(August 2018) Lane Cove food is on the up. There’s been a spate of new openings in the last twelve months, prompting even the likes of Terry Durack to venture to this side of the bridge. Foogoo, a modern Chinese diner, is among them and we’re here to exchange some post Europe travel stories with some friends. A rustic style clock with French text gives away the venue’s previous incarnation, and it’s simply but pleasantly decked out.
And as we marvel with our friends over the fact that we bumped into each other in the Vatican, where some 25,000 people set foot each day, we enjoy some very tasty Chinese. The ingredients are very obviously fresh, the quality good, and the service quite pleasant. And we love that it is BYO. Pricing was very reasonable, though the serves are on the smaller side and we could have ordered a couple more dishes for our bottomless pit Small People, but even then it’s a good value meal and you can eat here for $30 a head or less.
The crispy soft shell crab is exactly that and not at all oily as it often is at many restaurants. The chilli and lemon salt give it a lovely flavour.
And we were very happy with our soupy xialongbao. There are plenty of dumplings on the menu if you’re in the mood for pure yum cha.
Also on the menu:
Delicately steamed barramundi with ginger and shallot
Kung pao chicken with a pleasant but not overpowering amount of heat
Wok fried black pepper fillet with oyster mushrooms and blackbean – I loved this
We all really liked the Shanghai style dry noodle with shallot oil, sweet soy and crispy shrimp
And there was a good amount of tasty BBQ pork in the special fried rice.
The steamed Asian greens were so fresh.
It’s a good addition to the ‘hood, and we’ll be back to try the rest of the menu.
Foogoo, 94B Longueville Road Lane Cove, Ph (02) 7900 7081