Another Indonesian Restaurant in Sydney CBD

Southeast Asian restaurants springing up in Sydney has made this cuisine the new flavour, replacing Thai and Italian which had dominated the food scene for more than a decade. 


Delima serves Javanese and Balinese food. You don't have to travel to the Eastern suburbs / beaches to enjoy good Indonesian food. However, the lack of direct competition also meant paying a little higher prices for similar dishes. The challenges come from Malaysian restaurants Mamak, More more cha, Petaling street and the newbie Nonya all within the vicinity and a short walk. 


Knowing what are the specialities to order would make the experience thoroughly worthwhile. 


Highly recommended : ox tail soup cooked in spices, every drop is precious, the moderate serving is sufficient to feed two persons.

The crispy cups filled with vegetables and shrimp is a rare offering in Sydney. A time consuming dish to prepare, they warrant a high price tag. The pastry is a bit thick but otherwise it is as tasty as the Malaysian version.

All time favourite berkedel - morsels of mash potato with mince and onions deep fried to crisp. 

Javanese style BBQ chicken with rendang marinade, so it's a dry style of cooking

The mixed vegetables  stir fry which even has fava beans thrown in is soaked in savoury spicy sauce. Very tasty but makes you want to eat more rice and drink lots of water.

The fried tofu nuggets with mushroom sauce is very similar to a Chinese dish but this restaurant does not do it as well.

The deep fried calamari infused with dark soy sauce may be a favourite for some but not to everyone's liking because it is quite oily. Using large calamari instead of baby squid which is true to the original recipe may have diluted some of the charm.

There is no space for dessert. But most Indo-Malay dessert in Sydney are quite disappointing if you have tasted the real McCoy.  Other than Saturday evening, you should be able to get a place at this restaurant especially when there are three Malaysian restaurants in the vicinity.

Holy Basil @ Canley Heights : exotic Laotian Thai Cuisine

Long queues start building up from 5 pm. No bookings required/permitted. Just join the line. Usually short wait of 10-20 minutes because of efficient service and quick turnover.

Tastefully renovated with ethnic features but not overly showy and intrusive.

The chef has been trained at five star Australian kitchens, helped by business savvy partners. Employees are hip and Aussie speaking youngsters who are attentive, courteous and helpful. Not your usual family run Indochinese or Southeast Asian business.

Must have : BBQ ox tongues. Don't be put off by the unusual idea. In poverty stricken NE Thailand and Laos, every item whether live or fixture, is an investment and all parts must be fully utilised.

 Crab meat fried rice - soft and moist yet filled with the bursts of pan fired flavours.

Lao papaya salad with fermented small crab - very pungent. The authentic recipe calls for 20 birds eye chilli but meek Aussie palates would prefer to settle for a mild version.

Panang curry chicken - a tad sweeter than desirable, would have preferred a spicier version with more mixed vegetables than just long beans.

Fried ice cream with wafer thin batter showcases the skills of the chef. Palm sugar, raisins and toasted coconut flakes are uncommonly ventured in most restaurants here.

Full but tempted to try the speciality of sticky rice with durian pulp. The alternative is mango but that would have been too ordinary. Go for the strong scented and lingering pungency of the King of Fruits.

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