Lamb & Cumin Hurstville NSW

Ambient, aromatic and appetising?    Meat skewers over the charcoal grill.




It is fast food, it is grilled and it relies on turnover.    Its customers like it as snacks, they do  not really have a place to sit down to savour the skewered sticks but perhaps most of them are stopping by quickly in between going from and to somewhere else.


Lamb & Cumin's location can be ideal as such, and I appreciate the rather wide walking space in front of it.   It is under cover, so no problems with wet pavements and perhaps waiting in the rain.    It has a potential rival nearby - the Taiwanese inspired Star fried chicken with its blue facade around the corner, but this is different street food.


Shaanxi, Beijing and central Asia share the love for this street food.   It can be smokey and captivating to watch, even indoors in this stall sited  above a railway station.
It is not just chicken meat , you can have crocodile, Wagyu beef, Tofu, beef tendons or parts of chicken you may not normally eat.   Usually the marinade in the meat is sufficient - but we do not want over the top oily servings as well, so do watch the griller and his or her cooking style.  If you have been backpacking the streets of Asia, especially in northern China, Indonesia, Vietnam or Thailand,  you may appreciate there is an unspoken art in such skewer grilling.


You know the person at the stall is experienced when they pack the meats alternatively between fat and lean.  Such an arrangement helps to infuse more flavour as the fatty neighbour can share its excess oils with the other, resulting in a more even spread.   I have seen baking soda used overseas to tenderise meats, especially the tendons and tougher cuts, but I am not sure what is used in Australian outlets these days.


In China, garlic chives is a popular ingredient used for such grilled meats but I did not see this at LAC at Hurstville.    The marinade utilised must have the compulsory cumin, pepper seasoning, garlic paste, chilli flakes and salt sprinkle.


Grilling over charcoal can have its challenges - one needs to balance between flavour, aroma and texture, without making an oily mess and over burning parts of what is being cooked over flame.   The meat cubes must be even bite-sized.   The marinade is to be applied evenly.   The cooking skewers must be watched and flipped over once in a while to ensure evenness in cooking.


As with my experienced working for fun and pro bono at satay stalls during charity food fairs in the past, waiting time can be a subjective factor for both customers and the business.   If not prepared properly , the mood and character of the charcoal grills can be odd and not reliable.   Like the performance of a well seasoned and utilised wok,n the charcoal grill can produce better and more reliable results within an expected time frame after it gets sufficiently heated up.

Lamb & Cumin is located at Shop 7C,  225H Forest Road, Hurstville NSW, above the rail station.

Opening hours are from 9am to 530pm from Mondays to Wednesdays; from 9am to 9pm on Thursdays; from 9am to 6pm on Fridays; and from 10am to 4pm on weekends.
Contact    + 61 2 9701 2374



My impressions of Lamb & Cumin at Hurstville NSW:
Ambiance: 2 out of 5

Customer Engagement: 3 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  3 out of 5
X Factor: 3 out of 5
Overall:   11 /4  out of 5