Little Hutong4/2-8 Little Bay Rd
Little Bay, Sydney
Little Hutong only opened earlier this year - in April 2015 to be precise. It's not a big place - seating around 50 people very comfortably.
The food is probably best described as Asian fusion. There are strong Malaysian influences and some great authentic Malaysian dishes but the food goes way beyond this one genre.
There is a monitor that "rolls" constantly at one end of the room, showing different menu items. You can see a picture of how your meal will be presented with all it's mouth watering freshness and vibrant colours. It's a really good concept.
We started with a lovely long dish of crispy pork belly.
This freshly cooked pork belly with it's nicely crispy skin was served with homemade ginger and chilli sauce.
It also came with thinly sliced cucumber and scallions.
WOW what a sauce! Has a really good kick.
We then moved on to some amazing roti canai - The original Malaysian puffed bread. The roti was crispy on the outside and fluffy and flaky on the inside. It was served with a rich, fragrant and tender beef rendang.
Both Sir and Mlady are partial to roti and this certainly lived up to its description.
Mlady thought that this was some of the best roti she had ever had. Mlady even kept some aside to soak up the amazing chilli sauce that was served with the crispy pork belly.
We then grabbed some lovely salt and pepper squid. This was stir fried with Thai chilli, garlic, onions and curry leaves.Salt and Pepper squid is a favourite dish of both Sir and Mlady and this dish was nice and crisp with the flavours combining really well.
Next was the Surfing Wasabi tuna - slices of seared marinated tuna rolled in sesame seeds and dried parsley with wasabi mayonnaise and finely julienned pickled vegetables all piled high on thin crispy rice crackers. This really was a wonderfully flavoured dish. The wasabi - which can be very overpowering - was not. It was all suitably subtle. Everything with this dish combined very well
together with great textures and flavours.
We then moved on to the miso mayonnaise scallops - Gratinated Hokkaido scallops with miso paste, shitake mushrooms, Japanese mayonnaise, scallions, sesame seeds and bonito flakes. It was a complex dish made with scallops that were plump and juicy and lightly cooked. It again combined well to create a lovely explosion of flavours in the mouth!
The Hutong Sang Chow Bow - a mixture of crab meat, egg, toasted pine nuts and conpoy crisps served with homemade chilli sauce and iceberg lettuce - is a popular dish and a favourite. The combination of all these tasty ingredients combined really well. The crab meat shone through and was not overpowered on underpowered (is there such a word?). The sauce comes in a dish as a side so you can add as much or as little as you desire.
Our final main was the Penang Char Kuey Teow - wok fried flat rice noodles with prawns, Chinese sausages, eggs, chives, bean sprouts, and a touch of chilli paste.We really enjoyed everything about this dish, which is another favourite of ours.
It's such a great mix of different textures and flavours - and basically a meal on a plate.
Finally it was time for dessert - and we had a great black glutinous rice with fragrant coconut cream.
Some descriptions of food can leave you thinking Hmmmm. Seriously though - we totally loved this dessert. Mlady had to share and she was not impressed. She wanted it all. The coconut cream arrives in a cute pot of which you pour over the rice. To quote a children's story this was "Just right" and a very yummy dessert!
While Little Hutong clearly has a Malaysian influence in parts of its menu - it really goes well beyond these boundaries into more of the modern Asian fusion space. It's a great place to visit for a really unique meal. Service was excellent and it's a really pleasant environment too.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Little Hutong. Special thanks to owners Eliza and Robert (and Luke) and to Xenia for looking after us so well. Thanks also to Jess Cruze of Viveri Communications for arranging our visit.
