Mollymook, take a bao at Gwylo

Think Mollymook on the South Coast and you think Rick Stein at Bannisters. But the luxury dining room of our favourite fisherman's friend is not the only restaurant in the village.

Nor is the smart-casual rooftop bar and grill perched atop Bannisters Pavilion in the middle of the Mollymook shops. Because just a few doors away is Gwylo, a cheerful little surprise packet of Asian fusion street eats and banging cocktails, with ever-present music and a larrikin air.

Larrikin-in-chief is owner-chef Matt Upson, who cheffed with South Australia's Cheong Liew and Simon Bryant and cooked throughout Asia, before opening Tallwood in beautiful downtown Mollymook in 2013. It was Tallwood's street food Sundays – all smoky charcoal grills and live music – that inspired a covidian change of direction into Gwylo in late 2020.

The room is as dark as an LA dive bar, a neon glow coming from the bar. Booths swallow up whole families at the rear, while most table seating is what can only be described as school-desk style, in which twosomes sit side by side. It feels strange initially, but once class begins and teacher sends out food, it's fine.

The name Gwylo, an adaptation of the term "gwei-lo" (Cantonese for foreigner, or "ghost man"), was, Upson says, chosen respectfully. To him, it acknowledges his foreigner status, in terms of cooking the food of the Asian countries in which he has worked.

Everything from The Cure to A. Skillz & Krafty Kuts swirls through the room as manager Haley Mees hustles tables and bar manager Clancey Baine gets to work on two cocktail shakers at once.

The menu lists steamed bao, gyoza and fishcakes – the kind of things Sydney folk are accustomed to, but can't easily be taken for granted on a night out in Mollymook.

Miang kham ($18) are particularly good, the four large betel leaves topped with a sweet, sour, spicy mix of prawns, jicama, coconut and peanuts, ready to wrap and shovel in.

I don't usually order steamed bao any more – too heavy, dank, dull – but these bao ($9 each) are light and steamy, enfolding marinated pork, kimchi, Davidson plum, Sriracha mayo and Vietnamese mint, with a tempura cauliflower and cashew mayo version for vegans.

Crisply bottomed gyoza dumplings (four for $24) are crunchy with black fungus and juicy with minced belly pork, in a darkly pungent tosazu dressing of vinegar, soy, dashi, chilli oil and garlic.

The "fusion" concept isn't shoved down throats, but comes together most spectacularly with a daily special of crisp mee goreng potato ($22). It's weirdly wonderful, the spud served with cashew cream, chilli oil, shiitake mushroom dashi, crisp shallots and a carpet of chives.

I don't get too much of the mee goreng sauce reference, unless it's expressed by the sweetness and curry spices, but what fun.

In fact, starters and snacks put the few larger plates in the shade. Southern Thai fried chicken ($32) is a knockabout dish with its super-crusty fried, marinated white meat, chilli vinegar and shredded lettuce and herbs.

Duck leg sour curry ($48), another big dish, has good ducky flavour and an edgy tamarind finish, slightly overwhelmed by the pumpkin in its smooth coconut-cream sauce. A smoky, savoury 2020 Kerri Greens pinot noir ($14/$75) from the Mornington Peninsula proves to be a team player.

Dessert goes sweet and creamy with a pandan sponge ($18) with palm sugar sabayon, yuzu sorbet and toasted coconut. Baine reappears to suggest a Keen As cocktail of Chronicles gin, pineapple, Coco Lopez, Falernum and makrut leaf spiced with curry powder ($21) that's a bit of a hoot.

I wasn't expecting a moody, dark, high-energy bar in gently retired Mollymook, but there you go. It's a great example of both owner and staff creating the sort of place they would want to go to themselves, and just doing it. Like the curry spices used as a recurring theme, it leaves me feeling warm about the place.

The low-down

Gwylo

Vibe Buzzy dive bar with Asian street eats in main street Mollymook

Go-to dish Miang kham with prawn, jicama, coconut and peanuts, four for $28

Drinks Asianised cocktails, craft beers, and 16 wines with a focus on skin-contact

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