The Burwood Hotel and the nearby Murray Place Arcade have been in various states of glorious shabbiness over the last few years. Recent renovations have seen the area converted into a themed and stylised Chinatown.
It reminds us of the food arcade we visited in Chengdu, a greatest hits of Sichuan food styles, designed to evoke Chinese districts that are quickly becoming nostalgic relics. Sydney's Chinatown is fast falling into this nostalgic category, as Chinese communities create new centres in Hurstville, Eastwood, Chatswood, Beverly Hills and Burwood and the old Haymarket gets consumed by new apartments.
The inside of the mall is framed in red accents and Chinese iconography. They could have really pushed the theme overboard, but we like how they've kept it low key. There's a few chains inside like Chatime and Cheers Cut, and many of the original stores are still going.
We first decide to stick our beaks into Hunan Rice Noodles. Bowls of soup and spiced noodles, stewed pork and beef, we're sold.
Pork meatball soup $12.80. Soft and delicate pork meatballs, wood ear fungus, tofu puffs and Chinese cabbage in a slightly salty broth. This is not spicy, but there's pots of both roasted and pickled chilli you can add to taste. You can also just enjoy the generous dash of white pepper that balances out the saltiness.
With all the soups and noodle dishes you can choose your own noodle, from two thicknesses of rice noodles to a thinner wheat noodle.
There's a dry noodles option with soup on the side. Pork intestine with hot red chilli ($13.80) is just that, we also added a pot stewed egg for $1.50. On the side are cubes of hard tofu, lightly pickled radish, sliced green chilli and peanuts. When all mixed through with the bit of sauce at the bottom of the bowl, it's a wonder.
The braised beef soup ($12.80) also gets a nod. The broth is different to the others, more like a pho beef soup with some hints of star anise. We go for the thick rice noodles here, those suckers are hard to pick up.
At the back of the mall the lane way has been gussied up with tables and chairs and a connection to the hotel. We'll be back to try the Taiwanese castella cakes and Mr Jian Fried Dumplings.
This gentle doggie was waiting patiently outside.
Two pats are better than one.
Menu
Menu
Hunan Rice Noodles is at Shop 9, 127-133 Burwood Rd. Ph: 7901 2556. They have another store at 183 - 185 Rowe St Eastwood.
Burwood Rd is getting revamped all the way down. Even the poodles are swish.
a place called chongqing street noodles which is nearby is also really good! if you like pork brain noodles :)
ReplyDeleteGood things going on in Burwood indeed. Loved Hunan Rice Noodles in Eastwood, so glad to see they're multiplying.
ReplyDeleteYet to try Mr Jian dumplings. I'm a sucker for Yang's Dumplings nearby after scoffing them night after night on Huang He Rd in Shanghai. That said, not so impressed with the pre-cooked / pre-packed dumpling box system going on at the Burwood branch. They obviously do it to speed up the sales pipeline, but the last box I bought was tepid at best having obviously sat around a fair while on the counter.
To me this does a huge disservice to an iconic and otherwise delicious Shanghai soup dumpling. They're just not the same unless they're squirting scalding pork juices into your eye as you bite into them. A quick stickybeak confirmed Mr Jian also seems to be undertaking a similar system. The shame.
Loved a skewer of charcoal grilled lamb from Loving Lamb next door to Yang's. How they get that chilli cumin spice mix just so right I'll never know. Magic.
Looks like there is a Lanzhou beef noodle specialty place also opening on the corner. Keen as beans to see what goodies they'll be dishing up.