Pu'er, Waterloo

If there's one thing I can't resist, it's got to be yum cha style dumplings. So it was with great enthusiasm that we wandered over to Pu'er in Waterloo on the corner of Bourke and Danks street to have some steamed dumpling goodies at night. Pu'er offers a range of food from dumplings to larger share plates, all with a Western flair.

Scallop, $9.00

To start off with, I couldn't resist ordering the scallop dumplings - a Hong Kong style dumpling of prawn, scallop and baby bamboo all encased in a yellow egg pastry. Whilst the skin was a tad thick for my liking, the filling was delicious, had fantastic flavor and just reminds me why I'm a sucker for all dumplings with prawn and scallops.

Hong Kong mini burgers, $15.00

The waitress highly recommended these mini burgers and aren't they just adorable? Smaller than the size of my palm! Filled with a miniature panko crumbed pork fillet, a house smoked chilli paste, hoisin and baby cress, this cute number was a tasty little morsel that was not dry like I expected (being miniature and all). A bit oily, but at least the buns were deep-fried to a wonderful crisp and went really well with the filling inside.

Wagyu tacos, $16.00

Phew, these were spicier than expected! But that chilli kick paired very well indeed with the juicy wagyu beef. All wrapped by a soft bun, this is the perfect finger food snack to knock down whilst having a few drinks on a Friday night.

Three cup drunken duck, $26.00

Boy do you get bang for buck with these two giant duck legs sitting on the plate. Braised to perfection, the duck meat fell off the bone, yet still retained it's juiciness and flavor. Using traditional methods of Chinese braising with shao xing, soy and sugar, this dish really kicked home to my Shanghainese roots - almost like my mum makes at home ;)

Caramelised Berkshire pork belly, $24.00

And as always, it is always a bit risky to order things that are cooked on an often basis at home. I cannot fault the cooking, as the pork remained super tender and soft, but it was lacking that punch of strong soy and caramelized sugar I was looking for. The egg was a nice traditional touch but unfortunately was also lacking in flavor.

Chocolate brownie, $10.00

Whilst I don't normally tend to order brownies at restaurants as I find them to be more or less the same, our friendly waitress said these were normally a hit with the patrons so why not give it a go? For me, it was quite the standard brownie - chocolatey and dense. Perhaps a bit on the dry side but overall what you would expect from a chocolate brownie. I wasn't a fan of the red wine jus but it was the salted palm sugar ice-cream that blew me away. It was the perfect Asian twist on the standard Western salted caramel and truth be told, I forewent the brownie just to eat this ice-cream :P

Coconut & kafffir lime leaf sorbet, $10.00

This single dessert, hands down, was my favourite dish of the evening. Despite being stuffed to the brim (we were warned there was going to be a lot of food!), I managed to find extra stomach space just to eat this. The zing of the kaffir lime made the sorbet something special, seriously. It was even surrounded by pieces of young coconut - a definite win for me :D And the black sticky rice was subtlely sweet, still retained a nice bite to the palette and was wonerful with the sorbet or even dipped into the coconut water syrup on the side.

Quinton spoke very highly of the teas so how could we resist trying one? We told him to surprise us and he came out with the Osmanthus Phoenix ($9.00) which I unfortunately forgot to take a photo of :( But take my word that it was very pretty and beautifully presented! It was fragrant with the flavours of Osmanthus and had a delicate sweet aftertaste that lingered in the mouth. A good finish to our meal, and certainly helped with the digestion considering all that food we ate!

Overall, we ended our meal on a highlight with the sorbet which I would very, very happily demolish an entire pint of if I had one. The atmosphere was very cosy on a Thursday night, making it a cute little date place and service was nothing short of friendly. You even have the option of sitting half outside on the balcony! Which does have roofing by the way, so don't you worry about getting rained on :P Recommended if you're looking for a nice, relaxing night out with plenty of teas under your disposal!

Crystal Noir and friend dined as guests of Pu'er courtesy of Quinton Van Schalkwyk & Siev Gour of Pu'er. Opinions however, are entirely her own.

Pu'er

20A Danks St

Waterloo, NSW, 2017

Opening Hours

Tuesday-Friday
Lunch 12:00 - 3:00pm 

Dinner 6:00pm - late

Saturday & Sunday
12:00pm - late

Cuckoo Callay, Newtown

Spring time means brunch time! But let's be honest, wouldn't you brave the cold winter weather for a nice cosy brunch anyway? That's exactly what my sister and I did to try out the super easy to find Cuckoo Callay right next to Newtown station for a sisterly date.

We were welcomed warmly inside despite the rainy dreary weather outside by Ella, who brightly said it's still better than having it rain all day like it does back in England! The interior deco is incredibly kooky and I was incredibly intrigued by this clock so we just had to sit right underneath it. The place is decked out with mirrors to make the space seem a lot more spacious. An ingenious idea really.

Skim mocha, $4.00

One of the best mochas I've had for a while. A nice kick of chocolate but could still taste the coffee. Digging that thick layer of frothy goodness on top.

Salted caramel thickshake, $7.00

Being a little bit of an addict to salted caramel, this one had to be ordered. And damn was it good. My sister took a sip, and with widened eyes, she proceeded to hug the mug and not let me anywhere near it. It was definitely wonderfully sweet, and that's what we're all looking for in a thickshake, no? :D

The brunch spread

I really wasn't sure how we were going to finish it all - look at all the food!

#Hashtag browns, $17.00

How pretty does this dish look! There was a choice of bacon steak, smoked salmon or grilled haloumi and I couldn't go past some cheesy goodness. This one was a lot more enjoyable than other haloumi cheeses I've had where it squeaks against your teeth. Anyone else have that pet peeve? Makes me feel the same way as writing on a blackboard with chalk - not pleasant. But this one still had its bounce, but no squeakiness. Yay! A noticeable crunch sound was made as I cut into the massive hashbrown - a telltale sign that it's all about the crispy casing :D The lemon pepper avocado, pea puree, potato, haloumi and egg when eaten together was one tasty dish.

Pulled duck, $22.00

I always love trying duck cooked in different ways and whilst pulled pork is a common one to see around restaurant, pulled duck isn't. And look at the shear size of the mountain of duck! Duck a plenty! I loved the spices that seasoned this dish and the chill jam really gave it that subtle spicy kick that definitely won't be too much for even the biggest chilli-phobics out! That capsicum relish is something to rave about in itself though. My sister, who normally hates capsicum, said that whilst the pulled duck by itself was amazing, the capsicum relish made it even better.

That's the way the cookie crumbles, $11.00

At this point, we were both incredibly stuffed but Ibriham was much too kind and said that one of the chefs were already making us dessert. I suppose there's nothing to say at this point but "Onwards, soldier!" But I sure am glad I made extra stomach space for this because the brownie was super fudgey just the way I like it. And perfect with the vanilla icecream and crispy cookie crumble! Ella mentioned to us that it was a tradition she learnt growing up with her family where if you poured warm cream over, it provided a nice surface to put any toppings you wish over it.

Sometimes I do wish I wasn't quite as small and had more stomach space because both my sister and I were rolling out the door, filled to the brim with delicious food. Cuckoo Callay is definitely a welcome addition to the Newtown cafe scene. Despite the fact that Newtown is filled with coffee fiends, there seems to be a lack of fantastic cafes - not like the Surry Hills region! But Cuckoo Callay has definitely made it's mark. I know I'll definitely be making stops by for some coffee!

Crystal Noir and friend dined as guests thanks to Ibriham and Ella, owners of Cuckoo Callay. Opinions however, are entirely her own.

Cuckoo Callay
Newtown Train Station
Newtown, NSW, 2042
www.cuckoo-callay.com.au

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 6:00am - 4:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Sunday: 8:00am - 3:00pm

Janus, Sydney CBD

One of Westfield Sydney's positive attributes would have to be their choice of eats in their food court. There's so much more than your standard fast food joints on offer. For those of you who don't like the hustle and bustle environment of food courts, you can even venture up to level 6 where they have Xanthi Restaurant, Chat Thai, Chinta Ria, Sky Phoenix, Max Brenner, and Janus, where I made a particular visit this time around with Miss Dentist-In-Training and my other friend E.

Thornclarke pinot gris, $38.00

This was an occassion of celebration, so we decided to order a bottle of wine. Hailing from South Australia, with its flavours of Nashi pears and apple puree, this white wine finished on a clean and crisp note. Can't say I know too much about wines, but this one wasn't bad.

Spicy chorizo, $20.00

Couldn't resist ordering a pizza with chorizo on it. They were quite generous with the chorizo pieces, and bits of fennel, rocket and capsicum added a punch of flavour that made this pizza quite delicious.

Pumpkin, haloumi & pinenut salad, $15.00

I was looking forward to the lemon and oregano vinaigrette that would dress this salad but unfortunately we didn't get any of that. Instead, we got a very oily dressing that didn't have much flavour and only added grease to the palette. Much like when you forget to shake those Praise salad dressings you can buy at the supermarket before you drizzle it onto your salad. The saving grace of the plate was the roasted vegetables themselves - butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, eggplant and zucchini. I quite enjoyed eating them with the saltiness of the grilled haloumi.

Pappardelle al ragu di agnello e pecorino sardo, $18.00 for entree size

It sounded so promising with its slow cooked lamb shoulder ragu and pecorino sardo. When I see slow cooked lamb on the menu, I'm expecting a meat that's extremely tender, with the flavours infused right in from all that time that's spent cooking. What we got instead was quite a bland pasta dish, where the pasta was a tad slimy and the lamb itself was quite stringy. And where, may I ask, is the pecorino?

Choc-nut fudge brownie, $5.80

We decided we needed a little bit of a pick me up after that mediocre-at-best lunch, so we headed next door to indulge in a piece of intensely rich fudgey brownie. That chocolate sauce cheered us right up!

So do let me know, do you try to save the day after a not so awesome meal by treating yourself to a little something extra afterwards?

Janus
L6 Westfield Sydney
188 Pitt Street
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 11:00am - 9:00pm (closed from 3:00 - 5:00pm)
Saturday - Sunday: 11:00am - 9:00pm