Australia has a long tradition of Asian food, with the Chinese restaurant a mainstay in every suburb and country town beyond living memory. In the late ‘70s, Thai and Vietnamese entered the mix and over time more Japanese and Korean restaurants followed.
Initially there were just clusters of ‘cheap & cheerful’ ethnic restaurants in specific suburbs, many of which are still fascinating microcosms of those cultures today, such as Vietnamese in Cabramatta, Korean in Campsie and the Thainatown section of Haymarket. With the 21st century came a new generation of chefs and restaurateurs taking these classic cuisines as inspiration, adding their own twists and some smart décor and wine lists, to create the Modern Asian restaurant category. Some have been around for decades, others are relatively new, here are some of the best Modern Asian restaurants in Sydney.
Red Lantern Darlinghurst
Mark Jensen and partners Luke and Pauline Nguyen have been winning fans for their deliciously clean Vietnamese flavours for over 20 years. These days you can wander in for a street food snack and cocktail in the front bar, dine with friends in cosy Indochine booths, or grab a Little Lantern lunchtime baguette or salad bowl. They still serve Sydney’s best salt & pepper squid and Mark gives a great haircut too (meet him in the video below)!
Izy.Aki Paddington
While classic omakase can be a bit formal and reverential, chef Darren Templeman mixes up intimate omakase-style service with a relaxed izakaya vibe in tiny Izy.Aki. From a seat at the counter you can watch Darren and Bonnie deftly assemble dishes like bluefin tuna with salsify and dehydrated caviar, and sommelier Aurelian shake up a mean yuzu & wasabi margarita!
Sáng by Mabasa Surry Hills
Authentic Korean flavours get a modern twist at this cool Surry Hills diner with great wines by the glass. Cho muchim packs a visual, textural and flavour punch with cuttlefish in an intense orange chilli sauce topped with black rice crackers; while thin slices of grilled dry-aged beef work a treat with a selection of condiments including a killer house kimchi. Go the excellent-value $85 Feed Me menu and save yourself the dilemma of deciding.
Ms.G’s Potts Point
It’s loud, chaotic and delicious! Dan Hong’s menu spans the flavours of China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and more, combining them in ways you’ve never seen before – I’m still thinking about the ‘strange flavoured burrata’ with sesame, chilli and peanuts. Check out the packaged cocktails in the upstairs bar including that yuzu slushie.
Little Fu Manchu Rushcutters Bay
Annie Lee has been serving great dumplings since opening her Victoria St hole-in-the-wall in 1994. These days she’s just down the road and the dumplings, noodles, san choy bao and curries still rock on her Chinese/Malaysian menu. Remember she feels like you’re dining in her kitchen, so behave accordingly and she’ll reward you with great home cooking! Good wine by the glass and reasonable corkage for BYO.
Updated 08 Jul 2024
