Sesames... a taste of Asia

Sesames... a taste of Asia

52 Glebe Road

The Junction

Newcastle NSW 2291

Ph: (02) 4969 2033

Tonight was our second attempt to eat at Sesames – last time we were turned away. Luckily we thought ahead this time and booked in – last booking for the night.

We arrived on time at 745pm and they were only half full. Obviously expected a full house soon, they were very eager to take our order. It was quite annoying actually, they came by, pen and pad in hand, 3 times in the first 10 minutes.

After tossing up how much we should order, we went for two mains and garlic fried rice. We ordered stir-fried Cambodian style fresh ginger, shallots and cracked pepper with chicken, and an Indonesian lamb curry (rated as medium to spicy).

The rice ($7.50) was very good - we asked that they use minimum oil, and it was actually great. The best of the meal in my opinion.

The lamb ($25.90) was quite good, served with coconut banana, boiled egg and a kind of tatziki. I was a little disappointed that the ‘spice’ of the dish was just diced fresh chilli on top – the curry sauce itself was too mild. The flavour was quite nice, but I think it needed more moisture and more kick throughout the dish. Also, the toasted coconut on the banana was overly mild.

The stir fried chicken ($18.90) was a big disappointment. It was everything a stir-fry should NOT be. The vegetables were soft and wilted, and the chicken tasted stewed. Obviously cooked too slowly, instead of fast over searing heat – it tasted like a badly done homemade attempt.

The big surprise of the night was their refusal to allow us to take the left overs home. We offered to pay for the plastic box, or to bring our own box - no dice. After explaining we didn’t want to waste good food, we spoke to the floor manager who told us it an OH&S regulation that you cannot package food that has cooled, to take away… and that all places that allow it are breaking the act. I will have to check on that, but we kept on eating (way beyond comfortably full) to finish as much as we could.

Including BYO for two ($4pp), it came in at $60.30 for two – no left overs. The price was just ok – the dishes were large but the service and overall experience was not memorable.