Simon Food Favourites: Prawn

Showing posts with label Prawn. Show all posts

30 May 2022

Sponsored Post: Prawntastic eats to try in Chatswood (May 2022)

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Prawntastic Eats to Try @ Visit Chatswood

Prawntastic eats in Chatswood

I’ve been a long time lover of prawns, as you’ll see on Simon Food Favourites and I’m a big fan of just the simple and classic fresh cooked prawns with some lemon and seafood sauce. But they’re also a versatile ingredient for dishes and tend to be a good carrier of flavour so I searched for a few noteworthy prawn dishes in Chatswood to tempt other prawn enthusiasts.

Chat Thai @chatthai_official

Shop 12, Chatswood Place, 260 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

Goong mar kham - Tempura King Prawns, tamarind sauce, fried shallots and smoked chillies ($26, 4 pieces) is a great tasting dish with thin and crispy batter and a good amount of tamarind sauce. Serves well as an entrée to share or just enjoy all to yourself with perhaps a green papaya salad.

Amah by Ho Jiak @amah.hojiak

Chatswood Interchange Level 3 K1 & K2, 436 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

Wok fried king prawns with dried sarawak black pepper curry ($37) is served with ten large sized prawns that capture all the flavour from the sauce with a good char and aren’t too spicy. I’d definitely be happy to order this again and it goes well with a bowl of steamed rice. The dish is part of the Amah Tasting Menu so it must be a dish the restaurant is proud to serve as one of their signature dishes. Another dish I spotted worth keeping note of is the Salted Duck Egg King Prawns which I’m sure will be a crowd pleaser for any Malaysian.

Mama Mulan @mamamulanrestaurant

Level 1, The Concourse, Chatswood NSW 2067

Salt & Pepper XL King Prawns ($36, 4 pieces) is quite the sight when served at the table. The prawn is encased in a crisp batter and looks massive. Once you peel away the prawn head and batter you’re left with the juicy meat ready to dip in the crispy flavoured crumbs. Be sure not to burn your fingers while peeling away the hot batter. Plastic gloves and tongs provided but it’s a finger-licking dish so I recommend enjoying it how nature intended — with your fingers. It’s definitely a dish to share and go easy on the batter to save room for other dishes.

Lilong by Taste of Shanghai @lilongrestaurant

Shop 68, Chatswood Interchange Level 3/436 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

For a bit of table theatre of sight, smell and sound the Garlic King Prawns served on a sizzling plate ($30.80) hits the spot. Ten prawns mixed with snow peas, carrot, onion and wood ear mushroom are smothered with garlic. If garlic isn’t quite your thing I was also tempted by the King prawns flash fried in XO sauce served with vermicelli and Prawn and rice crackers in sweet and sour sauce which both sounded pretty good as well — maybe for next time.

Sushi Kaido @sushikaido

7/376 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

I must say Sushi Kaido is such a highly popular Japanese restaurant with queues always outside so plan your visit well to avoid the crowd or grab a number from service and prepare to wait. Once you’re seated in the inner sanctum you’ll soon understand why it’s so popular with every dish freshly made to order by the meticulous chefs. There’s plenty of prawn options like Pink Prawn Aburi ($7) and Cheese Aburi Prawn ($8) which are great but I’d also recommend the Prawn Tempura ($4.30) if you love a bit of deep fried panko crumbing. I also tried the Ebi fry ($6), Prawn salad ship ($4.80) and Prawn nigiri ($4.80) that were also good additions to the prawntastic eating feast for one. I look forward to revisiting to try more of the menu.

22 January 2014

Wok on Inn: Asian, The Rocks, Sydney (21 Jan 2014)

26 Playfair Street, The Rocks Square, The Rocks NSW 2000

http://www.wokoninn.com.au

“Wok on Inn was created to bring the best of Asian culture – food and smiles to you. Our vibrant restaurants take you on a flavour safari. What we do is authentic. Whether it’s serving you bold, homemade recipes from the hawker stands of Bangkok and Shanghai or creating an edgy, urban street atmosphere within our restaurants.”

I vaguely remember when I first visited Wok on Inn in Balmain years ago and at a later time the Oxford Street store in Darlinghurst. My recollection of what I ate is also vague but it's never become a place I wanted to return to so I'm suspecting it's because the menu or dishes at the time weren't that memorable. Today I try the Pad Thai Prawn & Chicken ($13.95) for a quick lunch and found the dish surprisingly enjoyable compared to other Pad Thais I've eaten over the years. The chicken was tender and the three large prawns for the $1 extra was worth getting. Noodles were nice, the sauce was quite tasty and the lemon helped to cut through a bit of the sweetness. There's was just enough bean sprouts to offer a nice crunch to the dish. If I was to be picky there was just a couple of larger pieces of shallot shalks that were a bit large for the dish. As per most Asian dishes it comes down to the chef which will determine how good to the dish is so time will tell if I'd get the same enjoyable dish from one of the other stores but for now I'd be willing to return to try something else on the menu like the Pad C U.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Friendly and efficient service, Fairly reasonably priced menu for dishes cooked to order, Lots of seating

CONS: Watch out for the seagulls and pigeons looking for a free feed around the outdoor seating area

MUST TRY: Pad Thai plus returning to try other dishes

VERDICT: Enjoyed the Pad Thai and would be tempted to try something else on the menu for a quick and simple lunch

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Pad Thai Chicken & Prawn ($13.95) — tasty and enjoyable
WORTH TRYING :-)

Found a couple of shallot stalks that were just a bit too big for the dish

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29 June 2012

Naked Wines Australia Media Launch at The Village, Potts Point (28 June 2012)

1 Kellett Way, Potts Point NSW 2011

http://the-village.com.au

Get naked with the little guys

“They called themselves ‘Naked’ because customers get exactly what they see. They strip out the pretentiousness and wine-speak often associated within the wine industry and commit all resources to helping winemakers make great wines.”

Thanks to Daniela Penno from Polkadot PR for inviting me to get 'naked' with a few quaffable wines at the Naked Wines Australia media launch held at The Village. Guests were treated to a small selection of wines from three Australian winemakers which you wouldn't find at your big name liquor stores. Sam Plunkett with The Butterfly Effect label had one of my favourite shiraz's of the night. Very different to what I'd expect from a shiraz in a good way. Not as peppery, a bit lighter on the palate with some interesting flavours. Rebecca and Adrian Santolin had their cute label 'Boy Meets Girl' and Brian Fletcher was the winemaker of Fletcher Wines. After some in depth speeches explaining what the Naked Wines Angels were all about it was back to more wine tastings. Canapes were served and the Prawn with Spiced Gazpacho was very good. Lots of flavour with a decent sized grilled prawn although you needed to use both hands to eat it which meant putting down your glass of wine, but it was worth it. I thought it would work as an oyster shot was well. The meatballs were moist and full of flavour including a noticeable kick of garlic. The Steak Frites canape was interesting with nice flavour although a bit awkward to eat all in one go. The fries had a tendency to get a bit stuck in the eating process. Apparently already hugely popular in the UK Naked Wines will be officially launching in Australia on 1 July to help showcase 20 independent winemakers looking for a break in Australia.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice quaffable wines with a couple of standouts for me, Interesting and tasty event canapes, Helping smaller winemakers find a market to showcase their wines

CONS: Hopefully the pricing will be attractive against the big supermarket liquor chains

MUST TRY: Using my $50 voucher to order a case of wines

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