Have you ever been to a restaurant and been so blown away by everything that you’ve immediately made a booking to return before the meal is even over? This is what happened when Angela and I dined at Soul Dining in Surry Hills for my birthday and we immediately msged Isaac to join us a few weeks later so this post is a mashup of the 2 visits.

There’s currently a truffle menu available so get in quick before the season ends! The Truffle Wagyu beef tartare ($10 each) is an absolute delight, the crinkly rice crisp holds nubbins of ruby red Wagyu, paper thin slices of radish and a sprinkle of chives. Three giant truffle shavings perch proudly atop, infusing the air with that heady truffle scent.

The Truffle egg bread ($22) doesn’t look like much but cutting into it reveals a river of gooey egg yolk that melds with the creamy truffle mayo.

[Cries in happiness]

Our favourite of the bunch though was the Truffle cream tteokbokki ($27) with chicken cream broth. I’m used to the tteokbokki rice cakes in a spicy sauce but this combination was awesome, the tteokbokki soaked up the cream sauce perfectly and while it was rich, it was the perfect vehicle for the grated truffle to meld together and unlock that umami door.

We return programming to the non truffle menu starting with their version of yukhoe, a Wagyu tartare ($22) with juicy sweet Singo pear, chilli, watermelon radish and an egg yolk just begging to be stabbed and released into oblivion. Mix it all up and scoopsies onto the seaweed crisp for a textural bombshell of deliciousness.

The Spicy pork jaffle ($15) was an immediate hit, the jaffle is stuffed with shreds of tender, spicy pork and blanketed with a generous amount of Jack cheese and gorgonzola. The pot of yuzu jam blows our minds, it’s sweet but refreshing and I would’ve dearly loved to buy a jar to spoon over ice cream!

I was on the fence on ordering the Curly corn on the cob ($12) but I’m so glad we did! The corn is awesome, somehow simultaneously crispy and juicy at the same time and slathered with garlic butter, pistachio powder and creme fraiche on the side for extra sauce-ing.

The Barbecue beef short rib ($38) with galbi glaze is such a generous serve, and sliced for ease of eating even though it’s so incredibly tender I barely need teeth to enjoy the slow cooked meat. The glaze is sweet but there’s a slight smokiness that I really enjoy and mop up the sauce potato pave, carefully dissecting each potato layer.

The Burnt honey semi-freddo ($15) is a spin on bingsoo with finely shaved ice, sweet persimmon and kinako powder. It’s simultaneously rich but refreshing and the perfect end to our meal.

SOUL Dining
204 Devonshire St,
Surry Hills

Trading Hours:
Tuesday – Wednesday 5–11pm
Thursday – Saturday: 12–3pm, 5–11pm
Sunday – Monday Closed

BUSH HAS OPENED IN REDFERN! You might’ve had their roo pies or cheeseburgers at popups around Sydney at The Meat Emporium or seen Grant Lawn around at Young Henry’s but he’s finally set up permanent digs in the ‘fern! They’re located on the quieter side of Redfern with a courtyard space, handmade communal tables and plush Aussie animals around the space. They’re also BYO (for now) and a short and sweet menu with plans for more items soon.

Of course the Curry roo party pie ($6) has made it onto the menu and you bet it’s pretty damn tasty!

The puff pastry is gloriously golden and flaky, holding a generous amount of curried kangaroo mince mixture. It comes with tomato sauce but there’s also hot sauce available if you ask nice enough 😛

The Cheeseburger ($12) with crinkle cut chips ($6) has made it to the top of the list of my favourite burgers in Sydney! The milk bun is squishy and soft but lightly toasted so that it doesn’t disintegrate halfway through. The smashed pattie is perfectly juicy and blanketed with American cheese, pickles and chopped onion. Also crinkle cut chips is life.

Or if you’re feeling like some health, instead of the fries you could instead opt for the Greens ($8), a salad of grilled cauliflower, potato, smoked almonds and fried capers tossed together in a green tahini dressing.

There’s also a Mushroom burger ($12) for the veggos, a giant grilled portobello mushroom that’s hella juicy and pretty damn satisfying even for this carnivore.

We were expressing doubt at the validity of getting the Grapefruit with grandma’s honey ($7) as dessert and the boys overheard us and sent out a complimentary one and oh boy it’s so good! The grapefruit is refreshing after the burgers and the bitter notes are masked by the most amazing honey I have ever tasted! It’s incredibly fragrant and floral and blasts all the one-note supermarket honeys right out of the water. The honey is sourced from Grant’s grandma and can be bought by the jar to drown everything to your heart’s desire.

If the sight of the Fairy bread and butter pudding ($10) doesn’t make you smile then you are quite possibly dead on the inside. This is a dessert that’s reminiscent of childhood thanks to the generous sprinkle of the hundreds & thousands but also pleases my (slightly more) adult palate with the rich custard soaked buttery bread pudding.

Bush
55 George St,
Redfern

Trading Hours:
Tues – Sat: 12pm – 10pm
Sun – Mon: Closed