Dinner at The Deck Bar
• By Tuan Nguyen
After the lunch menu at The Deck bar got the overhaul, the dinner menu has just had the same Asian inspired treatment applied to it. Among many new additions to the menu, there's now a variety of mouth watering Asian tapas on offer (tapas being a fancy Spanish word for lots of little entrées).
We chose a quiet Monday night to dine alfresco on the deck and enjoy what's left of the dry season. There was a slight breeze coming in from the sea keeping things cool. Apart from the chick throwing an animated birthday dinner next to us, the settings were optimal for the lady and I.
One particular item on the tapas list caught my eye and that was the pork belly in steam bun, which I understand is one of the dishes David Chang became famous for (if you watched MasterChef this season he's the no-nonsense chubby Korean-American dude who guest appeared a few times). I'll put it out there now – this'll make The Deck Bar famous too! Its got Vietnamese flavours with the pork and pickled vegies and the steam bun is silky soft and smooth. I think the only thing that could make it better is a sprig of coriander (because I love that stuff). Next time I'm not going to bother sharing with my other half and take both for myself, one in each hand.
We also had the Pandan chicken, which is chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and fried. The missus said it reminded her of home, which is saying a lot as she hasn't said anything of the sort about the other renditions of this to be found around Darwin.
The pot stickers were quite interesting. I was expecting regular Chinese style ones, which are awesome, but these ones definitely had some nem chua (Vietnamese fermented pork roll) action happening on the inside. Nice pleating too.
Peking duck for two? Yes thanks.
Peking duck pancakes - It's nice to be able to taste it without having to fork out for a whole roast duck. It was as good as any I've tasted, except you don't get the luxurious bit of crispy duck skin that usually comes with it. It still vanished down the hatch quite quickly though.
Last was the lemongrass paté with lime compote. I think that's what it was called. I only ordered it because I was impressed by the name as I don't even like paté to begin with. Nonetheless it was quite good, however the lemongrass flavour wasn't to be found anywhere.
There were plenty of options left on the tapas menu that I'll be back for. I'd say for two people of normal BMI, about 5-6 plates plus drinks would fill you up. Prices were mostly between $8-$9 with a couple of the seafood options in the teens.
All in all a lovely meal, with waiter Nick looking after us well, working up a sweat running orders to and fro and bidding us adieu on our departure.
It's an interesting and welcomed direction that the revived Deck Bar is heading on. Looking around most people seemed to be drinking rather than eating, but I think things will reverse soon enough once the word gets out. Props to the owner and cook Bruce Chin and his team in the kitchen.
Contact The Deck Bar
22 Mitchell Street, Darwin (Next to parliament House) Phone: (08) 8942 3001 Email: [email protected]