Fu Manchu, Darlinghurst (NSW) by Bureaucrat

Unlike most of my trips to Sydney, this time I got to stay somewhere that wasn’t near the Star Casino area.  For this trip, Darlinghurst/Kings Cross would be my base and arriving a bit later at my hotel than I had hoped, I decided to get takeaway for dinner instead of dining out. 

 

Coming in at around 8pm, Fu Manchu was buzzing with diners.  Maybe it’s Sydney or maybe it’s the clientele that Fu Manchu is after, but it seems to be a hip place for your urban family (a la Bridget Jones) to have Chinese with lots of wine to go with it.  I loved the moody red lighting and retro Asian artwork and furniture which gave the place an opium den vibe.

 

Feeling greedy, I placed an order for an entrée and main.  While I waited, I was given a complementary pot of tea.  This was a rather nice touch since it was unexpected and it was really nice tea (and not some murky, flavourless tea that you get in some places).

 

Back at my hotel room, I opened up my goodies.  The char bee hoon ($15) was okay but not great.  Lots of stir fried vermicelli but very restrained amounts of the other ingredients.  I was rather hoping for more eggy flavor in the noodles.  There were some shredded veg (snow peas, carrots and onion) and a moderate amount of baby shrimp.  It was rather underwhelming.

 

As such, I was rather glad I ordered an entrée.  But this, too, would be underwhelming.  The balanchan chicken wings ($8 for four) didn’t have much flavor.  I was expecting to be blown away with the shrimpy, umami flavor from the balanchan but it just wasn’t there.  There was a whiff of savouriness to the wings but nothing to indicate that it had been marinated in balanchan.  My own Vegimite roasted chicken wings have way more flavor than these wings.

 

Verdict

Food – 6.5

Ambiance – 8
Service – 7.5
Price – 6.5

 

Overall

I love the vibe of the place but the food wasn’t that memorable.  I don’t have anything against Fu Manchu but I doubt I’d go back if was in the area again.

 

Address

Fu Manchu

229 Darlinghurst Rd 
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Telephone: 02 9360 9424