New York

Okay its been a while. So long in fact that the few notes I took on the night are mostly meaningless now. I mean, New York shoes, what could that refer to? Anyone? Now that I’m showing visible signs of ageing, I must take more meaningful notes – the old memory is not what it used to be. Either that or write things up sooner.

Anyway, what I do remember about this particular outing was that it was a lot of fun. Strop organised it as an excuse for us to go back to Luyu & Yum Yum for their dumplings which are both yummy and spectacularly presented. However, from my point of view the main draw for returning was actually their whisky sours variants. These are called King of Newtown on the cocktail list, come with a culturally appropriate sprinkling of tea leaves on top, and are delicious.

Strop decided that as Luyu & Yum Yum could accommodate their various dietary pecadillos, she would invite the Stropolina and her housemates, collectively known as Babetown along on this outing. As it turned out, the Eleanor part of Babetown was unable to attend due to breaking her wrist playing netball. So while she was stuck at home with only a handful of serious painkillers for company, the rest of the team kept Strop and me company in Newtown.

The Babetown-lite faction was made up of Katherine, Jess and the Stropolina. They were joined by Maddy, one of their mates, who helped maintain the symmetry of our table. Strop and I had carefully positioned our aging and wrinkled forms facing each other in the middle of the table, so that we would haved gorgeous young things on either side, ready to give us a polite and caring poke if we happened to exhibit any embarrassing symptoms of ageing. Such as falling asleep or dribbling.

Luyu &Yum Yum is a relative newcomer to King St. It moved in to the upstairs space that used to be occupied by Paju BBQ, and transformed what was a bit of a barn of a space into something much darker and sexier. At one end there is a glassed in kitchen full of sizzling woks and bamboo steamers, at the other end is a screened off space with tables for large parties. In between there is a bar and lots of tables which mostly seem to be occupied.

There are plenty of staff out on the floor and in the kitchen. All very friendly and efficient. First order of business was drinks, and I successfully managed to convince everyone to try a King of Newtown to start with. Everyone said they enjoyed them, but I did notice that a couple of Babetowners switched to other cocktails for the next round. Oh well, more sour whisky for me I suppose.

Luyu & Yum Yum is a high concept dumpling joint. The little steamy or crispy parcels are like the Faberge of dumplings. Artful and yummy, and likely to dump a burst of hot tasty soup in your mouth when you bite into them. Some are shaped like hedgehogs or white rabbits (complete with red eyes), some just look like dumplings. All are yummy.

Despite my wish to go off the reservation and try things that weren’t actually dumplings, Strop and Babetown were adamant that they were happy just to have lots of dumplings. And cocktails.

The room was quite noisy, so even the young people were cupping their hands around their ears in order to hear what was being said on the other side of the table. It was Friday night and I have a theory that people are louder on Friday nights after they have been let out of work for the weekend. The pent up pressure of a week’s worth of quiet desperation leads to a quick and noisy release. And there was music too, which appealed to Babetown and resulted in a little bit of seat dancing when they thought no one was looking. They decided the music selection sounded like the So Fresh 2001 compilation (back when they were ~13 year olds!).

I just remembered what the New York shoes note referred to. The Stropolina was telling a long and involved story about trying to buy some special designer shoes for her cousin’s eighteenth birthday when she was in New York recently – the point of which still escapes me. Oh well I suppose it’s some progress. What about Who’s Hannah? Anyone have any ideas what that might mean?

It’s great to see places like Luyu & Yum Yum opening up in King Street. Smart, fun and yummy, Asian with style and attitude. More of that please. Next time I go I want to try some of their teas, and the non-dumpling offerings.

Luyu & Yum Yum – Level 1, 196 King St, Newtown

Strop is a knitter. She has been called an extreme knitter by some who know her well, and even a complete knitter. Some of you may have seen young Ned adorned in her handiwork back at the Cheeky Czech. She is a knitter on a mission to leave no head uncovered. Every unsuspecting baby that comes within foisting range is to be supplied with a colourful winter head warmer. Rates of pneumonia are plummeting across the nation thanks to her efforts. But Strop is not satisfied with just churning out the same old thing time after time. No, her designs are evolving, new and exciting shapes are flying off the needles. One of the first to benefit from her new line is Matilda, long-time-great-mate of The Stropolina. It must be admitted though that the glory of the new model has caused some ructions in the ranks, and while Matilda is thrilled, The Stropolina has let it be known that she would like to upgrade her own woolly prototype.

To celebrate the handing over of the new hat we are all going out for a pizza or two.

Basil is a small place with a tables at the front and a kitchen at the back. It is quite busy when we arrive but we drag a couple of tables together and sit ourselves down. Matilda is quick to note that being Tuesday there is a free bottle of wine on offer if we spend more than $30. We’re definitely in the right territory here. We quickly order a bottle of Italian Montepulciano (rough and ready and, importantly, free) followed by a Potato and Rosemary (the number 37 of pizzas), a Napoletana, a Santorini and a Carolina.

The specials board - we didn't notice it — The specials board – we didn’t notice it

Cheap and cheerful is the order of the day at Basil. The wine glasses come with a blue tint, little fish patterns, and thumb prints. After the wine is opened Matilda decides she isn’t drinking (driving) and neither is The Stropolina (the wine’s too rough). Strop and I just smile at each other and refill our glasses.

Class all the way — They probably seemed like a good idea at the time

While we are waiting for the pizzas we talk about Matilda’s upcoming Big Trip. Where are the best places to go in London, and Paris, and New York. We reel off suggestions for a while, arguing the merits of new versus old Tates, the V&A, and the John Soane museum, in London, The Met in New York and the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Then we get side-tracked into food (Quesadilla, it’s just a toasted sandwich isn’t it?) and music. Matilda is a singer and one of her regular gigs is wrangling a jazz ensemble made up of 13 year olds. Apparently the best fun is letting them go for it in a free jazz session for the last 10 minutes. I’m not entirely sure what free jazz is but Matilda assures me that playing a trumpet into a bucket of water is an essential part of it.

When the pizzas arrive they are light and crispy, with fresh clean flavours in the toppings. Not Gigi standard, but not at all bad. I will be definitely be trying out the home delivery service.

The Stropolina starts reminiscing about food, reminding us that while she was growing up she had to put up with an exclusive diet of bow-tie pasta with prickly parsley and tinned tuna. And that I, in particular, had scarred her sister for life by force-feeding her Tahini Bolognese. What can I say, we were poor.

It’s been a fun night at Basil. The pizzas are good but the service is a bit mixed. One of the waitresses is a petulant pom who seems to find any request a bit of an imposition. At one stage she is seen making hand gestures behind the backs of a large table of theatrical-types which suggests she thinks they are up themselves. She might be right but they’re probably not the only ones.

Next stop is a bar that does tapas called Jester Seeds. God knows why.

Luyu & Yum Yum – Babetown vs the King of Newtown

126 – Basil – Mid-week beanie jealousy and pizza