Assiette , Surry Hills
Modern Australian French platter for two
With Howard’s birthday looming in mid December, I decided to surprise him, and booked us an early dinner at Assiette (couldn’t get a booking for mid December). Having been to Assiette on a previous occassion and enjoying the experience immensely, I thought it would only be fair if I was able to share the experience with a food nut like myself. Spending the day in the city, Howard had no clue about the dinner. At 6pm, I found a perfect parking spot on Albion street, walking Howard to Assiette, he questioned what we were doing here. Feigning stupidity, I walked him into the restaurant, only to be greeted by a “Happy Birthday Howard” by the waiters. Staring at me in shock, a smile plastered itself across his face.
Vodka and Cranberry juice $10.00
We started off the evening with a refreshing beverage. The alcoholic content was not too concentrated to get you drunk, yet not too diluted, where it won’t have any effect on you.
Sourdough bread with butter & sea salt
Once comfortably seated and enjoying our drinks, a waiter brought us each a mini freshly baked sourdough baguette. Combined with the creamy, room temperatured butter this was definitely a great way to get things started.
Port Stephen's oyster with Vietnamese dressing and baby coriander
Today’s seasonal oyster was from Port Stephen’s. The oyster was served chilled and remarkably fresh. The sauce was perfect as you could easily taste the sweet and sourness of typical vietnamese dressings. The oyster was then topped with pieces of crispy fried onion. The crunchiness of the onion contrasted well with the succulent flesh of the oyster. Was this a sign of great things to come in our degustation ?
Pea velote with salt cod mousse, mojama and almond crunch
Normally peas isn’t something I would expect to be used as the showcase ingredient in an entree. We were warned that the salt cod mousse can be a little too salty eaten on its own, hence the addition of the pea velote serving to balance the saltiness. With each spoonful of the velote, despite the overwhelming flavours of the peas, one cannot help but be amazed by the purity of the supporting act, that is the actual stock itself.
A spoonful of the aerated salt cod, bathed in the naturally sweet pea velote, pure bliss with each mouthful.
To add another dimension to your usually mundane pea soup, chef Warren Turnbull, decided to utilise another ingredient which is rarely used, Mojama, which was imported from Spain. According to Wiki, “Mojama is made using the loins of the tuna by curing them in salt for two days. The salt is then removed, the loins are washed and then laid out to dry in the sun and the breeze (according to the traditional method) for fifteen to twenty days.” I found that despite his efforts to introduce new flavours to patron’s palette, the Mojama tasted too fishy, therefore distracted me from the brilliance of the dish as a whole.
Salmon terrine with beetroot sorbet and pickled cucumber
Salmon terrine and pickled cucumber
When this dish was presented, the first thing that came to my mind was that this was a piece of artwork, too beautiful to eat. However my stomach and curiosity got the better of me. The smoked salmon was delicately prepared, with a thin layer of cream between each slice, making it easier to savour each piece. To balance the creamy salmon terrine, pickled cucumber and beetroot sorbet was provided.
Beetroot sorbet
I’ve always believed that Beetroot is the sworn enemy, I despise the fact that it’s soo difficult to remove the stains that it leaves behind. However when prepared by another person and presented in the form of a sorbet, I can only say one thing, I love beetroot. How can you not love the sweetness, the vibrancy of the colour and its versatility as an ingredient. Compared to the salmon terrine, the sorbet is very refreshing, with its flavour only further enhanced when served on a bed of finely chopped betroot.
Cured breast and confit leg of duck with walnuts and golden beetroot and walnut vinaigrette
First of all, I’d like to apologise for this photo, I know it looks as though it’s just a mash of different things served on a plate, however it was defintely more than that. As the restaurant was filled to capacity, we felt uncomfortable standing up, taking the photo from the top view. To tackle this, we decided to taste each morsel separately, starting off with the cured breast. The cured duck breast was slightly salty yet moist and tender, despite its saltiness nature, the sweetness of the duck was still present, presenting itself as an after taste.
Next on the plate was the confit of duck leg which was one of my favourite of the night. The conift consisted of a piece of well cooked juicy duck steak, and wait for it, accompanied by delicious crispy skin. Through cooking it in this manner, the gamey flavour of duck was minimised, instead replaced by aromatic quail like flesh. The addition of the golden beetroot, besides the colour, in my opinion did not better the dish in anyway. However the walnut vinaigrette was crunchy, sweet, sour, salty, complimenting both the cured breast and confit of leg.
Pork croquettes with celeriac, apple, prosciutto and Pedro Ximenez
At first sight of the croquette, I expected to see a creamy interior. However, as the knife pierced the crispy object, a plethora of pork fibres spilled onto the plate. I suspect that a pork fillet was braised with herbs, than torn by hand into single strands, the combination of herbs used did well in down playing the smell of the pork. As expected, the ribbons of prosciutto was salty, however unexpectedly soft. Warren Turnbull did well in pairing the prosciutto with a tastless celeriac salad, this ensures that when the celeriac/prosciutto combo is dipped into the Pedro Ximenez sauce, the sweetness and fragrance of the grape is still prominant.
Pan fried John dory with seared scallop, curried leek and onion bhaji
Once again, I get the opportunity to eat one of my favourite seafood, Scallops. Voided from any condiments, the fresh scallop was seared to perfection, producing a crispy charred exterior, and a soft opaque centre. Avoiding any flavour enhancers enables the natural sweetness of the scallops to present itself, definitely something that I could eat time and time again. The John Dory in this instance was lightly pan fried, ensuring it was not over-cooked. Despite its freshness being evidented, I found that it was quite bland on its own. However, when paired with the crunchy onion bhaji and curried leek, the flesh of the fish was much more appreciated.
Braised Wagyu brisket with bone marrow cromesqui, carrot and sauce bercy
Intrigued by the tiny bone marrow cromesqui, that was the first thing that I delved in to. Like the croquette, it had a crispy exterior, however unlike the croquette, I was pleasantly suprised by the rich, buttery marrow centre. With one bite, the cromesqui dissapears, leaving nothing but a lingering and lasting impression on the tongue. A common theme I observed throughout the course was the pairing of hearty/heavy items with a light one, always balancing one another. In this instance, the “heavy” cromesqui was accompanied by the sweet airy carrot mousse. The consistency of the mousse in conjunction with the orange hue, made this dish aethetically pleasing. The ease of cutting through the Wagyu prepped me for the taste of it in my mouth, unlike the notion, the wagyu was a tad overcooked, thus slightly chewy. Despite this minor setback, when cut into smaller pieces, like any piece of quality wagyu, the meat just melts. The “light” sauce bercy, I presume acts to moisturise the wagyu, although in this instance, unnecessary.
Gruyere cheese with rosemary lavosh
Cheese and Lavosh is just like Rosemary and Lamb, two things that go well together. Speaking of rosemary, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste the herb as mentioned in the lavosh. With or without the rosemary, the trio of the caramelised walnut, pungent gruyere cheese and crispy lavosh is just perfect, although a tad small.
Chilled rockmelon soup with lime and crème fraiche sorbet
One of the best palette cleansers that I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Who in their right mind would have thought of the rockmelon and creme fraiche combo. Not just any creme fraiche, but a sorbet version. The fragrant and honeyed rockmelon soup when served with a dollop of the slightly sour creme fraiche sorbet, garnished with lime leaves was just too tempting to take as a shot. Refraining myself, I was able to prolong my enjoyment to 3 spoonfulls, looking at this picture makes me feel all nostalgic.
White chocolate mousse with marshmallow, peanuts, honeycomb and banana ice cream
Last but definitely not the least on our menu was the dessert platter. Soft white chocolate mousse encassed in a crispy beanut brittle, accompanied by chewy toasted marshmallows and natural banana ice cream, a sweet tooth’s dream come true. Each of the items on the platter was outstanding, nothing that I can fault. However, the most memorable item was the honeycomb, slightly burnt, slightly sweet, slightly salty, slightly chewy, but absolutely delicious.
By the way, the pictures do look a little noisy and over saturated. Despite it being a beautiful day outside, they closed the blinds and used soft lights and candles for a more intimate setting. Not so great for us food bloggers, but perfect for a relaxing and intimate meal. Our lens certainly struggled in these conditions so apologies for the poor pictures.
The variety in the degustation menu at Assiette was obviously thoroughly planned by chef Warren Turnbull, everything just goes well together, taking you on a journey with each flavour deepening the further you go into the courses, inviting each senses into a state of arousal with each developing course. For those wanting to give their tastebuds a great trip at minimal cost, I’d definitely reccommend Assiette.
Assiette
48 Albion St
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Ph: (02) 9212 7979
Fax: (02) 9212 3602
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By linda
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This article was written on 05 Dec 2008, and is filed under Dessert, French, Modern Australian.
Current post is tagged
Dessert, poultry, Seafood, Sydney, Sydney, Surry Hills
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nice photos!
The dessert looks like a classier version of this trifle my mum used to make. It had smashed up Violet Crumble with banana and whipped cream, yum.
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Food tour of Cabramatta
looks so yummy
s
Simon Food Favourites’s last blog post..Adriano Zumbo Pâtissier (30 Nov 2008)
Woow truly fine dining! cos the portions are so miniscule hee hee but looks and sounds sooo tasttyyyy!
FFichiban’s last blog post..Max Brenner – St Ives, Sydney
Lovely looking meal, looks like you both had a great time – Happy Birthday Howard:)
Now craving Gruyere cheese, I visited Gruyere earlier this year and couldn’t get enough of the stuff, but the Gruyere I find here tastes nothing like it did over there:( I’ll have to use this as an excuse to come here for dinner lol
Miss Honey’s last blog post..Adriano Zumbo Weekend
Chilled rockmelon soup was yumo
did you have the wines with your Degustation linda and howie
i cant remember if you mention this to me howie lol
and happy bday as well
Will- Thanks for popping by.
Arwen- There honeycombe was delicious, I wish I could make it myself =D LOL I like your mum’s verion of a trifle, I think I’m going to attempt to make that one.
Simon- Tasted better than it looked =D
FFichiban- Initially we thought there would be no way this meal would fill us up, but suprisingly we were stuffed by the end of the night,
MissHoney- Where did you have Gruyere at?
David- the rockmelon soup was very refreshing. We didn’t have the accompanying wine because we get drunk too easily and tend not to appreciate our food as much.
Food looks impressive! How much was the dinner? Would love to try if i ever have the chance to visit NSW.
Precious Pea’s last blog post..MY FIRST DAY OF BEING 30
Hi PP, The cost was I think $90 per person, however we had an entertainment card, therefore discounts =D
Linda’s last blog post..USA Foods
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