin North is expanding his Sydney food empire from Bécasse and Le Grand Café into the food court stakes at the new Westfield Sydney. Currently it's ranked No. 1 on Urbanspoon's NSW 'Talk of the Town' and is closely followed by a few of the other Westfield eateries although it looks like the great expectations of their high priced burgers are receiving mixed reviews. With the standard already set high with his Plan B Wagyu Beef Burger for only $10 I was curious to see, like many others, if Charlie & Co will be better. There's a longish wait in the take away queue at 12.30 during the peak lunch time and the kitchen looks like it's in full swing although looking a little frazzled under the pressure. The Wagyu & Co. Burger ($16 take away) is a wagyu beef patty served with beetroot relish, pickled gherkin and aged cheddar on a sesame bun. Slightly different to Plan B version but it's around the same size — smallish but high. I find the beef patty a little too thick for my liking and it's not as juicy as hoped. The base of the bun falls apart a little too easily making it a messy job to eat by hand. I like inclusion of the beetroot relish and pickled gherkin though. For me it doesn't quite met my expectations for a juicy and well-balanced burger which is easy to eat — would Hamburger Charlie approve it as a burger you can eat while you walk?

You can smell the truffle aroma of the Parmesan and Truffle Fries ($8) as soon as you collect them. This is a welcomed addition which Plan B doesn't offer although it comes at a price. An appropriately named Charlie's Honest Juice Orange ($4) will help my body absorb the iron today. The promise of swift service isn't really the case due to what seems like a slow queuing and ordering system when very busy. If you want to avoid the take away queue then you have the option of dining in with table service but unfortunately you'll have to queue up as well to get into this area. When you order for yourself you have the option of take away packaging or plated where upon you'll receive a buzzer. You don't pay an extra if you want to sit in the allocated self-service dining area, only for the table service area. It was quite confusing at first to work out the options and system so hopefully I've clarified it for my readers.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Seating available, Hard working staff trying to cope with rush hour, Different burger options, Chips are tasty

CONS: Premium priced burgers, Long queues when busy, Burgers might not live up to expectations

MUST TRY: Some of the other burgers and hot dog to compare

—

The Wagyu & Co. Burger: Wagyu burger with beetroot relish, pickled gherkin and aged cheddar on a sesame bun ($16 take away)

Parmesan and Truffle Fries ($8)

Charlie's Honest Juice Orange ($4)

Menus

The story and promise

Kitchen station

Buzzer for Self-service dining in

Reserved area for self-service dining and take away

Table service dining in area

Self-service dining area

View from Self-service seating of table service area and counter

Drinks available

Dining choices

View Larger Map