小时候 In 1980s — Restaurant in Sydney

IN 1980S SKEWERS BBQ RESTAURANT, HAYMARKET

☆ IN 1980S SUPER COMBO ($99)

A hidden gem situated inside Haymarket Chinatown. @in1980sskewers specialises in a range of charcoal grilled Skewers that have been flavoured in Xinjiang-style seasoning (Ground Cumin, Salt, and Dried Chillies).

@in1980sskewers implements a QR Code-based ordering system where you scan the QR Code at the table you are sitting at to order the dishes you want to eat.

Taking advantage of the $99 combo that @in1980sskewers has on offer, we are spoilt with choice with the selection of 4 cold dishes, 6 skewer choices, a dish of Spicy Clams, a choice of either Dumplings, Rice or a Rice Noodle-based dish plus 2 Plum Juice drinks and a Shaved Ice Dessert as a way to cool your palate down after all that spice.

Now imagine that selection doubled up as we got another $99 combo on top of that so we left reeling out of the restaurant, full of satisfied bellies.

With a Level 2 spice on the various skewers we ordered with this combo, the skewers were cooked well and were nicely spiced with Ground Cumin, Salt & Dried Chillis as all you can see on the surface of the skewers is the house-made seasoning that @in1980sskewers applies to the various skewers during the grilling process so you know it will be flavourful bite.

The Spicy Clams are bountiful with small clams swimming in a flavoured broth that has a good amount of Chillis, Onions, Wood Ear Mushrooms and other ingredients. Delicious little morsels of seafood that aren’t too fiery. You must keep that broth in the dish of Spicy Clams to use in the other dishes to add another dimension of flavour to them as it is that tasty.

You must grab a plate of the house-made Dumplings that @in1980sskewers makes as it is bursting with juice from the Pork-based filling. In this case, we got Dumplings with a combination of Pork, Shrimp and other ingredients. My only feedback for this dish was that l wish there was Vinegar and Chilli Oil offered with the dish to amp up the flavour even more but on its own, the Dumping is pretty good as l scoffed them down with ease.

The Stirred BBQ Wagyu Beef Rice Noodles comprise of toothsome Rice-based Noodles that envelop pieces of BBQ Wagyu Beef that have been seasoned in the @in1980sskewers house-made seasoning blend along with crispy Chickpeas, fresh Coriander, and Steamed Greens. I felt like the sauce that coats the Noodles needed more flavour but it was a lovely dish to eat up while enjoying the rest of the skewers and other dishes...

This a lively restaurant that specialises in skewers but they also had other interesting dishes that are mainly from North West and Northern Central China. Upstairs had 1980s themed decor and downstairs had brightly lit and sparkly decor ☺️ Our favourites were:

🐌 Spicy Stir Fried Sea Snails: This was a workout to eat LOL had to suck a lot on the shells for the meat to come out. The flavours were very spicy with a subtle sweet nails and the snail meat itself was tender and chewy.

🦴 Bone Marrow Skewers: I’ve never had bone marrow in this more solid and gelatinous form before and I really enjoyed this! The texture was smooth and creamy and the taste was buttery with an aromatic warmth. The texture complemented the flavours quite nicely and melts in your mouth.

🍖 Pork Intestines Skewers: This was so fken tasty and I wish we ordered more servings of it. The intestines itself were very juicy, chewy and bursted with flavour with each bite. The spices reminded me of the signature five-spicy powder (star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds). I know meat intestines are new to some people’s palates and might be a bit strange to try but when grilled or fried with a crispy exterior, I promise...

In absolute love with this skewer place! 🍢

First, let's start with the lay of the Chinatown skewer landscape. There are two kinds of skewer restaurants: fried and charcoal.

They fried places are lots of fun, where you pay $1/stick and you're in your way. This place isn't one of those.

This is a sit-down restaurant. The skewers are grilled over a charcoal grill (see pix!) and you can taste it in the flavour. There's a small hotplate that keeps your food warm at the table.

The range of meats and salads is phenomenal. We had pork belly, bone marrow, enoki mushroom and more. If we had room, we would have gotten livers, chicken skin and lamb, but you can only eat so much at once. I definitely recommend adding in a bit of salad (we went for cucumber) to balance out the meal.

The service is bare bones (you order via QR code, they bring the food when it's done cooking and get your own water if you want it), but it's worth it.

Gets pretty busy on a weekend night. This is in the main, buzzy part of Dixon Street, right next to the Chinatown gates.

🚈 Closest to Paddy's market...