Bay Tinh Crows Nest

Bay Tinh Crows Nest
Image: Taking over a successful restaurant is a scary proposition. You’re certain to get a backlash from diners who miss the old ways. For Harry Hoang, who took over Marrickville’s famous pink palace, Bay Tinh, I was one of those haters!

Taking over a successful restaurant is a scary proposition. You’re certain to get a backlash from diners who miss the old ways. For Harry Hoang, who took over Marrickville’s famous pink palace, Bay Tinh, I was one of those haters!  So consider this review, of his (slightly) more fancy Crows Nest spin-off, me eating humble pie. He won me over with his crazy French-Vietnamese parody of roast chook, chips’n’gravy: Roast Spatchcock ($21). It arrives dripping with rich, coconut gravy, offset by a neat pile of utterly fascinating sticky rice chips. It showed me that Harry’s found an authentic voice, enabling the creation of bold, new dishes. Heck, even with my growing disdain for Sydney’s sous-vide obsession, I rated his Slow Cooked Duck ($16). Okay, it was brilliantly disguised under a ripper cumquat sauce. A pot of Bonfire Beef and Prawns ($25) took me straight back to what I found fun about Vietnamese food in the first place; only now it comes with excellent cocktails. Try mixologist Alexx Stuart’s Vietnamese margarita, Chin Chin ($14). Eat everything I mentioned (and more) in a ridiculously cheap 7-course Winter Tasting Menu ($37/head). Just don’t come expecting a fine diner; as Harry quips: “We give you a material napkin, it’s an improvement, but that’s all it is.

Bay Tinh
16 Falcon Street, Crows Nest
Ph: (02) 9438 5118 www.baytinhrestaurant.com.au
Vietnamese $$-$$$

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REVIEW: Karen’s Diner Top Ryde

REVIEW: Karen’s Diner Top Ryde

I am not going to lie, walking into Karen’s Diner, which is reputed to have the worst customer service in the city, can be nerve-wracking. After several minutes of nervous pacing and scrolling through the reservation confirmation with clammy hands, a Karen turned to serve me. Rolling eyes and sass made up most of her demeanour, which finally put me at ease. As I looked around, I realised I was not the only nervous one in the diner. Many of  customers were similarly hesitant to order their food, all of whom were understandably unwilling to invoke the Karens’ wrath but equally keen to experience what this place was all about.

An evening at Karen’s Diner was a fun experience indeed. From aggressive pushes of food on the table to constant f-bombs and booing at customers, Karen’s Diner was a vibe.

The diner decorations were also quite beautiful. Seated at a high-top table with a table full of has-beens next to a comic plastered wall we watched the customers heading out to play the Wheel of Misfortune. Misfortunes that could land you anywhere between model walks to the not-so-fun spicy shots.

I ate a meal called the “Royale Karen” alongside sips of a cocktail called the “Sour Karen” – listening to Good Golly Miss Molly playing overhead. The food was good, but it could have been better.

Ironically, Karen’s Diner was not the worst customer service that I have experienced. From existing Diner videos on YouTube, I was expecting much worse. The Diner has started out well, but it could do much better with more realistic Karens. Overall, it was an enthralling and hilarious experience.

KAREN’S DINER TOP RYDE is a 3 month pop-up located at the Top Ryde Shopping Centre. The pop-up experience ends on July 22. For Bookings head to: www.bemorekaren.com/ryde

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