Happy Chef Seafood Noodle House, Sydney

While away from home, sometimes you just get a sudden craving of your usual local delights. So this time while at Sydney, I ended up at this foodcourt in Chinatown Mall... in the hope of finding some local Singapore food to satisfy my tastebuds!

Happy Chef Seafood Noodle House was the name of the stall in the Sussex Centre foodcourt I chanced upon. I was attracted by their colourful signboard of photos displaying the huge variety of Asian noodle dishes they served. They seem to have a long list of accolades including – recommendation by some popular TV programs - “Yan Can Cook” (hosted by the famous Martin Yan), Chinatown series on Foxtel and Channel 7’s “Sydney Weekender”.

They are also voted as a finalist in the I LOVE FOOD AWARDS 2007. In particular, the stall is renowned for their delicious laksa which has been complimented by many including Luke Mangan, one of Sydney's top 10 chefs.

Their famous laksa is a fusion of ingredients of all sorts – wanton (Chinese dumplings), roasted pork, chunk of Tau Pok (fried beancurd), bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles. I thought the laksa would probably be customised to the local Aussie taste, which should be unlike the typical thick Nonya & coconut milk laden laksa we have back at home. To my pleasant surprise, their laksa gravy taste just like ours, although the flavour is much lighter but its more spicy by the Singaporean standard. I was a happy and satisfied man when I finished the whole bowl of laksa, perspiring all over because of the spices! One could not have asked for more … away from home yet being able to savour this delicious local dish!

Verdict - one of the better tasting laksa we had (outside Singapore)! Would go back again when craving for local food. Price is also reasonable at A$8.50. Worth visiting as it also serves many other authentic Asian cusines (Thai, Korean, Japanese, Chinese/HongKong,etc..)

Happy Chef Seafood Noodle House is at Sussex Centre, Shop F3, 401 Sussex Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia Tel: (02) 9281 5832

Waterfront Restaurant, Sydney

Was away for a week to attend a conference in Sydney, Australia. Took the Singapore Airlines SQ A380 direct night flight to Sydney and was whizzed off there in approximately 8 hours. What a great way to fly! Onboard the SQ A380 flight, I was already served like a king with sweet delights like two dosages of delicious magnolia magnum ice-cream, sumptuous dinner and breakfast! The inflight entertainment programme was also very interesting and definitely dated with the latest movies. I watched the “Mama Mia” (the latest summer movie by Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan) / musical by ABBA which was a musical movie about the story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular '70s group ABBA. I was greatly moved and definitely enjoyed every minute of the movie! Never knew Pierce Brosnan could sing!

Sydney was very sunny when I arrived. Had to go to the must-see scenic spots like: Sydney Opera House and Harbourbridge, and to take a few photos as momento.

Dining in Sydney was great and made of the freshest too! The most memorable one in my opinion was at Waterfront Restaurant, Circular Quay. We had a sumptuous feast – ordered the Waterfronts Seafood Platter (costing A$150) which are a succulent selection of lobster, crab, prawns, bugs, oysters, mussles, smoked salmon & market fresh fish served chilled and hot with hand cut fries, dipping sauces and salad... plus complementing the meal with the great white Australian wine! O what more could we ask for! We also ordered the Grilled Wild Barramundi Fish Fillets at A$35 which we thought was quite just average.

Here’s what memories are made of :

Waterfront Restaurant is at 27 Circular Quay West Sydney NSW 200027 Australia Tel : +61 2 9247 3666