Many people seem to be of the impression that the restaurants and cafes of China Town are all the same. Surely they all cook up the same standard Chinese dishes to satisfy all, what does one offer that the other doesn't? Wrong, there's a world of difference between many of the random venues on Stowell Street. Sky is so much more than a run of the mill Chinese buffet that is a popular regular dining experience for Newcastle's growing abundance of radgies. Sky is the very aptly awarded and indisputable king of Dim Sum.
For those that are unfamiliar with Dim Sum, it's essentially the Chinese analogue of tapas cuisine, small and flavoursome dishes, ideal for sharing with large or small groups. It's more than just wicker baskets with rank chicken feet or testicle like squidgy balls filled with some dubious meat, which is what some buffet restaurants like to present in their shady and forsaken Dim Sum corner. There's much more variety and quality available at Sky. And their food is as real as it gets, so don't expect to like/understand/feel comfortable with every dish on the menu. As proper Chinese food is a million miles away from the typical Western approach on food. There are a few 'interesting' cuts of animal on the menu, but dining out is all about trying new things. It's not like they'll ask you to eat cat placenta, so just be adventurous.
The host of steamed dumplings and the super special noodles (includes sizable chunks of every species from Old MacDonald's farm and more) are among the Fat Spoon's favourite dishes here. The service is as cheerful as most of Stowell Street's better restaurants, but unfortunately, despite the slow elevator ride to the restaurant you don't get a particularly great view of Newcastle as the name 'Sky' would suggest. The restaurant itself is nice enough and the fact that you can play 'spot the westerner' as you enter the restaurant validates that the food here is truly authentic. 83%
Sausage fest. That's the best way to describe this cheeky new restaurant situated next to the Herb Garden. And it's not like the regular sausage fests that usually entail a diamond strip bar/club, ram packed with Geordie Shore wannabes in low cut t-shirts that would make a Sunderland stripper blush. No, this a wondrous festival of all things sausage based. And they're not at all afraid of getting their meat out.
The creators have produced an adaptable menu that extracts flavours from across the globe and smoothly incorporates them into one of the nations favourites, the humble sausage. It's always encouraging to see restaurants experimenting with produce and The Sausage Emporium has proven it is not at all shy. Moroccan spice, scallops, onion bhajis and Wylam Ale sausages are among some of their interesting concoctions that must be sampled. And for those with a bizarre fear of the sausage, there are plenty of other random, but delicious items on the menu, such as oysters, steak and crab cakes.
Their flexible menu makes them perfect for lunch or dinner and although their restaurant is very simple, the staff are very attentive and clearly very passionate about their sausage. They even have a sausage dog (he's not on the menu porkers). The food is very fairly priced and they have a fantastic selection of ale. Not to mention a melt in the middle chocolate souffle that will blow your sausage. So what are you waiting for, get some of that sausage down you! 84%
