Roadtrip to Sydney (Part 6) : Chow time

#1: Pancake Place Restaurant
Port Macquarie, NSW

We spent the whole night on the road, sleeping in uncomfortable postures and listening to music on the loop too many times. When the light hit, we drove around finding a good place to have breakfast.

Pancake Place is where we stopped at. The first thing that got me interested was its adorable setting. Little cartoon figurines and colourful things hanging off the ceiling. I cannot say that this is the best place serving the best breakfast, but it had been a long drive and we were all starving. They did not hire rock scientists to figure out the best ways to arrange the presentation of the meals, but they were some effort set to it I presume. Their food reminds me those you get off highway diners by the road. Not the most beautiful cuisine you can find, but yet good enough to keep you going for the rest of the day. It is not how it is presented, but how it tastes.

They have a variety of pancakes, some simple fruity muesli cereal, and those big breakfast sets with bacon, sausages, toast, pancakes, beans, mushrooms... all in one single meal or take your pick. Nothing gourmet, but well, they have all you need for a good ol' breakfast time, in a nice little breakfast place in a nice little town, next to the lake where you can go take a stroll after a hearty meal.

 

#2: Fresh Cafe
Blue Mountains, NSW

Another big breakfast. It was our first and only day spent up in Blue Mountains and in the midst of the cold, cold atmosphere in the early morning - well, early for me - I think another huge breakfast is appropriate. It is like going all the way up to Genting Highlands for some mediocre Bak Kut Teh that you can easily find on the normal grounds of Penang or Kuala Lumpur. What makes it all so special? Because it at the very right place of the world that makes the food suddenly tastes so much better.

The cup of latte was warm enough. The piece of salmon on my toast was salty enough with the right kind of texture on my tongue and went especially perfect with the hollandaise sauce and runny poached eggs. Makes the cigarette right after just nice in the highlands of Katoomba.

 

#3: Mama Chu's Restaurant
Chinatown, Sydney

I thought a nice Chinese meal should be in order after being away from home for so long. Since Sydney has got a better Chinatown than Brisbane and that Chinese beggars cannot really be choosers in a foreign country, why not.

My century egg porridge was humongous. I only managed to finish up half the bowl. But I made sure I ate all the century eggs in my porridge. The Yau Zak Guai was nice. It was not the best one I have ever eaten in my whole life, but well, it was something. After being away from home for so long, it is not the taste we are looking for anymore because we will never find it here, but it is just the notion of eating something familiar that keeps us satisfied. The Dao Huey was a sheer downer. Even the notion of having it could not be fulfilled. Poor Esther, who loved the dish to bits but was straight away disappointed. It just was not sweet enough.

 

#4: Seoul-Ria Restaurant
Sydney CBD

It is probably the most popular Korean BBQ restaurant in Sydney. When we arrived, there was a long queue waiting to be seated and it took us about an hour before we could get a table. The place was packed for the entire night. But the food was good. It was spicy enough and warm enough to keep us filled for the night. I am just not a big fan of Korean food, is all.