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yinandyanglifestyle · 1 month ago

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3-DAY Sydney Food Trip on a Budget

by: Icie

Yes, it was possible to go to Sydney without spending a lot on food and still have a good time. The trick is to avoid the fancy looking restaurants which, frankly isn't really worth it, and go to questionable places to find the "unplated" food but is super delicious! Ugly delicious is a thing and we humans need to appreciate food more based on the flavour, texture, and cuisine style rather than the prestige that was given to it by tire companies.

Here's the rules:

Maximum of $40 for 2 people. Drinks are not included in the tally because we had service water.

Amount shown is rounded off.

Everything is in Australian Dollars.

We can only call it affordable if it's $25 - $30 per person (i.e. if you're only one person eating. Anything above it is breaking the budget if you're eating with someone.)

It's a per meal challenge. $40 for a whole day is impossible unless you're just eating junk food and where's the fun in that?

Let's begin:

I combed the internet for recommendations on good Sydney food and tallied the ones that the internet has deemed worthy of visiting and gorging yourself on and I visited them with my partner. Honestly, exploring Sydney's food scene was what made our trip worthwhile and made us fall in love with Sydney.

Brisbane can't compare! Sydney is far superior foodwise. (Granted, I haven't been to Melbourne but that's a different story for a different day.)

~~~~~

DAY 1: Laneway Dumplings and Momo ($32), Tomyum Ramen from Hell (Dinner $30pp. As a group, we broke the budget and failed this challenge.)

Both situated on Temperance Lane in Sydney, you have to go through the back alleys to find these rare and absolutely delicious food. You'll know you're there when you pass by the Latin bar, see the fairy lights and plastic greenery near the Rick and Morty mural. The momos and dumplings were great! You were given a choice to create your own sauce or get the shop's recommendation. We did both. We had the recommended momo sauce for the Himalayan dumplings and created our own for the mixed dumplings. We were so disappointed with what we created and we loved the momo sauce so much, we ordered another batch of momos and sauce just so we could pig out. We should've been satisfied with a share plate of 16 pieces of a $17 meal, but nooooo... this food, I like it! Another!

Tom Yum from Hell was a beast! My spice tolerance is pretty high (I can eat Samyang Buldak without crying) so we tried it and ordered our tom yum. The kind lady at the counter asked us our spice level and I went in guns blazing and said "give me your spiciest tom yum!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Hell yeah!"

"uh... if you say so."

Bitch, I cried.

When they said their tom yum from hell was from hell, you better believe it. She warned me and I didn't trust her. I was in spicy hell! The flavour was amazing, be it seafood or meatballs, and the lemon juice gave it just the right acidity to raise the intensity of the swirling party flavours in my mouth. And the creamy eggs made everything come together in something that is a good representation of Sydney's Asian Noodle scene. Ok, next time I stop by Sydney, I'll try their medium spice and have a glass of milk beside me to alleviate the haemorrhoid inducing Scoville defying spice effect of their amazing tom yum.

Day 2: Marrickville Pork Roll (breakfast $22), Mamak Malaysian Roti and Satay (lunch $25), Mother Chu's Taiwanese Gourmet (Dinner $20)

There was an internet consensus for Marrickville Pork Roll. Is it the best banh mi in Sydney? Absofuckinglutely. The meat of their crispy pork was so tender it melts in your mouth and whatever sauce they put in their banh mis were so complementary that my partner cannot help but close his eyes and moan about how delicious these pork rolls are. We found out later that this was a franchise of the original shop in Marrickville, but if the franchise was already this good, then the OG must be insane right?

Mamak's roti was nice, flaky and buttery and worth every penny. So much so that people from all over line up outside with or without reservations just so they could have a taste of what this Malaysian restaurant has to offer. Outside, we were treated to a show of how their rotis were made. The gluten stretch of that thin dough was enough to make any baker worth their salt jealous. After seeing that display of craftsmanship, we just had to order the roti canai. We also had nasi lemak but it just can't quite compare to the absolute beast that is their roti canai.

Lastly, we have Mother Chu's Taiwanese Gourmet which is Taiwanese comfort food at its finest in the heart of Sydney's Chinatown. Oh my god. So this is what actual Taiwanese comfort food tastes like. It is distinct from your everyday Chinese food and dare I say it, tastier. Each dish in this restaurant makes me feel like it was made by a caring mom who made something nice and warm for you because you have a cold and then give you a kiss on the forehead to tell you that "you'll get better soon, trust mommy." The Taiwanese Style Savoury Mince Pork Congee feels like the cosiest thing you'll have on a cold Sydney evening. And the Traditional Taiwanese Worker's Noodle soup was so fresh. The ingredients were so cheap that it only costs $8 but it all came together harmoniously that you'll feel like you were in a food anime where you're transported into a body of a Taiwanese worker who is saving money, exhausted from a day's work, and just wants to have a nice comforting meal at the end of the day.

Day 3: Din Tai Fung (Breakfast ($33), Emperor's Garden Cakes and Bakery (Breakfast $5), Kowloon Cafe (lunch $39)

Back to Chinatown we went because we discovered that's where all of the cheap but delicious food places were.

I don't get it. I wish I understood the reason why Din Tai Fung is so popular. I think the quality lies within the skin of their xiao long bao. They do not get soggy or the broth doesn't seep out no matter how long they stay in the steamer, but without the chili sauce, it's just not worth it. The beef noodle soup is also kinda meh. Is Din Tai Fung one of those restaurants that were hyped just cause somebody some time ago said it was good? You wait for so long and it just comes out disappointing especially if you're an Asian who is used to having tastier dumplings for 50c a piece if you just crossed the street from where you lived. There must be a reason why their HK branch got a Michelin Star right? Or is that overrated too? Please, somebody explain to me why people line up for Din Tai Fung.

Disappointed, we went to another spot in Chinatown. We lined up for another institution: Emperor's Garden Cakes and Bakery for the famous Emperor's cream puff. Wow! Finally some god food! For this one, we understand why people were willing to line up while it's 12°C outside just to have a bit of the hot, tasty and mouth watering cream puffs (which is actually manju) that is dirt cheap. it's $5 for 10 pieces and wow! It was love and decades of hard work in manju form.

Last on our food trip agenda was Kowloon Cafe. It was more expensive than the others but the servings were good for two people. Bruh it was great! The meals told us why Hong Kong cuisine is a force to be reckoned with. Who knew that baked rice with black bean sauce worked well with melted cheese? Hong Kong people, that's who. They also had a sense of humour when they called their French Toast "Thick Ass". The scrambled eggs with prawns was also so creamy and shaped like a tornado on top of creamy rice. I checked the reviews and it was rated 3.7/5. I understand why it was rated so low, it was an authentic experience of Asian street restaurant culture where the food is good but the staff is rude. They passed by and dumped the bowl in front of you unceremoniously and you were expected to eat fast and get out. Delicious! Reminded me of home!

All in all, the Sydney cheap food scene is worth trying out. We were surprised with how delicious everything was even if everything we tried was Asian cuisine. Mind you though, we went to the places that were recommended by a lot of people and they all just coincidentally happened to be Asian food. On our next trip there, we will be eating Western dishes and hope it's just as good as just as cheap.

There you go, here are some of Sydney's good food, how much they cost and a little preview on how they taste and what to expect. I bet there are better ways to go on a Sydney food trip on a budget, feel free to comment and let us know about your Sydney recommendations!

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