Novices to Asian food learn early that when you are cooking (or eating) the aim to a great dish is to find the illusive balance of four flavours. Sweet (palm sugar), salty (fish, oyster and soy), sour (lime) and spicy (chilli). Well hello Rumble! You are our passport to the gateway of flavours that is South East Asia.
Rumble is one of the first restaurants to launch at The Star for a while. A glance of the menu tells us we are going to like this. Head Chef Benjamin Tan takes us on a journey of his childhood through Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Situated opposite Flying Fish – from the outside Rumble could be mistaken for a retro diner with booth seating peaking out over busy walkways. The bar is stunning with dark woods, fernery and recycled mahjong tiles – a destination in its own right. In the main restaurant area colourful murals of animals span one side, while other walls are adorned with vintage ceramic plates and bamboo hats. Clever interior design has rattan screens dividing the main dining area from the semi-private dining room.
We take a seat by the window and order up a storm. Six baked scallops arrive on a single plate. They are doused in herbs, chilli and garlic. It is a well balanced dish, but in our opinion, not their signature dish (read on for more!). Two BBQ pork baos arrive in their oh-so-soft fluffy jackets. The addition of a salted caramel glaze, crushed cashew and sesame with crunchy cabbage and aromatic corriander elevates it. The signature dish of the night for us, is the smoked duck with red curry. In fact, the table behind us rave about it so much we had to order it. The smoke is softly present in the meat, making each mouthful an experience of lemongrass and galangal, each slice worth savouring on it’s own, that’s before you add a spoonful of luscious Thai coconut curry sauce. It’s an technical is ‘the star’ of the show.
Moving on to something more flamboyant, lets talk about the Sapo Mee.
An extravagant nest of crispy egg noodles is topped with jumbo prawns with a fascinator of spring onions and cashews, sitting on a pool of crab and seafood bisque. It’s a tower of flavours. Smash it, cut it, scoop it… there are no rules. Its a riot. The other stand out was the rice. Again, interestingly not their signature Butterfly Pea Flower Rice – a vibrant blue coloured rice lightly flavoured with coconut, but the Black Pepper Fried Rice. The spice from freshly ground pepper is spectacular, unusual and not something you get to experience every day. You can make this more indulgent with Wagu, but to be honest sometimes purity is pleasure!
Rumble is a great new experience at The Star. It shakes things up with with fun, bold flavours we recognise, but modernised to create it’s own stamp on the traditional. With a solid wine list at surprisingly good prices. Join for a cocktail, a snack or stay the evening.
Rumble The Star Sydney Level G, Harbourside, 80 Pyrmont Street Pyrmont NSW 2009
Dinner: Tue-Thu 5:00pm to 10:00pm, Fri-Sat 5:00pm to 11:30pm, Lunch: Sun 12:00pm to 3:00pm
