Universal Restaurant

Last night my fiancé surprised me by taking me to dinner at Universal Restaurant. The restaurant had been on our radar for some time, so it was a lovely little surprise going to dinner there. For those that are Masterchef fans, you would be aware that Christine Mansfield ('Mansfield'), owner of Universal, has been a notable and frequented guest on the show.

Universal is nestled in a corner, away from the lights and crassness of Oxford Street. Its canary yellow and bright orange interior contrast against the dimly lit lights, to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. To add to the restaurant's quaintness, customers have been provided with blankets should they get cold.

Mansfield has a strong opinion in the type of food and drinks she wants served in her restaurant. As I perused the cocktail menu to choose the perfect drink to accompany our mains I lingered over the Mojito. That was until I read what Mansfield had written underneath it. "You know what it is. Choose something different." We burst out in laughter, okay so maybe I wouldn't choose the Mojito after all. I settled for a Cosmopolitan instead. The tanginess and sweetness of the drink, accompanied the spiciness of the dishes quite well.

I didn’t quite know what to expect in terms of the cuisine.  As I have Christine Mansfield cook book “Tasting India” at home I thought perhaps there would be some Indian dishes in the midst.  On the contrary her dishes were heavily Chinese influenced. 

The interesting part of Mansfield’s menu is her ability to add a number of different textures and create bold and vibrant flavours.  A particular favourite of mine was the five spiced sichuan duck. It was succulent and paired beautifully with the sautéed scallops.  The dish was laced with sichuan peppercorns leaving a subtle heat and that all familiar tingling in your mouth. 

I found her dishes tended to have similar flavours however, so although we were trying four separate mains the flavours in the dishes began to blend together.   Her dishes could also at times (if I dare say) be minimal in terms of the serving size.  We ordered a chilli squid in xo sauce.  Whilst I could not find any fault with the xo sauce, the dish itself had an abundance of green chinese vegetables with only lashings of squid.  Perhaps if the proportions of this dish were reversed it would have been more satisfying.

We decided to end the night with a shared dessert and I could not go past the “gay time”. I know what you are all thinking, quite a fitting name given we were in the centre of Darlinghurst, but I assure you the name was based on a deconstructed version of the ice cream! When it got bought to the table you could not help but exclaim “ohh", nor could you help but marvel at the “crack” as the spoon broke through the tempered chocolate to reach the caramel ice cream held inside. It was certainly a great way to end the meal.