sunda

my friend from sydney was visiting melbourne and suggested to dine here.

he heard many great things about this restaurant and thought it would be great to catch up here.

every dish had an australian touch to it. a great mix of western and asian cuisine.

friendly staff and great ambience. a nice dining experience.

i ended up visiting sunda quite by accident – i knew nigella had dined at a south east asian restaurant in the cbd during her time here in january, and mistakenly thought it was sunda, only later realising she’d gone to vietnamese restaurant annam. no matter – sunda had been on my list for a while and it did not disappoint.

with much anticipation i walked into sunda.

deco - raw steel, unpainted wool, polished concrete bar. ✔️

food 😋

ordered the set menu at $85 each.

entree tempeh and pie tee. liked the pie tee a mixture of crisp and sourness. not a fan of the tempeh.

followed by otak otak and raw cobia. the otak otak was very interesting! curry parfait with rice crisps was an interesting mix of tastes & textures, in a very good sense. the raw cobia was fresh and delicate.

lastly mains was bass groper and lamb rump. the lamb was cooked to perfection. the fish was a little tough.

the mains was accomplished by charred cucumbers and tomatoes fried rice. love the rice with salmon roe on top.

overall food was very good and service equally attentive.

after reading all the reviews we decided to give sunda a try. very funky set out. if you don’t mind communal seating, then this place is worth trying. it had 2 long tables in the front. you and a friend is seated face to face but surrounded by strangers.

food was beautifully presented. my favorite was the crab curry. not a big fan of the rice cake but the subtle curry flavor went really well with the crab. i also liked the oyster. tasted as good as it looked. the lamb was a bit average. tomato rice had nice flavor.

everything was a bit pricey for what it was. but it was good to just experience it.

4.5
sunda is definitely in the league of supernormal and those high end, modern asian fusion restaurants. downstairs seating is across 2 long communal tables or at the bar. staff are friendly and knowledgeable. the pie tee was a bite sized cup of deliciousness - we had a few rounds of these. my girlfriend wasn’t that keen on her oyster though. the rendang pie with a sambal sorbet was novel and tasty. they had a special on this night which was a crispy roti with a vegemite curry to dip it. the roti was so perfect and flaky and we ordered a couple but had a little bill shock at $16 each. the octopus dish was a standout with a fair amount of spice to it. the wa marron (like most shellfish dishes), had very little meat to it. something really different was the crab curry parfait which was cold and spreadable on rice crispies - it was like a strong concentrate and easy to spread. so good! desserts were a honeycomb cake and meringue with ganache and both complimented the meal. overall, the meal was fantastic, but you certainly pay for it - this came in at $210 without booze. finally, and i think it’s worth noting, the toilets for this place are terrible. this was built only a year or two ago and the toilets are definitely not up to standard for the type of restaurant this is.

located punch lane , dining atmosphere is great , customer service is great , explained all the menu details , really excellent. the food is great and tasty , fusions way . and the dessert is awesome . price is reasonable, will definitely visit again.

some exciting and inventive food happening here. you will have to leave any thoughts of tradition at the door but it's worth it. i'm not always a fan of fusion and not every dish is a winner but when it works, wow yum! we had a variety of dishes with the rockling being the standout. not ecstatic about the upper level where we sat. the floor creaks and moves way too much. book downstairs if you can. service was exceptional. well worth a look but it's not a cheap eat and you will need to order a fair amount as serving sizes are smallish. closer to a 4.5 but zomato doesn't allow detailed scoring.

after reading all the hype and passing this restaurant on route to eat elsewhere we finally made a friday night booking and wow - we wished we hadn’t waited to long. sunda definitely lives up to all the wonderful reviews it’s getting and we loved every single dish from start to finish.

the wait staff were happy to chat, with great knowledge of the menu and wine list. we had what has become the famous buttermilk roti with vegemite which we will now have to have every time we go! delicious, crunchy and just the right vegemite tang. oysters were just really delicious and a must have if you’re an oyster lover. we followed these with the spanner crab curry, the crab is treated perfectly and not overpowered by the curry flavour.

next up was the cured kangaroo, this was described by staff as a mixture between a thai larb and a steak tartare and we thought was a perfect description of a wonderful dish. we then had the smoked eggplant, lamb rump and a delicious side of egg noodles with chicken crackling. we are often disappointed by main meals after wonderful entrees but not at sunda, they were as good as all the smaller dishes and we couldn’t fault anything we ate. this was all washed down with a gorgeous chardonnay from cobaw ridge, one of our favs.

dessert we shared the jasmine rice cream with mango and liquorice which was a crunchy delight! also had the honeycomb cake which was a perfect finish and not to sweet. loved it!

we will now return often!

i had heard so many amazing things about this restaurant, and it did not disappoint! the whole dining experience felt very personal, all the waiters seemed to enjoy their job. i came with a couple of friends and we all absolutely loved the food. we loved the special roti with vegemite curry, which wasn’t overpowering, the pie tee, cured kangaroo, charred cucumber, pork cutlet and lamp rump!! literally all taste sensations. the rendang bun was a little too bready for me, would have loved a tad more filling, but was complimented perfectly with the pickle. and the spanner crab curry was too fishy for my liking, but that’s personal preference as i’ve seen rave reviews about it. will definitely be returning here again soon!

1 hatted restaurant with appalling attitude

setting the scene:
same booking session as per the couples who sat right next to us. with 15 minutes to go to our 2hr session we were refused to be offerred dessert menu.

listing out the facts:
1. next couple has a 1815 sitting and was offered dessert at 2014. ie 1 min to go according to their 2 hour booking
2. our sitting was 1830 and we are denied to be offered dessert at 2015 ie with 15mins to go.
3. we started our meals late but we were able to finish the entree and main with 15mins to go

listing out the questions:
- how do sunda differentiate their customers on their food offerring ?
- what is the logic to offer and to refuse customers request for food?

absolutlely disrespectful and and very very difficult to digest this discrimination.

no comment on food as the whole meal was ultimately ruined by this appalling attitude of this 1 hatted place. today is 14th feb.

this is a really nice restaurant serving modern asian fusion dishes. most dishes are designed to be shared and my favourites were the ‘otak otak’, rock oysters, wagyu rendang pie, roti with vegemite curry sauce and the fremantle octopus. the egg noodles were also really yummy but a bit salty for me. overall though, great restaurant with excellent food and lovely staff. i also recommend booking in advance as they do get busy during peak times.

4.5/5 sunda made waves when it opened mid-year, known for its intriguing and contemporary take on south-east asian cuisine. given the large number of people for our booking that night, we partook in the banquet menu.

wow can’t believe this restaurant is rated so highly. i felt like we were sitting at a canteen table almost on top of each other. food was ok, wine expensive and service just ok.
a big miss for me, better dining options on every other corner.

went there during lunch for my sister’s bday. we did our research prior so we knew their popular dishes already.

all of the dishes that we ordered were really good except their fried rice was a little bit too expensive for the price.

overall, loving it!

sunda is a small restaurant seating about 40 people and located in melbourne's small punch lane, off little bourke street.

it has a very chic industrial setting, with steel scaffolding throughout and you sit at one of several long communal tables or against the counter where you are up close to the chefs and kitchen staff where you can see their skills and teamwork up close.

i don't normally like long share tables but three of us had a quiet evening, absolutely impressed with the quality and ingenuity of the food. despite being very busy, it was not noisy and you'll probably need to book.
the chef's team provide an inventive fusion of malaysian, indonesia and vietnamese food. we were surprised by the complimentary starter.

the smaller dishes are around $20 to $25 with larger dishes around $37 to $42. as a starter, i had the pie tee which is a small, delicate pastry with whipped egg custard, salted vegetables and chilli bean. my friends had the rock oyster, with coconut vinaigrette, eschalot and tasmanian pepperleaf. the stunning complex tastes lived up to the visual presentation. the "otak otak" was also beautifully presented; the spanner crab was finely complemented with a gentle curry, finger lime and some rice crisps .

we also had fremantle octopus, with bush tomato, lemongrass sambal and onion. beautifully presented.

the smoked eggplant, with some plums and fermented coconut reminded me of middle east dishes. very delicate and smokey.

the charred cucumber was paper thin was accompanied with laughing cow cheese, jungle curry and lemon myrtle. interesting but not near as innovative or delicate as the other dishes.

we loved the egg noodles with xo sauce, chicken crackling and pepperberry; interesting mix of flavours.

the drink list has several boutique beers and cocktails. the wines are from boutique producers around australia, nz, france, germany, georgia, etc. most wines are in the $65 to $78 mark, with a good selection at higher price points. we had the hochkirch 2017 riesling from victoria. it was like a german riesling, with obvious fruit and a spiciness, which was a great accompaniment to the delicate south east asian flavours.

one of the most interesting meals i have had in a long time. will definitely go back; so much more to try. next time, i'll probably try the set menu at $80 (matched beverages are $50).

excellent service by staff who know their wines and food and the meals can be adapted for vegetarian and coeliacs.

this is a perfect place to bring your interstate or overseas friends to enjoy the melbourne dining scene as its most innovative. a special night out.