Exploring Singapore Noodle Options 3 (March 3 & 6)

This is the third post for the day for me on what is a rare day at home. After all, one doesn't get to go to football tournaments that often and it's an added bonus to spend some time with friends and wander around some different streets.

Parramatta CBD has gone through some changes in recent years. It now has a light rail option, the Metro is currently being extended through the city and the football stadium has been thoroughly overhauled in the last five years as well. Some of the more familiar landmarks are still there though, like Peter Wynn's Score, the St John's Memorial Gate (pictured), Town Hall, Centenary Square, the Woolpack Hotel (which I mentioned in a previous post), the law courts, the Tudor Gatehouse and a rather languid Parramatta River.

Westfields Parramatta is still there as well and that's where I opted to go on both days I was in Parramatta. Of all the places on the T1 rail line I'm familiar with this area is second on the list after the Sydney CBD. When playing soccer in Sydney between 2011 and 2019 I often passed through there, or was dropped off from matches or picked up. I also had relatives living in the area as well and it was a good meeting spot to see them. Yes, I've also gamed there a few times as well, playing league matches and tournaments.

Anyway, the food court at the shopping centre hasn't really changed that much in twenty years and my meal preferences haven't either. It's also conveniently connected to the train station with additional food and drink options along the underground corridor as well as mini-supermarkets. Wok Delight is still there and seeing I'm examining Singapore Noodle options I'd thought I'd add a Sydney location to my list. For $15 I got my preferred half and half large plate of noodle and rice, forgoing a meat option, and getting a drink as well.

Unfortunately though on both occasions it felt a bit bland and the vegetable chunks appeared just a little on the large size. Still, it was filling but seeing that I have two more games to go to on separate days next week I should take an opportunity to vary the meals a bit.

Links correct at time of posting.

Pictures taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.

Exploring Singapore Noodle Options 2 (March 4)

So, after the first excursion to Parramatta was successful, I stayed an extra day with my Ourimbah football mate in order to view an upcoming Mariners match that night (March 4). Of course, we weren't going to stay at home all day so we went for a drive to have a bite to eat and do a little shopping.
Westfields Tuggerah is a very convenient location not far from Tuggerah train station and well serviced by several bus routes. With me currently in Woy Woy it is a bit of a hike to get there. One can take a train to there then either walk to the shopping centre or hop on a passing bus, which would take most of hour from my end of the coast. For me, I could also take a #55 bus to Gosford then a #36 or #37 bus from Gosford station which will take me straight there. However, that's a 70-80 minute trip if your connections are good. From my mate's place in Ourimbah, it's a 15 minute drive or the #37 bus for a slightly longer trip.
Transport options aside, there are plenty of food options inside the two levels of the main building and outside as well. Me, well, I generally prefer the food court, unless we're going to make an occasion of it and eat somewhere a little more up-priced.

There are plenty of options in the court. Usually, my first option is Master Noodle, which has been there since I first started visiting the shopping centre two decades ago. I find the food usually lacks in quality consistency. However, on this particular day I found my meal rather nice, though the carrot cubes were a little harder than I expected. The rest of the vegies were fine and bite-sized. I don't mind the yellow noodle and added curry powder gave it a little kick which I appreciated. I generally go for a large plate, half noodle and half rice, with a can of drink. Total cost is about $16.

I've been a bit lazy with some of the more recent posts and not added a water shot. I plugged in a back-up drive and found some old ones I took around 2014 of a small lake in the suburb of Mardi, just off McPherson Road. I don't think it even has a name. There was plenty of feathery critters there on the day that I visited, with an interesting assortment of common and uncommon birds. On foot it's a fair hike from the shopping centre but you only need to go straight up Gavenlock Road then turn left into McPherson. It's behind a housing estate.

Links correct at time of posting.

Pictures taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.

Sampling some of the fare at the AFC Women's Asian Cup (March 3)

It has been somewhat of a holiday over the last week. On Monday (March 2) I wandered off to a mate's place in Ourimbah so that we could travel together for our first pair of matches at the Asian Cup. When ticket packages became available last year I quickly opted for a pair of affordable seats (in the same spot) for all six matches at Parramatta Stadium which consisted of five Group B matches and one from Group C.
On the first day of attendance, our two games were Uzbekistan vs North Korea and China vs Bangladesh. Strangely enough, at the men's AFC back in 2015, one of just two games I attended was Uzbekistan vs North Korea. I felt it was a rather unique double to achieve. We were joined by a couple of English gents, one whom I met at a Mariners match played at Wollongong in August 2023 (during the Women's World Cup), and proceeded to watch a rather one sided contest, won comfortably by North Korea. In-between matches we met up for a few drinks at a local pub – the Woolpack Hotel. The hotel has a special significance for this pair of coasties. We had quite a few drinks there before and after the June 2023 A-League Grand Final which was won quite handsomely by the Mariners.
Second match, just as one-sided and won by China. Before the game, we decided to grab a bite to eat at the stadium. A helpful staff member informed us that there was a limit of the number of food and beverage options open seeing only a crowd of 8,000 was expected. (In end it was just over 6,000.) After a short exploratory walk, we settled on burgers.

It was quite simple. You walked in, you grabbed a burger at the back, with sides and a drink, then proceeded to the check-out. If your burger of choice wasn't there you really didn't have to wait that long. We both chose a Chicken Parmi, which wasn't that bad. A schnitzel, a slice of cheese, a spicy red paste to give it that Parmi taste and some green leaves on a bun. With a 600ml drink and a standard cup of hot chips I wound up paying $26. It was a lot better than some of the fare I've sampled at the Central Coast Stadium but roughly the same price for a burger meal.

It was a long day. We were on a 9.45am train from Ourimbah and returned to that station at 11.30pm. Yesterday (March 6) I made the journey down by myself seeing I was meeting up with a Sydney mate near the station, then stayed at his place in Kellyville that night. On both trips we had lunch in the food court at Westfields in Parramatta (covered in a separate post) before walking to the stadium. It's a pretty easy walk which leads across the Parramatta River and at a casual pace you can get there in 10-15 minutes. Even better that you can amend the stroll via a certain pub for a pre or post match beverage.

P.S: Almost had a little disaster on the second day when the battery was running out on the tablet. With only electronic tickets accepted, we almost didn't get in for the second game on March 6 seeing the power bar was in the red. Thankfully it lasted long enough for us to get through the gate. There was a solution. Not far from the Gate A entrance/exit were a rack of portable power-banks which you could rent by the hour. I also took the further precaution of buying one, charging it up at the first opportunity to make sure that this didn't happen again.

Links correct at time of posting.

Pictures taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.

Exploring Singapore Noodle Options 1 (Feb 25)

So I started my more formal assessment of my favourite oriental dish whilst in Gosford last week to do some more gaming. Wednesday night is games night at the Central Coast Leagues Club and I had plenty of time to kill before going there. So I ventured to the food court in the Imperial Shopping Centre to the one place on the Central Coast where I have been eating (regularly) longer than anywhere else.

Yi Yi Asian Cuisine pretty much looks like many other food court outlets. On 28 October 1999 I was wandering through the shopping centre on my way through to the train station, roughly a month after having moved to the Woy Woy peninsula, fully intending to go straight home after attending an appointment in town. As I headed for the Mann Street entrance/exit I passed a group of people in front of a games store with some very familiar gaming boards set up. A quick enquiry revealed that there was a Blood Bowl league playing there every Thursday night. So I made a quick trip back to my home in Umina Beach to fetch my miniatures, with enough money left for the return trip and something to eat. The rest is history.
The menu for the takeaway has improved in quality over the years, with set menu options added to what was available on display in the bain-marie. I can still recall derogatory remarks about what was on on offer by my new gaming companions when I first bought food from there. There was one thing though that I had found quite different from other places I dined at – the fried rice, the current manager once assured me, was steamed rather than fried. In recent years I was appreciating that more and more and had ordered it so often that when she sees me coming she only has to point and I only have to nod. It's generally white and fluffy, with little chunks of ham, peas and scrambled egg.
However, last Wednesday, I decided to do something different, keeping her on her toes as it were, ordering the Singapore Fried Noodle from the set menu and choosing to dine in for a change. If you add a drink to the cost it's little more than $20. I had enough time to go get one from the nearby Reject Shop, returning in time to see them bring the meal to the counter.

One of the things I appreciate in this noodle dish is the colour. There is a lot of it and the added ingredients are rather appreciative bite-sized pieces. It's a mild dish, hardly any curry powder in this offering and I took my time in devouring it, leaving nothing but some grease on the plate and a used wooden fork. For a proper meal, one can combine this with either the cheaper rice option or splurge and get the special fried rice. Either will set you back around $30 but it's two good meals there. I should also add, they have moved with the times after Covid and you'll find that they have food delivery options through the popular purveyors.
It's still pretty good after all these years which is one thing I really appreciate about the place – it is consistently good. Well worth paying a few dollars more. Like my preference for a good chicken schnitty, this is the place that I'll compare all Singapore noodle dishes to. It is the benchmark for my examination of other takeaways.
I practically lived in Gosford from the 20th to the 28th. Feb 20 to 22 I went to four football matches at the stadium, with two NRL trial games on the 21st and a Mariners matches either side of it. On the 24th was our pub trivia night at Hotel Gosford, which we didn't do so well at but had a good time anyway, then there was the games night at the club and finally one more Mariners' match on the 28th. It was yet another instalment of the F3 Derby and a rather tense and hard fought fixture. To come over the next two weeks, Asian Women's AFC Cup matches in Sydney.

P.S: Due to my particular eating disorder I actually find this meal quite palatable, using a little psychology on myself to get some vegetables and other meat into the system. I surprised my father once when we were dining out in Bathurst, before he passed away in 2004. The waitress asked for our order and I quite happily responded 'Singapore Noodle please!' The look on his face was priceless.  

Pictures taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.

Links correct at time of posting.

A drive to St Albans (Jan 31)

So I get a text last Thursday (Jan 29) from a gaming buddy to let me know that he would be picking me up on Saturday around 11am. Hmm, I'm surprised. He hasn't picked me up since I was in living in East Gosford 3-4 years ago. I usually make my own way to gaming sessions at his place in Narara. He advises me to bring my camera.
Saturday morning arrives and off we go. It's a warm day and the trip, my mate informs me, was to pick up some gaming gear that he found for sale on eBay. To save a few dollars, he offered to drive down to meet the seller at St Albans, named for the city of the same name in Hertfordshire, England in 1841. Our drive would see us pass through the south west corner of the Central Coast at Spencer, where Mangrove Creek merges with the Hawkesbury River, then follow that winding riverway to Wisemans Ferry and continue along a narrow road, with a considerable part of it unsealed, through farmlands and forests, until we eventually reached an overgrown cattle grid that guarded one access point to the village. From my place in Woy Woy, it took us nearly two hours to get there.

The actual meeting point would be the historic Settlers Arms Inn, formerly known as the Travellers Rest. The original license was issued in 1836 but by March 1848 the inn apparently was still yet to be built, although a landowner had already constructed a stone house two stories high. The inn was constructed facing the Macdonald River, at a point 15 kms from the Hawkesbury. St Albans being the upper navigational point of the tributary. From there goods could be shipped to Sydney.

The hotel is well-preserved and there were campers by the river, a lunchtime crowd enjoying a meal, a few drinks and some musical entertainment, kids playing in the nearby park and a trio of peacocks strutting about, including a considerably rare white male (leucistic rather than albino) a photo of which I'll post on my life blog when I get the chance.

When the deal was done, we had a chance to eat. It was a simple choice to make from the menu – chicken schnitzel burgers served in a shallow basket with a decent serve of chips for $20. I couldn't refuse having an alcoholic beverage and grabbed a bottle of cider as well. A good sized tasty schnitty with lettuce, beetroot and tomato, which kept me filled until around 9pm when we drove off for a late dinner after our gaming session.
Must say, it was a good day out. I haven't been for a drive like that for, well, years. The camera hasn't had that much of a workout since the 20th anniversary of Eucalyptus Bowl Blood Bowl tournament in Burwood last year.

Pictures taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.

Links correct at the time of posting.

Ourimbah Takeaway (December 12)

So the Mariners were playing Auckland that night at Central Coast Stadium, with the kick-off scheduled for 7.35pm. My fellow gaming buddy, Mariner supporter and occasional drinking companion Gerry and I had been making plans for a week to go to this game. 
However, the weather intervened that day, storm clouds gathered and the drizzle set in. Text messages were swapped. I could, if I felt like it, walk up the road from my place to the nearby Everglades Country Club and see Australian band Regurgitator or even just stay at home to watch it. Gerry then suggested why not head over to his place in Ourimbah and watch the game there. It would be better than sitting at home by oneself and neither of us wanted to be at the stadium getting wet. We had done that enough times already over the years. I agreed, hoping to get away before the rain got heavier. 

And it did. I did make it to Gerry's, but ended up quite damp though despite wearing a raincoat. We then waited for a gap in the weather to get a bite to eat and some drinks. It was less than a five minute drive to the nearest bottlo and a decent variety of takeaway establishments for us to choose from. We opted for the quick and easy Kebab and Burger Bar on the Pacific Highway not far from the train station. Seeing we were the only ones there at the time, we didn't have long to wait. A chicken schnitzel burger each and a small chips between us and that was all we needed.
It turned out to be the right call. A very satisfactory meal to suit the occasion and reasonably priced as well. The rain though would ease up before game time, however, looking at the sparsely populated stands during the broadcast we obviously weren't the only ones to give the game a miss that night. We can make up for it on New Year's Eve with the double header against Brisbane. 

All the best for the festive period! Cheers!

P.S: Last week I managed to get a long overdue writing project finished and uploaded. Blutmunth: A Trial by Combat, is my fourth novel which has been decades in the making. I started work on the tenth and final version of the book prior to Xmas last year with the goal of getting it online before Xmas this year, which I just managed to do. It is currently available on Drive Thru Fiction for $4 AU along with my three part Feudball fantasy football series. Be advised, you need a DTF account with adult content enabled to access the page.  

All links correct at time of posting.
Food image taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2025.     

 

      

Xmas lunch with the support group in Woy Woy (Dec 4)

This year, the mental health support group that I've been attending since 2011, decided to go somewhere different for the annual Xmas lunch. There are two pubs in Woy Woy, both within a stone's throw of each other near the waterfront. Both have also changed owners in recent years and have also undergone extensive renovations.
The pub we chose was the Woy Woy Hotel (established 1897), which is right next door to the Gnostic Mana Café (see 4 April 2024 post). I hadn't been there since, well, it had to be well before COVID. The last time I dined there I received some poor service from staff and decided not to go back.

Until now. The venue is a vast improvement from what it once was. The entire pub had been completely renovated - the dining area had been expanded, a covered beer garden with a children's play area installed and it now had a rather pleasant front bar area as well.

There is plenty of choice in the menus. One could choose from the main menu (which offered pizzas, burgers, kids meals and deserts), the $20 lunch time menu and pensioners could order from a discounted $18 menu if they so desired. I opted for the stock-standard chicken schnitzel from the lunch menu, then had Belgian waffles for desert. Whilst I had no problems with the schnitty, with a rather crunchy crust and a juicy breast fillet, I could not finish off the waffles. Whilst I have eaten far better schnitzels, at $20 it is good value and with an alcoholic beverage to wash it down you're only looking at a $30 lunch instead of $40. Honestly, I'd go there just for the waffles.

I also had a mate coming up from Bendigo (Victoria) that evening. Rather than waste time looking for somewhere else to dine, I just took him straight back to the pub. Still a little full from lunch, I ordered a Woy Woy burger whilst he settled for a steak sandwich. We were both happy with our dinner selections and had a couple of drinks before leaving as well.
I dare say I'll be heading back there again. One can sit in air conditioned comfort rather than broiling outside in the summer heat. It's a short walk from Woy Woy station and there's a large public car park almost directly behind the pub.

Links correct at the time of posting.

Pictures taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2025.