Picky Piggies

When it comes to ramen, Sydney is in no shortage of chefs with different takes on the matter. There can never be too many in our option. RaRa is a new ramen joint that has recently joined the family, and so far the only ramen place that we know of with as much focus on the char sui as the noodles. Using free range pork, each piece is grilled to a perfect char after being slow cooked. 

With a small no-nonsense menu, RaRa is sticking to the basics with a classic tonkotsu, and options for black garlic, chilli and miso varieties. There is a soy broth for those who want a lighter soup, vegan option is also available. We came on a Sunday evening around 7pm and most broth bases had sold out except for the tonkotsu and miso.

RaRa Tonkotsu $16.90; Extra Char Sui $3.50

What really surprised us was the broth. It was creamy, milky, bursting with umami, and incredibly smokey. The only downside was we didn't get enough broth in this bowl, which was a shame. Perhaps the kitchen was literally running out of broth! 

We liked the grill-finished char sui, which added the extra smokey element to the soup. The noodles were al dente, made daily onsite using RaRa's own ramen machine. A letdown was the char sui didn't cook for long enough, leaving it with a chewy texture. 

Tonkotsu Miso $17.8

After trying the original tonkotsu, this miso version was disappointing. With such a beautiful broth, we felt the miso didn't do it justice and had overpowered it's original aroma.  The char sui was slightly better in texture. 


The team was friendly, however, the service was a little slow with only two girls on the floor. We waited in queue of about 15 minutes.

Food: 5/10
Service: 6/10
Atmosphere: 6/10

Highlight:

• Amazing smokey tonkotsu broth

Lowlight:

• Char sui was chewy
• An already small menu with many items not available didn't leave us with many options (or the ones we wanted)

Website: http://www.rararedfern.com.au/

Char Koay Teow (Normal) $16

Char Koay Teow is a personal favourite of ours and a must get when we visit Malaysian restaurants. It's all about the chef's control of the flame and the wok aroma, something that every chef needs to master for Asian stir frying. This one was spicy, sweet and savoury and all the ingredients just came together so well. We liked the addition of fried pork fat, which gave the dish just that extra bit of crunch. I can have this all day long!

Nasi Goreng (Pattaya) $18

Nasi Lemak (Wagyu Rendang) $25

Roast Chicken w Egg Noodles $16

This was kind of like the crispy skin version of Hainan Chicken. We liked the tender chicken, which paired well with the ginger sauce and chilli sauce. We weren't as much fans of the noodles, which were a bit clumped together. However we saw that the table next to us ordered a similar dish with the same noodles, and they looked good. Perhaps our noodles were left for too long in the kitchen. 

Sam Wong Dan $15

Steamed egg is nothing unusual to us, but this version caught our eyes, with 3 kinds of eggs - chicken, duck and century. The egg was steamed to a perfect texture and we liked the extra dimension brought by the century egg. For first timers trying century egg, this is a relatively safe dish. The creaminess from the steamed egg renders the distinctive flavours of the century egg more subtle than on its own. The only distraction was some egg shell bits.

We rounded off our savoury and spicy meal with a couple of classic Malaysian milk teas, the ultimate creamy and sugary beverage. The teh tarik has a similar taste and consistency to Hong Kong milk tea, while the teh c peng was more fun. You get to mix the layers together, which consisted of tea, condensed milk and coffee.


After our two visits, our only complaint is the restaurant's cheap tactic of making customers wait for no reason other than to create the illusion of a queue when there are clearly plenty of tables available both upstairs and downstairs. The wait itself was about 10 minutes on each occasion, just not quite too long to make you leave.

Food: 8/10
Service: 5/10
Atmosphere: 6/10

Highlight:

• Extensive menu and overall good flavours
• Rice and noodle dishes let you pick a choice of meat (or several), even lobster!

Lowlight:

Double Sauce Omurice $19.8

As well as specialising in towel rolls, Moka actually has a small food menu serving Japanese style comfort food. We got the half-half omurice with demi-glace sauce and Japanese curry sauce. The demi-glace is a Japanese style beef stew, and the Japanese curry has the usual carrots & potatoes and the somewhat unusual minced meat. We expected the rice also to be half-half - plain and fried rice - as per the menu, and were a bit disappointed that it was all plain rice. Taste wise, it's similar to what you can make at home with the instant curry blocks available at Japanese/Asian grocers. 

Pork Katsu $5.8

愚小面

Chongqing Spicy Noodle w Peas 经典豌杂面￥16

Chongqing noodles are a must try when visiting Sichuan, what appears to be a bowl of humble noodles is simple, yet incredibly delicious. The noodles are to be mixed with minced pork, boiled chickpeas and vegetables, and are served in a soup or dry base. The secret is in the chilli oil and Sichuan pepper. Once you overcome the initial numbing sensation, you are hooked for more. We loved this one.

Special Beef Rib Noodles 秘制大排面 ￥15

For something that is not spicy, go for the original broth, which had a light soy flavour. The ribs were flavourful and the meat falls off the bone easily. 

Brown Sugar Bun 红糖锅盔￥6

While in Chengdu you might come across these classic sweet treats - brown sugar buns. The pan-fried buns had a crispy shell and the inside was filled with oozing brown sugar. 

Food: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Hygiene: 6/10
Address: 金阳路148号

Highlight:

• Affordable authentic taste
• Hygiene up to scratch

Lowlight:

• None

天府掌柜

天府熊猫￥12 - these pillow-soft Pandas have a thin mochi skin filled with cream.

三大炮￥9 "San Da Pao" - Three Canons: while the name sounds terrifying, I can reassure you there is nothing explosive on this plate. The name describes the way the dish is made. First, glutinous rice is steamed and pounded into a dough. Then the dough is rolled into a smaller dough, which is bounced off a set of copper plates making a loud "bang" before landing in a tray of soybean powder. After the sticky dough is coated in soybean powder, a spoonful of brown sugar syrup is drizzled on top to finish it off.

叶儿粑￥9 "Ye’er Ba" - these steamed glutinous rice cakes, marked by young green leaves as wrappers, are special treats eaten during Chinese New Year and Tomb-Sweeping Day in the Sichuan region. The cake has a soft gelatinous texture and a faint fragrance from the leaf.  

银丝饼￥12 "Yin Si Juan" - this pastry is another classic snack, with the appearance similar to Middle Eastern kanafeh. The stringy pastry has a flaky and crispy texture, with a sweet peanut filling. 

夫妻肺片￥38 "Fu Qi Fei Pian" - literally translates to "husband and wife offal slices". The dish was first invented by a married couple that used to sell this offal dish on the streets. It was so popular that it eventually spread across the country. Most places use beef, heart, tongue and tripe, and the knife skill of the chef plays a big part in this dish. Everything is precisely sliced paper-thin. Apart from the knife skill, another secret is in the aromatic chilli oil that is a little spicy, nutty and has a numbing undertone. 

芋儿鸡￥38 - fried potato with chicken chunks, a homey dish.

回锅肉￥39 "Hui Guo Rou" - Twice Cooked Pork Belly: a dish that almost every Sichuanese knows how to cook. The pork belly is first braised before sliced thin and stir-fried with fermented bean paste and leek. 


酸辣粉￥8 "Suan La Fen" - made using sweet potato starch, these glassy noodles have a elastic chewy texture, and are usually topped with fried soybeans, ground pork mince and spring onion. The vinegary, spicy and numbing red soup creates a harmony with the noodles.

老麻抄手￥12 "Chao shou" is a Sichuan version of wontons. The locals referred to it as "Chao Shou" because it looks like the shape of a folded hand. Unlike the clear soup wonton, this one is served in vivid red chilli soup.

鲜虾烧卖￥38 "Siu Mai" - a not so traditional Sichuan dish, yet delicious. 


Food: 4/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Hygiene: 5/10
Address: 锦官驿街1号水璟唐8栋1号

Highlight:

• A one-stop-shop for some classic Sichuan dishes

Lowlight:

• Taste-wise, most dishes were mediocre and not authentic

谭豆花
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 3/10
Hygiene: 2/10
Address: 西大街86附13号

Highlight:

• Probably the best "dou hua" chain in Chengdu
• There is also a good array of traditional snacks, and the taste is relatively authentic

Lowlight:

• You'll have to overlook the hygiene and atmosphere (and share a table with others)

清粥小菜
萝卜干拌牛肉 (Semi-dried Carrot w Beef) - served cold, this dish makes a great appetiser. The thinly sliced beef was mixed together with the sweet carrots. With every inch covered in the aromatic vivid red chilli oil, we could not put down our chopsticks with this dish.


酱油炒饭￥18 (Soy Fried Rice) - A simple fried rice that was packed with umami flavour from the soy sauce.


锅贴 "Guo Tie" - a.k.a. pot stickers, these dumplings were filled with pork and some kind of vegetables. 


煎饺￥12 (Pan Fried Dumplings) - these were identical to the pot stickers apart from the looks.

Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Hygiene: 5/10
Address: 广福桥北街8号花样年华商铺附21号

Highlight:

• A good selection of Sichuan and other Chinese (non-spicy) dishes

Lowlight:

• Won't give you the most authentic Sichuan experience

小名堂

钵钵鸡 "Bo Bo Ji" - is a dish originated in Leshan, known for its giant buddha statue, which we visited. 


What's iconic about this dish is that everything is skewered onto a stick, and served in a massive earthenware bowl. The bowl usually comes with some chicken skewers and an assortment of vegetables. All ingredients are first cooked before being submerged in a chilli sauce containing more than 20 different spices. This dish is enjoyed cold, and is convenient to eat and share.


A little extra protein for this one here. Many food joints like this one usually have a lower standard of hygiene, and are known as "fly restaurants" in Chinese (they weren't kidding!).  

Food: 6/10
Atmosphere: 4/10
Hygiene: 4/10
Address: 东城根上街达州宾馆楼下

Highlight:

• A cheap and cheery place to sample a variety of local street snacks

Lowlight:

• Ignore the flies and the hygiene aspects (a reality at most small restaurants in China)

马旺子
Here is a restaurant that summarises classic Sichuan cuisine with a modern twist. It was one of the hardest places to get a table because of its recent internet fame attracting both locals and tourists (they don't take bookings either). 


脆皮粉蒸肉￥29 (Crispy Minced Pork Rolls) - this dish was inspired by a classic dish called "Fen Zheng Rou", which literally means steamed pork coated in ground rice. The pork mince was tasty, and was encased in a crunchy shell.

笋子烧牛腩￥52 (Braised Beef w Bamboo Shoots) - the brisket was cooked till soft and tender. What we liked even more was the young bamboo shoots, which were tender and had fully soaked up the beefy flavour. 

老坛酸菜嫩鸡柳￥49 (Chicken Filet w Fermented Vegetables) - 
Sichuan people love pickles, they love them so much that each household makes its own. In this dish, the pickles were the highlight and gave the dish it's unique acidic flavour. 

秘制爽口萝卜￥18 (Ma's Homemade Pickled Turnip) - unlike the old pickles that have a strong sour taste, these fresh pickles don't have that much of a sour taste, in fact they taste slightly sweet and crunchy. 

碗碗旺￥19 (Boiled Blood Curd) - Chinese people love blood curd, especially pig blood. We are not that into blood curd, but we have to say this one here was well cooked with a spicy, vinegary flavour coming through. 

Handmade Steamed Bun, Brow Sugar Bun, Corn Cake

Finally something sweet...
老面红糖锅盔￥4ea (Brown Sugar Bun) - this is a typical Sichuan sweet snack, it's basically a pan-fried bun with brown sugar in the middle. 

手工银丝卷￥4ea (Handmade Roll) - a twisty steamed bun intended to be plain, typically enjoyed over breakfast.

玉米粑￥4ea (Sweetcorn Pancake) - tastes like the name suggests.

绿豆糕￥6ea (Mung Bean Pudding) and
红枣糕￥6ea (Red Dates Pudding) 
These puddings were packed with flavour and shared a refreshing coconut centre.

冰粉￥8ea (Clear Grass Jelly) - The translucent jelly was served with a brown sugar syrup and topped with some peanuts and grains. It is usually enjoyed in the summer time as a cold snack. 



Food: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Hygiene: 7/10
Address: 大慈寺东糠市街1号

Highlight:

• Modern Sichuan cuisine retaining an authentic taste

Lowlight:

• Be there early to secure a table (expect 30-60 minutes wait)