X23 Asian Fusion Cafe

The kitchen at this Chippendale venue takes a Brasserie croissant, cuts it and slides in silky sambal-whisked scrambled eggs sprinkled with fresh chilli and a fried mix of brittle curry leaves and crunchy onion bits. It’s spicy, textural, tart and pretty.

Some dishes are simple, such as a bit of chilli on avo toast, while some are more elaborate, like a nasi lemak-inspired chicken burger with fried eggs, cucumber and sambal, or pandan-infused waffles with house-made kaya jam and lychees.

Congee is served straight-up. So too is the typically Malaysian breakfast set of ultra-soft-boiled eggs, kaya-buttered toast and Malaysian milk tea.

Aside from the addition of a charcoal and grass-jelly spiked teh tarik (a Malaysian-style milky pulled tea), drinks are the usual cafe standards. Coffee is made using Mecca beans; tea comes from Tea Craft and Mork supplies the hot-chocolate base.