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Good vibes only conversations with people from all over about their ‘go to’ places for a drink or food.
The focus isn’t on what is fanciest or most impressive. It’s on what people genuinely enjoy and so go back for more.
Have a listen and try out the places if you can.
Jaz will also create bonus episodes to share positive food and drink experiences as she adventures through life. Don’t expect a formal review. Just descriptions of cool places with yummy food and drinks.
Jaz (00:12):
Hey there. Welcome to My Mate In... Today I am catching up with my mate from the inner West in Sydney, Brendan. Hey, Brendan.
Brendan (00:20):
Hey, Jaz. How you doing?
Jaz (00:21):
Doing good. How about you?
Brendan (00:23):
I'm doing really well. Um, I'm happy to be here.
Jaz (00:26):
Heck yeah. I'm happy you're here too. We have a couple of places we're gonna talk about today in the Inner West. Uh, where do you wanna start?
Brendan (00:34):
Uh, so I think I want to start probably the OG for me. Um, like the first place in Sydney that I fell in love with, I've been here for I think about 12 years now. It's a place in Ashfield called, called New Shanghai. It's a Chinese restaurant, and they just do the, the Xiaolongbao is a standout. Like they're, they're just incredible. They don't take bookings. Um, there's always a lineup out the front, you know, it's the very, very quick service. But I don't know, uh, there's something really endearing that I find about that. Um,
Jaz (01:09):
Yeah.
Brendan (01:09):
There's no pretense, there's no kind of showmanship. It's just like, you, you know, you know why you're here. We know why you're here, . Let's get some food on this table and let's get you the fuck out of here so we can turn this table around and make more money.
Jaz (01:23):
.
Brendan (01:23):
And, I dunno, I really like that. I really like that.
Jaz (01:26):
Respect.
Brendan (01:26):
Um, yeah. Uh, the, but yeah, the, it's, it's, it's interesting because, uh, like Ashfield in Sydney is a very, there's a very strong Chinese community, so there's really good Chinese restaurants everywhere. Um, this place happens to be the standout for me, but it's in a row of three shops. And so New Shanghai is in the middle. To the left is Shanghai Night, and to the right is New Shanghai Night,
Jaz (01:54):
. Oh my gosh.
Brendan (01:57):
It's, it's, it's really confusing . It's really confusing, but it's, it's just one of those things. I used to live like a short walk from there. I think I'd, I think at one point in my life I was eating there like once a fortnight or something. Like even just if I would just pop down by myself on a Wednesday or something like Yeah. The, the dumplings are just phenomenal. They have a little kind of annex room off to the side where you can like, book classes to learn how to make dumplings and they, you know, like sell them out of the freezer so you can steam 'em at home and do all that sort of stuff. It's ah,
Jaz (02:32):
Cool.
Brendan (02:32):
Yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a really good place. And I, I just, I just love the food. It's great.
Jaz (02:37):
Nice.
Brendan (02:38):
Yeah.
Jaz (02:38):
Do you have a specific like flavor or style dumpling there that you'd really like?
Brendan (02:43):
I don't think I've ever been there and not had the Xiaolongbao. Like, um,
Jaz (02:46):
OK.
Brendan (02:46):
But if I, if I go to any dumpling place, like I'm gonna get a Xiaolongbao, that's kind of my, my benchmark. Like, that's how I set my response to any place. I'm like, is the Xiaolongbao good? Um, and even if every, everything else is incredible, but the Xiaolongbao is a little bit lacking, I'll be like, nah, place no good , . Don't, don't, don't, don't bother with it. .
Jaz (03:12):
And so for people who haven't tried or they're not familiar with the name Xiaolongbao...
Brendan (03:17):
Mm-Hmm.
Jaz (03:17):
Talk us through it. Paint me a picture.
Brendan (03:19):
It's a pork dumpling, but it's, um, it's got like a little soup inside, like a pork broth soup. Um, so when you bite into it, the, the, once the pastry kind of breaks, the soup kind of envelops your whole mouth and like explodes into your mouth. That's the way I eat it anyway. A lot of people like to break the, break the wrapper on the spoon and then kind of sip the soup out, which is perfectly acceptable. But I don't know, the, if you bite the whole thing whole and you get that flavor explosion throughout your whole mouth, that just like, really rich umami porky broth just coats your whole mouth. And man, it's a, it's a good time. . It's a,
Jaz (04:06):
Yeah, I've never had it, so I am very keen to try.
Brendan (04:08):
Pardon?
Jaz (04:09):
Yeah.
Jaz (04:10):
Yeah. That's why I was like, oh, if listeners don't know... Like I didn't what you're talking about, .
Brendan (04:19):
Jaz (04:19):
Mean, before, when I moved to Sydney, I pretty much straight away became vegetarian.
Brendan (04:24):
Yeah.
Jaz (04:24):
And then have essentially been 99% of the time vegetarian since then. So I'll use that as an excuse. But I mean,
Brendan (04:33):
That's a perfectly perfectly reasonable excuse. Like, um, yeah, you are, you are making a very ethical choice. And I, I just want that broth in my mouth. .
Jaz (04:47):
You make it sound very good.
Brendan (04:49):
Oh, it's, it's, it's a really good time. Um, I actually learned how to make them recently. I watch a lot of like, cooking videos on YouTube and stuff, and, um, realized they, they make the broth ahead of time. 'cause I always wondered how they did it, but they add a little bit of gelatin to the broth, and then they set them in little disks.
Jaz (05:08):
Ah.
Brendan (05:08):
Yeah. So then, you know, you're not trying to fill a dumpling with liquid, basically. And then as it steams, that melts. And
Jaz (05:18):
I love the, the chemistry and the physics of food. That is awesome.
Brendan (05:22):
Yeah. It's, it's really interesting. It's great.
Jaz (05:25):
And how did yours turn out?
Brendan (05:26):
I didn't actually make them. I like most
Jaz (05:28):
Oh, you learn how to?
Brendan (05:29):
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I like, I, I watch a lot of like, YouTube cooking instructional videos. I might make one out of every 10 of the videos that I watch. Um, it's just a very relaxing thing for me.
Jaz (05:43):
Yeah. And if you appreciate food, like that's the payoff right? Is watching it and getting those insights. That's cool.
Brendan (05:49):
Yeah. Yeah. Just getting like a little deeper understanding. Um, and, you know, I might not cook the recipe per se, but there might be a little nugget in there that I, I can kind of use in my own cooking at some point.
Jaz (06:02):
Every Sunday from about two o'clock, Tim and I batch cook for the week.
Brendan (06:06):
Mm-Hmm. .
Jaz (06:06):
And we'll do one batch meal for dinners and one for lunch. And at the same time we have whatever trashy cooking show that we can find. The Gordon Ramseyiest, the Betterer. Like .
Brendan (06:21):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jaz (06:21):
It doesn't matter. Like right now we're watching Final Table and we're not cooking while they're cooking. We do not have the ingredients they have,
Brendan (06:28):
No.
Jaz (06:28):
but I still love seeing what they're doing and like having that atmosphere. And every now and then Tim will be like, oh, that looks great. And we both look up and like, oh yeah, do our own like little critique of it and then get back to whatever we're cooking...
Brendan (06:40):
Jaz (06:40):
which is nowhere near the standard that they're cooking. But we're like, yes. Yes, Chef .
Brendan (06:47):
No, there's a, yeah. Quite a similar thing. Um, I, I've fallen in love, uh, in the last couple of years with The Great British Bake Off. Um...
Jaz (06:58):
Oh, it's so calming as well.
Brendan (07:00):
Yeah.
Jaz (07:00):
I love it.
Brendan (07:01):
It's, it's, it's a hundred percent not the normal kind of programming that I watch. Um, but I don't know, just something about that show is it's, it's just great relaxing, binge watching.
Jaz (07:12):
Yeah.
Brendan (07:12):
...and, um, and yeah, I've been, I've been caught by my partner a few times, you know, with being like oh, the Madeleine's don't have enough of a lump. And she'll go to me, have, have, have you ever seen a Madeleine, have you ever heard of a Madeleine before today? I'm like, no, dunno what you're talking about.
Jaz (07:28):
Yeah. Legally, you're not allowed to ask me that.
Brendan (07:32):
, yeah. Um, yeah, I keep a lawyer on retainer for that, for that exact purpose. they managed to squeeze in a lot of, um, sexual innuendo for a, for, for a quite innocent, um, baking competition and, you know, that's always gonna gimme a giggle.
Jaz (07:53):
Yeah.
Brendan (07:54):
Yeah.
Jaz (07:54):
And there's this like, really nice properness, I think, to it that you don't see in a, uh, Australian cooking shows of like shaking hands and really... Yeah. That English formalities that we, we don't tend to have.
Brendan (08:08):
Well, I I think one of the things that really speaks to me about it is like, if you watch, um, any kind of Australian reality cooking shows or whatever, it's all very, you know, tense and high drama and you know, there's orchestral swells and...
Jaz (08:21):
Oh yeah. It's all conflict based. Yeah.
Brendan (08:23):
Yeah. Um, and then you watch this and sure, everyone's competing against each other and they want to do well, but they're genuinely happy for other people. And if one of the contestants is struggling for time or whatever, like, and some other contestants have already finished, like, they'll generally go over to their bench and help them.
Jaz (08:41):
Mm.
Brendan (08:41):
And you know, that's just nice, isn't it?
Jaz (08:45):
Yeah.
Brendan (08:45):
That's just quite nice.
Jaz (08:47):
Yeah. I like that a lot.
Brendan (08:48):
Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't do it. I'd be like, nah fuck you guys. I'm taking this thing home.
Jaz (08:57):
And so, yeah. So we've looped back to the reason why Australian TV isn't like that .
Brendan (09:03):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I've, I've been raised in the Australian culture and wouldn't you believe it? I, uh, I'm extremely competitive.
Jaz (09:13):
So this episode very quickly turned into a random conversation just about cooking shows instead of places that we've been. And I, I'm here for it. I liked that a lot. But I...
Brendan (09:23):
I, I think I spend more time watching, uh, cooking content, uh, than actually eating out. So...
Jaz (09:30):
So proportionally we've got it about right then.
Brendan (09:33):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. .
Jaz (09:33):
Nice.
Brendan (09:34):
Um, the other place I wanted to talk about, um, is in Stanmore, uh, which is the last suburb that I lived in. Uh, and there's this great little restaurant on an otherwise like suburban street called Emma's Snack Bar.
Jaz (09:51):
Mm-Hmm.
Brendan (09:51):
Uh, it's a, it's a Middle Eastern restaurant, and it is fantastic. I was kind of sleeping on, um, like Middle Eastern food for, for a long time. It took actually going to that place with like a large group, like six, eight people, I can't remember how many it was to realize that, to, to get the most out of that cuisine, you need to go with a large group. If you just go with two people, like you get two dishes and then, like, there's not much variety there. But if you go with a large group, you, you get a little bit of everything and it's that very like, communal kind of eating style, which is really great. And, you know, oh, I'm gonna try a bit of this now. And, oh, what if, what happens if I, you know, mix this with that and, you know, put it up in a pita and Oh, how about some of this tahini honey sauce? I'll put some of that on there. Oh, wouldn't you know, it's fucking amazing. Um, the roasted cauliflower at Emma's is the best I've had. It's really, really good. Like that really deep char, it's like smokey flavor. I think they've got like some, um, like smoked paprika on there and they like drizzle like a tahini sauce over the top and yeah, it's, it's phenomenal.
Jaz (11:06):
Yeah. That sounds heckin' and good.
Brendan (11:08):
Yeah. It's really good.
Jaz (11:09):
Any other highlights?
Brendan (11:11):
They do this chicken wrap and they kind of, it comes out and it's like maybe the size of a kebab, but it's kind of sliced up thinly, so there's maybe five portions there. And it's like, it's quite simple. It's just like a flatbread with like a really tender like chicken thigh. Like that's been, you know, charcoal cooked with like, this incredible sauce. And that thigh meat is just so tender. Um, but like, full of like charcoal smoky flavor and it's, yeah, it's full phenomenal. Big fan.
Jaz (11:43):
Very nice. Yeah. When, when there's a real charcoal flavor and smokiness...
Brendan (11:49):
Yeah.
Jaz (11:49):
That, that's something I think when you're vego you don't get as much. So that cauliflower dish where they still kind of have that smokiness.
Brendan (11:58):
Yeah. Yeah.
Jaz (11:58):
That's nice. Uh, what's the atmosphere like?
Brendan (12:02):
There's basically one long communal table down the middle of the dining space, and there's, I think, maybe three or four little tables for two on either side. Um, but yeah, for the most part, it's the kind of place where, you know, you walk in and they'll just sit you where they have free seats at the communal table. It's a good way to enjoy that cuisine. 'cause there's the, you know, communal aspect of the eating with your own group whilst you're also sitting at a communal table and, you know, you might get chatting to some of the people next to you and, um, yeah. Yeah, it's really nice.
Jaz (12:36):
I'm a fan of that. I like to talk to randoms, so I love it. Tim would hate it. ,
Brendan (12:42):
Uh, look, I'm, I'm, I'm probably more on Tim's level, uh, with this one. Honestly. Like every time I go there, um, with the exception of the cauliflower, we, I'll, I'll get something different and all of it's good, you know?
Jaz (12:58):
That's cool.
Brendan (12:59):
Um, yeah.
Jaz (13:01):
Yeah. So it's consistently good and there's a nice range of good options.
Brendan (13:06):
Yeah. A nice range. And, you know, because everything comes out, you're kind of like making your own meal anyway. Like you've got all the dishes.
Jaz (13:12):
Yeah.
Brendan (13:12):
You know, I've got my lamb here and I've got my cauliflower or my broccoli here, and then in the end of the day I am, you know, grabbing a pita and throwing variations of all of that into a wrap. And, um, having a great time.
Jaz (13:26):
Do you use your hands?
Brendan (13:27):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Jaz (13:28):
I love food where I can mix stuff together and layer it and make it my own with my hands. I love it.
Brendan (13:35):
Yeah. Yeah. Um, it just adds like another sensation to the meal, doesn't it? Like, you, you...
Jaz (13:40):
Sure.
Brendan (13:40):
You, you kind of feel like you're interacting with your food now, not just kind of, you know, I've got these metal things and only they shall touch the food .
Jaz (13:50):
That's right. So we've got some honorable mentions. What's worth, what else is worth shouting out? And I guess it's worth mentioning, like, if you haven't been to the, um, Inner West, there's just a lot of good options, so,
Brendan (14:03):
Oh, there's, there's, there's good food everywhere. Like, I, I could probably give honorable mentions for the next 40 minutes, um,
Jaz (14:10):
.
Brendan (14:10):
but I won't. Um, no. Uh, I've, I've recently moved to Rozelle and there's a, like an Italian deli around the corner from my place called Lombardo, and they just do great sandwiches on, like baked in-house, ciabatta rolls. Um,
Jaz (14:30):
mm.
Brendan (14:30):
And that's a really, really nice spot. The, the staff are all like, super friendly. I also wanted to shout out Xian Eatery in Burwood. It's a Northern Chinese noodle restaurant, and they make these hand-rolled noodles that are like super thick. And so you get kind of like a aldente pasta feel like they're, they're quite dense and they have like, chew to them, they bite back. And it's a, it's a really simple, it's just kind of like a, um, oil and maybe like Chinese black vinegar with maybe some fried shallots and some like fresh green onions.
Jaz (15:12):
Mm-Hmm.
Brendan (15:13):
Like, and, and the, and these like thick long noodles just tossed lightly in that. Like, it's a really simple, simple dish. Like it's all about the noodles and it's great.
Jaz (15:24):
That's cool. Yeah.
Brendan (15:25):
Yeah, it's really good.
Jaz (15:27):
Simple, good, good ingredients. Yeah.
Brendan (15:30):
That's, that's, that's all I'm after. Yeah. Yeah. I just want that, I just want that texture. I just want that bite from the noodle, man. I'm, I'm getting hungry thinking about it. .
Jaz (15:42):
Every time I do an episode I'm like, whoa, now I'm starving. .
Brendan (15:47):
Yeah. ,
Jaz (15:48):
I'm getting a sense from this conversation as well. Like, uh, I'm really appreciating in your description compared to other people that I've spoken to of how the, like the sensory aspect of food for you, um, and texture and everything. And, uh, I love that.
Brendan (16:03):
Oh yeah. Yeah. It's, it's so important. Um, and like, you know, obviously flavor is good, um, but like, if you've got something that tastes great, but it's all the same, like, there has to be other elements to it. So I dunno, I like to kind of eat with all of my senses. Like if I can get these like, nice textural elements and, you know, if I can find a way to, or if there's a dish that has like a really standout kind of color or something that, that pops in that sense, like obviously it's gonna kind of get me more interested then, um, you know, because we do particularly in Australia and say with our kind of like British cuisine traditions, like we eat a lot of beige food.
Jaz (16:52):
,
Brendan (16:52):
and like, look, and, and I'm a fan of beige food, like, I love me some mashed potato, I love fish and chips, like I'm love that stuff, but... Yeah. Like I, I think there are other parts of the world that just do the whole experience better, you know?
Jaz (17:09):
Yeah.
Brendan (17:09):
Yeah.
Jaz (17:10):
Yeah. Any other shout outs?
Brendan (17:12):
The Warren View Hotel.
Jaz (17:15):
Ah, okay. Tell me about that one.
Brendan (17:16):
Uh, it's just, it was my local, um, at the last place that I lived at, it was a great, great big pub with like a big outdoor beer garden. Um, like I'm an a AFL supporter and it's an AFL pub. So, you know, people would go there, watch the football together, you'd uh, you'd drink some pints. Um, yeah, just a, a great space, a great atmosphere. And their, their schnitty was absolutely ripper. Um...
Jaz (17:46):
Nice.
Brendan (17:46):
Yeah, they did a killer schnitty.
Jaz (17:48):
Did you say which suburb this was?
Brendan (17:50):
Yeah, it's in, uh, it's in Stanmore. Yeah. So it's, it's a short walk from like the Enmore Theater. Um, if any of your listeners, listeners know
Jaz (17:58):
Nice. Yeah, yeah. Good. You know, go to a gig, have a good feed before or after.
Brendan (18:04):
Exactly. Yeah. Well, maybe not after, um, Sydney Sydney is the city that fun forgot, so everywhere closes at, you know, 4:30. It's kinda like, it's, it's like going back to Wagga .
Jaz (18:18):
. Uh, I am in awe and respecting the range that we've covered here. We've hit, I think the first one was Chinese, and then we've talked North Chinese. We talked Italian or... Middle Eastern.
Brendan (18:36):
Mm-Hmm. .
Jaz (18:36):
...and then just a solid pub.
Brendan (18:38):
Yeah.
Jaz (18:39):
You can't go wrong with that. You've got all the options. You've got multiple weekends worth of places to explore.
Brendan (18:45):
I'd highly suggest to anyone to go to any of the places that I mentioned. Uh, you're bound to have a good feed.
Jaz (18:51):
I need to put Sydney on my list of places to come back to and hit you up to check these places out.
Brendan (18:58):
Yeah, yeah. By all means, gimme a, gimme a shout. I'll, uh, I'll show you a few spots.
Jaz (19:02):
Thank you for your time.
Brendan (19:04):
Thanks for having me, Jaz.