Story and photo by S Davey
Foxy Luu’s is a small eatery with tonnes of personality and plenty of taste. Located on the edge of the Woolies’ carpark, conveniently located next to The Cellar bottleshop (they have a BYO licence), the first sight of Foxy Luu’s is the vibrant Asian lanterns that sway over the outdoor seating.
The charm continues inside with Japanese fabric seat covers, a vintage Asian poster montage on one wall, a funky Geisha mural by Daniel Hend on another, the ceiling completely covered in oriental parasols, and the serving counter fashioned to look like a street-vendor cart complete with wheels.
The food is Asian fusion street eats and everything is housemade. The Gua Bao (Taiwanese loaded steamed buns) are popular; each comes with Asian herbs, sweet pickles, cucumber, a choice of meats or tofu and special sauce. There is also a choice of Vietnamese rice-paper rolls, salad, gado gado, a variety of dumplings and a delicious bone-broth soup of the day.
If you can, treat yourself to a dessert; the coconut and passionfruit panacotta was delightful. I took a seat near the kitchen and heard the chefs drool-talking about food that they had made at home and tried around town; these guys are real food lovers and it shows in their flavourful, fresh food.
Foxy Luu’s is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Utku (aka Max) and Leilani Ayhan,* who saw the street-food concept fitting brilliantly with the modest dimensions of the venue. One month into their operation a longtime local chef, Sheridan Casey (aka Shez), discovered their cuisine and loved it.
He explains: ‘I came in here to eat every day for a month because I loved the food, then I asked Utku if I could work here,’ which worked out perfectly for Utku and Leilani, who had a new baby.
Foxy Luu’s serves lunch, dinner drinks and coffee as well as expeditious takeaways. Look out for Yum Cha on Sundays starting from 10 December; $20 will give you a series of plates delivered to your table, including some off-the-menu treats, a bottomless cup of green tea and a DJ spinning tunes.
*Utku and Leilani married three weeks ago – blessings and congratulations!
More info: Foxy Luu’s. Shop 4A North Byron (Woolies’) Plaza, 90 Jonson St, Byron Bay. Next to the bottleshop. Open 7 days 11am–8.30pm. Facebook: Foxy Luus
Local chef Sheridan Casey (aka Shez) liked the food and asked if he could work with recently married owner Utku Ayhan (aka Max)
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