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The District food court

Terry Durack
Terry Durack

Next-gen food court: The District at Chatswood Interchange.
Next-gen food court: The District at Chatswood Interchange.Anna Kucera

13/20

Asian

Faced with a brief of finding somewhere worth reviewing for under $10 – and an editor who says no to any place where the tip alone would be $10 – I've gone to ground instead. To street food - people's food – and the newest, brightest, shiniest​, Asian-inspired food court in the state.

Globally speaking, food courts are the next big thing. Street Feast London is turning old car parks and warehouses into thriving street food hubs such as Model Market in Lewisham, and Hawker House in Haggerston​. Bad boy chef turned David-Attenborough-of-travel-TV Anthony Bourdain​, is launching a Singaporean-style hawker centre in New York City later this year.

No longer hidden in basements, food courts are now 'dining precincts', co-opted by glitzy new property developments. The District hovers above Chatswood Station, designed as a smart little 'village' of Asian street food outlets and communal tables linked by 'laneways'. 

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Go-to dish: Pepper beef from Pepper Lunch Express.
Go-to dish: Pepper beef from Pepper Lunch Express.Anna Kucera

But hang on, a lot of the dishes here are over $10. When did that happen? And why wasn't I told? The food of the people isn't actually for the people any more. Ah, the price we pay for smart fit-outs, loos and air-con.

It means the lush, velvety gaeng​ him lay pork belly curry of chef Pla Rojratanavichai's​ Chum Tang, the new Thai sibling of his popular Khao​ Pla, is $5 over my remit, at $15. Damn. The fiery, Thai-hot minced chicken and holy basil kra pao gai stir-fry is $13. I order them anyway, for - um, well – context, secretly enjoying Chum Tang's dedicated tables and table service. Then I throw in a perfectly pleasant banana leaf wrap of school prawns cooked over a clay-stove charcoal grill for just $7.80, to please my strictly under-$10 editor.

The Japanese-based Pepper Lunch Express (200 outlets across Asia) is a hoot; a  DIY teppan with your own sizzling hot iron plate. Do not dawdle, folks, or your finely sliced raw beef under its mound of rice and corn kernels ($9.30) will turn from pink to brown before you find a table.

School prawns wrapped in banana leaf from Chum Tang.
School prawns wrapped in banana leaf from Chum Tang.Anna Kucera
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The dim sum at Australia's first outpost of Hong Kong's Michelin-starred Tim Ho Wan averages at about $6.80 a serve, but we've already reviewed that in these pages (Need a recap? Overhyped and over here.)

At the equally famous (in Taiwan) Taiwanese fried chicken specialist, Cheers Cut, the very crisp and very tender chicken breast is squirted with hot Sichuan sauce for a very reasonable $7.80. Or as they say on their web-site: "Delicious fried chicken can't always leading market position. Big, thick fried chicken can't stand for unique." Precisely.

Onward, ever onward. Wonton noodle soup at 1 Ton is $10.80, with a good broth and terrific, bouncy, thin, freshly made egg noodles. After all that, I'm not really up to a rich, creamy, Miss Dipity's ice-cream or the super-sweet, rich, chocolatey Sneaky Salted Caramel brownie ($5) from The Choc Pot, or even a Di Stefano coffee from Bottega del Café.

Fried squid at Cheers Cut.
Fried squid at Cheers Cut.Anna Kucera

It's hard to score such a diverse range of outlets, so I've drawn an average instead, from 14 for Chum Tang to 12 for Cheers Cut. It's great to see the generic food court get a next-generation make-over, and still have a sense of the same mayhem and blood-curdling fear of missing out that marks the great food courts of the world.

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THE LOWDOWN
Best bit Checking out what everyone is eating before you order.
Worst bit The queues and the occasional order going astray.
Go-to dish under $10 Pepper beef from Pepper Lunch Express, $9.30

Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for the Good Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system.

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Terry DurackTerry Durack is the chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food.

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