Kenny Takayama, former Head Chef of Bills has opened his own solo venture in a little terrace house in Redfern. Cafe Oratnek describes it’s food as Australian with an Asian twist. The large white fork featured out the front, symbolises the dream of Chef Kenny to create a friendly environment where people can enjoy his food. It is also hand drawn by Kenny himself as he is an avid artist.
The outdoor seating area is very popular and can seat a maximum of 30 people. It is a lovely area surrounded by an abundance of flowers and has a very homely ambiance.
The famous Pork fillet Katsu with cabbage, Japanese BBQ sauce and mustard. Easily the most popular item on the menu and it’s clear to see why. An excellent combination of spice from the mustard, crunch from the Katsu and freshness from the cabbage. The bread is extremely soft and does very well to hold all the ingredients in. Awesome.
The Cucumber, soda detox
This was super refreshing with quite a unique taste. Really beautiful presentation also. They hand make the sphere icecubes to prevent the drinks from being watered down over time.
Japanese fried chicken with Kimuchi mayo
This dish was particularly delicious due to the fermented cabbage which had a great spice to it. All the components complimented the fried chicken very well.
Miso bbq boneless beef short ribs, san choy bow with coriander dip
The short rib was very well cooked and extremely tender. Accompanied by pickled carrots, cabbage, cucumber. The idea is to break apart the shortrib and wrap it up in the cabbage accompanied by the vegetables. The coriander dip was also very refreshing and binded all the ingredients well. Very tasty.
Japanese slow cooked lamb casserole with root vegetables and soft boiled egg
A very hearty dish and definitely one for the lamb lovers. The meat is very well cooked and quite tender, although it was a tad on the salty side.
We also had a side of chips with murray river pink salt and green laver, which is actually seaweed. The chips were very addictive and had a great crunch to them. We couldn’t keep our hands off them. A perfect accompaniment to our meal.
The famous Matcha Lamington
This delicious morsel takes 3 days to make due to the Matcha needing to set in the sponge. Only available sporadically throughout the week, it’s not to be missed. The Lamington itself is very soft and moist, and the Matcha flavour really carries through.
The inside is very simple and minimalistic in keeping with Japanese tradition. The front counter is filled with a varied selection of daily sweets including muffins, lamingtons and cakes.
Cafe Oratnek
4 Pitt Street,
Redfern, NSW
Contributed by Jason, who dined as a guest on behalf of 2 Hungry Guys
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