Monkey Magic (Japanese) - Surry Hills

Deciding where to eat around Oxford Street is not easy, as there are so many great options around the area, but the decision was made easier when I was reminded of Monkey Magic's winter special (courtesy of the lovely Phuoc'n Delicious food blog), where you receive 20% off (the bill, not the size of the meal!). We have been meaning to come here for a while now, but other nosheries have taken priority, so the discount certainly persuaded us to finally make the trip (plus it was close to where we parked!).

Walking hurriedly along Crown Street to escape the early evening chill, we passed the usual gaggle of eager people waiting in line outside the no-reservation Billy Kwong; why wait in the cold though when you can just stroll into Monkey Magic and get a table?

Once inside, we headed upstairs to the quite large dining room where the emptiness was another perk to dining early: no uncomfortable din, no people noisily discussing the merits of having a PM born in the UK, and no wait to be attended to by waitstaff. We ordered everything - desserts included - within minutes, and the first lot of food came equally quickly.

Salt and pepper cuttlefish with bean sprouts, coriander and chilli salad ($12)

The salt and pepper cuttlefish (unusual to see the word 'cuttlefish') was not a particularly sizeable serving, but it came with a salad, even if the salad was dominated by bean sprouts, and the presence of chilli was barely noticeable. The cuttlefish did not taste too strongly of salt and pepper, and the pieces were a bit uneven texture-wise, with some pieces tender and others a tad tough. K is a big lover of salt and pepper squid/calamari/cuttlefish, and he was a little underwhelmed.

Beef tataki roll - seared beef, pickled cucumber and shiitake mushroom ($14)

Being quite fond of the occasional sushi roll, we were eager to try at least one variety, and we went for the beef tataki, which we have not encountered before. The rolls were fairly large, and we loved the thin sheaths of beef wrapping the outside of the rolls. The pickled cucumber had that lovely pickled vegetable 'snap', but its flavour tended to dominate, rendering the mushrooms almost non-existent. The texture of the beef was great and its slight saltiness managed to make the roll less cloying.

Slow-cooked pork belly - soy braised pork belly with puy lentils and sauteed English spinach ($32)

The first main, which was also the most expensive, was the omnipresent pork belly. Everywhere you go, there seems to be pork belly dishes these days, and when cooked well, it is stellar, and this one was. Big generous chunks of the luscious pork sat on a bed of lentils with some English spinach, and the slow cooked pork was so tender it almost wobbled. The pieces of meat duly melted in the mouth, and the soy flavour was subtly balanced, which made it perfect with the bowls of steamed rice. There were too many lentils and not enough spinach, but we loved this dish.

Teriyaki chicken garnished with lotus crisps ($19)

Teriyaki chicken is one of those ubiquitous dishes that is often served up in food courts all over Sydney, so we wondered what a restaurant version would be like? This one came with a side of lotus crisps, so that sounded interesting enough to order. When it came, we could see the chicken was breast and not thigh, and it was a little overcooked so it was dry. It tasted balanced and not overly sweet, and the teriyaki sauce had a good consistency. The thin crisps of lotus root were great though: super crunchy, interesting texture-wise, and moreish. A bag of these to take home please waiter!

Having ordered the desserts at the beginning, they came suitably quickly after our mains, and we were impressed by the smart presentations. Japanese desserts for me have always been a hit-and-miss, but these two, with mine not Japanese at all, tickled our sweet fancy.

Banana, white chocolate and shiso spring roll with raspberry coulis and green tea ice cream ($13)

K's spring roll was unusual, as we had expected 'normal' sized spring rolls. These were big and cut into pieces, exposing the filling of banana, white chocolate, chocolate sauce, and shiso. I do not normally like desserts containing cooked bananas, but I found this one to my liking. The gooey sweet insides were encased by a lovely crisp skin, which crunched beautifully. The accompanying green tea ice cream was standard and the raspberry coulis a little surfeit, but I enjoyed it a lot. On the other hand, K, who normally loves bananas in desserts, found it just average, so this dessert certainly polarised us, but at least it was a little Japanese.

Molten chocolate pudding with vanilla ice cream ($13)

My chocolate pudding though, was not in any way Japanese, but it was very moist, and the flow of gooey chocolate sauce oozing from its centre was most welcome, although the sauce wasn't as nice as I've had elsewhere. The vanilla ice cream was a good (albeit boring) cool contrast to the warm pudding, and the slices of strawberries added a touch of sourness to counter the overall sweetness. It was a good but unremarkable dessert, but one which is leaps and bounds above what I've had at most Japanese nosheries previously.

Overall, we enjoyed the meal, having tried as many dishes as two stomachs can handle. The spacious dining room and decor is exceptional, the service is good and attentive, and the food is above average Japanese fare. For now, the monkey is missing a little magic but we're hopeful it will come in the not too distant future, and we can't wait to find out.

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