The Bird Nest

The Bird Nest: Crunchy Egg Noodle with Seafood

The name of the menu card is “Crunchy Egg Noodle With Seafood” but it really remind me of a bird nest. Beautiful setup. The deep fried crunchy noodle form a circle with thicker edge, similar like a donut only the middle it’s not really a hole. The “topping” is of some seafood ingredients: prawn, squid, fish ball, mixed with a serve of stir fry veggies.

The serve size is really generous. Even a big man like me has a bit struggle to finish it off. Really value for your money as you can share this meal with your spouse or friend and still satisfy both.

Although it was deep fried, you cannot really feel the oily part. So, don’t worry about excessive fat from the oil. It is well drained. Eat it with sliced chili or chili sauce accompany with hot chinese tea, this dished will satisfy your taste bud and made your day!

The Restaurant

Saigon BBQ, Homebush West

When I say “takeaway” above, actually it’s not quite precise. The restaurant is quite decent size hosting around 15 tables. The name of the restaurant is “Saigon BBQ” . Yes, it’s a Vietnamese style cuisine located on the suburb of Homebush West. The address is 8/90 The Crescent, Homebush West, around 12km west from Sydney CBD.

8/90 The Crescent, Homebush West, photo: Google Map

It’s literally just a cross the street from Flemington station (hence, Flemington market) on the south side of the railway (not the market side). So, taking the train could be a straight forward idea.

It’s just a stroll away from Hudson Park Golf Course and it is in the middle of local shopping precinct. So, there are plenty or parking although it’s quite busy with the locals, but you will find one without sweating.

After meal, you can do a little bit Asian grocery shopping around the area.

Of course as a Vietnamese restaurant, you could order the usual Vietnamese beef noodle, Pork Chop with Fried Rice, and all other vietnamese meal and dessert. But for me, “The Bird Nest” was the highlight.

It’s not that difficult to make this dish at home, although a little hurdle will be to have a big wok full of oil to make the crunchy noodle.

6 Spatha for The Bird Nest

Photo from http://outbacksteakhouse.com.au/

Believe it or not, this is just the humble onion. The official name is even registered trademarked: Bloomin’ Onion® one of the signature dish from Outback Steakhouse Australia

The meal comes very quickly. Within 5 minutes of order, this magnificent meal has been placed on the center of our table.

Well, since it was deep fried, we cannot say that this one is the healthiest meal on the planet but both our 1 yr and 5 yr old eat this one without any complaint. The first cut is a bit struggle as we don’t know exactly what will be the easiest method to start eating it without really breaking it too much. But after few second, we just take the dip sauce a side, and cut it from the center as if it was a birthday cake.

The rest is history, within the next 10 minutes all mouths on the table are busy chewing this tasty starters. The spiciness will bite you a bit since we are actually eating onion, but I find it really pleasing with a sip of Coke on the rock to sooth you mouth – then keep eating it until none left!  The dipping sauce itself is not really special, probably just ordinary cheesy mayonnaise, but enough to complement the onion and make it a beautiful appetizer.

I would imagine, making it home made will consume some considerable amount of time to handle the onion and make it blooming. Since this has been a commercialized meal, then Outback must have had a special tools to cut open the onion, put the crumb/flour and deep fried it within minutes.  I guess this dish will also the most profitable product with practically only Onion and crumbs as the main cost.

You should try it yourself !

This has been a review for Bloomin’ Onion® from Outback Steakhouse Australia : A true Outback original. Our special onion is hand-carved by a dedicated bloomologist, cooked until golden and ready to dip into our spicy signature bloom sauce.  On your table for $9.95 as per November 2009.

7 Spatha for Blooming Onion®