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Overall score: 21/30 ☺️
Family-owned by the Poernomo Brothers, Monkey’s Corner and KOI are innovating the Sydney food scene with refreshing takes on Japanese cuisine and desserts. You may have heard of these establishments as one of the brothers, Reynolds Poernomo famously appeared on Masterchef.
🍽 Food: 8/10
The Ox tongue, beef fat, chives and lime was the highlight of the evening! It was the most tender ox tongue I have ever had - Monkey’s Corner hours-long water bath technique keeps it tender and prevents it from drying out, which tends to happen at most other restaurants since the the meat is cut so thinly. Moreover, the need fat enhances the umami flavour and lime cuts through any heaviness gently. Amazing!
The Wagyu with onion sauce, soft eggs and rice was soft and delicious. An area of improvement would be to have onsen eggs instead as a meat in egg yolk pairing would enhance flavours.
The Spicy trout belly tartare was lacklustre, it did not texturally melt in your mouth and the spice overpowered any natural flavour of the trout.
Finally the Scrambled egg, kewpie, furikake on rice was extraordinarily simple and not a technically sound dish. It tasted no different to anything that could produced at home. Hope to see this dish be elevated.
✨ Ambience: 6/10
Very small store truly on the corner as the name suggests. I reserved outdoor seating as inside was booked out, as expected there is no privacy and many people walked past our table, which is a bit concerning given the spread of Covid-19. However, the ambience was still intimate and comfortable with the use of exposed brick, plants and heaters for the cooler evening.
🧑🏻🍳 Service: 7/10
The waitstaff were very friendly and professional as they knew their bookings and quickly seated us. Water was consistently topped up during the night and it was an easy experience to order and ask questions.
If you ever come here, the crack bowl and the chilli crab noodles are a must!! Both dishes were packed with flavour and were absolute winners!
The trout bowl and the ox tongue were also nice, however, given what I now know, I should’ve just ordered a double servings of the crack bowl and the crab noodles.
Service is prompt and friendly. Portions are tiny, making the meals expensive, however, definitely worth visiting at least once!
Ox Tongue with beef fat chives and lamb. The ox tongue is cut to tin slices. Amazing flavour, will come back here for more dishes.
All of the dishes which were ordered were excellent and brought out in exceptional time, however, I couldn’t help but feel that the whole dining experience was a little rushed and this was apparent with how quickly the staff were running the restaurant as well despite the restaurant not being fully booked out. I would definitely recommend the Chilli Crab noodles as the flavours and the chewiness of the noodles accompanied each other well. The Ox tongue was just as good as expected however it was lacking in the lime flavour needed to cut through the fattiness of the dish. Will definitely be coming back to try other dishes available
I love this place. The portions are small and the price is hefty but all the dishes are amazing quality
We ordered:
- Crack bowl, goose foie gras, wagyu rump & onion sauce (I was surprised when this came out because I expected a larger dish for $48 but it was the size of a small bowl of rice haha still good though)
- Egg noodle with spanner crab, chili crab sauce and chives
- Black Truffle egg noodle with mushroom
- Pulled pork jaffle
Everything on the menu sounds delicious though and seeing food pictures on Instagram definitely makes me want to re-visit to try everything else!
Finally i tried this place! I bookmarked this place for a long time. I went here with my friend so we ordered 4 dishes to share.
💰 scrambled eggs w/ kewpie mayo on top of rice ($12), it’s standard btw. I can make it home 😬
💰ox-tongue w/ chives ($15), ox-tongue was juicy and tender, light seasoned
💰egg noodles w/ spanner crab ($24), this my friend order i didnt taste it
💰duck breast dashi ($18), the duck was juicy and tender, dashi broth light but tasty
So far we satisfied w/ the food even the food came in small portion. Service was on point and friendly. Better to make rsvp cause the dining area was small. Lucky we got table w/o rsvp
The Monkey's Corner is a small restaurant with amazing quality dishes. We tried the ox tongue, crack bowl and egg noodle chili crab.
The ox tongue was so soft and tasty. The beef fat and lime was the perfect dressing for the tongue.
The egg noodle with chilli crab was cooked perfectly. The noodles had a nice chew to it and the crab was perfect. The added hint of chili really boosted the dish.
The crack bowl... I'm addicted and cant wait for next time. Foie gras and wagyu on rice sounds basic yet sophisticated. Cooked again to perfection there was nothing to fault in the dish.
The only reason it's not 5 stars was the value for money. Portions are small, after $100+ meal we left still hungry.
It’s a small but lovely place. Ox tongue and duck breast taste great. The best is the foie gras in the crack bowl. I didn't expect that there were so many chives, so it will be better to offer chives free option to a chives-hater like me. Btw, the rice is a little bit too hard. All in all, we love the food here.
A must place to go on every season! Especially truffle season. Although the portion is quite small, when you order 3-4 dishes for 2 people, you’ll walk out very full. Good ambience to chill and drink. All the food are delicious and worth the price. Recommend to try all the dishes.
First time went to this famous restaurant. My friend and I had the uni rice bowl and truffle egg noodle. I liked the truffle noodle more than the uni rice bowl; although the noodle dish was quite too plain. However, the noodle was cooked very well and it was delicious. The uni rice bowl was okay too, but the fishy smell was a bit too much.
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My appetizer goes to @imstillhungry top 10 dishes: Ox tongue, beef fat, chives and lime ($15) – For me, the ox tongue is one of the most unique dish I ever taste because I don’t usually eat only the ox tongue without rice but surprisingly it still good even without the sauce. The ox ongue itself has a salty taste to it, coupled with its texture similiar to a gyudon even thought it is not cooked together with the sauce that usualy make any food delicious. But in this case, the ox tongue is still beautiful and delicious (8/10).
For the noodle, my friend suggest to order their special Black Truffle egg noodle with mushroom ($27) – To be honest, this noodle is staple for all people. They eat noodles with every cooking technique produces a new type of noodle dish, this dish in monkeys corner is similiar to its origin of cooking that is Indonesian’s mie goreng – not only the texture, but its taste very much familiar to this indomie I know internationally. The difference is in the truffle sauce added making the noodles darker in colour. The taste is sweet but not to sweet with a hint of truffle. What can i say is .... PERFECTO! (8/10)
For the rice, I believe I should order the best Crack & Truffle, rice, black truffle, scrambled egg, foie gras ($45) – Another mouth-watering truffle-inspired dishes I found at the corner of Chippendale. The scrambled ‘silky’ eggs on top of a steaming hot sticky rice hmmmm beautiful! You can see each individual pieces of rice coated with the eggs and the truffle enchanced not only the smell but the taste ohhh the taste is AMAZINGGGGLY DELICIOUS! And that big foie gras on top, who can resist it! A warm bowl of happiness (9/10)
Very overpriced. Potions are very small. But the food tastes good - ox tongue and chilli crab noodles deserve a five star. But really, service is just ok, food are overpriced.
Amazing food! Especially the truffle crack bowl. I’ve been here so many times and always loved it. But I did notice the serving sizes got smaller esp the crack bowls
Loving all the food! Tried
1. Ox tongue, beef fat, chives, and limes - soooo gooood. The ox tongue is so soft & tasty
2. Kingdish collar with sichimi and furikake - not a big fan of fish but this one is fine. Dad loves it v much
3. King prawn rice bowl, garlic, butter, chive, sichimi, salmon roe - love the king prawn x salmon roe. It’s fresh & tasty.
4. Uni noodle - highlight of all the menu. Loving the tasty noodle combined with fresh uni. The puffed rice adds texture towards the overall dish
5. Chilli crab noodle - good taste, a little bit spicy, reminds me of Singaporean crab ❤️
Overall, I’m happy and will do another visit :)
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Tucked inside the laneways of Chippingdale lies this cosy restaurant on the corner (next to the Koi dessert bar, also owned by the Poernomo brothers). The menu is simple, with some signature dishes and a small drinks list. I was excited to try a few of the signature dishes.
‘Ox tongue, beef fat, chives and lime.’
The dish looks aesthetically pleasing, the tongue is very thinly sliced It has a very strong beef meat flavour and is slightly more chewy than I would have liked.
Rice with scrambled egg and kewpie mayo
This is the intimate egg and rice dish. The egg is silky and luxuriously smooth, when mixed in together with the rice tithe simplicity of the flavours work so well. I’m actually dreaming about having a bowl of this dish all to myself next time.
Rice with spicy trout belly - the trout is well seasoned and literally melts in your mouth. The roe adds an extra pop of flavour when they burst in your mouth, and the spices enhance the flavour of this dish. This rice bowl is a joy to eat.
Had the edamame as well, the seasoning gave the beans a good dose of spice.
I am looking forward to visiting again, I really enjoyed the food.
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It was a little hard to find but as its name said it’s at the corner. That was really a small bar so two or three people having together might be better. They have all sorts of drinks and at least my yuzu cocktail was good. I had their crack bowl as well which many of my friends recommended. There were wagyu and foie gras inside with such a wonderful quality so certainly that one was a bit expensive. However, the taste was perfect. The unique sauce with tender wagyu and foie gras which melts immediately as entering your mouth is a quite delightful match up. Unfortunately it was removed from the menu recently since I didn’t see it when I came back for a second try. My mom and I had ox tongue, king prawn bowl and uni noodles this time. There was too much salt in ox tongue that I had to drink a lot of water. But the beef quality was excellent, it was juicy and tender. The king prawn bowl was a bit oily but tasted good. The uni noodles were amazing, the white sauce was just suitable for noodles and the urchin was quite fresh.
Food are good but very uncomfortable seating. Very small portion. Overpriced. Food are good but very uncomfortable seating. Very small portion. Overpriced
[4.5/5] Ordered:
•King prawn w. kombu butter, chives & lime ($22) - Buttery prawns that melded nicely with the rice. The prawns were cooked perfectly and the fish roe added a nice texture and additional salty element to the rice bowl.
•Ox tongue, beef fat, chives & lime ($15) - Probably one of the best ox tongues I’ve had as it was thinly sliced and the beef fat gave it so much flavour that it nearly melted in my mouth.
•Egg noodle w. spanner crab, chili crab sauce and chives ($23) - Packed full of flavour and the right amount of spice along with a decent portion of spanner crab. The noodles weren’t the best quality but the spanner crab and sauce was the main attraction.
Pretty impressed with the quality of food served, all dishes were good but the outstanding two was the spicy crab noodle and foie gras wagyu rump steak. Will definitely recommend to my friends.
The food was amazing and 5 stars. It may not be worth it’s price tag for everyone as portions are small however it would be a nice little date spot for an occasion. The waiter was very kind and polite despite being the only one on the floor dealing with every table. He made the experience better even though the food took around 20-30 minutes to come out. When it came out, it was the wrong dish and it took awhile to call him over and explain as he was so busy and we didn’t want to hassle. Another 25 or so minutes and we were brought the correct dish and was told we could keep the old dish as well. The flavours were unique with the noodles in the sea urchin dish being one of the best we’ve ever tried.
Mitha Komala | @mithakomala
+5
Best bar food ever! 😍 MUST ORDER: ox tongue, tuna crack bowl, and bubble milk tea dessert. They have limited seats so better come in weekdays tbh ! Food comes 8-10 mins.
Ordered the duck breast, trout tartare and rice, and sea urchin pasta. The sea urchin pasta, whopping in at a banging $36, did not meet my expectations. Duck was a little overdone but nothing horrible. Star of the show was the simple trout tartare and rice... small portions however.
Actual rating: 3.5
Visited Monkeys Corner solely for the seasonal Crack Bowl and was not disappointed. A generous slice of foie gras layered on seasoned sushi rice, truffle slices covered in a mysterious umami-laden brown sauce - it's not hard to understand how its name came about! We also had the uni bowl which unfortunately paled in comparison to the Crack Bowl. Thin slices of bland urchin with trout roe on seasoned sushi rice. Even the furikake couldn't lift the flavours. They also forgot about our uni bowl so there was quite a wait between the two bowls.
The restaurant is TINY and probably fits no more than 15 people max. I believe they don't take bookings either so be prepared to wait at peak hours. I'd give 5 stars for the Crack Bowl alone but taking into consideration the less impressive uni bowl, cramped interior and lapse in service, I give it an overall 3.5 stars
Such a tiny and cozy restaurant. I went for the spicy trout belly bowl and it was amazing. I highly recommend the duck it was beautiful with a delicious consume. We also got the ox tongue but there was a hint of raw smell so it was hard for it to go down. We wanted to go for the crack bowl but it had a hefty price tag. Koi boba dessert was a delight. But the portions were a bit small so we had to order extra dishes and our final bill racked up over $300 for 4.
Very cosy bar/restaurant tucked in the corner of spice alley. With the social media craze featuring Monkey's Corner, I definitely had to check it out. The black truffle noodles were quite heavy and a little overrated however, the spicy trout belly rice and chilli crab noodles lived up to their reputation! The chilli in both dishes was a nice addition which gave the dish the zing they needed. Noodles and rice weren't too soft or hard. Also a good amount of crab in the noodles! However the price was a bit steep in comparison to the servings of each dish.
Can’t find any reason to give a lower rate! Lovely staff, prompt service, nice ambience, and most importantly, oddly yum food. Had the ox tongue and truffle noodles, very special flavours, and of course ins friendly. Surely a truffle season must go. Also super dog friendly, with nice outdoor seatings and heaters to keep warm. All the food are tapas size, perfect for sharing and ordering multiple dishes!
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Monkeys corner is a small restaurant by the Poernomo brothers. Very cozy restaurant and delicious food! I had the luck of eating this during the truffle season!
King prawn with kombu butter, shellfish oil and purslane. Prawns were perfectly cooked. Nice and juicy! Well seasoned but couldn’t really taste the kombu in the butter. And for the price of 22, I only get two small u8 size king prawns cut in half which was quite expensive for the size.
The truffle egg noodle dish was amazing! Mushroom purée, freshly shaved truffle on top. Perfectly cooked noodles. Could eat 10 of these.
Egg noodle with chili crab. Another delicious egg noodle dish. Very powerful flavors with abit of spice into it. Perfect for cold winter days.
Ox tongue, beef fat, chives and lime. To me this was my least favorite dish. Ox tongue was nicely cooked with thin slices. However this dish was just lacking abit of flavor in my opinion. It was just abit fatty because of sitting in the beef fat. Even though it had the lime and chives to cut down the oil, it wasn’t enough acidity. I only can taste a few ox tongue which had the sourness from the limes while some didn’t.
Wagyu steak tartare was outstanding. Packed with flavors in every bite and was fun to eat. Full of flavors with every mouthful. Ketchup, mustard, eshallot and pickles. If only they had something crunchy to pair with it.
Overall an amazing experience. I would definitely go back to eat!
** For more food photos follow me on insta @savagefoodaholic **
Love, love, love Monkey’s Corner! I am a huge fan!! Although on the smaller side with their portions, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here. The dishes were unique and I loved every bite of it!
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So glad we made it to try this restaurant before truffle season ends! (Which is apparently only going for another 1-2 weeks due to a warmer winter). We ordered almost every dish off the menu and every dish from this restaurant was outstanding, especially the Black Truffle Egg Noodle with Mushroom purée - it blew my mind! Loved the subtlety of the truffle flavour and how the egg noodles picked up all the mushroom purée with every bite. The Wagyu tartare is also a must-have! So refreshing and fresh with delicate flavours.
The main reason this restaurant deserves the 5 rating though, is from the amazing service from all the staff. They were all so friendly and accommodating. We sat in front of the bar and when I told the bartender the truffle cocktail was too chocolate-filled for me, he offered to take it off my bill and custom make me another drink off the menu that wasn’t as sweet. We ended up getting a few other custom made cocktails and they were honestly so unique (wish I could post the videos)! My best bar experience by far.
From my experience, I thought all the food and drinks were so worth trying, definitely great food and experience for its price.
Atmosphere ~ quaint and cosy
Food ~ delicious and different, not your ordinary menu
Staff ~ friendly and helpful
Booking ~ generally okay, if larger group book ahead
The Hungry FoodTech [shirley.gondo]
+5
One of the many places ive been where i can safely say my money is verryy well spent! All the dishes are amazingly cooked and presented.. even tho the portion is smaller than usual dishes with similar price but i dont mind them at all! Tried foie gras for the first time here and love it!!! Cant say anything else just highly highly recommended...❤️
This is a nice spot for food and drinks. My top picks were the ox tongue, the egg noodle with chilli crab, the crack bowl (with foie gras and wagyu beef) and the Koi Bobba dessert which I would order again and again. The green tea margherita was also really good. The serving sizes were on the smaller side so order a noodle/rice bowl per person. Service was great though and bookings are definitely recommended.
Fantastic dining experience, located within chippendales famous dining strip and directly next to sister restaurant Koi.
Monkeys corner menu was limited which was great! It allowed us to try multiple dishes at once and simple, small menu meant our food arrived relatively fast.
Highlight of the night was the wagyu steak tartare - which was well balance and refreshing! The remaining dishes we tried were all very well flavoured and delicious, definitely recommend the truffle noodle.
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Tucked away in the corner of Spice Alley and conveniently located right next to Koi Dessert Bar, this Poernomo brothers run restaurant complements its bigger brother. This small and cosy restaurant seats about 20 people at most and don’t take bookings on weekends. I dropped by here on a whim and it was late lunch time so I timed it well as no one else was dining at this time.
I was warmly greeted by the waiter and immediately sat the bench table facing the window. Great for people watching!
Water was brought out and I was here for one thing and one thing only! As it is winter, it’s also truffle season so craved the Black Truffle Egg Noodle With Mushroom Purée. So glad I had this with the noodles soaking up the mushroom sauce. The crowning glory is the shaved truffle on top with the waiter explaining 3g goes on top. Another 3g can be bought for an additional $15 if your heart desires. Had a side of Sweet Corn And Gochu-Jane Butter. Topped with popcorn it had a mild spice kick to it. Quite tasty.
There is a solitary dessert on the menu and it’s KOI Bobba. A Thai tea cream sits on the bottom topped with chewy tapioca pearls, and embellished with sponge and freeze dried mandarins. On top is a quenelle of salted coconut ice cream. Such a wonderful end of the meal.
Been wanting to try this place for a long one and finally got the chance to - tried the ox tongue, duck and spicy trout bowl. All the dishes tasted really nice and flavours worked well but the main downside was the portion size which was tiny for the price
A little gem hidden in the spice alley. There are very few tables, probably 4 inside and 2 outside. It’s a very chill place.
Everything on the menu is wow. It is made for sharing however the portions are quite small.
Even a simple scrambled egg with rice is 5/5. I loved everything on the menu. Everything was so rich and decadent, especially the truffle pasta. They were so generous on the truffle flavouring and toppings.
Would come again.
I came here to try the spicy trout belly, only to find out it was only available on weekends. So instead we had the ox tongue and the koi bobba. The ox tongue was light and subtle - which was what i really enjoyed. The koi bobba was actually a really good dessert that i really enjoyed. The textures on the plate really complemented each other. It was a mixture of refreshing and sweet enough to satisfy sweet cravings. Felt like i was eating a koi cake instead of a dessert.
nice food and drink. basically the place is for drink but still have good quality small portion of food to come up. not recommended for big supper but okay if u want to relax and chat with friend and eat a bit of food! Interesting place to come! love the ox tongue. good job
This looks like a really cute place to hang out for a drink and a snack sometime. Appealing design. Cosy. On Chippendale’s eat street, which I think is a phenomenal success in terms of urban design. Koi, as you can see through the door, had a mob of people outside it, so we decided instead to have dessert here (and in my case, a nightcap, sake on ice, and in fact the drinks here all look very reasonably priced).
Does My Bomb Look Big In This
+4
With a license for just thirty guests, Monkey’s Corner is a tiny bar. It’s set in one of the 16 heritage-listed terrace houses on Kensington Street, Chippendale that were built back in the 1840s, and employed as housing for brewery managers. With the simple interior a bit over lit and dominated by functional blonde wood furniture, we opt to sit outside. We’re kept entertained by the lively hubbub surrounding the Poernomo brothers’ more popular adjoining business, Koi Dessert Bar. Despite the heritage listing placing restrictions on how food can be prepared in the postage stamp kitchen, the Poernomo boys have been able to produce an interesting, one-page menu. Their simple Japanese inspired dishes are served raw, or cooked using blowtorch and steam. Thin slices of Ox Tongue ($15) are slow-cooked and tender...
Best ox tongue ever! The place is small and intimate, we had brunch which is only available only on the weekends. Love all the dishes we ordered.
This place is located just beside the famous koi dessert bar. They don’t cover much seats and the place is so comfy to just eat, drink, and chill.
We had cheese burger tartare, scrambled egg, and bobba dessert
I like the tartare and the egg, it’s so good makes me want to eat more but the dessert is just soso. Overall the dessert tastes dry and dense.
Susan ChocolateSuze Thye
+4
So I’ve always loved Spice Alley in Chippendale but have always thought something was missing. Specifically, a bar. Last year the Poernomo brothers (of Masterchef and Koi Dessert Bar fame) opened Monkey’s Corner on the end of Spice Alley, just across from Koi. The menu is short and sweet, the idea being grazing on snacks and getting some more substantial dishes later to go with your drinks.
Jeannie June Kurniawan
+4
New Japanese tapas bar in Sydney!! Love their food so much.. if you are fans of Japanese sashimi and tapas like izakaya.. this is one of the best bar.. their uni are so fresh.. the rice bowl just weekend only and make sure you try it .. the ox tongue is so yum and delicious..
I didn’t get in trouble much during school, but whenever I did, my teachers relished sending me into punishment. They referred to punishment as sticking me in the Monkey’s Corner. Who knew that one day I would look forward to going to said corner and would have it catered with amazing rice bowls and snacks with all the trimmings?
Interesting new corner for inventive drinks
Bare in mind this is not a restaurant with food and full table service. So don't expect too much of it. By saying that, I find service was prompt and effective.
The menu is very simple and not very Bar-y food (not much of finger food I mean). I try the sirloin which was cooked beautifully, and ponzu sauce was spot on. My friend had the kingfish collar. She loved it. I did try and find it a bit sweet.
Now, let's talk about drinks, which was the main reason I wanted to see this newly open bar. They are very inventive with the cocktails. By swapping some key ingredients for a popular drink, they showed what you can achieve with imagination. Well done on that.
Overall, it was a lovely experience;
Loved every single dish. Of course we came for the classic truffle noodles and it was good. Personally like the uni pasta more!
The Uni was fresh and made every dish better.
Nori cigars were also amazing and complements the meal so well!
Ox tongue is a little spicy but so well presented and tender.
The potato dish was kind of just a hash brown so it’s not recommended.
Portions are a little on the small side so be prepared to order more than you usually would!
Standout dishes: trout tartare cigars, chilli crab noodles, ‘OOH!’ dessert. Cocktails also tasty.
Good food but portions are small for the price. Also disappointed they changed their signature ox tongue which I was really looking forward to eating again after they reopened.
Well presented and the flavours compliment each really other well. Menu is small and portions is too small for the price tag. Would bot recommend coming here with an empty stomach. As well as the Foie Gras, just not worth it.
Visiting Monkey’s corner after it moved to it’s new location which is just 5 mins walk from its old location. Considering the food was creative, interesting and definitely yummy, I’d say the price is quite reasonable.
We ordered the Wings which was stuffed with prawns & chicken served with chilli glaze, that was a bit spicy for me but it was a yummy dish.
The pipis were cooked well with the Garlic Butter
Egg noodle.
The ambience was nice & cosy. They have a bar area which would be a good place for a few drinks & snacks.
Had a really good experience here. The flavors of the food were great. Particularly loved the potato dish. Agree that the portions were on the smaller side.
Stellar new fitout and food as good as I remember, if not better! The revamped ox tongue was a nice surprise, and the marron was delicious. Definitely going back for the Chilli Crab Noodles though - so so good!! Bomb cocktails too, well done guys.
Beautiful flavours in every dish served to us. The grilled oysters with ponzu, ox tongue with salsa verde, chilli crab noodles, spicy trout and roe rice bowl and the decadent pineapple cake with coconut and sorbet was the perfect way to end the course. Definitely coming back here for more meals.
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