The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Work in Progress

Myffy Rigby
Myffy Rigby

Fantasy menu: Work in Progress bar and restaurant.
Fantasy menu: Work in Progress bar and restaurant.Christopher Pearce

Chinese

Something's happened to King Street. And that something is Papi Chulo chef Patrick Friesen. For the next couple of months (and fingers crossed, some time after that), Merivale's maestro of BBQ meats is heading up the menu at this inner city pop-up.

It's basically a fantasy menu of dishes every chef dreams of eating when they've knocked off work: fried chicken, spicy noodles, dumplings, pickles. Luckily, that translates as well at lunchtime for busy city workers as it does midnight for an exhausted hospitality crew.  

Gimlet-eyed readers may remember this was originally a pop-up art bar curated by resident artist Franck Gohier. Even more gimlet-eyed readers might recognise the same paste-ups of film noir stars and gangsters, pin-ups, pistols, pasties and playing cards that've been on show since the venue first swung open last April.

Advertisement
Half fried chicken and half chilli chicken.
Half fried chicken and half chilli chicken.Christopher Pearce

The room's opened up now, with a sort of upmarket hawker stall vibe. The tables are covered in repurposed lychee tins filled with disposable chopsticks, cutlery and cleansing towelettes, hot sauce and piles of rice bowls for sharing. One wall features a giant painted red cockerel crowing and wearing a natty straw hat.

Think of it as Hemmes does Eating World.

So fried chicken's the sell here - it's the thing you might have seen all over the internet (there's that hashtag #sojuicy which even appears on the menu) over the last few weeks. The original - crunchy and breaded served with a light, Vietnamese-style chilli dressing and a side of pickled daikon, cucumber and kimchi - is not bad at all, and nor is the mess-up-your-afternoon-meeting chilli and peanut version which manages to migrate to just about everywhere on the table. Both #couldbejuicier, though.

Sichuan dukka and tofu lo mein.
Sichuan dukka and tofu lo mein.Christopher Pearce
Advertisement

What you want to order are the wings, glassy-skinned and #quitejuicy, especially with the accompanying fragrant and light white pepper and lime dressing.

But the really good stuff lies beyond the wing. Like thin egg noodles, clumps of duck mince, firm giblets and soft tofu bound in chilli oil with the cooling fizz of Sichuan pepper and the crunch of thinly sliced cucumber. Agedashi (ish) tofu is basically everybody's favourite Japanese fried tofu bound in dashi broth covered in a clump of undulating bonito flakes, only here there are squiggles of kewpie mayonnaise on top.

Sure, a Shanghainese-style shallot pancake is a little more frisbee-like than the flaky, light pastries fans of the genre would be used to, but then there are the greens. Simple, tender, fresh and sweet, dressed with oyster sauce.

Agedashi-ish tofu.
Agedashi-ish tofu.Christopher Pearce

The real star, the thing that'd have us repeat offending till kingdom come, is the wontons. Those slippery, floppy, luscious pork and prawn dumplings with sesame, green onion, peanuts and coriander cress have a cloud-like softness rarely seen in Sydney.

Advertisement

Some days there are cinnamon buns, other times, there's brisket. Today there is neither. But therein lies the joy of this fast-and-loose snack house: it's all in the risk. Dig in.

THE LOW-DOWN
Pro tip It's not all that easy to see the value in an $8.50 apple juice unless you throw in a shot of whisky
Try this The pork and prawn wontons are worth ordering twice, as are the wings with lime and white pepper dressing
Like this? Try Shanghai Night in Ashfield for real-deal shallot pancakes. 275 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield, (02) 9798 8437

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up
Myffy RigbyMyffy Rigby is the former editor of the Good Food Guide.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement