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

Anywho, so this year last year’s theme was Mexican and oh boy, were there a lot of dodgy looking moustaches around (fake and real). Anticipating a hot summer (*snorts*), we bought a slightly dodgy-looking above-ground pool and so we had a Mexican Pool Party! We of course had to have Mexican food (albeit made with an Asian spin on it) and lots of booze to go with. Whoo!

Guacamole, Salsa, Pulled Pork... makes Tacos!!

First up were tacos. Unfortunately, the guacamole and salsa were made first and being the pigs we are, we “accidentally” ate most of it before the rest of the taco bits were done. Howie made a commendable attempt in curbing our enthusiasm for the guacamole and salsa, but we could not be denied – they were just too good! Things quickly went downhill when Minh arrived with some Doritos. Good thing there were heaps of the utterly amazing pulled pork and had lots to spare despite our constant nibbling.(...)
Read the rest of Mexican Pool Party (1,000 words)

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Alternative Marathon Long Lunch Setup

We arrived to a sadly empty (and rather wet) Llankelly Place, where a super long table would have been set up. I could imagine how awesome if would have looked had the weather been what it was during the week: gloriously sunny. It was lucky, then, that the nearby building management was gracious enough to allow the Marathon Long Lunch to be set up on the premises instead.

The bar that would eventually serve pre-lunch drinks and a quintet from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra were ensconced in a spare space. I thought it was kind of cool to see this elegant and polished quintet playing delicate classical music in a rough and raw concrete room with exposed fixtures; definitely something you don’t get to see every day.

Marathon Long Lunch Undercover

It wasn’t what was originally envisioned, with the tables organised into rows in the available free space instead of the one long communal table, but managing to pull off such a complicated setup, logistics and making it still look pretty in such a short time was really amazing; both F and I were really impressed.

Good Wine, Music and Great Company

Things really kicked off when more and more people started to arrive (or rather run in from the rain); bubbly was poured, caprioskas were made and still more people turned up and packed into what seemed like a rather large room, but seemed to have shrunk over a short period of time.

The torrential rain didn’t seem to dampen the buoyant spirit of the lunch attendees and were further enhanced by the feel-good, toe-tapping music from a siren (one Nicolette Kenny accompanied by her guitarist) and free-flowing wine.

It wasn’t long until I spied the canapés made by Barrio Chino arriving in waves.

Corn and Avocado Tostados

The first we managed to snag was the corn and avocado tostado; I loved the tumultuous-seeming flavours of creaminess, spiciness and saltiness atop of crunchy goodness.

Tuna Sashimi Tostados

My favourite of the two canapés had to be the tuna sashimi tostados though. The tuna was incredibly fresh and perfectly balanced with the dollop of creamy avocado (hidden underneath like a surprise) and the salty crunchiness of the corn chip.

LL San Choy Bau of Chicken, Crispy Tofu and Pork Belly Bun

“Do you want to take photos of the entrée being prepared?” Heath Felton, the director of Felton & Co, asked. My eyes lit up and enthused an affirmative. We were taken into the narrow and twisty passageways of the nearby LL Wine and Dine, ending up with what seemed like Aladdin’s Cave. F and I muttered an awed “whoa” at the sheer number of plates to be done and I had to shake myself from a dazed stupor before getting down to business.

The LL San Choy Bau of Chicken had a spicy lime dressing and topped with pine nuts. For me, san choy bau has always been made with duck, so I thought chicken was an interesting choice. The spicy lime dressing was thankfully not really all that spicy (more like a gentle nudge than anything else), which I thought went really well with the chicken. The nuttiness from the pine nuts softened the sharp zesty flavour, while the crisp lettuce leaf added a refreshing element and more crunchy texture to the san choy bau.

The crispy tofu were served with black sesame and tahini sauce, finished with seaweed and nanami togarashi seasoning. When I saw the crispy tofu on the menu I realised I had mistakenly thought it as the Asian fried tofu. It looked pretty similar, if not the same, at a cursory glance, but on closer inspection there are a couple of differences and on eating it, the differences were unmistakeable. The tofu was super crispy on the outside and incredibly soft, silky on the inside – kind of like the perfect potato wedge actually. The black sesame and tahini sauce added a rich depth to the tofu, while the chilli powder provided a nice little kick that even I can handle.

The pork belly bun was cooked in Hakka Granny’s traditional way – I’m not sure what that entailed, but the pork belly was deliciously succulent and perfectly seasoned sandwiched in a super soft and fluffy bun.

Seared Snapper with Pickled Red Peppers, Crispy Scallop and Snow Crab and Lobster Cannelloni

The delectable main course of seared snapper was presented by Felton & Co. I thought the pickled red peppers brought out the sweetness of succulent and perfectly seasoned fish and the mushrooms added a light heartiness. The well-cooked, roe-topped scallop sitting on a bed of creamy cauliflower puree added another sweet dimension to the dish and we adored the delicately sweet and juicy snow crab and lobster cannelloni, which I think was cunningly wrapped in fennel.

Fun and Silliness Ensues

As the afternoon progressed, the mood was infectiously lively and merry with impromptu dancing and turning tabletop decorations into stylised race-day “hats”.

Anne Crawford, founder and director of Can Too, spoke a little about her organisation, its aims and the wonderful people who’s been involved with their programs.

I learnt earlier in the day that Can Too holds coaching / training marathon programs for people who wants to participate in events like the Blackmores Sydney Marathon to raise money for charity, but didn’t think they would be able to complete such a daunting challenge. Mimi, a 60-odd year old lady, is one such person who participated in Can Too’s 14-week marathon program and she not only finished the marathon, but has been considering the swim marathon program as well – despite (she admitted) being a weak swimmer. Man, I hope that I would be half as active as she is when I’m her age!

Can Too has a partnership with the Cure Cancer Foundation and in addition to the programs, the money Can Too raises goes to supporting breakthrough cancer research.

White Chocolate Sphere, Mandarin Jelly and Dark Chocolate Crumbs

Dessert was sponsored by Bentley Restaurant and Bar; we had dined at Bentley before and if the amazing desserts we had then were anything to go by, the dessert dish should prove to be quite something.

It was quite something alright – quite sensational! I adored how the white chocolate “sphere” looked more like a be-speckled egg and that the eggs looked like it was sitting on a bed of “dirt” made from dark chocolate crumbs.

A Most Satisfying Crack

I wondered where the mandarin jelly was hiding when I saw Mimi crack open one of her eggs and a yellow liquid came rushing out. Oh my goodness! So that’s where they were hiding it! Very sneaky… The sweet-sour “jelly” cut through the sweetness of the white chocolate while helping the dark chocolate crumbs from becoming a bit too dry.

F and I though it was a pretty epic dessert, though considering that it was done by Bentley we weren’t too surprised.

Melomakarona and Macchiato

To finish things off, we had melomakarona – a scrumptiously dense and moist biscuit drenched in honey and topped with chopped almonds – with a little cup of well-brewed macchiato provided by Ithaka Kafenion.

Raffle Prizes... and Heath!

Raffle tickets were steadily being sold during the lunch and some of the prizes (all donated) included any pair of running shoes of your choice from The Running Co., a fully laden hamper worth $250, a massage treatment from Body Conscience and loads of $5 vouchers from the British Lolly Shop.

Score!

We were asked to look underneath our chairs. Not being told what to look for, I patted underneath feeling nothing out of the ordinary and looked over to F to see if he had found anything. He stilled and there was a “rrrrck!” as he pulled something off the chair. Turns out that he was one of the winners of a massive Whitman’s Sampler chocolate box.

It’s crazy how big the box is – it’s been a couple of weeks since this event and we’re still making our way through it!

Turned Out Quite Nicely After All

We learnt that The Cure Cancer Marathon Long Lunch is in celebration of the Sydney Marathon and is in its second year running with twice as many people attending than the first; it is likely to double in size again next year.

The Marathon Long Lunch is supported by Cure Cancer Australia and Can Too and organised by catering company Felton & Co; everything was sponsored or donated – from the floral arrangements by Sticks and Wicks, the 3-course lunch complete with canapés and after lunch treats to the raffle prizes (which I thought was pretty sweet and cool of them).

Although the day had crazy torrential rains, the lunch was so full of positive vibe and energy – a real sense of community – that we forgot how horrible the weather was (until it started to rain sideways for a bit) and had such a ball. The mood was matched with delicious food that impressed everyone – a great indication of that was the majority of the plates going back into the kitchen empty.

The lunch really surprised us with its infectious vivacious atmosphere and great food that we are already looking forward to next year’s lunch – rain, hail or shine!

Tickets to the lunch were $130 (full price), $110 (for half marathon runners) and $98 (for full marathon runners).

Eatshowandtell attended The Cure Cancer Marathon Long Lunch as a guest of Metta Media and Felton & Co.

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Post tags: Dessert, poultry, Seafood

Every time I told anyone of the length of the stopovers, they’d pull a face, but as we found out, layovers just fly by when you’re sufficiently distracted. And with Singapore, there’s plenty to distract you with for a good handful of hours (if you’re willing of course).

Merlion and Monobrow Building

Naturally, we had to visit the Merlion (it being R’s first trip to Singapore and all), which was actually quite convenient as the restaurant we were about to have dinner at was nearby.

I had enlisted the help of the Ninja himself and he graciously scared up a table for us – during Chinese New Year nonetheless! (Yes, it’s been a while since then, I do apologise). We arrived a tad early for our booking, but the staff bade us to sit down anyway. Bright-eyed and brimming with badly concealed excitement, we ordered the famous Singaporean Chilli Crab.

Unfortunately for us, what we didn’t count on was the scarcity of crab due to Chinese New Year… unless of course we were willing to eat Alaskan Snow Crab at $180 per kg. As much as we love crab, it was just a bit too much to chew. I don’t know what we would have ordered instead had Ninja not been there with his quick wits, but sure as all heck it wouldn’t have been the delicious dinner we had!

Crispy Cereal Crayfish and Salty Fish Fried Rice

Last time I was in Singapore, I had crispy cereal prawns and I remembered them to be too perfect for words. In switching it up, Ninja had ordered Crispy Cereal Crayfish and it was better than what I had remembered. The cereal oats added a crispness to the juicy and succulent crayfish, as well as a well-balanced sweetness. Though we did find out the hard way that if you eat too many oats by itself, it can get to you a bit.

The Salty Fish Fried Rice would have been a dish we wouldn’t have chosen, but Ninja knowing his stuff, chose the perfect rice dish as a counterpoint to the sweetness of the crayfish dish, as well as the richness of the Deep Fried Butter Prawns.

Deep Fried Butter Prawns

R and I have never had this dish before and just thinking about it now makes me wish I had a plate of it. For something that sounds like a heart-attack-on-a-plate (and most probably was), the deep fried butter prawns didn’t taste like it: you know… the overtly greasy feel, the quickening of the heart. The prawns were nothing like that.

They were still extraordinarily juicy with an utterly crispy batter and the stringy butter (what I originally thought were egg for some reason) tasted quite creamy. It is definitely a dish I would order again.

Sadly that was all we could fit in and while Ninja was off on an assignation during our second stopover, R and I determinedly came back to try their Singaporean Chilli Crab.

We got there super early (we had skipped a couple of destinations we had planned) and ended up reading our Kindles at one of the outside tables for about an hour, as they got ready for service.

While we were trying to decide what else to order (besides the Chilli Crab), our “waitress” came over to take our order. I say “waitress” because she seemed more like a “madam” than anything else.

Seeing that there were only two of us and what we were going to order, she quickly advised, in a matronly bossy way, that was we should get the banquet for two at SGD$139: “best price. 100%. Guaranteed.” With such an endorsement, we could not say no.

Salad Lobster

Our reactions to the salad lobster was a bit mixed. My eyes lit up when I saw the presentation, while R made a slightly horrified face. I asked her if everything was okay and she spun the dish around so I could see what she had seen: I made a face. It looked a bit like an alien and we both got a bit creeped out (if somehow still being amused by it).

We weren’t sure what the sauce was, but it was light and creamy with a very slight tang. It paired so well with the succulent lobster meat and diced apples. We were a bit sorry to see it all go, but we were already looking forward to the crab dish that we’ve been waiting 2 weeks for. And now, we were two dishes closer…

Garlic Fried Vegetable and Shark Fin Soup with Conpoy and Scallop

R and I both love our veggies, so we were glad to have some greens on the menu and I think it’s pretty telling when a restaurant excels at making a simple dish taste so divine.

Although R adores most seafood, she actually doesn’t like shark fin soup, citing that it tastes a bit too fishy for her. I didn’t know this until we were eating the soup and I felt slightly bad that there was something she didn’t like on the menu, but then she added that she quite liked this version.

True it was slightly different to the usual shark fin soup I’ve had at wedding banquets; the flavour was a tad milder, but not by much. There were something extra in the soup though – a moreness to it – that really made it one of the best shark fin soup I’ve had, though I can’t pinpoint what exactly.

Two more dishes down, next up… Chilli Crab!!!

Chilli Crab and Agar Jelly with Lychee

So we finally managed to eat the chilli crab and oh, it was well worth the wait. Apparently we were noobs and we had it with rice instead of bread, but it was still so very good. Not as spicy as I had imagined it would be (thankfully), but still spicy enough for it to have a good kick.

I couldn’t believe just how much meat there was on the crab and it felt like we were eating forever – digging out all the nooks and crannies for the delectable crab meat.

Fully sated, satisfied and perhaps even a little bit messier than we first started, we moved onto dessert. It was a simple affair, which I think after a large lunch, we were grateful for. The lightness of the dish was refreshing after all that food and was the perfect top-off.

Inside No Signboard

No Signboard, as I understood it, is a very sought after restaurant where their chilli crab is considered to be one of the best (if not, the best) in Singapore. We happened to dine there perhaps a little too early for their normal clientèle, so I can’t truly say that their service was quick, but they were quite attentive and fulfilled our orders with speed and efficiency.

Art Installation and ... Ninja Sighting??

Our first stopover was during Chinese New Year and it was pretty cool to see various art installation dedicated to or inspired by the holiday. We took some pretty silly photos over the course of our stay and while I think it’d be hilarious to show you guys, I don’t think R nor Ninja would be equally as pleased.

Paradise (SGD$18) and Flower Blossom (SGD$20)

Oh! I almost forgot. We had some time to kill and needing a dessert fix during our first layover, Ninja took us to Haagen Dazs, which just hit the spot. I think ice cream would make anyone smile, but great ice cream can make any grumpy person happy.

Finally, I could not not show you something that boggled our minds when we first saw it.

R and I visited the Monobrow Building Marina Bay Sands building during our second layover and as we meandered around in the mostly closed shopping centre (it was 10am, way early by Singaporean standards I think) that had a lot of expensive and posh stores in it, we rounded the corner and was greeted by this:

Indoor Canal!

It’s an indoor canal. Like what the heck!!! I mean, you could hire canal boats complete with a boating person to paddle you up and down the strip. Although we know that places like Abu Dhabi would be a lot more extravagant than this, it was our first time actually experiencing something like this (well, for me any way). It fairly blew our minds.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my somewhat sporadic blogging of my trip to Japan (with a mini, side-trip to Singapore)… thanks for bearing with me!

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Post tags: Dessert, Seafood

One thing which hasn’t changed too much over the years in Cabramatta is the abundance of great food. Despite a predominantly Vietnamese and Chinese/Cambodian food and restaurant dominance in the area, it hasn’t stopped a flux of Lao, Thai or Korean restaurants vying for their share of attention in this food loving suburb. I’ve seen a restaurant such as Iron Chef bring a Hong Kong yum cha and dinner experience to Cabramatta with great success and it was only a matter of time before someone again tried their luck at the lucrative ‘casual’ dining market  here.

Enter Super Dish, the apparent creation from the owners of the famous late night joints of Super Bowl and Super Meal in Sydney’s Chinatown. At some stage or another, we’ve all had that 12am craving of congee and salt and pepper squid and Super Bowl or Super Meal would always deliver the cheap and nasty late night Chinese food fix.

Super Dish is far from cheap and nasty, the exterior and interiors have a modern and clean feel to it and they also have massive windows which open out onto the street for a bit of al fresco dining.

I’ve seen crowds start to build at Super Dish, curiosity got the best of me so I decided to pop in for a quick lunch with Linda. The menu is quite extensive with the usual suspects such as congee, soup and fried noodles, steamed oysters, salt and pepper squid, shandong chicken and fried rice to name a few. We settle for an outdoor table on the pathway which is a nice change for a restaurant in Cabramatta.

Shan Dong Chicken ($19)

A biproduct of Shangdong cuisine, this is one of my favourite must-have dishes when dining at Superbowl or Supermeal in Chinatown. Given that it was on the SuperDish menu, I had to order it. It was everything that I expected it to be; tender chicken, crisp skin and a dark vinegar based dressing with plenty of tang and saltiness. The chicken sat on a bed of sweetened fried basil which I wasn’t a big fan of, my only gripe of the dish. It’s a tad pricey at $19 but the generous portion makes up for this.

Seafood combo beancurd hotpot ($24)

The good old seafood combo hotpot, another one of my usual orders to provide some balance to my usual orders of fried based dishes. This hotpot which was still bubbling when it arrived at our table contains all the usual suspects; prawns, fish, squid, various vegetables and some bloody awesome tofu which took us by surprise with its soft and fluffy interior.

King prawn in shell with mungo bean vermicelli in XO chilli sauce($25)

This dish on the menu caught Linda’s attention, it’s a classic combo of XO sauce and vermicelli which always goes well with a seafood such as prawns. This dish took a bit longer than usual to come out and after tasting it we figured out why. The vermicelli was slightly overcooked, as they were a bit too soft. Flavour wise the dish was spot on though, with the prawns and vermicelli absorbing all the goodness of the XO chilli sauce.

It’s early days but Super Dish is drumming up it’s fair share of admirers and return visitors. They offer something unique, a casual Hong Kong diner style experience where sometimes all you need is a hearty bowl of congee or fried rice with a side of salt and pepper pork ribs. We’re gonna definitely come back and try have dinner here, I spotted dishes such as Hong Kong style typhoon crab and crab congee.

There is a high percentage of Cantonese, Chinese and Teo Chew migrants in Cabramatta and the type of food Super Dish is churning out is a good reminder to them that they don’t need to travel too far for their ‘SuperBowl-like ‘fix.  Its hard to declare Super Dish a winner, I only tried three dishes but the long queues on the weekend might indicate something.

On a final note, what is your favourite late night feed? If I can get my hands on it, its gotta be deep fried salt and pepper pork ribs with salted fish fried rice!

Super Dish
17/180 Railway Parade (Outside Cabramatta Plaza and close to the train station)
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9727 7880

Open 7 days 8am – 10 pm

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2011. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Halo Halo

(...)
Read the rest of Sizzling Filo, Lidcombe (577 words)

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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

(...)
Read the rest of 13 Christmas Desserts of Provence, Darlinghurst (1,103 words)

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Post tags: Dessert, Seafood

Fast forward 20 years and nothing much has changed in the restaurant. The dodgy looking tables are still there, a packed restaurant with people speaking everything from Cantonese to Cambodian and honest food cooked by honest people. Come to think of it the only thing that has changed is the price. It might have creeped up to $6 a bowl but it’s still a bargain for Sydney standards. Mind you, I am blogging from their second “newer” store which is on the John St side of Cabramatta. The original Battambang is on the other side of Cabramatta train station.(...)
Read the rest of Battambang Restaurant, Cabramatta (494 words)

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Diners arriving by sea plane

If you like, you can also arrive and depart by sea plane to complete the all round experience.

Fresh warm sourdough w/ french butter

I look forward to the bread at every restaurant. A piece of warm and crusty bread with room temperature butter is always a good start, just like here at Berowra. The butter was, well, insanely good. Lightly salted, it makes you want to eat this everyday for breakfast and not have to worry about cholesterol levels.

Chilled vichyssoise, Oscietra and salmon caviars, beignets of Hawkesbury oysters

This entree seems to stay on the menu all the time, I’ve seen it in other blog posts over the years. I’m saving myself from re-describing this dish, squishies sums it up quite well in her previous post:

The meaty oyster, that raw would normally have me make a face and endeavour to swallow as quickly as possible, was utterly delicious in its crispy outer shell. Some oyster purists might be horrified to see deep fried oysters, insisting that oysters must be consumed raw, but I’ve discovered that I quite liked them like this. However, the chilled vichyssoise I think outshone the oysters, if barely (both components were so good!). There was something about its smooth creaminess hiding minute crunchy bits of croutons and caviar (bestowing tiny bursts of saltiness into the mix) that just appealed to our taste buds. What I thought was rather astounding about the vichyssoise was just how light it was despite being rather creamy.

I wouldn’t call myself an oyster fan, but this dish could swing me over.

Murray cod, sweet green peas, samphire, lemon mrytle

Moist and tender on the inside with a subtle crisp on it’s exterior. The sweetness of the green peas and the slight tartness of the lemon myrtle give the dish a slight edge to it.

Roast local quail breast, langoustine croustillant, spinach-fennel puree

Sometimes the more simple dishes are the highlights, this is a good example which allowed me to fully appreciate the local quail breast. So bloody tender and moist, I hate using the description but it is exactly what it is.

Squab baked in terracotta clay, foi gras cromesquis, mixed wood mushrooms, sauteed potato gnocchi

This a dish which has to be shared between two people. Since Linda is now pescatarian, I had to finish this all by myself. The squab is baked in terracotta clay which they bring out halfway during the cooking process for me to break with some sort of hammer, a bit gimmicky in my opinion but I guess it was nice to see how my dish was being cooked. Based purely on the description, this was the dish I was looking forward to the most. Did it live up to expectations? Not for me.  The squab was a tad too gamey for me, but that is just a matter of personal taste. I found the gnocchi to be a bit ‘heavy’ when eaten with the rest of the dish components. On the flip side, I really enjoyed the mixed wood mushrooms and foi gras cromesquis on their own.

Razor clams, spaghettini, hand picked local mud crab, chilli & lemon beurre noisette

The last time I had razor clams was in Hong Kong, where they were covered with fried garlic and chilli. A few thousand kilometres away in Berowra it’s not quite the same dish, but it tastes just as good if not better. Once again, this is quite a simple dish. Al dente cooked pasta, fresh and plump pieces of razor clam and generous pieces mud crab and a creamy chilli and lemon buerre noisette to tie everything together.

Seared venison carpaccio, braised bell peppers, pickled shallots

This dish was originally meant to be kangaroo venison but unfortunately that was not available on the day. Not to worry, as I was quite pleased that venison was the substitute, one of my favourite types of meat. The presentation was gorgeous, I loved the different colours and textures popping out at me like a three dimensional puzzle. The venison was lightly seared, just enough for it to stay amazingly tender. The pickled shallots and braised bell peppers packed quite a lot of flavour, taking out any gamey taste from the venison.

Dessert variation plate

After all these courses we were quite stuffed, but dessert was still to come. We opted for the dessert sampler which I unfortunately did not get all the names of the desserts. Take my word for it, it’s worth holding off some stomach space for it. In a nut shell, Berowra Waters Inn was a unique dining experience. I really liked the use of local and native ingredients as well. At $150 for 5 courses the price is a bit steep, but in return you get some very high quality food and a unique dining experience where you take a boat to the restaurant which looks out onto the water. Would I come back? Based on price, probably not. But if I was looking for a place to give guests an alternate dining experience, Berowra Waters Inn would be on my shortlist for sure. Another plus is discovering fresh farm produce on the side of the road, we spotted a few farmers selling their produce for significantly reduced prices.

The fresh road side farm produce

Mangoes - $9 a box

Watermelon, nectarines, peaches, mangoes ... you name it.

Berowra Waters Inn

Pick up by private ferry Public Wharves (east and west) Berowra Waters NSW 2082 web: http://www.berowrawatersinn.com

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One point of contention which kept coming up again and again in my research was the Michelin Guide, and Hong Kong’s reputation for having the most affordable starred restaurants in the world. The rewarding and selection of the restaurants was enough to cause an uproar and locals that I spoke to were split between being impressed and disdainful of the rating system.

I decided to let my stomach to do the talking and ended up at three very different Michelin restaurants.

Tim Ho Wan

Baked bun with BBQ pork HKD 12, Rice roll stuffed with beef HKD 15, Steamed fresh shrimp dumplings HKD 18, Glue rice dumpling HKD 20

Tim Ho Wan is undoubtedly the most famous of the Hong Kong Michelin restaurants. When it first received its star the restaurant was labelled as the cheapest Michelin restaurant in the world and the crowds flocked to it, it’s not uncommon to be kept waiting for 1-2 hours outside the tiny eatery which only fits 29 people. The demand has been strong enough that a second branch was opened at Sham Shui Po, capable of seating over a hundred people but today I’m with Boo at the original branch in Monkok waiting impatiently in line at 9.30am.(...)
Read the rest of Hong Kong – A Michelin Story (1,905 words)

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Post tags: Novotel Blogr

We looked for a place for breakfast the next day (with me looking forward to have some eggs benedict), but I couldn’t decide where to eat and dithered so much that when I finally made up my mind, it was time for brunch. Actually, truth to be told, I gave up and decided to go to our planned lunch place a tad earlier.

Brunetti came at a friend’s very high recommendation. Kathy had named this place as the place with “awesome cakes!!” and it is so awesome that whenever she travelled to Melbourne for work she would make it a necessity to go there everyday. With a comment like that, F shuffled around our must-go-to Melbourne eats to put it at the top of the list.

Despite some debate as to which way down Little Collins St we should continue walking (I panicked and thought I had taken F the wrong way haha), we managed to find it and was greeted with the sight of what looked like a mini mob.

Mmm... sandwiches

(...)
Read the rest of Brunetti, Melbourne CBD (645 words)

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Post tags: Dessert

If there’s one thing I love more than eating, it’s reading. Any spare minute I have in the day I’ll usually be found tucked away in a corner with a book. The concept of Berkelouw, a wine bar nestled within a bookstore has me immediately intrigued, Squishies and I who share a mutual fondness for reading have had Berkelouw on our list of places to visit for months, but somehow our Saturday schedules never seem to match up.

Mornings are a little early for wine so we schedule our lunch for 1pm, the time that the Wine bar opens up. In true Asian style everyone is late but it’s only 1.30pm on a Saturday and the Bar is just barely setting up as we walk up to the 2nd floor.

Berkelouw Wine Bar Interior

(...)
Read the rest of Berkelouw Wine Bar, Leichardht (658 words)

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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

(...)
Read the rest of Sushi Class, Surry Hills (935 words)

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Post tags: Seafood

Happy Belated Independence Day!

Yes I know it was back in July and now it’s August. Independence Day in the US reminded me of how we spend Australia Day. It started off with a breakfast of homemade margaritas (with my new blender), sitting on the rooftop with my feet burning on the hot roof, beer and rice paper roll lunch then a night of burgers, cheese, wine and fireworks! As you see in the photo above, it feels like NYE in Sydney.

So for the past few months, I have been hard at work eating my heart out. Luckily I don’t own scales so I cannot say whether my body size has been affected by this, but I’m pretty sure it has. That’s one thing to watch out in NYC… the heaviness of the food!

Happy Independence Day!

(...)
Read the rest of Hello from NYC #2 – My Food Trail (1,898 words)

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Post tags: Hello from NYC, Momofuku

We’ve been meaning to get together for a feed here for a while now, I’m still adamant that Lao Village is ‘better’. But after eating at Star Laos, it’s clear that both restaurants are different and have are excellent in their own little way.

Green curry, tom yum soup, bbq duck

I arrive late and the boys have already ordered and the first dish comes out even before I sit down. I should arrive late more often!(...)
Read the rest of Star Lao Thai Restaurant, Fairfield (532 words)

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Bayon Noodle looks like a new Chinese and Cambodian restaurant. Cambodian food is difficult to find in Sydney, however if you are in Cabramatta, there are atleast half a dozen decent ones.

Green papaya salad

This is the Vietnamese version with a generous array of fresh papaya, mint and basil, fresh prawns, crushed peanuts, pork belly. The best way to eat this is to pour in the bowl of fish sauce and toss the salad altogether. In terms of taste, it wasn’t too bad, lacking a bit of ‘kick’ but then again I am comparing it to Thai/Lao papaya salads which are extremely pungent and flavoursome.

Khmer bbq herb beef w/ pickles

Tender beef grilled with unidentified herbs and spices and a side of cold pickles, what more could you ask for ? It’s the perfect contrast of smokey warm beef with the cold and crunchy pickles.

Nom Ban Jok (Khmer herb fish paste w/ vermicelli noodles)

This was surprisingly one of my favourites. A spicy coconut based soup with copious amounts of pungent fish paste and other ingredients touched every one of my taste buds. What makes the dish is probably the side of salad with it’s different textures. Off the top of my head I spotted cabbage, cucumber, bean sprouts, and chives.

Salt and pepper squid

A very light batter compared to other versions I’ve eaten, which is great. I could spot and taste huge bits of freshly cracked black pepper, definitely putting the ‘pepper’ in salt and pepper calamari. Though one thing I did notice was a few prawns on the fish, maybe they ran out of calamari ? But I’m not complaining too much. This was another dish served with a side of their house pickles, great combination. The sourness of the pickles offsets the saltyness of the calamari perfectly.   

Chive dumplings

I don’t have a picture of the internals, but imagine a sea of green chives and not much else. Being of Teo Chew descent, we live and breath chives (literally). While they are detrimental to our breath, they are bloody good. Pungent chives are encased in a dumpling and then lightly pan fried to give it a bit of crunch and texture.  

Salor Gor Gor (Khmer hot pot)

 This was another traditional khmer dish and one of my favourites as well. It’s a soup based dish with braised vegetables such as eggplant, tender pork belly and some berries/beans which I’ve seen in some Indian dishes. It’s a hard dish to describe, but flavourwise it’s full of different herbs and spices which touched every corner of my taste buds. It’s a dish you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere apart from a Cambodian restaurant.

Stewed duck noodle soup

The perfect winter dish, fall off the bone stewed duck in an amazing soup full of duck flavour. The duck leg is braised in different herbs and spices, I can taste star anise, cinammon and 5 spice amongst others. On the side is a crunchy piece of prawn cracker, it’s all about the textures.

Bayon Noodle is the new kid on the block in Cabramatta. There are about 2-3 very good Chinese Cambodian restaurants within the vicinity and you’ll see locals dressed in their home clothes slurping away at noodles or hearty rice dishes. It’s going to be tough for Bayon to differentiate themselves, but I think they are on the right track. The decor inside is a lot cleaner and modern than the other places and they have the advantage of Merrick Watts and his family eating there a few months ago!

Bayon Noodle
233 Cabramatta Road, Cabramatta NSW 2166
Tip : It’s in an alleyway off John St, on the same side as Commonwealth Bank and Gloria Jeans.

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When we finally booked it, we asked them what was good to order (or to avoid) and their advice wasn’t as much of advice as more raving about how good the dishes were and how full they got: “We had the five course degustation and oh man, we were so full… and then the desserts came out! We were expecting small dishes, but there were four full-sized ones! We practically died… but man, it was just soooo good!” … and so on and so forth.

Both did warn us that the marina car park was a little hard to find in the dark, but since we were going during the day, it should be easy as pie to get to.

Berowra Waters Public Wharf

Excited and a little nervous, we set out two hours before our booking time and arrived at the marina area with 30 minutes to spare. We were advised to call the restaurant to send the private ferry out, but we didn’t really need to, as the ferry makes quite frequent trips to and from the public wharf to the restaurant (this may be a different story for dinner reservations).

On the Hawkesbury

Although it was short trip from the wharf to Berowra Waters Inn, riding on the small ferry in the gently sunny afternoon on sparkling water really set the mood for a quiet and lovely lunch.

The menu has a range of light to heavy dishes to choose from, followed by some cheese and desserts. We opted for the 6 course degustation at $175 (the 5 course is $150) and, as you can choose your dishes, found that we could order everything on the menu bar one dish (which I felt slightly embarrassed in saying, “May we have everything except for the quail dish please?” Such gluttony!).

Cured Ocean Trout, Aubergine, Toasted Tortilla

We were surprised with a pre-lunch dish / amuse bouche as we were working out what to order. The cured salmon was delicately salty, which paired nicely with the eggplant underneath, and the toasted tortilla added a really nice crunchy texture to the delectable morsel.

Sour Dough Roll with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar, Monteith's Golden Ale (?)

While we waited for our light dishes to arrive, we chatted over some crusty sour dough roll and I think I’ve finally mastered dipping the bread into the oil to get to the balsamic! I normally end up with oily, soggy bread and precious little balsamic, but I’ve discovered that with a decisive dip into the oil will guarantee balsamic goodness on your bread.

White Asparagus, Green Asparagus, Slow Poached Organic Egg Yolk, Fresh Black Winter Truffle From Manjimup

The first thing I noticed was that the egg yolk wasn’t runny; rather it seemed to be on the verge of being runny and solid at the same time, which I thought was pretty impressive. The juicy asparaguses were perfectly cooked, adding a slight sweetness to the dish, tempered by the saltiness of the truffle underneath. I was amazed at how simple the dish was and be so rich in flavour.

Chilled Vichyssoise, Oscietra and Salmon Caviars, Beignets of Hawkesbury Oysters

I didn’t realise that the oysters would be deep-fried! But I guess now I know what to expect when I see beignets hehe. I’ve noticed that whenever an oyster dish is presented to us, I’d wait til F eats his then ask: “Should I swallow or chew?” His answer this time was a resounding “chew”.

The meaty oyster, that raw would normally have me make a face and endeavour to swallow as quickly as possible, was utterly delicious in its crispy outer shell. Some oyster purists might be horrified to see deep fried oysters, insisting that oysters must be consumed raw, but I’ve discovered that I quite liked them like this.

However, the chilled vichyssoise I think outshone the oysters, if barely (both components were so good!). There was something about its smooth creaminess hiding minute crunchy bits of croutons and caviar (bestowing tiny bursts of saltiness into the mix) that just appealed to our taste buds. What I thought was rather astounding about the vichyssoise was just how light it was despite being rather creamy.

Buffalo Mozzarella, Espelette Pepper, Potato Gnocchi, Wild Mushrooms, Sage Butter

A while ago, Minh told me that she used to dislike gnocchi, but after an awesome gnocchi dish she was converted. I remained unconvinced that gnocchi could be nothing more than some weird, soft, chewy, boofy pasta… well, that is, until now. I still haven’t figured out what about it made me realise that gnocchi could actually be very good. Perhaps it’s something to do with its softness that isn’t too soft, retaining a slight firmness but isn’t al dente, or perhaps it had the right amount of chewiness without feeling like I was eating some overripe, soggy chewing gum. All I know is that this dish made a convert out of me.

I loved the robust earthiness that the wild mushrooms brought to the dish and the accompanying tastily stringy mozzarella. There was the vaguest hint of heat to the dish, but if I barely registered it I doubt anyone else would have noticed it.

Murray Cod Fillet, Cauliflower, Leeks, Pickled Salsify, Salted Walnuts

The perfectly cooked cod was well-seasoned and we were delighted to find that the skin was utterly to crispy perfection. I loved how well the tangy pickled salsify and salted walnuts combined together and with the fish; a flavour combination I don’t think I would have ever thought would fit so well in a million years.

By this dish, we were amazed by how simple-seeming the dishes have been and still have so many different flavours so harmoniously balanced and different textures being played against/with each other.

Grilled Sea Scallops, Roasted Smoked Eel, Alsace Bacon, Celeriac, Pear

It’s no secret that we both adore scallops and are always looking for the perfect grilled or seared ones. During our time with es&t, we’ve been to a few places where we believe we’ve had scallop perfection and this would be one of them. The scallop was succulent, tender, juicy, well-seasoned and had a little crispness on its surface. The pear and celeriac brought out its sweetness while the smoked eel and bacon added a heartiness and robustness to the dish. Honestly, it was absolutely pure heaven on a plate.

Butter-Poached Western Australian Marron, Fermented Garlic, Sweet Green Peas

We didn’t know what a marron was and though we found out it was a crayfish via Google, we weren’t expecting it to come out looking so cute and curled up! I almost felt bad eating it and equally felt as bad for loving its juicy meatiness.

The marron was delicious with either or both of the two sauces: the creamy-coloured sauce that was akin to a tangy hollandaise and the dark-coloured one that was an intensely sweet garlic (which I guess was the fermented garlic?). The little dumpling-like parcel of semi-mushed green peas was a surprising but lovely addition to the plate.

Pumpkin Soup with Amaretti

When the little tea cup arrived at our table, I slightly panicked, thinking, “Oh crap! I don’t think we ordered this!” My panic subdued when our waiter introduced the dish as a pre-main course, compliments from the kitchen.

The pumpkin soup was thick, full of flavour and smooth. It was so simple, but it was intensely satisfying and also seemed to cocoon me in its flavour and warmth. Again, the chefs at Berowra has taken something rather simple and have made it extraordinary.

Grilled Wagyu Sirloin, Braised Cheek, Sauteed Sweetbread, Jerusalem Artichoke, Deep Fried Aioli

While the wagyu sirloin was scrumptiously seasoned and well-grilled, it was the braised, slow-cooked wagyu cheek that had us in gastronomic bliss. Wonderfully tender, yet still succulent and I was surprised it stayed on my fork as it practically fell apart at a touch.

I found the sweetbread a bit challenging to eat and though I tried, and though I like the flavour, I can’t seem to get over just how soft and (for me) odd the texture is. I surrendered my half to F, much to his delight.

We both wondered how one would fry aioli, now we know and it paired quite well with the meats in the dish.

Lamb Shank, Steamed Bone Marrow Dumpling, Spinach, Roast Shallot Jus

I was a bit worried about the bone marrow dumpling, thinking that it was a dumpling with bone marrow inside – something I’ve had before and also struggled to appreciate. However, all was for naught as it would seem that they incorporated the marrow into the “dumpling” (which was wrapped around the shank).

The utterly tender lamb itself was gorgeously cooked and seasoned, without a hint of that lamb-y after taste; the accompanying onion in two ways (whole and as a puree) added a deliciously sweet tone to the dish.

St Agur Blue Cows Milk Cheese, Tallegio Washed Rind, Holy Goat 'La Luna', Ossau Iraty Sheeps Milk Cheese, Raw Milk 'Alpage' Cheese

Our waitress offered us a variety of crackers and bread to go with the cheese and on sensing our indecision, she hastened to add, “You could also have a couple of each.” Bless… and so we did, having a couple slices of olive bread, fruit loaf, wheat crackers, water crackers and oat crackers. She recommended that the oat crackers went very well with the blue and tallegio cheeses, not doubting her word, but we were pleasantly surprised at just how well they went with it. Before she whisked away, she added that if we would like more crackers we only need to let her know (which I guess is a given, but it was nice to hear, as we’re always short and for some reason never ask for more).

Going from left to right, we have the blue cheese, which was actually quite mild for a blue though still had a bit of a punch to it, and was paired with a lightly sweet poached pear. The tallegio was creamy and strong in flavour and was accompanied with a black cherry conserve. We’ve had the Holy Goat before and it was interesting to see that it was also paired with a fig (though this time a fresh one) and blanched almonds. The Ossau Iraty was quite smooth and rather mild (with a hint of a sharpness) and went quite well with the poached apple and beetroot oil. Finally, we have the Alpage cheese, the mildest of them all, paired with quince paste.

I’m always surprised at how much cheese restaurants serve you on a tasting platter; invariably, I end up feeling guilty for not being able to finish them. This time was different: we managed to finish both of our cheese platters (amazingly), much to our waitress’ delight. I’m not sure how we did it, but I’m sure F had a lot to do with it.

Citron Custard, Caramel Mousse, Pop Rocks, Almond Tuille

Our pre-dessert was the lovely citron custard topped with a light, surprisingly not-so-sweet caramel mousse and pop rocks. I love pop rocks (I totally reckon it appeals to the kid in me that lurks too close to the surface) and when our waitress mentioned pop rocks, I unthinkingly echoed her (loudly and rather too enthusiastically): “Pop rocks!!!” I think I embarrassed F and our waitress, but they continued on as if I didn’t say anything (thank goodness). Although I wanted more of this delightful pre-dessert (me = pig, yes I know), I thought it was actually spot on with its serving size – not too much to make one feel sick of it nor too little to make one feel like one’s missing out.

Raspberry Soufflé, Raspberry-Mascarpone Sorbet, Chantilly Cream; Braised Pineapple, Coconut Mousse, Semolina Dumplings, Aged Rum Syrup; Dark Amadei Chocolate Tart, Strawberries, Yoghurt Cream; Quince Tarte Tatin, Calvados Ice Cream

My friend wasn’t kidding about the size of the dessert platter! I was a bit concerned that we wouldn’t be able to polish off the platter, but somehow we managed to eat everything (well almost, only we left behind half a semolina dumpling) and managed to impress our waitress again (with our gluttony no doubt haha).

The raspberry soufflé was so airy and light, yet infused with so much flavour, and I thought the raspberry-mascarpone sorbet was a divine accomplice. The braised pineapple was better than expected (and a lot juicier) and I loved its sweetness tempered by the lighter-than-air coconut mousse. The quince tarte tatin was super flaky and sticky from its thick glaze, where its calvados ice cream helped cut through the heavy sweetness. We were advised that the chocolate tart should be left til last as it is quite rich – and boy, was it decadently rich. The richness of the tart was helped by the strawberries, sorbet and yoghurt cream (yes all three), though even with all that, it was a bit too much for F to handle and I happily finished off the rest.

'You can have as many as you want.'

The service has been pretty constant and it felt like we didn’t have to wait for long between courses, so we were glad for the relatively long reprieve between our dessert course and the petit fours with tea.

When our waitress came out with the petit fours tray and saying, “Which one would you like? You can have as many as you want.” My eyes bulged and my sensibility fought with my already burgeoning and utterly greedy stomach to answer. “One of each?” she persisted after a short silence. I could only manage to nod and emit a small “yes please”.

Basil and Lime Macaron, Dark Chocolate Truffle with Amaretti, Peach Jube, Lemongrass and White Chocolate

My favourite out of the petit fours was the soft and gently sweet peach jube, while F adored the lemongrass with white chocolate.

F needed to go to the bathroom, but didn’t want to miss the chance of ordering another round of petit fours. He made me promise that if he went, I would order the jube and white chocolate for him. I duly promised and almost broke it when our waitress came to take away our plate, thinking that we were done. Hastily, I asked if we could have some more (rather embarrassedly), but she was happy to comply.

Travel by Seaplane... Posh!

I read on the website that you could travel to Berowra Waters Inn by seaplane. Seaplane! I didn’t think we should see that happening, but much to our surprise, we did and the customers were ferried to and from the plane with that flat looking boat to the right of the wharf.

Berowra Waters Inn

Sadly, it was time to go, but all good things must come to an end, no? We left feeling utterly content and satisfied with our lunch and gently sighed as the ferry pulled away from the restaurant.

The food was fantastic and we loved its bright, bold flavours, while the service was perfect. Our main waitress was the most sweetest waitress we’ve had the pleasure of having and I was meaning to tell her how much we appreciated the attention (and with a smile too!), but I was too shy and missed my chance.

We would be hard-pressed to pick our favourite dishes, as they all were so very strong in their own way, and I realise now why we got such vague answers from our friends; it is indeed too hard to say what’s good, as they all are.

Sigh. Pretty sunset

While the location of Berowra Waters Inn might be out of the way for some, the experience, the fabulous food and the view is definitely worth it. Especially for sights like this to farewell you on your way home.

Berowra Waters Inn
Via East or West Public Wharves
Berowra Waters, NSW, 2082
Ph: (02) 9456 1027
Web: http://www.berowrawatersinn.com/

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2010. | Permalink | 26 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, Dessert, favourites, Seafood, vegetarian

One thing I will admit is that I can imagine how difficult it is to organise team events especially for big project teams. It’s hard enough trying to organise lunch when you have a vegetarian in the group, let alone trying to find something which would appeal to 20 to 30 members of a project team.

It’s great to have a team off site now and then. When we are on projects, we often lose sight of the importance of taking time out and getting to know a bit more about our team members. We are so fixated on getting our deliverables completed on time or fending off office politics, that we sometimes don’t even know what the guy sitting five levels down does apart from write good requirements documents.(...)
Read the rest of Bar-Be School, a day out of the office (330 words)

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Day 2 – Where I remember how much I dislike monkeys

Our first stop of the day is the Mega Valley Mall (mega indeed), we’re here to pick up our car for the week. Knowing how many people we had in the group and how long we’d be driving we decide to go with a van for our travels. I remember arguing with Billy when trying to choose a car for the trip, often his primary argument was something along the lines of, “Bigger Minh, bigger!“. After a bit of a wait our van finally pulled up and looked like…

This...

…um. Noticing the obvious dismay on our faces the staff are quick to assure us this isn’t our car, moments later a much shinier van pulled up and we are off! Driving in Malaysia is somewhat hair-raising, the white lines on the roads seem to be there primarily as a suggestion and red lights only deter drivers if they can’t see anyone coming in the opposite direction. Billy pulls the car to a stop at a set of lights having just missed the yellow, only to see the cars on either side of him zoom through the red. “I’ve gotten soft!” he proclaims, much to my amusement.

Our first stop of the day is the Batu Caves, but of course first – lunch.

(...)
Read the rest of Malaysia Mondays – Road Tripping to Batu Caves and Melaka (2,428 words)

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]]> http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/05/31/malaysia-mondays-road-tripping-to-batu-caves-and-melaka/feed/ 21 2.326349 102.34638752.326349102.3463875 http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/04/01/restaurant-arras/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=restaurant-arras http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/04/01/restaurant-arras/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:50:36 +0000 Howard http://www.eatshowandtell.com/?p=5696 It’s been a few months since I’ve had a decent meal at a nice restaurant. My recent trip to Japan and Hong Kong sent me broke and quite frankly I just got sick of eating degustations and modern interpretations of French food. I went back to eating at my local restaurants, big bowls of soup noodles and big plates of crispy fried pork with combination fried rice. Sometimes, this type of food hits the spot just as well as an exquisite meal at a hatted restaurant or the like.

However, It was Linda’s birthday recently and we were on the lookout of trying something new and out of the ordinary. I read about Restaurant Arras on Good Living as well as another blog and it looked like the type of restaurant I was after. A restaurant which did more than Modern French and which stretched the boundaries a bit. Another bonus for me was the relatively quiet surroundings of Walsh Bay, it’s a nice area of the Sydney CBD just a few minutes from the Rocks.

Restaurant Arras is considered a Modern British restaurant, with many of dishes having an English background but a modern interpretation. It’s a refreshing change and I’m genuinely excited about what is to come.

As usual we opt for the degustation. Linda has started a no meat diet recently, so she gets the seafood substitutions for her portions. There are quite a few photos, so I’m going to try and keep the content short and sweet. I see this as more of a photo centric view of the restaurant, so people who search for Restaurant Arras and end up at our blog can see what they can expect if they were to dine there. You can only imagine so much from a menu, since it only has the creative names for the dishes rather than what the contents of them are. Feel free to read Good Living and Gourmet Traveller for a ‘professional’ opinion.

As soon as we are seated we are given a bowl of bread crisps, house made and of various flavours. My favourite would be the fennel seeds, but the poppy seed and caraway seed ones weren’t too bad either. I found the crisps a nice gesture, it gave us time to have a snack while taking our time mulling over the menu. I don’t see this often at Restaurants in Sydney, it’s a refreshing change.

Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche looks very delicate and refreshing. It’s a relief that it isn’t an oyster, I’m not a big of Oyster’s as a starter. This however contains fragrant crab and smooth avocado in the form of consomme. It’s light but flavourful, with the micro herbs ensuring I keep my five vegetables a day intake intact.

Entrees – Mains

The raw and the cooked

This dish was a feast on the eyes, a dazzling array of colours and textures which kept me fixated for a good moment. It’s a salad which is focussed on copious amounts of vegetables and micro herbs. There is a mixture of puree and pickled vegetable, edible flowers, tiny peas … you name it and it has it. What made this dish so good was all the contrasting texture, from the smoothness of the puree to the crunch of the peas.

Left to right : Smoked, roast & dressed, Quinoa Kedgeree, A Pickled Onion, Birds of a feather

The first dish was good, but I found the sardines to be a little too ‘fishy’. However, I then ate all the ingredients together and it tasted a lot better, which I am sure is what the Chef intended. There is a piece of thin crisp fennel on the top and roasted peanuts scattered around. Out of the four dishes above my favourite would be the second one, the Quinoa Kedgeree. Kedgeree is a traditional English breakfast with influences from India. Instead of normal eggs and flaked fish, the clever Adam Murphy substitutes it with quail egg and smoked eel. Everything here just works in unison, and I can see how it historically became a breakfast dish.

Third and Fourth dishes were the Pickled Onion and Birds of a Feather. The picked onion was a slow roasted whole onion, to the extent where it tastes almost like a paste or a jam. It’s surprisingly sweet but a bit heavy. The horseradish creme and honey walnuts flank the onion and complement this unique dish perfectly. Birds of a Feather is a three-piece terrine, but I can’t remember exactly what is made out of.

Left to right : St Clements Duck, Vegetarian substitute

As you can probably see, the duck was cooked perfectly and very tender. The duck itself isn’t seasoned with any specific, with the scattering of side sauces doing the flavour work. I can’t remember exactly what sits beneath the duck, it wasn’t potato. Linda had the vego substitute which looked just as good , if not better than my duck dish. The highlight for her was the baby prawns on the side with the avocado puree in the cone.

This was another vego substitute but it was a fantastic one. More often than not, the vego substitute dishes at restaurants are not as good as their marquee dishes. But it’s fair to say that Arras keeps all types of diets happy. Sitting on a bed of lentils is the spiced mulloway and a rye crisp type of thing. The mulloway was soft and flakey with the crust having great flavour and a crunchy texture. The lentils originally came with bacon, but once the waiter realised this he came back with a small pot of lentils without bacon in them. A nice gesture I thought, without having to take the entire dish back to the kitchen.

Slow cooked lamb, Lavender & Honey sweetbreads

By this stage my stomach is saying ‘please no more’ but my knife and fork has other ideas. It’s probably a good thing that this dish is quite small, but the quality of what is on the plate is awesome. It’s been a while since I’ve tasted lamb this good, so tender and flavoursome.

Dessert

Left to right : Pre dessert, Coulant au Chocolat - Michel Bras (additional cost)

If the meal was to stop here I’d still walk out a very happy customer. But of course, no meal is complete without dessert. When the pre-dessert came out I thought it was the dessert itself. Not only were the portions generous, but the contents of it was good enough to be a normal dessert itself. There was apple crumble, bits of jam, ice cream and sorbet.

We also ordered an extra dessert on the side to go with the main dessert which you will see below since Linda loves chocolate. It’s a chocolate fondant at it’s best, gooey and creamy chocolate inside a slightly crunchy pudding. A scoop of creamy ice cream on top makes this my favourite dessert of the night.

An Adolescent Breakfast

This is another clever name for a dish, the adolescent breakfast. The presentation here is creative and fun, especially the tooth paste tube filled with cream. It’s been a while since I’ve had the dinner so naturally I forgot what kind of cake it was, but it contained caramel and chocolate. Up top was something which I think is meant to resembled yoghurt crumble, but instead of yoghurt a vanilla sorbet was used. I love the idea of the tooth paste tube for the cream, it’s very creative and it’s nice to see a Sydney restaurant cross the borders of art and food.

Left to right : honey comb from the petit fours slab

Now not only is my stomach telling me to stop eating, but my mind is in defensive mode too. I can’t possibly fit any more food in my stomach but I do remember reading about the legendary petit fours ‘slab’. From the corner of my eye I could see the waiter walking with the massive slab of treats, he looked like a pretty fit man but even this was giving his arms an ever so slight work out. These petit fours are nothing I have ever seen in Sydney, it’s like walking into a lollie shop as a kid and not knowing what to buy. The only difference here is that you can pick whatever and as much as you want. Off the top of my head there were chocolates, caramel chews, jellies, coconut balls, honeycomb and maybe even a shortbread somewhere. The petit fours alone are something I am going to look forward to the next time I dine at Restaurant Arras, which I hope is in the near future.

I’ve only dined here once but Restaurant Arras is up there with my favourite restaurants right now. The food is inventive and creative but you can still see the traditional British influences. The restaurant is in a nice location away from the hustle and bustle of the city and it seems the Chef is quite passionate about his food and the aesthetics of his restaurant. From the crisp breads once we were seated and to the epic array of petit fours, this is what I call a meal which is an end to end success. It’s received it’s One Hat and rightly so, there is only one way up for these guys I suspect.

Restaurant Arras

24 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay NSW
(02) 9252 6285
www.restaurant-arras.com.au

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