Boom Banana: Home of the Best Chicken Schnitzel on Oxford Street, Surry Hills (12 July 2013)

27 Oxford Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

https://www.facebook.com/boombananasydney

Freshly made chicken schnitzel

Thanks to Les Szancer for inviting me to revisit Banana Boom after originally visiting 3 years ago. Since that time it has been taken over by Les from the original owners who had successfully run the shop for many years. Banana Boom is well-known to the locals for its excellent chicken schnitzel and I'm glad to see it continues to be a signature item on the menu. The No. 2 Chicken Schnitzel sandwich with lettuce and mayo ($6) is generously filled, reasonably priced, and the chicken is moist and tasty. The classic simplicity of this sandwich works a treat, especially just on your basic white sliced bread. Les says the key to a good schnitzel is being freshly made each day. If stocks run low they just make more as needed. The schnitzel is cooked in batches too so it's not sitting for too long in the bain-marie which avoids it drying out. A new item on the menu is the Hot chips ($3.50). They're good but sadly it's only a small cup and could be more generously filled up in the bag. Les has promised to relook at this to make it better value after my feedback on the day. The Boom Burger ($6.90) comes with a homemade beef patty, caramelized onion, lettuce, tomato and dijon aioli. It has potential but I find the ratio of bun to meat patty not quite right and there needs to be more meat to taste like a burger to me. Alternatively if served on a softer white bun or perhaps even white sliced bread would probably work well and I'd suggest adding some BBQ or tomato sauce for extra flavour.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Very reasonably priced menu, Chicken schnitzel made fresh each day, Efficient and friendly staff, A very popular juice bar

CONS: Narrow shop so it can get a little cosy when crowded, So many menus around the place can get a bit overwhelming for a newbie customer, No seating so only suited for takeaways

MUST TRY: No. 2 Chicken Schnitzel sandwich

VERDICT: If this shop was closer to my work I'd definitely be visiting it more often for my chicken schnitzel fix and fresh juice

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No. 2 Chicken Schnitzel sandwich with lettuce and mayo ($6) with avocado ($1) — reasonably priced, chicken moist and tasty, schnitzel made fresh daily

SIMON FAVOURITE :-) 

Hot chips ($3.50) — good with a nice crisp although served in a very small cup and bag could be more generously filled, Les says he's going to relook at this after my feedback

Boom Burger: Homemade beef patty, caramelized onion, lettuce, tomato, dijon aioli ($6.90) — flavour OK but I found the ratio of the bun too much compared to the meat patty

Chicken schnitzel made on site and cooked throughout the day

Owner Les Szancer and his trusty service team

Alternative chicken sandwich options

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