Rambutan, Darlinghurst
Good food + Good Bar = Win
Anyone else find it hard to find a location which has a decent bar for pre-drinks but also a decent restaurant close by ? When organising a Friday night out, we often have to compromise either the bar or the restaurant as some places are just too far away from each other in the City. Anyway this problem has partially been solved if your in the Darlinghurst area as Rambutan seems to be able to hit two birds with one stone with a funky and modern cocktail bar downstairs coupled with unique modern Thai food.
The bar downstairs is quite a highlight. The ambience is hip, funky albeit a little dark and with a good selection of cocktails. The two bar tenders on the evening we were there were quite fun, energetic and helpful with their cocktail selections as well. Some chilled out music is playing in the background and with cocktails in hand we were ready to forget about the working week that was and gladly welcoming in the weekend.
Our night was off to a good start, especially when they started playing with fire. The bar tenders really pride themselves on their craft, which as you can see they are pretty damn good at. One of them mentioned that GQ Magazine did a photoshoot a few weeks ago, so keep an eye out on the magazine if your into cocktails.
I’m a beer man myself, but I couldn’t help but try atleast one cocktail considering how cool the bar was. I can’t remember what this cocktail was called, but I asked for something which wasn’t on the cocktail menu. All I know is that the top contained caramalised coffee beans amongst other secret ingredients.
Modern Thai food … done well for a change
When I think of Thai food, I think of grilled ox tongue served with a spicy fish sauce, paw paw salad with small grinded baby crabs and copious amounts of chilli and all eaten with some piping hot sticky rice wrapped in foil. Now I might have mentioned this before, I’m not a big fan of modern/fusion dishes. They often have the same flavour and don’t really do justice to the original dish at all. Naturally, I was a bit suspect on what was on the Rambutan menu, but I was quite surprised when I actually tasted the food.
I walked away from the restaurant with a full stomach and all these photos, but no dish names to show for it. Luckily Lili saved the day by getting me the names of the dishes as she walked past the restaurant, thanks Lili!.
Braised wagyu beef with Vietnamese mint & black vinegar sauce ($30)
You wouldn’t see wagyu beef on any street side stalls in Bangkok, that’s one thing for sure. I’m going to avoid commenting on this dish because I didn’t get to try it, this is what happens when you sit at the end of a table.
Wok fried King prawns with pong gari coconut cream, baby corn & curry leaf ($30)
The curry sauce is the highlight here. It is aromatic and creamy and is perfect for the lightly friend king prawns which were plump and fresh. We were quickly fighting over the rice as the sauce needed a good mop up.
Pad prik khing roast pork belly with snake bean, lime leaves & curry paste ($25)
How could I say no to pork belly ? It’s one of my favourite meats no matter how it is cooked. The pork belly skin wasn’t as crunchy as I expected, but the curry paste smothered all over the pork certainly made up of it. I’m not even going to bother to guess what spices was in the curry paste. The crunchy snake beans made an ideal distraction from being guilty of fighting over the fatty bits of the remaining pork.
Pla kem tod, salty fish with crispy pork skin in sweet fish sauce lime & lemongrass ($30)
I think this was the name of the dish, it was another one of those dishes that didn’t quite make it’s way to my end of the table. Geez, I am losing even more food blogger credibility at this rate!
Steamed Barramundi with pickled lime broth, chilli, lemongrass & coriander (Market price)
The barramundi was steamed to perfection and was accompanied with an interesting broth. It was tangy yet sweet and the lemongrass and coriander gave the dish a much needed aromatic kick and reminded me of steamed fish which I had in Vietnam a few years ago.
Crispy duck with sweet rambutan, eshallot, garlic & tamarind sauce ($32)
Duck is another one of my favourite meats. The duck was true to it’s description and very crispy, but the flesh was a little bit too dry for my liking. I loved the sauce though, it seems the Rambutan chefs know a thing or two about sauces. The sweetness of the rambutan was offset by the tangyness of the tamarind and turned out to be a pretty good savoury type sauce despite it’s sweetness.
Mussamun mild curry Lamb with peanut mandarin & sweet kumera ($28)
Now this is as modern as you can get when it comes to mussamun curry. Peanut mandarin and sweet kumera was added to this ‘traditional’ curry which you see at almost all Thai restaurants. By this stage I think I was getting a little overwhelmed with the sweet undertones of the previous dish. Despite this, the lamb tasted like it was slow cooked for a while as it was very tender.
Rambutan isn’t your usual Thai restaurant. The food isn’t outstanding, but it’s alot better than the rubbish some restaurants churn out and then claim to be ‘modern/fusion’ restaurants. Despite it being heavily based on modern Thai, I think they do a pretty good job on ensuring the flavours and ingredients are atleast unique in taste. In terms of service, it was bloody good. The waiter seemed like he was quite passionate about the food which Rambutan represents, he described everything perfectly in detail and made sure our big group was looked after throughout the night. Make sure you have a drink or two downstairs in the cocktail bar, the selection is original and they taste awesome. The bar would be an ideal place to hang out with a few drinks and perhaps a few dishes from the entree menu, it’s like Thai tapas!
Rambutan
96 Oxford St
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Phone (02) 9360 7772
Fax (02) 9360 7776
Web : www.rambutan.com.au
Author
By Howard
We started eatshowandtell in 2008, it was meant to be just a journal of where we ate. The first thing I usually do when I'm looking for a restaurant is check out eatability and the restaurant website. But what is usually missing is pictures of the food, how do I know I'm getting what I expect? This blog hopefully plugs that gap.
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This article was written on 21 Apr 2009, and is filed under Dinner, Sydney, East, Thai.
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is that cocktail man wearing safety goggles? how fun
i’m similarly suspect when it comes to fusion cuisine, but am glad to hear that this place was a cut above (if somewhat on the sweet side).
shez’s last blog post..peking vip restaurant
Really like this place every time I’ve gone. There was recently a feature on Good living on the chef. She’s Thai. I can’t find it, but it was there!
Reemski’s last blog post..The Sugarmill, Kings Cross
I’ve seen recipes for mussaman with sweet potato, but I’ve never made it. I can see your problem with it being too sweet though.
Love the blowtorch photos!
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Pesto Pasta with Smoked Chicken
Some interesting dishes there. I’m not really a cocktail person, but am fascinated by them.
Y’s last blog post..Pineapple and chamomile
OOhh love the blowtorch shots esp the first one! The food looks and sound like it’s mind-blastingly good but too bad it isn’t
but still I shall have to head over and tryy yayyyy!
Cocktails look fab! Always willing to try new combinations
The lamb massaman curry also looks good. The pork prik khing reminds me of a Spice I am dish that is pure heaven. Not sure that one looks as good!
Christie @ Fig & Cherry’s last blog post..Sydney Royal Easter Show 2009
I went to a function there some months ago and the finger food was divine. Good to know that the actual restaurant food is good too. And yes they really do take their cocktails seriously there!
Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella’s last blog post..Macaroni & Cheese with Bacon
Shez : Yep he was! It was pretty cool, they like to put on a show heh. Yeah fusion is a hit and miss but I accept it’s place in Syd restaurant scene I guess.
Reemski : Ah nice, I’d like to find that article and have a read. Some of her dishes are quite unique.
Arwen : Sweet potato is awesome, very versatile as well. The blowtorch is great, makes any photo look good!
Y : Cocktails seem a bit ‘girly’ to me, but I appreciate the effort which is put into making them heh.
FFichiban : Yeah give it a go, it’s great for groups.
Christie : I’m yet to visit spice i am, heard so much about it. Must visit!
Lorraine : If the finger was anything like their entrees, I agree. They are great when paired with the cocktails!
Reemski – the article you want on Mai Bussarat is in the Sydney Morning Herald magazine, about a couple of months ago, methinks.
I’ve been here for drinks & dinner for a birthday – i’ve had better thai in newtown!! but you’re right about the downstairs bar, i’ve been wanting to go back for that rambutan drink, and another one that tastes like coconut sun tan oil mm…
betty’s last blog post..Baja Cantina
I’m going there tomorrow night on your recommendation! Can’t wait to try the cocktails and the crispy duck. Thanks Howard and the gang!
I went to Rambutan last Friday night and it was fantastic, the food, service and ambience were great. However it was a bit noisy so conversation was restricted to my companions on either side!
I highly recommend this place, but book on the busy nights. We saw many people turned away during our visit.
@Kristi : Yeah the ambience is quite nice, were you upstairs or downstairs ? It can get a bit cramped downstairs when the bar is full, patrons can get quite close to the eating area!