Piggies @ Chef's Gallery, Sydney

After a long walk up George Street carrying some heavy books, I made it up to Chef's Gallery with a few scenic shopping spots along the way!

My friends hadn't arrived yet as I was five minutes early - hooray for me! =D So I went inside to grab a nice table in the middle of the restaurant without needing our booking on the Monday night, we weren't in the seats staring off the chefs but we still had a nice view to watch them making noodles. We sat down to order from the picturesque menu (I loved the cover!) and my friends informed me that it has changed quite a lot from the one-pager of the past.

Handmade spinach noodles

Look at him go, too fast for the camera!

Fluffy Chinese roti with pork floss
[8.90]

The rotti was delightful, not too oily and it had a crisp texture. The pork floss looked a bit weird on that dish but complemented it well in taste and wasn't too overwhelming. (One of my favourites of the night ^^)

Wok fried medium grain rice with three kinds of eggs (chicken egg, salted duck egg and century egg)
[14.90]

The fried rice had an obvious salty taste, due to the inclusion of the famous (or infamous depending on the person) salty egg, but nothing thirst quenching. In general I do like the normal fried rice dishes with the shallots and prawns and one type of egg, but Chef's Gallery's three egg fried rice is its own delightful meal.

Prawn and pork wontons with handmade egg noodles in a Shanghainese style spicy sauce
[13.90]

Ok, I found those noodles were quite spicy, although K enjoyed them quite a lot. I loved the dumplings they came with - absolutely delish, but the spicyness of the noodles did get to me, so I'm glad I left them to eat closer to the end of the meal. You could see a few strands were different sizes, giving that authentic homemade feel.

Eggplant topped with Chinese olive vegetables [12.90]
(you can also get the dish topped with spicy pork mince [15.90])

The egg plant dish, 'our' signature vegetable dish, was nice and simple. I prefer eggplant in the Chinese Szechuan style (spicy with pork mince) or steamed with preserved beancurd, but it was a lifesaver after those noodles! I realise I'm saying I like the spicy eggplant dish but couldn't take the spicy noodles from before,,, weird, I know!

Lightly pan-fried pork and cabbage dumplings
[9.90]

There is a choice of prawns inside instead [12.90] but we chose the traditional pork and cabbage... I have to say, they weren't that pretty, taste was ok because I prefer it when it has been fried to a golden brown on one side to give it that extra crisp rather than having the whole thing lightly pan-fried.

Dessert time - oink!

aww, they're kissing...

Steamed sesame 'piggy face' bun
芝麻豬仔飽 (managed to get that out XD)
[7.90 - you can order an extra one for approx. half the price]
 

Filled with black sesame, yummmmmmmmmy! The bread is a tad chewy so one pig is not ideal for sharing between two. Being one of their talked about signature dishes, it had to be tried. They're amusing and cute, a delight to children, girls etc but nothing stellar as a "dessert" dish. Although quite small, it wasn't a disappointment as a finisher to the meal.

Green tea ice cream in red bean paste with steamed pearl dumplings & almond flakes
[7.90]

Green tea ice cream, it either works or it doesn't, as I've been to a fair share of places with sub-standard green tea flavoured ice cream. It was fine here and the dessert went nicely with the pearl balls and almond flakes!

I also found the dishes came out quite quickly and the staff waiting around our table were very attentive. I'd hope it would be the same on the weekend too :)

We also made a quick sojourn to pick up something extra from the Taiwanese Dessert Bar - Meet Fresh. Still popular on weeknights, we waited in line for about ten minutes, constantly changing our minds until we finally saw what was in their No.1 dish, Taro Mania as it was on a sign next to the counter and not the board menu. With the general pearls and things, red bean, taro, it was the additional of the herbal jelly which helped us to all decide on the same dish because it would be a refreshing addition. The quirky girl at the register suggested that eating it cold tasted better so that's what we got.

It was actually my first time eating Meet Fresh and I really enjoyed it - by the time I got home. This one was not too sweet as the milk helped to it down. I would consider getting this particular dessert again, as long as the line's not too long. ;)

Taro Mania [5.50]

Quote: 
The girls: We need another rice dish.
Me: Don't we have rice in the rotti?

Huge thanks to Lyss and Kim for the night ^^

-Gummi

 











501 George St
Sydney, 2000
www.chefsgallery.com.au 
(02) 9267 8877



and also...