Hut and Soul
When a restaurant takes out three successive finalist awards for the Best Asian Restaurant in South Australia in 2017, 2018 and 2019, then grabs the gold in 2020, you just know they are doing something right.
With a varied Malaysian/Indonesian menu that also accommodates vegetarians and vegans easily, it’s no wonder that Hut & Soul consistently rates highly with the punters. And my experience was no exception.
We began with a couple of versions of their roti dishes, because who can go past fried bread?! The Roti Canai was perfect – crisp and flaky and soft all at the same time, and causing a delicious confetti of shards all around me. Roti Martabak is one of their signature dishes and, again, I can totally see why. Roti filled with carefully spiced lamb, pan fried to golden, then served with a curry dahl – what’s not to love?
Mains for us began with the crispy, perfectly cooked Sanur Goreng chicken. Crisp on the outside, the meat was juicy and tender. While I felt it could have done with a wee bit more spice I enjoyed the flavours and textures immensely, and the sweet lime sauce was the ideal sign-off note.
Next up was their popular Singapore soft shell chilli crab – a umami-rich dish with a silky sauce over the crunchy crab, this was easily the high point of our meal. The flavours of chilli, ginger, miso are finely tuned here, and it was utterly delicious.
Our mains were accompanied by a Nasi Goreng that had a very pleasant spicy kick to it, and were followed by the black sticky rice and red adzuki bean dessert combo – always a favourite with The Bloke, and the slightly startlingly green Pandan Coconut crepe, filled with moist coconut and just enough palm sugar to avoid it being too sweet.
I have no doubt we’ll be back to Hut & Soul – the prices won’t make your eyes water, the dishes are generous, the wine list is modest, but well-priced with much of it being available by the glass, and the staff cheery and attentive.
Amanda McInerney of Lambs’ Ears and Honey
