Food & Tunes

If you’re anything like me, you will love a good chicken schnitzel sandwich, and if you love a good chicken schnitzel sandwich, you have probably tried South Dowling Sandwiches’ version of the old classic (if not, shame on you, get of your arse and go do it to yourself, now). Without detracting from SDS’s version, which does and always will hold a special place in my heart, Kings Lane is serving up some stiff competition.

My mission for schnitzel meant the menu fell foul of my attention. I did however have a few minutes before old mate got started on my lunch to watch him pull together some almighty salad that seriously challenged my desire for deep fried chicken schnitzel - about a minute in fact, which is in my view a bloody long time to toss around the idea of not having a) schnitzel and b) bread. This salad however was huge and from what I could see it had grilled baby octopus, grilled chicken, and steak (!!!) in it. I asked him what it was and while I may have misheard, I am pretty sure he said it was an “all meat salad”. It looked fucking amazing.

At the end of the day I stuck to my guns primarily because very little will come between me and chicken schnitzel once the idea has set in, but also because I wanted to ensure an accurate comparison with SDS. I, as one always should, added Swiss cheese and potato to my three solid pieces of schnitzel and lettuce encased between two pieces of bread, each easily exceeding an inch in thickness. The menu version comes with herb mayo but old mate behind the bar suggested I try herb mayo on one side and some kind of spicy mayo on the other side. It was truly sage advice and a suggestion I am only too happy to pass on. The end result was a schnitzel sandwich easily on par, if not, dare I say it, better than SDS’s version; I guess that’s why its called Kings Lane.

90 minutes after hoovering the beast down I am still full and now partially understand why (if the writing on the wall is true) a bloke recently sold his grandmother for one of these bad boys. Indeed, with a schnitzel sandwich fit for a King and an “all meat salad” do yourself a favour and, Eat Here.

Kings Lane Sandwiches

1/28 Kings Lane, Darlinghurst 

For lunch orders call 02 9360 8007 before 12pm

Food & Tunes inspired me to review a restaurant that I was fortunate enough to eat at last week.  Having sourced inspiration from their blog, I felt a sense of duty to flick it over to Jess and Naany. Whether or not I was covertly trying to pinch a spot on F&T, I really just wanted to share the love. That’s the point; people should know when a restaurant (or bar or other) serves up top notch food and service. Now that they have honoured me with the occasional cameo on F&T, I have one humble aim, to deliver clear recommendations of where people can find top notch food and service.  It is pretty simple, if an establishment delivers the goods, I’ll prompt you with an, EAT HERE.

EAT HERE:  KATSU YACHIYO

Let’s get the shortfall out of the way early (and in context, it’s a pretty short fall). Ambience. Katsu Yachiyo needs to dim the lights and play some ambient music to distract from the otherwise pretty hum drum eating environment. OK, that’s done.

Moving on to the service, the greeting was warm and friendly (as you’ll find at most sushi trains), however more personal. The chefs looked us in the eyes as they said “moshi moshi”. The waiter came straight to our table and suggested with a smile, a starter of sake. I guess it wouldn’t have taken him very long even if we weren’t one of two tables in the restaurant at the time (we booked early), as the dining space is probably about 25sqm. The waiters were attentive all night as we sat there for a couple of hours while our dishes came out in perfect sequence. Normally I prefer a few dishes on the table at once so I have the option of avoiding a dish I don’t really like. That is not necessary at Katsu Yachiyo; every dish is awesome.

That takes me to the food, the winner was the soft shell crab karaage. Drenched in an incredibly tasty sauce, it deflated me a little as I was tricked into thinking the karaage might not be that crispy. The following crunch in my mouth took me by a welcome surprise. The popcorn prawn had a similar effect. The problem with the popcorn prawn is that we only ordered one dish. For a restaurant specialising in Katsu, we probably should have ordered more however we stuck to the katsu wagyu with cheese. Not quite what I expected (despite the transparency of the name); a bit of a stoner dish, which unfortunately I wasn’t at the time. The one average dish of the night was the miso eggplant, and that’s only because it is being compared to the Toko version. Otherwise, still tasty. A mate that I was with died for the sashimi, and on the way out another personally thanked the chefs for such a great meal.

For about $50 a head including booze, eat here. 

Katsu Yachiyo

208 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills | (02) 9690 2424

Dinner | Tues - Sat | 6pm - 11pm | BYO