We were greeted by a long row of communal tables which reminded me of the dining hall scenes from Harry Potter. As it was a weeknight, only a third of the seats were taken, much to our relief as this restaurant does not take bookings (except for groups of 6 or more). Dim lighting reflected off the brown wooden tables. Its simplicity and spaciousness is quite welcoming, especially where there is a friendly buzz from the happily socialising patrons.
Service was impeccable (except when we had to ask for the dessert menu three times) and very attentive. My companion has food allergies and our waitstaff put in more than the usual effort to ask the chef and cater to our needs.
We ordered two cocktails - Virgin Ping Pong and Virgin Chew. I'd order these purely based on their names! haha. Virgin Ping Pong was a lovely concoction of lychees juice, passionfruit and lime with lychee chunks swimming at the base. Virgin Chew which appeared bright red was a blend of lychees, raspberries, rose syrup and pink grapefruit.
Virgin ping pong $9.50
Virgin chew $9.50
Having been told the betal leaf entrees were miniscule, we ordered one each. It was indeed finger food size where you wrapped the ingredients with the betal leaf and ate the whole thing.
One word of warning - beware of the oozing sauce! Texturely these betal leaves were sensational - great thai flavours with fresh herbs and the right amount of chilli.
Betal leaf topped with prawn, peanuts, roasted coconut and ginger $6
Betal leaf topped with trout, chilli, garlic, galangal and trout roe $6
Of course, I had to order the infamous eggnet. It sent a shockwave of 'wows' across the communal table when the dish arrived. There was a very very generous serving of the stuffing which comprised of pork, prawns, peanuts and bean sprouts. It could easily have fed two people with rice!! The coconut caramel sauce was a tad too sweet, but all the flavours were unmistakably good. Crunchy peanuts and bean sprout with tiny pork minced pieces and prawns wrapped in a delicate lacey eggnet was tossed in corriander, mint and kaffir lime leaves.
Eggnet with pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts and sweet vinegar with cucumber relish $31
Our grilled octopus, pork belly with watermelon would have been a fabulous dish if only the chef wasn't so generous with the copious amounts of coriander. A thin slice of pork belly with a crunchy rimmed edge, tender octopus with sweet juicy watermelon were a match from heaven.
Grilled octopus and crisp pork belly with watermelon, roasted chilli and black vinegar $36.50
The dessert menu had the typical coconut, tapioca and sticky rice combinations. Seeing durian on the menu, i was quietly nodding in approval, but We ended up trying the taro and coconut pudding with roasted peanut ice cream. A bit disappointing in many aspects. I did not expect the pudding to be room temperature for one. The ice cream also did not have the intense roasted peanut flavour we expected but was rather bland. What was great was the roasted coconut slithers sitting on top of the ice cream - thin and crispy and lovingly toasted.
Taro and coconut pudding with roasted peanut ice cream $16
Longrain
85 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills
tel - 02 92802888
http://www.longrain.com.au/
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