words by Evie Lisk
The Ivy is notorious for its lavish decoration and exceptional food, and its sister restaurant The Ivy Asia does not disappoint.
The ambience of the Ivy Asia is next to none. The dim lit room with an extravagant, illuminating floor resembling uniquely intricate green gemstones stuns you the minute you step in. Staying in touch with its original roots as an Ivy restaurant but adding an authentic Asian touch. Cherry blossoms blooming across the ceiling adds an ethereal touch to the restaurant. Assisting the overall ambience, the DJ booth extenuates the less traditional route that the Ivy Asia has created.
One word I would use to describe the food is divine. The ÔÇÿtapasÔÇÖ style small plates creates a fun, friendly and immersive experience. I went with my mother, my father, and my brother. They recommend two small plates and one large plate each, so my family had a total of eight small plates and three large plates and myself and my father had one sharing plate. My two small plates consisted of prawn tempura, which were crispy but light on the outside with a large, juicy prawn in the centre ÔÇô this I would definitely have again. My second plate was a salmon sushi done three ways, which included, salmon sushi rolls, nigiri, and tartare, this also came with battered seaweed and ginger. Personally I loved the salmon sushi rolls, they tasted fresh but not fishy and they were the perfect bitesize pieces. The nigiri I enjoyed but didnÔÇÖt rush to finish as for me it had a slight tang that I wasnÔÇÖt a fan of, however my father enjoyed. The tartare I did not like. For me it was too fishy and left a slight after taste in my mouth.
Usually, seaweed is one of my favourite orders at an Asian restaurant, but I had no desire to continue eating the seaweed as it tasted too bland for my liking. Now that I look back perhaps if I added the seaweed and tartare together it may have balanced the two perfectly; thatÔÇÖs something for me to try next time.
For my big plate I got the aromatic duck. It is safe to say my go to Asian food order is duck, and this did not disappoint. Presented in an actual metal duck, it was crispy and flavourful, the pancakes were cooked perfectly, and the hoisin sauce was rich and complimented everything exceptionally. I did not try all of the other plates my family ordered, either because I was too full or because I really canÔÇÖt handle spice like my family can, but the other plates I tried were my motherÔÇÖs prawn dumplings. These were amazing! Light, fluffy dough wrapping a large prawn, and let me tell you The Ivy know how to make their prawns juicy. The ponzu and daikon sauce that accompanied was the prefect mix of sweet and tangy. As well as the California rolls which again were lovely and fresh with the snow crab. What I didnÔÇÖt try but had raving reviews from my family were the spicy peanut chicken skewers, the lobster rice, spicy noodles and char Siu pork belly, which was loved by everyone.
WhatÔÇÖs more, the servers were attentive and friendly which added to the appeal of the restaurant.
We had a lot of food, and it was very filling, but weÔÇÖve already booked to go back because we loved it. I 100% recommend you go, even if youÔÇÖre not typically an Asian food lover like me, the atmosphere and the service is worth experiencing.
