AFRICAN FEELING - NEWTOWN, SYDNEY

African Feeling 
1/501 King St
Newtown, Sydney

We were cruising King St in Newtown looking for a parking spot first, then we were going to just drop in to whatever was nearby for a quick bite before going to see a band.

We eventually found one down the far end and when we got out and wandered a short distance we spotted African Feeling.

We've eaten African food a few times before and always enjoyed it so we made the impromptu decision to give it a go.

We also fortunately scored a table straight away which was a bonus.

We of course started with drinks but made the socially responsible decision to go for non-alcoholic because we wanted a few later on. The mocktails here were good too. Sir had a sober pina colada - a mix of coconut and pineapple just leaving out the alcohol. Mlady had The Cooler - made from fresh orange and lemon juice, ginger and shredded mint leaves.  

For "mains" we decided to stick with a selection of entree's as we'd eaten up fairly heavily earlier on. They arrived together, as requested. 

We had vegetarian triangles (a spiced potato and vegetable mix inside crispy pastry), African Cigars (minced beef and herbs inside tubed pastry - and much like a meaty spring roll) and finally Kpoff Kpoff (light fluffy Nigerian dumplings). They were all served with a good sized dish of mild vegetarian dipping sauce that was pleasant. A side of freshly made warm roti was very tasty. 

We would have liked to try the African Donuts for dessert but sadly we didn't have the space. They looked good in the advert on the table. African Feeling is a pleasant place with a good variety of African food.

LA MIA PASTA - NEWTOWN, SYDNEY

La Mia Pasta
170 King St
Newtown, Sydney

There aren’t many people in this world that don’t like pasta - we certainly do. The Italians live on it and us Aussies love it too. You can cook it so many different ways and combine it with so many different sauces, it’s probably one of the most versatile ingredients on the planet.

La Mia pasta is something like a pasta haven. Sure, there are plenty of pasta places around, but there aren’t many that make their own pasta fresh every day and cook it to order, right in front of you.

La Mia Pasta opened its doors not long ago in Newtown’s famous King Street. Although its branded as a takeaway restaurant, there are plenty of tables and seats inside so you can definitely order and eat in. The restaurant has that ‘new’ feeling and one thing we noticed when first walking in was the cleanliness of the restaurant and kitchen. The place was spotless and literally shining.

At the counter we noticed a very full menu on the board. With over 100 different combinations of pasta shapes and sauces to choose from, we didn’t know where to start so we sought some assistance from the lovely staff. Ordering was basically as easy as 1,2,3. You pick your pasta, you pick your sauce and then you add any extras you may want. Beside the many pasta and sauce choices, we noticed some salads available so we started with a Greek Salad and some garlic bread as we were both very hungry.

Count N has had quite a few Greek salads in his time and this one here at La Mia Pasta was definitely a crowd pleaser. Loaded with fresh pieces of tomato and cucumber it was full of flavour. They also don’t skimp on the feta cheese here  There were plenty of chunky pieces all through the salad (our favourite part of the salad). The garlic bread was crispy and was devoured in seconds.

Our first pasta dish was a mouth-watering slow cooked beef ravioli served with a traditional Napolitana sauce - topped with fresh basil. Bursting with flavour and richness, these heavenly pillows of pasta were generously filled with the tastiest beef chunks. The sauce, La Mia Pasta’s signature tomato sauce was cooked to perfection with the right mix of herbs giving it that really authentic Italian flavour.

Next up, some fettuccine in a bolognese sauce - another hearty pasta dish. The texture of the fettuccine was al dente and quite frankly, perfect (another benefit of freshly made pasta, the texture is so superior). The freshly ground mince was plentiful in the bolognese sauce and again very light. If only we hadn’t devoured all the garlic bread in the beginning, it would have been the perfect scooping agent for the yummy sauce. Oh well!

Lastly, we decided to try the gnocchi as after two pasta dishes we thought it would be nice to try something different and moving away from tomato based sauces, we ordered it with a mushroom sauce. There is nothing worse than a tough, dry and chewy gnocchi drowned in a bland sauce. This was certainly not the case here. This freshly made gnocchi was soft, delicate and with a silky smooth texture.


The sauce, made with garlic, cream, mushrooms and a splash of white wine was delicious. A white sauce can verge on the wrong side of heavy at times, but this one was light and bursting with the natural flavours of fresh mushrooms.

La Mia pasta also has a few desserts on offer but this time, the counts had to decline. Thought the Swiss dark chocolate mousse looked quite good and almost swayed us into ordering some.

Our experience at La Mia pasta was great. The food is full of fresh ingredients and the friendly staff are on hand to answer any questions. Everything is prepared quite quickly without compromising on taste. You can pretty much bet on having your pasta prepared in under 5 minutes.

You can eat in or take away and La Mia Pasta will even deliver to your door if you live close by. Next time you are in Newtown and feel like pasta, be sure to pop in to La Mia Pasta. We certainly will visit them again.

The Counts, who review for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of La Mia Pasta. Special thanks to Nir for this invitation.

 

LUYU & YUM YUM -

Luyu & Yum Yum
196 King St
Newtown, Sydney

If you were about to read an article about a newly opened restaurant that features authentic yet innovative dumplings, vibrant loose leaf teas and amazing tea infused cocktails, you’d probably be expecting this to be in Haymarket, Chatswood or even Hong Kong, right? Well, wrong!!

One of Sydney’s newest dumpling houses (probably one of the most stylish) has recently opened in Newtown. Yes, that’s right, Newtown. Right in the heart of King Street, tucked away in a surprisingly large upstairs space away from the hustle and bustle.

Luyu and Yum Yum opened its’ doors about three months ago. Boasting a stylish interior with striking yellow neon colours contrasting against dark wooden features and an open plan dinning area that can be easily sectioned off for large private groups, Luyu and Yum and Yum is the home run in  the dumpling game.

Count J and N arrived for lunch on a beautiful sunny Sunday. We got there right on midday which is when the venue opens and although there was a small line of people already queueing outside, we had no difficulty finding a table once we got upstairs. As we took our seats, we noticed an extraordinary wine display behind a very intricate set up of wooden panel doors. It was quite a unique feature which also can act as a partition to create a private dining space. Quite amazing actually.

We started with a pot of refreshing Yellow Leaf Chrysanthemum tea. A traditional way to start a dumpling feast. The tea was freshly made and was bursting with flavour and colour. A great start though we both were in the mood for some bubbles. Luyu and Yum Yum is fully licensed and has a great wine and champagne list. There are some great choices both by the glass and by bottle, so its sure to satisfy any requirement you might have. We love champagne, so we chose a glass each of the NV Monmousseau Brut Etoile. A solid Champagne, not too dry.




















Whilst we studied the menu, two very colourful starters arrived at our table. The pickled vegetables were freshly prepared and quite delicious. We don’t normally go for pickled vegetables but these were crunchy and fresh. The seven flavour tofu was just as the name suggests, a crispy shelled explosion of many flavours with a soft and silky finish.

Luyu and Yum Yum have some outstanding cocktails. We tried the the YumYum Jasmine Tea, a house made infused Jasmine Tea vodka with Lychee and Elderflower liqueurs. A smooth and quite strong cocktail, guaranteed to wake up your senses. We also had The Lady In Red, with a house made Strawberry, Lychee and Lime vodka, this was a more refreshing cocktail but again quite strong and definitely beautifully presented.

Now for some delicious dumplings. Here at Luyu and Yum and Yum most dumplings on the menu are gluten free, so they’re a  perfect choice if you like to or need to avoid wheat. There are also a number of vegetarian options too.

The Manga Dumpling ‘Hedgehog’ is filled with three different types of mushroom baked in flour dough. Soft and full of flavour.

If you like meat, you’ll love “Kiss Me” dumpling filled with Pork and Ginger swimming in Luyu’s Homemade soup which explodes just as you take your first bite. It’s a very exciting process.

Gluten free admirers will fall in love with the Snow White Dumpling. Generous pieces of Prawn, Asparagus and Bamboo shoot swimming in Luyu’s home made creamy soup cooked in a potato dough which is infused with Chrysanthemum. We highly recommended this one.

Next up we had a serving of four lovely duck pancakes.

These were crispy pieces of duck rolled in golden pancakes.

These are seriously so good and we liked them so much we almost ordered a second serving!

Count J said that the last time he had a duck pancake this good was in Beijing.

Luyu and Yum Yum might have amazing dumplings and lots of share type food on offer but that’s not all you can have here. There are quite a few main dishes on offer as well, again with the same amount of diversity, catering for gluten free, vegetarian or other dietary requirements.

We ordered two mains dishes. The Duck Fried Rice, a house specialty, a hearty dish, with succulent pieces of Duck (can you tell we love Duck?) with egg, asparagus and coriander giving it lots of flavour. All these fresh ingredients are stir fried with mustard seeds creating a very impressive dish.

Our last dish (but definitely not least), was a vegetarian choice, the Eggplant. Cooked with Chrysanthenum Honey Soy and deep fried onion, it was tasty and a bit on the sticky side which we don’t mind at all.

Its not often that the counts say no to dessert - almost never in fact - but today it was just not possible, so we’ll definitely have dessert the next time we visit Luyu and Yum Yum.

And it won’t be long till The Counts are back either. Luyu and Yum Yum is a certainly a very stylish and sophisticated Dumpling House.

The service is quick and efficient and the staff are available to answer any questions you may have about the menu.

Luyu and Yum Yum is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

The Counts, who are now doing reviews for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of Luyu & Yum Yum. Special thanks to David Kang, General Manager, Co-founder and owner, for arranging this.