Longrain, Surry Hills
Howard
20 June 2009
Dinner, Modern Australian, Sydney, Surry Hills
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Masterchef made me come here
Yes, I’m the biggest groupie. After seeing the egg net salad on Masterchef, I went through a phase of “ hey it’s on Masterchef, it must be good … let’s go there! “. A week later, I find myself at Longrain and seeing Martin Boetz in the comfort of his own kitchen making copious amounts of the infamous egg net.
Ping Pong: Lemon, Vodka, Lychee Liquer, Lychee, Passionfruit and Lime
I’ve always maintained a love hate relationship with modern interpretations of traditional cuisines. They have not always lived up to expectations as it sometimes seems the chef is trying too hard to be different when it is the simplicity of the original dish which already makes it unique. Naturally I was sceptical of Longrain, after my first visit I should probably never judge a book by its cover.
From the outside, Longrain looks very mundane, nothing special. Once you pass through the front door, it’s a whole different atmosphere. The warehouse type setting is separated into two sections, one side is transformed into a hip bar with trendy crowds sipping on fantastic cocktails chattering away accompanied by music played by the house DJ in the background. Divided by the open kitchen, the opposite side houses two long communal tables packed with patrons gleefully enjoying their meal.
Stickmata: Sole berry vodka, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, Lime
Asia carera: Pear Vodka, sake, pineapple, mint, falermum syrup, cloudy apple juice, fresh lime juice
Rose Porteous: Lemon vodka, watermelon liquer, fresh mint, watermelon, cranberry juice
The next of our cocktails were named after the famed Asia Carera and mega wealthy woman Rose Porteous. The Asia Carera is quite exotic with the inclusion of falernum syrup. Trusty old wikipedia suggests that falernum “contains flavors of almond, ginger and/or cloves, and lime, and sometimes vanilla or all spice”
The richness of the Rose Porteous is how I would actually imagine Rose to enjoy her cocktails, a mix of all the good stuff.
At the bar
We were told that the wait could be at least an hour, disappointed we moved to the waiting side and ordered a couple of cocktails and nibbles while thinking how glad we were to be escaping from the torrential downpour outside. One thing led to another and we ended up with a few entrees.
Freshly shucked oyster with red chilli lime juice & deep fried eschalots $4.00
Fresh briny oysters with a slightly sour chilli sauce accompanied by crunchy eshalots was a great start to our meal. This reminded me of the oysters served at Assiette.
Betel leaf topped with prawn roasted coconut mint & chilli $5.50
Despite the utilisation of the same chilli sauce that had been used on the oysters above, the inclusion of the betel leaves and toasted coconut helped differentiate the flavours between the two dishes, with this one imparting a more fragrant flavour.
Grilled beef pieces with a peanut dipping sauce
Tender pieces of beef marinade in a chilli peanut sauce then quickly grilled. A great accompaniment to our cocktails. I recall eating a similar dish on my last trip to Singapore and Malaysia, chargrilled pieces of meat dipped in a peanut satay sauce while knocking down a few ice cold beers.
Time for the mains
Coincidentally as we finished our bar dishes and cocktails, our seats were ready. Walking past the fish tank, peering into the kitchen, I spotted Martin calmly cooking away. After a quick 15 minutes, our first dish arrived, it was the eggnet, made famous my Martin’s celebrity chef challenge on Masterchef.
Eggnet with pork prawn peanuts bean sprouts & sweet vinegar $28.50
Laces of fine threads of egg encasing a plethora of pork, prawn and bean sprout pieces, garnished with coriander and basil with a sweet and sour sauce. This colourful and fresh dish was as tasty as it looked. I’m embarrassed to say that I had the dish to myself. A beautiful light salad with fresh crispy vegetables, fish sauce and crunchiness, encompassing everything that is Thai food.
Caramelised pork hock with five spice & chilli vinegar $29.50
Next up was the infamous caramelised pork hock. One of the most addictive things that I have had the pleasure of eating. A crispy slightly exterior pork skin aligning soft tender meat. Dipped in the accompanying sweet vinegar chilli dipping sauce, served with fragrant warm rice, my favourite dish of the night by a country mile.
Slow cooked curry of pork with thai basil & coconut cream $38.00
Despite the pull apart softness of the pork, I found this dish too spicy for my tastebuds, thus requesting the aid of chopped iced cucumbers. The perfect ailment for a burning numbing mouth.
I was about to desert the dessert
By this stage I was stuffed to the rafters but after spying the desserts our neighbours were having, I had to give them a whirl as well. As usual, our ambition combined with 2 bottles of wine and four cocktails between two people made us order the dessert platter.
Centre: Passionfruit pulp and young coconut jelly
The slightly sour passionfruit pulp helped neutralise the rich coconut jelly. I did notice that the juice/flesh of the young coconut was much more fragrant than the more mature ones which are often utilised.
Black sticky rice, custard apple and sweet coconut cream
I can’t recall this dish having a great impact on my tastebuds, however looking back at the picture, I’m pretty sure I would have appreciated it much more had I been sober.
Middle : Vanilla flavoured Tapioca, Top Right: Duck egg custard, Bottom Right: Sorbet
A very common dessert in most South East Asian countries which is simple in aesthetics but delicious. The tapioca balls add texture to the creaminess of the coconut milk.
At this point, I was just too full, and so the thought of sorbet and custard was daunting. I had a small bite of each, I can’t remember what flavour the sorbet was, but it was quite sour compared to the overly sweet custard. In saying that, it’s the perfect contrast of flavours. The duck egg custard was extremely thick and rich, it would have gone down well with a cup of tea.
Toasted coconut with palm sugar ice cream with banana fritters
I’m glad we left this till last. It was one of my favourite dessert of the night, beautiful creamy ice cream atop crispy gooey banana fritters. I loved coating my tongue with the cold ice cream, and then biting into the hot fritter, quite a novelty.
Prior to attending Longrain, I was quite sceptical of the quality and authenticity of the food that I’d be served relative to the price. However, I can safely conclude that the food at Longrain not only retains the authentic flavours that is specific to Thai cuisine, but through the inclusion of Martin’s creativity has actually enhanced it without compromising the basic flavours of Thai cuisine. The queue was long, the price a little steep, but the food and alcohol more than made up for it.
Longrain
85 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Phone (02) 9280 2888
Fax (02) 9280 2887
Howard
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Caitlin
looks exquisite, what’s the name of that spicy dish? Looks like you popped your Longrain cherry earlier than I am. I always mean to go, just need a dining partner.