French-Viet Fusion in Surry Hills
I really should have written this as soon as I left the restaurant, or at least last week when the memories were still fresh and unsullied by the weekend trip to Jakarta. But here goes …
Last week a good friend of mine took me to Cochin Restaurant in Surry Hills for dinner for my birthday. It was a Tuesday night and when we first stepped into the restaurant I felt like I had entered a small boutique fashion shop with its contrasting dark leather and soft white walls, and the fact that we were the only two patrons in the entire restaurant. But just as were seated and I thought she had booked-out the entire restaurant just to celebrate my birthday, in came two other customers (didn’t think so).
We had apparently arrived on the night of the unveiling of the spring menu and we chose the degustation menu, volunteering to be their guinea pig. While some items could’ve used a bit more work, especially that salmon course that was too dry and too salty, the rest were excellent. The best parts included the amuse-bouche of green-pea and something or another soup. I remember there was this sweet flavor that takes me back to something I had eaten in the past but couldn’t quite recall.
The other star entry was the pork belly, flavorful even if it wasn’t as tender as I wished it (especially when Busshari’s pork belly entrée is absolutely amazing and tender).
They also served us a sampling of their duck dish as a bonus, which unfortunately I wasn’t too crazy about. My friend liked duck and if she weren’t so full I swear she would’ve finished the entire plate (kidding! just kidding!). As for me, maybe I was too full? I can barely remember everything that came to our table that night but let’s just say it was a pretty rich menu and having a duck course at the end probably just threw the whole thing off.
The fact that besides us there were only three other groups of people probably made the entire evening a much more pleasant one with just enough ambient chatter and music but not a singularly private experience.
I hope I get to go back there soon, and not simply to confirm my initial response but because I really did like the food.
Cochin Restaurant
61 Fitzroy Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Tel: +61 2 9358 5388
cochinrestaurant.com.au
Last notes: strictly BYO … bring a good bottle!
