Rambutan, Darlinghurst

Last night I caught up with some girlfriends (who are also food enthusiasts like myself) and we had a wonderful time at a surprising little restaurant called Rambutan. We had to order their signature dishes, highly recommended by both my friend and the waitress. I was delighted with the explosion of tastes. These were my favourites of the evening.

betel leaf with tea-smoked trout and chilli eggplant relish

Amazing and addictive, this dish definitely had to have kapi (กะปิ) in it. I would be very surprised if it didn't. I absolutely loved it for the saltiness, and pungent aroma. Personally, I would add shredded fresh pineapple as well (although my friend disagrees). 

fried soft shell crab in coconut served with a spicy dipping sauce

OMG! How do I recreate this dipping sauce? The soft shell crab was crispy, moist and light. Although the coconut batter made me think of it more as a sweet dish rather than savoury, I absolutely loved the dipping sauce which I was happy to have on it's own. Just give me a bowl of steamed rice with this sauce any day. That would be a meal right there. 

crispy duck w sweet rambutan, eschallot, garlic and tamarind sauce

I was expecting the crispy duck to come out differently. I would have preferred duck breast or thigh rather than drumsticks. There was very little meat however the sauce was very different and balanced our meal well. The sauce had a smokey flavour which meshed well with the tangy tamarind and sweet rambutan. There was another flavour that I couldn't quite make out, something reminiscent of Chinese 5-spice powder, possibly star anise or cloves. I'd like to try this dish at home with pork belly. 

Wasabi Bar & Bistro, Darlinghurst

After all the bad reviews, I have to admit I was quite hesitant about going but I already paid for the coupon months ago. Fortunately, it was an enjoyable experience.

We went for lunch on a Saturday and had booked 2 weeks in advance, thinking they would be super busy. They weren't. The decor is "interesting" and definitely a topic for conversation. I wasn't impressed with the plastic cups for water or the plastic shoyu sashi. The waitress had trouble understanding our order and I had to repeat myself several times. I was trying to practice patience and be positive about it (after all, it was the first date my husband and I have had in a long time since our son was born, and it was our wedding anniversary). OK, so maybe we should have chosen a more intimate setting and a spent a few more bucks.

Anyway, they brought the complimentary sake and the food started coming and we found that we enjoyed ourselves!

There was more than enough food and all the staff were pleasant (although it was hard to understand them and they didn't seem to understand us). Although it was a 7-course tasting menu for 2, I counted more than 7 dishes and the portions were quite generous. We had the Fried Gyoza, Agedashi Tofu, Prawn Tempura, Assorted Sushi & Sashimi, Tofu Wakame Salad, Teriyaki Chicken, BBQ Beef (the mains came with rice, side salad & Miso Soup).

Having parked in a one-hour zone, we ran out of time and they let us takeaway the dessert which was Green Tea Ice Cream and a very yummy Black Sesame Ice Cream.

We left happy.