Australian Gourmet Traveller - (10)October 2019 (1)

LINGERATFRANCA

OwnerAndrewBecheroversawa

multi-million-dollarfitoutattheold

FratelliFreshsiteonMacleayStreet,

andit shows.Thediningroomat

Franca(above)is beautiful:red

velvetchairs,studdedbanquettes,

marble,brass,daintylampshades,

modernart.Thepan-Eurobrasserie-

stylefoodmaynotmatchthe

ambition(duckbreastcouldbe

restedlonger;mayonnaisetogowith

prawnscouldbesharper)butthat

doesn’tmeanit’snotpumping. 81

MacleaySt,PottsPoint,(02) 9167 2921.

TRASFORMANTEJAPANESE

AfterintroducingthecitytoJapanese

burgers,KerbyCraig(Ume)has

turnedhisattentiontopastawith

PastaWafu. TheBanksiiteamis

onboardtohelpturndoughinto

spaghetti(tossedwithmentaiko

andbutter,andtoppedwithnori)

andfettuccine(saucedwithmiso

bolognese),andtheworkcrowdsare

rightlyslurpingit up.TheExchange,

Shop9, 1 LittlePierSt,Haymarket.

WATCHTHISSPACE

A neighbourhoodspotwithaneye

onpleasingthelocals,Bayswater

KitchenettebringstrademarkItalian

insouciancetogetherwithserious

pedigree(GlendaLau,lastseenat

A1andAutomata,is onthefloor).

AlessiaBottinicookssimpleItalian

toorder,gratinglemonzestfresh

forgremolatatotopossobucoand

servingcalamarihotfromthefryer

witha cleverbalsamicmayo.Sunday

tarts– rhubarbwithdark,crumbly

pastry,say– area highlight.

1/51 Bayswater Rd, Rushcutters Bay.

AND ALSO...

Details

Chuuka

JonesBayWharf

26-32PirramaRd,

Pyrmont,(02) 96579882

chuuka.com.au

Licensed,bar

AEMCV EFT

OpenTue-Sunnoon-3pm,

Tue-Sat5.30pm-10pm

PricesEntrées$18-$26,

maincourses$28-$59,

desserts$8-$38

VegetarianYe s

NoiseQuieterthanthe

playlistwouldsuggest

WheelchairaccessYe s

MinusTheover-the-top

delivery

PlusA wholenewworld

offlavour

canonofJapan,is another.

Initsstraightform, it’sa

baseofricetoppedwith

a crabmeatomelette

andcoveredina thick

sweet-soursauce. At

Chuuka,thatriceis

stir-friedwithJapanese

XOsauce– madeona base

ofdashiandscallop– and

thebroth,whichhasraw

eggandblueswimmer

crabmeatfoldedthrough,

is toppedwithcoinsof

sashimiscallop.It’srich,

decadentandextrasaucy.

It probablydoesn’tneed

theXO,butwhenwasthis

a questionofneed?

Otherdishesfall

at varyingendsofthe

spectrum. There’sa special

ofPekingduck(halforfull)

thathitsthepropercrisp,

sweetandmeatynotes,themostobvious

concessiontoJapana hintofcherry

blossominthesauce.A hot,fragrant

veganmapotofuis givenbitewithtofu

skinandlengthwithsaltedblackbean.

Anda warmsaladofstir-friedpotato

dressedwiththreadedchilliandtempura

komburecallsthespiceofSingapore

noodles.Allareclearandprecise,and

joystobehold.

Youcanseebothchefsrunningfree

withtheirstyles.Kojimagetstherawbar

• there’sroeservice,lobstertanks, and
  sashimitunaandkingfishpresentedwith
  thesameflaironshowat Sokyo– and
  Liong gets the garlic cucumbers and the

Sichuaneggplant,whicharrives

likea mix-it-yourselftacobowl

completewithfriedwonton

skins,chickpeasandherbs.

(Wouldit bebettertojustfinda

waytoJapanifytheLeeHoFook

eggplantandbedonewithit?)

Butforthelevelofexcitement

thiscollaborationcausedwhen

it wasfirstannounced, there

couldbemoreLiong.Chuuka

feelslikeanoffshootofSokyo.

And, evenif theendofJones

BayWharfis a decentstepaway

fromTheStar, youcanfeelits

presenceinthestraightand

expensivelinesofthewinelist,

inthestiltedservice,theshowy

cocktails,thedryice.

I’mnotsurewhyTheStarputan

extra“u”inthewordChuka,orwhat

theymeantit tostandfor,butI wouldn’t

besurprisedif it wasa reminderforstaff

toupsell,sofrequentaretheattempts

toprofferextraspecials,dessertcocktails,

moreoysters,a sashimiplatter.

Thefoodhereis exciting,thrilling

at times.ButI wonderif it wouldbe

a moreexcitingrestaurantif twobroke

buttalentedyoungchefsgottogetherand

threweverythingtheyhadat a warehouse

spaceinSurryHillsandbuiltsomething

alltheirown.Instead,toquotetheir

website, Chuuka is Chuuka.●

Clockwisefromleft:

sashimipreparation;

bangbangchicken;

Sichuan eggplant.

52 GOURMET TRAVELLER

Sydney review