As a long time fan of Devon Cafe by day, we thought we’d check it out by night.
The menu, like the breakfast and lunch menu, is Asian-inspired. We started with some things from the snack menu: King Salmon Sashimi, Avocado, Jelly, Ikura, Chives ($15) was an absolute delight. The salmon basically melts in your mouth and goes perfectly with the avocado. I’m not a huge fan of jelly in general, so I could’ve done without that.
KJI Fried Chicken – Korean Style Chicken Wings, Go Chujang and Peanut Sauce ($15) – The friends I went with all love a bit of KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) so we couldn’t really pass on this. It was pretty good, but unfortunately only having one wing leaves you with serious cravings for more…
Next up were the ‘Solo Eats’ – things that come in individual servings. I really wanted to get the Chargrilled Corn, Coffee Miso Butter ($4 each), possibly thinking it would be like the corn at Ms G’s, and it seemed like an absolute bargain at $4 until it came out and it was literally…a baby corn each?! This dish was disappointing. It was tiny, and I could hardly taste the coffee miso butter (which sounded like it could’ve been really yum!). I also found it bizarre that it was presented in the husk of what looked like a normal sized cob of corn…where did the corn go?!
The Pork Buns – Hakka Style Malaysian Pork Belly, Taro ($6 each) were pretty great! The taro is a great addition, and I haven’t had good taro in ages! It actually compliments the pork flavour really well.
We only ended up getting one of the Larger plates because there was a bit of a stuff up with the ordering process…a bit disappointed actually. We had ordered the short ribs (which sounded amazing!), however our waitress had forgotten to put it down with our order, and by the time we asked about them they said the kitchen had closed for the savoury dishes and we could only order dessert. What a shame! I was really looking forward to the ribs, and they didn’t offer to compensate us either. Oh well.
The Chinese Egg Custard, shitake, fungus, yellow needle flower, chinese fried bread and perigord black truffle ($29) was probably the most interesting dish of the night! I loooove love love Chinese egg custard (my aunty in Hong Kong does the best one!) and there were some amazing flavour combinations with the mushrooms, truffle and a bit of garlic too! The Chinese fried bread is also fun – reminds me of eating congee!
Both desserts that we got were amazing. For a lighter dessert, I’d recommend the Coconut Jelly, guava sorbet, freeze dried pineapple ($11). Really fresh and tasty, plus all the layers in the cup were pretty fun.
The Matcha fondant was absolutely amazing. It was a special on the night and unfortunately I don’t remember what all the little condiments were, but the whole thing was delightful. I have this problem where I think I LOVE green tea flavoured everything (DS will testify to this) but I am often disappointed when I order said green tea latte/cake/frappe/ice cream/you name it. However, this completely lived up to my expectations. You must try this dessert.
All in all, a bit of a mixed experience at Devon by Night. I would probably go back for the dishes I loved, and to try the ribs. But I also think I’d rather stick to their breakfast and lunch menu because that has so much to offer!
Devon by Night
76 Devonshire Street
Surry Hills
http://www.devoncafe.com.au/
