Kusuka

When was the last time you went to a cafe or restaurant and thought, “no one has done this before?” Here’s an opportunity: Kusuka is a tiny Haymarket eatery that’s both a trend-aware cafe and an Indonesian noodle bar.

The regular cafe options are safe, such as acai bowls, poke and avocado on toast. The more interesting dishes are the Indonesian-skewed options: spicy fried chicken doused in molten mozzarella and Kusuka’s speciality, mee goreng topped with anything – bacon, hash browns, poached eggs, pork belly or sambal matah (a fresh Balinese chilli relish made with lime and shallots).

There’s also an extensive drinks menu with Indonesian coffee, avocado shakes and watermelon lattes. All of the above is barely half of what they do. There’s also Indonesian sate (satay) with rice cakes, martabak (a meat-filled flatbread), burgers and truffled eggs. For such a tiny cafe (with an equally miniature kitchen) the menu here is huge.

Due to its size, the cafe may seem takeaway orientated but that’s not really the case. Although the fit-out is simple and there’s only a handful of tables, there’s a cosy vibe that reflects the mood of many South East Asian street-side coffee houses.