Sunda
Fresh exploration of Australia’s many culinary influences.
15/20
Contemporary$$$
Sunda isn’t the restaurant it was when it opened in 2018. The shared tables are gone, there’s an eight-seat bar and, notably, a new chef. Nabil Ansari, who worked his way up the ranks, splashes butterflied tiger prawns with a kind of jungle curry elixir: lemongrass, ginger, shallots and galangal sizzled in brown butter.
Idli, the steamed rice and lentil cakes drawn from his Indian upbringing, are ideal sponges for the aromatic sauce. But South-East Asia still dominates the menu. Rojak, the fruit and vegetable salad, is made here with pineapple, star fruit, sorrel and a rubble of macadamia.
In another local flourish, soybeans grown in NSW are turned into a mild tofu pudding topped with oolong syrup and white strawberries. This is still the place for punchy flavours drawn from a broad sweep of cuisines and cultures.
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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/vic-good-food-guide/sunda-20241105-p5ko5e.html