Jin’s Teahouse
111 King St
Newtown, Sydney
For stunningly presented food that tastes so good, and cocktails that have a real WOW factor, Jin’s Teahouse delivers all this and more. There is a lovely ambience here. It’s spacious with well spread out seating and a nicely themed room. The food is Asian fusion - mostly Chinese though - with influences from around the region.
We started with a nice tea to set us on our very tasty journey. As a more traditional drink it was not a sign of the creative food and drinks that were to come!
It was early evening and a cocktail each seemed very appropriate. Mlady had “Smoking Kills”. This impressive drink was placed on a light when it arrived which gave it a lovely iridescent glow. It was made up of Gin, Shiraz, Dry Vermouth, Caramel, Citrus and Hopped Bitters. And yes there was smoke and you could taste the smokiness! Mlady enjoyed this lovely drink.
Sir, as we know, loves rum based anything, so no surprises that he went with “This cocktail is on fire”. This ambrosial cocktail consisted of White Rum, Dark Rum, Orange Liqueur, Citrus, Orgeat and Ginger Ale. Sir really enjoyed his cocktail.
Dumplings are a huge favourite of ours and seeing Wagyu Dumplings made them a must. The menu simply stated - Chunky Wagyu Dumplings. These were pan seared and had Wagyu, onion and black pepper. These really were very good. The actual dumplings were a nice vibrant pink. There were condiments that came with the dumplings too and dipping them is the chilli sauce - lovely.
We just had to try a duck dish as Sir loves his duck, so we had the Smoky Duck Breast. As per the menu, this was duck breast, five spice sauce, vinegar and Jin’s homemade sauce. The duck was cooked perfectly. It was soft, tasty and tender with a really nice subtle hint of smokiness.
The Laphroaig 10 Chicken was a divine dish. This is Jin’s Teahouse take on drunken chicken. It was made with chicken, dry chilli, star anise, bay leaf, cinnamon bark, Laphroaig 10 Whiskey and pu er Tea. This dish was a favourite of Mladys.
Sir had another impressive cocktail. This time he had Jin’s Tea. There was real showmanship again with this tasty cocktail that was made from house brew tea, vodka, lychee, liqueur and vanilla syrup.
We are both quite partial to a seafood dish so we just had to try one or two. The King Crab Fried Rice was pure heaven. Almost like a risotto. It was absolutely divine and we could not stop eating it! It really was an amazingly flavoured dish that was made with Spanner crab, asparagus, Flying Fish roe and ginger. It ticked all the boxes!
The other seafood dish we tried was Jin’s King Prawn. This beautifully presented dish, which looked like it was in a terrarium, was deliciously scrumptious! The menu states - King Prawn and Tie Guan Yin Tea. There were plenty of King Prawns which were sensationally crispy and there were so many wonderful textures that just went so incredibly well together. We thoroughly enjoyed this dish.
Our final dish were Jin’s Ribs. These tasty treats were pork ribs slathered in Jin’s home-made sauce. The meat was extremely tender and the sauce was delicious too.
Jin’s Teahouse has amazing food and cocktails. Santo, the creator of these innovative beverages, really knows his stuff! It is like having dinner and a show, so don’t forget your camera! The food is beautifully presented, incredibly fresh and flavoursome and the servings are generous. You really will be amazed at the wondrous creations of both the cocktails and meals!
There is also a VIP room that seats 10 where you can enjoy your fabulous meal in private with a group of friends.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Jin’s Teahouse.Special Thank you to Santo for chatting and looking after us and also sharing his aspirations. Thanks also to Ricky for taking care of us.