Bistro Mekong has recently opened up in Castlecrag. I have been to the sister restaurant Mekong in Chippendale so I'm glad that this delicious venue has now spread its wings. The best way to describe Bistro Mekong is a fusion and melting pot of South East Asian flavours.
It's a gorgeous sunny day, Bistro Mekong has a nice little courtyard area where you can sit and let the weekend sink in.
Despite drinking regularly each weekend, I am still a lightweight but enjoy a nice glass of rose to unwind. Matt goes for the 4 Pines Beer. We talk through all the life adulting administration around property, engagement and general merging of lives. I let the sunshine soak into my thoughts.
The first dish we share is the Bistro Mekong Shared Plate ($28) which has smoked ocean trout on a cracker, spanner crab tacos, Vietnamese Tumeric Pancake with grilled pork belly (the little black parcels). I really enjoy the shared plate as it has a lot of variety and I love eating Banh Xeo, the Vietnamese pancake. The Vietnamese Pancake is savoury pancake that is crispy on the edges and is soft in the middle. It's filled with beansprouts, prawns and herbs. It's delicious.
The little spanner crab tacos tiny little morsels of delicacy. The shell is wafer thin which allows you to fully taste the the ingredients inside including the shredded crab and radish. The ocean trout on crispy cracker is an nice textural contrast to the rest of the dishes and that pork belly is Matt's favourite. What a great way to start the meal, I'd definitely suggest ordering this for sharing between two people.
Next up is the Five Spices Tofu ($24) which has yellow curry (thai style), bok choy, pumpkin, snow peas and crispy eggplant. I love the tofu which is light and silken on the inside and slightly crispy and fluffy on the outside with full flavour. The yellow curry is very moreish and very enjoyable to eat in this cooler weather.
The highlight of the meal is the Beef Cheek Cambodian Curry ($30). This curry also has sweet potato, pumpkin with pickled ginger and home made roti. I briefly chat to Victor, the Operations Manager and he agrees that this is also his favourite dish. The Cambodian Curry is slightly sweet which is unfamiliar to my usual indian/thai curries. That beef cheek is so tender though, it literally melts in your mouth and you will be taken away to food heaven. The roti is incredibly crispy which makes it hard to soak the curry in but makes for textural contrast. This is a simply divine dish.
I'm quite full by this stage but Matt always has a separate stomach for dessert. We order the Fresh Coconut Ice Cream ($12) which has roasted peanuts, sticky rice and palm seeds. The coconut ice cream is so delicious and so refreshing. I dig in despite telling Matt I wouldn't be eating much of dessert. There's corn and peanuts which I really like but found random.
There's also the Charcoal Cake ($10) which is cubed black jelly with fresh coconut, sesame and is topped with dark chocolate ice cream. This dish is nice to eat however I preferred the Fresh coconut ice cream.
The highlight for me would be the Shared Entree Platter, Beef Cheeks and that coconut ice cream. You'll enjoy all the high quality dishes though. I'm sure the locals at Castlecrag will enjoy.
Price: Mains vary from $18-30
Location: 5/100 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag NSW
Opening Hours:
11am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 9:30pm daily
Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own.
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