Huong Huong Restaurant, Marrickville

Squid with lemongrass and chilli $12.00

There's something very reassuring about busy suburban restaurants. The kind of places where the crockery may be a little chipped, and the decor is often loud if earnest, but the waitstaff know all their regulars, and the dining room is filled with a cosmopolitan mix of local families, couples and usually one screeching kid right up the back corner.

And so we find ourselves at Huong Huong Marrickville, my second visit but a regular pit-stop for my two dinner companions this evening.


Mixed combination drink $3.50

The mixed combination drink is a refreshing start to the meal, although it doesn't have quite as many interesting bits and pieces as I'd like. A much bigger hit is the squid with lemongass and chilli, a dish we'd tried to order last time but received lemongrass chilli instead.

Lightly dusted in flour and fried till golden, the calamari is enviably soft and tender. Scattered liberally with lemongrass and bits of chilli, I find myself scrabbling for all the crunchy bits.



We'd had some trouble deciding on the second dish but the picture of the ayam goreng mentega looked quite enticing. It takes some time to arrive, and when it does we can't help staring back and forth between the photo and the dish on our table with some sense of betrayal.


Ayam Goreng Mentega $12.00

Ayam goreng mentega translates as fried chicken in a sweet butter sauce. The chicken is a lot saucier than we'd expected, coated in a thick viscous syrup that is sweet and salty. Beneath the slick of sauce, the chicken itself is juicy although I'm left longing for the taste of charred and caramelised bits of chicken.

And throughout our meal I'm distracted by a little girl, of about age four, who tucks into all dishes on her table with complete and utter gusto. Sometimes she uses a spoon, sometimes it's straight in with fingers, but she tries every dish and then a little bit more to make sure. There's a look of intense concentration that crosses her face as she forages throughout her meal. I think she's great. I wanna be just like her.

Huong Huong Restaurant
228 Marrickville Road, Marrickville Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9568 5522 or
Tel: +61 (02) 9568 5566

Open Wednesday to Sundays 12pm-9pm
Marrickville--Hung Cheung (dinner)
Marrickville--Hung Cheung (yum cha)
Marrickville--Huong Huong
Marrickville--Mui Huong
Marrickville--Nhat Tan
Marrickville--Old Thanh Huong
Marrickville--Post Cafe
Marrickville--Sydney Portugal Club