Where to Eat and Drink in Sydney, Australia

We all know about the meat pies and Vegemite toast in Sydney, but here's the real reason to visit: modern Australian-Asian cooking

By David Prior

January 17, 2014

Image may contain Cutlery Spoon Food Dish Meal Fork Plant and Egg

</head>Sydney has been a good eating city for decades, but it has only become a truly great one in the last few years. Finally, the city’s young chefs—and its diners—care less about what is happening in Europe and the United States and are instead looking to their Asian neighbors for influence—as well as in their own backyards for ingredients. Nowadays when I return home, choices run from dramatic Cantonese and elegantly subdued Japanese to a wine bar serving wontons. All of these spots are embracing local and lesser-known Australian products—think wallaby and old man saltbush. These aren’t kitsch copies of their Asian counterparts; they’re venues with an irreverence and sexiness typical of Sydney. Some call the city “the capital of modern Asian food,” but what’s really happening here is the emergence of a true modern Australian cuisine—and it’s about bloody time.

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Billy Kwong
In the 13 years since Kylie Kwong opened her “little Chinese eating house,” she has become a Sydney icon. First, she interpreted Cantonese food for the Australian palate (think lighter, brighter flavors). Now she’s integrating native ingredients into her dishes. Her talents are best expressed in one dish: caramelized, red-braised wallaby tail with chile and black beans (yes, they are cooking up the kangaroo’s cousin). If you only have one dinner in Sydney, this is the place.

Bar H
From the exterior, this dimly lit corner spot in the Surry Hills district looks like the tiny Italian restaurant every neighborhood wants. And it is. Except that instead of pasta, Bar H serves some of Sydney’s best Australian-Asian food. The young team here is also unintimidated by pairing Asian food with thoughtful wine choices—a rarity. The must-order is a whole branch of old man saltbush, the outback shrub once considered only suitable for sheep, that is fried and served with chili mayo.

Momofuku Seiobo
Is there a rule that the precise moment a celebrity chef opens a casino restaurant his food suffers? Apparently not, for David Chang. His Momofuku outpost in The Star casino in Sydney is far from an afterthought. Instead, Seiobo has rocked the city’s dining conventions not only with its AC/DC soundtrack and open kitchen, but for dishes that include pear, sunchokes, sunflower, and caramel, and the petit four of sticky, sweet, slow-cooked pork shoulder.

Sepia
Sydney can be breathtakingly expensive, so your travel budget may not stretch to a meal at what is arguably the city’s best fine-dining restaurant. Luckily, it’s now possible to experience some of what makes Sepia so lauded while perched at its elegant bar. Chef Martin Benn excels when sublime Australian seafood meets his Japanese technical training. Case in point: scallop sashimi with ponzu and native finger lime.

Spice I Am
Thai food is to Australians what Mexican is to Californians: It’s their go-to takeout, and most can sniff out a good green curry. Locals make the trip to “Thainatown” for the buzzy street-food stalwart Spice I Am. This Thai is good enough for the Thais. Sydneysiders continue to forgive the decor and hurried
service, lining up on the street for authentic pad prik king, crispy pork belly with basil, and fried soft-shell crabs with green mango salad.

Mr. Wong
There’s no better place to experience the revitalization of Sydney’s downtown after-hours than at the glamorous, fun, and seriously good Mr. Wong. The subterranean brick warren that once housed a nightclub has been given a chinoiserie makeover, but Mr. Wong retains a party atmosphere that is the best of both Sydney and Hong Kong. Go with a group and feast on updated classics like pippies (clams) in XO sauce, and a Chinese-Singaporean mashup special: wok-fried mud crab.

Shortgrain
In the basement of Longrain, one of Sydney’s seminal modern Thai restaurants, is its cheeky little brother. This casual weekday lunch canteen pumps out seasonal stir-fries and curries, plus a vibrant green papaya salad in an industrial setting. The cooks here don’t feel bound to the borders of Thailand, with identifiable influences from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Laos. At Shortgrain, their only fidelity is to flavor and fresh ingredients.

James Horan
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Box Lunch: A server curbside at Mr. Wong arrives bearing gifts
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Bar H is the tiny Italian restaurant every neighborhood wants

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Caramelized, red-braised wallaby tail with chile and black beans at Billy Kwong
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The dining room of Kylie Kwong's "little Chinese eating house" Billy Kwong

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Momofuku Seiobo's bustling kitchen
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A dish of pear, sunchokes, sunflower, and caramel at Momofuku Seiobo

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Potato, parson's nose (a.k.a. chicken tail), roe, and mushroom from Momofuku Seiobo
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____The bar at Shortgrain, the cheeky little brother of Sydney's seminal Thai restaurant, Longrain

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The legendary lychee and passion fruit-filled Ping Pong cocktail from Shortgrain
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Fried soft-shell crabs with green mango salad at Spice I Am ____