Michael Mu Sung is no stranger to Bayswater Road. In fact, the chef and restaurateur founded Farmhouse, Bones Ramen and Jeremy & Sons along the leafy strip. Now, Mu Sung has opened a new gem – a European-style deli and café slinging delicious sandwiches on freshly baked baguettes, cured meats and cheeses and pastries – called Ken’s Continental. Basically, it’s exactly the sort of food you want to munch on while people-watching in Rushcutters Bay.
Found right next door to Farmhouse, Ken’s Continental has taken over the former Jeremy & Sons digs. The space is tiny and mighty, with no inside seating and only a handful of seats outside. There’s a deli counter stocking a selection of cured meats like bresaola, pancetta, speck, sopressa, as well as olives, terrines and pâtés all available for both takeaway and dine in. Plus, the cabinet will entice you with fresh baguettes and pastries from Lou Lou Boulangerie. Wondering who Ken is? He was a regular at Jeremy & Sons, in a nice nod to the venue’s former life.
Head chef Jacob Riwaka (ex Rising Sun Workshop and Cornersmith) is on the tools at Ken’s Continental, as well as Bones Ramen. Here, the focus is on seasonality, provenance and reducing the amount of waste they create – Riwaka repurposes products from Bones Ramen to make pâtés, and pickles the best of the season’s fruit and vegetables to use later on in the year. Nice.
The brunch menu is anything but boring. Come for the continental deli plate with deli cuts, pickles, egg and baguette; yellow pea pancake with herb salad, avocado, jamón and soft boiled egg; or an egg and cheese muffin with sausage. Sandwich options include chicken with dill, cucumber and apple; and eggplant with walnut and dried tomato on a baguette. Though we’ve got our eyes on the charcuterie deli plate, because that’s our love language.
“We hope to be the perfect early morning and lunch time complement to our other two venues on the same street,” says Mu Sung. With a menu like that, and a fit-out so cute, we reckon this won’t be the last you see of Ken.
