Restaurant Review: Minum, Sydney CBD

Thanks to Simon for organising a casual Friday lunch meet up with a few friends.

The new Malaysian tapas restaurant Minum is a tricky place to find. For the first time in my life I had to call the restaurant and ask how to get there. (Down the steps near the Met Centre into Martin Place station is the answer.)

A stressful day in the office meat I arrived nearly thirty minutes late and had missed quite a few of the mains. However, I ordered a couple of extra savoury dishes and managed to overlap with dessert. The most important part!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Malaysian tapas. Medium sized dishes that are ideal for sharing is the answer. They were giving a European label - tapas - to what my experience of Asian food is all about - communal sharing - rather than doing anything radical.

The first dish I ordered was the Roti Jala, chicken curry served with a crepe. The crepe was thicker and had a higher flour content than the French crepes I'm used to. The extra body worked well with the curry, although I'm not quite sure why they didn't go for a more traditional roti? The curry itself was food court, rather than set my world on fire, standard.

There was nothing particularly Malaysian about the Lamb Cutlets with Spiced Coconut Crusts. The darkly toasted coconut added an welcome extra dimension to the dish. However, it seemed to have been toasted separately and sprinkled on top, rather than being a 'spiced crust'. The lamb was a little fatty for me.

The pineapple skewer with cinnamon was a new combination to me. While I don't think anything can ever beat cinnamon and apple, it did work pretty well.

The Sago Gula Melaka (sago & palm sugar pudding) was enjoyable and I found myself repeatedly taking extra spoonfuls. The caramelised palm sugar added a coffee like dimension to the sago.

I'm a big fan of the Thai version of Pulut Hitam or black sticky rice. The rice was perfectly cooked and crucially wasn't too sweet. Easily my dish of the day.

The restaurant is run by a friendly Malaysian family and I hope they make a success of the business. However, with the likes of the Malaysian Food House in Hunter Connection I fear they might struggled to sitck out from the crowd.

Minum
32B Martin Place
Sydney
2000