Sarong is one of Bali’s most beloved restaurants, and for good reason. Chef Will Meyrick’s award winning restaurant is a paean to Southeast Asian street food dishes, refined through years of rigorous travel and research to creating versions that are authentic in flavour but sophisticated in execution.
His signature Penang Beef Cheek Curry is a perfect example of Meyrick’s ability to take a common dish and transform it into something extraordinary. If the idea of cheek meat turns you off, its only because you’ve never had it cooked like this before. Braised for several hours over a low heat in the fiery curry, the oft-neglected cut becomes incredibly tender and flavourful. The heat of the sauce is brilliantly balanced by the refreshing zest of coriander, lemongrass and galangal.
Chef Will Meyrick
“Without a doubt, Thailand is really the mother ship of some of the most best street food in South East Asia, and home to some of my all-time favourite dishes. Every couple of years I feel a call to return and dive back into its gastronomic glory.
Known locally in Thailand as panang nua this was a dish that I saw frequently in my gastronomic explorations of the street stalls. It is a signature at Sarong and an all-time favourite dish of mine, one that I have always enjoyed cooking throughout my career.
The recipe for this dish can be found in my new book, Sarong Inspirations, which includes quite a few recipes for signature dishes at Saron. It’s a good example of the brilliance of the slow braise: a technique for cooking some of the secondary cuts of meat that need slow, gentle heat and plenty of time before you see how good they can really be.”
