Adelaide restaurant review: Acclaimed chef Kyle Connor transforms suburban eatery Asha with fine-dining flair
A new chef has this restaurant defying expectations with dishes that turn humble white beans into luxury, and made our reviewer crave an entire bowl of Adelaide’s best rice.
Cappadocia is in the middle of Turkey and nowhere near the ocean.
My foggy, 30-year-old memory of travelling in the region recalls an arid landscape of fairytale rock towers riddled with ancient caves and tunnels that people still call home.
It’s one of the last places on Earth I’d expect to produce a crisp white wine that goes swimmingly with a Smoky Bay oyster.
On a similar note, how does a humble belly-filler like white beans become as svelte as a Zegna suit?
Or an offcut-like beef tongue end up every bit as luxurious as the prized fillet? And why do I want to hog the whole bowl of rice – yes rice – myself?
It might be small in size and understated in appearance but Asha, a Middle-Eastern-leaning restaurant in the southern suburbs, has a way of up-ending expectations.
That is even more the case now with a highly-credentialed chef taking charge and bringing a new-world approach to the old-world traditions.
Any visit to Asha is best preceded by a pit stop at Good Gilbert, its sibling wine bar two-doors-down Goodwood Rd, where talk of adding a more food-focused venue to the family first began between owner Wilson Shawyer and other partners in the business.
They took over an old hairdresser in the middle of last year and set about finding a workable solution for a tight, narrow space that somehow still jumped between four levels.
The result is 30-or-so seats spread between a mix of banquettes and regular chairs in the front section and, up a step at the back, well-upholstered stools at high tables and along a bar built from cherry and sassafras timber.
Walls are painted a warm shade of terracotta but, beyond that, decoration is minimal.
That puts attention squarely on the food of new chef Kyle Connor, whose previous roles have been at high-profile McLaren Vale establishments The d’Arenberg Cube and, most recently, Maxwell, where he headed the kitchen alongside Fabian Lehmann.
This experience shows in the impressive way he has introduced different flavours (particularly native) and contemporary techniques to Asha’s repertoire.
That silky, seductive white bean dip, for example, has been blended with confit garlic and sprinkled with za’atar containing the usual dried oregano, thyme and sesame but also hints of lemon myrtle and saltbush.
Strips of duck skin are puffed up like a prawn cracker and dusted with bright purple davidson plum and star anise powder.
Split pea and herb falafels look like mini avocados with their black skins breaking open to reveal a vivid green interior.
The pigeon pie “bisteeya” is re-imagined as a spring roll with a shredded filling of duck braised with spices and dried fruits.
Once fried, the cylinder is glazed with plum jam, scattered with almonds and rose petals. Clever stuff.
Five days goes into preparing the beef tongue before it is sliced and folded like little paper messages impaled on a metal skewer for grilling.
The resulting meat has the delicate texture of carpaccio and flavour of the finest lean bacon, a triumph when combined with green tomato chutney and a little smear of garlic-y toum.
From the three larger, self-contained options, spice-rubbed chicken pieces have the juicy flesh that comes with patient brining alongside smokiness and char.
They are paired with different expressions of early-season zucchini grilled, pickled and blitzed into a puree, as well as nasturtium leaves and petals.
Like a few of these plates, it is more a brilliant snapshot of ingredient-led modern Australian cooking than anything particularly Middle Eastern.
That said, Connor’s take on jewelled rice, with pistachios, barberries, rose petals and a bold citrus dressing, is a close rival to Parwana for the best pilaw in town.
All of this, other than the skewers, are included in Asha’s “Journey” menu, a steal at $79.
If you can manage dessert, the sutlac (or Turkish rice pudding) with a roasted blueberry and candied pistachios is like a sophisticated nut sundae.
Alternatively, settle back, soak up the appreciative buzz of those surrounding you and sip on a red wine from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
And you might for a moment, like me, wish you lived around the corner.
‘Clueless’: The Christmas mistake we all make
