85 Commonwealth St
Surry Hills, Sydney
Longrain is an institution and therefore it's incredibly popular. After you eat there it's easy to see why though. If you're dining in a group of six or more you must book otherwise you wont get in unless you're there very early. If you're simply a party of two - like we were - you also must get there early, which is what we did. They open at 6pm for dinner but you can get there earlier and wait in the nice bar area they have downstairs. If you haven't been here before the communal tables may surprise you. They are large and wide tables though so you aren't sitting on top of other people. Also, a couple are always seated next to each other rather than opposite so it's not awkward for those that want some degree of privacy.
We started with the betel leaves. These tasty green treats are more readily available and used these days and it's great. They were described in the menu as betel leaf, smoked trout, mint, green papaya, chilli and peanut relish.These were lovely. They had a crisp freshness that was so appealing and a crunchy nutty aftertaste from the peanut relish.
They were a great start to the meal at $6.00 each.
It was grilled Angus beef, Vietnamese mint, chilli jam and roasted rice.
It also came with a wedge of lime to squeeze on it - which we eagerly did as soon as it came to the table.
Wow. It was so tangy and so amazing! The bite of the chilli went perfectly with the tangy lime and sweet mint.
I could have eaten two of these on my own it was that good.
The dish cost $38.00 but as it was worth every cent.
Our second main course was nice as well - but not quite as good as our first choice.We had the crispy skin corn fed chicken, chilli, ginger and black vinegar. The chicken was actually delicious. It was cooked perfectly with lovely crisp skin covering tender juicy meat. The sauce was quite unique. Mlady didn't particularly love it while I was more attracted to it. It certainly had quite a bit of bite though which may surprise you if you were expecting something mild like chilli jam. It was $39.00.
Longrain is a classy place. It has a great ambiance, excellent service and food that looks and tastes wonderful. Some of the dishes that arrived nearby looked so delicious as well - so there's plenty more for us to try another time. The bar downstairs is also very pleasant. You can have a pre-dinner drink there and even your whole meal from the bar menu.
