Golden Century: the later, the better!

The night I went to the iconic, late night, (amazing) Chinese food resto Golden Century was a long one.  After having arrived in Sydney just over a week before, I had one day off work to find an apartment; I was ecstatic at the thought of my own bed as oppose to slumming it in a hostel for another week. This actually ended up being a day that I'll never forget; it was my first encounter with my new housemate who will, without a doubt, be a lifelong friend.  The other exciting part of the experience? As I was viewing the apartment, we heard a loud thud on the roof.  I looked questioningly at the landlord who simply shrugged and said: "avocado".  To which I replied: "Say what now?  An avocado tree in my backyard?  Where do I sign?"  

I was thrilled to have checked the 'find an apartment' off of my to-do list and move on.  Sadly, avocado season is long gone, but I'm still snug as a bug in my little home in Glebe.  So, how did I arrive at Golden Century at 1 am?  Well it started like this: a portfolio tasting for some new wine additions - most of which were drained before we left the office at 11pm for a little jaunt over to Ryan's Bar for gin & tonics. One of the things that I like about Sydney is the selection of beer gardens, patios and outdoor seating areas/bars that are open year round.  Ryan's Bar is a pretty popular place - especially for the CBD crowd on a Friday night.

After a few drinks we headed over to Golden Century and pretty much stuffed our faces on overpriced seafood.  Thankfully, I wasn't footing the bill, as I'm sure it was a scary sight at the end of the night.  We ordered all the dishes to come together and then fell silent for about a whole...oh...12 minutes or so as we devoured every scrap.  

The feast consisted of steamed scallops, stir-fired prawns and the butter-poached lobster.  The cool thing about this dining experience was that one full wall of Golden Century is lined with a huge lobster/seafood tank and your meal is literally caught as you watch!  A little inhumane you might think...but it sure leads to a tasty dinner!

The steamed scallops were cooked perfectly and presented on the shell in a beautiful sauce of soy, ginger, lemongrass and scallions.  I loved the stir-fried shrimp; plump and juicy, they were served on a bed of crispy noodles and sweetly sauced scallions and vegetables. But the lobster!  The lobster was incredible; everything you'd expect a butter-poached lobster to be: sweet, succulent, tender and oh-so-buttery!  

Steamed Scallops ( $36.60)

                                       

Stir-fried prawns w/ vegetables ($33)

Butter Poached Lobster (Market price)

Surprisingly, after a considerable amount of food and drink, we still managed to pull ourselves together to venture out in search of some more fun.  And when I moved into my house the next day, my new housemate and I bonded over our respective hangovers in the backyard sunshine of our new 'home'.

San Choy Bow at the Dragon Palace

I was in Sydney for less than a week before my first road trip.  We were attending an agricultural fair in Gunnedah, rural NSW and were among the 10,000 visitors who descended on the town each year.  

The best part about this trip was the incredible scenery.  These shots were all taken from a car window and each mile  was more beautiful than the last.  The yellow fields of canola flowers stretched as far as the eye could see.  We drove past one of the largest Thoroughbred stud farm in the country; roadways covered in fresh cotton and idyllic lush rolling hills.

Our accommodations were in Tamworth, but we stopped for bfast at The Verdict Cafe on Conadilly Street (the main drag) in Gunnedah.  Sometimes the most simple meals are the most pleasing.  This (big) plate of bacon and scrambled eggs was delicious, and a great deal at just $8.  The Aussies really know how to cook their scrambled eggs.  Lately, I've taken to ordering my eggs that way as they're always so light and fluffy.  The bacon here was a tad too greasy for my taste, but it was good quality with more meat than fatty bits.

After having set up our booth, we went home for some R&R....which ended up with me going for a run around Tamworth.  It's a cute little town, made all the more adorable by the local wildlife.  In Canada, you see flocks of pidgeons, seagulls and blackbirds.  In Oz, it's cockatoos and budgie birds.  Yup, I definitely paused my run for at least 10 minutes to watch them before they spooked and flew away.  

When we went out for dinner later, we chose the Dragon Palace on Peel St. We both started with a Short soup - commonly referred to as Wonton Soup in North America.  You can also get Long Soup, which contains long noodles as opposed to the pork-filled wontons.  This one was 'Oh so good'.  You'd think that this soup would be pretty generic, but this was definitely one of the better versions that I've had.  

Short Soup ($6)

Among other things; a plate of scallops with vegetables; a beautiful paler of steamed veg w/ broccoli, cauliflower and shitakee mushrooms and an order of  beef in Szechuan sauce, my boss introduced me to the most amazing Chinese dish: San Choy Bow.  This dish is particularly popular in Oz, I'm told, and I was blown away by how fresh and flavourful it was.  The minced beef was flavoured with a slightly sweet sauce, dusted with sesame seeds and wrapped in a shell of crisp iceberg lettuce.  Consider it a...low fat Asian burrito, yeah?  This was also an easy plate to dissect, and I'll be making it at home some day soon.

San Choy Bow ($20ish)

What a meal!  And what a day!  I'll forever remember that trip to Gunnedah, for the beautiful scenery and for the time that I fist tried San Choy Bow, which will now become one of my favourite home-cooked meals.  

Comforting Curry

I love sloppy food. Appetizing hey? Seriously, curry is comfort food for me. The pungent flavors can pair wonderfully with any kind of meat and virtually every vegetable. Even better is the way the sauce seeps into every grain of rice, making almost for a warm, savory rice pudding.

This week I went for lunch with my brand new colleagues at Fan's Restaurant in Dartmouth. We decided on the Curry sauce chicken; perfect for sharing, or for one big appetite. This was a good choice- chunks of juicy chicken within a mild earthy curry , sweet red peppers and tender caramely onions. This was served with fluffy white rice that soaked up the sweet and spicy sauce.

What a way to start off this new adventure; good food and great company. I grabbed a take-out menu on the way out. I have a feeling it'll be dog-eared in no time.

Fan's Restaurant
902.469.1752

http://fansrestaurant.com/