Sydney has a lot of excellent food, as you know from all my posts on the dining scene, chronicled here. Strengths are in the Thai and Asian food in particular, with close proximity, the ability to source ingredients, and a lot of local talent, that just blows away their counterparts in the US where I live. So when I'm in Sydney, rather than explore high end fine dining (which Sydney has too of course), I generally opt for more casual places that highlight the strengths of the city.
On this visit though, I went mid-range, but, in a non-traditional way.
Let me explain.
Lotus Barangaroo is a member of the Lotus Dining Group, which has a number of well known establishments in town (many under the Lotus brand, but also Madame Changhai, Bund, and Bings). It is the newest, and one of the anchor tenants along the harbor in the new Barangaroo renewal project.
The space is beautiful, with considerably (covered) outdoor dining, along with inside spaces. It has an elegant yet casual vibe to it, which matches the free flowing, well light, bright space.
Open for lunch and dinner, my visit was evening during the week.
However, I did not choose to dine in, rather, I opted to just get takeout. I was on business travel, had a lot to do that night for work, and was solo, but really just wanted something delicious. I knew I could get quality takeout, stopping there on my way from the office to the hotel, and either stop to dine along the harbourfront, or just walk the few blocks to my hotel. I knew it would stuffer slightly, particularly in the aesthetics and plating, but I was optimistic that I could eat quickly after getting it.
My plan worked out very well logistically: I placed my order at the host stand, it took barely 10 minutes, during which time I took a quick stroll around the block, found an amazing spot to sit right along the water a few feet away. My food was nicely packaged, I was able to eat and be on my way to hotel all within 30 minutes of arriving. And it was clearly significantly better than traditional fast-dine options.
The food menu is extensive, full of dumplings, other starters, seafood/poultry& pork/beef & lamb main dishes, rice and noodle dishes, vegetarian mains and sides, and of course, desserts. The price point is on the higher side for the atmosphere, but that is due to the quality of the seafood used, and, the labor intensive process of much of the menu.
I narrowed my choices down to just two items: one kind of dumpling, and one seafood item. The dumplings were an easy enough choice, although I had many options for dumplings (10 kinds, ranging from steamed to fried, veggie, seafood, poultry, etc), I was there in particular for one kind of dumpling I had read great things about: squid ink dumplings loaded with seafood. Oh yes.
On this visit though, I went mid-range, but, in a non-traditional way.
Let me explain.
Lotus Barangaroo is a member of the Lotus Dining Group, which has a number of well known establishments in town (many under the Lotus brand, but also Madame Changhai, Bund, and Bings). It is the newest, and one of the anchor tenants along the harbor in the new Barangaroo renewal project.
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| Seating. |
Open for lunch and dinner, my visit was evening during the week.
However, I did not choose to dine in, rather, I opted to just get takeout. I was on business travel, had a lot to do that night for work, and was solo, but really just wanted something delicious. I knew I could get quality takeout, stopping there on my way from the office to the hotel, and either stop to dine along the harbourfront, or just walk the few blocks to my hotel. I knew it would stuffer slightly, particularly in the aesthetics and plating, but I was optimistic that I could eat quickly after getting it.
My plan worked out very well logistically: I placed my order at the host stand, it took barely 10 minutes, during which time I took a quick stroll around the block, found an amazing spot to sit right along the water a few feet away. My food was nicely packaged, I was able to eat and be on my way to hotel all within 30 minutes of arriving. And it was clearly significantly better than traditional fast-dine options.
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| Menu. |
"Lotus Barangaroo offers live fish and seafood in addition to the main menu. Our dumpling master Benny will create dumplings using produce that is native to the local land and sea."
Yup, this is why I was excited about Lotus. Dumplings and seafood. Yes!
The food menu is extensive, full of dumplings, other starters, seafood/poultry& pork/beef & lamb main dishes, rice and noodle dishes, vegetarian mains and sides, and of course, desserts. The price point is on the higher side for the atmosphere, but that is due to the quality of the seafood used, and, the labor intensive process of much of the menu.
I narrowed my choices down to just two items: one kind of dumpling, and one seafood item. The dumplings were an easy enough choice, although I had many options for dumplings (10 kinds, ranging from steamed to fried, veggie, seafood, poultry, etc), I was there in particular for one kind of dumpling I had read great things about: squid ink dumplings loaded with seafood. Oh yes.
The other dish though was hard to choose. I almost just opted for small plates; they had fun starters like an ice plant salad, a lovely looked smoked salmon salad, salt and pepper calamari (always a favorite), and, the other dish I thought I'd get, grilled octopus with sambal. I adore octopus, and when I set out to Lotus, this is the dish I planned to get. But ... I was looking through their Intagram on the way, and a few other dishes jumped out. The seafood lineup is strong, with lobster, snow crab, and mud crab served in whatever style you prefer (work fried with XO, or chilli and black bean, or ginger in salat, or done salt & pepper style), but those all require 24 hour advance notice. The pipis menu doesn't require advance notice, and I almost went for them, just because they are such a thing in Sydney. But I decided to go for another more uniquely regional dish: Moreton Bay bugs! They just looked so good on Instagram, and, I already did have pipis on this trip a few days prior.
I ... well, didn't care for them.
The wrappers did have squid ink flavor to them, but were otherwise just ... bland. I can't say they were too thick, nor too thin, nor dried out, nor anything in particular wrong with them, but ... I just wasn't into them, which really surprised me.
But the inside is what made me sad. Crab and scallops, I should have loved this! They were generously stuffed with seafood. No fillers. But ... the seafood was mushy. Like it was overcooked? So mushy. I tried all 4 dumplings, but each one was mushy inside. There were also shells in my filling.
I was pretty sad that I didn't like these, and the sauce provided was just very spicy chili sauce. I wanted some soy or vinegar to mix in (which I'd have at restaurant I think?).
At $24, this was a bit of a pricey disappointment.
And then my main dish, the one that totally randomly drew me in. Of course, I've had Moreton Bay bugs before (even in the Qantas First class lounge!), so this wasn't novel to me, but it was the sauce, and the base, that in the photo I saw online just looked so very good.
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| Squid ink, blue swimmer crab and scallop dumplings. $24. | . |
I couldn't wait to dig into my dumplings. I read great things about these. I was so excited for them. I adore crab, scallop, and squid ink. I had been craving dumplings and spicy sauce all week. People say these are some of the best dumplings they've ever had.
I ... well, didn't care for them.
The wrappers did have squid ink flavor to them, but were otherwise just ... bland. I can't say they were too thick, nor too thin, nor dried out, nor anything in particular wrong with them, but ... I just wasn't into them, which really surprised me.
But the inside is what made me sad. Crab and scallops, I should have loved this! They were generously stuffed with seafood. No fillers. But ... the seafood was mushy. Like it was overcooked? So mushy. I tried all 4 dumplings, but each one was mushy inside. There were also shells in my filling.
I was pretty sad that I didn't like these, and the sauce provided was just very spicy chili sauce. I wanted some soy or vinegar to mix in (which I'd have at restaurant I think?).
At $24, this was a bit of a pricey disappointment.
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| Wok fried Moreton Bay bugs with black pepper butter and cavolo nero. $44. |
Of course the plating suffered for takeout, and I expected that. I can't say it *looked* tasty when handed over, just a blob of brown, with way too much cilantro on top.
It ... was ok. A mixed success. A hot wok fried dish, plenty of seafood, the portion of bugs was quite generous (which, as a $44 main dish, it should be).
The Moreton Bay bugs were a bit soft, almost over cooked it seemed, much like the dumplings. They were battered slightly, but were soggy since submerged in sauce.
The sauce was fascinating, "black pepper butter" says the menu. It was rich, thick, spicy, and really quite interesting. I'm sure crazy unhealthy, but it was tasty, particularly with the greens.
However, the kale was literally just two pieces in the base, that soaked up tons of sauce. The kale was *delicious* and I really wanted more. Juicy greens in that sauce is a definite winning combo.
On top was a tiny bit of pork floss, saffron, and cilantro (meh cilantro!).
Overall, this was so much seafood, expensive seafood, but I wasn't particularly impressed with the experience of eating it. I ate it because it was expensive, and I wanted protein, but ... yeah, meh to the seafood. That said, I used some leftover sauce the next day with a sweet asian bun, and that was a nice combination.
I wouldn't get this again, nor really return to Lotus.
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