Alex Yamakazi - Tuesday, 3 June 2003
I think we're all pretty much over Thai. In the not too distant past Thai was tres cool, ever so much cooler than our parents with their *scoff* CHINESE restaurants. In response to demand, Thai restaurants reached epidemic proportions, swarming over Sydney like a red curry flavoured plague of locusts. Thanks to market saturation the Thai experience has fallen to mediocrity. The too lazy to cook, too lazy to go out options in many households today fall to (a) pizza or (b) thai. So if Thai is passé and Chinese is just too uncool to mention, make your next Asian meal experience Indonesian.
Kampung Daun is located in the heart of one of Sydney's most popular eat streets - Glebe Point Road. Despite the "funky" location the staff are extremely friendly and seem genuinely glad to be sharing their excellent food with the public. The food is little short of amazing. Entrees are hand made at the time of order and this attention to detail continues throughout the whole meal elevating even classics like spring rolls to a new and delicious level. The mains are divine. Complex, lush, yet fresh flavours rendered with quality produce.
An excellent way to sample the Indonesian experience is to bring some friends and order Rijsttafel. This tradition was developed during the Dutch colonial era in Indonesian history. The term simply means "rice table". At Kampung Daun Rijsttafel takes form as two trays, each with a selection of dishes delivered to your table one after another.
Another great thing about Kampung Daun is that all the items on the menu are very modestly priced making it very accessible for a night out with friends. I could drivel on with more praise for another couple of pages or so... or I could just say I LOVE IT!