Porteno, Surry Hills

There are two new things to celebrate about the new Porteno location. One - it's so much easier to get to. And two - they now take bookings! It was a sad day when Sydneysiders bid adios to MoVida (MoVida Bar de Tapas is still open at terminal 2 of Sydney domestic airport) but the arrival of the Porteno crew to Holt Street feels like an easy transition.

The vertical grills, used for grilling whole beasts over woodfire, has been installed in one corner of the open kitchen. It still makes for mesmerising viewing. The dining room has undergone some changes too - gone are the booth seats alongside the former enclosed kitchen. Now it feels much more airy, with round tables scattered throughout.


Counter seating at the bar

You can still sit at the bar, on new stools with backs.


Private dining table

In the back corner of the dining room (on your way to the amenities) is a large single table designed for private groups.


Co-owner and chef Ben Milgate on the pass

The pass has been extended out into the dining room. The black and white tiles on the floor are a nice touch too.


Wood roasted pork belly

The open kitchen means you can watch the kitchen carve up meats, just like you could at its former Cleveland Street site.


Provoletta $26
Wood fired cheese with crushed olives and capers

The menu is a little less meat-heavy than Cleveland Street, with more of a Mediterranean bent to dishes. Do expect wood fire to play a large role in everything.

That includes a bubbling mass of provolone cheese, all oozy and smoky from wood fire. It's a gooey salty hit, especially with the blanket of crushed olives and capers across the top.


Pierogi de bacalao $32
Salt cod potato dumplings with king crab calypso sauce

The bacalao salt cod potato dumplings are not the deep-fried fritters we expect, instead arriving as baked dumplings smothered in a calypso sauce. Yellow onions and peppers form the base of calypso sauce, a condiment originally from the Caribbean. The dumplings are a little on the doughy side but together with the sauce, it still adds up to a tasty number.


Vitello tonnato $30
Wagyu girello, tuna mayonnaise, preserved mackerel, date and caper vinaigrette

Vitello tonnato provides firm evidence of the menu's expansion to the Mediterranean. It's terrific news for this vitello tonnato fan. The thin slices of wagyu veal are incredibly tender, draped over a silky tuna mayonnaise. There's just the right amount of zing and pepperiness from the capers and watercress leaves too.


Remolacha con ricota $28
Wood roasted beetroot salad with whipped ricotta, sweet olives, pecans and kale

Beetroots are cooked over, you guessed it, woodfire, their earthiness tempered by whipped ricotta and a tumble of olives and pecans. The deep fried kale across the top is ridiculously addictive, shattering into delicious smithereens with every bite.


Morcilla $18
Blood sausage spiced with cinnamon and shallots


The morcilla blood sausage is designed for offal fans. The sausage is grilled whole so the insides remain soft and malleable. It's served with white beans but all I really want is to eat it with a thick slab of crusty bread.


Chorizo con romesco $20
Paprika and garlic sausage with romesco

The chorizo is firmer and springier in texture, its garlicky meatiness best savoured with a generous dip in the accompanying romesco sauce, sweet with red capsicum.


Charcoal grilled dry aged chestnut fed bone-in rib eye $120
with wood fired bone marrow vinaigrette

We make the agonising decision to skip the wood roasted pork belly in favour of the night's special, a bone-in rib eye grilled over iron bark charcoal. We're told the beef was fed chestnuts for two weeks and then dry aged for six weeks. It's a special cut of meat.

The steak is cooked to a luscious medium rare pink, drenched in a wood fired bone marrow vinaigrette. The beef has faint notes of nuttiness from the chestnuts but the bone is definitely the best bit, sticky with caramelised fattiness.


Repollito de bruselas $28
Crispy fried brussels sprouts with lentils and mint

And of course we had to have the crispy fried brussels sprouts. If there's a tastier way to eat vegetables than deep-frying them, I've yet to find it. The leaves are browned on the edges so they're nutty and sweet in taste, doused in a vincotto dressing that's just acidic enough to take the edge off the oiliness of the sprouts. Mint leaves also help to impart freshness.


Helado de pomelo $10
Grapefruit sorbet with Amaro cream

The grapefruit sorbet is just what you need after a heavy meal. We can't get enough of this palate cleanser, the fine crystals of sorbet straddling the perfect line between sour and sweet. The Amaro cream on top works brilliantly with the grapefruit.


Tarta de manzana $16
Upside down apple tart with prune and rum ice cream

The upside down apple tart isn't too far removed from a tarte tatin. The tart is a little on the sweet side but the prune and rum ice cream is something I'd happily eat by the gallon. There's a backbone of substance to the ice cream that feels deeply satisfying.


Flan mixto $14
Milk flan with cream and dulce de leche

But the hit of the night has to be the flan mixto, a heavenly vision of layered milk-soaked sponge cake with dulce de leche, cream and a bonanza of chestnuts. Don't make my mistake. Order your own slice instead of sharing!




Porteno
50 Holt Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8399 1440

Lunch Fridays from 12 noon
Dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 6 pm


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Adam Wolfers' Jewish pop-up at Bar Brose, Darlinghurst

Soft. Fluffy. Deep-fried bread. If you haven't tried langos, you need to. This Hungarian classic is commonly found at festivals, served up with sour cream. Adam Wolfers' (ex-head chef of Yellow and Monopole) version uses a sourdough starter for the bread, a bubbled mass of pillowy deep-fried deliciousness that you tear up and dip into smoked sour cream strewn with a paprika-heavy dukkah.

It's one of the highlights at Wolfers' Jewish and Eastern European pop-up, now in its final week at Bar Brose. The bread lies somewhere between Chinese you tiao and Thai pah tong go, crisp on the edges but soft in the middle. And there's a generous puddle of sour cream, forced through a nitrogen canister so it's cloud-like in consistency, its smokiness amplified by paprika against a rubble of crushed nuts and sesame seeds.


Matzo ball soup $14

For the past seven weeks, Wolfers has been channeling the recipes of his Jewish Hungarian grandmother. The Etelek menu, meaning food in Hungarian, runs from small snacks to mains, all designed to share.

That includes the matzo ball soup, a Jewish grandma's love ladled in a bowl. The matzo ball, a giant dumpling made from crushed matzo crackers, acts like a sponge, soaking up all the flavours in the clear chicken soup. It's much softer and less rubbery than the ones I remember eating in New York, falling apart with a sigh with each bite.


Celeriac, radish and smoked herring $22

You'll have to dig your way through a tangle of noode-like radish and celeriac to find the plank of smoked herring. There's a sophisticated level of textural contrast here, from the bed of whipped smoked herring sauce to the toothsome firmness of the smoked fish to the acidic pop of finger lime pearls.


Flavours of goulash $23
Raw beef, paprika curd and matzo

One of the newest additions to the menu is flavours of goulash, a Hungarian riff on steak tartare. Making the connection between the rich heartiness of goulash stew and the light freshness of raw beef requires a leap of faith, but if its paprika, beef and sour cream you're looking for, they're right here.

The raw beef is terrific, hand-chopped and tumbled with raw cucumber and seasonings. The matzo cracker on top is light and crisp.


Parsnip schnitzel, yoghurt, herb salad and gherkin $28

For a total mind warp, you'll definitely want to order the parsnip schnitzel. The sourdough-crumbed fried schnitzels are a heartwarming sight on appearance alone. Add a squeeze of charred lemon and a dollop of gherkin yoghurt though, and you could almost swear you're eating fish fingers. Seriously.


Meat and zaft $32
Mushrooms, bone marrow and challah 

You'll want to save room for the meat and zaft too. Sure it's hard to resist the beckoning call of roasted bone marrow but it's the challah that will make you swoon. The golden glazed house-baked bread has a softness reminiscent of a brioche, even without the use of dairy as per kosher regulations.

I could happily tear strips of the brioche and savour it slowly, except Wolfers has a better idea. Slather it with fatty bone marrow and a scoop of savoury mushrooms, just like he used to do as a kid.


Pastrami, cabbage and whipped caraway $34

We finish with the pastrami, a slab of beef brisket brined and then, in an unusual twist, grilled over charcoal. It results in a noticeably smoky finish, tempered by a mound of lightly pickled cabbage.


Orange poppyseed kugelhopf and whipped buttermilk $15

We order both desserts on the menu. The orange poppyseed seed kugelhopf is just the kind of cake you'd want for afternoon tea. There's a subtle zing of orange zest to the yeasted bundt cake, made even tastier with a dollop of whipped buttermilk that feels like a lighter version of creme fraiche.


Rosella ice cream, cheesecake mousse and brown butter $15

The rosella ice cream wins on the beauty pageant stakes though, backed up with enough substance of character to potentially bring world peace. The quenelle of ice cream teeters between tartness and sweet. Add a sash of cheesecake mousse and a confetti trail of brown butter crumbs and you know you're on a winner.

Get over to Bar Brose as Wolfers' Etelek pop-up enters its final week. Wolfers' last night of service at Bar Brose will be on Sunday 27 August.





Bar Brose
231A Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney
Tel: +61 (0)450 307 117

Opening hours
Wednesday to Thursday 6pm-11pm
Friday to Saturday 6pm-12am
Sunday 6pm-11pm


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Xi'an Biang Biang, Haymarket

Xi'an Biang Biang might be all over your Instagram feed right now but there's a good reason. It's crazy delicious and Sydneysiders can't get enough of it.

It's all about biang biang noodles, a prized specialty of the Shaanxi province, the capital of which is Xi'an. Think chewy handmade noodles doused in garlic, salt, vinegar and chilli. And then there's roujiamo, the Chinese take on the hamburger that stuffs a pile of tender pork into panfried flat bread.


Cold noodle with garlic sauce $10

The cold noodle with garlic sauce is your must-order dish. The noodles are liang pi, made by steaming thin layers of a starchy paste and then slicing into ribbons. These are terrifically chewy, smothered in enough garlic and chilli to keep vampires away for a week. A tangle of fresh bean sprouts add a refreshing crunch. If there's any dish that'll waken your taste buds, it's this one.


Pulled pork stuffed burger $8

The other crowd favourite is the pulled pork stuffed burger aka roujiamo, a popular street food that also originated in Shaanxi. The fillings inside this handheld flatbread vary across the country, with beef and lamb more often found in Muslim areas.

Here it's all about the pork, soft and fatty chunks crammed into a flaky flatbread. Look around the dining room and you'll spot locals double-parked with chopsticks in one hand and a pork burger in the other. That's one slurp of noodles followed by a bite of porky goodness. Repeat.

And bargain hunters should note, if you want the pulled pork burger and the cold noodles, get the biang biang set for $17.80. You'll save 20c and score a free soft drink. Ka-ching!


Biang Biang noodle with minced pork and vinegar (dry) $12.50

Noodles? There's plenty to choose from, although the English descriptions aren't particularly descriptive. Biang biang noodle with minced pork and vinegar (number 18) will net you a bowl of fettuccine-like noodles along with fatty pork (more shredded than mince), green vegetables and a medley of diced potatoes and carrots.


Biang biang noodles

Get your chopsticks in and mix everything up. Our dish is quite mild in flavour without any noticeable tang of vinegar but it's a great counterbalance if you end up ordering spicier dishes like number 13.


Biang Biang noodle with stewed pork $13

The biang biang noodle with stewed pork (number 13) is definitely worth ordering. Saucy pork mince, stewed pork, diced potato and carrot and a good whack of chilli powder need to be teased through oversized squares of hand-pulled noodles.


Wide noodles with stewed pork

The noodles are the real star of the show, with a silky slipperiness reminiscent of fresh ravioli sheets. There's so much going on here - texture, taste, smell and colour - that your heart will drop when you hit the bottom of the bowl.

But wait. There's more. Pao mo is another Shaanxi specialty, combining cubed steamed bread served in soup with beef, lamb or chitterlings (intestines). Snacks include steamed pork ribs with sticky rice, stewed pork liver and the intrigue of steamed fried chicken.

Expect a heaving crowd all day and night although diners tend to eat and run. Don't expect to find seats for more than two people at a time - the entire venue only seats about 30. It's cash only at the till and you'll have to pick up your food when your buzzer flashes. The self-serve cutlery section by the fridge includes small bowls for sharing as well as cups and free water.






Xi'an Biang Biang
Shop 41, 1 Dixon Street, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney

Opening hours:
Daily 10am-11pm

Cash only


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Paper Bird, Potts Point

EDIT: Paper Bird has closed

They're back. And the shrimp-brined fried chicken is on the menu. If you lamented the day that Moon Park closed, you need to scoot yourself to Potts Point where version 2.0, Paper Bird, has opened on the old Bourke Street Bakery site.

Where Moon Park was all about modern Korean, chefs Ben Sears and Eun Hee An have spread their (paper) wings and expanded the menu to include influences from China, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. We're talking everything from congee to kimchi toasties to char siu bacon and Hong Kong French toast.


Scrambled eggs and char siu bacon on sourdough $18

Weekdays follow separate breakfast and lunch menus but rock up on a weekend and revel in an all day brunch menu. Sure you could stick with a classic cafe breakfast of avocado on rye toast, toasted muesli with coyo or Bourke Street Bakery toasted bread or croissant with condiments but we venture straight for the scrambled eggs with char siu bacon. Say what?


Velvety crambled eggs

Combining the sweetness of char siu marinade with streaky bacon feels both comforting and confusing. There's definitely no denial about the velvety perfection of the scrambled eggs though, a fluffy and soft eiderdown of buttery sunshine.


Kings' congee rice and milk porridge with crab, corn and donut chips $22

Kings' congee is a recipe that harks from Korean royalty, substituting the usual water with the luxury of milk. It tastes like a savoury creamy rice pudding, bewildering at first but increasingly addictive with each spoonful.


Rice and milk congee with fried bread

Corn kernels and flakes of crab add pops of sweetness and there's a welcome crunch from the sesame seeds and fried bread sticks (donut chips). I'm banking on this dish being very divisive - you'll either love it or hate it.


Japanese cheesecake with preserved cumquat $11

The Japanese cheesecake is definitely worth getting too. Eleven dollars might sound steep but this quivering slice combines a milky richness with ethereal lightness. It reminds me of the LeTAO cheesecake in Japan. Candied cumquats add a sophisticated citrusy sweetness.

We'd tried to order the fried chicken only to be told they were completely sold out by 12.30pm. My reaction? It's a Ralph Wiggum heartbreak moment. There was only one thing to do. I returned the next day. Sunday. At 10am.


Kimchi, jamon and Emmental toastie $14

We kick off with the kimchi, jamon and Emmental toastie, another dish that had sold out the day before (along with the everything bagel with cream cheese and smoked trout).

Kimchi and cheese is everything. Sure I've been adding it to my ramen but why haven't I been pressing it between grilled bread too? Add the saltiness of jamon and you've got the perfect midnight snack. Or breakfast. I see this combo scoring a high rotation in my kitchen from now on.


Chilli and mushroom with fried egg on potato bread $16

Vegetarians can revel in the spice bomb that is mushroom with fried egg on potato bread. King brown mushrooms have a chewy heartiness, strewn across a thick slab of potato bread. The chilli takes a while to kick in, but when it does, there's a satisfying gentle burn. Pierce the egg and let the runny yolk ooze over everything.


Shrimp brined fried chicken with soy and syrup $25 for 5 pieces

And finally. The shrimp brined fried chicken. It's as good as I remembered, a rubbly crunch of golden batter drizzled with a soy syrup that adds just enough sweetness without it feeling cloying.

The marinade of fermented shrimp paste is less noticeable than my last encounter. The chicken is juicy without feeling over-brined. Cubes of pickled daikon will reset your arteries in a flash.


Hong Kong French toast $14

We finish with Hong Kong French toast, a much prettier version than what you'll find in most cha chaan teng, Hong Kong cafes where this dish is commonly served.


Peanut butter inside the Hong Kong French toast

Paper Bird's version is less eggy than the traditional Hong Kong French toast rendition, replacing the melting pat of butter on top with fresh blueberries and a good snowstorm of cinnamon. You do score butter and maple syrup on the side although a little more of both is probably needed. There's a generous layer of peanut butter in the middle but I wish there was condensed milk too, and that the bread was a little eggier.

You won't find yuanyang Hong Kong coffee tea but you can bask in Single Origin coffee and everybody's favourite breakfast beverage, the Bloody Mary. The Bloody Mary packs a decent chilli hit, garnished with a pickled cucumber instead of a celery stick.


Breakfast at Paper Bird

I'm guessing that new signage is in the works, but in the interim, don't be confused by the Bourke Street Bakery sign above the door.

Paper Bird commences dinner trade this Wednesday 9 August. Reservations are available for dinner. At all other times Paper Bird operates on a walk-in basis only.






Paper Bird (CLOSED)
46A Macleay Street, Potts Point, Sydney
(entrance on Crick Avenue)

Opening hours
Monday to Friday 7am - late
Saturday 8am - late
Sunday 8am - 3pm


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