It’s been a while since I’ve been to Greenwood Chinese. My husband I used to frequent the restaurant when it was under previous management and they used to have a Yum Cha special on the weekends when dishes were $2.50 each. Yes really, dishes were that cheap. So cheap that my husband would order plates and plates of Har Gow and scoff them down while patting his distended stomach blissful in the savings that he’d made. Now that it has changed hands, the specials are gone along with my husband’s patronage.

Today, M and I are at Greenwood Plaza and having a quick lunch. We need something quick and Yum Cha, with it’s at-the-ready trolleys circulating seems the perfect choice. We pass the enormous fish tank at the front and make our way to a table. Within seconds, we have our first steamed goodies on the table.

Chee Cheong Fan with prawns

The slippery and ready to fall apart rice flour rolls are filled with prawns and coated in a semi sweet soy sauce. They’re not as good as I usually like them, tasting quite floury rather than delicate.

Spinach dumplings

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View out of Gordon Ramsay Plane Food

I have some rather awesome friends I must say. Ones that share in my love of food and understand when I whip out a camera during a meal without sighing loudly or complaining. One of these friends is the self named “Carbon Debit”, owing the amount of time she spends in the skies traveling and working towards her pilot’s license. So when she went to Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food restaurant at London’s Heathrow Airport T5 we were all interested to see what she had to say. It’s no secret that Australia is Gordon Ramsay obsessed, which will only be spurred on by his Sydney appearance at the Good Food and Wine Show (where an ebayer sold two tickets and a copy of his book for $350!).

So without further ado, here is what my friend had to say about Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food.

In one word - lovely!!!

I wasn’t really that hungry because I had a rather large plate of salad for lunch before I left for Heathrow, at around 1pm. I got to Plane Food at around 4:15pm. But I had to have something there, or it would have defeated the object of going to Plane Food.

Their menu was displayed well before the entrance (which is down a corridor) so it was easy to decide whether I could find something I wanted to try despite not being hungry, or not, without feeling bad about looking and walking off.

I spotted a crab and miso salad with purple shiso which sounded rather light and lovely. They also offered a starter size and a main size. Ideal to have a starter sized one under the circumstance. The area is quite spacious and airy, and it is sort of on a ‘balcony’. It’s hard to describe exactly what it’s like, but you can see the floor below you, if you sit nearest to the window, as well as the tarmac area and BA hangars. Tables are not too crammed in, although not so sparse either. The lines are ‘clean’ and there is no chintz in sight. It’s a very pleasant andrelaxing but at the same time not excessively casual atmosphere.

So I walked up to the entrance and was greeted by a bright, friendly but not overpowering girl who showed me to the table. She asked me if I wanted to sit near the window, which I said yes. She helped me put my carry on out of the way as well. She told me that the special was duck in orange sauce. Under a normal circumstance I would definitely have that (perhaps as well as the crab miso salad!), but I was just not hungry enough. Dammit. I shouldn’t have had the salad for lunch.

Although I already had a look at the menu, I did have a bit more look out ofcuriosity. It all looked pretty good. A waiter promptly came up to ask me what I wanted to drink, and I asked about juices. He knew what they had (often not the case in restaurants!), and I ordered a glass of cranberry juice which arrived very promptly.

Crab miso salad with soya beans, cucumber and purple shiso was duly ordered (everything was very efficient there) and I only needed to look out of the window onto the passing BA aeroplanes for a very short time before it arrived.

Crab and Miso salad £9.50

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Would you believe me, Dear Reader, when I told you that the humble sausage roll had broken the $7 price barrier? You might be even more surprised when I tell you that at $7 it was worth every lip smackin’, finger lickin’, slowly savoured bite. The sausage roll in question is from Justin North’s “Plan B”, the tiny hole in the wall cafe next to Bécasse. I was put onto it by Y from Lemonpi who had visited earlier and told me about their fantastic Wagyu burger and $7 sausage roll. The most expensive sausage roll I’d had was the sausage roll at Bourke Street Bakery and even that was hardly what you’d call expensive at $4, and a lovely sausage roll it was. But I wasn’t too fussed about trying this one as it was almost double the price. I had no idea that Plan B existed, so tiny hole in the wall it was, I even dined at Bécasse right next to it without knowing of its existence and that it has been there for as long as the restaurant has, for 3 whole years.

Cake selection $3.50-$4 each

There are 3 tables outside that seat 2 people each, so it’s definitely more of a takeaway your lunch back to the office and read blogs during your lunch-hour kind of place. Apparently the new logo’d umbrellas call out its existence a bit better to passing trade. It’s small but it is stylishly outfitted of course. You’d expect no less from Becasse. I’ve rung ahead to pick up my lunch as we’re stopping through the city. I ordered a Wagyu burger (made with 600 day grain fed Wagyu beef) and a sandwich with pork and apple. The crisp pork belly, hoisin sauce and spring onion was out unfortunately so I made do with the pork and apple although I did toss up between that and the coronation chicken. I’d decide on a cake when I got there and I could see them up close.

Sandwich selection, $8 each

My wagyu burger was lost, apparently there was a miscommunication between the cafe and kitchen and my burger was just put on the grill when I arrived to collect it. Two suits who are standing up inside having finished their burgers get up to leave. I see the range of prepacked sandwiches and a plate of cakes and biscuits as well as designer drinks (I don’t think they even had Coke). The cakes look particularly good. The menu on the website seems to have changed slightly for the seasons. Whilst they had a caramelised mango tart, now it’s caramelised apple.

My burger is still running late and a man comes in from an outside table asking for a paper napkin. He happily declares “I’m covered in crumbs but it was all worth it, that was the best sausage roll ever! Worth every crumb!” and wipes the imaginary crumbs off himself and exits. I need no more convincing and I add a sausage roll to the order. I also buy a caramelised apple tart and a candied lemon and vanilla cookie for good measure. I get a coffee takeaway and it is fantastically good, one of the best coffees I’ve ever had (if not the best). It eventually all comes together in a brown handled paper bag and the lovely girl behind the counter apologises profusely for the delay.

Wagyu burger made with 600 day grain fed Wagyu $10

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It’s literally been years since our last visit to Marigold. In fact since our last visit, it’s now changed it’s name to Marigold Regal instead of Marigold Citymark. Marigold Citymark used to be our Chinese restaurant of choice, mainly because the food was good and the decor was nicer than your average Chinese restaurant (I find Golden Century’s food is great but the decor isn’t as nice) and the free parking for dinner guests always made my father and husband happy. Yes, we’re the type of family where the men will greet each other with “Where did you park?” and the park closest to the restaurant wins and gets a fleeting moment of pride. Please tell me we aren’t the only ones.

The decor has been spruced up with warmer reds and oranges instead of austere blacks and whites. The fish tanks have been moved further down but other than that, everything is fairly similar. What we notice is back are the silver spoon and chopstick rests which is what we liked about dining here in the first place. Yes I know it may make me sound like a complete brat, and at times I am, but it’s the little details that help set a place apart and these were the details that my sister and I noticed and liked. So when they didn’t put them out 3 times in a row and we had average food we stopped coming here.

Tonight we’re here with my uncle, cousin, my family and my cousin’s wife who is over from Singapore. We order a slew of dishes including Peking Duck plus a whole lot of new dishes we’ve never tried before which I hope comes out quickly as I am very hungry. I am relieved with they wheel the duck out.

I always love it when they carve it at the table (although I know this would horrify my vegan mother in law who could not believe that they would do such a thing) and they show the duck off to us before slicing off the skin with a cleaver and placing them in 12 pancakes with the requisite spring onion and cucumber.

Curiously I notice that there is still a lot of skin remaining on the duck after it is carved and even though there are 7 of us, they don’t give us 14 pancakes. I wonder where the rest of the skin goes? It never seems to turn up in the second course and it’s a suspicion of mine that they use the skin for other dishes. I’d love to know whether this is true or not!

The pancakes have a little too much meat in them for my taste and the pieces are smaller than I’d like. For me, I love big discs of glossy, crispy skin and it’s a good sign when the sauce and oil run out of the pancake. My ideal version is not for the faint hearted or diet conscious.

The sang choi bau course arrives and they plate it into the lettuce cups. It’s nice and crunchy with the water chestnuts although we have to ask for the Hoi Sin sauce as it is bland without it.

The rest of the dishes arrive in quick succession. The pork ribs in champagne sauce ($18) are circled by orange slices and the sticky orange glazed champagne sauce is a lovely match to the deep fried ribs. It’s unusual and very moreish and a hit with the table.

Steamed egg whites, fried bean curd with assorted seafood and meat ($24) comes out next, with the bean curd sitting on the edges of the plate surrounding a melange of meats, seafood and egg whites. The scallops and prawns are plentiful and whilst the mixture is soothingly soft, it lacks punch or a distinct flavour.

The Spicy Fish fillets with Mermaid’s Tresses ($28) resemble the deep fried cornflour dipped salt and pepper fish but with spice and less intensity of flavour than the S&P variety. The spice comes in the form of some sliced bird’s eyes chili and the mermaid’s tresses are deep fried seaweed shreds. It’s alright but not particularly stunning.

The last dish, Four vegetables baked in creamy taro sauce ($21) comes out, the purply grey creamy taro mash coating the vegetables with some satisfying blistering on top. Scooping out the vegetables we are rewarded with large chunks of broccoli, whole mushrooms, asparagus and snow peas. It’s the most comforting of comforting Winter food and the buttery scent of the sauce beckons you to eat more than you really should.

At this stage we’re full but they bring out the fruit-sliced watermelon and rockmelon as well as a large tureen of sweet red bean and black sticky rice soup. It’s only the most robust of us that can finish a whole bowl of the sticky, sweet and delicious soup. Completely full, we rest for a little and then get up to leave whilst the men continue to debate who got the closest “parking spot”.

Marigold Regal

Levels 4 & 5
683-689 George Street, Haymarket Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9281-3388

Parking from 10am-6pm:
0-1 hour - $2.80
1-2 hours - $7.20
2-3 hours - $11.60 3-4 hours - $16.00
4-5 hours - $20.40
Over 5 hours - $30.00
Free parking for dinner guests (otherwise my husband noted that parking is $50 an hour so don’t make the mistake of parking there unless you are eating!)
Lunch (yum cha)

Don’t you hate it when you go to foodblog about a place that has always provided you with great service and food only to find that the owner is away and chaos and confusion runs amok?

Needless to say, this is what happened to us with Crystal Garden. Its our most well loved Chinese restaurant, a hidden gem and we’ve always had flawless service and food there. Tonight, the owner is absent and sadly it really shows with the service we receive.

If you order their regular suburban Chinese offerings, you’ll wonder what I am talking about. Its only when you scratch the surface of this suburban Chinese restaurant and order the seafood from the tank that this gem really shines.

He looks mad-as well he should be!

Tonight its a celebration so its Lobster from the tank ($75 a kilo for a 2.3 kilo lobster). We needed to pre order it as they usually only have crab and fish ready in the tank. We also order Pay pah tofu (tofu balls sauteed with prawn meat with broccoli), fried rice and a steamed fish with ginger, coriander and shallots.

We’re waiting a good 25 minutes before any food arrives with nary a prawn cracker passing by our table. Its relatively empty but we’re receiving service as if the restaurant was full and there was only one waitress on. There’s also no sign of the complimentary house soup that one gets when making a big seafood order.

XO Chili lobster 2.3kg with double lot of e-fu noodles $182.50

After 20 minutes we beg for some prawn crackers (which never materialise) and within 5 minutes of our request, our enormous lobster platter arrives resplendent with glistening sauce. The lobster is huge, sitting atop a double lot of e-fu noodles on a large oval platter, the luscious XO chili sauce almost spilling off the edges. Something to note about the lobster and crab here is that you will always get the whole lobster whereas at other places we’ve ordered crab and lobster at, we could swear that there are a few pieces that have been taking for posterity by the kitchen staff. They’re very generous with using XO chili sauce which some restaurants skimp on as it can be expensive. The lobster is tender and succulent and each piece is coated in the delicious sauce. The noodles are soft and the unctuous, spicy sauce coats them perfectly. Its heaven on a plate, nothing more, nothing less.

Fried rice $7.80

We need to request the next few dishes as our waitress says that she was waiting until we finished each one before getting another. She starts to clear the plates but gets distracted halfway and walks off leaving half of us with fresh plates, half without any plates at all with the new ones sitting at a nearby table which we help ourselves to.

Pay pah tofu $13.80

Our pay pah tofu arrives surrounded by steamed broccoli, its a little more messily presented than normal although it tastes magnificent, the soft flavoursome balls of tofu have small pieces of prawn inside and are coated in a delicious oyster and sesame sauce. The broccoli is perfectly textured, firm with a touch of crunch still.

Steamed barramundi with ginger, shallots and coriander $28

Our steamed barramundi arrives, again with some prompting from us, and its as good as always, the fresh fish steamed perfectly with a deliciously light soy and ginger sauce atop which sits shredded shallots and a sheaf of fresh coriander. Its a deliciously healthy but satisfyingly tasty dish that we cannot fail to order.

After some orange slices we realise that there is no sweet red bean soup coming, another complimentary dessert when you make a big seafood order so we pay and leave without receiving the usual farewell, the waitress looking up confused at us. *Sigh* Just remember, its all about the seafood.

Crystal Garden

1121 Anzac Parade
Malabar NSW 2026
Phone (02) 9661 9026
Lunch Tuesday to Friday 12 noon-3pm
Dinner Sunday to Thursday 5pm-10pm Friday to Saturday 5pm-11pm