Top 5 Cheap Eats!

While I have managed to convince most people I’m an amazing cook who makes my boyfriend incredible meals everyday, truth is you’ll find me eating out at least two of these places every week. The following places prove that you can experience awesome food on even the tightest of budgets. I could attempt to write blogs about all of these places individually but I wouldn’t have enough photos as we always order the same thing. And with good reason, they are the best cheap eats Sydney has to offer!

In no particular order

El Jannah

Located right next to Granville train station this little gem is well known among the majority of Sydney siders. Most famously known for their Charcoal chicken and intoxicating garlic sauce (I say intoxicating because if you breathe on anyone afterwards you’ll literally knock them out). For a long time we would opt to take away as eating in is almost double the price (Whole chicken Eat in $19.90 or Take Away $10.90). However, we recently discovered if you choose to eat in your meal does come with a mountain of Lebanese bread, pickles, garlic sauce and generally a larger serving size. Another benefit is your chips won’t be soggy like they tend to get after 15mins of suffocating in a plastic bag on the way home.

Large chips $6 and Garlic plate $3

Half chicken $10.50

Complimentary pickles and garlic sauce.

Be warned that is Scott’s meal. I always get quarter chicken $6.90 and struggle to finish that.

Rating 9/10

Laksa house

I’ve seen signs around Sydney stating “Sydneys best laksa” I haven’t bothered putting this to the test as I’m sure I’ve already found it. Truth be told I have never even tried another laksa but why would I? This shits phenomenal.

If you didn’t already know laksa is an Asian style coconut-based curry soup. These particular ones are made with a mixture of thick rice noodles (also known as laksa noodles), thin rice vermicelli noodles, large soft tofu cubes, loads of chilli and a sprinkling of spring onion. Scott always orders his with thinly sliced beef where as I opt for the tofu. Every bite of the bean curd puff is like an explosion of chilli goodness. Drool.

Beef laksa $7.90

Tofu laksa $6.80

Rating 9/10

Hong Ha

My fascination with pork rolls started about 2 years ago after living out west for 12 months. Every morning at Canley Vale station the pork roll was the average commuter’s breakfast of choice. Convinced that it must be great Scott and I headed out on a mission to find Sydney’s best pork roll. Naturally we ended up in Cabramatta. I quickly discovered they are all terrible. If you can get your head around the murky grey meat (I’m told its liver pate) then it could possibly be swallowed but I just couldn’t down it. After talking about my experience with people I had an overwhelming response demanding me to try Hong Ha. I go for the chicken instead and its love at first bite. Luckily for me I started a job two minutes away from this joint and my co workers were already massive fans. This has resulted in me and my boss eating here up to three times a week. Just can’t get enough!

Giant spring roll $1.50

This is in fact the best spring roll I’ve ever tried. Extremely greasy though.

Chicken roll with cheese $6

Crunchy fresh bread roll, shredded chicken, tomato, cucumber, coriander, carrots, cheese, loads of chilli (optional), mysterious Asian mayonnaise and brown sauce. After finding out what they use in the pork roll I think its best these sauces remain a mystery.

Rating 10/10

Mylan

Although it’s quite a trek from Sydney to Wollongong, if you love satay (like I do) then you absolutely must try Mylan. With their speedy service you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy everything else Wollongong has to offer. Let’s be serious… It’s only known for its satay but defiantly the best anyone I know has ever come across.
Moist chicken floating in indulgent satay sauce. They always get just the right sauce to rice ratio and we all know how important that is.

Famous Satay chicken $16

After researching the current price of this dish I realised it isn’t actually cheap. Five years ago it was $9.50. Talk about inflation. Either way… Its still the marvellous.

Rating 10/10

Costco

Costco? Yes I know it sounds really bizarre and ill admit when Scott came running up to me with a giant slice of pizza I was more then a little sceptical. Right outside the doors to Costco you will find a canteen style food hot spot. Offering pizza slices larger than your head along with other American favourites. Much like the IKEA’s famous $1 hotdog Costco has their own deal of hotdog with ketchup, mustard and onions with a refillable large coke for only $2.49.
The value for money here is really unbelievable. how do they do it? With three Costco’s now available in Australia its no wonder they estimate we will soon be as fat as the Americans.

Cheese pizza slice $3

Perfect crust and a bolognese style sauce with gooey cheese. Incredible

Hot dog and drink combo $2.49

Self sever condiments mean you can go as crazy as you like.

Rating 8/10

Signature Brasserie, Brighton Le Sands

Anyone that knows me knows fine dining is not my style. If the restaurant has more then one fork chances are you won’t find me eating there. Although I did manage to get away with my Havana’s (thanks to a long skirt) I did feel some what uncomfortable taking snap shots. Hence the poor quality images!

Signature Brasserie offers a very tempting menu of modern Australian with an influence of Greek. The interior is classy sheik with beautiful views of brighton Le Sands. The wait staff are very attentive and wasted no time making sure we felt right at home. They offer a large selection of wines so they won me over pretty quickly.

Garlic & herb Pizza crust $12
Crispy thin based pizza is perfect for a starter.

Grilled halloumi cheese skewers (min of 2) $5 each
Being a massive fan of haloumi I could not go past this one. Although tasty I prefer mine grilled to a crisp and oozy on the inside. This one was undercooked in my opinion.

Lamb skewers, oregano, lemon & mint yoghurt $16
These four ingredients combined make for classic Greek flavours. Tender lamb skewers doused in mint yoghurt. Yum!

Meatballs in basil tomato sauce, shaved parmesan $12
So addictive. Pretty sure I ate mine and Elles portion!

Confit lamb pastry parcels with tzatziki (min of 2) $6.50 each
Anything wrapped in pastry is incredible. The lamb inside was especially tender and melted in your mouth. Paired with the tzatziki it’s a match made in heaven.

Sab²ia pizza. Braised lamb, spanish onion, fetta, baby spinach, sweet potato $25
While we were already bursting at the seams we couldn’t resist trying the lamb pizza and of course it did not disappoint. Love the sweet potato!

Even though the food is steep in price this is a wonderful restaurant. With good food, good wine and good company you cant go wrong.

Rating 7.5/10

Casa Asturiana, Liverpool St Sydney

Dreaming of a holiday in Spain? Less than 100m from George St in Sydney’s Spanish Quarter you will find Casa Asturiana.

Sascha and I kick things off with a jug of Sangria. She tells me it’s the best in Sydney and although I’m sceptical I can’t help but agree once we’ve downed the jug of sweet wine punch. Waiting for Jess and already a little tipsy we snack on complementary bread and nuts.

Sangria $23 (1 litre jug)
Sangria is a delicious and refreshing typically Spanish drink. It normally consists of a wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of added brandy.

Jessica normally doesn’t eat meat. She is about to travel to South America and as a very envious meat eater I believe it’s a must she indulges in all the wonderful food the culture has to offer. So trying to turn her we entice her taste buds with some traditional Spanish meat dishes.

The easiest way to enjoy Spanish food in a group is Tapas. So here we go…

Mixed hot tapas $37
Best selling tapas dishes such as fried eggplant, garlic mushrooms, calamari, baby octopus, meatballs and chorizo.

Gambas al ajillo $15
Large peeled garlic prawns. Pretty average for the price.

Chorizo a la plancha $12
Barbequed Spanish pork and paprika sausage. Its hard to get this dish wrong.

Patatas Alioli $10.50
Lightly fried potatoes covered in a warm garlicky mayonnaise sauce. This was the last dish to arrive at the table. It’s a shame we were all so full because it was bloody amazing!

We are entertained by two passionate Flamenco dancers.

Two jugs of sangria later and we are all reminiscing of our travels to Spain. It’s hard not to get taken away with the restaurants delightful ambiance. Although the food is not cheap the whole experience was something different and defiantly worth the money.

Rating 7/10

Kagen Sake House, Newington

Scott and I eat Japanese on the regular, it helps when the best in Sydney is just around the corner. I know this is a big claim but after eating Japanese all around Sydney I can honestly say this place gives all the big names a run for their money. Upon entrance we are traditionally greeted by the chef and hostess. We sit down and order enough food to feed a family.

Agedashi Tofu $6.80
These silky cubes of tofu are my personal favorite. Deep fried tofu is served with a dashi-based sauce then topped with spring onion and Bonito flakes. Bonito flakes are shavings from the dried flesh of the bonito, a fish which is a relative of the mackerel (tastes like bacon!).

Mix Tempura $15
A mixture of juicy prawns, asparagus, capsicum, pumpkin, sweet potato and eggplant. These are dipped in tempura batter and fried to a crisp. Often tempura can absorb too much oil and taste like greasy fish and chips but not at Kagen, they get it just right!

California Roll $13
Inside out sushi roll containing salmon, crab stick, cucumber, avocado and tobiko (fish roe).

Salmon Sushi (13pc) $24
This doesn’t come on the menu in such a large quantity but when they are this good 6 pieces just doesn’t cut it. Its always fresh and I would happily eat it every day.

Affordable prices, great food and friendly staff. The only bad thing I can say about this place is they never give you enough soy sauce. If like me you saturate your food in soy sauce and wasabi this may be a problem.

Rating 9/10

Din Tai Fung, Westfield Sydney

Who doesn’t love dumplings? Caitlin. But we went anyway.

Shrimp & Pork Wonton $6.5
I had heard great things about these slippery little suckers floating in a spicy sauce. They did not disappoint.

Steamed Pork Dumpling Xiao Long Bao (4 pcs) $5.8
Perfectly crafted pascals filled with pork and soup.

Steamed Shrimp & Pork Shao Mai (4 pcs) $9.8
Although almost double the price of the xiao long bao these are defiantly worth a try.

Pork bun $2.8
Not the best. Resembles more of a meatball in a bun then the pork buns I’m used to.

Three hours later with Din Tai Fung dumpling bar still on the mind we returned once more for round two.

Spicy Sesame Noodle (Dan Dan Noodle) $10.8
With a strong taste of sesame oil and satay this dish was good but needed some wontons or tofu to jazz it up.

Shrimp & Pork Wonton Noodle with Spicy Sauce $11
Couldn’t resist trying this after the wontons we had earlier were so incredible. I added some soy/vinegar and chilli. The fresh noodles absorbed the flavoursome spicy sauce. So good I couldn’t help but drink the remaining liquid. Also resulted in me choking on the chilli but it was totally worth it.

Ding Tai Fung is worth checking out if you find yourself craving dumplings whilst shopping. Beware the queues do get long during the lunch rush. However, they do offer a ordering card. Simply tick your choices on the card and hand it to the cashier. Although Ding Tai Fung isn’t great value for money ill defiantly be back for more wontons.

Rating 7/10