Restaurant Balzac, Randwick
“Can you close your eyes?” F implored as he started to drive off to the mystery restaurant he booked for our anniversary. Last time I closed my eyes while on our way to a mystery restaurant, I got car sick. I sighed and told him I was going to go to sleep then if that’s how things were going to be.
In continuing the surprise, I kept my eyes on the pavement and didn’t look up even as we entered the restaurant. F told me later that he was silently urging me to look up when we were greeted, as the maitre d’ anxiously flicked his eyes between us, his face betraying the thought that we were fighting and I was in trouble. Hah. Telepathy fail.
When we were seated, F asked if I knew where I was and triumphantly I said, “Of course! We’re at Balzac!” I was rather pleased and smug with my powers of deduction, only to be slightly deflated when he scoffed, “It took you long enough to work it out.” Bah.
Wagyu Bresaola
The salt-cured Wagyu was scrumptiously soft and it wasn’t chewy or dry. The accompaniments of julienne celeriac, gherkin and capers were lightly dressed with just the right amount of aioli, which brightened up the heaviness of the meat (though even in saying that, it was a pretty light dish overall).
F has been obsessed with Wagyu and was eagerly waiting for this dish to come out. While F agreed that all the components worked well together he was still a little saddened at the fact the Wagyu was missing that “melt-in-your-mouth fatty goodness” one associated with it.
Cauliflower and Curry
The cauliflower veloute and curry sabayon were super light and creamy with tremendous amount of flavour. I found the curry to be a bit spicy but not over-powering, giving the overall flavour a nice little kick. It was too easy to polish this off too quickly and I wished my teacup, cute as it may be, was a little bigger. Like maybe the size of a hug-mug. Sigh.
Kataifi Wrapped King Prawn, Sweet Corn and Basil
I recognised the kataifi technique from my dinner at Georges and if it was anything like the prawns I had there, F would be in for a treat.
The Western Australian prawn was moist and juicy though the basil oil played mostly a visual part as we couldn’t really taste it amongst the other flavours going on. The sweet corn puree teemed with sweet and creamy flavours with a smooth texture which contrasted sharply to the delicate crunch from the kataifi wrapped prawns. So crispy were the shredded filo pastry that F mumbled something to the likes of “I could eat these like chips”.
Tea Smoked Oyster, Ocean Trout, Pickled Cucumber and Finger Limes
Although I’m not the biggest fan of oysters, I do try to try them and perhaps somewhere down the line I’ll end up liking them like everyone else. However, so far oysters never seem to fail to fill me with some trepidation as I set my eyes on them.
Visually it was a feast for the eyes but what would it taste like? I hesitated and waited to see F’s reaction and was greeted with lots of “mmmm”s and “ahhhhh”s. I was advised to make sure I chew it slightly and for the first time I actually savoured the flavour and the texture of the oyster without making a scrunched up expression. The oyster had a hint of the smoky jasmine tea, but was also very tender, incredibly tasty and took on a creamy flavour/texture to it. I was very surprised to find out that I really enjoyed it. I think it helped because the oyster was rather small and I’ve been advised that small oysters equates to sweet flavour with very little “fishy” juices.
The ocean trout also took on a slight jasmine flavour to it and was perfectly cooked. The cucumber “spaghetti” were lightly dressed in a trout vinaigrette, adding a nice touch of acidity to the fish, while the thin-sliced radish and roe added that pop and slightly crunchy texture to the light and creamy dish.
Black Pudding, Pigs Trotter, Fried Quails Egg, Shaved Truffle
The succulent pig’s trotter carefully wrapped itself around a mix of minced pancetta, sage, chorizo and pork mince and topped with a crunchy, yet light and not-at-all oily pork crackling. The flavours were big and bold though not one single component really stood out from the other. The dish was taken to another level when the caramelised onion puree is introduced into the mix with its sweet creaminess.
Although I have recently discovered that black pudding can be prepared to have a delicious taste, I can’t help be slightly worried when a different restaurant serves it. F found the black pudding polenta to be a tad salty, but found the flavour to be fine. I, on the other hand, was besieged with ambivalence – the flavour was okay, but its dull, dark reddish hue (apparent when the rectangular moulded black pudding polenta was cut open) reminded me quite starkly of what it was made out of.
The witlof and green apple salad lightened this otherwise heavy dish with its creamy bright flavours and crunchy texture, but it was the crumbed quail egg with a shaving of Perigold truffle perched on top that almost stole the pig’s trotter’s thunder. It was perfectly soft-boiled and being lightly fried was quite a treat.
Rabbit and Mushroom Lasagne, Cepe Vinaigrette
This lasagne was quite something, though it reminded me more of a sandwich than a typical lasagne as there were only two layers of wonderfully al dente pasta sheets. The braised rabbit was utterly tender and well-seasoned while the mushrooms brought a very much earthy tone to the dish. The sandwich I mean lasagne was surrounded with an amazingly creamy pine nut and oyster cappuccino.
It was F’s first time having rabbit and he found that it wasn’t as gamey as he thought it would be. It was my second time and it was a lot better than my first. No offence to my aunt, the entire time I was eating her rabbit dish I had visions of cute, little white bunnies hopping around with their white bobtail flashing… and I was eating them!! It was enough to make a hardened man weep.
Anyway, I digress. F thought the lasagne was close to perfect, minus the two bones he found in his dish, which our waiter profusely apologised for.
La Luna Holy Goat Cheese, Fig Marmalade
F being a huge cheese fan didn’t want to pass up on the cheese course. For the cheese we were about to consume to win Champion Cheese of Show and Champion Sheep, Goat & Buffalo Milk Product at the 2010 Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce Awards was really just an added bonus.
The scrumptiously creamy and mild cheese had fig as its partner in crime, coming in the form of a jam, caramelisation and vinaigrette, all to be eaten with home-made lavosh. F has discovered that he loves figs. While he thought the fig jam was okay, the caramelised fig was perfection – stating that he would rather to have another fig than jam and ended up eyeing my carefully rationed portions of the fig, cheese and lavosh.
Peach Shot
The jelly was consisted of pink champagne and peach with diced peach and nectarines on top and a peach foam to cap it off. It was pretty nice but not really exciting. I have a soft spot for jelly, so I think I enjoyed this more than F.
Beurre Noisette Poached Pear, Peanuts and Fromage Blanc
The burnt butter poached pear was nice on its own but paired with the sweet and nutty Pecan praline and the fromage blanc made it outstanding. The combination of sauces made this dessert not too sweet and it actually bordered on being savoury, which I found quite interesting. I also quite enjoyed the pastry crumbs complimenting the softness of the pear. F’s never had pecan before and thought it was a nice introduction to the nut.
We both did think that the peanuts overwhelmed the delicate and complex flavours of the pear and sauces – the dish could have done without them to be honest (flavour-wise anyway), but it did add a nice crunchy texture to the dessert.
Petit Fours - Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
F was really happy that we ended the meal with ice cream and doubly happy to have scored a toothpick as well.
Restaurant Balzac was busily buzzing on a Sunday night, with all of their tables on the ground floor full of customers and most of the tables on the first floor filled. I think it’s a testament to the great food served here by courteous and attentive wait staff.
This particular degustation was a special seasonal degustation that is available only on the last Sunday of each month at the cost of $110 for 9 courses or $160 with matching wines.
Note that the Entertainment Card is not valid on Sundays here.
Restaurant Balzac
141 Belmore Rd
Randwick, NSW, 2031
Ph: (02) 9399 9660
Web: http://www.restaurantbalzac.com.au/
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By squishies
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This article was written on 12 Mar 2010, and is filed under Degustation, Dessert, English, French, Sydney, East.
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Dessert, favourites, pork, Seafood
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Nice to see the seasonal degustation covered, as I have had the normal degustation and it was very good. Great pics!
the cheese course looks great!
.-= Fiona´s last blog ..Breakfast @ Carrington Place =-.
Ohh -that lasagne… Looks like a great meal!
.-= Tina´s last blog ..Slick in the city =-.
Happy anniversary! From your stunning pictures, it looks like you’ve had a memorable meal there.
.-= foodwink´s last blog ..Demon’s Food, Bo Innovation Hong Kong =-.
What a great looking degustation. Certainly the best way to eat. I had Balzac’s crispy wagyu beef with wild mushroom and truffle foam and the saddle of suckling pig with garden peas at Taste of Sydney. They were very good too. There was a massive 20 minute line for the chocolate fondants.
.-= Mark @ Cafe Campana´s last blog ..Salad Trading Scheme – Fattoush =-.
joey@FoodiePop: Thanks! =) It was a pity it got dark so soon though. Is the seasonal degustation much different to the normal one?
Fiona: If you can, do try the La Luna Holy Goat Cheese – it’s amazing.
Tina: Oh that lasagne… I always thought lasagne had to have tomato sauce (with or without bechamel sauce), but I was proven wrong that night. It was so good…
foodwink: Thanks =D Yeah we did… thoroughly enjoyed ourselves hehe
Mark@CafeCampana: I loooooove degustations. I remember pooh-poohing such establishments with their tiny serving sizes on over-sized plates when I didn’t know any better. I’m glad I’ve seen the light! Haha…
Oh that suckling pig with peas – yum yum! It was really good, weren’t they? Sadly we missed out on the fondants =( We ran out of crowns lol
[...] our birthday month when I remembered that I had signed up for Restaurant Balzac’s mailing list last time I was here. Silly me.The offer was too hard to resist and before long, we found ourselves seated upstairs and [...]