You might have been wondering what happened to acclaimed Sydney chef Chui Lee Luk in recent months. Her name rings a bell thanks to her long tenure at chic French fine diner Claude's on Oxford Street, followed by a more casual Chinese eatery in Surry Hills called Chow Eating House. She then popped up for a while in the Berta kitchen. And now Lee Luk has chosen the corner space at 169 (remember Awkward Bar? It's there) as her new roost.
Lee Luk is in charge of the dinner menu and is continuing the nutritionally-led theme of the café, restaurant and bar's daytime offerings, which means that your gluten-free/dairy-free pals and vegan friends can all come to dinner – they're an inclusive bunch here.
Maybe you'll want to kick things off with everyone's favourite cheese starter, burrata – served with grilled okra and preserved mushroom – and chase it with house made charcuterie and cured ocean trout. Don't eat things with faces? Go for the pickled and fermented vegetables, smoky grilled vegetables and a fresh take on a tabouleh using broad beans, zucchini and chickpea wafers. Carnivorous types are just as well served with dry-aged mutton ribs, coconut poached chicken and grilled whole fish. Even your mate who is clean eating but still wants to go out is sorted – this is the kind of food that you can eat on the reg, which is great news for Darlo residents who don't cook.
High-end chefs embracing a change of pace is not a new trend in Sydney – Warren Turnbull turned his Albion Street Kitchen into a ludicrously popular burger bar; Neil Perry is also now in the burger game, as is Kerby Craig at what is now Ume Burger. But Lee Luk isn't going down the patty path, which means mid-week dinners in Darlinghurst just got a serious upgrade.
169 and Tatler, 169 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 2010. 02 9331 8811. www.169darlinghurst.com.au. Sun-Tue 7am-4pm; Wed-Sat 7am-10pm
Photograph: supplied
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