Top 10 weird dishes to try in Sydney
EVER wondered what jellyfish tastes like? What about grasshoppers? We’ve found 10 Sydney restaurants that have unusual dishes on their menus. Mouth-watering or stomach turning?
Central Sydney
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Sydney is a melting pot of cultures and flavours from all over the world, but some of those flavours are a little strange and definitely not for the faint-hearted.
If you’re feeling adventurous or want to take a look at authentic cuisines and strange concoctions then Sydney is the place to be.
Prepare your iron stomach, because here are our pick of the top 10 weirdest dishes you can eat this weekend.
1. Lamb’s testicles at Efendy
A favourite on this Turkish restaurant’s menu, lamb’s testicles are a surprisingly small mouthful of weird. Efendy chef Somer Sivrioglu serves this delicacy on a bed of garlic yoghurt and fries the organs in marash chilli butter.
Where: Efendy, 79 Elliott St, Balmain.
Cost: $18
Details: efendy.com.au
2. Wallaby tail at Billy Kwong
Native Australian ingredients are gaining popularity all over Sydney, with cafes using bush berries, desert herbs and, yes, even wallabies. Kylie Kwong’s Paddington restaurant serves a red-braised caramelised wallaby tail with black bean and chilli sauce on their dinner menu.
Where: 1/28 MacLeay St, Potts Point
Cost: $34
Details: billykwong.com.au
3. Durian and avocado smoothie at Café Nho
Avocado is the golden item on everyone’s shopping list, it is great on toast, in a salad and at Café Nho in a condensed milk smoothie. But that’s not the weirdest part. Durian, or “the king of fruits”, is a spiky and monstrously stinky fruit from Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. It is so smelly, that in 2013 an office building in Sydney’s CBD was evacuated after officials mistook the strong fruit smell for a gas leak. It is best to hold your nose for this drink, but the fruit is said to be very sweet and creamy.
Where: 7 Belvedere Arcade, Cabramatta
Cost: $7 large
Details: facebook.com/Coffee-to-remember-Cafe-Nhớ-Official
4. Chapulines at El Topo
Insects could be the next super food as they are apparently a good source of protein, calcium, iron, omega 3, B12 and B2 vitamins, and are low in carbs and saturated fat. If you don’t mind picking the odd cricket leg from between your teeth then Bondi Junction’s El Topo restaurant has the snack for you. Chapulines is a Mexican dish which includes grasshoppers, garlic and lime.
Where: Level 3, 500 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction
Cost: $6
Details: theeastern.com.au/eltopomexican
5. Chicken feet at Tim Ho Wan
A good chicken foot is soft, tender and served with a flavourful sauce or soup. Sure eating chicken feet isn’t everyone’s first choice of cuts and the pile of bones and tendons left over are enough to turn off many diners. It’s probably not too much of a shock to hear this dish tastes a lot like chicken.
Where: 100 Burwood Road, Burwood
Cost: $6.90
Details: timhowan.com.au
6. Camel burger at Arabian Nights
For $6 you can get a taste of the desert with camel burgers at the Arabian Nights Lebanese restaurant. The flavour of camel is said to be halfway between beef and lamb, and you can choose to top your burgers however you see fit. If you’re feeling patriotic, opt for the Aussie camel, which sees your desert ship burger served with beetroot and a secret sauce.
Where: 47 Moore Street, Liverpool
Cost: $6
Details: facebook.com/Arabian-Nights-Liverpool
7. Duck web at Flavours of Peking
Those looking for authentic Chinese dishes travel from around the city to Flavours of Peking. The duck web dish is a crowd favourite and served with a mustard sauce. It’s the texture that might be a bit jarring in this dish, with the mostly chewy skin needing a good sauce for it to be palatable.
Where: Shop 7/100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag
Cost: $19.80
Details: facebook.com/Flavours-Of-Peking
8. Pork intestine salad at Lao City Thai
There is a lot of great and strange dishes to choose from at Lao City Thai, from barbecued pork tongue to stir fry with a century egg. But there pork intestine salad is likely to be the most divisive; vegetarians should look away with this mix of traditional Thai salad of coriander, lime juice and papaya with a good heap of pig innards.
Where: 35 Ultimo Rd, Haymarket
Cost: $13.90
Details: facebook.com/LaoCityThai/
9. Poached chicken and jellyfish salad at Mr Wong
Ever wondered what it would be like to eat rubber bands? That’s what jellyfish is said to taste like. Mr Wong in Sydney’s CBD on Bridge Street serves their jellyfish in a salad with a softly poached chicken. This salad is also often served with pig’s ear for extra bite.
Where: 3 Bridge St, Sydney
Cost: $14
Details: merivale.com.au/mrwong
10. Haggis at David’s Larder
Haggis is not too strange for many people as the dish is an old and tried favourite in many Scottish households. But there are some that would shy away from the savoury pudding of sheep‘s heart, liver and lungs, oatmeal and spices. David’s Larder pie shop have a stacked take on the dish with turnips and mashed potatoes, or as they call it “neeps n tatties”.
Where: 176 Queen Street, St Marys
Cost: around $26 a kilo
Details: davidslarder.com.au
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