Hustlers

The team behind Saigon Hustle have ventured from Western Sydney into the CBD with the new secret underground restaurant serving Vietnamese fusion food and a variety of cocktails. Does this live up to the hype? Keep reading to see if this is a must-visit on your 2024 foodie list.

Photo credit: @hustlers.syd on Instagram

Hustlers is swanky and mysterious, with dark interiors and marble finishings this restaurant screams elevated Asian fusion, this is the new culinary adventure from the Saigon Hustle team and claims to take diners on a culinary journey throughout Asia. I’ve been meaning to visit for awhile however the extended hype from the opening of Hustlers back in June 2023 and mixed reviews from friends turned me away… until I decided to give this a try just before Christmas last year. Is this worth the hype and the price tag? Let’s find out.

Drinks

The good news is Hustlers has happy hour drink specials from 5-7p.m Tuesday - Saturday, the bad news is that I can never resist a good happy hour and always end up trying everything on the drinks menu (who can say no to $13 cocktails). I enjoyed the mini cocktails but wish I tried some of the signature cocktails on the menu such as the Canh Chua Hi-Ball (mix of Bloody Mary and Paloma derived from the Vietnamese sweet and sour soup) or Pandan Punch - oh well there’s always next time! If you are into wines I thought the house rose was quite nice - it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet or fruity, just a light refreshing palate opener for the main course.

Small sharing plates

Bread & Bơ

Vietnamese Baguette, mayo and chicken liver pate ($12)

It’s impossible to live in Sydney these days without thinking about the cost of living and value for money - a banh mi from Bankstown costs $6.50 jam-packed with the goods but this bread with just mayo and pate is twice the price. This seems like a novelty invention to appease the masses, although the bread is quite fresh and soft it’s difficult to justify the price tag when you are essentially just served with mayo and pate as dips for the bread. The flavour was great and it reminded me almost of a garlic bread loaf (hold on the garlic and butter) just stripped down, a solid 5/10 but I wouldn’t re-order this dish on my next visit.

Prawn Toast

Prawn toast is a delicious yum cha staple for me and having Hustler’s version was reminiscent of a fancier, more decadent alternative as this is served with garlic mayo and salmon roe. The prawn toast itself was perfectly crunchy and stuffed with prawn filling but I felt the addition of salmon roe was more for aesthetics than taste, it didn’t add much to the overall flavour or umami of this dish. At $11 a pop I don’t think this is a must-try - feel free to give it a miss if you visit Hustlers.

Wagyu Beef Tartare (GF)

Tartare is inherently divisive - some people love it and some loathe it with a passion. I fit into the former category and this wagyu beef tartare was divine, I loved the creamy texture of the tartare which was mixed with pickled onion and egg yolk with hints of sesame for a roasted, nutty aftertaste. The addition of leek and crab crackers takes me back to my childhood days in Shanghai with my grandma just pigging out on crab crackers. This dish is a great example of East meets West and is perfectly more-ish, and super easy to share between friends.

Ga Na Chai Fried Rice (GF)

I’m a bit conflicted with this fried rice - on the one hand, I enjoyed the addition of prawn and preserved mustard leaves which adds quite a savoury and earthy taste with a hint of olive to the rice. However, I’m not a big fan of dried anchovies as they added an almost pungent hit of saltiness that was not needed given the addition of ga na chai has already added a tanginess to the rice. I was hoping the slice of lime would provide a citrus hit to the rice but overall this dish was over-salted and a little underwhelming.

Bone Marrow Mi Goreng

I have left the star of the show til last - the bone marrow mi goreng has been getting a lot of attention on Instagram and it’s the signature dish on Hustler’s menu. Bone marrow is otherwise known as “meat” or butcher’s butter due to its soft, thick, and spongy texture; the way to serve this dish is to scoop out the bone marrow and mix it in with the mi goreng that’s cooked in garlic oil with a fried egg. The mi goreng was cooked to perfection with the noodles super bouncy and bathed in the garlic oil, mixing in the bone marrow enhanced the umami of the noodles but the flavourful, spongy tissue easily got lost whereas it should have been the star of the show. This left me a little underwhelmed given I had such high expectations for these noods!

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Address: LG/24 York St, Sydney NSW 2000

Website: https://www.hustlerssyd.com.au/

Instagram: hustlers.syd