Barrenjoey Lighthouse, Palm Beach, NSW

Long weekends in Australia are few and far in between, therefore when a long weekend rolls around, we always want to make the most of it. We didn't have much planned this Queen's Birthday long weekend (note: the Queen of England's birthday is actually on 21 April) as I was working late Friday night and most of Saturday. Thankfully, the project deployment went well which allowed me to enjoy the remaining two days with my family.

We had awesome weather earlier today, woke up to temperature at 12C and sunny. We decided to take a drive to Palm Beach in the Northern Beaches to walk up to the Barrenjoey Lighthouse. The lighthouse sits on the most northern point of Sydney, on Barrenjoey Head. It is about 91m above sea level and there are several walks to get to the summit. We parked the car at the Governor Philip Park and walk towards the beach and onto the Smuggler's Track. The hike takes about 20 minutes on a slightly steep and rocky track. It's probably a medium grade, and not pram or wheelchair friendly. The track was muddy in various spots due to the recent rains.

The view at the top is simply stunning and breathtaking. We kept a lookout for any whales who migrate north in the winter. There have been reports of whale sightings from the top.

Highly recommend as a spot to bring your visitors. On the way back, you can head to Palm Beach Jetty to catch the ferry to The Basin or Mackerel Beach. Another great thing to do as a day trip with the family.

If you're hungry, you have a few choices to take in a meal - Barrenjoey House, The Greedy Goat, Dunes Restaurant and Kiosk or Jonah's at Whale Beach.

PappaRich, Sydney

PappaRich is a Malaysian franchise which opened its first outlet in Sydney this week. The PappaRich grouped opened its first outlet in Malaysia in 2005. Since then, the business has grown and there are 6 outlets in Australia including 5 in Melbourne. Like any new restaurants, the crowds are queuing up to try this new eatery. Tonight, we went early for dinner and the place was still quite empty. The queue starts around 6pm so best to get in just before 6pm for dinner. By the time we left at 7pm, there about 20 people waiting outside.

First thing that impressed us was the menu with its glossy pictures and many varieties to entice your tastebuds. The menu is categorised into roti (roti kaya), satay, bread (Hainan style bread with curry chicken), noodles, rice, vegetarian (nasi lemak with vegetarian mutton curry), snacks, desserts and drinks. It took us a while to write on our orders on the form as there were too many choices. When we've decided, we wrote the item number on the form, pressed the bell at the table and one of the wait staff promptly appears to collect the form.

There is also a children's play area which a good place for kids to be distracted

For dinner tonight, we ordered Wat Tan Hor, Char Koay Teow, Seafood Laksa, Ipoh Hor Fun with Steamed Chicken, Roti Planta, Oriental Chicken Chop with Rice, Chicken Satay, Ice Kacang and Banana Fritters. Yes, we were that hungry or greedy!!!

What did we like: Wat Tan Hor, Ipoh Hor Fun with Steamed Chicken, Chicken Satay, Oriental Chicken Chop with Rice and Banana Fritters. The fitters was crunchy and served with vanilla ice cream. Chicken Satay was tender but not enough satay sauce to go with it, we had to ask for extra sauce. I did give them feedback about the sauce. The Wat Tan Hor was tasty with lots of gravy; quite a large portion too. Ash enjoyed her Chicken Chop served with Chicken Rice. The rice is cooked with chicken stock which enhances the taste. The Steamed Chicken served with the Hor Fun was silky smooth and best part, it was deboned.

Banana Fritters served with ice cream

The Char Koay Teow lacked the chilli oomph and wok hei (charred smoky) flavours. We didn't ask for chilli in the CKT as we assumed there would be some. A friend went the day before and she said her CKT was good. Our serving was quite small tonight too. Some inconsistencies in the serving sizes and cooking.

We think the shaved ice in the Ice Kacang was not freshly shaved but shaved earlier and refreeze, so it was compact and hard when served. I like the peanuts and creamed corn added.

Ice Kacang - check out the odd shape

Roti Planta was dry and crispy and the amount of curry served was small. PappaRich's version of Roti Planta has sugar in the middle. Cait was not keen on the roti, as she preferred the roti at Mamak.

Service was efficient and there are many wait staff available to respond each time you ring the bell. The dishes were quick to be served from the kitchen too. One downside was no napkins were provided at the table, we had to asked for them. Why can't they just place the napkins on the table together with the cutlery?

Some hits and misses for us but we will visit the restaurant again to try the other dishes in the menu. I am keen to try the Briyani dishes and Nasi Lemak.



PappaRich Chatswood
1/63 Archer Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
Ph: (02) 9411 3207

Opening hours: 11am to 10pm 7 days

Disclaimer: Opinions written above are based on my family's and my tastes and views. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions based on their tastes and preferences.

Albee's Kitchen, Campsie

No surprises that my 500th post is about food, most importantly Malaysian food to acknowledge my heritage. I have read many good reviews and heard positive comments about Albee's Kitchen in Campsie and their other branch in Cabramatta. Before this visit, friends have bought their famous curry puffs with a quarter half-boiled egg for me try and I love it. The 45 minute drive from our place to Campsie is a deterrent for us to visit. Finally, we paid a visit on our way home from the day trip to the Southern Highlands.

The restaurant has a huge variety of Malaysian dishes, both hawker style noodles or rice as well as 'a la carte' dishes which you can order to share and serve with rice. To me, this is most extensive menu in all the Malaysian restaurants that I have tried in Sydney. It took us a while to decide on which dish to order as our eyes were 'greedy' and everything was tempting. However, there were only 4 of us so we opted for the hawker style dishes instead.

Prices are pretty reasonable ranging from $9.50 to $12.00. Servings are generous; I couldn't finish my bowl of Assam Laksa and hubby didn't finish his wat tan hor either. I enjoyed the Assam Laksa, not too fishy but could be spicier. Still, my Mum's Assam Laksa wins, but by far, this is the best I have tasted in Malaysian restaurants. The rice spaghetti was smooth, the assam soup was tasty with a lovely red colour and there were also pieces of mackerel. Most importantly, the laksa was served with prawn paste or hae koe. Chris enjoyed his Wat Tan Hor (combination rice noodles in egg gravy) with the rice noodles well fried with the 'charred' or wok hei flavour. 

 My two girls shared the Hainanese Chicken Rice and loved the smooth steamed chicken. We also ordered lobak (5 spice pork rolls wrapped in bean curd sheet and deep fried) served with a tasty chilli sauce which was the same sauce served with the chicken rice. Besides eating in, we also ordered 4 curry puffs, 1 pulut panggang and char koay teow to take-away for my parents.

It will be good to visit again with a group of friends to try their a la carte dishes like pandan chicken, marmite chicken, butter prawns, fish head curry, salted fish pork belly, bak kut teh, butter oat chicken, beef rendang, curry chicken and many more. 

Are you salivating? Are you tempted to visit Albee's? 

China Lane, Angel Place

Friday night; warm spring evening. It was a perfect night to head down to the city for dinner with family. China Lane has been on our list of places to eat since it opened earlier this year. We were lucky to get an early booking on a Friday night at short notice. The restaurant is located in the lane way at Angel Place, right by the spot where you find the empty bird cages hanging above.

China Lane is owned by the same people that manage China Doll, Woolloomooloo and China Beach, Manly. The restaurant has a stylish yet informal dining feel. We noticed it caters not just to the young crowd but to slightly older crowd as well. My two girls were the only children in the restaurant when we dined, and I am proud to say they are always well behaved in restaurants.

The menu is designed for sharing, with four pieces in most serves unless otherwise stated. The staff are friendly and helpful; they were happy to explain the dishes when asked.

For starters, we ordered slow roast pork belly, prawns, pomelo and jellyfish salad with nuoc nam; duck pancakes with hoi sin, cucumber and shallots as well as pulled pork, steamed bao, siracha mayo and crispy shallot. I was glad the chefs were happy to accommodate my request to make two of the pulled pork baos without the siracha chilli sauce for Ash and Cait. Happy customers = repeat customers.

Crunchy prawns, tender pork belly matched with nuoc nam dressing.

Duck was just perfect with thin pancakes. Girls' fav.

Pulled pork bao with siracha mayo - hint of heat with tender pork 

Pulled pork with no chilli version; steamed bao was soft like pillows

Service was quick and as soon as we finished with our starters, the mains were served. I had read good reviews about their BBQ lamb ribs with lemongrass, tamarind, chilli and peanuts, so it was a must-order. Hubby was definitely happy with the finger-licking, lip-smacking ribs (give a man meat!). The sauce was really finger-licking good, and warm wet towels were available to clean sticky fingers after. A nice touch instead of the usual individually wrapped thin wet wipes handed out in Chinese restaurants. We also ordered a small serve of their fried rice with char siu pork (BBQ pork) and prawns; a side of snow peas with lup cheong (chinese sausage).

Tastiest fried rice ever

Lovely char grilled lamb ribs - finger licking good 

Just right snow peas with crunchy and lap cheong

By this time, all of us were full; but there is always a special compartment in our bellies for desserts. Ash chose the Strawberry Sichuan Meringue with rose hip, hibiscus jelly and white choc, beetroot ice cream. Interesting combination of flavours with a hint of sichuan peppers in the mini meringues; leaves a slight numb feeling after taste.

Strawberry Sichuan Meringue

Cait didn't want any dessert, she said she was too full. Chris and I chose the Black Sticky Rice with Seasonal Fruits. This was my favourite dessert, warm and comforting. The sticky rice was cooked to perfection, not too mushy or raw.

Black Sticky Rice

We were also served a third dessert, compliments from the staff (Chris reckons it's because Cait was so cute and well-behaved). This was also delicious too.

Coconut sago

There are other items on the menu that we didn't get to try. Chris is keen to return; and I am certain he will since his workplace is close by.

Check out the colour of the male and female facilities. Cait commented it was super cool to have a tv installed on the ceiling of the toilets.

As we were walking out of the restaurant, I spied their function room, decorated with silver balloons.

We also walked past a cute spotty bicycle parked on the side of the lane.

Gochiso Japanese, Willoughby

A few new restaurants - Japanese, Italian and a cafe have opened about two months ago at a local neighbourhood centre. This is great for us, I am all for more choices and competition. The new restaurants have certainly liven up what is usually a quiet neighbourhood. 

Tonight, my girls and I decided to try out Gochiso; a Japanese restaurant. The place is run by Sang Lee, a former Sushi-Ya (another local Japanese eatery) chef. The restaurant is located off the main street, tucked away in the centre. It is easy to find parking on the street. Gochiso operates 7 days a week - 12pm to 3pm for lunch and 5pm to 10pm for dinner. The place was humming with activity and patrons for a week night, which surprised the wait staff too. According to them, lunch times are usually quiet as the restaurant is not located within walking distance to many businesses. It is still new, and I am sure once the word gets out, their patronage will increase. Service was okay, not fast but it was a busy night with only two wait staff. Sometimes I forget that service in other restaurants other than Chinese is a little slower, for us to sit back and enjoy the meal. We found the light fittings unusual with the restaurant's name craved out in wood and hanging from the lights. Japanese art murals were painted on the walls, and on the wall near the entrance, there were photos of people on the streets of Tokyo.

For entree, we had the crispy potato croquette and salmon sashimi (girls' favourite). The sashimi was fresh and firm with a clean taste. Ash and I found the inside of the croquette too soft and mushy but crispy panko coated outside. 

For mains, Caitlin chose the Yum Yum box - which came in cute Thomas the Train bento box (not Cait's favourite and she made a comment about it not being appropriate for girls, sigh!). Her meal had a bowl of rice, 3 pieces of avocado roll, two triangles of egg omelette, 3 pieces of karaage chicken and 2 panko-crumbed shrimps. Quite a fair bit there for a little girl.

Ash and I shared a main - salmon teriyaki - served with a bowl of rice and miso soup. The salmon was pan-fried perfectly and the teriyaki sauce was not overly sweet; well balanced with soy, mirin and sugar. 

We enjoyed our meal at Gochiso. We will return with hubby who was out for a work function. It's always nice to check out a new restaurant that serves good food with reasonable prices.

Eveleigh Markets, Sydney

It's the Queen's birthday long weekend in NSW. We woke up to a cold sunny winter's day; so decided to make the most of it. I have been wanting to visit the Eveleigh Farmers Market for a while, but never got there. Today, we decided would check it out and see what's the fuss about. The market is located in the heritage listed Eveleigh Railyards in Redfern with over 70 stalls that sell a variety of in-season and fresh produce from farmers and food producers. Besides the fresh produce, there are also stalls that sell sweet and savoury delights, olive oil, breads, wines, coffee, breakfast. The market runs from 8:30 to 1pm every Saturday. It is well organised with signs for each stall which makes it easier for visitors. There is plenty of space for everyone and also plenty of chairs and tables to sit and enjoy the beautiful food on sale.

Look at the size of these heirloom tomatoes

Variety packs of Heirloom tomatoes

Organic fruit and vegies

Love the variety of spuds. Ash was in heaven.

 One of Sydney's famous chefs, Kylie Kwong has a stall that sells delicious and tasty food for breakfast/brunch. Today, she had steamed pork dumplings in ginger and tamari sauce, steamed savoury pancakes with vegetables and egg as well as steamed pork buns (aka char siu bao). Kylie is a big promoter of using fresh, in-season produce for her creations.

Stallholders were really friendly and happy for you to take photos except for the Cupcake Princess.

Yummy brownies from Bird Cow Fish

Sweet Patisserie - the marshmallows were soft like pillows

Ding Gourmet Pastes - fellow Malaysian from Malacca

Eumundi Smokehouse - beautiful small goods. Has a bacon and egg stall too.

Bright and cheery flowers - cheap too!

We enjoyed our time at the markets, finishing off with pancakes, dumplings from Kylie's stall plus cupcakes from the Cupcake Princess (who had a no photo policy!). We will definitely return again. It will be interesting to visit when the season changes to see what the producers have.