Dining in a Chinese restaurant in Sydney would often meant a potpourri of different Chinese style of cooking. What more than you dine in a the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Sydney? Purists will frown.
Chinese Garden of Friendship
Right in the middle of the Chinatown district of Sydney is the Chinese Garden of Friendship 誼園, which was a gift to the city to commemorate the sister states of Guangdong and New South Wales.
Opened on 17 Jan 1988 for the Bicentenary, the Garden was modelled after ancient private gardens in China from the 5th century and is a masterpiece of traditional Chinese culture infused with Australian characteristics.
Designed by the Guangzhou Landscape Bureau, the Garden was laid out according to the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism and its principle of Yin and Yang and imitates the setup of traditional Chinese landscape paintings of miniature mountains and water. Entry to the garden is paid admission, but if you eat in the restaurant in the garden, you get to see the garden free.
The Pearl Banquet
And the Chinese restaurant is operated by the Lotus Dining group and is called Gardens by Lotus. Our tasting menu for the Pearl Banquet.
- 手指柠檬佐鲜生蚝 Pacific oysters with ginger, soy and finger lime
- 柚香大虾土司 Prawn toast with yuzu mayo
- 红油抄手 Sichuan-style prawn and pork wontons
- 金牌翡翠虾饺 Jade prawn dumplings
- 台式鸡米花 Taiwanese pop corn chicken with Thai basil
- 香酥鸭配卷饼 Duck pancakes with spiced hoisin sauce
- 蒜香豉汁蒸盲曹 Steamed barramundi with black beans and garlic sauce
- 黑椒牛柳 Wok-fried black pepper beef with baby corn and green beans
- 麻油豌豆西兰花 Steamed broccoli and snow peas with soy sesame oil and fried garlic
- 白饭 Steamed rice
手指柠檬佐鲜生蚝 Pacific oysters with ginger, soy and finger lime
The oyster was drowned in the sauce, which hid the fact they were not entirely fresh.
柚香大虾土司 Prawn toast with yuzu mayo
It tasted wonderful, only if the yuzu mayonnaise was not drizzled across.
红油抄手 Sichuan-style prawn and pork wontons
Sichuan chaoshou 抄手 is like the Cantonese wantons but mixed with a spicy chilli oil. This wontons were quite delicious, but they were quite big and not the usual chaoshou that I used to get in a Sichuan restaurant.
金牌翡翠虾饺 Jade prawn dumplings
Tasted like my supermarket frozen hargou.
台式鸡米花 Taiwanese pop corn chicken with Thai basil
A Taiwanese night market favourite, salty crispy chicken 鹹酥雞, given a Thai treatment. If only they used dark meat, this dish would be perfect. But they have used the breast meat, so the end result was some very dry chicken.
香酥鸭配卷饼 Duck pancakes with spiced hoisin sauce
It was served like Peking duck, but this was just the run-of-mill roast duck served with the condiments that were associated with the Northern cousin. The hoisin sauce has been spiked with Sichuan peppercorn, which gave it a mala taste.
蒜香豉汁蒸盲曹 Steamed barramundi with black beans and garlic sauce
Sea bass (another name for barramundi) filets were steamed separately from the sauce. You can taste (or not taste) that because the fish was totally bland, and the sauce was poured over it.
黑椒牛柳 Wok-fried black pepper beef with baby corn and green beans
The beef has been coated with some flour and blanched through oil to let them coat the sauce better. The black pepper sauce, which aromatic, did not taste anything like black pepper that I am brought up with. It was more like General Tso’s Chicken made with beef instead.
麻油豌豆西兰花 Steamed broccoli and snow peas with soy sesame oil and fried garlic
I was not used to sesame oil in my sautéed broccoli. But I had to say that I was never disappointed by the quality of the broccoli every time I was in Australia. Just had to remind them next time not to put in the sesame oil.
白饭 Steamed rice
Thank goodness there was some steamed rice that came with the meal to make the last few dishes palatable. If not for the plain rice, it would be over seasoned for those dishes to be eaten on their own.
The food has been altered for local Western tastes, so do not expect a true authentic Chinese dining experience. The service was excellent and so was the environment. And that was that.
Friendlies by the Garden
A number of these Australian water dragons can be found around the water; you might see them begging for food from restaurant patrons, or posing around the pond in a beam of sunlight. They are the natives here, according to the waitress.
As I was having the lunch, one of these four-legged cold-blooded creatures sneaked up behind me. The table next to me freaked out. Remember to appreciate these creatures from a distance, they are wild animals and while they might be interested in your food, it’s better to let them eat their natural diet.
The Gardens by Lotus
Chinese Garden of Friendship, Pier St, Haymarket NSW 2000, Australia
Tel : +61 (02) 8311 5156
Visited Mar 2023
#thegardensbylotus
0 comments on “Dining in a Chinese Garden”