After the excesses of Festivus it's great to get back to basics at Fung Shing Gourmet, a most excellent Chinese BBQ stall in the Sussex Centre Food court in Chinatown. (Sadly now closed, Sep 2017)
We continue our mission to eat our way through Chinatown's food courts. This time we visit Fung Shing Gourmet, a Chinese bbq stall in the Sussex Centre. The menu is straight up Chinese bbq with the usual bbq pork, duck and chook, plus noodle soups and laksa.
Pork skin and stewed beef noodle soup $9.50. A standard bbq joint broth with big hunks of slow cooked beef and chewy noodles. Alison detects star anise and cinnamon in the beef, I detect the urge to boogie. Next time you see an old fashioned corned beef at the supermarket grab it and cook it with Chinese stewing spices instead of English style - it would blow grandma's socks off.
The pork skin is in flat strips of lardy, stodgey, peasant powering filler. The pig skin tastes like spongey crackling, it absorbs the soup broth and gives you a chewy mouthful. Alison thinks it might be a manufactured product like pork floss, as it has a very consistent look and texture.
I opt for Hoi Nan Chicken With Rice - $9. Quite a substantional serving with a meaty chook thigh, a lovely big bowl of rice and soup with a little substance.
The chicken is plain but in a way I have come to like. My guess is that it has been poached in lightly salted water or very light stock. It wet and tender and has a way of making me feel better. It is very light in flavour and has a healthy, rejuvinating quality I sometimes seek when I'm feeling a bit green, or blue, or cyan.
And the rice isn't overlooked here, it is rustic and flavoursome. Crunchy bits from the bottom of the pot are mixed in, which we guess is done on purpose, and generously so, the crunchy bits at the bottom are the best. The side soup was also good, far from the dishwater stuff you can get sometimes, it even had a chunk of meat in it and a giant hunk of a knuckle bone. Those soups are not a dish best served cold - drink them fast for the best flavour.
On a second visit we decide to test Fung Shing's claim of having the 'Best BBQ in Sydney.'
Roast Pork Noodle Soup - $8.80. Pork is super tasty with a little crackle to the skin. 'This pork is amazing' Alison thinks aloud.
Roast Duck Dry Noodle - $9.30. Excellent roast duck on top of egg noodles.
Good old Chinese veggies in oyster sauce - $4.50. Also very good.
Veggie laksa - $7.50. Not amazing but pretty good and cheap.
We're very happy to know we can get top notch Chinese bbq in a food court. We're keen to come back to try the salted chicken on noodles and the laksa with bbq duck.
BACK AGAIN IN MAY 2012...
We've back again for the roast pork noodle soup - excellent broth, a couple of big pieces of roast pork with crunchy skin. Alison reckons it would be perfect if they could serve the crackling on the side so it doesn't lose it's crunch in the soup.
Fung Shing Gourmet is at the Sussex Food Centre. The Sussex Centre Food Court is at 401 Sussex Street, Chinatown. Head up the escalator into food heaven.
I love Sussex Food Centre as most of the places here give you a bowl of complimentary soup, but I've never been here. Bold claims of best BBQ in Sydney though, but good to see it's very good. And how on earth do you "detect the urge to boogie"?? :D
ReplyDeleteI'd pay good money Mr Shawn to see you getting your boggie on at the Sussex Food Court!
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, the pig skin is dried out, then it gets deep fried so that it goes bobbly and then dried again. When it gets soaked in soup, it then turns spongy. My parents used to make pig skin at home, but that was a very long time ago so my memory is a bit fuzzy!
ReplyDeleteI love the food courts in Chinatown. Always guaranteed to find a winning dish for hard-to-believe prices. Food heaven indeed!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lucy! After writing this post I found a package in the Miracle Supermarket in Chatswood that was labelled 'Pig Skin for cooking'. It looked like crunchy pork rinds you would normally have with a beer, but it was the right stuff for this soup!
ReplyDeleteMy old man used to own this shop and they sold to the present owner about 4-5 years ago teaching them everything they needed to know to maintain the quality and high standards. After working at that shop during numerous school holidays I'd have to say the wontons and the soya chicken are the dishes not to be missed !!!
ReplyDeleteHey Anon - that's impressive re your old man, this place really is top notch, I'll have to go back for the soya chicken, another fave :-)
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ReplyDeleteI thought this place was a cut above but Happy Chef next door gets all the cudos - we're thinking of doing a comparison.
ReplyDeleteI am sad to find today that this place has been replaced by other stall. I will miss their nice rice with BBQ and roast porks or roast ducks.
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