Tyga is a neo–South East Asian restaurant and bar in Carnegie, Melbourne. They have a wide variety of dishes and drinks on their menu, with a retro fitted space that was perfect for our catch-up. It was packed on the Thursday night so we recommend making a reservation for peak-hour dining.
Food
The food started strong with this kaya toast for $13. This was wood-fire sourdough with pandan kaya jam and cultured butter. The butter was fluffy and sweet, that made it irresistible. We couldn’t stop eating it.
Next was a nasi lemak for $32. This was a unique take on the wagyu tartare, with smoked sambal, anchovies, macadamia, puffed rice and egg puree. It was a tad salty (anchovies) but had a nice umami balance to the bite. The tartare were diced thicker than usual, so the contrasting crunch of the puffed rice helped.
This was dalat duck for $35, a smoked duck breast, with jicama salad, preserved radish, sesame and plum dressing. The duck was tender, and not gamey, but overall everything on the plate was average. There was a bitter undertone to the bite.
We were excited for the tom yum burrata, $36. This was king prawns, tom yum, heirloom tomatoes, yaowarat donuts with a burrata on top. The tom yum was a mildly sweet and umami flavour but it was served too warm, so the burrata didn’t really melt into the dish as expected. It became a stringy bite. It did end up having a creamy taste to it, but by then our yaowarat donuts had stiffened and was no longer a soft dough.
This was kingfish larb for $31. It was hiramasa kingfish with yellow nam jim, avocado, Thai olives and watermelon ice. Honestly, average. We have no idea what was going on here and all of us barely touched the dish lol. It didn’t taste bad, just… different.
This was the woodfire bone marrow for $27. It was roasted, served with crab sambal and coconut roti. This was delicious but for $27, it was a really tiny serving. Don’t let the photo fool you, the bone marrow was the size of a teaspoon.
Our friends had the camo calamari $28 before so wanted to re-order it for us. And they said this dining experience was disappointing. The grilled calamari was a bit chewy. The sauce was Mekong green pepper sauce, capers and ink dressing.
For our mains, we got the lamb rendang for $46. This was a lamb shoulder, plantain, grilled peas, black garlic, yogurt and salt bush. The lamb was tender, but still had a gamey taste to it. This was also too salty as a dish so the yogurt really helped.
Next was a fish curry for $46. This was a Tasmanian salmon with assam pedas, snake beans, strawberries and red vein sorrel. It was okay. Not memorable.
The Chinatown crab noodles for $41 was another dish we were excited for but it missed the mark. This was soft shell crab, handmade egg noodles, garlic chives, Mama’s secret black sauce. The sauce was lacking so it had a dry mouthfeel.
Our last main dish was the beef cheek bo kho for $44. This was with orange wine sauce, pumpkin puree and Vietnamese herbs. It didn’t really have the bo kho spices to it, but it was still enjoyable. The beef was very tender.
We also got Bangkok omlette for $17 from the side menu. This was a fluffy rolled omelette with American vintage cheddar and fish sauce. It was tasty, but eggs and cheese will always be tasty.
The fries for $14 was served with a fried egg and soy sauce mayonnaise, and these were good. Crispy and soft.
Drinks
The cocktails were good. They tasted strong while still having a complex flavour profile.
Service
The pacing of food was decent. The staff were friendly, although no one informed us it was a 2 hour window until our last 30 minutes, so it felt quite rush.
Review
The restaurant was trying to do a bit too much gastronomically that it kind of missed the target. We couldn’t really taste the “Vietnamese” in the dishes but points for giving it a go. We will probably not return because it was a 45 minute drive one way for us.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating.
