Tim Ho Wan, Chatswood

If you are a Sydney-sider (and especially if you live on the North Shore), you would've heard of Chatswood's newest yum cha restaurant - Tim Ho Wan.

Famed as the "world's cheapest Michelin-star restaurant", Tim Ho Wan first started in Mong Kok, Hong Kong and now has several stores in Hong Kong and has extended to other countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and now: Sydney and coming soon to Melbourne.  We should point out though that not all Tim Ho Wan branded restaurants are Michelin-starred and that the actual Michelin-starred Tim Ho Wan's are the North Point, Sham Sui Po and Tai Kwok Tsui branches in Hong Kong.

We first tried Tim Ho Wan a few years ago during our visit to Hong Kong.  We must admit - comparing it to the myriad of yum cha choices in Hong Kong, we weren't particularly blown away. But when something of this quality lands in Chatswood where there aren't really any decent yum cha choices - the outcome is a little different.

So does this international brand really live up to all the hype and anticipation? 

Our verdict: some of the dishes are definitely a notch up from usual yum cha joints, but others seem not very different.  So instead of reviewing every dish, we thought we'd identify the ones we thought are definitely better than other yum cha places and which you should try if you're going to line up 1 hour+ for a seat.   

Here goes out list...

1. The BBQ pork buns: This is a no-brainer.  The sweet, crusty and buttery outside with generous saucy BBQ pork on the inside is the star of the restaurant. Can't come to Tim Ho Wan and not try these!  Don't recommend taking these away though - they're best eaten hot!

Signature dish: BBQ pork buns

That gooey inside...can't resist!

2. Chicken feet with abalone sauce: Before you grimace and look away here us out - the soft, gelatinous flesh is well marinated by the abalone sauce.  I don't know how much abalone is actually used in this dish but the marinade is different to the typical soy sauce sticky sauce you see at other yum cha joints.  The bean curd on the bottom of the dish soaks up the sauce and makes for a nice satisfying finish to the dish.  Set aside your preconceptions and give chicken feet a shot!

Chicken feet with abalone sauce

 3. Steamed egg cake: This soft, airy cake is best eaten warm.  It's not too sweet and we think it's definitely lighter and airier than other steamed egg cakes you can get at yum cha.

Steamed egg cake

 4. Glutinous rice in lotus leaf: Ordinarily, this is served at yum cha as three little lotus leaf parcels.  At Tim Ho Wan, it's served as one big portion for sharing (much more in the spirit of yum cha). The filling is generous, with a combination of fatty pork, lap cheong (think, Chinese chorizo) and Chinese mushrooms.  The rice is aromatic and not too gluggy.  We think this is definitely one notch up from usual yum cha joints in Sydney where the filling is often sparse and does not look particularly appetising and resembles off-cuts or leftovers roughly placed amongst the rice.

Glutinous rice in lotus leaf

5. Pork ribs with black bean sauce: Last on our list of must tries is the pork ribs with black bean sauce.  Again, this is often a dish that looks roughly put together at yum cha and the pork often overcooked.  Here at Tim Ho Wan, we found that the flavour balances are much more refined, the pork not overcooked and still tender and it's not swimming in a pool of fat/steaming water.  Flavour wise, it's familiar but done better. The only down side is that portion wise, it's a bit small. 

Here are the rest of the dishes are tried on our first visit.  None of these were bad and in fact, we found everything was generally well executed, fresh and not overly oily and salty.  The above 5 are just what we found to be the notable stand outs and better than what you would otherwise find at most yum cha restaurants in Sydney.

This pork dumpling with prawns almost made the cut of top 5.  The pork and prawns fresh with a good texture and not overcooked.

Pork dumplings with prawns

Prawn dumplings 

C really enjoyed the Cheung Fan - vermicelli rolls with stuffing and thinks they should be included in the top 5.

Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork

Vermicelli roll with BBQ pork and Vermicelli roll with prawns

Beancurd skin roll with shrimp

Overall, our verdict is that Tim Ho Wan is one of the best yum cha restaurants you can find on the North Shore.  It may not have as much variety but the dishes are more refined and well balanced than other yum cha restaurants.   

Unsurprisingly (and partly because of the size of the actual restaurant), lines seem to have been consistently long over the past week or so since its opening.  K has been twice and both times, the wait was about 50 mins - 1 hour long (starting at the bottom of the stairs into The District).  You'd easily wait that long for yum cha on a weekend, but when the wait gets to about 2 hours or more, query whether it's really worth the effort.  You're better off coming at 9:30am to wait for their 10am start!  

PS: We drove past this morning and it's the longest we've seen it stretching all the way to the Chatswood RSL club - couldn't resist taking a quick snap!

The line keeps going up the stairs!

Nikka from the Barrel

When you are categorising whisky, the starting point is to ask whether the whisky in question is a single malt whisky or a blended whisky (there is also single cask whisky, but this is generally expensive and hard to find).

A single malt whisky is a whisky that is made from a single distillery from malted barley. The whisky is then aged in various types of barrels (for example, ex-bourbon, sherry or port barrels). To achieve the final product, the distillery will then blend whisky from different barrels together and add water (to lower the ABV) before bottling.

A blended whisky is made from whiskies from multiple distilleries, which may be made from grains other than barley. The blender would generally mix a small amount of older, higher quality whisky with a large amount of low quality whisky to achieve the final product.

In the world of whisky, single malts are generally held up as the superior dram while blends are thought of as something to mix with coke. This is not the case with the whisky we are reviewing today - Nikka from the Barrel.

Nikka Whisky

Nikka was founded by Masataka Taketsuru, who was born in Japan, but then moved to Scotland to study and work at various distilleries. He later took that knowledge back to Japan where he helped Suntory set up a whisky distillery. He also married a Scottish girl, Jessie Roberta Cowan, and brought her back to Japan (if you'd like to learn more, see the Nikka website; there is also a Japanese drama currently airing on NHK about Taketsuru called Massan).

Taketsuru later set up his own distillery company in 1934 which became Nikka. Nikka currently has two distilleries, one in Yoichi (in Hokkaido) and another in Miyagikyo (in the Miyagi prefecture) which also produces various single malt whiskies.

Nikka from the Barrel

Although Nikka from the Barrel is a blended whisky, blended from various malt (barley) and grain whiskies, don't think this is your run-of-the-mill blend. Its stand-out feature is that its almost cask strength, meaning that it has not been diluted down with water. Cask strength whisky generally have more taste and more punch (this whisky has an ABV of 51.4%).

Before we get to tasting, I must say I really like the packaging and the bottle with its low key, Japanese minimalist aesthetic. The square bottle is almost like a high end bottle of perfume (Chanel No. 5) and stands in contrast to the typical bottle whiskies come in.

As usual, my tasting notes are set out below:

Smell

• From first sniff, you can tell this whisky packs a punch
• Caramel sauce
• Vanilla
• Crepe Suzette 

Mouth Feel

• Rich and syrupy

Taste

• Immediate burst of summer berries and oranges
• Oak notes
• Caramel/toffee
• Orange and bitter dark chocolate

Finish

• The finish is long and much, much smoother than the alcohol level suggests
• Quite a complex aftertaste, particularly for a blend
• Hints of citrus, spice and salt/the seaside

Overall, I really enjoyed this whisky! It has a good balance of flavours and a nice kick to it.

As you can probably tell, I love Japanese whiskies and this is no exception. That said, good Japanese whiskies have become harder to find lately and have increased in price in Australia (try finding a reasonably priced bottle of Yamazaki 18). Taste aside, one of the best things about Nikka from the Barrel is that its readily available in most decent liquor shops and costs approximately $70. At that price, its one of the best value whiskies out there and well worth a try (though at 51.4% ABV, maybe not a whisky for the first-timer).

KFC (Korean Fried Chicken): Tong Chicken, Chatswood

Today's post is about all things KFC.  That's right, Korean Fried Chicken. 

For those who know us, you would know that C is obsessed with all things deep fried, in particular, deep fried chicken.  Today's review is on what C would consider to be one of the best Korean fried chickens he has had in Sydney.  It's a big call - so if you think you have one that beats Tong Chicken - please leave a message and let us know! 

Tong Chicken is a tiny restaurant located on the lower ground floor of the tired looking Victoria Plaza in Chatswood.  It does not have the reputation and widespread recognition of Arisun or NaruOne, the seating isn't particularly comfortable and the restaurant is small, but the chicken is sure pretty damn good - so what else really matters?!

Now - onto the chicken!

C + K had friends over one night to have a Korean Fried Chicken party (as you do) so instead of eating at Tong Chicken, we called to order takeaway and had it delivered right to our doorstep.  Perfect way to complete the artery clogging experience!

We ordered 3 types of fried chicken:

1. Tong boneless spring onion KFC (original flavour): In the (many) times which we have visited Tong Chicken, this has been our go-to order.  The chicken batter is crispy and fresh, and the meat inside is succulent and juicy.  It doesn't feel oily when you eat it (although undoubtedly it probably is!) and as well as making you feel a little bit "healthier", the addition of spring onions is the perfect balance to the chicken.  The original flavour KFC also comes with a sweet sticky sauce that goes really well with the chicken.  C always orders extra sauce with his!

2. Tong boneless soy KFC: The soy marinade complements the chicken well and the batter remains crispy. This was our first time ordering it, however to be honest....we'd probably just stick with the original with spring onions next time! It's fool proof!

3. Tong boneless sweet spicy KFC: For someone who fears anything Korean that is "spicy" because it is surely always way too spicy, this spicy KFC is actually quite well balanced.  Unfortunately because of the layer of sticky sauce, you lose the crunchy texture.  It is nevertheless very moreish and a nice contrast to the original and soy options.  

Although not photographed in this post, each dish also comes with a side of pickled radish.  This is a really refreshing add to the chicken and always leave K picking for more.

So if you are as much of a fan of fried chicken as C, make sure you give Tong Chicken a go. It is a pretty humble little shop, but honestly, we've never had a failed experience of their KFC.  Make sure you order the boneless one with spring onions!

Address:
Tong Chicken
Shop 1D/369 Victoria Ave

• Chatswood

Phone: 0434 672 185