Helmed by Uel & Shannelle of My Kitchen Rules fame, KIN by us brings Asian favorites to a cafe level. We shared seven dishes between the six of us, but honestly we could have eaten more. The servings are on the smaller side.

My favorite out of the lot was the black sticky rice pudding. It’s aesthetically appealing, and it’s delicious. Black sticky rice is partly a nostalgic pleasure for me because it reminds me of eating black sticky rice with coconut and banana in Bali when I was only a few years old. ANYWAY. The combination of thick black rice with coconut milk is godlike. The only downer is the roasted fig in the middle, which I leave to the side because of its bitterness.

Another strong contender on the menu? The chicken wings. Juicy and so, so tasty.

The deep fried panko onsen egg on top of the unphogetabowl (har har har – some of the names make me cringe ever so slightly) is a textural surprise. The flavors of pho are definitely lingering in the broth, teeming with triangular rice noodles and meated up with wagyu.

But sometimes simple is best. The miso salmon with onsen eggs, sesame spinach, and sourdough hits all the right spots. On the more creative side, the caramel soy pork belly on a potato waffle with onsen egg, mushrooms and cabbage is getting that balance of sweet and savory just right.

The congee with pork floss has a hidden onsen egg inside, but the Chinese doughnut isn’t very inspiring. The sub-marine contains a chilli-laden soft shell crab, yet it doesn’t seem to mesh well with the (allegedly) brioche roll. (it wasn’t really brioche, imho)

On the drinks front, the Golden Gaytime shake would make a lactose intolerant Drake shed a tear (side note: I don’t think Drake is lactose intolerant). It literally tastes like a handful of Gaytimes have been blended up and topped with whipped cream. In other words, awesome. I’d say it’s texturally superior to the black sesame shake we also down.

There’s some good stuff happening at KIN by us, and it’s safe to say I’d return.

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KIN by us
2 Saunders Close, Macquarie Park, NSW
Monday to Saturday 7am-3pm