sunda

i finally managed to get around sunda!

tucked away on punch lane, we were greeted by a friendly waiter and seated pretty much right away.

we knew prior to the booking that there is no option of an a la carte menu and they offer a banquet only. since the pandemic we are all pretty much accustomed to set menus and i never felt hungry leaving before but i will make a point here that the portions at sunda are below average in size and i would not call it a ‚feast‘, more a tasting menu.

the set menu was amazing overall and we enjoyed every dish. the staff was attentive and explained everydishupon arrival.

the oysters and barramundi were fresh and the flavour of the broth for the barramundi was delicious. my personal favourite was the spanner crab snack at the start but i overall enjoyed all meals. the lamb was a little more on the chewy side and given the small portion, i hoped for better quality meat.

great experience but given the prices go up by $20 in june (banquet $140.00), i frankly feel you get better value elsewhere. i am glad i ticked it off my list but would probably not rush back.

everything about our dinner at sunda was just about perfect - amazing food and service; quiet restaurant; really interesting space ; service was excellent without being pretentious. everydishwas delicious

came here with a friend and we opted for the chef’s menu. we were starving but ended up being really full, the dishes were delicious and interesting. the otak otak was thedishof the night. would be keen to return and try other dishes such as the rendang bun and w.a. marron.

i would rate sunda 10 stars for the food if i could!

i was taken here for my birthday dinner and a better place could not have been chosen. this is up there with the top 2 dining experiences i've had so far this year and will remember those perfectly blended flavours for a long time. very affordable fine dining and i will continue to go back with season menu changes.

food: 5/5
seeing the ingredients listed against the dishes really challenges any preconceived preferences you may think you have. e.g. i don't like vegemite but having it in thay vegemite curry was so well balanced and delicious!
the buttermilk roti is infamous here but it says a lot when after you've tried all the dishes, you realise it wasn't close to your favouritedishbecause the standard here is so high.

what we tried in order of phenomenal to good:

1. egg noodles with so sauce and chicken crackling
2. lamb rump, cashew nut with native curry
3. 'otak otak' spanner crab curry with finger lime curry & rice crisps
4. buttermilk roti with vegemite curry
5. wagu rendang pie with sambal
6. complimentary pickled veggies (more peanut satay than pickled but it was delicious)

decor & ambience: 4.5/5
the minimalist very dark interior with stainless steel chef's (bar) table taking centre stage, it can seem quite sterile upon first entering. once we rolled up to our seats and enjoyed the experience unfold, the uniqueness all added to the charm. reminded me of nyc style restaurants.
i would highly recommend sitting up at the bar if you're a party of 2 or 3. the dining table area looked a little crammed and uninteresting to be frank.

service: 4/5
unfortunately i felt service wasn't as seamless as what i would've thought being such a highly regarded restaurant. it was an awkward welcoming as you walk in to the bench and wait to be served. after taking payment, they also didn't say goodbye. it's the small things that do get noticed the waitresses throughout the evening were faultless though.

i would say overall i like this place, we were seated at the bar so that was exciting watching the chef do their thing. we opted for the chef menu. some of their dishes to me were quite spicy, so if you don't have a tolerance for spicy food, let them know. the pickled appetiser was really nice, then came out
1.crispy tempeh = don’t bother
like the below review, felt like easy sugar, had one piece.
2. pie tee = didnt like it, felt like i was biting into a cupcake that exploded with too much oil.
3. raw scallops with charred betel leaf = this was one of the highlightdishfor me. yummy!
4. otak otak curry parfet with crab & snapper = surprisingly delicious!
5. lamb rump = to me, lamb smells, so no. 
6. charred cucumber = likedish1, don't bother, like eating a spoon of salt.
7. egg noodles = one of the more spicier dish, i liked it, something different, matched with the lamb.
8. vietnamese coffee, chocolate, coconut dessert = chocolate wayyyyyy too sweet, if you ate a peasize of the chocolate along with the coconut and condense milk ice cream then it was bomb, but there wasnt enough ice cream/coconut.

2 people spent $210
props to the bartender, he makes mad cocktails!

i was very apprehensive about going to sunda because being asian myself, i thought how can you really cook “refined south east asian” cuisine. boy was i wrong! chef khanh’s take on traditional dishes combined with native australia flavours takes you on a unique journey of east meets west. if you’re up for an experimental yet fun time, you’re not going to be disappointed. my favouritedishhas got to be the chilled macadamia tofu soup with scarlet prawns, taking me back to vietnam’s sweet & sour soup. i am baffled why this restaurant doesn’t have at least 2 hats.

the food arrives ready to heat and it's very easy. the main was boil in the bag, the rice just needed steaming to finish it off and there was a fresh crispy salad. they offer onedishper day and as we wanted saturday then it was chicken. we had it delivered. sunda would normally be outside our budget so it was a great treat to get to eat their food and it was totally delicious.

absolutely loved the oysters.
where they lost us & are taking you for a ride is charging $40 for one prawn & telling you it is a sharingdishwhat a joke. more than happy to pay for an experience but this seriously... our waiter also did not order some of the dishes we asked for so a total mix up & we had to go to the theatre so no room to fix this. we also had to eat it all in about five minutes even though we did explain the time restraints & we told it was not an issue as we only had the table until 8pm anyway.
disappointed so sadly will not return.

one of my favouritedishfrom @sunda_dining the lamp rump, cashew nut and native curry.the lamb was cooked perfectly and the curry went really well with the dish. @genghiskhanh showcases amazing and modern cooking with a touch of south east asian flavours. loved the simple and modern architecture of the restaurant. this amazing restaurant is located on punch lane, be sure to visit them

i’ve had @sunda_dining on my list to try for a very long time after such great reviews. we started with the infamous roti and vegemite curry, subtle in both curry and vegemite but still very apparent. even though this was the itdishto order (and delish) it was all the other dishes that left me thinking omg! beef rendeng pie had that melt in your mouth flavour paired with house made sambal (flavour explosion #1). thereafter the spanner crab parfait with rice crackers, the umami flavours were out of this world (flavour explosion #2) lastly we had the xo egg noodle with crispy chicken skin and lamp rump. i could totally eat that xo egg noodle for days and never be sick of it! 🤯🤯🤯 #flavourexplosion #3
what an outstanding menu with so much flavour in every single dish! can’t wait to go back! thank you for such a memorable and out of this world experience

this place was amazing.

from the moment i walked in, i was excited. perhaps it was the modern, open plan decor, but i think it was the ambience which was lively and not too noisy - the perfect balance.

the service by sai was fantastic as well. our family and friends loved the meal. sunda is a great place for romantic meals to group dinners.

we ordered pretty much everything on the menu. the must havedishis the buttermilk roti with vegemite curry. having grown up overseas, i have eaten lots of rotis, but this is the best roti i’ve ever had, hands down. this was hubby’s fav too.

he also liked the black truffle congee, the lamb rump which was so tender and juicy, and the fried xo noodles with the pork crackling. he pretty much liked everything. when we asked for truffle +++, they delivered.

the otak otak was paired beautifully with crispy rice puffs, with a rich curry flavour, and the marron came with mantou puffs to soak up the juicy sauce

we were all blown away, and we loved the place, the food, just everything about sunda. we will be back!

wow! i don’t know how this place had escaped my notice until recently but man did it surpass expectations. there’s a cool industrial vibe and the staff are friendly and know their stuff. between 2 we shared the oysters, cured kangaroo, raw cobia, charred cucumber, roti with vegemite curry, and lamb rump. for the price the lamb rump came out much smaller than i expected initially but once i took a bite - it was packed full of flavour and absolutely top quality so was totally worth it. the cured kangaroo was described to us as “steak tartare meets thai larb” and that’s a pretty apt description. everydishwas a standout and i would order them all again. pricey but you get what you pay for - an absolutely delicious and memorable meal.

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.

everydishhad an australian touch to it. a great mix of western and asian cuisine.

friendly staff and great ambience. a nice dining experience.

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 octopusdishwas 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.

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 everydishis 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.