Wednesday, April 25, 2007

China Syndrome


Sen's is gone. My Sunday hangover cure is no more. To be replaced with a Nando's ... This is a sick joke, right?

Believe me, I know the bain-marie at Sen's was the spawn of satan. But anyone eating from a bain-marie deserves what they get. Sen's did great yum cha. In the early days they did the trolleys. So exciting, and such an incitement to gluttony and speed eating. But the trolleys were unsustainable and a la carte yum cha was the result. But it was fine. Lovely dumplings, great Peking Duck Rolls, and what a wonton soup. Once you strayed away from the yum cha, things were perhaps a bit dodgy, but who wants beef in black bean sauce anyway?

Sen's is gone. And so begins my Chinese restaurant odyssey in search of a semi-authentic, hangover curing replacement. The first steps in this journey were taken hangoverless, to ensure I had my wits about me. First stops were Ming Court and the Oriental, both in Sandy Bay. Ming Court does great stuffed mushrooms, fairly average Mongolian Beef ... and Peking Duck is not on their standard menu. The Oriental does a lovely wonton soup (certainly in contention to become a Sunday hangover cure - except they don't open for lunch) and fantastic hot pots. I've sampled both the Emperor's Hot Pot and the seafood version. Delicious ... but you have to order Peking Duck 24 hours in advance.

My next stop could perhaps be Har Wee Yee in North Hobart or Flourishing Court on Macquarie St. But neither of these is open for Sunday lunch either. And I'm afraid to say that even though Castle Zayee in Lenah Valley advertises yum cha, the fact that they advertise "Asian and Western Cuisine" leaves them out of the race.

I've got my fingers crossed that Golden Harbour on the waterfront might fit the bill. Although when I rang at lunch time the other day to ask if they do yum cha ... they didn't answer the phone.

Once upon a time I could rely on Sen's to cure my fuzzy head with their clear broths and sweet hoi sin dipped Peking Duck. I could just turn up and eat myself to wellness. Perhaps the long-promised Mee Wah will one day materialise and all will be right in the world.
GW


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a sad day indeed when finding yum cha is a struggle! Get with the program Hobart.. :(

Anonymous said...

yes GOOD asian in general would be greatly desired by a few folks! off the topic of food......these images on your website, are they yours or have you dragged and dropped em off the net?

Georgie Weston said...

In general images are shamelessly pilfered from google.images ... although one or two are mine. If I know the name of a certain photographer/artist, I'll cite appropriately where I can.

Georgie Weston: gossip, glutton, bitch, and thief.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see my friends and I aren't the only ones missing yum cha. Surely Hobart can sustain an a la carte yum cha. No better way to recover after a big night than a laid back eat with tea. Will just have to head to sydeny and melb more often...

Anonymous said...

On an entirely different topic, the place that was once the Elbow Room is serving a wagyu beef dish. I was only there for drinks, so I didn't try it, but I'd be interested in any reports.

Oh, similarly interested in any report about Catch, at the old Rockerfellers. Had drinks there a couple of weeks ago and the menu did look good.

Anonymous said...

Mee Wah is opening in Magnet Court, Sandy Bay in late May or early June.

Hooray!

Anonymous said...

Yum cha. That's last night's leftovers in pastry deep fied or steamed.

Better off with a chiko roll.


The Grub

Anonymous said...

OOh! I'd like to hear any reports on The Catch too.

Anonymous said...

Melaka at Franklin was reportedly very good.

However friends of mine who are vegans rang ahead to enquire if there was anything for them on the menu & were promptly told no. When they asked if the person in the kitchen could accommodate them they were flatly told no again.

I would have thought that Melaka could have at least made an effort. Instead these people wont go back.

The business is on the market after trading for less than a year. Perhaps they could have been more welcoming & maybe they might not have had to sell it?

Anonymous said...

Or maybe they are fed up with bloody vegetarians. If a place doesn't advertise as vegetarian and you call and they then tell you NO, then go somewhere else.
Leave the rest of us to get on with it. They are not being rude, just telling you what they do and don't do.

I was in an asian restaurant in town where the girl at the next table ``grilled'' the waitress.
Will there be any trace of peanuts? What oil do you use? etc etc.
In the end she ordered. wait for it....a plate of plain rice and a glass of water.

I'm sure the only reason she wasn't thrown out was the other two at the same table were digging in without demur!

The GRUB

Anonymous said...

Or maybe she had a medical condition to peanuts & had to be sure that she was not to go into anaphalaxus shock, is this so unreasonable?

Anonymous said...

I understand the allergy aspect.
The girl listed lots of things she wanted to avoid, such as some oils, ghee, dairy, etc, etc,
She looke anorexic and the point I am making is that restaurants aren't the keepers of our health and foibles.
She loudly let all around know her story in that ``oh, how I suffer'' way.

People like that, or who have peculiar eating habits, should expect hurdles at restauarnts and stay away, for all the rest of our sakes.

The Grub

Anonymous said...

Where did I put that bug spray??

Food Nazi

Anonymous said...

Under your JACKjumper BOOT Food Nazi.

Anonymous said...

I find the tassles get in the way...

Do Bugs eat at vegetarian restaurants? Or do they venture out from underneath their leaf?

Food Nazi

Anonymous said...

The other thing is Curious...
Me, being omnivorous, if I was to phone a vegetarian restaurant and ask if they catered for me the answer would be NO.
If I asked if the chef could rustle up a T-bone the answer would be NO.
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
But I wouldn't be so bloody insensitive as to ask a veggie place for some meat, would I?
Think about it my little B12 deficient.

The Grub

Anonymous said...

Last commenter.
You comparison is not relevant to the the restaurant I was talking about
The restaurant I was specifically speaking about does cook vegetraian meals as well as meat dishes.
I dont think that it is unresonable to think that they could do a vegan dish.

Anonymous said...

Well they did and so do I, so munch your lettuce leaves elsewhere.

The Grub

OzRose said...

Catch - March 31st - very disappointing - Why ?
Waitress couldn't use a waiters friend
Wine was a diiferent vintage than listed
2 meals overcooked 1 undercooked
Chicken dish padded out with way too many breadcrumbs.
Not a good night !

Anonymous said...

Mind you some of the bottles these days are tricky for waiter's friends.
Many thin-topped odd-shaped affairs leave little room for purchase.
My favourite old T-bone corkscrew lasted 20 years before it went.
Its waiter's friend replacement lasted a month before twisting out of shape.
Its, more expensive, waiter's friend replacement has lasted a few years now.

The trick is not to put the corkscrew in the middle. Err to one side and it leaves room the other side to get some grip.
Sir Grumpy.

Anonymous said...

1. There is no proper yum cha place in Hobart. Serving a la carte dim sums is NOT yum cha, its just a cheap replacement.

2. Sens was NOT great. The food was oily enough to coat your whole intestinal bowel.

3. Oriental in Sandy Bay is NOT good enough to be on the list of competing asian restaurants. Used to..but not anymore.

4. Ming Court is the only reasonable place I will consider for good asian food, but I have to admit..not truely authentic.

5. I tried Mee Wah up in Launnie..which was AUTHENTIC...so I am patiently waiting for them to get down here..