Prawntastic Eats to Try

Written by Simon Food Favourites

I’ve been a long time lover of prawns, as you’ll see on Simon Food Favourites and I’m a big fan of just the simple and classic fresh cooked prawns with some lemon and seafood sauce. But they’re also a versatile ingredient for dishes and tend to be a good carrier of flavour so I searched for a few noteworthy prawn dishes in Chatswood to tempt other prawn enthusiasts. 

Chat Thai

Shop 12, Chatswood Place, 260 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

Goong mar kham - Tempura King Prawns, tamarind sauce, fried shallots and smoked chillies  ($26, 4 pieces) is a great tasting dish with thin and crispy batter and a good amount of tamarind sauce. Serves well as an entrée to share or just enjoy all to yourself with perhaps a green papaya salad.

Amah by Ho Jiak

Chatswood Interchange Level 3 K1 & K2, 436 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

Wok fried king prawns with dried sarawak black pepper curry ($37) is served with ten large sized prawns that capture all the flavour from the sauce with a good char and aren’t too spicy. I’d definitely be happy to order this again and it goes well with a bowl of steamed rice. The dish is part of the Amah Tasting Menu so it must be a dish the restaurant is proud to serve as one of their signature dishes. Another dish I spotted worth keeping note of is the Salted Duck Egg King Prawns which I’m sure will be a crowd pleaser for any Malaysian.

Mama Mulan

Level 1, The Concourse, Chatswood NSW 2067

Salt & Pepper XL King Prawns ($36, 4 pieces) is quite the sight when served at the table. The prawn is encased in a crisp batter and looks massive. Once you peel away the prawn head and batter you’re left with the juicy meat ready to dip in the crispy flavoured crumbs. Be sure not to burn your fingers while peeling away the hot batter. Plastic gloves and tongs provided but it’s a finger-licking dish so I recommend enjoying it how nature intended — with your fingers. It’s definitely a dish to share and go easy on the batter to save room for other dishes.

Lilong by Taste of Shanghai

Shop 68, Chatswood Interchange, Level 3/436 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

For a bit of table theatre of sight, smell and sound the Garlic King Prawns served on a sizzling plate ($30.80) hits the spot. Ten prawns mixed with snow peas, carrot, onion and wood ear mushroom are smothered with garlic. If garlic isn’t quite your thing I was also tempted by the King prawns flash fried in XO sauce served with vermicelli and Prawn and rice crackers in sweet and sour sauce which both sounded pretty good as well — maybe for next time.

Sushi Kaido

7/376 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

I must say Sushi Kaido is such a highly popular Japanese restaurant with queues always outside so plan your visit well to avoid the crowd or grab a number from service and prepare to wait. Once you’re seated in the inner sanctum you’ll soon understand why it’s so popular with every dish freshly made to order by the meticulous chefs. There’s plenty of prawn options like Pink Prawn Aburi ($7) and Cheese Aburi Prawn ($8) which are great but I’d also recommend the Prawn Tempura ($4.30) if you love a bit of deep fried panko crumbing. I also tried the Ebi fry ($6), Prawn salad ship ($4.80) and Prawn nigiri ($4.80) that were also good additions to the prawntastic eating feast for one. I look forward to revisiting to try more of the menu.