AmyHuang
Jason KingJimbaran
March 29th 2006 06:45
129 Avoca St Randwick NSW 2031 Australia - (02) 9398 8555
The homely Jimbaran hides in an innocuous little strip of shops in Randwick on Avoca Street, blending into seemingly similar restaurants on either side. Jimbaran looks all business from the outside – neat tables, inoffensive décor and colours – but is so much more inside. Like Jimbaran Bay in Bali after which it is named, this restaurant draws crowds from all over, and although a step more formal then the famous cafes which line the Balinese beach, Jimbaran offers distinctly Indonesian food for much less than its environs suggest. Sure, you realise the tables are covered in plastic, but these surroundings are just a canvas for the well-worn, decidedly Indonesian menu.
As you would expect, they make a solid beef rendang, which is deep, dark and redolent, just as you would hope. The menu stretches to over sixty items, all of which are handled with deft care by the self-taught chef Alina Lucas. Clearly she had a good teacher. Prawns with salty egg is just that; a lovely melange of wok-tossed prawns, egg, mixed with a large amount of onions, plenty of salt and pepper, a little soy, and some chilli. The result is a luxurious stir fry that goes down as nicely as it sounds; with the very addictive combination of salt, oil, and a little crunch from the onions, it’s a must. Sweet fried chicken is also fantastic, a half chicken which resembles more a squab or quail in size, with partly crispy skin, with a wonderful sweet glaze, which is well countered by the chilli sauce. The leg and thigh are juicy and flavourful, but the breast is mildly dry and lacks the complex flavours of the other parts.
The outside seating area behind the restaurant is significantly more reminiscent of its namesake, with palm fronds and wooden outdoor furniture; the effect only diminished by the brick houses of inner Sydney on either side. In the hot summer it would be ideal, albeit having to share your meal with the flies. The service too is quick and efficient, and in no time our table is covered with plates; a certain Tetris-esque skill is necessary. But don’t let this inspire a wasteful spree of speedy eating! Fried eggplant with green chilli has anchovies and garlic in a fine salsa-like paste on top of nicely fried eggplant. And hooray, the eggplant is cooked through, with no ever-disappointing stodgy, rubbery, telltale signs of being undercooked! That said, the sauce lacked the complexity of other dishes. So too did the Jimbaran seafood curry, which seemed meek and uninteresting in light of other offerings, despite having a clear seafood flavour from the plentiful offering in the curry. Stir fried egg noodles with vegetables, egg and chicken has a dark, pungent, salty sauce and is a nice mix of shredded omelette and chicken with crunchy vegetables; accompanied by cute, multicoloured crackers adding a bit of fun to the plate. Noodle-wise, a neighbour’s plate of gado gado – steaming rice noodles with peanut sauce and more of those crackers – looks very tempting. But I think we’ve eaten enough for one day (and possibly a few more too). Which is essentially the beauty of Jimbaran; in a mostly-takeaway area where predictable and repetitive food is expected, finding a restaurant which makes an effort and produces interesting and tantalising food is wonderful. To be able to gorge on this food and still look your wallet in the face the day later is even better.
As you would expect, they make a solid beef rendang, which is deep, dark and redolent, just as you would hope. The menu stretches to over sixty items, all of which are handled with deft care by the self-taught chef Alina Lucas. Clearly she had a good teacher. Prawns with salty egg is just that; a lovely melange of wok-tossed prawns, egg, mixed with a large amount of onions, plenty of salt and pepper, a little soy, and some chilli. The result is a luxurious stir fry that goes down as nicely as it sounds; with the very addictive combination of salt, oil, and a little crunch from the onions, it’s a must. Sweet fried chicken is also fantastic, a half chicken which resembles more a squab or quail in size, with partly crispy skin, with a wonderful sweet glaze, which is well countered by the chilli sauce. The leg and thigh are juicy and flavourful, but the breast is mildly dry and lacks the complex flavours of the other parts.
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