If you want to go to one place and find all the most instagrammable drinks, Kusuka Cafe is the place for you. It boasts a large menu of some of the trendiest drinks out there: coffee in an ice-cream cone, colour changing drinks, galaxy drinks, fairy-floss drinks, virgin frose - though for the record, I prefer my rose not frozen and not virgin.
Food-wise, Kusuka is best known for their fancy mi goreng.
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| The West, $15 |
Mi goreng is god's gift to earth. There's something so delicious about these wonderfully cheap yet flavourful packets of two-minute noodles. The internet will teach you a bunch of mi goreng hacks - you could make them into an omlette, use them as burger buns or even pizza base - or you could simply pimp them up like Kusuka does.
The West adds smoked beef, sausage, cucumber, corn, mushroom and a poached egg to a very slightly spicy mi goreng. The egg yolk is beautifully runny, and the best way to enjoy this dish (or any mi goreng with an egg) is to let the yolk run all over the noodles and coat each strand with gooey, golden protein goodness. The beef is rather dry but not unpleasantly so, and the sausages are of an Asian variety - think oily and with a slightly crunchy coating (delicious or disturbing? you decide).
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| Three Little Rice Bowl, $15 |
I am yet to work out which "three little" what the name of the dish is referring to, but what I can do is tell you exactly what is in this rice bowl: pork belly, fried egg, corn, cucumber and some chili (which you can order mixed-in or on the side). The pork belly has the crunchiest, most satisfying skin, though just like the beef in The West, it is a little on the dry side. I asked for the chili to be on the side because I had no idea how spicy it was going to be, but next time I'd ask for it to be mixed in. The rice is quite plain otherwise, and the little dish of chili they give you on the side, though cute, is not quite enough.
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| Taro in a cone with floss, $7 |
I have waited forever to try a coffee in a cone - and when the opportunity presented itself, I don't know why I hedged and went for a taro latte instead. Bad idea - I suppose it's to keep the structural integrity of the cone for as long as possible - the drink is lukewarm and too sweet. I should have just gone for a coffee. The additional fairy floss costed extra, but didn't actually add much to the experience. Would I get another coffee in a cone? Not at this price point. The pleasure and the cost are disproportionate. I'll take a good coffee in my keep cup any day.
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| Wonder Melon, $8.50 + pandan cake, $5.50 |
The ability to add a cake straight on top of a gorgeous-looking drink is the reason I wanted to visit Kusuka in the first place, and I got my wish. The wonder melon is a mixture of green tea drink and pink latte, which tasted of very sweet watermelon. The drink is best enjoyed mixed, which resulted in a slightly bitter but pleasant tea-flavoured drink with a hint of watermelon, and it also had basil seeds in it to add some crunch and texture. The pandan cake is a little underwhelming - rather than using proper cream or buttercream as icing, the cake uses some kind of vegetable fat - the kind used for "ice confectionery" such as Cornettos, rather than "ice cream" such as Magnums. The mouthfeel of vegetable fat is oily and slippery, and leaves a slightly sour aftertaste. Though I am very happy to have enjoyed the drink and the cake, it's more of a novelty item, than something truly delicious.
Score: 2/5
The drinks really are gorgeous to look at. The food is pretty good. The staff are absolutely lovely. However, is it worthy of a second visit? I'd have to think long and hard - especially when there are so many other wonderful eateries to explore first.
Cost: approx $25-30pp
Address: unit 12/339 Sussex St, Sydney
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