Din Tai Fung Xiao Long Bao (Pork dumplings) 12pcs - $18.9
Was not disappointed. The pork dumplings had the signature thin wrappers that didn’t break apart. The intense pork-meaty-soup broth inside was the same as the experience in the store and the actual pork filling was just as juicy.
My only suggestion would be provided a packet of their signature vinegar, soy ginger sauce for people who don’t want to buy an entire bottle of Chinese black vinegar to enjoy the full experience.
Salt & Palm Co. Sop Buntut (Beef Oxtail Soup) - $19.7
I’ve never tried Salt & Palm Co. before, but I do know they’re an establishment located in Glebe providing Indonesian flavours to the city.
Today I got the Sop Buntut, which is a rather common dish in Indonesia. It’s a hearty, savoury and flavourful oxtail soup. The beef was incredibly tender, in fact, impressively tender.
And the broth mixture was packed with flavour from the oxtail and the vegetables. I would highly recommend this with rice on a cold winter day.
Ho Jiak Hainan Chicken - $30.8
If you know me well enough, you would know I love Hainanese Chicken rice. I could eat that everyday without complaints. (If it’s good hainanese chicken rice)
So when I saw this on the Thai Kee IGA website, I had to buy it!
Taste wise, it wasn’t bad and texturally it was still the signature tender, juicy chicken filled with umami flavours.
However, and it’s a big however. The portion size left a lot to be desired. The box said it provided 4 portions, but I think 2 would be more accurate if you were having other dishes with your meal as well.
Seoul Foods Arisun 48hr Beef Bone Soup - $11.25
Arisun is a well established restaurant known for their Korean fare. Something about soup simmering for 48 hours made me have to try it.
The flavour of the soup was rich, but not heavy which many Korean bone broths manage to do very well. You could taste the amount of hours it took to infuse the flavours in. However, surprisingly the beef was not as tender as I was expecting.
And the noodles that came with the soup was not exactly the portion sizes I was use to. However, bone broths are normally served with rice instead of the soup being a noodle base, so I’m not going to get hung up over noodles I wasn’t even expecting to begin with…
Chaco Ramen Fat Soy 2pax - $28.8
Chaco ramen has a few options available on Thai Kee IGA, and I chose the Fat Soy set for 2 people.
Honestly, out of everything I ordered from the restaurant range Chaco ramen went above and beyond in terms of packaging, the ease of cooking the meal, the portion size as well as the flavour you would expect from eating it in-store.
I would say the char siu isn’t as melt-in-your-mouth compared to my previous experience in-store. However overall I really enjoyed Chaco Ramen’s Fat Soy set, and at the price for 2 portions, it was the only item out of everything I tried that was a complete meal.
