For a belated birthday celebration, my colleagues and I visit X23 Fusion Cafe for some modern Malaysian food. The name X23 has personal significance for the chef and owner — the ‘X’ is her name, Xuelin Leaw, while the ’23’ was her age when she planned the cafe.
I go for the X23 Signature Red Eggs ($19.50) with homemade sambal sauce, scrambled eggs, crab, curry leaves on croissant. This is the dish that started the cafe.
I’m pleasantly surprised by the creamy lightness of the scrambled eggs that pair beautifully with the buttery and flaky croissant, while the sambal adds just enough tartness and spicy heat for an medium burn that still allows the flavours of the egg and crab to came through. I enjoyed mine at medium heat, but the staff are happy to accommodate more mild or hot preferences.
This is my colleague’s Shroom Room Shrooms ($15.80) with mushroom varieties, kale, poached eggs, miso butter, pecorino cheese, beetroot purée on toast. The plump mushrooms and oozy eggs has me envious.
And this is another colleague’s Eggs Benedict ($15.80) with poached eggs, sriracha bacon, house hollandaise, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach on crispy roti canai. The colours are very pretty.
Onto the drinks, this is the Rose Latte ($6.00), which also looks pretty as a picture but is lacking in flavour and body. The tea has a thin mouthfeel with prominent dairy notes that threaten to overwhelm the subtle rose black tea base. It certainly doe snot compare to the Turkish Delight Latte at The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar.
This is my colleague’s Tea Craft Jasmine ($5.00). I’m impressed by the jasmine blossoms scattered on the serving tray, but also a bit confused by the pot of honey.
And this is also my colleague’s Chai Latte with Pot ($6.00). The dusting of chai on top of the tea pot distinguishes this tea from the jasmine, but we’re not a fan of the odd shape of the cups that make it difficult to both hold and drink from.
Overall, the food and service at X23 Asian Fusion are flavourful and show impeccable presentation.
X23 Asian Fusion Cafe is located at 102/18 Park Ln, Chippendale NSW 2008.