Ever since Balzac closed, I’ve been most keenly interested to see how Montpellier stacks up.

Warm Sourdough Bread with Olives

I absolutely adore warm bread – even more I love warm sourdough, or any sort of artisan bread for that matter! There’s something in its homey simplicity that just soothes the soul. Meanwhile, the fresh olives were quite nice – not too sharp with flavour.

Selection of Small Plates

I’m a bit fuzzy on the selection of small plates, but I think it consisted of Prawns, Mayo & Lemon, Pickled Beets, Goats Curd, Orange & Walnuts, Snails, Oxtail & Parsley, Baked Beans with Pork Belly, Oysters and a small plate that totally eludes me (sorry).

I’ve never had snails before and found it to be surprisingly tasteless – most of the flavours came from a very rich broth inside the shell with some tender oxtail meat.

It was the pork belly, however, that I felt was the star of the small plates; I loved its fullness of flavour and succulence. Though I must say the pickled beets and goats curd came a close second – it was so refreshing and sharp!

8 Hour Braised Shoulder of Lamb with Roast Truss Tomatoes

The lamb was unbelievably tender – it quite literally fell off the bone! I also couldn’t believe just how generous the serving size was and was impressed that A managed to polish it off.

Whole Roasted Ocean Jacket, Fennel and White Beans

R thought the dish hit all the right notes. The ocean jacket was cooked to perfection; it’s crispiness just right.

Montpellier Pork Sausages with Bubble and Squeak

I had the pork sausages, which I struggled to finish, but I couldn’t leave it well alone. The sausages were packed full of flavour and the bubble and squeak (i.e. fried vegetables) were wonderful, well-seasoned accompaniments.

Dessert Platter

The dessert platter was, we thought, the perfect finale to a most delicious (and filling) lunch. We definitely had the Eton Mess and Buttermilk Pudding with Blueberries, but I’m not sure about the names of the other two desserts: one was something that was akin to a thick hot chocolate shot and a mango semifreddo with a coconut sorbet on top.

While the eton mess was deliciously creamy, we debated which was the best dessert, but it was quite tough. In the end, we agreed that the chocolate shot was intensely and darkly decadent, the semifreddo summery and refreshing with a hint of creaminess, and the buttermilk pudding creamy smooth contrasted by the sweet-dryness of the blueberries.

With Montpellier came a snazzier look and a more casual atmosphere; the service is still attentive and so friendly, while the food – fresh and delicious as ever.

The Montpellier Public House
141 Belmore Rd,
Randwick, NSW, 2031
Ph: (02) 9399 9660
Web: http://www.montpellierpublichouse.com.au/

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Post tags: Dessert, lamb, pork

We didn’t start the night off very auspiciously either. D and F had met up for a drink somewhere nearby our meeting point, but despite our constant contact as to my whereabouts (I drove up into the city from work) they weren’t there when I arrived! “What is this?! Where are they!!!” I thought rather grumpily. Anxious about getting there on time for parking and securing a good spot at a table, as well as being super hungry (mum always tries to feed me whenever I get grumpy), I grumbled some more when they came rushing to the car apologising for their tardiness.

Of course the grumpiness didn’t last – who could possibly stay in a bad mood when a potentially awesome dinner is nearing? That and I can never stay grouchy for long – it takes waaaaaay too much effort to maintain – besides which, D is just too sweet and F too silly for it to really stick around.

Going down the rabbit hole...

Curiouser and curiouser… said the signs, as we walked up three levels to the dinner. Our sense of excitement grew as we got closer to our destination and whatever our expectations were before tonight were blown out of the water as we rounded the corner and saw the set up.

Inside Wonderland

Alice in Culinary Land was held at Studio Neon and I absolutely adore the decor they came up with. The mish-mash, hodge-podge of different styles of cutlery, crockery and chairs instantly made gave the distinct feeling that we were going to be in for one heck of a dinner.

Table Decorations

Noting the limited light sources, I made a beeline for the candelabra with the most candles. I loved the dribbly bits on the candelabra itself – it just gave off a really cool old-fashioned vibe – though I half-wished that the slim and smooth tapered candles were just as dribbly to go with the look; the tiny roses in teapots just too cute!

Fellow Wonderlandians

It was advised that dressing up is encouraged and remembering fondly of my friend’s hen’s party, where she was Alice and our Wonderland costumes were so awesome that random people asked to take photos with us (biggest compliment one could give a person in a costume really), I excitedly asked F and D if we were going to dress up for this. I was a bit disappointed to hear that they reckon people wouldn’t turn up in costume and so we shouldn’t really bother. Despite this, I thought I’d at least wear the cat’s ears as some sort of (lame) effort. As it turned out, I totally forgot to bring it with me when I rushed out of the house in the morning! So terrible!! I was kicking myself when I realised, but even more so when I saw the rest of the attendees.

They looked so good that even F and D were kicking themselves! Though at least D somewhat vaguely looked like an Alice. Sigh.

Beetroot and Wasabi Macaron

First up was a Beetroot and Wasabi macaron laid out with an “Eat Me” card. F wanted to eat it straight away, while I thought perhaps we were suppose to eat it when the dinner officially starts. F argued that it says “Eat Me”, which clearly is an invitation and should be complied with. Eventually I gave in, as I noticed the other patrons munching on the macaron with curious expressions.

I thought it was a lovely colour even if we couldn’t taste the beetroot, but we could definitely taste the wasabi. It was a delicate balance between sweet and savoury, where the savoury wasabi flavour wasn’t overpowering, but it did heft its weight around and finished off with a roundhouse kick to the nasal passages.

Mmm... Cake

Just as I had spied rows of cake that a kitchen staff was prepping, F nudged me and pointed at the cakes with his chin. Making a face, I made my way over and gazed at the cakes with appreciation.

It did vaguely occur to me that cake wasn’t actually on the menu and while it would be cool to have a reverse-course dinner (i.e. dessert first and finishing off with an entree) it didn’t quite ring true.

Red Capsicum, Smoked Trout, Dill and Cream Fraiche Sourdough "Eat Me" Sandwich

Though we had our suspicions, seeing that the “cake” was really sourdough bread lavishly covered with creme fraiche (and not loads of icing) was just too much fun. As the dining experience is a communal one, we were instructed to slice the loaf so that everyone could have a piece (or two); it worked out that the rest of our dinner would be shared between five. Our wait staff breezily mentioned that the flowers on top are edible before gliding off to serve the rest of table.

The smoked trout was excellent – perfect amount of smokiness and moistness – and was lightly sweetened by the tasty red capsicum. I don’t know how they did it, but there was the perfect amount of cream with each mouthful, where the amount of pickles were just right to balance out the creaminess. I loved how generously thick the layers of sourdough bread was and felt surprisingly (surprising that I was surprised!) full afterwards.

I quietly hoped I would have enough room for the rest of the dinner.

"Drink Me" Hare Tea

As our wait staff cleared the table for the next course, they also served us Hare Tea in gorgeous teapots, which was simply a rabbit consomme. The consomme was quite light yet flavoursome and when drunk with a mouthful of the creamy wild mushrooms or hearty zucchini flower salad, it added a certain delicious depth.

Wild Mushrooms Salad with Zucchini Flower, Dutch Carrot, Watercress, Candied Walnut and Buckwheat

The mushrooms were wonderfully buttery and they were cooked just so; I loved the different varieties they had!

The zucchini flower salad was such a powerful combination of naturally sweet flavours that was balanced with the earthiness of the mushrooms and a light heartiness from the buckwheat. The textures were quite the thing too, from crunchy zucchini flower stems and Dutch carrots to the chewiness of the buckwheat. Having a generous number of zucchini flowers just topped off the dish for F and I, as we both adore zucchini flowers.

D quite liked the flavours of the zucchini flower salad, but she said she found the texture of the buckwheat rather challenging to eat. Interesting! I think she mentioned that she’s not really a big fan of grains, so perhaps that’s the reason why she didn’t warm to the salad as much as F and I did.

Confit Duck, Fennel Panna Cotta, and Goat's Curd and Fresh Peaches with Smoked Ham

While I was waiting for my drink to be poured at the bar, I enthused how much I was loving the dinner and the bartender beamed. “The duck is up next… and it is really so good,” she promised. Excited for this insider’s goss, I hurried back to our spot and relayed the information. We impatiently waited for it to be served and thankfully it wasn’t long til it was brought out.

The generous serve of duck looked just as good as advertised and we couldn’t wait to tear into it. Well, we kind of had to wait, as our waitress explained the dishes and that we should consume the duck with the fennel panna cotta. Fennel panna cotta?! You read right! It’s such a bizarre combination that we found it hard to get our head around it. We tried the dish as advised and oh my goodness… the explosion of flavours that didn’t seem to really go together actually did.

The duck was perfectly seasoned and cooked to utmost fall-off-the-bone perfection, while the panna cotta was incredibly creamy and light. Somehow the two managed to amalgamate into a totally different flavour that’s precariously, yet perfectly, balanced between salty, sweet and creamy. The fennel panna cotta were dusted with dark chocolate crumbs which added a sweet-bitterness into the mix, while the wine-poached beetroot added a lovely zest.

Our side dish was goat’s curd with sweet peaches and smoked ham. This was a lot more challenging to eat, as the curd was quite strong and its sharp tang could get overwhelming. It was tempered, however, with the sweetness of the peaches and a round heartiness from the smoked ham.

Queen of Hearts Chilli Chocolate Cream with Strawberry Sauce

Dinner was wrapped up with the Queen of Hearts chilli chocolate cream dessert layered on top with a wicked strawberry sauce. I’ve been loving the dishes our meal have been served on and this shallow, cauldron-like dish (made from cast iron to boot, no doubt) was no exception.

The chef warned us that it does have a bit of a kick, but it should be manageable. I hesitantly nibbled at a small dollop of chocolate cream and sauce and found the kick actually bearable. Heartened, I scooped up a really big mouthful and … tears sprang up, cheeks flushed and coughing ensued. Holy crap it was SPICY!! Even our newly found Korean friend whom we had been sharing our dinner with struggled to finish the dessert. Ha! F thought I was being a sissy, but no… it was really spicy! I cannot get over just how much punch it had. It was an odd (yet deadly) punch, as in most cases it would be my mouth and lips burning – this spiciness was more like pepper and the heat seemed be localised to the back of the throat.

We spent a good while debating on whether it was the chocolate cream that was spicy or the sauce… or both! We concluded that it was the chocolate that was spicy, where some of the spiciness had infused slightly with the sauce.

“Why are you still eating it!? Stop it!” F scolded (rather futilely I thought), as he saw me eating another mouthful and immediately going for my cool glass of Coke. “It’s so yummy – I can’t help it!” I moaned, feeling slightly tortured. If I was an anime character, I would have definitely looked like this: (T_T)

Alice in Culinary Land

The Alice in Culinary Land pop-up dinner was held during the Crave International Food Festival 2011 and it was an experience that will stay with me for a very long time.

The atmosphere and food were just astounding; the wait staff incredibly friendly and cheerful. At $145 with 4 wine glasses, beer and/or non-alcoholic beverage I thought the dinner really was worth it. The organisers of this dinner set out to create a challenging, yet approachable menu. I thought they did a remarkable job combining unexpected and seemingly unsuited flavours together and for me, it was not only approachable, but definitely most edible and amazingly delicious.

Studio Neon
Level 3, 136 Raglan St
Waterloo, NSW, 2017
Web: http://www.studioneon.com.au/
Ph: 0404 555 098

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Post tags: Dessert, poultry, Seafood

In the end, all it took was the promise of a Sunday Roast to drag me out east to Four In Hand Bar (that and the promise of a lift) for a lazy Sunday dinner. Jokes aside, I’m honestly 100% lost when our winding trip takes us to a stop outside the unassuming Four In Hand restaurant. There’s a moment of consideration as we toss between the Bar and the Restaurant, but for tonight it’s the promise of the Sunday Roast that sends us into the Bar.

Salted Cod & Chorizo Croquettes $12

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Catalina has been on our radar for a terribly long time – we even had booked it once, only to find out later that we had double booked that day and had to cancel the dinner (boo) – so we were pretty excited to finally dine here.

Bread and Butter

While we were enjoying the sourdough bread with lashings of the creamy butter, our first course arrived but one of the dishes seemed… a little different. As our waiter disseminated the duck egg on a bed of fried whitebait, we looked a little puzzled at each other then puzzledly at the dish. We were sure we had ordered something else, but its presence made us doubt otherwise.

F hesitatingly told our waiter that he had ordered the pickled beetroot salad, not the whitebait and our waiter froze with a look of mortification. It turned out that our waiter got another table’s order mixed up with ours and swiftly rectified the situation with profuse apologies.

Citrus and Sugar Cured Kingfish with Horseradish and Pomegranate Dressing

I don’t think I’ve had sugar-cured anything and it was interesting to note the differences from being smoke-cured or salt-cured. The kingfish was quite soft and a little drier than we were used to or had expected, but I found I quite liked the light sweet after-taste.

The sweetness was brought out a little more by the dry sweetness from the pomegranate. While F wasn’t sure of the dryness of the kingfish, but he quite liked the little pops the pomegranate made.

Pickled Baby Beetroot and Goat Cheese Tart with Seeded Mustard, Caramelised Onion and Wild Rocket

When we got the whitebait dish by mistake, F was half-tempted to roll with the mix-up. However, on seeing and tasting the pickled beetroot tart, he was immensely glad that he decided not to.

The tart was definitely the better dish of the two with its super flaky and buttery pastry base, creamy and slightly sharp goat’s cheese, sweet caramelised onions and bright pickled baby beetroot. Despite the butteriness from the pastry and creaminess from the goat’s cheese and walnuts, it was quite light. F thought the pickled beetroot sauce was a thoughtful reiteration of the main components of the dish, where he couldn’t help but mopped it up with the pastry.

Pan Fried Snapper Fillet with Potato and Garlic Mash; Lemon Caper Butter

The snapper was well-cooked and well-seasoned with a pretty nice crispy underside; I quite liked how the accompanied creamy sauce was tempered by sharp tang of dill and capers. We might have been biased, but we loooooved the potato mash – so much so that F thought it may have outshone the fish.

Char-Grilled Riverine Beef Tenderloin, with Olive Potato Gnocchi, sauteed Mushroom and Red Wine Jus

The tenderloin was amazingly juicy, succulent and melt-in-your-mouth tender. I loved the charred cross-hatching – F thought it was pretty standard, but I thought it was the little details that really add up to a great dish. We both however equally adored the soft-pillowed, packed-full-of-flavour gnocchi, where F used them to soaked up all of the tenderloin juices and I unsuccessfully tried to ration them for each bite – it was just too delicious to be sensible! I also really liked the added earthiness and different textures that the mushrooms brought to the dish. Definitely a favourite of the night.

Mixed Salad Leaves, Tomato and Cucumber

The main course came with a lightly dressed salad. I have to be honest, I didn’t eat much of it besides a few cherry tomatoes and cucumber (I seem to have an aversion with eating lettuce in public – I think it makes me feel like a cow haha), but from what I had it was pretty refreshing – a nice break from all that meat.

Classic Lemon Tart with Mascarpone

The lemon tart was wonderfully sharp and tangy, tempered by the thick and creamy mascarpone. For extra zing, I scooped up some of the passionfruit sauce on the plate to go with a mouthful of tart. Yum.

I love my tart base to be light and buttery, so I thought this tart was perfect. F likes his bases thicker and more shortbread-like (which I made a face at when he told me), but he still thought it was a pretty good dish overall.

Honeycomb Parfait with Chocolate Brownie and Caramel

I didn’t realise that the honeycomb parfait would be ice cream, so it made for an utterly awesome surprise when I found out. I loved the dark chocolate brownie as the thin base – its slight bitterness was a nice point of contrast to the creamy honeycomb and sweet caramel on top. But what I thought made this dessert so special was the salted caramel decorating the plate.

I know some friends who abhor salty, sweet things because it’s just “too weird” or “not right”, but I love the strangeness of it all. The salted caramel just seemed to add another dimension to the dish; a complexity to an otherwise pretty simple-looking dessert.

Petit Fours with Coffee and Tea

I can never help but feel slightly disappointed if we only get one thing as the petit fours, but I found out quite quickly that I was fuller than I realised. So I guess it was a good thing we only got one to go with our (my) earl grey tea and piccolo (F’s).

Catalina

Catalina is situated on the busy New South Head Road overlooking the bay, but it being a dark and rainy night, the view was pretty dark and obscured (I did get to see a few seagulls get buffeted by the wind though). However, I can imagine just how glorious it would have looked during a lunch service on a bright sunny day – all that water sparkling from the sunshine would set one at ease I think.

While some dishes were stronger than others, I thought the food was quite excellent overall. The service was top-notch with the wait staff being very attentive without making you feel watched or harried. Catalina is definitely on our must-return-to list.

Catalina
Lyne Park
Rose Bay, NSW, 2029
Ph: (02) 9371 0555
Web: http://catalinarosebay.com.au/

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Post tags: beef, Dessert, Seafood

I guess it doesn’t matter in the end; he managed to surprise me by taking me to Blancharu – a restaurant that’s been on my to-eat list for the longest time.

I know we’re degustation ‘hos, usually choosing the largest degustation on offer, but this time we actually chose the smaller option: 4-course degustation for $75. We worked out that where the 7-course degustation is a set menu, the 4-course gives you a choice to pick an entrée, pasta dish, main and dessert from the a la carte menu – effectively we would be sharing a larger-sized, 8 course dinner. Awesome!

Once that was established, it didn’t take us long to choose our dishes (for once).

King Crab Mille-fuille, Iceberg Lettuce, Tomato, Crispy Potato, Basil Sauce

We thought the dish presentation was most striking, where the mille-fuille was a rather pretty centre piece.

The crab was wonderfully sweet and creamy, accompanied with the refreshing lettuce and tomato, and made for a light, delicious dish.

Aburi Ocean Trout with Red Cabbage, 'Egg Yolk Zuke', Garlic Foam

Our favourite entrée would have to be the ocean trout though; the trout was so fresh, succulent and wonderfully flaky. Combined with the red cabbage, egg yolk zuke and garlic foam, made for a delicately delicious and refreshing dish.

Organic Soba, Carbonara Style with Truffle Aroma Foam

The soba was hectic – for something that looks so deceptively simple, it was richly decadent in its creaminess and surprisingly heavy.

We loved the fact that you could faintly smell the truffle emanating from the dish. I took a second to breathe it all in before digging in.

I also loved the use of soba instead of an actual pasta noodle – the texture and flavour profile is a little different, but it made the dish all the more memorable and interesting.

Squid Ink Risotto with Beer Battered Calamari

I don’t think I’ve had many dishes with squid ink in them and I have to say that its blackness is a bit confronting. I think F and I both were taken aback with the dish and was a bit hesitant in trying it.

All our doubts disappeared though as soon as we tasted it. It was A-MAZ-ING.

The perfectly seasoned risotto was divinely rich and creamy with a sharp cheesy bite. The batter of the beer battered calamari was super light and crispy – almost like tempura – with perfectly cooked calamari within.

It was super simple, but it definitely packed a punch in flavour. F loved it so much that he’s declared it to be the best risotto he’s ever had (and he’s had a lot!).

Fish of the Day: Swordfish with Capsicum, Carrot and Witlof Salad with Passion Fruit and Orange Sauce

The swordfish was cooked quite wonderfully and was perfectly seasoned. While the salad was pretty good, it was the sauce that blew our minds. It was so zesty, refreshing and had so much flavour; the fish tasted sweeter all the more for it.

Wagyu Beef Sirloin with Sauce Chasseur

The wagyu was so utterly tender and succulent – something you’d expect from wagyu and would be terribly disappointed if it were anything else.

The sauce added a nice saltiness to the dish overall.

Lemongrass Panna Cotta, Pineapple, Coconut Sorbet

Now, I don’t really fancy lemongrass too much (I know weird for an Asian) and I try to avoid it as much as I can, but F seeing it in a dessert really piqued his interest. I was a bit dubious to say the least.

But of course I had nothing to worry about – the panna cotta was out of this world. The sharpness of the lemongrass was hinted at but not quite there, so there was this wonderful lemony zest playing off the creaminess of the panna cotta.

The pineapple added a nice sweet-sourness to the dish and the coconut sorbet was absolutely heavenly.

The components of the dessert worked quite well on their own, but once combined it was simply a spoonful of perfection.

Peach Compote, Verbena Jelly, Vanilla Ice Cream

Sadly the peach compote, while quite tasty in its own right, was totally outshone by the panna cotta. Unfortunately, it was outshone so much… we can’t really remember what it tasted like.

Inside Blancharu

Blancharu welcomes you quite whole-heartedly and has a friendly and attentive wait staff. The food is so fresh and while most of the dishes we had were quite delicious, there were a few that really surprised us and made us really fall in love with its creativity and simplicity.

Blancharu
Shop 1, 21 Elizabeth Bay Road,
Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011
Ph: (02) 9360 3555
Web: http://www.blancharu.com.au/

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2011. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, Dessert, Seafood

So it was without any preamble or forewarning that I get a Google Calendar invite to a Christmas Dessert degustation lunch from F. Clicking on the link, I find that it’s really a lunch featuring 13 desserts inspired by Christmas in Provence, southern France. THIRTEEN DESSERTS!!!! The mere thought gave me palpitations and I’m surprised I was coherent enough to accept the invite for him to go ahead and book us in.

When the day finally rolled around, we found that we were one of the first ones to arrive at Tastevin Bistro & Bar. We were promptly ushered to the bar room, where I immediately fell in love with the quirky decor and menu.

Inside Tastevin Bistro and Bar

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Post tags: Dessert, Seafood

I was pleasantly surprised one day to see in the mail a 2-for-1 dinner postcard offer from Restaurant Balzac for F’s and my birthday month. I was a bit puzzled at first at how they knew it was 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 in eager anticipation of this season’s degustation.

Pressed Corned Beef with Parmesan Gougere

The pressed corned beef by itself wasn’t all that exciting, but accompanied by the cute miniature bread roll and the mild sharpness of parmesan gougere it was a surprisingly delicious little morsel.

Chilled Tomato Consomme with Cucumber and Chilli Salsa

The cucumber segments were like little refreshing tidbits working wonderfully with the light and bright tomato consomme that was as deliciously vivid as its colour. Although chilli is not my strong point, the chilli salsa was very subtle, adding a biting sweetness. F and I couldn’t stop exclaiming over how refreshing it tasted and how it conjured up bright, sunny, summery days.

Marinated Kingfish and Ocean Trout with Orange, Fennel and Poached Scampi Tail

The amazingly fresh marinated black kingfish and ocean trout was lightly drizzled in dill olive oil vinaigrette; I thought the orange segments added the perfect amount of clean citrus acid to the dish. I quite enjoyed how this dish continued with the fresh, summery vein.

Pan-Fried Mirror Dory with Baby Heritage Carrots, Toasted Cumin and Dried Orange Skin

The mirror dory was delectably pan-fried and was wonderfully accompanied by the smoothest and creamiest carrot puree I’ve ever had. The baby carrots were sweet and though the texture roasted orange peel was chewy and a bit at odds with the rest of the dish, the flavour undeniably melded delightfully with the rest of the components of the dish.

Risotto of Broad Beans and Marjoram with Braised White Rabbit and Fresh Morels

We were both surprised to see rabbit on the menu again since our last visit some months back, but pleased and excited to see rabbit cooked in a different form: braised in risotto. I thought the broad beans risotto was scrumptious with the morels adding a delicious earthiness to the dish. The rabbit was super tender and the risotto bursting with flavour thanks to the chicken stock and parmesan infused sauce. F funnily enough managed to score the plate with a rabbit bone (as he did last time) despite this he simply loved the dish and the flavours.

Breast and Thigh of Free Range Chicken, Hand Rolled Macaroni, Marron Tails, Corn and Braised Chicken Sauce

The perfectly cooked chicken and the braised chicken sauce was a marvellous combination; the succulently marron tails added a gentle sweetness to the dish. However, I have to admit, I barely noticed the macaroni.

Braised Brisket of Wagyu Beef with Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Bone Marrow Butter and Horseradish

The 300-day grain fed Wagyu was tender and perfectly seasoned with the top of the brisket being scrumptiously caramelised. The sauce packed an oommpf of flavour with the bone marrow butter soothing the extreme flavours down with a lovely creamy flavour and texture. The potato fondant and watercress puree helped to round off what would have been an overly rich dish into a well balanced and delicious plate.

Cheese Platter

Although F and I adore cheese, we cannot for the life of us ever remember the names that rolls off our wait staff’s tongue so effortlessly. What I do remember is that we had a French blue, UK cheddar, French goat cheese, French brie, and a Spanish cow and sheep cheese – all of which were fantastic. The cheeses were accompanied with a pear and quince paste, autumnal fruits (apricot, prune and date) and some fresh slices of granny smith apple.

Pimms and Lemonade

Our palate cleanser was a Pimms and lemonade jelly with cucumber, mint salad and lemon granita.
While the Pimms added a slight dry, bitterness to the jelly, the cool cucumber and mint salad adding a lovely refreshing texture with the lemon components adding a nice touch of acid to the dish.

Pavlova of Mango, Passionfruit and Coconut

F’s not a big fan of meringue, let alone pavlova, whereas I absolutely adore them both. This pavlova was so awesomely crisp on the outside and fluffy, yet chewy on the inside that I can’t help but think that this is what meringue should always be like. Its winning combination of mango and passionfruit topping with a sprinkling of coconut was so divine, it even won F over!

Petit Fours

Tonight’s petit fours is raspberry de fruit and walnut truffle. The raspberry is super sweet and we found we had to at nibble it, but it went ever-so-well with our tea. The truffle was expectantly darkly rich, only to be offset by the subtle creamy nuttiness of the walnut.

Coming back to Restaurant Balzac, we found that we loved the food more than the last time; we were amazed by the combination of textures and flavours each dish had to offer! The service, once again, was wonderful and we couldn’t help but leave with a sense of contentment.

Restaurant Balzac
141 Belmore Road
Randwick, NSW, 2031
Ph: (02) 9399 9660
Web: http://www.restaurantbalzac.com.au/

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Post tags: beef, Dessert, Seafood

Souk in the City

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Post tags: beef, Dessert, lamb

Also, having a bit of a competitive streak, I wanted to see who could make better-looking sushi (despite knowing fairly well who’s the more adept cook).

It took a while to get into gear to book in the class, as there was always something cropping up, but every time I tried, the class was always booked out! Finally, I managed to secure a date… way out in August.

Waiting for class to begin

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Post tags: Seafood

Tramping down the narrow staircase, we found ourselves bidded by the wait staff to take our shoes off and into the plastic bags offered.

Ju Ju is exactly how I remembered: the warm, wooden decor and the pits! I love how the tables are basically sunken and you have to sit on square black cushions.

We poured over the various laminated menus provided, taking quite a while to decide on what to get. We were so spoilt for choice – it was so hard to choose!

Yukke - Fresh Raw Beef and Egg Yolk with Special Ginger Sauce ($9.80)

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Post tags: beef, Seafood

Coming from the west, we took Parramatta Road and then Anzac Parade. Let me tell you, that’s not the best way to get to Centennial Park on a Saturday afternoon. We most probably got stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes, where poor Howie was waiting for us, at Taste, all that time.

Dish 1

Restaurant Balzac - Crispy Wagyu Beef with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Foam (10 Crowns)

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Post tags: beef, Dessert, pork, Seafood

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

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Post tags: Dessert, favourites, pork, Seafood

With a such a range of burgers to choose from, I found it difficult to choose the first time we went. I wished that we could have rallied more (i.e. any) of our friends to join us just so I could taste more than just two burgers. Sigh, if wishes were burgers and stomach space.(...)
Read the rest of Moo Gourmet Burgers, Coogee (1,574 words)

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Post tags: beef, favourites, pork, vegetarian

I heard some news on the grapevine that the Pastry Chef of Pier would be leaving soon, and that her creations are something that had to be tasted before she closes up her chapter at Pier. This news was also confirmed in this months Gourmet Traveler magazine. After having dinner at Sake Restaurant & Bar and not being too excited by the options on the dessert menu, we made a quick phone call to Pier to see if they had room for four people for dessert. Since it was a Monday night I didn’t expect any resistance, thankfully the drive to Pier was only 15 minutes away.

This is my first time at Pier, a restaurant which has such high regard and pedigree. It’s funny how my first visit here is for their dessert only, I’ll have to come back for a proper meal one day. But tonight, my focus is on the creations of Katrina Kanetani. We ordered one of everything on the menu, this was in early November so the menu might have changed by the time you read this post.

Soufflé $26

Sadly, soufflé does not get me excited. I don’t mean this one at Pier specifically, but soufflé in general. I’m not a soufflé expert, but this Pier one has what I think are facets of a good soufflé. It’s slightly gooey in the centre with a crispy top and exterior. Each bite is like biting into fairy floss, a melt in the mouth experience.

Migas : crumbs – grains – sauternes custard – mango egg - passionfruit ice cream $25

Ok, so this does look like egg yolk in a cup but it is much more than this. To put it bluntly, it’s one of the most creative and best tasting desserts I’ve had all year. As I’ve mentioned before in earlier posts, it’s got all the elements of a perfect dessert. It has crunchy textures in the form of crumbs and grains, smoothness and creamyness with the custard, the cooling effect of the passionfruit ice cream and then brought together with a mango ‘egg’.

I highly recommend visiting Pier just to have this dessert, just incase it is removed from the menu once the current Pastry Chef leaves.

Spring : pineapple & kiwifruit sorbet – honeydew – vanilla cannoli - mint & white chocolate snow $28

This dessert certainly tastes like spring, with its vibrant colours and refreshing seasonal ingredients. The crunch of the vanilla cannoli was the pick of the dessert dish, contrasting with the freshness and coolness of the fruits. It looks beautiful on the plate, reminds me of the pretty desserts I’ve had at Sepia and Jaan Par Andre (Singapore).

Blueberry Cheesecake - Ice Cream goats curd powder – ash – chestnut crumble - white chocolate yoghurt $27

Don’t judge a book by its cover, this tastes better than it looks. It’s best described as a deconstructed cheesecake. There are a million things occurring all at once with this dish, each scoop with the spoon uncovers a different texture or ingredient. The goats curd powder adds an interesting kick, not something I expect in a dessert but it works so well.

Chocolate and Tangelo salty – sour – bitter – sweet $28

I don’t recall much of this dish, as by the time it made it to me parts of it were all chopped and mixed up. I loved how the layers of chocolate were raised though.

At $28 a pop, these desserts are on the high-end of what I usually pay. In saying that, the desserts are really something special and it’s worth coming here just for them if you can’t fit in a full meal at Pier. With Katrina leaving soon, her replacement has some big shoes to fill.

I forgot to mention I was in the lovely company of lemonpi , Mitch and Yosunita for a late night dessert run, it seems like the dessert got the thumbs up from them as well.

Pier

594 New South Head Rd
Rose Bay NSW 2029
Phone (02) 9327 6561
w : http://www.pierrestaurant.com.au

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For the past few years, as October approaches, details for the food festival are advertised. I read through each event intensely and even jot down the ones I’d love to go to. Then it occurs to me that they are on the weekdays, and being interstate during the week, I’m never able to attend. However, this year was different; I was back in Sydney for October! Rejoice!
This year, Restaurant Balzac was once again awarded TWO hats for the 2010 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Awards. I went to Restaurant Balzac for my birthday three years ago and wanted to reminisce back to that night where I had some of the tastiest bread ever: warm, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Tonight, I was back for the ever-so-long awaited Hats off dinner for the Sydney International Food Festival.

Beach-themed table setting

Getting ready to dine!

The theme for tonight’s HATS OFF dinner was called “From the bottom of The Deep Blue Sea”

Theme for tonight's dinner

Me, (being THE Pescatarian of the EST team, or the “Pest” as they like to call me), this 10-course hats off dinner was perfect as the degustation involved (basically) all seafood dishes. What was more exciting was the theme and inspiration behind each dish. Each course was inspired from some country on each continent. Have a go and guess the country/cuisine from where each dish is inspired from…!

So here goes with the “beachy-themed” dinner…

Pacific Oyster with Vietnamese Dressing

Occasionally, I have that *small* craving for oysters (or perhaps its the attraction to this “aphrodisiac”…) and this starter was such a teaser! The fresh and sweetness of the oyster complimented very well together with the sweet/savoury dressing. It was a nice, light starter to entice our palate for the other 9 dishes to come.

Soon after, the waitress arrived with a plate of complimentary bread. MMM! This is what I returned for!

The bread was just how I remembered from three years before: warm. crunchy. warm on the inside. The butter spread so well on the bread. nomnomnom!

Salt Cod Manresa-style

The second meal of the night. The bland flavours of the beans mixed with the rather salty “Salt Cod” attempted to balance the salty flavour, but I felt it was still a little too salty still. However, when washed down with a sip of wine (supposedly for the next course), it was a lot easier and more pleasure to consume.

Boston Bay Clam Chowder

(matched with nv Jed Wines Sparkling Blanc de Blanc – Argentina)
The first time I had chowder was in San Francisco (home of the chowder) many years ago. Cream-enriched, flavoursome, and warming, tonight’s chowder was just like the first time. The bits of clam was rather fun to find and eat! It had a nice strong seafood flavour, mixed together with a hint of ham.
The matching wine came from Argentina. I was informed that West Australian wine merchants, Jed Wines travelled to Argentina just to produce this wine. This was a favourite for everyone that night; sweet, light and complimented well with the freshness of the snapper.

Ceviche of Line Caught Pink Snapper

(matched with 2008 Tomich Hill Riesling – Adelaide Hills, S.A.)
Ceviche is a peruvian-style dish: citrus-marinade raw seafood. Tonight’s fish was the Pink Snapper. The snapper, being a light-flavoured fish, was enhanced by the tomato-ey citrus dressing. Very fresh & sweet!
The lightly flavoured Riesling matched well with the citrus-y dish.

Linguini of Spanner Crab and Asparagus

(with matching wine 2007 Torbreck ‘Woodcutters’ Semillon – Barossa Valley, S.A.)
“This tastes just like noodles! My favourite”, exclaimed my dad. *shakes head*. The handmade linguini did have a noodley texture but it was still pasta. The lemon-flavoured sauce for this dish was sweet and made the dish simple, yet interesting. This was my dad’s favourite that night.

Poppadums with mint yoghurt

Curry of Prawns and Basil with Poppadums

(with matching 2007 Domaine Coteau de la Biche – Vouvray, France)
The yellow curry itself was light and sweet… although, I felt that if the prawns were cooked in the curry itself so it could soak up the curry, the prawn would have tasted fantastic. There was only 1 small poppadum each to dip with the mint yoghurt. If only we were given more to dip with the curry, or even consumed together with some sort of legume. This dish was just missing this factor, otherwise this may have been my favourite.

'Surf n turf', Lobster and Wagyu

(with matching wine 2007 Pommier ‘Bourgogne’ Pinot Noir – Burgundy, France)
A classic Australia dish. Obviously, the “surf” was the lobster and the “turf” was the wagyu. This was the only meat dish of the night and I was highly disappointed when informed that the sauce had bits of truffle. As you all may know, I’m a HUGE fan of truffle; the smokey/burnt flavour is my favourite due to its uniqueness and it fascinating taste. My brother and dad inform me the wagyu was not very fatty which perhaps made the beef a little tough to slice, however, it was perfectly cooked.

The brother slowly and carefully enjoying his wagyu...

By this time, I was pretty full, but there was still dessert to come…

Coconut Caviar with Mango

I have and will always love sago. The mango sago drink readily available in Hong Kong @ Hui Lau Shan makes me love sago even more. The use of the sago in this dish was very similar to “caviar”. My brother was merely disappointed when he realised it was not REAL caviar. At first, I thought it may have been caviar and I wondered how they could work caviar in together with mango (a sweet taste). This was a nice refreshing re-dessert to ready the palate for dessert.

Sand, Cones and Umbrellas

(with matching wine 2008 Josef Botrytis Rieling – Tamar Valley, TAS)
I thought this was the most creative dish for the night. The “sand” was crushed shortbread and sugar, the “person” under the umbrella was a handmade waffle with a raspberry swirl ice cream. This dish was so fun to eat! Dipping the cone in the sand… The waffle was crunchy and not too sweet to be eaten together with the icecream, and the sand was not too sweet to be dipped in. MY favourite of the night!
The matching wine was very good as well. It was not too sweet, and very easy to drink. This was my favourite wine of the night too as it went so well with the dessert together.

Tea with salted caramel chocolate seashells

The night ended with a pot of green tea, enjoyed together with salted-caramel chocolate seashells. The sweetness of the caramel was downplayed by the salt. I didn’t think too much of salted caramel, but the seashell had a unique taste. I found this very interesting to eat.

The service was adequently attentive and there was a nice (not-too-long-not-too-quick) break between each meal. This allowed for better digestion of each dish and I quite liked this. I didn’t leave the restaurant feeling like passing out from food coma, so the quantity was perfect for everyone that night. With a price tag of $160pp (or $185pp with the matching wines), I would have expected better quality ingredients, but the creativeness to the theme of the menu made up for this. I enjoy the french/english-style of the food at Restaurant Balzac, but next time, I’ll go for the a la carte.

Restaurant Balzac
141 Belmore Road,
Randwick NSW, 2031
Tel: (02) 9399 9660
Fax: (02) 9399 6929
Web: http://www.restaurantbalzac.com.au/

Open…
Tues to Sat – from 6pm
Friday Lunch only – 12pm to 3pm
Last Sunday of every Month – from 6.30pm (Seasonal Degustation only)

© teresa for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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If I was asked to name a suburb starting with B, Banksmeadow probably would be the last one I would think of. To many, it is also an unlikely destination for a very popular bakery and cafè which knows a thing or two about making good bread. The queues don’t lie though, however when I got to Brasserie Bread at 8am on a Saturday morning with my partner there was only one other person sipping away at her coffee while reading the paper. Fast forward 30 minutes at 8.30am and the place is packed to the rafters and you would be hard pressed to find a spare seat in the cafè if you arrived any later.

On first look, Brasserie Bread attracts a wide demographic. I see new Mum’s and Dad’s sitting down with a coffee and reading the paper, with pram on the side with their new love and joy. I also see middle aged couples still dressed in their gym gear, buying freshly baked bread for a breakfast back at home while dodging kids which are running into the cafè. Next to our table is an elderly couple wondering what I am doing with a big camera at this time of morning taking photos of my food, life as a food blogger is tough. It seems Brasserie Bread appeals to the masses, they make bread cool again.

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While there have been tragic casualties of the swine flu around the world, my favourite animal the piggy should be given a break. Please take a moment with me while we do the hokey porkey in celebration of this fantastic piece of meat.

Image via reddit

Jokes aside, back to the post.

I’ll be honest and admit that I had not heard of what Yuletide was until this evening. I’m not sure where I failed in primary school and missed this piece of knowledge. Anyway, thanks to the wonderful Mel from Fooderati and Stewart from Whiteworks, a handful of bloggers had the opportunity to meet a few people in the Food industry as well as try the delights served by Darren Templeman at Restaurant Atelier, Glebe. Darren definately know’s a thing or two about pork and if his ratings on eatability are any indication he is pretty handy at everything else as well. 

Matching wines of the night were courtesy of Pigs Peake Winery from Pokolbin, Hunter Valley. We had a good chat with them and it turns out that Pigs Peake don’t even distribute to bottle shops, they are busy enough with people turning up to their wineyards in the Hunter Vallley and supplying to big time restaurants such as Rockpool. They are also consistently exporting overseas, it looks like they are making enough coin even without mass advertising and selling out to bottleshops. Top effort guys, I’ll be sure to make a visit the next time I’m in the Hunter Valley.

Moisture infused pork

Photo by Australian Pork

With the winter months coming up, we all love a good roast pork or even a roast of anything for that matter. The theme of the night was indeed pork, moisture infused pork . It’s not like anything I have tasted as it is infused with water and salt as part of an infusion process. The result is a soft and tender pork while retaining it’s pork’ish flavour and not being dried out too easily which can happen with normal pork. It is still cooked as per normal pork but with these added benefits.

Look for the mosture infused pork label at your local butcher or contact Australian Pork for a list of distributers. I managed to get myself a rack of moisture infused pork, I can’t wait to make something with it and I’ll be sure to post it onto the blog whether it works out or not.

The Food

Entree

From left : Honey glazed pork hock with roasted apples, Grilled pickled loin of pork with celeriac remoulade, Pulled Pork Neck salad with Crystal Bay Prawns

First up is this goregeously plated entree of pork served in three ways. From the top left was the honey glazed pork. A generous chunk of pork was caramalised and cut through perfectly with the knife. With a piece of pork this thick, you would normally expect it to be quite tough. In the middle is the grilled pickle loin of pork paired with celeriac remoulade and as you can see, was absolutely tender.  On the right is pulled pork neck in the form of a salad. The pork neck is tender and full of flavour and usually has some decent fat content which makes it tastier than the normal pork chop. It is served a crystal bay prawn which is grilled and topped with coriander. 

Main

Boned Shoulder of pork roasted with a Winter Herb Cure on Creamed Parsnip and Buttered Kale with Pot Roasted Murray Valley Moisture infused pork rack with broad beans, pomme cocotte & pine forest mushrooms

Throughout the evening, a few bloggers were anticipating that we would atleast have some pork belly in our meal. I know beggars can’t be choosers, but pork belly is one of my favourite cuts of eat regardless of how bad it is for me. I didn’t get my pork belly, but the shoulder of pork was just as good. Once again, the pork was soft and moist and went well (anyone else sick of this line ?) with the creamed parsnip and buttered kale. On the right was a larger than expected piece of moisture infused pork which is cooked with a little bit of pink in the middle. It is simply served with a side of simple vegetables but the real show stopper was the small mashed potato balls (pommo cocotte). They just balanced so well with everything else on the plate.

Dessert

Poached winter fruits with Christmas pudding ice cream

This dessert not only looked like Christmas, but it smelt like it. The fruits were poached and paired up well with the spices in the Christmas pudding ice cream. It wasn’t a show stopper dessert by any means, but it a light and perfect way to finish off our pork inspired Yuletide meal as it wasn’t too heavy nor too sweet.

More pork to come

As we leave we are given a showbag which took me as a surprise. What surprised me more was a 1.2kg rack of moisture infused pork. The challenge was given out to blogger attendees to come up with a dish of their own with this pork. I’m yet to decide what to do with it but I can’t wait to get started as well as check out what everyone has planned.

After trying moisture infused pork for the first time, I’m definately a fan. I’m not sure how much it costs per kg, but if it’s decently priced then I might by it more often as it definately tastes alot better than normal pork chops. In saying that, nothing still beats a good crispy skin pork belly which is roasted with plenty of heat clogging crackle.

Restaurant Atelier

22 Glebe Point Road 
Glebe NSW 2037
Ph: (02) 9566 2112
Web : http://restaurantatelier.com.au

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Anyone else find it hard to find a location which has a decent bar for pre-drinks but also a decent restaurant close by ? When organising a Friday night out, we often have to compromise either the bar or the restaurant as some places are just too far away from each other in the City. Anyway this problem has partially been solved if your in the Darlinghurst area as Rambutan seems to be able to hit two birds with one stone with a funky and modern cocktail bar downstairs coupled with unique modern Thai food. 

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As part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, Zensation in Surry Hills is holding a number of Chinese High Tea sessions, an enjoyable 2 hours which serves nicely as an introduction to a few of the different Asian varieties of tea. Starting with a ruby red Hibiscus Flower tea our Host (and store owner) Raymond Leung gave us a brief overview of the teas to be served and introduced his staff members (two of whom are incidentally  his daughters).  His passion for teas is clear in his voice and the store clearly reflects his background in interior design with wonderfully whimsical lanterns strewn about the store, fabrics and colours bringing the small store to life.

A total of 6 teas were served all with accompanying side dishes, the staff were kept busy moving around the store for the relatively large group of approximately 20 people. As each tea was served to the tables Raymond would relate a little about each tea and explain the history behind each. One of the staff members demonstrating was a qualified Tea Ceremony master and it was truly mesmerising watching her technique as she prepared each tea without hesitation, her hands moving with a swift precise motion.

I find that trying to describe the taste of tea to people is almost impossible for me. I can’t seem to describe the taste of tea as clear and defined with a musky scent without feeling a bit of a twat in the process! One of the things I love about tea is that it isn’t all about the taste, it’s the atmosphere it creates for me while I’m sipping at one of my favourite brews and that was very much what this High Tea experience tries to create for you.

Hibiscus Flower Tea

White Peony served with Assorted Chinese Almond Cakes

Eating these Almond cakes was a blast from the past! I haven’t eaten them for years and the first bite took me back to being a kid and prying open the tin box to get at these crumbly almond cookies. The almost drying sensation of the cakes made it a great match for the mild white tea.

Zensation Jade served with Edamame

Despite the Japanese snack, this particular green tea originated from the North West region of China.

Milky Oolong served with Custard Egg Tart

My favourite tea of the day! Following a rather elaborate preparation the tea is then poured into the taller cup (male cup). The round cup is then placed on top and the entire set up flipped over to be drunk out of the smaller cup. The tall cup retained a beautiful floral scent and the resulting tea was amazingly fragrant with a strong enough flavour to compliment the egg tart.

Pu-Erh served with Steamed Dim Sum

The Pu-Erh tea is fermented for a number of years and is stored in cake form. The resulting tea was a deeply dark brown colour with an almost earthy taste. The leaves which result from the cake can be steeped up to 10 times without any loss in flavour.

Bouquet Tea served with Rice Dumpling

Our final tea was a beauty! Also known as a blossoming tea, a tightly stitched together flower with needles of tea is placed in the pot and slowly unfolds as the heat starts to penetrate. Despite its visual appeal it was probably the weakest tea of the lot and apart from the sheer fun of watching it unfold found it rather forgettable.

As an overall introduction to asian teas I found the session a lot of fun. I’ve tried a lot of these varieties of teas before but getting a quick history behind the teas as well as just relaxing in the rather eclectic looking shop made the two hours almost fly by as I simply chatted to L as we enjoyed our tea. For people interested in something a little more in dept, Zensation are looking into starting a Chinese Tea Appreciation Course! Details are hopefully coming soon. 

Zensation are running the Chinese Tea Appreciation courses as part of the Sydney Chinese New Year festivities. Bookings are essential and sessions are $30 per person and include a 20% voucher at the end.

Zensation
656 Bourke St
Redfern, NSW, 2016
Ph: (02) 9319 2788

Chinese High Tea Details

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Rise is situated on the side of a semi-steep hill and fakes you out with a “door” at the front of the restaurant. My friend, Sam, had been there before and so told me to keep walking to an unassuming closed door (topped with a little blue, curved awning). The interior’s quite nicely decorated, if a little awkwardly laid out I thought.

Tama no Hikari Semi-Frozen sake (Kyoto, Japan)

Sam nursed this for about a quarter through our degustation, by which it got a rather slushy near the end. I tried it, but it tasted rather unpleasant (which I put down to me not liking sake in the first place).

Duck confit, beans and tofu with Hoisin sauce

The duck was soft and tasty; tofu silky and smooth. I liked how all the ingredients went well together – a delicious tiny morsel! Though this being my first degustation, I wasn’t quite ready to expect how small our first dish was and it really left me wanting more subtantial dishes.

Tom yum style soup with prawn tortellini

My only gripe about this dish was that the prawn in the tortellini was, I think, prawn paste *gasp* hahah. Otherwise it was okay; slightly spicy, but not so much so (Sam was rather disappointed about this aspect of the dish). They also added a few sago balls too, which we discovered at the bottom of the bowl. Lightly flavoured with cute semi-spherical cucumbers.

Oyster, Kingfish and Ocean Trout Sashimi

Not a big fan of bivalves, so not surprising that I didn’t like the oyster (Sam really liked it though). The kingfish was great with the peppery mustard sauce and ocean trout was delish with or without the soy sauce and wasabi. We got two slices of each fish, which left me wishing there was more ocean trout.

Spicy tuna tartare in wonton cup, Soft shell crab sushi roll, Steamed baby octopus with ume plum vinaigrette

The spicy tuna wasn’t kidding that it was spicy; fortunately it was only a small piece, otherwise I think I might have been in trouble. I wasn’t too sure whether the wonton cup was suppose to be crunchy or not, but it seemed a bit… stale. Hmm. The baby octopus was quite nice – a light and refreshing spoonful of cephalopod – while Sam thought it was a bit rubbery. We both agreed though that the soft sheel crab sushi roll was the best, even though it harboured pickled ginger slivers. To be honest, the ginger made the crab nicer than if we had it without. It was a bit difficult to eat (awkward to place into the mouth), but after we had it, we wished there was more of it.

Grilled scallop & soba buckwheat noodle salad

I think this dish was missing something, but I can’t seem to put my finger on it. The scallop was rather nice, but seeing that I have a weakness for scallop I’m not sure if that counts.

Kingfish tempura, tartare in cucumber cup & Agro-Dolce sauce

This dish was really good: the tartare with the cucumber and tempura was delicious, and the agro-dolce sauce went well with the vegetables (I couldn’t help but notice that they like string beans so much!). The cucumber cup, Sam realised, was the left over bit from the cucumber ball in the tom yum soup! Nice.

Almond jelly, fresh mango & Amaretto milk granita

This was definitely the highlight of the degustation. The dessert was almost perfect (I only say “almost” because I wanted more of it… lots and lots of it… I’m such a glutton =_=). I’m kind of stuck for what else to say besides ranting about the subtle sweetness, the delectable milky coldness of the granita, and surprise cranberry (Sam thinks) hidden under all that diced mango pieces.

While the presentation of each dish was impeccable, there were only a couple of dishes that really stood out for me and made me crave for more.

We went during the special degustation, where it was 30% off (so $42, though only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays) and subsequently had slightly less number of dishes than the normal degustation that Howie went to (though that was no surprise there).

Rise
23 Craigend Street
Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
Ph: (02) 9357-1755
Web: www.riserestaurant.com.au

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2008. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Darlinghurst, Degustation, fusion, poultry, Seafood, soba, tofu