Newstar Takeaway

This place is the best kept secret in Balmain. Authentic, great tasting Asian food. As well as very cheap. Don’t be a Balmain Yuppy and stick your nose up at the appearance of this place, like many others of the new age Balmain population you will miss out on the best Asian food on the peninsula. The phở is my favourite.
This place rocks :)

OMG. I am so excited that I get to be the first reviewer for New Star! You cannot beat this place for quality of food, and value for money. Although they are tucked into a little side street off the beaten path from the hustle and bustle of Darling Street, you can sit outside the restaurant in a semi-​private alcove. It’s also BYO with no corkage.
The cute ladies behind the counter cook while you watch, and the food comes out crazy fast. Everything we have tried there, from the phở to the fried rice, is amazingly delicious.
Because I love steamed AND fried dumplings, on my first visit I rather cheekily asked the proprietor if I could have my pork dumplings half fried and half steamed. The response was a cheery «Sure!» with a big smile. I also grabbed a bagful of prawn crackers to munch on while our food was being prepared and was rewarded with the affable owner giving them to me for free! In Sydney where anything cheap or free is nearly impossible to come by, this little gesture ensured our «regular» status.
Myself and my big strong food-​loving bf can normally split one starter, one meal and one large fried rice and it comfortably feeds us both. Standouts are the Vietnamese pork fresh spring rolls, tofu in Mongolian sauce, aforementioned dumplings, the special fried rice, and the laksa. In addition, there is a healthy array of dipping sauces to be had which I LOVE.
The only drawback of this place is sometimes the tables are a bit grubby and the glasses need an extra cleaning… But honestly the food is so good you don’t really care. If you’re into fancy ambiance this place might not be for you, but if you love tasty authentic Asian food at a cheap price New Star is right up your alley.