LILYMU — Restaurant in Sydney

Pan Asian is the Google description. Asian fusion was the take from the person who booked it. I can see that's the target. They missed.

To be fair, waiting for 40 minutes from arrival for a drink, presumably because some guests were late, didn't get us off on the right foot. The BS about rice polishing in the sake menu, only to find out that a) four of the five they have are "infused" with Asian fruit and b) they didn't have a bottle of the only straight sake, didn't help.

The fundamental problem is the menu. Successful fusion understands the cuisine, then szushes up the core ingredients / adds some extra technique. Instead this is an attempt at greatest hits, a beautifully plated triumph of form over substance.

I positioned myself to watch the kitchen and they were tight, had good kit, called the tables - they are good. It's a management/ menu issue that prevents good food here.

Good news - the tuna carpaccio was fine. The edamame 🫛 was terrible; let's get something simple then char it in an ugly way and serve it swimming in veg oil, which if course is all over your fingers as you extract the bean from its husk. The chicken "sando" ... How did the chef not kill the person who insisted on this? A single chicken nugget (kara'age?) on fat white bread (Sando!) with a single coriander leaf and a hint of a mayo style dressing. $14 a pop, for a mouthful. Criminal. Excellent oysters, but with a dressing too acidic.

The mains were ok. The cauliflower was pretty good, the short rib was beautifully cooked, altho the Korean pickle platter was weak (literally two bits of cabbage in the kimchi analogue? Drab bits of vaguely vinegary leaf and radish).

$500 + drinks for four ... Terrible value. You can eat 1 maybe 2 hat food for that in Sydney, or have world class Asian without the fusion for half that (with better service).

Yet the place was 3/4 full. I don't get it. Neil Perry et al have smashed this style out of the park, for similar $$, yet this exists. What a strange...

Lilymu – Parramatta Came back to Parramatta Square for the best contemporary Chinese and south eastern Asian restaurant 🌏! Definitely recommend Lilymu as a date-night location 📌! The customer service and overall ambience is superb, followed along with delicious food 💕!

🥟’Tom yum’ prawn dumplings, soy and lime dressing (5) - $27.00 I just had to order this dish again 🤤! The dumplings were complimented so well with the lime and soy dressing which was hinted with light and tangy flavours 🍋. The dumpling was also cooked to perfection, which gave a perfect bite 💗. I would definitely recommend this as an entree 🍽!

🥩Charcoal grilled lamb cutlets, nahm jim jaew, toasted rice - $44.00 This dish was definitely the highlight of the night 🥹! The lamb was so juicy and bursting with tangy flavours💜. The lamb was super tender and soft, complimented with the toasted rice which neutralised the flavours giving off a scrumptious bite! 🤩

🥔 Beef cheek massaman, kipfler potato, coriander - $38.00 Did not expect this dish to be sooo good 😍. The curry flavour was so aromatic and soothing and the beef was super tender and literally ripped apart from the bone🍖! I would definitely recommend this if you love curry. 🥘

🍦 Valrhona milk chocolate ganache, charcoal torched merginue, oolong tea and kinako icecream - $19.00 As a sweets lover, I can stress that the oolong tea and kinako icecream was BOMB 💣. The combo was absolutely delicious 🍫!! I enjoyed the charcoal torched mergine, however the valrhona milk chocolate ganache was a bit too hard! Can’t wait to try other desserts upon return!...

A kilo of South Australian Goolwa pipis retailed for $29.60 on the day I dined at LILYMU. So I’m sure you can understand why, when I received my bill for a kilo of pre-ordered “market price” pipis in XO and saw $160 next to the dish, I felt ripped off. It certainly took the shine off an otherwise good meal: a restaurant will only get away with scalping diners once.

What Lilymu did well was cater to pre-theatre dining with the maître de noting our request for in-and-out in an hour and fifteen at the door, and telling us the walk time to Riverside Theatre Parramatta at the table. In the kitchen, former Mr. Wong head chef Brendan Fong shows that modern Asian fusion dishes don’t have to be bland and disappointing. Red curry crispy rice ($20/4) are pumped up Asian arancini, tasty but not particularly good value for your spend. Julienned taro tops a clever kingfish and coconut ceviche ($27) dotted with sea grapes, the sauce reminiscent of leche de tigre. It makes our (already enjoyable) 2021 Spinifex ‘Luxe’ Rosé from the Barossa Valley sing.

From the bigger dishes, black garlic mee goreng ($26) arrives with an egg yolk you stir through at the table. It punches umami against fried leek and bean sprouts. The roasted duck ($55/half) has a clever funkiness from its under-skin Laotian sausage stuffing. With the overpriced Chinese-style pipis coming with substantial wedges of fried noodle-cake, we clawed back a bit of value by taking half of this dish home. The duck slices ate well with betel leaves, toasted coconut and pickled onions on lettuce-wraps...