Miss Chu | The Casual Food Blogger

Address: 501 George St Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9283 0357

Website: http://www.misschu.com.au/Locations/SydneyCBDTuckshop

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I decided to visit MissChu again, this time checking out the CBD tuckshop with MDS.

We went after work at about 6.15pm and quickly ordered a couple of dishes to share. The restaurant works on a “tuckshop order” system whereby you fill out a little form, hand it in and pay at the register, then collect your items when your name is called out. There is no table service and seats are small crates or little stools at ironing board “tables.” A very interesting concept which is at first a little odd, but which contributes to the authentic Viet feel.

We decided on the chicken rice paper rolls at $7.50 each. They were quite large and filled full of shredded chicken, coconut, mint and lettuce. I wasn’t a big fan of the huge amount of mint and leaves in the roll, but overall it was a filling and quite healthy item.

We also ordered the tiger prawn and green mango rolls ($7.50). I though the presentation was fantastic as the prawns were neatly laid out and were visible through the rice paper. There were quite a few prawns in the roll too, and they were well cooked. I didn’t really taste any green mango however, which was a shame as I love the fresh and slightly sour taste of it.

The prawn and crab spring rolls ($6.00) wrapped in a vermicelli rice paper net were quite a treat. The filling was soft and moist, and the outside crunchy and golden. The cute sweet and sour sauce in a bottle added to the “tuckshop” vibe of the restaurant, and tasted great with the spring rolls.

The shanghai pork dumplings ($7.00 for three) were up next. MDS said they were some of the best she has ever had. I found the pork filling to be tasty and moist, but I thought the actual dumpling pastry was a little leathery and not as good as those at Din Tai Fung (see here and here).

Finally we ordered 2 BBQ pork char sui buns at $2.50 each. They were so soft and delicious, like eating clouds! The filling was sweet and slightly spicy and I really enjoyed these tasty steamed buns. They are probably just as good as Din Tai Fung’s.

Cost:

For all this food we were only charged $33.00. A steal considering that we were so full by the end of it!

The food was tasty, came out quickly, and was quite healthy (apart from the spring rolls) due to the amount of vegetables and raw ingredients in it.

Definitely great value for these dishes. I would suggest sharing items with someone rather than ordering your own dishes, as that way you get to sample a few different items and really get a feel for MIssChu’s tuckshop concept.

Rating:

Overall I would rate my experience (out of 10):

Service- 2
Food- 7.5
Ambience- 5.5
Value – 7.5

Address: 1/150 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst

Tel: (02) 8356 9988

Website: http://www.misschu.com.au/

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MissChu is one of Sydney’s most talked about catering and Vietnamese food shops.

The Darlinghurst shop is located close to the Cancer Council’s Woolloomooloo office where I work and so my friend and I decided to head over for lunch to check it out. It’s a bit of a hall in the wall “tuck shop” styled place with crates and little stools to sit on outside. There is often a bit of a line to order food at lunch time, and the cute little delivery bikes on the side of the road contribute to the shop’s authentic vibe.

My friend ordered a mint and pineapple crushed ice drink. I tried a little and found it nice and refreshing for such a hot day but, as I am used to lychee and mint drinks, I thought it lacked some sugar or sweetener. It was served in a cool-looking cup which was a good talking point! I ordered a BBQ pork char sui bun (one of my fave Asian snacks). The bread was so soft and light it was like eating fluffy clouds! The pork filling was sweet and tasty, and I really enjoyed eating this. Pork Bun ($2.50) My chilli prawn Vietnamese warm vermicelli salad came out in about 2 seconds. Service here is generally pretty fast which leads me to believe that everything is pre-made and simply heated up. It consisted of some mint and herbs at the bottom of the bowl, topped with vermicelli noodles and some prawns and chilli. I thought there was plenty of prawn for $13 and although it was a little spicy, I enjoyed it. It was initially quite dry as the sauces had sunk to the bottom of the bowl but once I discovered them and tossed the salad around it was fine. The one thing I didn’t like was that there was too much mint and herbs in the bottom which were difficult to eat and kind of tasted like you were eating weeds. Would have preferred some other vegetables in there instead. Chilli Prawn Noodles ($13.00) My friend ordered the Satay chicken Vietnamese warm vermicelli salad. There was a lot of chicken but from the looks of it, it was quite dry and if I had ordered the dish I would have liked some sort of peanut satay sauce on top for added flavour. Satay Chicken Noodles ($13.00) Rating: Overall I would rate my experience (out of 10):