Rambutan ( Thai - Southern) - Darlinghurst

In a case of third time's the charm, the stars finally aligned and we were able to get a table at Thai eatery Rambutan, situated on busy Oxford Street in Darlinghurst. On the two previous occasions, they were inconveniently closed; surely they would be open on Boxing Day? No? Mondays? No? How very dare they! Do they know who we are? No? Okay then ....

Actually, this is our second visit to Rambutan. The first was several years ago (I think), when it was a fledgling restaurant ready to open its wings and make a mark on Sydney's competitive Thai dining scene. Back then we enjoyed its Thai fusion menu, flavours, and ambience, but it did not stand out enough for us to return. Now that it's established and even garnered an entry in the SMH Good Food Guide for the past two years, I thought it was a good time for a re-evaluation.

Rambutan, named after the 'hairy' tropical fruit, is a deceptively small restaurant, as it is on two levels, although the underground level is a bar area called the Tiki Lounge. The main street-level dining space is compact, with a long communal table in the centre and smaller tables around it. The kitchen is open and takes up almost half of the real estate, but the aromas wafting out as the chefs prepare the food is gorgeous. The space is moderately dark, with brown or grey-hued furniture, floors, and wall paper, but the front restaurant window allows limited light to flow into the front part of the dining floor, and there are some funky lights as well as the light emanating from the kitchen to do the rest. The decor is appropriately modern and sparse, being careful not to overcrowd the small space.

The menu itself is good-sized and has enough interesting dishes to satisfy all palates, and the prices are not excessive for this part of the city. We wanted to start off fairly light, so we order two vegetarian entrees, tofu and the ubiquitous curry puffs.

Crispy silken tofu & tamari & sesame oil ($9)

It was not long before the tofu arrived. Four cubes of lightly fried tofu sat on a rich, flavoursome tamari sauce, absorbing the flavours into the bases. We liked the lightness of this dish, with the batter not too thin or thick. It was not very hot though, which is good as we've had numerous deep-fried tofu where our tongues have been scorched by the just-out-of-the-fryer heat. The sauce which soaked into the bottoms of the tofus gave it an interesting mushy texture to contrast with the slight crunch of the remainder, and we really liked it. The slivers of julienned ginger and mushrooms added extra finesse to the dish.

Vegetarian curry puffs w sweet chilli ad-jar sauce ($5)

The curry puffs visually were not as we had expected, and this was a good thing. Instead of the small triangular or semi-circle pieces most commonly seen at food courts, these were two large (but still triangular) chunks with the filling visible. There was copious filling with the potatoes and vegetables still texturally distinguishable rather than just a mushy melange, and they tasted delicious. The exterior was just-right crunchy as well. Unusually, they came accompanied by a very light and thin sweet chilli ad-jar sauce, and this added a welcome spark, even if I still cannot find what ad-jar sauce is.+

After two vegetarian entrees, we needed to unleash our inner carnivores, and so we order two (as we later realised) similar meaty dishes, one a lamb curry and the other a slow-cooked wagyu beef dish.

Mussaman curry of lamb w peanut, mandarin & kumara ($30)

The lamb curry arrived first and it was not as we had expected. It was more of a dry curry, and because of that the flavours were rich and deep. The chunks of lamb were tender and the flavours good, but even better, it did not register much on the Scoville scale, with the spiciness only subtle. The mandarin slices, chopped peanuts, and kumara added an interesting blend of texture and flavour to the lamb, and it was very moreish with the rice.

Sauce

Braised wagyu beef w flat noodle Vietnamese & black vinegar sauce ($32)

When the wagyu beef arrived, we discovered that it was a similar dish to the lamb curry, but luckily more 'wet', with half a bowl of stock in which the beef soaked. The beef was beautifully melt-in-the-mouth tender, with the pieces falling apart in the mouth, and the flavours were complex and excellent. This was polished off very quickly with the rice, and despite the absence of flat noodle, this dish was the highlight for me.

In a bowl

With so much meat, we were disappointed there was a paucity of vegetables in the mains, but I guess that's why there are sides. Plus, we already had our daily requirement of vegetables in the entrees ....

Pretty much stonkered, we decided to share a dessert from the limited dessert menu (which consists of just three items), and good thing too, because it was just the right size to fill the limited space in our expanding stomachs. We did not want anything too heavy, so we order the trio of ice creams and sorbets, hoping that it'll be a good selection of unconventional flavours.

Rambutan's selection of housemade ice cream and sorbet ($9)

When it arrived, we saw three decent scoops of ice cream/sorbet, and we were apprised by the waitress that there was a kaffir lime sorbet, a pandan ice cream, and a coconut ice cream, making us glad we ordered this simple dessert.

The flavours were scrumptious for all three, with the sorbet very refreshingly zesty and the ice creams very creamy. We could taste the tangy lime in the sorbet and the pandan ice cream was particularly wonderful. It was a great finish to the meal.

Lastly, we have to commend the service, which was extremely efficient and friendly. We were served by three waitpersons, and everything went very smoothly and without intrusion. Very good indeed.

As we left, we were glad we gave the restaurant a belated second chance. In a city full of ubiquitous Thai knock-offs and wannabes, Rambutan makes a welcome mark without pretension, serving great Thai fusion food with a friendly smile and reasonable prices. More please.

What we liked: ambience, tasty Thai fusion food, decor

Favourite dish: ice cream and sorbet selection


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Lotus (Contemporary) - Potts Point

We've had some unusual dining experiences previously, but this occasion was particularly odd. Perhaps it's the location near Kings Cross, where the area is a little seedy, but something felt awry right from the beginning.

We were seeing a play at the nearby Darlinghurst Theatre, so we needed a fairly quick meal, and Lotus seemed an ideal choice, considering chef Dan Hong's colourful personality, purple leotard, and mad kitchen skillz.

Lotus is a Merivale restaurant located in Potts Point off Macleay Street, and it enjoys both indoor and alfresco dining. There is a hip (and very dark) bar area at the back of the restaurant where trendy young things wait for tables sipping on their mocktails. The decor is very modern and eclectic, with a colour scheme similar to another Merivale restaurant, Mad Cow. The predominantly pastel yellow interior is a throwback to the seventies and eighties when pastels were oh so fashionable, and combined with the Asian influences, the small dining room is very funky.

Preferring to jostle with the sidewalk pedestrians, we sit outside on the footpath tables with the beautiful Sydney summer light bathing us in its warm glow. The tables are small as expected in trying to maximise the number of diners able to sit outside.

Having sat down for a short moment, a friendly waitress brings us the menus, but exclaims in a scattered manner that her apron is already soiled even though they've only just opened for dinner. She then points at her apron, and sure enough, it's a little dirty. That was a little strange but I guess she was being convivial and making conversation.

A few of the tables were already occupied by diners even though it's only ten past six, so we were lucky we had a booking.

Whilst perusing the menu, a couple came and sat down at a nearby table, and not before long, the same friendly waitress bounded up to them. They were without a reservation and simply sat down at an empty table, but the waitress - rightly - told them sternly to check with the staff in future before taking a table. The couple were apologetic, and everything seemed okay. After going through the menu with the waitress and asking several questions, they placed their order. However, before anything was brought out to them, they strangely decided to leave without a word, leaving the waitress exasperated and chasing after them. She accosted them just a few metres away but they did not offer an explanation for their behaviour.

Unperturbed by this little incident, we order one starter, an entree, two mains, and a bowl of fries (of course).

Slow cooked pork belly, green garlic, shitake, tarragon, and pork crackling ($19)

The pork belly arrived first, and it looked great. Two big fingers of melt-in-the-mouth pork sat in a shallow pool of deep, flavourseome broth, with a light-as-air piece of air-bubble pork crackling nestled on top. The flavours were really good, and the textures great. We wished there were more of it.

Lamb and shitake spring rolls with bbq sauce ($12)

The spring rolls were next to be tried, and they too were excellently crispy. Unusually though, they were not equivalently sized, with two long rolls and one slightly stubbier one. The flavours comprised of Middle Eastern spices and took a little getting used to, as we expected an Asian taste complete with sweet and sour sauce. These came with a barbecue sauce that wasn't sweet but a little smoky, and that was great. The filling wasn't overflowing, but just enough to taste the lamb and enjoy the textures.

The insides

After such tasty entrees, we were expecting great things with our mains, and when they were brought to the table, K's steak was neatly presented, but mine was much more impressive, with beautifully vibrant colours awash on the plate.

Char-grilled angus scotch, celeriac, sauteed greens, and red wine jus ($38)

K's steak, as usual, suffered a violent death at the hands of the pan, being well done. The outside was a little charred but the inside was still pretty good as it had been rested for an appropriate period. The steak was still juicy and easy to cut through, so it was a good steak. The accompanying sauteed greens were also delicious, whilst the red wine juice was deep and gave the dish depth. The two smears of celeriac puree lent a nice balance to the overall dish.

Roast duck breast, beetroot, sugar snaps, olive with orange sauce ($34)

My duck main was visually wonderful, with the colours virtually popping out at you. There was a generous serving of the duck breast, and these were sliced like the duck main we had at Tomislav, although more thickly. Each piece was absolutely tender and juicy, but their thickness made some pieces chewy. The beetroot - like K's celeriac - came in puree form, and the swirled smears were going off artfully in so many directions like starbursts. Again, there was too much of the puree, especially as it was quite cloying together with the sweet duck and the orange sauce. The sugar snaps were cut into little morsels and these were crunchy and fresh, and the olive seemed to be in dehydrated form as little granules, so these were unusual. I loved the duck though, so it was still a very good dish for me.

Such vibrancy

Shoestring fries ($8)

Yet again we ordered fries and these were standard: golden, crunchy, non-oily, and tasty. There's not too much more you can say about fries that are apparently not handcut, other than that they were a good complement to the mains.

Possibly because of the generous portions, especially with the mains, we were quite full, and so we decided to share one dessert rather than be avaricious. Looking at the menu, everything sounded really enticing, but the sauternes custard with sorbet stood out to us, especially as it was a lovely and warm evening.

 

Sauternes custard, elderflower and pear sorbet ($14)

When it came, we were thrilled with the cute presentation. The glass held the custard at the bottom, and this was topped with little berries and diced pears, the elderflower and pear sorbet, and a disc of something. It was a shame to break the disc and disrupt the sculpture, but someone had to do it, so I volunteered. The disc was subtly flavoured, so I cannot recall what it was, but combined with the berries, sorbet, and custard, it was very delicious. The berries and pears were fresh, the chilled sorbet was tangy and refreshing, and the custard silky smooth and delicate. It was such a good dessert, it reminded us a little of Quay's famous signature dessert of the snow egg.

By the time we had finished, the restaurant was full and there were a gaggle of eager diners waiting in the happening bar area. Despite the inconsistent but friendly service and the unusual incident regarding the breakaway couple, we had a great time. The service was efficient, the ambience good, and most importantly, the food was scrumptious. It is definitely a restaurant to revisit if we are in the area again, and I am sure there will be many more opportunities to sample the impressive food from the precocious Dan Hong.

What we liked: great food with great flavours, ambience, cheeky decor

Favourite dish: sauternes custard

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Media Luna (Mexican) - Clovelly

There is always a tinge of dolefulness when a favourite restaurant closes, and that was the case for us when Oceanic Thai in Clovelly shut last November. Oceanic Thai was an excellent example of superb modern Thai cuisine, and it was our second favourite Thai restaurant behind the venerable Longrain. Perhaps it was the inconspicuous location that led to its downfall, because it certainly wasn't the delightful food which was lacking, but whatever the reasons, it is even sadder that the chef/owner has not decided to try his hand elsewhere.

Its replacement - Mexican eatery Media Luna - is an unusual choice for us because we have been ignorant of Mexican cuisine for a long time, and never having delved into the food, are not familiar with the fajitas, quesadillas, enchilladas, and moles of this world. But, as we are eager to see what Oceanic Thai has been reincarnated as, we decided to give it a good go.

Walking up towards the restaurant, we were immediately made aware of the cosmetic changes to the eatery's exterior as we were confronted with colours covering the pastel rainbow. The former dark Asian palette of browns and brickwork greys were replaced by copious pinks, aquas, and yellows, and it stood out amongst the drab adjacent shops like a sore thumb. Once inside, the quirkiness did not cease, with the same pastel explosion that was evident outside but in even greater quantities, plus lots of white to balance the space. Colours aside, cute paintings of a heart, a hand, a rooster, a mermaid, a tuxedoed man, and other unusual objects adorned one wall, while the opposite mirrored wall were splashed with large frosted stars and a moon. Strange indeed. Even stranger was the presence of happy skeletons to celebrate the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead, with two such smiling bony creatures introducing the dishes on the specials board, as well as the picture of a smirking skull above the toilet bowl in the single unisex bathroom (but more on that later)! I am sure some people unfamiliar with Day of the Dead would be slightly perplexed and even feel slightly uneasy at these skeletons, but I am quite catholic when it comes to such things and brushed them off with a chuckle, as they are intended to be.

With the food unfamiliar to us, we decided to ask the friendly waiter for his suggestions. He immediately led us towards their signature moles, which we were going to order anyway because of the use of chocolate in the Mole Poblano; what can be better than chocolate in a main right? We decided to also have the two specials on the board, with one being new to us (quesadilla) and the other familiar (lamb chops), just to balance it out. So one entree to share and one main each was a good introduction to Mexican cuisine we thought.

 

Whilst waiting for the first course to arrive, we were duly blasted by the loud Latin music from the sound system. It certainly provided a fun party atmosphere, but probably not at 6p.m. when we were the only diners in the restaurant.

Tinga and zucchini flower quesadilla ($14.90)

The entree did not take too long to arrive, and it came out lukewarm. The flour tortillas were light and were tinged green, and filled with heaps of onions, lovely bright zucchini flowers, and shreds of chicken. The very thick chipotle sauce in the pourer was slightly spicy and gave the quesadillas a good lift. It was quite a good refreshing dish to start our journey into Mexican food.

Pouring the sauce

When the mains arrived, we were very happy with the presentation of both dishes. The main of lamb chops (listed as chops on the specials board but were cutlets) were neatly stacked on top of the mash with ribbons of carrots scattered over the top, and the dark brown sauce in an adjacent pool. The other main consisted of two well-proportioned enchiladas covered by the glistening mole sauce, with the two sides of Mexican rice in one stack and the refried beans in a small cup alongside. Both looked promising.

Lamb chops Xochimilco ($27.90)

There were three frenched cutlets of lamb, but they were not of the same size, with one noticeably smaller than the other two. They were cooked medium (and I usually prefer medium rare) but they were tender and succulent. The accompanying sauce was similar to a barbecue sauce, with subtle spiciness, and it was tasty. The mash (can't recall what it was) was also good, and slightly lumpy, which I like.

Enchiladas de mole Poblano - corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken, topped with Media Luna's chilli chocolate sauce and onion rings, and served with Mexican rice and beans ($22.90)

The signature enchiladas with mole sauce was not as strong in taste as I had expected. There was a hint of the slightly bitter cocoa in the sauce, and the enchilada itself was quite good with deep flavours. The rice was fairly benign even though it resembled the tomato rice often seen in Vietnamese cuisine, and it was a bit strange eating rice with an enchilada, but that's what they do in Mexico. The refried beans was tasty but the texture was unappealing to me, because it was like chunky pea and ham soup from a can. I was somewhat disappointed in this dish but it may be great to someone who is more experienced when it comes to Mexican food, but I am still glad I tried it.

There is not a great selection of desserts to choose from, especially as one was simply three scoops of different flavoured ice cream (mango, coconut, and vanilla bean from memory) with chocolate sauce. That left an interesting dessert that was described as fruit and herbs wrapped in a leaf (banana I think) and served with a scoop of ice cream, or a chocolate mousse. Having already tried foods out of our comfort zone, we thought it best we just shared something familiar, so we went for the mousse.

 

Mousse de chocolate ($14.90)

The mousse had a pretty presentation in a glass with a berry compote drizzled over the top. The Mexican chocolate used to make the mousse was delicious and sweet, but the texture was a little odd. It was a thicker mousse than I'm used to and it was quite stodgy. The berry compote added a fresh touch to the mousse and was good.

Overall, our first foray into Mexican food was a hit-and-miss affair. We loved the quesadilla and enjoyed the lamb cutlets, but the enchiladas were a little underwhelming. The dessert was quite good too, so that's a big plus. The service overall was helpful and friendly, and we appreciated the humorous decor. Two points of note though. One, the lemon lime and bitters was very strange, and we think it did not contain any lemonade (or lemon squash) because it was just so sour and bitter. Two, the restaurant reserved the best decorations for the single bathroom, as it's bright pink and filled with unusual and kitschy pieces, such as butterfiles, so definitely venture down to the bathroom to have a gander.

 

What we liked: decor, quesadilla, friendly service

Favourite dish: tinga and zucchini flower quesadilla

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