Our Sydney: Here Are Our Readers' Favourite Spots to Visit in Haymarket

We’ve been singing the praises of the cream puffs at Chinatown’s Emperor’s Garden for years — if you’ve tried them, you’ll know why. And apparently we’re not the only ones, with several of our readers also naming Emperor’s Gardens puffs as their Haymarket pick. “I always pick up a container after dinner in Haymarket. So cheap. So tasty,” says Samantha Teague. Haven’t tried them? Here’s what you’ve been missing: these little dough balls are filled with a piping hot, gooey custard with just the right level of sweetness. They’re seriously moreish, but what makes them even more appealing is that they cost just 40 cents each. Yes, you read that correctly. And the more you order (and, trust us, you’ll want more than one), the cheaper they get, so 20 little puffs will set you back just $5.

Image: Alpha via Flickr

Haven Specialty Coffee is one of several well-loved Sydney venues that jumped at the opportunity to expand when the new Darling Square precinct was unveiled last year. By coffee-crazy trio Roy Yu, Kit Tran and Bruce Koo, Haven’s second outpost is a bright and airy cafe on Harbour Street. The sleek fit-out, with a consistent palette of grey and timber throughout, is reminiscent of coffee shops you’d expect to see in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. The food offering has a similar Asian influence — think char siu sauce on the B&E roll, sichuan pepper remoulade on the fried chicken burger and the signature dish, a daikon cake with dried sausage, shrimp, shiitake mushroom and xo sauce.

The food is not the main affair here though, rather it complements an expert coffee offering. For those who wish to further their coffee education, Haven also runs workshops on latte art, pour-overs and tastings. The OG Surry Hills location is no longer around, but the team has just opened a brand new space in Rosebery.

It’s going to take you some time and dedication to find your favourite thing on the menu at Boon Cafe. For CP reader Johnny Ong, it’s the crab fried rice, which he likes to enjoy after a session at Timezone. The Thai-style eatery, an off-shoot of the specialty Asian grocer Jarern Chai, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and there are some 78 food items on the menu to get through — some of which strictly adhere to traditional Thai cuisine and others that stray into other territories. For example, at breakfast you can order the ginger and chicken congee with a thousand-year egg, or opt for the congee with bacon and eggs. Or you could try pan-baked eggs with smoked fish sausage and chicken mince.

Come lunchtime, the chicken, squid and holy basil sandwich, served with a fried egg, will have you wishing your school lunchbox sandos had been this interesting. Further down the menu, you’ll find several takes on a spicy green papaya salad and fragrant broths. And, if you ask us, the pandan custard-filled croissant is appropriate at any time of day.

In these strange times, spending a few hours pretending to be a kid again — when your biggest care in the world was that someone else is playing with the game you want to play with — is quite appealing. Enter Timezone, the mega games arcade that welcomes big and little kids alike for hours of unbridled fun. We’re talking old-school games like Street Fighter, Big Buck, pinball and ice hockey. There’s even bumper cars and electronic dance games if you’re up for a little physical action. This place is open from 10am till 11pm every day, which means the fun only really stops when you run out of steam.

You may be thinking: a supermarket? Really? But bear with us. Thai Kee IGA is no ordinary supermarket selling basic essentials like peanut butter and toilet paper. The store inside Market City has an enormous range of specialty international ingredients and snacks you’ll struggle to find elsewhere — think La Croix, Japanese Green Tea Kit-Kats, and Heng’s Salted Egg Spread. Earlier this year, in support of local hospitality venues that were forced to close during lockdown, Thai Kee released a restaurant line of DIY frozen meal kits, which are still available. You can try your hand at making Demochi’s mini doughnuts, Cho Cho San’s pork katsu tonkatsu bao, Chaco Ramen’s chilli coriander ramen, Ho Jiak’s Hainan chicken or Arisun’s cheesy fried chicken at home. Thai Kee also accepts online orders with free delivery across Sydney for orders over $50.

An ocean swim and cold-pressed juice. A dark room and some dry toast. Every Sydneysider has their own winning routine to sort out a hangover. For us, and CPer Cordelia Williamson, it’s endless dumplings and a little hair-of-the-dog. “Sunday yum cha at Marigold with a Tsingtao in hand never goes amiss,” she told us. Take that sore head for a trip up to level five of the Citymark Building and fill the bottomless pit that is your stomach with all of the fried things: prawn toast, crispy dumplings and spring rolls. Get some steamed greens, too — trust us, they’ll help. And don’t skip the mango pancakes.