Lotus Asian Restaurant: Asian, Marrickville (4 June 2011)

393 Illawarra Road,
Marrickville NSW 2204
http://www.lotusrestaurant.com.au



Right food in the wrong location

Thanks to Charlotte Foot Public Relations and owners Chef Danh Cao and Kim Nguyen for having me as a guest of the nicely fitted-out Lotus Asian Restaurant. A 7 pm family booking on a Saturday night is met with an unusual empty restaurant while just down the road I noticed the cheap and cheerful looking Old Thang Huong Restaurant was packed. The atmosphere is thus a little quiet and eery and our thoughts wander to ‘I hope we’re not the only ones tonight’. Thankfully towards 8 pm more couples come in making it a bit more cosy and lively. With so many tempting dishes on the menu covering Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Chinese dishes it was hard to choose what to try but also a bit worrying that the restaurant was trying to cook too many cuisines and wouldn’t be good at any. Thankfully, with surprise, there were plenty of dishes I’d happily order again. The dish presentation actually reminded me of Banana Palm in Coogee.

I sometimes worry when I see tea cups with handles in an Asian restaurant although the Jasmine tea ($2 per person) is made with loose leaf tea and served in an iron teapot. Most of the entrees were as expected but I wish they came with more sauce and perhaps put in a shallower dish instead of Chinese tea cups (which I think should be used for the tea) would make it easier to dip into. I liked the presentation of the Sang Choy Bao of chicken ($8, 2 pieces) although a bit more meat filling would have been appreciated. The Malaysian-style grilled satay chicken ($7.50, 3 pieces) was perhaps not as smoky as hoped although nicely tender. Braised pork belly with green papaya salad ($12) and Grilled Thai beef salad ($12) were vibrantly fresh and tasty. The Special fried rice ($12) was a bit of a let down due to the absence of a noticeable amount of Chinese sausage and BBQ pork but the prawns were decently sized. Everyone enjoyed the M. B. S. ($12) of mushroom, bean curd and snow peas and the Massaman curry of beef with potato ($14.50) was tender and decently flavoured.

The Crispy braised duck with chili tamarind sauce & steamed wombok ($16.50) might be considered one of their signature dishes and was well liked for its flavour although I wished the meat was deboned and sliced up for easier sharing. I really liked the generous sized and crispy Salt & pepper soft-shell crab with Nam Jin ($18.50) but could have benefitted with more sauce. The Bo Luc Lac ($16.50) was well-flavoured and tender — would have been great wrapped in some lettuce with herbs. The Braised prawns with chili, pumpkin, lemongrass & coconut milk ($18.50) came with decent sized quality prawns which were properly deveined. Desserts are reasonably priced considering how well-presented and delicious they were. Fried coconut ice cream ($6.50) comes with a self-pour passionfruit sauce worthy of a fine dining experience. The Black sticky rice pudding ($6.50) had the right consistency and taste with its light texture although more coconut sauce would have been good. I wondered if the perfectly battered Banana fritter ($7) could have somehow been more elegantly presented but was still enjoyed with the yummy coconut ice cream.

Lotus definitely seems to hit the mark for decent quality dishes at a reasonable price in a nice restaurant setting but with only one chef in the kitchen I think fast service during busy times will be its biggest challenge to keep the customers happy. Being located so far away from the main eatery strip means it lacks exposure but I guess this will make it easier to get a table, for now. I could see a restaurant like this being very popular in Newtown, Randwick, Surry Hills or Coogee. I wish it was located closer to home for me. A few small details like keeping the kids toys out of sight and not having a kids DVD playing within ear shot of the dining room would go along way in making the whole customer experience even more pleasant and consistent with the look and feel of the restaurant.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice décor, Quality ingredients, Tasty dishes, Nice presentation, Reasonably priced considering the décor and quality, Extensive menu with tempting choices, Free street parking

CONS: Not much sauce provided with entrees, Kitchen service can be slow when busy due to only one chef, Located away from the main eatery strip, Kids toys in sight which doesn’t match the nice décor, One unisex toilet

WORTH TRYING: Braised pork belly with green papaya salad, Grilled Thai beef salad, M. B. S., Salt & pepper soft-shell crab with Nam Jin, Bo Luc Lac, Braised prawns with chili, pumpkin, lemongrass & coconut milk, Desserts

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Jasmine tea ($2 per person) — different sized cups with handles.

Lemon Lime Bitters ($3)

Fresh Vietnamese rice paper rolls with chicken & fresh herbs ($7, 3 pieces)

Steamed pork with shiitake mushrooms & water chestnut dumplings ($9.50, 5 pieces)

Thai fish cakes with sweet chili ($9.50, 4 pieces)

Spring rolls ($7, 3 pieces)

Sang Choy Bao of chicken ($8, 2 pieces)

Braised pork belly with green papaya salad ($12)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Grilled Thai beef salad ($12)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Malaysian-style grilled satay chicken ($7.50, 3 pieces)

Special fried rice with Chinese sausage, prawns, BBQ pork, egg & shallots ($12)

M. B. S. (mushroom, bean curd & snow peas) ($12)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Massaman curry of beef with potato ($14.50)

Crispy braised duck with chili tamarind sauce & steamed wombok ($16.50)

Salt & pepper soft-shell crab with Nam Jin ($18.50)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Could have been more Nam Jin sauce — only a little bit served

Bo Luc Lac - French-Vietnamese wok fried beef with garlic & black pepper sauce ($16.50)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Braised prawns with chili, pumpkin, lemongrass & coconut milk ($18.50)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Steamed jasmine rice ($2 per person)

Fried coconut ice cream with passionfruit sauce ($6.50)

Black sticky rice pudding with coconut sauce ($6.50)

Banana fritter with palm sugar syrup & coconut ice cream ($7) — perhaps there's a more elegant way of presenting the banana fritter? I was thinking cut in half lengthways and then crisscross stacked.

Chef Danh Cao

Kim Nguyen

Menu — simple and easy to read although for some reason reminds me of an onboard Qantas menu

Cutlery kept slipping into the rounded bowl plates so watch out for this

Nice seating and decor

Clean unisex toilet

Back area to toilet was a bit messy with kids toys and prams which doesn't match the nice decor front of house

Back door open and closed. Much better look when closed and it stopped the cold breeze coming through too.

Outside street entrance

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Omah’s: Chilli Mud Crab, Malaysian, Port Melbourne (6 May 2011)

136-138 Rouse Street, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
http://www.omahs.com

In search of a good chilli crab

Thanks to Omah’s for inviting me as a guest to try some of their restaurant dishes while I was visiting Melbourne for the AgIdeas conference. It’s a fairly large restaurant with nice décor and seemed to be well suited to cater for larger groups if required. The menu dishes sound traditional but like many places the kitchen seems to provide their own take on them to try and cater for both Asian and Western customers to try and find a happy ground. To start I tried the Chicken satay ($6, 2 pieces). It was served with small pieces of pineapple and cucumber but unfortunately no sign of compressed cubes of rice or onion as sometimes seen. The flavours were quite good although it would have been great with a more smoky flavour.

It’s hard to find chilli crab in Sydney and even rarer to find a good one. I was pretty happy with the version at Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse but like always the mess and frustration of getting to the crab meat is usually the biggest deterrent. I learnt a great tip from Kenneth. When you pick up a piece of crab you need to lick off the sauce so when you start cracking and opening the shell it will keep the messy fingers to a minimum — the technique actually works. Omah’s Chilli Mud Crab ($39.90) is decently sized and quite reasonably priced. For some the homemade sauce could probably be more chilli hot but I was pretty happy with it which had a good depth of flavour I was hoping for. If you like it really hot just let the kitchen know beforehand. To help mop up the sauce the sliced flat roti ($4.50) is the way to go but it tends to dry out quickly so it would be better if it could be covered somehow to keep it fresh and warm for longer perhaps. It was good to check and see the crabs were actually live ones in the kitchen.

The Oyster omelette ($18.90) is a dish I haven’t really found in Sydney but I’m hoping it exists somewhere. It comes with nice plump oysters although I’m not a huge fan of the gelatinous textured parts inside and would have loved the base to be a bit more crispy but it was a flavoursome rendition. The Buttered Prawns ($24.90) is a first for me and its fragrant dry egg fluff gives it an intriguing level of texture making it a winning dish. The prawns are properly deveined and decently sized. To finish a refreshing Ice kacang ($7.50) was in order. Decently priced and sized it includes a few of the classic ingredients except for maybe red bean. The inclusion of the ice cream gives it a creamy rather than icy consistency which isn’t what I’m used to and I would have preferred more of a rose water taste throughout, although maybe the ice cream dulled its flavour.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice décor, Interesting and tempting dishes on menu, Decent chilli mud crab at a reasonable price, Prices seem fairly reasonable for the quality and atmosphere

CONS: Trying to cater for both a traditional and western market — some dishes might not live up to expectations, Intro slideshow on website can’t be skipped — annoys me, I think my parents would like Omah’s so I wish it was in Sydney

MUST TRY: Buttered Prawns, Chilli Mud Crab to compare to all others you’ve had, I've heard the Salted Egg Mud Crab is pretty good

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Chicken satay ($6, 2 pieces)

Chilli Mud Crab - Queensland mud carb cooked in chef's mild sweet chilli sauce ($39.90)

WORTH TRYING :-)

A prized piece of claw

Essential finger bowl

Instruments of engagement

Roti for soaking up the sauce ($4.50)

Oyster omelette: Fresh oysters with chopped chives and coriander served with garlic chilli sauce ($18.90)

Decent sized oysters

Gelatin gooey consistency inside

Buttered Prawns - Fresh Australian wild prawns coated in fragrant dry egg fluff enhanced with curry leaves and spring onions ($24.90)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Ice kacang ($7.50)

Ice kacang ($7.50) — what lies beneath

Live mud crab kept in kitchen sink

Ice shaving machine

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