Much-Loved Mod-Asian Restaurant Master Is Returning for Two Nights

Opening in late-2015 and closing its doors one year later, you could've blinked and missed Master. But if you did manage to make it into the Surry Hills restaurant during its short tenure, you'll definitely remember it. Blackened quarters of cabbage lathered in fish sauce butter, silky strips of scallop with XO and a side of heavy-metal tunes — Master stood out on its quiet stretch of Crown Street. And now, it's making a comeback — for two nights only.

Chef John Javier is resurrecting the restaurant's menu for two nights, on January 18 and 19, at his current haunt, the Lord Wolseley Hotel in Ultimo. And while the setting is different — Sydney's narrowest pub bears little similarity to Master's former, two-storey monochromatic home — the menu will feature all the favourites.

As well as the aforementioned scallop and cabbage, the ten-course share-style dinner will include a dish of raw lamb with oyster emulsion, ash and enoki; salt-and-pepper veal sweetbreads; and anise-spiked diamond shell clams topped with ribbons of honeydew.

Master devotees will be happy to know that the famed sweet-savoury 'roasted potato' dessert will be making a return, too. If you're yet to encounter this dish — and are maybe skeptical of its viability — trust us, it's good. Potato ice cream is deep-fried and served with a crust of malt crumb and freeze-dried vinegar.

This decuplet of dishes, plus a few snacks, will set you back a very reasonable $100. If you'd like to spend more on dinner, you can — Javier is offering up a limited number of black pepper mud crabs for $200 a pop. To snag a crab, and a spot at the dinner — we're expecting they'll both get snapped up pretty quickly — email [email protected].

The Master Pop-Up is open from Friday, January 18 to Saturday, January 19, from 6pm at the Lord Wolseley Hotel, 265 Bulwara Road, Ultimo.