Oysters have had a fairly predictable life, since time immortal.
A squeeze of lemon. A splash of mignonette. Maybe a dash of Tabasco if someone’s feeling adventurous.
Rasa House would like to respectfully suggest we all move on.
At the Rose Bay restaurant founded by Vinay Matta, culinary traditions are defined rather flexibly, Borders blur. Flavours mingle. And dishes are judged less by where they come from than whether they deserve a second bite.
Case in point: the oysters.
Instead of the usual vinegar-heavy dressing, these Tasmanian beauties arrive topped with passionfruit pulp, cucumber and shallots. It’s the sort of combination that sounds slightly rogue on paper and completely obvious once it lands on your palate.
One bite in and you’re left wondering why we’ve all spent so many years putting vinegar on oysters when tropical fruit was sitting right there.
But then again, that kind of questioning sits at the heart of everything happening at Rasa House.
With newly appointed head chef Keno Perlas leading the kitchen, the restaurant’s already borderless approach has become even more deliberate. His philosophy is simple: cuisines should inspire us, not limit us.
“I’ve always had this philosophy of cuisines that they should not limit us, they should only inspire us,” he says.
It’s a perspective shaped by a life spent crossing borders. Born in the Philippines, raised in Sydney from age 14, seasoned in some of Australia’s most respected kitchens including Margaret, Monopole and Cho Cho San, and enriched by travels through 52 countries and counting, Keno’s culinary identity isn’t tied to a single place.
And that’s exactly how he likes it.
“I think food and ingredients don’t really have nationality,” he says. “They come from the ground. You just interpret them in the best way you can, depending on how they connect to you.”
It’s a view that perfectly complements Vinay’s original vision for Rasa House.
“Rasa means flavour,” he explains. “In Indonesian and Indian cultures, it’s essentially the essence of life.”
That belief in flavour as a universal language runs through the restaurant’s newly launched seasonal menu, which happily hops between continents without ever bothering to check its passport.
Those oysters are perhaps the clearest example.
The dressing draws inspiration from Mexico, where aguachile traditionally leans on citrus, chilli and seafood. Here, passionfruit takes the lead, blended with habanero for warmth rather than heat.
“It’s not really meant to be spicy,” Keno explains. “The sweetness and salinity of the oyster should work together.” And they do.
The tropical fruit amplifies the oyster’s natural sweetness while the subtle chilli lingers in the background, creating something that feels surprising and inevitable all at once.
It’s exactly the kind of reaction Vinay hopes diners have.
“Ideally, we want people to have a bite and think, ‘That’s interesting. That’s a bit peculiar. But I love it.'”
The same curiosity continues throughout the menu.
Martabak roti arrives stuffed with braised eggplant, spinach and honey labneh. Lamb ribs are glazed in tamarind and dates before being finished with walnuts and barberries. The Char Siu Chicken served with chilli cucumber. Even dessert refuses to stay in a single lane, pairing orange blossom Basque cheesecake with Sichuan-poached rhubarb and olive oil.
But, in a twist of sorcery, none of it feels forced. Perhaps because Keno isn’t trying to create fusion for fusion’s sake.
“Borderlessness is not an approach where we’re trying hard to be rebellious,” he says. “It’s actually just being who you are.”
His own story naturally moves between cultures, and the menu follows suit.
He describes his cooking style as “flavoursome, raw, sometimes ugly delicious.”
It’s a refreshingly honest description.
The kitchen itself mirrors the same worldview. Filipino, Indonesian and Indian chefs work side by side, bringing their own memories, techniques and flavour references to the table.
“We get to pick the best of everything,” Vinay says. “Keep it interesting, keep it fun and keep it accessible.”
Hospitality, after all, runs in the family. Vinay grew up next door to Jewel on the Bay, the long-standing Indian restaurant operated by his parents.
“I’ve been in hospitality since before I was born,” he laughs.
With Keno now steering the kitchen, Rasa House feels increasingly confident in its identity. Not Filipino. Not Australian. Not Indonesian. Not Indian. Just delicious.
Which is perhaps why the restaurant’s most memorable lesson isn’t about oysters at all. It’s that sometimes the best dishes happen when nobody asks for a passport.
And if that means topping oysters with passionfruit pulp instead of vinegar? So be it ..
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