May's Oriental Express, Martin Place, CBD Sydney (24 Mar 2017)

Shop 6, Colonial Centre, 52 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.52martinplace.com.au

May's moves over the bridge

It looks like the team from May's Laksa House has set up shop in the CBD. I was keen to try the laksa but unfortunately they'd already sold out so I opted for the Har Mee which was the first Prawn Noodle Soup that didn't actually include prawns due to apparently the current prawn shortage and costs. Har Mee (Prawn Noodle Soup) - richly flavoured prawn broth served with noodles, chicken, seafood, boiled egg and vegetables ($12.50) was served piping hot with quite a tasty broth although I'm not quite sure how they would have made the broth without having prawns? The seafood was more like your frozen marinara style mix you might find with a pasta dish. Tiny mussels and pieces of calamari with plenty of fake crab meat thrown in the mix plus some chicken meat. I think they should perhaps rename this a Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup to be more accurate. Will try the laksa next time. Service was friendly but was a bit of a slow process due to only one person serving at the counter. The kitchen turnaround time was also 10 minutes which for a takeaway joint seems a bit slow as well so it's early days for the guys to get their processes sorted me thinks. On a positive the chopsticks are better than those cheap rough takeaway ones you often get.

Yummy Cuisine: Asian, Martin Place, CBD Sydney (24 June 2014)

Shop 16, Martin Place Shopping Circle, Sydney NSW 2000

Yummy in my tummy

I've been visiting Yummy Cuisine for a few years now and for me their signature dish has always been the Penang Char Tway Teow ($10) with a nice amount of wok hei and good spread of ingredients. They're pretty consistent most of the time. Other dishes I've had a few times and worthy of ordering are the Hainanese Chicken Rice ($9.50) which had moist meat, Ayam Goreng ($9.50) with crispy skin and Wonton Noodle Soup ($9) with nice wontons and al dente noodles. The Penang Har Mee ($9.50) has a good mix of ingredients although the broth is not as robust in flavour as I'd prefer and would love some fried pork fat sprinkled on top for extra yummy flavour but that seems hard to find in the CBD. It's located sort of underground in the passageway between MLC Centre and Martin Place Train Station. Seating is very limited outside but fairly quick in turnaround. Service is efficient and will bring out your dish to your seat when ready so grab a spot after ordering. Keep in mind on a cold windy day you can feel the weather from the open roof area nearby.

Other visit reviews:

• 20 Jan 2010

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Efficient and friendly service, Lots of classic hawker style dishes, Reasonably priced

CONS: Limited seating, Area is a bit exposed to the outside weather if windy, No toilet

MUST TRY: Char Tway Teow, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Ayam Goreng, Wonton Noodle Soup

VERDICT: Cheap and cheerful place that has most of the Asian classics you might be craving for a quick lunch. I haven't tried everything on the menu but that's probably because I keep going back to my favourites.

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Penang Char Tway Teow ($10), 23 May 2014

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Hainanese Chicken Rice ($9.50) — leg moist meat, nice flavour chilli, nice side soup, 23 May 2014 

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Ayam Goreng ($9.50) — crispy skin, nice flavour, 3 June 2014

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Wonton Noodle Soup ($9) — tasty soup flavour, nice wontons filled with visible meat and prawn, served hot, good egg noodles al dente, 5 June 2014

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Noticeable prawn meat inside wonton

Penang Har Mee ($9.50) — lots of prawns, wish there was also crispy pork fat, broth flavour light, nice pork, 2 types of noodles, 24 June 2014

Broth not as robust as I'd like but still enjoyable. Add extra chilli for more flavour.

Limited seating outside

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David’s Kitchen: Asian Cuisine, CBD Sydney (7 Aug, 10 Sept 2012)

320-324 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000

or via 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000

One stop Asian lunch spot

Thanks to a reader recommendation by R.S. on my Laksa post I've now discovered the original David's Kitchen in the Telstra building. I used to be a regular at David's Kitchen under the Colonial Centre building at Martin Place but since the beginning of the year haven't enjoyed their dishes as much. I found out David sold this place about 9 months ago to new owners so hence the difference in cooking style. Apparently the one located in the Telstra building was the original shop which I've never known about until now and has been running for over a decade. The Hai Nan Chicken Rice ($8.50) comes with a generous amount of chicken which is moist, tender and silky as hoped with minimal bones. Unfortunately only steamed rice was available at the time and the ginger shallot mix is overly salty and there's no chilli or side soup supplied but the chicken itself is a winner and one of the better ones around town. The Hai Nan Chicken Laksa ($9) is good value and the laksa broth has a decent amount of depth. I think I still prefer the Malay-Chinese version which also has better spongy tofu for soaking up the soup. For a cheap lunch grab an extra bowl and share with someone. On a return visit (10 Sept 2012) I try the generous Har Mee ($10) with decent flavour and comes with four large deveined prawns, char siu and a fried egg. I'd happily order again for a Har Mee fix although for intensity of prawn flavour nothing has come close to Singapore Shiok which reminds me I must revisit again. To get to David's Kitchen you can enter via Pitt Street or Castlereagh street.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Reasonably priced, Tender and silky chicken, The original owner of David's Kitchen is here, Fair amount of seating available

CONS: Ginger and shallot condiment is overly salty, Hai Nan chicken didn't come with a side soup

MUST TRY: Hai Nan Chicken Laksa combo simply for the value, Har Mee

VERDICT: A great find for an Asian lunch time fix

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Hai Nan Chicken Rice ($8.50)
WORTH TRYING :-)

Bone factor not too bad

Hai Nan Chicken Laksa ($9)
WORTH TRYING :-)

Tofu not as spongy and soft as Malay-Chinese

Har Mee ($10)
WORTH TRYING :-)

Fried egg instead of the usual boiled egg I usually see

Peak hour lunch crowd

Late lunch time

The man himself keeping the lunch crowd happy

Hai Nan special order menu

Soup menu

Fried rice and noodle menu

Thai menu

Menu

Food court seating

Previous David's Kitchen located under Colonial Centre 52 Martin Place which was sold but they've retained the name

Entry option 1: 320-324 Pitt Street

Entry option 2: 233 Castlereagh Street

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