Cubby's Kitchen

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Ever since a friend told me about Cubby's Kitchen I've wanted to try. So, in celebration of getting off work at a decent hour and living a relatively responsibility-free existence, I spontaneously grabbed a friend and off we went to explore Cubby's Kitchen. This is the most spontaneous I have been in a long time. Usually, I have already studied the menus and reviews closely and thus know exactly what I want to order, but not this time. We just looked at the menu and hoped for the best. And we did get the best. 

Smoked Labne, $15.5
Labne is a strained yogurt that is wonderfully creamy, as one would expect - but what is delicious about the labne at Cubby's is its deep, woodfire smoke flavour, which added to the sourness of the yogurt. Paired with some pistachio, toasted sesame seeds and chilli oil, it is a great start to the meal, but because of the generous serving of accompanying pita, be careful or you'll be full before you know it. 

Ladies fingers, $16.5
The poetically-named spring-roll look-alike are crumbly filo pastry filled with lamb mince, pine nuts and onion. It has a lovely, deep flavour. Although I am not a lamb-fan (I find the taste too gamey, because I didn't grow up eating lamb or mutton), even I couldn't deny that these are gorgeous. Accompanied by toma-toum (which I interpret to be tomato flavoured garlic paste), it is quite a flavour bomb. 

Grilled burnt corn, $13.5
Sweet, bursting with juices and smothered in zaatar butter, the smokey burnt corn is delightful, though not something I would necessarily order again. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I just think Cubby has many other, more delicious dishes to explore. It is satisfying, but not exceptional. 

C.F.C $16.5
Speaking of exceptional, the Cubby's Fried Chicken really is exceptional. Juicy, tender, bursting with flavour, these crispy chicken pieces are dusted with sweet chili and zaatar, then dipped into garlic aioli. Fried chicken is pretty good regardless of how you cook it, but CFC really is amongst the best fried chicken I have ever had. 

Knafeh, $12
Dessert time! Kataifi is the main ingredient here, which is a very long, thin, vermicelli-like filo pastry often used in Middle Eastern desserts. It is mixed with clotted cream and rose water - not for the faint hearted! The serving size is extremely generous - the reality is, you feel satisfied after just a couple of mouthfuls. 

Score: 3.5/5 
Price: approx $40-50 pp 
Address: Corner Young Street & Loftus Lane, off Bridge Street, Sydney NSW

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