Charcoal chicken (whole) - $19.00
Portugese tart - $3.50
Petersham is an area which I have barely explored but all that was about to change. First stop was Frango Charcoal Chicken. From the outside, it looks like a typical take away restaurant with a queue of humans but after going past the take away counter, there is actually a restaurant section. The tables even have mats! Talk about fancy smancy for a charcoal chicken restaurant.
Portugese chicken (whole) - $19.00
Firstly in case if you were wondering, yes, that is a small batch of chips. Secondly, can I just say MAN their chicken is the bomb-dig-diggity! It was so tender and moist. If you think EJ's chicken is good then you need to try the chicken at Frango. The skin was barely burnt and yet still crunchy. Freaking delicious.
Chicken with tabouli ($6.50?) and chilli sauce on a bread roll ($2.00)
Small chips - $6.50
Frango's chilli sauce and mayonnaise ($2 each) were also heavenly. The taste of the chilli sauce dolloped onto the chicken plus the mayo plus the chips just cannot be described in words. It is something you simply need to try yourself. My lips are salivating even just thinking about it.
Counter of sweet goodies at Sweet Belem
So of course as full as I was, I couldn't leave without having a couple of Portugese tarts. So next stop was Sweet Belem which is conveniently right across the road from Frango. The decor of Sweet Belem is very well decorated and sometimes it makes you forget you are in Petersham. They had this mean Portugese Vanilla slice but there was no way I could stomach it after half a chicken + chips.
Portugese tarts - $3.50
These Portugese babies were just irresistible, there is no way you could just stop at one. No way. I normally dislike sweet things and even for me, one was just not enough. When you bite into the tart, you all here is this slow long winded c.r.u.n.c.h.i.n.g.g.g. sound. Normally when I hear such a crunching sound, I would expect the whole thing to start falling apart but no, there were barely any crumbs on the plate. So of course the crispier the pastry is, the more buttery the pastry. I got some tarts takeaway but even the buttered pastry started to seep through the bag.
So being the fattie I am, I obviously had to try more Portugese tarts at another cafe. A friend recommended me Honeymoon Patisserie (located right next door to Frango). By that stage, I was so bloated that I had no choice but to get takeaway. Welp.
Portugese tart - $2.00
Portugese tart - $2.00
Honeymoon's tarts were only 2 bucks. That's almost half the price of the ones at Sweet Belem. These $2 babies didn't have the shine like the ones at Sweet Belem but they definitely didn't look too shabby either. The pastry wasn't as crunchy but the custard was smooth and had the right amount of sweetness. For 2 bucks, you can't really complain. I guess the up side to a less crunchy pastry means that there ought to be less butter (at least I would like to hope so) which therefore means less time on the treadmill.
So that's pretty much a wrap! I can't believe I hadn't explored Petersham properly until now. At least I now know where to go for some tender charcoal chicken and crispy Portuguese tarts. If you are ever in the hood and you can smell all the charcoal chicken, the tip is not to fight the urge because you simply just won't win.
Gotta go eat!
