Gia Hoi: Vietnamese, Eastwood (31 Mar 2013)

219 Rowe Street, Eastwood NSW 2122

http://www.facebook.com/GiaHoiEastwood

Popular spot for Vietnamese

Gia Hoi in Eastwood seems to have the longest standing Grand Opening Special which seems to have been around for 10 months although the customers are certainly not complaining with the 20% discount. You instantly know this place is popular seeing queues outside upon arrival. The guy responsible for seating people is both welcoming and efficient in trying to seat people as quick as possible. I assume he's the owner and knows serving customers as quickly as possible means more turnover for the day. Fresh rice paper rolls with pork, prawns ($10, 4 pieces) are tightly packed with ingredients and are served in no time at all. Spring rolls ($10, 5 pieces) are quite nice and a decent crisp although I would have preferred larger pieces of lettuce to cupping them in better before dipping. Chicken Noodle Soup ($11) was a decent size with nice flavour and ingredients. Both chicken breast and thigh meat is used which is tender. The accompanying salad is piled high with fresh ingredients and bean sprouts are very fresh as hoped. Pork & Beef with Rice Vermicilli Soup Hot & Spicy ($11) had nice flavours and just enough spice for me without being too hot on the palate. The Spicy Salt Squids ($18) had a nice crisp to the batter and was tender and tasty.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Reasonably priced menu especially with 20% discount, Fresh and tasty ingredients, Kid-friendly with high chairs

CONS: Not a fan of the strange pink lighting, Very popular so prepare to wait during peak times, Can feel a little squashed for space if sharing a table, Can get noisy

MUST TRY: Returning to try other menu items

VERDICT: For a quick and tasty Vietnamese feed this place seems to hit the spot in the area

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Fresh rice paper rolls with pork, prawns ($10, 4 pieces) — tightly packed with ingredients

WORTH TRYING :-)

Spring rolls ($10, 5 pieces) — quite nice, would have preferred slightly larger pieces of lettuce to be able to wrap them in better

Chicken Noodle Soup ($11) — nice flavour and ingredients, decent portion, meat tender and includes thigh meat

WORTH TRYING :-)

Decent amount of fresh salad for pho

Pork & Beef with Rice Vermicilli Soup Hot & Spicy ($11) — nice flavours

WORTH TRYING :-)

Spicy Salt Squids ($18) — nice crisp batter, tasty and tender 

WORTH TRYING :-)

Very popular place for weekend lunch

Toilet fairly clean

Three locations

Menu

Opening hours

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Fat Buddha: Chinese Yum Cha, CBD Sydney (27 Feb 2012, 6 Feb 2013)

Queen Victoria Building
Level 2, 455 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.fatbuddha.com.au

Snaking back to yum cha

Time flies when you're eating out and it's been nearly a year since I first visited Fat Buddha but never had the chance to post my review. I remember service was above average, the decor was nice and the atmosphere fairly relaxed. Thanks to Lené Ferris from One Green Bean I'm invited back to sample the yum cha and learn more about Fat Buddha's free cooking demonstration on 15 February to celebrate Chinese New Year at the QVB. Unfortunately I'll be on a cruise around NZ with the family but it sounds like a good chance to learn how to make some popular dim sum and I'm assuming also try them too. My favourite dim sum today was the Taro Pie with Seafood ($9.50) which also seems to be called woo gok, wu gok or wu kok. The light crispy outer shell is a delight to eat. Dim sims with mushrooms ($7.50) are always a popular choice for me at any yum cha. This time around they seem to have scallop and prawn included which makes them extra special. 

The first thing I do when I sit down at yum cha is to always order the Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce ($12.80) because it can take a while to prepare and you hardly see a trolley come around with them to order from. The flavour and freshness is good but I'm never a fan of big stalks in the mix. Too hard to handle with chopsticks let alone try and eat them. Salt & Pepper Calamari ($15.90) is another dish I order straight off the bat. The calamari was fairly tender as hoped although today's version was heavy handed on the salt and could have more balance with the pepper and a bit more heat of some chilli throughout for my liking. Ended up being more a Salt & Salt Calamari. Mango pancakes ($9.50) wrapped in plastic have received some review attention. I haven't really come across another place that does this although if they do I think they tend to take the plastic off before serving it to you at the table. I assume it's to keep the pancakes from drying out. Last time I ordered these the mango was still slightly icy from the fridge but this time around is much better and on both accounts there's been a decent amount of mango to enjoy with the cream. One things for sure it's so hard to find a yum cha teapot that doesn't dribble and today was no exception.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Central location, Nice decor, Better than average service for yum cha, Seems to have all the usual dim sum suspects

CONS: Teapots always dribble, Thick stalks in Chinese broccoli, Pricing seems a bit more than average although I guess the rent must be high for the location

MUST TRY: Taro pie with seafood, Dim sim with mushroom, BBQ pork bun, Mango pancake

VERDICT: Handy location for CBD workers and business meetings. I spotted a high chair so must be kid friendly too.

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I love the sight of yum cha — so many choices

Deep fried combination ($7.50)

Chicken spring roll ($7.50)

Taro pie with seafood ($9.50)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Dim sims with mushroom ($7.50) — also seemed to have scallop and prawn

Steamed rice noodles with prawns ($9.50)

Prawn dumplings ($9.50)

Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce ($12.80)

I'm never a fan of the big stalks — too hard to eat

Pan fried rice noodles with shrimps ($7.50)

Egg tarts ($6.50)

Mango pancake ($9.50)
WORTH TRYING :-)

Salt & Pepper Calamari ($15.90)

Dim sum cooking class Friday 15 February 11 am & 1 pm — I believe it's a free demonstration

Chinese New Year decorations are up

27 Feb 2012 visit (paid)

Dribble free teapots in yum cha are very hard to come by — this one is no exception

Dim sims with mushroom ($7.50)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

King prawn fillet in seaweeds roll ($9.50)

Dumplings — would have loved more broth inside them

BBQ Pork Bun ($5.50)
WORTH TRYING :-)

Fat Buddha meets Little High Chair so must be kid friendly

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