November 30th, 2019 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
“I was the guy who had the cream gun explode, trying to top the iced coffee.” Monty Koludrovic‘s early days in hospitality were “pretty calamitous”, but one triumph was ending up in the kitchen of The Boathouse at Blackwattle Bay. It was a meal there, at age 12 (that he can still recap with incredible […]
September 30th, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Restaurants | Leave A Comment »
Last year, Yellow in Potts Point got reclassified as a vegetarian restaurant. Adam Wolfers and Brent Savage kept the brunch menu intact (bacon and its friends got protected status), but switched dinners to be all-vego and it was fantastic. I went three or four times in 2016, and each time, the restaurant was more crowded […]
September 7th, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | 2 Comments »
Massimo Bottura once cried while eating Lennox Hastie’s food at Firedoor. When the chef behind Osteria Francescana, named world’s best restaurant in 2016, tears up while eating your steak, you must be doing something right. Perhaps that’s why Lennox was compelled to smuggle his signature dry-aged meat all the way to Italy when he visited Bottura […]
August 24th, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Bars, Favourites, Latest, Restaurants | 4 Comments »
“I don’t know what I’m eating, but it tastes amazing,” my friend Tabitha says about the menu at Bad Hombres in Surry Hills. You don’t need to carry out an intelligence operation to enjoy the dishes here – the tacos and quesadillas are optimised for strong rat-a-tat bursts of flavour that’d score well on any […]
April 19th, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Favourites, Latest, Restaurants | 2 Comments »
You no longer need to make travel arrangements to end up in Japan – the most direct route involves just a few footsteps down a Surry Hills alley. Restaurant Sasaki feels exactly like a place you’d chance upon in a country that has a world-beating habit of hiding great eateries in modest locations. The more […]
October 12th, 2015 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Bars, Favourites, Latest, Restaurants | Leave A Comment »
The name Dead Ringer might evoke mirror images and carbon copies – so it’s ironic that this new Surry Hills bar is unlike anything else around in Sydney. But its one-of-a-kind impact is what makes it so great; and, like Automata, it’s one of my favourite places to open this year. Dead Ringer is by […]
May 3rd, 2015 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Restaurants | Leave A Comment »
You wouldn’t want to throw a brick through the window of Besser in Surry Hills, it already has a tidy collection of 96 Besser blocks that line up its bar. But your reflexes will probably lean more towards the bouquets and applause end of the spectrum, instead of projectile-launching mode (plus, that kind of thuggish […]
March 26th, 2015 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Cafes, Favourites, Latest | 1 Comment »
Dr Faustus in Surry Hills offers fast-acting relief against hunger, thirst and cafe-menu fatigue. With its inventive offerings – from an addictive Pulled Mushroom Bun ($14) to its Australian take on cereal milks – this establishment brings a booster shot of originality to the Sydney dining scene. In fact, it’s an excellent prescription for anyone […]
March 23rd, 2015 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Restaurants | Leave A Comment »
Subcontinental in Surry Hills spells out its direction as clearly as a compass: walk in and there are photos from The Singh Project; cocktails are christened after prominent South Asian cricketers (you an bat for a Sourav Sour, Miandad Punch, Murali Negroni, etc); and the regional familiarities – such as Samosas ($5 a serve), Vego […]
January 22nd, 2015 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Restaurants | 7 Comments »
Bang recently fired its opening shot, offering a smart and attention-drawing introduction to Bangladeshi street food on Crown Street, Surry Hills. This restaurant is full of target-hitting appeal, thanks to how it translates a cuisine that’s relatively underexposed in Sydney. The head chef is Tapos Singha (Est, Gowings Bar and Grill, Lucio’s), and his menu […]