skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Giggled when I saw the name on the tag hanging off this plant. I love corny wordplay. Tee hee hee.
"Here" was where we had dinner on Saturday night.Lured by the promise of the old-school "banana splits decked out with gold cocktail umbrellas" (for me) and "pulled pork" (for the boyfriend) we read about in the little blurb in the October issue of the Australian Gourmet Traveller, we roped in our pals G and Mr R and travelled down the road to the cute little Eathouse Diner located along a quaint section of Chalmers Street in Redfern, the neighbourhood right next to ours.The Eathouse is a place after my own heart! The colourful frontage and those Laminex tables and vinyl diners' chairs that greeted us immediately scored loads of points with me! How can I not love them when we have similar orange chairs and a poo-brown table at home? 
The tall and long 50s-style chrome and red bar counter inside was sexy but what really caught my eye was this "collector's" wall at the other end of the dining room (you know how much I like collecting things and admiring other people's collections).And see that semi-circular glass display cabinet, which also serves as a waiters' station, set against the wall? It was filled with so much knick-knack that I could have spent the whole evening peering into it and mentally cataloguing the cuteness contained within. It's uncanny how we've been scouring secondhand furniture shops in recent months for one, just a regular rectangular one, to use as a sideboard and also to house some of my cutesy-shit nonsense. See, told you The Eathouse is a place that's after my own heart?Our lovely hostess, in her cute vintage 50s frock, easily won us over too with her breezy charm. And then there's the food. Where I choose to eat is not ruled by the chef's "pedigree" - a good "lineage" doesn't always mean good food and most of the time, it's just plain old curiousity (and greed) that draws me to an eatery - but for those who are concerned with the "line of descent" of the people who make your food, you'll be happy to know that the two chefs in The Eathouse's kitchen have Longrain, Sean's Panorama and Fratelli Fresh on their resumes, according to this article.Yes, the hearty and simple food that was so much fun to eat. And this time, I have photos albeit not great ones of all that we ate for show-and-tell! I find it rude and awkward when eating out with others, other than the boyfriend, to hold back their hearty digging-in for some camera-actioning but G, after all these years, just found out about this blog (another thing I find rude and awkward - shoving this blog into people's faces even if they are pals...I'd rather they stumble upon it) and was very encouraging with the photo-documentation. So here we go...
Oyster Shooters - The boys ordered four, two laced with tequila and two without, thinking that I'd partake in the shooting. Me eat oysters? What were they thinking?! Haha. I think it was an excuse for one of them to have an extra. I did have a slurp of the tomato-y stuff, though. It's somewhere between a tomato salsa and a gazpacho. Very flavoursome.
Deepfried Whitebaits with a Lime Mayo - Mr R and I love these tiny fishes! If it's on the menu, we have to have some. Deepfried whitebaits are deepfried whitebaits but the mayo...ooooh...had amazing flavour and consistency. G articulated it for me, "Fluffy like a hollandaise."
Pulled Pork - What the boyfriend was dreaming of eating. Of course I didn't have any but the boys swore it was good. Tender pork slices cooked in a well-balanced mix of Mexican spices and eaten, like sang choy baos, in lettuce cups with the avocado salsa. I had the corn-on-the-cob which I assume was cooked with a generous sprinkle of the same spices that went into the pork.
Duck Pate - Such a pretty plate of food. The pink of the huge dollop of pate, the slight-purple tinge of the sweet and sour onion relish and the brown of the chunky wedges (yes, wedges...not slices) of chargrilled toast. So pretty that I had some. I don't usually eat pate but this one was so smooth and light like mousse and slightly boozy that I couldn't stop at the first mouthful. Yes, I ate animal "insides"! My first in many many years. Thank you, Eathouse!My "diet" was not the only one the diner changed for the evening.
Panfried Snapper - I thought the boyfriend and G would do their usual and order meaty things for mains because the boyfriend doesn't get to eat much meat at home and G, he just simply loves meat. So I was really surprised they both had the fish. And it was good fish - cooked in the simplest way possible and to perfection. Loved that cucumber and cavolo nero salad in a herby dressing - so refreshing. And look at that gigantic kipfler. Haha.
Braised Beef Cheeks - Mr R who usually would order the fish dish got this instead. A beefy number that I can see the boyfriend and G stuffing their face with. See, everyone's gone topsy-turvy. Haha! I think they might have regretted not having it after trying a bite of that moist, gelatinous and shreddy slow-cooked beef with some of that creamy mash.
Fried Chook - My order of Southern-style fried bird with creamed corn and coleslaw. I like that they call it "chook" instead of "chicken". Tee hee hee. The corn was super-more-ish but I shared the huge portion with the boys who couldn't stop poking their forks into the yellow delicious-ness. At one point, we even considered ordering a side of it. Haha. The colourful crunchy 'slaw was a good contrast in texture to the creamy corn. The chook, meant to be the star of the plate, didn't really shine. The spice mix in the crispy coating was the perfect blend but the meat within was a tad on the dry side. Couldn't help but wished that it had a sauce on the side, a mesquite-flavoured one perhaps.Desserts. There were four on the blackboard (The Eathouse doesn't do printed menus. Everything, from entrees to desserts, are writtten on a huge board in chalk) to choose from and greedy us nearly got all of them to share but decided not to overdo it and dropped the Chili Chocolate Tart.
Banana Split - The reason why I wanted to go to The Eathouse Diner! How many places do a Banana Split nowadays? Like a proper one in that traditional dish. Not some fancy deconstructed one with elements of it freeze-dried, brushed and delicately scattered or tweezered onto a big white plate. It's not that I don't enjoy such newfangly creations. Sometimes, I just want to see and eat things presented the fuss-free old-fashion way - three scoops of ice cream (I was expecting the Neapolitan - vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. For colour! But we got all-vanilla which suited me just fine because that's what I usually ask for anyway. Haha.), two halves of a banana on each side of the dish, messy but generous drizzles of caramel and chocolate sauces and a nutty topping (halved hazelnuts!). And the must-have cocktail umbrella!
Apple & Rhubarb Crumble - It had a healthy muesli topping instead of the usual brown sugar, flour and butter crumble. A pleasant and delicious surprise! The fruits were stewed in too much cinnamon for my liking but I'm not much of a crumble girl anyway so I left it to the boys to eat it all. We did fight for the shard of burnt toffee-and-nut praline on top of the ice cream, though.
Banoffee Pie - I don't like bananas but we sure had quite a bit of it at our table on Saturday night. Haha. I flipped the banana slices to the side of the bowl and dug right into the whipped cream, gooey condensed milk caramel, tartshell and chocolate sauce. PHWOAR! A party in my mouth!And that was our meal at The Eathouse Diner. Where we wiped our plates clean from start to finish.
Oh, I have to show you the walls in their toilets. Plastered with old newpaper cuttings of the cheeky sort. Tee hee hee.
And this is how crowded it got by 8.30pm. With a line of hipsters waiting outside to get in. So get there early, just a little after 6.00pm, like we did if you hate having to wait for a table. I do.Some of you might shudder at the mere mention of "Redfern" because of this unfortunate incident. Or its fair share of inner-city drunks, addicts, loonies and homeless people. But hey, it's not Sydney without these colourful personalities! Most of them are harmless anyway if you don't antagonise them. Besides, I think they add character to a place. Don't be scared. The Eathouse Diner is worth leaving your comfort zone for.The Eathouse Diner306 Chalmers StreetRedfernPhone: (02) 8084 9479Website: eathousediner.com.au (Or you can find them here)Hours: Monday to Saturday from 6.00pm to 10.00pm
Gingham Embroidered Peasant Top - Big by Fiona, my favourite kiddie label, Jeans - Marc Jacobs, Belt - Accessorize, Clogs - Swedish HasbeensSometimes I wonder if it's really necessary listing what I wear in small italics (see above) in these occasional wardrobe show-off posts because:(1) I don't know how many of you actually go "Hmmm...that's a nice dress/bag/top/blah-da-blah that the Likkle Girl is wearing. Let's see if it's still available from the listed source."(2) Even if you do, chances are you won't find most of them because I am such a hoarder and a good part of my wardrobe is made up of things bought a long time ago.Take this pair of flat-front Marc Jacobs jeans, for example. They were my first ever purchase from the man. In the 90s. I very rarely get rid of jeans (my mother says I have enough "stock" to open a denim shop) because we all know that fashion likes making u-turns. And I am just as fickle.
Turquoise Flower - Surry Hills Market, Charm Necklace - Homemade from vintage charms bought in Singapore's Chinatown, Beads - Little India in Singapore
Anyway, Friday was a roll-around-in-the-meadow and picnic-in-the-field kind of sunny day. The first day in ages (Spring this year has been rubbish so far!) that I felt warm enough to go out in short sleeves and a single layer. And on such days, the flower child/hippy-drippy mama in me like to come out to play.A pair of denim flares would have really made the look but they are in storage back at my folks' and these flat-fronts are the only pair of jeans I have in Sydney that are the closest to that wide 70s silhouette. I haven't worn them in the six years that I've lived here but I'm glad I brought them with me, along with a few other old pairs in various washes and cuts, because it would have been frustrating, on days like Friday, if vain old me haven't got the right jeans within easy reach to complete the look that I have in my head.So, yeah, jeans are things that I find really hard to part with. Do yours have the same hold over you?
When I read about Fei Jai, a new Cantonese restaurant, earlier this month in the September issue of the Australian Gourmet Traveller, I giggled and went, "Cool! Someone's named their restaurant Little Hoodlum!". Immediately, before I read the rest of the article, I thought of traditional Cantonese dishes re-interpreted in a cute and cheeky way, like a little thug, to be eaten in an environment not unlike those teahouses that you see in some Hong Kong action flick about gangsters and triads. Fun!Then I realised they meant "fat boy". Bah.See, "肥仔" (fat boy) and "飛仔" (little hoodlum) written in Chinese characters look totally different and thus pronounced slightly different to mean different things. When written in English - "fei jai" - without those diacritical marks we use in hanyu pinyin to denote the various tones, confusion sets in. Haha. But then again, who would name their Chinese restaurant "Little Hoodlum" (besides me - I really think it's such a cool name!) instead of the very appropriate and obvious "Fat Boy"?Anyway, end of Chinese lesson. Back to Fei Jai, the restaurant.
One of yesterday's specials: Crispy-skinned poussin
Five of us (Ms Meeps, Ms Carpet and her A-man, the boyfriend and I) went eat there last evening. You can read reviews written by professionals here and here and we agree with them on most counts...
~ Crab & Eggwhite Omelette - My very first ever omelette sans yolks because I love the yellow stuff. "Bah!" to eating healthy but if all yolk-free omelettes are like Fei Jai's, then I wouldn't mind eating them everyday. It was full of chunks of crabmeat and so creamy that I wouldn't know that it's whites-only if I wasn't told. It reminded me of œufs à la neige. You know that meringue-y Floating Island/Snow Egg dessert? In fact, Ms Meeps said that the next time she goes to Fei Jai, she would order one to start her meal with and another for dessert. (They need to work on their dessert menu - only two items on the menu and they are so not exciting that I now can't remember what they are.)~ Siu Mai - Little steamed dumplings filled with scallops, prawns and porky-pig mince so I didn't have any but the meat-eaters said they were good.~ Steamed Mushroom Rice Noodle Rolls - A variety of mushrooms wrapped in thin and soft noodle sheets. The test is how smoothly it glides down your throat and Fei Jia's passed with flying colours!~ Steamed Fish-Of-The-Day - We all agreed at pre-dinner drinks that this is a must-order. I mean, a Cantonese meal is not complete without this simple steamed fish dish. I was hoping we'd get a whole fish - face, eyes and all - but barramundi was their fish-of-the-day and we were served huge chunks of it. Didn't make a difference because it's all in the clear soy steaming broth and cooking time and they got it down pat.~ Ma Po Tofu - Another porky-pig mince-filled dish for the meat-eaters. I think it's of Szechuan origin but everybody loves a good Ma Po Tofu so Cantonese or not, it's on the menu. The boyfriend loved it. "The sauce is rich and thick but not cornstarchy gluggy like those at cheap Chinese take-aways," he said.~ Crispy-skinned Poussin - Baby chicken so deep-fried that you can eat the crunchy bones but still moist in the meat. Eaten with a squeeze of lemon and dipped into spiced salt = heaven! And the pink prawn crackers that came with the dish brought back memories of the countless Cantonese birthday and wedding banquets that I attended as a child - I always asked for more of those crackers.~ Wok-fried Seasonal Greens - Super garlicky, green, shiny and crunchy. Just how I like my vegetable stir-fries. Like how my mom does it. Nyum.If you do pay the Fat Boy a visit, I'd say go in a gang of little hoodlums like we did. Chinese food is all about communal eating (it's fun!) and with more mouths to feed, you can order loads more items off the menu to sample. Oh, and go early because they are one of those places that don't take reservations.Fei Jai31 Challis AvePotts PointPh: (02) 8668 4424Website: www.feijai.comHours: Monday, Wednesday Thursday & Friday: 6pm - late / Saturday & Sunday: 12noon - late
Camo Print Bag - bought a long time ago in Singapore, Sweater - Country Road, Pants - Pani "The Heirloom" Strapless Jumpsuit worn really low, Shoes - Connie-wonnies, Watch - Casio G-Shock with in-built jackpot game (serious!)Monday:I was packing my tools and other might-come-in-useful bits - things like box-cutter, scissors, tape measure, masking tape, gaffer tape, double-sided tape, trash bag... - to go set up shop at The Finders Keepers Arcade Project and it felt like I was back living my previous life as a film production person getting ready to go on set or location.I thought, for old times' sake, I should dig out my trusty nearly-10-year-old workbag too, this camo print replica of an airforce pilot's helmet bag, to hold all my rubbish. Like it used to. I'm so happy I took it out of the "to sell at market" pile a few months ago because after using it on Monday, I'm feeling some camo-loving coming back!This Morning:
Pulled out my old G-Star Field Art pants from, I think, the late 90s. Another piece that was saved from the "to sell at market" pile. It looks so dated, doesn't it? Haha! Remember when camo print together with all those Maharishi cargo pants were all the rage?I would never wear it again as it is so I lopped some of the legs off...
...to make me some new Summer shorts. Was going to make them into poufy bloomers but got lazy and gave them fat cuffs instead. One day, when I'm feeling more inspired, the cuffs will become gathered bloomer-legs. To be worn with loads of frothy lacy whites like during my last mad camo print craze about a decade ago.
From the boyfriend's closet. I wonder if he'll let me cut these lounge-around shorts of his. Tee hee hee.Camo print - the new florals for Summer?
1. A row of houses in Ultimo that reminded me of old-style homes in Singapore and Malaysia.
2. An awning made by a pal of Dan Quayle's? Also sighted in Ultimo. Haha!I've circled and "arrowed" the joke in green. Click on photo to make it bigger.
("kopi" = "coffee" in Malay, "tiam" = "shop" in the Chinese dialects of Hokkien and Teochew. Mixing languages in a typical Singlish fashion, we get "coffeeshop"!)
Kopitiams are everywhere in Singapore! But a rare rare sight in Sydney, of course. And you know how often the boyfriend and I crave for hawkers-style food from back home so it was with gusto we headed, for the first time, to Kopitiam in Ultimo.We've known about its existence for quite some time now but Ultimo is not a place that we go to very often. On Saturday, we were there to bargain-hunt at a giant community garage sale so we thought we'd give Sydney's Kopitiam a go.
No points for guessing what the Hainanese Chicken Rice-loving boyfriend ordered. I would have had the same if I had known that they do their chicken different!I love chicken rice for the garlic-y chilli sauce and the fragrant flavoured rice but I don't like the usual big chunks of slimy-skinned steamed chicken. Yucks. At Kopitiam, the chicken comes skin-free and chopped up into tiny pieces, almost like they shredded it, and doused in this tasty sauce. Very very delicious. That's what I'll be having the next time!
What I won't be ordering again is the Char Kway Teow. It wasn't bad. Just not how I like it. I like mine sticky with soy and just a little wet Singapore-style but theirs was done the dry Penang way.
I think I have found the best Chendol in Sydney! The perfect balance of shaved ice, palm sugar syrup, coconut milk!
And the al dente green "worms" in it looked and tasted like they were made from proper mung bean flour, not rice flour. Nyum nyum!It would have tasted a thousand times better if fresh coconut milk was used like back home instead of the tetra-pak variety but I'm not in a position to be fussy, am I?
And then there was the Chicken Satay! The platter arrived when we were nearly done eating and we had forgotten that we've ordered them. Haha. I think they were grilled to-order that's why they took so long.The meat on the skewers were how I like my satay - the right mix of spices with a hint of sweetness. The peanut sauce was not great but I don't like dipping satay into sauces anyway.Will we be back? YES! If we're not too lazy to walk a couple of blocks down from Chinatown after one of our weekly grocery-shopping trips.Kopitiam594 Harris StUltimo
Ph: (02) 9282 9883Open 7 days: Lunch from 12noon to 3pm // Dinner from 6pm to 10pm
...starting with these Deep-fried Battered Cauliflower. It was G's first meal at Ratu Sari and I felt kind of bad that this lack-lustre entree was his introduction to this place that I said we should eat at.
I was so relieved that this Chicken with Balinese Sauce was the next dish up! Chicken marinated in fragrant spices and then grilled to perfect char-ness topped with a thick and spicy coconut-y sauce. G loved it. Phew. And things started picking up from there.
Sambal Eggs - deep-fried hardboiled eggs with a dollop of sweet and spicy chilli paste on top. I love eggs done this way! G has never had this twice-cooked-style of eggs before so YAY! More points to Ratu Sari. 
We needed some rice to soak up all that delicious Balinese sauce and sambal and nothing does that better than the Indonesian staple - Nasi Goreng.
And they saved the best for last! My favourite Asian vegetable - kangkong. G loves it too and was impressed by how they serve it on a sizzling hotplate. "For added smokiness," he said.
He insisted that I take a photo of his plate. To show him enjoying his colourful meal. Tee hee hee.
Guitar picks 
