Who's Sho

Boo and I were in the vicinity of the Crown Complex on Saturday night following an afternoon with a mystic (mystic review in another post).  We were famished.  The place was swarmed with chicky babes besieging the clubs or seedy hard core gamblers.  At 9pm, we had no reservations at the posh places and we didn't care for the thought of eating in the food courts. 

Boo suggested we try Sho Noodle Bar which is a restaurant located deep within the bowels of the casino floor itself.  After weaving through a mass of pokie machines, we found Sho Noodle Bar which does Asian fare.  The fact we could get seating for five at 9pm at night with no reservations, points to the fact that Sho's patrons are generally the gamblers who come in, eat and get out and gamble some more. 

The ambience was very casino-esque.  Smokey mirrors, glossy finishes, shiny downlights, ie I was in danger of bumping into a mirrored wall at every turn.  For those of you unaccustomed to the weird subterranean lighting of a casino, it is slightly disorientating.  A couple of us complained of having sore eyes. 

The food was mostly authentically Asian.  We had:

• Wanton soup -  entree sized bowl of three wantons.  Soup not too greasy

• Penang Fried Kway Teow - Boo's choice.  Smelt very smoky and full of 'wok fire' - the Asians would know what I'm talking about - it's a good thing



Blame Boo for the blurry shot - she must have been too eager to tuck right in



• Pork and Century Egg Congee - authentic-ish enough.  Nice variety with the garnishes - slivers of ginger, sesame oil, Chinese donut, spring onion.  Bit stingy on the century egg and bit weird with roast pork cut offs as the pork bits - it should have been slow cooked pork cooked with the rice and the century egg cooked through the congee rather than sitting on top off so that the flavours merge

• Belachan Kangkung with prawns - my choice.  Garlicky, shrimpy goodness.  Prawns a bit on the mingy side for the price ($21).  I expected more prawns.  Decent bunch of kangkung so I got my greens for the day

• Sweet and Sour Barramundi.  Lovely presentation.  Barramundi was served whole and splayed and swimming in sweet and sour sauce.  Definate wow factor. 

It was overall a yummy feed.  Boo tells me that Sho Noodle Bar had featured in The Age Cheap Eats Guide.  Apparently they hand make some of their noodles but we didn't order any of the hand made ones that night. 

There was an exhaustive selection of teas and beers. 

Overall rating:

Ambience - 4/10 - what a shame it's on the gaming floor so definately not a family friendly place
Food - 6.5/10
Drinks - 6.5/10
Service - 7/10 - quick and impersonal - which is sometimes ok as we didn't have any hoverers which can sometimes a bit off putting
Price - mains start at $18

http://www.crowncasino.com.au/Assets/Files/Sho%20menu%20JUNE%2011.pdf

Sho Noodle Bar
Main Gaming Floor, Crown Entertainment Complex
8 Whiteman St
SOUTHBANK 3006
ph: 92926885

Cheerio

Beaker