State of Origin - QLD Pies vs NSW Pies

My apologies for the lack in posts; I've been a little tied up with a whole load of stuff, from boring courses/exams to me and Yoshi's "Save the Date" project and also the new acquisition of my canon Kiss X3.

Our "Save the Date" poster


I've always wanted the 50d but due to the GFC I've made do with one more "0" which is the 500d. But I have no regrets; it is still one piece of awesome technology; can't complaint(because I Love It) ; back to the Pies...


Anyways, I've been longing to try Harry's Cafe' de Wheels for ages; famous for their pies and hot dogs. In my first trip to Sydney a few years ago, we didn't have much time so I had to give the pies a miss. However this time around I had to try it. Many famous celebrities has popped by this Iconic stall for a bite, people from the Colonel of Chicken Sanders to my hero Anthony Bourdain.

Both me and Yoshi ordered the signature dish which was "Harry's Tiger"; the mash potato and peas was just delightful and wonderfully creamy. The pie was alright and was everything a pie should be; however the NSW iconic pie tasted rather commercial, like it came out from a factory.In my view, I think the QLD crew at "Yatala Pies " would give Mr Harry a good fight with their melt in your mouth cheesy pie that leaves you with a chronic sense of wanting more. Being State of Origin Season , ie Rugby League; Its NSW vs QLD.

In my books; Harry's Cafe's Mash potatoes & peas & gravy is unbeatable but the pies at Yatala Pies is at a different level . Being a pie fight, I declare Yatala the winner; thats QLD 1 , NSW Nil.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Location : Cowper Wharf Rd, Woolloomooloo NSW

Yatala Pie

Location: 48 Old Pacific Hwy, Yatala QLD

Which one do you think looks better?

Sydney Trotting - Where East Meets West

On the second night in Sydney , me and Yoshi decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Blancharu a French Japanese restaurant. We both have not had much French food ,the most we had was probably a couple of croissants for breakfast. Blancharu had a reasonably priced menu and also being located in Elizabeth Bay, it was right next to the infamous Kings Cross and pretty close to where we were staying at Potts Point.



Al Alamein Fountain - The famous meeting point in Kings Cross






Only 6621Km from Kuala LUMPUR! not Lumpar!

Due to my prior greediness or having a large pie at Harry's Pie only a couple of hours before dinner; we decided to share between the two of us a 4 course degustation and an extra entree. Instead of a 7 course degustation each we had initially wanted. We were first greeted by a nice warm freshly baked bun each.

We decided to go for Foie gras ‘Chawanmushi’ with Dashi Broth for our entree'. Honestly it was a little too French for my Asian tongue, but it wasn't too bad ... and we did finished everything on the plate.

Next we had the Sushi platter; with cucumber and umeboshi( plum) ,salmon, unagi(eel) and scallop sushis. The winner on the plate was the scallops... which exploded and released a nice charred flavour .

The next dish that came was the black ink squid pasta, which was also another first for us. A dish which I had always wanted to try but never had the chance.For some reason I always had the impression it would be bitter or sour; maybe because it is black and it comes out from a squid, but it was actually tasty and flavourful and was probably my favorite dish of the night.

The twice cooked duck breast came next, which was nicely cooked... tender on the inside with a lightly crisp skin .


Desserts came next, and the kind people at Blancharu gave us one for free as we were celebrating a special occasion. A beautifully fluffy almost sponge like Soufflé, served with lime sorbet was a match made in heaven.

Traditional Crème Brûlée and coffee ice cream was the other dessert we ordered and it was delightful. Great blend of textures and taste, with the crisp of the burned cream and the soft sweat custard inside mixed gracefully with the coffee ice cream.

Location : Shop 1, 21 Elizabeth Bay Road,Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011

Taste: Great blend of flavours and taste from the east and west.