SCHWOIT

For a fat geek trying to lose weight a Yum Cha restaurant is kryptonite. Especially when that restaurant is within a 10 minute drive and has not served a dodgy dish in the visits to date. That restaurant is Jasbelle Restaurant and Lounge.

Let me start by saying that Shellharbour is a beautiful seaside part of the Illawarra, however the culinary side has been dominated by greasy spoon class restaurants and devoid of affordable alternatives. It seriously needed other alternatives in the lower to middle price range and thankfully a number of asian cuisines have found their way into the area. The one that I have dined at to date is Jasbelle.

Jasbelle is located on Addison Street in the Shellharbour Village. Jasbelle is the only Yum Cha restaurant in the area, and indeed the Illawarra region. Jasbelle make exquisite use of the idyllic spot and let you enjoy the great outdoors whilst dining on the Yum Cha delights on the balcony.

Having dined at many Yum Cha restaurants around the country the Jasbelle menu is admittedly limited, for example I am yet to see chicken feet offered (a pity). What is produced though has been of a high quality, in this case “less is more”. There is nothing on the menu that has not been thoroughly enjoyed by my fellow diners and myself.

As the clientele of Jasbelle develops I have little doubt that the menu will also develop and broaden.

I do have one unfortunate gripe, and has nothing to do with the food. The restaurant is hampered by a lack of wheelchair access due to it’s upstairs location and no elevator/escalator. The entrance to the restaurant is a rather steep and narrow set of stairs. This is made doubly difficult by the toilets also being located on the ground floor with another set of stairs requiring navigation. Whilst this is fine for most people, it is not good for the mobility challenged and elderly. This has meant that my mother and mother-in-law have not been able to attend and enjoy the food with us. After talking with the Jasbelle staff it appears that the landlord is playing hardball in making his property accessible. This is a great shame as it cuts a significant portion of the Shellharbour public out of enjoying the delights upstairs. Really in this day and age it should be legislated that businesses be wheelchair accessible.

That major bugbear to one side, I am very much looking forward to my next visit, even though it is clearly kryptonite to me.

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Where	Upstairs Shop 3, 13 Addison Street Shellharbour NSW 2529 Australia
Phone	02 4297 8998
URL	http://www.jasbelle.com.au/
The Buzz	Restaurant Rater – Jasbelle Restaurant

Tags: jasbelle, kryptonite, restaurant, review, shellharbour, yum cha
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