sunda

this place blew my mind. i can’t believe i haven’t tried this place earlier! a gf took me out for my birthday.

we ordered 4 rock oysters and the coconut curry vinaigrette tasted so delicious! i’ve never tasted anything like it.

we shared the wagyu rendang pie which was delicious!

both our favorites was the ‘otak otak’, spanned crab curry. you spread the crab curry on rice cakes and it was just so perfectly balanced and textured. it’s a cold curry and melts in your mouth!

for mains we had the lamb rump and egg noodles in xo w chicken crackle.

the lamb rump was the best i’ve ever had. usually rumps are quite plain but they cooked it so well.

the noodles were good but nothing amazing compared to all the otherdisheswe had.

we ended dinner with a honey comb cake which was under whelming considering how amazing everything else was. no regrets though. they even wrote happy birthday on the plate with a candle for me.

i want to come back already and try everything else on the menu!!!

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

really enjoyed this place. fit out is a bit too industrial but somehow it manages to be quite and intimate space and not too noisy. we had the chef's menu and everything we tried was good and a couple ofdisheswere just ouststanding - the otak otak and the pietee. we sat at the bar where you get a great view of the kitchen, the alternative is on one of the two communal tables.definately recommend giving this place a try.

punch line
pricey but a pleasant evening
2ppl $226

setting
husband and wife night out
we sat at a long common table and enjoyed a very pleasant atmosphere
common tables are often a gamble as you might end up sitting next to that loud guy who knows everything or a bitchy princess that just had an argument with her friend
this time we were lucky and managed a tête-à-tête.

service
very friendly / enjoyable
wanting to be very very picky... somedishes could have been delivered with a bit more finesse. but that’s details and it did not impact on our evening

food
we opted for the set without matched drinks: a selection including the following very well presented 8dishes... generally small portions but turned out to be a lot of food

1.crispy tempeh = don’t bother
2. pie tee = very pretty crunchy bite size flavourless cupcakes
3. raw scallops with charred betel leaf = wish they were fresh and cold, as a diver that eats a lot of raw scallops i expected more
4. otak otak curry parfet with crab & snapper = now that was something else, truly worthy
5. lamb rump = very tender juicy chunks with robust flavour, excellent
6. charred cucumber = yep...charred cucumber
7. egg noodles = strong dish, matched with the lamb made for a good main
8. vietnamese coffee, chocolate, coconut, wattleseed dessert = excellent way to finish, not too sweet, very nice texture and flavour

wine
given the diversity of ourdisheswe opted for a 2017 amrit pinot gris on skins mornington peninsula, victoria
this matched our meal well and was a very nice surprise as it is an unusual wine

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 thedishesreally 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 favourite dish because 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 theirdishesto 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 highlight dish for me. yummy!
4. otak otak curry parfet with crab & snapper = surprisingly delicious!
5. lamb rump = to me, lamb smells, so no. 
6. charred cucumber = like dish 1, 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!

innovative southeast asian creations
🦀 otak otak
🌶 xo sauce chicken crackling egg noodles
🥧 vegemite curry roti
🌾 tempeh
🏚: sunda_
📍: punch lane, melbourne
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————————————————————📝: despite being the new kid on the block, with the kitchen recently opened up just in 2018, sunda dining has won so many awards, be it from the good food guide, opentable, delicious, time out, concrete playground, and much more.

inspired by the flavors of the region it is named after, sunda_ is a modern southeast asian diner, hidden away in one of the city’s busiest laneways.

drawing on asian herbs and spices combined with local australian produce, the menu feature innovative creations of southeast asian dishes.
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❤️: combining the flavors of indonesia, malaysia, and vietnam with high-quality australian ingredients, the sharing style menu ranges from snacks and bites to smaller and largerdishesto give you a unique dining experience.

featured are our favorites of the night. starting off to whet our appetite was the tempeh, tofu curds, palm sugar, and muntries. next off, we had the signature special vegemite roti. yes, yes, it might sound shocking, but omg, this was stunning. the perfect crispiness yet slightly chewiness of the roti, combined with an umami vegemite curry—omg, no words.

sunda’s take on otak otak is as insane, with spanner crab curry, finger lime, and rice crisps. we savored every single bite, hoping for it to last as long as possible. lastly, we had the egg noodles in xo sauce, chicken crackling, and pepper berry. another impressive dish.
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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 traditionaldishescombined 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 favourite dish has 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.

outstanding, delicious and daring. the classics menu takes mostly indonesian/malaysiandishesand jazzes them up with australian ingredients. nguyen’s take on otak otak is something i’ll remember for years - a simple snack transformed into gourmet cuisine. the vegemite roti is the signature dish, and deserves its reputation - finally, someone has found the right balance of an otherwise overpowering flavour. and the main (which i’d interpret as a wildly creative version of pork in plum sauce with dan dan noodles) was a fabulously fiery finale before our palates were cooled by the accompanying salad and desserts. memorable, wonderful, delightful

we booked the 2021 nye dinner and stay for $1200, which includes a 7 course dinner with free flow alcohol and a live jazz band countdown party. the dinner itself is prepared by a partner restaurant called sunda and costs $413 per head.

we are extremely disappointed by the dinner.

6 out of the 7dishesthat was served were cold dishes, many of them did not look or taste fresh, it's clear they were prepared some time ago in batch and served together to save time.

the alcohol list were full of 2018 - 2019 young $20 dollar wines, a selection of james boag beer and bottled juices.

we were sitting at the corner of the dining hall, and did not even notice that the live band was present until the countdown started, apparently they began their performance 30 minutes prior to the count down and left immediately afterwards, we can barely even hear the music from where we were sitting.

it is absolutely unacceptable to charge a full fine dining price only to serve premadedishespaired with cheap alcohol.

at that price tag you should at the very least serve your customers with freshly made food, and even if it is free flow you would expect the selection of alcohol to be at least semi decent. a top of the range fine dining restaurant usually charge $250 for food and $150 for wine pairing, that would have included a generous 7 glasses of fine wine which is more than enough.

if you are expecting someone to go all out because of free flow, how much can they possibly drink? even if they drank 2 whole bottles of a $75 wine by themselves that would have only been $150.

the service was speedy, professional and excellent, the hotel rooms are old and outdated, price was inflated by nye but overall it was ok.

the entire experience however was marred by the dreadful dinner from sunda whom has prioritized cost cutting over quality. that's not the experience you want to have from a $400 dinner.

we dined at sunda on a saturday opted for their sunda lunch. thedisheswere full of flavour bursting with umami. we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and service was friendly and efficient. our favourites were the pie tee, smoked scallops and pork cutlet. the pork cutlet defines deserves a mention because it was tender and the char on the pork was lovely. the honey comb cake was the best way to end the meal.

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 sharing dish what a joke. more than happy to pay for an experience but this seriously... our waiter also did not order some of thedisheswe 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.

i came here tonight for a catch up with my brothers and had the most wonderful time.

to begin with the staff are friendly and are extremely knowledgeable on all food and drinks available. we opted for a couple of our own choices from the menu and a couple of recommended dishes. as there was two pescatarians and a carnivore in attendance we weren’t sure how it was going to go. we were all extremely happy with the fantastic flavours in each dish, the presentation on everything was simply outstanding.

we started with the signature “vegemite curry roti” i can totally understand why this its on the menu and features on a google search, it is simply scrumptious, flakey uber buttery pastry and vegemite, what is there not to love. the little pie tees were next, they had an amazing depth of flavour, it rocked our palates, we just couldn’t believe it was vegetarian.

for mains we ordered the:
marron, it came with belacan butter and vietnamese mint, it was rich and melt in your mouth.
barramundi, lap cheong, with desert lime and betel leaf was succulent and juicy.
freemantle octopus with bush tomato and lemongrass sambal was tender.
spanner crab curry with rice crisps, this was a standout of insanely infused flavours and textures, it did not look at all like we expected (it looked like a dessert) my taste buds simply went to heaven with this dish.
we also ordered various other dishes, like the fried rice and a ceviche and a few otherdishesi forgot to write down.

a hands down incredible foodie experience and spectacular wines and cocktails to match, the aperol spritz a particular winner.

interesting minimal industrial look. food was good, although the ‘sharing’ menu is a little inaccurate when you’re encouraged to order 3 or 4 of each item for a group of 8.dishesare presented beautifully, but in terms of taste there is not much subtlety. everything is bold in flavour or salt, and you miss any layers of flavours. the otak otak was delicious, where you get sweet morsels of spanner crab with curry and texture from the puffed rice cracker. the octopus was cooked well but salty. couldn’t really taste the marron because the sauce was overpowering and couldn’t taste the pork because the herbs were overpowering. the noodles were great, reminiscent of packet mee goreng, in a good way. and fried rice was way too smoky.

im a asian and really like to eat all asian food. in my case, customer service is excellent. even i can not find any fault for customer services and plating for food was so good as well. however, alldisheswere too salty for us. i thought some plain rice to reduce salty of my tongue. im sorry guys gave you just 3 scores but this is my best.