A lazy Sunday at The Aviary for dim sum with a modern twist

I was invited to try out a new Sunday lunch concept at The Aviary’s restaurant, The Bird Cage, a couple of weekends ago. The concept is called Lazy Sundays which is an Asian inspired lunch with a French and modern twist.

The Bird Cage have spent the last few months testing and refining their Lazy Sunday set menu which is available on Sundays from 12pm – 4pm for $30 per person (excludes drinks & dessert).

I don’t normally start a Sunday morning with a cocktai,l but the Autumn Punch looked great and after all.. we were at The Aviary so Mahara and I ordered one each…

Our cocktails were light, sweet and fruity.

We started with the wild mushroom and truffle which was served with wonton chips…

Mahara and I both don’t eat mushrooms but we were determined to have an open mind and try everything at The Bird Cage that day. The salty crispy wonton chips matched the mushrooms really well. The chilli oil was a yummy dip, it had a nice bite to it but wasn’t too chilli (I don’t usually have chilli).

Next was an egg wonton filled with confit champignon and white truffle. The egg wonton was nice and crispy, but the filling was as per the first mushroom dish so it was a bit of a mushroom overload. We did enjoy it though.

We found the crab dumplings a bit bland even with the dipping sauce. It may have needed more seasoning.

The squid was lightly battered, just the way I like it and the creamy green chilli mayo complemented it well.

We weren’t too sure what to expect with the red curry tartare, young coconut and peanut crumble. Both Mahara and I thought it tasted a bit like a meat paste, but the coconut was nice.

I’m super fussy with my BBQ pork buns as it’s my favourite traditional dim sum dish and my mum makes it really well so unfortunately, The Bird Cage’s version of the bun didn’t quite meet my expectations. It was more “bun” than I would have liked, I would have liked more pork. There was also a bit of bitterness mixed with the sweet flavouring…I would have liked it to be all sweet. But in saying this, I would have been happy if this dish was a completely different BBQ Pork Bun rendition as there would be no comparison to what I’m used to.

The beef spare ribs just fell off the bone and you could really taste the bourbon and coke. It was my favourite and I would have preferred more dishes like this on the Lazy Sunday set menu.

The yellow curry whiting with pickled cucumber was delicious, it was light and soft. The whiting just melted in my mouth. Again as per the spare ribs, this was a great Asian inspired dish…

We were pretty full by the end of the Lazy Sunday set menu but I’ve always got a soft spot for dessert.

Mahara had a tea from the T2 range and I had a latte to complement our cinnamon donut dessert which was served with young coconut ice-cream and a passionfruit/mango jam.

Mahara and I thought the passionfruit/mango jam would have been better inside the cinnamon donut as the donut itself was quite plain. The young coconut ice-cream had coconut bits all through it and was delicious - the highlight of the dessert for me.

We had a wonderful time at The Bird Cage restaurant, the staff answered all my questions and we enjoyed our experience. I must say I did enjoy the dishes which were more Asian inspired (e.g. the bourbon spare ribs and the fish) rather than those with a slight modern twist to the usual traditional Chinese dim sum (e.g. the crab dumpling and BBQ pork bun). They were different enough for me to appreciate the flavours and compare it differently to what I’m used to.

Lazy Sundays at The Bird Cage is a cool concept and if you do try it out, go there with an open mind and expect Asian inspired tapas rather than your traditional “dim sum”. I think Lazy Sundays has a greater appeal for those who don’t fancy the more adventurous dishes at the traditional Chinese dim sum restaurants, but are keen to enjoy a “dim sum” on a lazy Sunday or simply feel like Asian inspired tapas. If you’ve been there I’d been keen to hear your thoughts, if you haven’t and are keen, you can book by calling (08) 9226 0259.