A family birthday dinner brought us together by one of my cousins and it was at the Crown Dragon at St George Leagues Club. I didn't even know they had a restaurant there (apart from the Grange).
I will admit it's been many years since I've been in the club and a good 16 years or so since being a member. That was in my late (*ahem* legal) teens and early 20's, where I think I spent every Friday and Saturday night of my youth in either the weekly $10 concerts they had in the Auditorium (where the likes of Hoodoo Gurus, Margaret Urlich, Crowded House, James Reyne and many more bands played) the disco upstairs (which is now full of poker machines) or the Down Under Bar (which then became the Cool Room and wasn't so 'cool' anymore). oh the memories.....I digress....back to the food!
There were a total of 17 of us. Aunties, Uncles, First Cousins and Second Cousins. It was great to see them all together again. all the little cousins loved playing together again and were entertained watching the lobsters and fish in the holding tanks and a bit to overly excited when the waiter took one out to prepare for someone's meal!
The restaurant is busy with a wedding (which is sectioned off by a black partition next to us), a full restaurant and our noisy clan. The kids are easy and want spring rolls, chicken chow mein and boiled rice (for one of the pickier eaters) and have their own table (they felt special!). The wait staff are very happy to put the kids on their own table (out of the way of the rest of the rest of the restaurant - who wouldn't!)
Us adults decide to go with the $38 banquet. Pretty much your 'standard dishes' for the 'basic' banquet but everyone seems happy with it.
The meal started off with a chicken and ham roll. These were made minced chicken and and ham as opposed to the normal chicken roll wrapped in ham and then coated in batter and deep fried. These were fresh and piping hot but very oily. I'm not a fan of this entree generally, so this was a big let down. However the chicken and sweet corn soup was good. Thick and creamy with a good amount of chicken in it.
chicken and ham roll
chicken and sweet corn soup
The main courses soon followed. The lazy susan is full to the brim with plates as we spin it around to choose the dish we want, until my Uncle starts playing funnies and starts to use the lazy susan as a turntable and seeks his inner DJ (think about it) - he is a funny man.
Stir Fried King Prawn with Snow Peas
Plump king prawns and snow peas that still have a 'snap' to them. I like the dish with the light sauce and it's laced with champignons
The mongolian lamb was tender and smoky with a little kick to the sauce.
mongolian lamb
Yeung Chow Fried Rice
We had a couple of platters of the Yeung Chow Fried Rice which was really good and full of lots of bits and bites. I cannot eat alot of rice (or carb) so I only have a mouthful or two in my bowl, which I ration throughout the meal.
The braised black pepper steak was so tender and melt in your mouth and I loved the little cauldron cast iron pots it was served in....but beware of burnt fingers!
braised black pepper steak
The last dish to come out was stir fried chicken and cashew. By the time this dish arrives I am so very full and I need to save room for dessert (I know gasp - unusual for Roo!)
I only have a couple of small mouthfuls and the chicken is tender and juicy and I find myself asking my mum and others at the table how do they get the meat so tender? Nobody can answer again...it's a question that baffles me all the time? Does anybody now how to get the meat so tender in asian stirfries? I need to further investigate this?
chicken and cashew nuts
fried icecream with caramel sauce
We rounded out the meal with fortune cookies, mints and green tea. I pick the perfect fortune cookie.
don't cry because it's over smile because it happened
Even though the food is delicious and my family paid me out about taking food photos - hopefully they will now understand my obsession when they see this post. but more importantly tonight wasn't about food, this was about family and celebrating and sharing a meal together. This is family that I don't get to see very often. We grew up together and it's nice to see that the next generation loved spending time together, even though that is few and far between events. We need to change that!
This is definitely an option for good chinese food in the area, however if you do live in area you need to be a member of the club. We got away with it this time because we were only going to the restaurant, but next time we need to join. Hard choice if you are not a Dragons supporter!
Thanks to Handy Andy and his staff for making our dining experience lovely, even though we were noisy and roudy!
The yum cha during the day is good starts at 11 It is really fresh and lots of plates to choose from . The membership is $7 until mid next year . Ps love your blog !
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ReplyDeleteThanks Kylee and Jassy - will check out the yum cha one day soon too. X
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