Bistro Mekong, Castlecrag

Kensington Street's Mekong Restaurant now has a sister in the North - and that is Bistro Mekong in Castlecrag.

It is the latest al fresco dining hot spot to open in the revamped Quadrangle Shopping Village, and like its sibling down in Chippendale, Bistro Mekong offers tastes of the countries along the Mekong River – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It also features a signature curated cocktail list inspired by the flavours of this region.

Launching this week, the restaurant aims to offer a tasty dining option for locals who don't always want to travel down into the city for a good Indochine feast of flavours.

Chef  Tiw Rakarin has revamped the Kensington Street outlet's dinner menu to offer some favourites alongside new creations, all staying true to the Mekong river theme.

They also have added a breakfast and lunch menu, the former a fairly standard list of cafe classics, the latter including options such as Cambodian grilled pork spare ribs and Vietnamese noodle salad.

For dinner, try a smoked ocean trout entree ($14 for 4), with roasted chili, onion, lime and chickpeas, or a Vietnamese turmeric pancake ($14) before moving on to mains such as the Royal amok curry ($30) or a Burmese pulled chicken salad ($18).

There's a decent drinks list, with a selection of cocktails curated by mixologist Grant Collins. We particularly enjoyed a Bistro Mekong Martini (lemongrass vodka with lychee, mint, elderflower and ginger).

Apparently there is more planned for this drinking and dining redevelopment of the block - watch this space.

Bistro Mekong can be found in the Quadrangle Shopping Village, Castlecrag. Open Tuesday to Sunday for breakfast, lunch and dinner.