Diana

If you’ve spent time in Orange recently you may be familiar with Mr Lim – the Korean-Chinese fusion restaurant and karaoke bar that’s been dubbed the town’s “best night out” by besotted diners. At Diana, owner Sunny Jeon was keen to bring the fun from out west to the city with a spin-off of his fun-loving Orange venue.

The menu here is all about traditional, bold Asian flavours. Hwae moochim, a South Korean dish of tossed raw fish, is assembled at the table, and is a party of sashimi-grade salmon, tuna, kingfish and abalone in a dressing of sesame oil, gochujang (a mild Korean chilli paste) and apple vinegar. KFC (Korean fried chicken) is a twice-cooked chicken breast seasoned with chilli paste, spring onion and almonds. But it’s Sammy’s Quick Tossed Scotch Fillet with spring onion and baby oyster mushrooms Broadsheet will be making return visits for.

Jeon, a die-hard Kylie Kwong fan, overlaid the old Billy Kwong space in Potts Point with an eclectic collection of Chinese and Korean art and artefacts, including five large hwa-tu (a Korean card game) cards, hand-painted Korean door frames, and a Japanese garden. Overlooking the expansive dining room and the buzzing open kitchen is a large portrait of Diana Shaw, the matriarch of the Shaw wine family, and the restaurant’s namesake.

In homage to the region where Jeon earned his wine chops, Diana’s wine list features mainly drops from Orange alongside Asian-influenced cocktails, soju and beer.

The karaoke machine comes out on Friday and Saturday nights, and there are two rules to abide by: no requests and no Daryl Braithwaite. (Play it safe with some Backstreet Boys or Madonna instead.)