Roadtrip to Sydney (Part 7) : Chow time

#5: Sydney Fish Market
Pyrmont, Sydney

The Sydney Fish Market is one of the must see landmarks when visiting Sydney. The last time I was there, the notion of a wet market still hung around with overwhelming smell of freshly caught fishes and the slippery floors with shaved fish scales. I remember staring at a very, very huge fish - probably the biggest fish I have seen in my life - lying on mounds of grounded ice looking back at me. After two years, the place has cleaned up and stalls were secluded into different corners of the market.

People still crowded the famous tourist spot. Locals living nearby would swing by during lunch hour for another seafood meal. Ching Chong tourists would flood the indoors and come out into the sunshine only to pick their teeth and talk about their wonderful oysters. Mostly locals would hang around outside under the shades, by the ocean, fighting the wind and the seagulls. It is always packed so it takes careful lookout and quick witted reaction to secure a seat once the current occupiers leave.

The dish as seen above was not really that mouthwatering. We also bought fresh bags of oysters and cooked prawns. I guess the fish market is the place to get fresh from the sea products. Have them cleaned and cooked before you buy them back for your own recipes. So there is definitely a certain standard of freshness for their products. Oh the prawns were the sweetest I have ever tasted. And that probably includes my days eating prawns in Malaysia as well.

 

#6: Some-Espresso-Cafe
Newtown, Sydney

It is one of those quaint cafe bars along the streets of Newtown in Sydney. We were not really picky because it is already around noon time and I have yet to have breakfast. It was one of those mornings when I was still craving for a good breakfast meal. Waffles are quite hard to come by in my days in Australia and imagine my excitement when I saw waffles on the menu.

Waffles with chocolate syrup and some berry sauce of sorts. A scoop of cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It looks like Heaven. It tasted like Heaven. It felt like Heaven.

This cafe too serve the conventional breakfast sets and club sandwiches. The usual you would get in any cafes in any part of the country. And I think the orange juice was freshly squeezed too.

Definitely a good way to start off your day.

 

#7: The Liow household
Hurstville, Sydney

After my friends left Sydney to proceed the remainder of their roadtrip to Melbourne, I stayed with Ye Shan and her sister, Ye Ching. And I must say, I was quite pampered and taken care of in the food department while staying with them. Of course they will not let me get away totally as a guest of their house. They still make me clean the dishes and go to church and wake up early enough to start the day. Heh. But. Nonetheless, they are still great company and they are probably part of the reason that my Sydney trip turned out to be the must needed vacation I have been waiting for all through my semester.

We bought a crab during our trip to the Sydney Fish Market and on one of the nights I was there, Ye Ching cooked up a delicious meal of sweet and sour crab. As well as some other side dishes, but really, the focus is solely on the crab for me.

I love sweet and sour crab. Heck, I love crab. Once in a while, my family and I would go out for a seafood meal nearby my house in Penang and all I could ever eat was the crab. Granted the texture of the crab meat that night was not what I am used to back in Penang, but the sweet and sour sauce made up for it. Definitely a finger licking good meal. And just like that, one of my cravings for a hometown delicacy was satisfied.

Another dish for the night was Singaporean Laksa. Or. In another words, Penang Hokkien Mee. Heh. Another favourite dish for me. With all of my favourite ingredients in it. Spicy enough too for the cold weather in Sydney. Yum.

One thing I have learned about the Liow sisters while staying with them, is that they will never ever run out of chocolate substance. Never. They have a whole pantry of chocolate. Unlimited supply of chocolate bars. Different brands. Different flavours. Tins and tins of hot chocolate powder and seeds. And this goes without saying that they have two chocolate fondue sets.

So after another bloating dinner courtesy of the Liow sisters, we cut up some kiwis, peeled some langsats, and bought some strawberries. And Ye Shan proceeded to melting lots and lots of chocolates and mixing them with a carton of creamy milk. Funny thing was, she was looking for a milk chocolate bar but all she could find was dark chocolate bars. And she went to rummage this basket of random stuff under their coffee table and found a milk chocolate Easter egg. All puns intended, eh?

It was a wonderful desert. Sweet and heavenly and bound to keep you on a sugar high for the rest of the night. Or have you flow into a nice contented sleep in the night. But then. We had another dose of chocolatey goodness the following day at Max Brenner and although the chocolates there were quite irresistible still, it does get too much at times.