Chopsticks 101

Critic Issue 24 - Food Column

Pork Spareribs with Orange Sauce and Vegetables

Judging by the lunch and dinner time crowds, many have already discovered the good, reasonably priced food and great service at Chopsticks 101. The current proprietors have kept the menu they inherited from the previous owner, which comprised of generally Malaysian-Chinese food, but I would attribute their newfound popularity to their new menu, which features a long list of (what I assume are) favourite Taiwanese dishes.

Roast Chicken Leg with Vegetabless

The first thing that I tried from the new menu was the ‘CrispyRoast Chicken Leg with Veges’ which is a bit of a misnomer since the chicken isn’t actually crispy, but delicious nonetheless [Edit: After I wrote this, I discovered that they had crossed out 'Crispy' on the menu and scribbled the more accurate "Roast" in its place]. The chicken is saturated in a nice, savoury, mild but distinct herbal flavour, drizzled with the same tasty sauce (every last drop of which I try to mop up with the rice) and accompanied well with blanched vegetables. It is now my favourite Chopsticks 101 dish, despite some other strong contenders. I also really enjoyed the ‘Pork Spare Ribs with Orange Sauce and Vegetables’, which tasted great, even though it was a little difficult and messy trying to get the meat off the bones. When I did, however, the meat was beautifully, savoury and coated with a yummy, sweet, orangey sauce, which gave it a pleasant combination of savoury and sweet flavours.

Crispy Roasted Pork Belly with Tofu in Earthen Pot

The ‘Crispy Roasted Pork Belly with Tofu in Earthen Pot’ is second on my ‘favourite Chopstick 101 dishes’ list with tasty, savoury pork pieces, tofu, mushrooms and vegetables soaked in delicious gravy, all in one scrumptious, hearty, satisfying, ‘one-pot’ meal. Again, the pork isn’t actually crispy, but it’s still good. Perhaps the nicest surprise of all was discovering that Chopsticks 101 serves decent ‘Sweet & Sour Pork’, which, since coming to Dunedin, has been a bit of a mission to source, even though it is the one of the most common, stereotypical Chinese dishes. Now, I can just go to Chopsticks 101 for a quick and easy sweet and sour pork fix, instead of contemplating cooking it or going for a pricey, proper, three or four course Chinese dinner.

Sweet and Sour Pork

I also love the 'Deep Fried Tofu' which they served topped with sweet chilli sauce and crushed peanuts (I think). Thin, slightly crispy skin, encasing nice, soft, mushy tofu! Mmm...

Deep Fried Tofu

There are several other items on the menu that I have been eyeing, like the stewed and roast duck dishes that I haven’t had a chance to try yet, because most of the time I just can’t resist ordering my usual favourites. Chopsticks 101 makes a great food haunt because, as mentioned at the start, not only is the food good and relatively cheap, the staff are welcoming and friendly, which, altogether, makes it a rather pleasant place to patronise.

Chopsticks 101

380 George Street

Dunedin

five0nine

Critic Issue 10 - Num Nums

At just over two months old, five0nine is probably the freshest face (in more ways than one) in the Dunedin ‘café’ scene. Specialising in Taiwanese bubble tea, a sweet, flavoured tea based drink, five0nine offers a pleasant alternative to the usual coffee/tea options at other cafes. For the uninitiated, there are generally two kinds of bubble tea – the ones with milk and the ones without. The flavours for the non-milk variety are usually fruity (e.g. peach, lychee) and the flavours for the milk teas are typically non-fruity (e.g. taro). The thing that makes these drinks special is the addition of ‘pearls’ or jellies which give you something to suck up and chew on intermittently while you enjoy the flavoured tea. The ‘pearls’ are actually little, chewy, slippery, tapioca balls, about one centimetre in diameter each, that rest at the bottom of the drink, waiting to be eaten. It is the apparent similarity of these ‘pearls’ to bubbles that gives this drink its name, although some sources believe that it is more accurate to attribute the name to the foam that is created due to the shaking method of making bubble tea.

I tried the ‘Original Milk Tea’ with pearls and the ‘Lychee Black Tea’ with mango jelly. Both the black and milk tea, surprisingly, were light and delightfully refreshing. For some reason, I had expected the milk tea to be thick and heavy, and was happy to be proven wrong. Both drinks had pleasant, clean flavours but I preferred the texture and the extra burst of fruity flavour that I got from the mango jelly pieces, which is made out of nata de coco, compared to the pearls. Besides bubble tea, five0nine also offers some quick and easy Taiwanese snacks like steamed pork/pork & vege/vegetarian/red bean buns and the deceptively small but hearty ‘Braised Pork with Hard Boiled Egg on Rice’ for only $3 - 5. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to try any of the buns but I did get a taste of the pork on rice, which was a decent, filling meal for under $5. The meat used was a little too lean for this dish, which compromised the flavour and texture slightly, but as it turned out they were unable to add the usual portion of pork belly into the dish that day because it was unavailable.

The best thing about five0nine is that its opening hours are from 11 am – 11pm, which means that hungry students traipsing home from the library won’t have to go hungry anymore. That is one of the main reasons that the young proprietors, Ariel & James, have decided to keep their doors open late, having been Otago students themselves. They have taken great efforts to ensure the quality and authenticity of their products. Their bubble tea ingredients are imported directly from Taiwan and they have practised their drink making skills so that their drinks always taste consistent, no matter who makes them. So if you’re feeling peckish, try something different and visit five0nine.

five0nine

7 Frederick St

Dunedin

Fong Lye

Taiwanese Deep Fried Chicken 

Sweet Potato Balls

I visited Fong Lye with my friends in November last year and though I remember enjoying the experience immensely, I can't remember the names of some of the dishes (luckily I took a photo of the receipt) or details about the flavours and textures of the food. There are many of these 'to-be-blogged' food photos tucked away in my numerous picture folders, but I have not found the time to write about all of them. The price for my procrastination is the decay of my memory of those meals. While I will still be able to share the pictures, I will probably not be able to include as detailed a description as I would prefer.

Pork Chop Rice set

At first glance, Fong Lye looked quite posh and expensive and sceptical ol' me (of course) was bracing myself for a disappointment. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. Fong Lye actually offers scrumptious Taiwanese fare at decent prices, considering the ambience and location. The great thing about visiting a restaurant that you have never been to before with a big group of friends is that you can order a lot of different dishes and try a little of everything. As far as I can remember, everyone liked everything except for the beef slices in filo pastry and the 'Cheesy Pork Chop Rice', which were not bad but a little odd. I liked that all the dishes came with side dishes (stir fried green beans, soy sauce stewed boiled egg and some mayonnaise filled potato and corn hash brown type thing) and a soup. As if that wasn't enough, the rice that was served with each dish was topped with a little meat sauce!

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs Rice set

We began with an assortment of starters. My favourite was the Taiwanese Deep Fried Chicken but a number of the others loved the Sweet Potato Balls. The chicken was tasty, crunchy and slightly peppery (I think). The balls, which to my surprise were actually crisp hollow shells, were sweet and a little chewy. The Pork Chop Rice set that I had ordered for myself was tasty enough, but not enough to keep me from coveting what my friends' had ordered. The Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs and the Claypot Sliced Beef in particular, were delicious.

Claypot Sliced Beef Rice set

Unfortunately, I didn't really get to try the Taiwanese Braised Beef Noodles, which is one of the more well known Taiwanese dishes. If memory serves me right, my friends said the broth was rich and the beef was tender.

Taiwanese Braised Beef Noodle set

I really liked dining at Fong Lye and will definitely be going back again when I can. The restaurant was elegant, yet comfortable and casual, making it an ideal place to catch up with old friends. More importantly, the food was tasty and well presented and the service was friendly and efficient.

PS: Thanks to T for lending me his iPhone to photograph the food and then sending the pictures to me.

Spare Ribs Rice set

Fong Lye Restaurant

Lot T-208, 3rd Floor

The Gardens, Mid Valley City

Lingkaran Syed Putra

59200 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia