PappaRich, Chatswood

On a street between Chatswood Westfield and Chatswood Chase, there lies a Malaysian restaurant next to a notable tutoring centre (oh the memories...) by the name of PappaRich:

PappaRich Sign

When my friends first mentioned this place, I kept getting this place confused with PappaRoti (are they related??), which opened years ago at Macquarie Centre and I have still yet to try it. Fast forward to the present day, I've been to PappaRich a few times so there's no more confusion.

Anyway, after conquering the potential queue at the entrance and led to a table, you can take your time pouring over the large volume of menu options before ordering. Ordering at PappaRich is different from other restaurants as you are required to write down the codes for the food items that you want to order onto the provided paper and then hand it to a (scarce) waiter.

Chicken Skewers with Roti

The chicken skewers are served with a satay sauce, (raw) purple onion and chopped cucumbers - serving size is rather small but I guess suitable as an entrée. The roti here just isn't as good as the one served at Mamak, which are light and fluffy.

Ipoh Koay Teow Soup with Steamed Chicken

This dish is similar to the Chinese Hoi Nan Chicken, which also involves a steamed chicken immersed in soy sauce that is normally accompanied by steamed rice. At PappaRich, you can opt for a noodle soup instead - thin flat rice noodles in a boiled chicken and prawn head broth, topped with chives, red chilli and bean sprouts. Traditionally the broth is made by cooking a chicken carcass and prawn heads in water for a long time until the juices/flavour seeps into the liquid to form the flavoursome soup but I think this one may have had some added 'MSG'.

Curry Fish Fillet Noodles Soup

I previously tried the fish curry under the recommendation from a fellow MSGer and absolutely loved it so I ordered it again. The fish is usually served on top of the curry noodles but I prefer it to retain its crunchy texture when I eat it, so I set it aside to prevent it from drowning (yet soaking up the spicy red curry). Inside the curry are thick chunks of tomatoes and deep fried eggplant, which help cut through the spiciness of the curry, as well as fried tofu puffs and bean sprouts on top of a bed of thin vermicelli noodles. The curry itself is rather spicy but is so good that it makes you want to drink more and more of it. This dish is rather large so you had better have a big appetite or be prepared to share.

PappaRich is usually plagued with long queues during peak times so it's best to eat really early or late to avoid the crowds - I arrived just before 6pm and majority of the tables were already filled. However, if you're persistent, you'll be treated to delicious meal. I would definitely recommend sitting in the small courtyard area towards the main entrance/street if the weather is warm as it allows for a a wonderful cool breeze from outside, whereas it was noticeably warmer if you sat closer towards the kitchen/bathroom area. At the Chatswood branch, there is also a small playroom area with play equipment, toys and a TV for kids but not sure how safe it is inside.

Foodcraft Espresso & Bakery, Erskinville

The Foodcraft Espresso & Bakery was brought to my attention after reading an online news article about their "world famous" Tella Balls - a massive doughnut ball filled with nutella! Being a major chocolate fan, I was eager to check this out.

When my friend and I arrived on a sunny Saturday morn, there was one serious crowd waiting outside the cafe and it took us almost half an hour before we finally landed a table inside:

Selection of Baked Goods - the bottom level is filled with Tella Balls!

Just looking at the Tella Balls can make any chocolate lover drool:

"World Famous" Tella Balls ($4.50) - Doughnut Balls filled with Nutella;
Also available with Five Berry Jam, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean Ricotta

If you're not a fan of doughnuts, you can opt for a cruffin (croissants baked in shape of muffins):

Cruffins ($6)

Who in their right mind would not take up the change to conquer the Tella Ball Shake:

Tella Ball Shake ($10) - Chocolate Milkshake
topped with Tella Ball

This is one monstrously chocolate-y meal in itself - a mason jar filled with a choc shake and topped with a Tella Ball! TBH, the Tella Ball is like a glorified giant doughnut ball with a generous dose of nutella that sort of explodes when you bite into it. I ended up dissecting and eating the Tella Ball on the saucer with a teaspoon (kindly offered by my friend, leftover from her latte) as it is sort of hard to eat it when all you're offered is a thick straw...

Bacon and Egg Panini ($10)

My friend opted for the bacon and egg panini - she had better luck eating it this time without creating a mess on the plate and rated it higher than the bacon and egg roll from The Missing Piece.

I would like to return again and try the actual food items from their menu but unfortunately it's a bit of a trek to get there via public transport (either travel to Newtown or Erskinville Station) and parking is a nightmare on weekends.

Golden Palace Seafood Restaurant, Cabramatta

In celebration of the nuptials between Mr&Mrs L, their reception was held at Golden Palace Seafood Restaurant, which is in the heart of Cabramatta. Having rarely ventured out to the area, it was a bit of an eye-opening experience to drive through and walk in the neighbourhood.

The restaurant is located on the second floor of the building and the outside of the restaurant had been decorated as a massive photo-taking area so that guests could take photos with the bride and groom before they entered the restaurant.

By the time everyone arrived and was seated at their respective tables, it was well after 8pm and the courses of the Chinese Banquet (oh food... glorious food) was eventually served to guests:

BBQ Cold Cut Platter

Piccolo Me, Crows Nest

Piccolo Me is well-known for their nutella-infused drinks (e.g. the Piccolo Me Bomb and Nutellagato) and then I found out there was one close to work, I decided to make the trek to the branch in Crows Nest.

Close to the Crows Nest Food hub and across the road from the esteemed North Sydney Girls High School, Piccolo Me is a rather small cafe, hidden between a few commercial shops on Pacific Highway:

Sign Outside Cafe -
I wish they had dancing monkeys too...

The cafe offers a selection of food and drink options and I stuck to a classic chicken burger:

The Charlito ($12) - Grilled Chicken, Cheddar, Red/Green Pickles,
Bacon, Lettuce and Garlic Sauce, served with Nacho Chips and Relish Dip

Unfortunately the chicken fillet in the burger was dry, which sort of ruined the burger for me. The burger was rather big so I didn't end up finishing it. I found it interesting that they chose to serve the burger with nacho chips, which I guess is a healthier option and came with a dip, but I think I prefer my burgers to be served with hot chips/fries.

And onto the main reason why I was here:

Nutellagato ($7.50) - Nutella and Vanilla Ice Cream, Double Ristretto,
Chocolate Flakes and Crushed Hazelnuts

Cheeky Comment on Napkin

The ice cream was nice and creamy, with massive dollops of nutella mixed into it. However, this resulted in the dessert being overly sweet, especially when you added in some chocolate flakes, which I basically left untouched. I wish there was another (or a larger) shot of the ristretto - compared to the volume of ice cream provided, there just isn't enough coffee to make it an 'affogato' and the bitterness from more coffee would have balanced out the sickly sweet taste from the ice cream.


From visit #2:

I decided to visit Piccolo Me again after a nutella craving and was surprised that they decided to change their recipe for the nutella and vanilla ice cream - it no longer had the massive blobs of nutella mixed into the ice cream, so you could mix in the choc flakes without the previous sugar overload (not quite sure whether that's a good or bad thing...). However, the ice cream texture was bit icy and I still stick with my original opinion that it needed more ristretto.

Piccolo Me is a great place for those that want a pick-me-up coffee/sugar hit with branches in the CBD and Macquarie Uni as well. It attempts to become a hit with those on Instagram with their catchy menu and napkin quotes but I think this store may be limiting its customers with its location, which is mainly accessible by bus or car (you'd need to walk ~20min from the nearest train station) and is a bit far away from the usual Crows Nest haunts.