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The folks of Redfern are spoilt. Spoilt, that is, for choice when it comes to eating out with its slew of cafés, restaurants and bars at their doorstep. And now, they have a shiny new dining and retail precinct Wunderlich Lane on the Redfern/Surry Hills border that’s home to the gorgeous Greek tavern Olympus (from the folks behind The Apollo), chic boutique hotel The Eve, the slick and playful Bar Julius, and our hangout for today, Island Radio.
It’s Sunday, 12.30pm, and Island Radio is buzzing. Think two kitchens under one roof: a casual, wallet-friendly noodle bar for walk-ins who can feast on things like prawn and pork wonton laksa, and raw kingfish skewers, plus a swish eating house where booking ahead is not just a suggestion – it’s mandatory, going by how crowded it is when we visit.
As we’re shown to our seats, an expanse of fibreglass full moon pendant lights grab our attention. Eye-catching yet ethereal, they set the tone.
Every little detail is considered
We’re talking bright orange tiles adorning the bar, a funky playlist, and disco lights in the toilets because – why not? This kind of eclectic-meets-elevated aesthetic is what we’ve come to expect from the crew at House Made Hospitality, the same team behind the likes of Grana, Apollonia, Martinez, and the four (yes, really) new venues at the recently renovated Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. Ushered to a communal-style banquette table, we perch on barstools. Our suggestion to the team? Add hooks underneath for diners to hang their handbags.
Onto the main event: the food. Warning: Don’t come expecting your regular hawker-style hits you’d get on busy streets of Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia or Hong Kong. Instead, head chef Andrianto 'Andy' Wirya (ex-Mr Wong, Queen Chow) has taken all the Southeast Asian street food favourites and has added his spin on them. The result? Bold flavours that feel familiar, yet hit differently.
This extends to the drinks, too. My gin-based cocktail ‘Beaches of Saturn’ is a citrusy tropical mix of lemongrass and makrut lime leaf; the tamarind soda is a sweet-sour delight; and the passionfruit and lemongrass flavours are a delight on this sticky summer’s day.
First up, our entrées. A Malaysian-style chicken skewer with a rich, nutty sesame satay sauce and a Filipino-style pork skewer with sawsawan (a zesty-sweet-sour dipping sauce). They arrive charred on the outside and tender on the inside, and are gone in a flash. Ditto for the Malaysian king prawn roti, which is a tad different to the soft, flaky roti canai we anticipated. With succulent prawns sandwiched between two layers of fried roti, it’s not what we expect, but it’s absolutely what we want.
When the highly anticipated smoked brisket char kway teow is served, we wonder if there’s been a mistake. The portion’s smaller (and pricier) than what we’d get at our cheap and cheerful neighbourhood Malay joint – or, at Island Radio’s adjacent noodle bar, for that matter.
Our trepidation is met with relief when we taste that unmistakable wok hei – that smoky, charred flavour
It hits just right, perfectly balanced with crunchy bean sprouts and tender chunks of brisket. The smoky notes continue with a smoked beef nasi goreng – a garlicky flavour bomb that we could happily eat as a meal in itself, and one of us proceeds to do just that.
The title for ‘dish of the day’ undoubtedly goes to the Wagyu beef rendang. Indonesians claim their rendang is the OG; Malaysians insist their version is better. We’re not sure from where chef Andy got his recipe; all we know is that we return to this dish time and time again. The meat has incredible depth of flavour from the spices and aromatics like cinnamon, star anise, lemongrass and galangal that have been slow cooked to deepen the complexity of this ‘dry’ curry. Despite our now groaning stomachs, we polish it off, leaving no room for dessert.
Will Island Radio keep this initial buzz alive? Only time will tell. For now, its high energy vibes and big, bold flavours have residents from Redfern and beyond flocking to it in droves.
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