There’s a feeling of decadence that comes over me as the doors of the elevator opens, it’s rather easy to be impressed by the lavish furnishings of Glass Brasserie. The interior design of the restaurant is all concentrated around showcasing the impressive wine collection, while providing small intimate areas for the diners. Not an easy task in a space where the ceiling is easily 30 meters high, but the combination of dim and concentrated lighting as well as the contrast of timber and glass creates an almost comfortable atmosphere.

Glass Brassiere Interior

The first thing that catches my eye is the multi-storied racks of wine behind the bar, fit-out in a sedate timber finish they tower up behind the bar for a good 20-30m with wine bottles gently lit from behind all the way up to the ceiling (top left image). Somewhat doubtfully I ask if the bottles are for show and am reassured that it is indeed a real wine rack, staff members are hooked up to safety harnesses and winched up the stacks to retrieve bottles.

I’m not surprised that I’m so enamoured of the interior decorating, Glass Brasserie shares the same designer (Tony Chi) as Zeta Bar, one of the most gorgeous bars I’ve had the fun of photographing.

The diners awaiting their meal

It’s a relaxed atmosphere tonight, the guests are mingling around the tables sipping on glasses of Cloudy Bay Blanc de Blancs, it’s a light bubbly concoction which is easily going to my head. Cloudy Bay Winemaker Sarah Burton is the guest of honour tonight, a small snafu with the microphone system has our table tapping all of our wine glasses in unison to get the attention of all the diners tonight. Sarah is a nervous but passionate speaker, her pride in her wines is clear as she speaks introducing each of the wines we’ll be tasting tonight.

Salmon Gravlax, Dill crème fraiche, beetroot, egg dressing & melba toast

Our entrée is a beautiful array of orange, yellow and red scattered about the plate. The salmon is sliced almost thin enough to become translucent and paired with the sweet squares of beetroot and savory creme fraiche is a refreshing start to the start. The melba toast is a strange condiment on the plate, the toasted slices are a little too crunchy making them awkward to eat with the salmon and I end up abandoning them on the side of my plate.

Paired Wine: 2008 Cloudy Bay Pinot Gris – The style is best described as a true expression of the variety with aromas of pear and mandarin, abundant flavour and texture, and a touch of residual sweetness.

Tempura Spencer Gulf Prawns, Thai style salad, tamarind dressing

I adore anything with a Tamarind flavour and have seeing the Prawns on the menu it’s easily my most easily anticipated dish for the night. The prawns arrive in a beautifully arranged haystack of greens and prawn, all encompassed by a ring of sauce, the batter is done to perfection and is lightly crunchy while taking away none of the delicate flavour of the prawns.

Paired wine: 2006 Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer – A distinctive style, first made in 1997 from a trial block planted at Cloudy Bay to assess the suitability of various clones of gewurztraminer in Marlborough. Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer is aluscious, textural wine made from very ripe, hand harvested grapesgrown at the Mustang Vineyard in the Brancott Valley.

Roasted Duck Breast With Honey & Lavender, Peas

Our meal progresses by moving onto the red meats, it’s been a relatively light meal so far but the Roasted Duck breast is enough to put a sigh of satisfaction into anyone. The generously portioned slices of duck are cooked to a perfect texture, easily coming apart at the touch of a butter knife and is presented simply enough with Peas in a honey sweetened sauce. It’s proof that a dish can be placed out with only a few condiments and still be memorable.

Paired wine: 2008 Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir -  Cropped at very low levels from prime Marlborough vineyard sites, Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir is rich in regional fruit character. Typically it has an intensely varietal palate that reveals layers of dark red fruits, savoury dried herbs, charry oak and silky tannins.

Petit tarte tatin

Surprisingly, by the end of the Duck dish my stomach is ready to call it quits for the night but the arrival of the Tarte Tatin lays those plans to rest. Our plates with the naked Tatin are placed on our table only to be smothered in a rich creamy sauce which smothers the entire dish, ice-cream and all. It is at its heart, a decadent apple pie and on this chilly winter night is exactly what I’ve been craving.

Paired wine: Cloudy Bay Late Harvest Riesling -  A limited release wine first made in 1989 and since only in the vintages when optimum conditions prevail. Sapped almost dry bythe botrytis fungus, individual bunches are selected and hand-picked from bare canes in late autumn. The style is lusciously sweet and fruity with a crisp natural acidity that balances the sweetness and gives the palate length and freshness on the finish.

The view from within the glass

We’re left to finish off the night with tea or coffee as well as petit fours. It’s been an interesting night of food and conversation, with topics whirling from Masterchef to the travesty that is the Twilight series. The diners despite being strangers at the beginning of the night have warmed to one another after a few glasses of wine and even as I’m leaving there are still tables of diners chatting away.

Eat Show & Tell dined as a guest of Hilton Hotel.

Glass Brasserie
Level 2, 488 George St
Ph: (02) 9265 6068
Web: http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/

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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 | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, Dessert, Seafood, vegetarian

Like many girls I suspect, I’ve dipped my toe into the wine world slowly starting from cloying sweet dessert wines to the tamer Reislings but have always avoided the more ‘Adult’ Chardonnay associating it with the overtly heavy tasting white wines my parents were always drinking. I’m happy to say that the selection of wines presented with dinner have put me opened the Chardonnay door just that little bit more for me.

Left: Seppelt Salinger Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2006, Right: Anna Pooley

Anna Pooley is our hostess tonight and she’s clearly passionate about wines. It’s interesting hearing her talk about wines coming in and out of fashion, with the Chardonnay peak occurring back in the 90′s and how just like fashion IT’S BACK! Things start off easily enough with a flute of bubbly, the carbonate makes my nose tickle but it’s subtle enough for me to enjoy its lightness.(...)
Read the rest of Celebration of Chardonnay, Park Hyatt (822 words)

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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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Read the rest of Taste of Sydney Festival, Centennial Park (1,481 words)

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Post tags: beef, Dessert, pork, Seafood

The Tomislav signage is so subtle that we don’t realise we’ve been staring at the restaurant for at least 2 minutes while waiting for the lights to change. Stepping inside I take a moment to appreciate the decor of the natural red and orange painting adorning the wall which offsets the almost industrial like look of the rest of the restaurant. There’s a surprisingly great fantastic of the iconic Coke sign as well as the Harbour Bridge and I’m briefly envious of the diners seated on the balcony tables, however a quick gust of wind quickly resolves me of this envy.

Tomislav Interior

There are 4 of us at the table tonight and ordering dinner is simple affair with 4-5 dishes offered for each of the 3 suggested courses, between us I’m relatively certain that we’re managed to order about 80% of the menu! Our waiter is a champion and takes it all in stride handling the order like a pro.

Tomislav Martinovic

The restaurant is actually much smaller than I had thought it would be, a full side of the interior is taken up by the bar and open kitchen and our seats give us a fantastic view of the chefs as they put on the final touches to each of the dishes. I love having the opportunity to see Tomislav Martinovic work, he has a swift hand when cooking and it’s almost gruffly that he calls out, ‘Service!’ upon completing each dish.

(...)
Read the rest of Tomislav, Darlinghurst (1,420 words)

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]]> http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/03/17/tomislav-darlinghurst/feed/ 10 -33.875671 151.221344-33.875671151.221344 http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/02/23/watersedge-walsh-bay/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=watersedge-walsh-bay http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/02/23/watersedge-walsh-bay/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:03:56 +0000 Howard http://www.eatshowandtell.com/?p=5459 As I move into my mid 20′s, I’m finding that I am attending more and more weddings. I would of thought that the Gen Y’s would be slowing down with settling down and getting married, but it seems like some things never change over time.

Recently I had the privilege of attending the wedding of a very close family friend of mine. They had the ceremony at the beautiful Balmoral beach and were fortunate for the rain to hold off. If you recall the recent rain we had in Sydney, their wedding fell smack back in the middle of it. Lucky for them, mother nature heard their prayers and decided to stop raining between 1 and 4pm.

Funnily enough, it started raining again from 6pm onwards for the next few days which did wonders for our garden at home. But now we have so much stuff which has bloomed such as rosemary, chives, basil and kaffir lime which we don’t know what do with!

Their wedding reception was held at Watersedge in Walsh Bay. The view here is spectacular, it overlooks the beautiful harbour as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Like all weddings though, I always look forward to the food. The weddings I usually goto are held at a Chinese restaurant with a ten course banquet menu, so it was interesting to see what Watersedge had to offer.

'Truffles of the sea' - Sydney rock oyster, smoked salmon, prawn and crab

The name ‘truffles of the sea’ makes it sound more exotic than it is. It’s a simple plate of fresh seafood with a bit of sauce on the side. A light kick start to the nights proceedings.

Pappardelle a la Burina Ribbon pasta al dente w veal, tomato, onion, white wine, herb and Parmesan

I had the pappardelle and I was glad that it was cooked al dente. Taste wise it lacked a bit of punch, but then again I enjoy having my pasta with a simple sauce. One thing that was lacking was the veal, with only a few pieces to prod at. In saying that, catering for 100 odd guests means consistency is often a hit and a miss.

Fillet of cod

I tried some of my Dad’s dish and we both agreed it was extremely overcooked, with the fish being too dry. I tried my mum’s and found the same thing. It was quite disappointing considering it wasn’t all that bad of a dish. But we all know that you can’t save an overcooked fish.

I missed the name of this dish, but I am pretty sure it was a roast veal. On the menu at the wedding it described it as being served medium well, but it was on the verge of well done. The inconsistency of how steak is cooked amazes me, but in their defense when they have 100 odd diners to cook for some things can be a hit and a miss, especially cooking steak. The sauce was amazing though, it really gave the dry steak a bit of life.

Old time favourite bitter chocolate mousse, citrus fruit

Dessert was more of a success, with the chocolate mousse being extremely light and creamy. It’s the kind of dessert which is a win-win addition to any menu.

Pineapple coconut pannacotta w red berries in Grand Marnier and pistachio biscotti

My favourite dish of the night was this pannacotta. The tang of the pannacotta and berries was balanced well with the crunchy pistachio biscotti.

While I wasn’t all that impressed with the food on the night, it didn’t really matter because the night was all about the celebration of a very special day. It was interesting hearing all the speeches, there are always a few funny stories to tell at the expense of the groom. As they enter the next chapter in their lives, one quote from the groom captured me the most. He said that most people say that the wedding is the happiest moment of their lives, he disagreed and said it was the beginning of many happy moments as husband and wife and he was glad to have the people that mattered the most around him to celebrate.

Watersedge Restaurant

11 Hickson Rd
The Rocks NSW 2000
(02) 9247 4927
web : http://www.watersedge.com.au

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]]> http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/02/23/watersedge-walsh-bay/feed/ 9 -33.855734 151.208836-33.855734151.208836 http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/01/17/glebe-point-diner-glebe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=glebe-point-diner-glebe http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/01/17/glebe-point-diner-glebe/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:55:20 +0000 Minh http://www.eatshowandtell.com/?p=4896 Glebe Point Diner has been on my radar for a while now, they were voted by Time Out Sydney readers as the People’s Choice, but conversely lost a hat in the 2010 Good Food Guide. It’s hard these days to know which source to trust and as always I decide to let my stomach do the deciding. I’m not sure what took me so long to make it out to Glebe Point Diner, but trust me I’ll be back soon enough.

You’d think it would be easy, but choosing a restaurant to eat at on a Friday night is surprisingly difficult. On this Friday our only certainty was that there would be three of us, and that we definitely did not want to eat Japanese! Forgoing our usual Surry Hills and Chinatown haunts we decide to go a little further out of the city and visit Glebe Point Diner, located at the far end of Glebe Point Rd far enough out of the city that the majority of the surrounding buildings are all residential.

Glebe Point Diner - Interior

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Read the rest of Glebe Point Diner, Glebe (1,151 words)

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]]> http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/01/17/glebe-point-diner-glebe/feed/ 17 -33.874657 151.183305-33.874657151.183305 http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/01/13/dinner-danks-st-depot/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dinner-danks-st-depot http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/01/13/dinner-danks-st-depot/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:30:18 +0000 teresa http://www.eatshowandtell.com/?p=4766 Something light for dinner?

In the recent past, Danks St Depot was my favourite sunday brunch haunt (note: the creamed eggs are to-die-for) but due to my recent desire to save and just plain ole laziness, I’ve had to cut this luxury out of my life. We’ve posted about Danks St twice before: For the early dinner’s club and of course, for brunch. This place is a personal favourite of mine and after a recent Christmas dinner here, I decide to make a second return.

At $50 for 3 courses at one of Sydney’s finest slow cooking inspired restaurants, Danks St Depot encapsulates value, quality and taste in all 3 of the courses (there is also the a-la-carte option if 3 courses is too much). On my last visit, I felt lucky to be living in Sydney. A place to taste the fine & fresh produce of our country as well as dishes inspired by our laid back & carefree culture. I thought it was the perfect place to introduce my overseas guest, D, to a place not only showing off our simple yet tasty Australian cuisine, but also our culture and lifestyles.

Table setting

The Starters (@$18)

After a long day of sightseeing in humid weather, salad was the popular choice for both of us.

Tattoo from Sydney Aquarium

Panzenella Salad with red roasted bell peppers (otherwise known as capsicum), bread pieces, ox-heart tomato & basil, dressed with tomato dressing.

Funny enough, I was flipping through the Danks St Depot cook book and found this salad in there (so I’m using references to the ingredients in the recipe). My dining companion found this salad to be more an “acquired taste” type dish. The dressing had a strong salty flavour to it (perhaps from the anchovies that’s used in the dressing). The sourdough pieces was covered soaked in the tomato dressing. According to the recipe, it is explained that stale bread is used. This explains the toughness of biting through each bread piece! The salad had an anchovy-cheesey type flavour, but it must be my liking for anchovies which helped me devour each bite & lick all the sauce… (yum!).

Local Peaches and Apricots roasted with Pancetta, Chilli and Thyme served with Rocket and Parmesan chunks

This was a warm salad which allowed the sweetness of the fruits to become infused with the pancetta and rocket. The pancetta was not too salty & the hint of sweetness balanced out the flavours. The peach and apricots were nicely roasted, enough to become mushy when consumed. (Yes I ate the pancetta. Did I mention that my new years resolution was to become an “occasional” omnivore? ) D found this dish to be the most memorable dish he would have that evening. He mentions the smoky flavor of the roasted fruit plus the strong-flavored (goat’s?) cheese was a perfect match and a great way to start the dining course.

Mains (@$25)

Lamb leg with Confit Mushrooms, Dried Cherry Tomatoes and Salsa Verde

The lamb leg was a nice cut of meat cooked to exactly D’s specifications. However, he felt the lamb fillet was like a steak fillet, but just gamier. The sauce tasted so much nicer after mixing the mint & caper topping in with the lamb sauce. The tomatoes were very sweet (and surprised my foreign friend. His introduction to organic tomatoes. It brought out the real sweetness to how tomatoes should taste like.) The mushrooms were a little flavourless but its bland-ness was welcomed since the other ingredients had quite a strong taste. Although there was a positive praise for this dish, D mentions he would pass on ordering it a second time, possibly trying out other main dishes.

Asparagus risotto with Woodside goats cheese curd & extra asparagus

In the past, I haven’t been a huge fan of goats cheese due to the usual reason: too strong. However, I’ve had the goats curd from Woodside a few times recently and found it strange that the flavour was not as strong as what I envisioned goats’ cheese to taste like. It is relatively light but you can still taste the goats cheese flavours. This dish gave you the option to take a small bit of the cheese with each bite or mix it into the risotto. My style of consuming this dish was to ration the “tiny, dainty spoonfuls of goat’s cheese” for each mouthful whilst D preferred the “mix it into your oatmeal” style (D believed my style was far more inferior than his style. “Think of the time one saves with the oatmeal method”, he explains), but we did agree that the flavours matched so well. It was worth ordering on any trip to Danks St (In fact, I had the same risotto on my last Danks St dinner visit).

Dessert (@$12.50)

The waitress took to laughing a bit as D took advantage of the $3 cup/$5 bowl warm beverage up sell and ordered the long black bowl earning this “smart” shopper the equivalent to 3 cups of strong coffee in one, some funny looks from staff and most importantly, a wicked caffeine buzz.

Hot Liquid Centered Chocolate Fondant served with caramelised Strawberries and Whipped Cream

If you asked me what dessert I wanted, I would reply “anything chocolate”. If this is also your answer, you’d love this dessert. As we dug into the fondant, the warm liquidity chocolate slowly oozed out and mixed with the strawberry sauce. This lightened the sweetness of the oozing chocolate. The chocolate fondant was dark, rich and moist. I found it was one of those desserts where you pick up your spoon to eat it, and you don’t put your spoon down, until you’ve finished. Licking helped us towards the end, to savour the flavour.

Pain Perdu - Warm Bread and Butter Pudding served with Vanilla Anglaise and poached Rhubarb

I had this dessert for the early dinner’s club. It was a memorable experience. Drenching the bread and butter pudding into the vanilla anglaise soaked up extra flavours. There’s a hint of chocolate and something fruity (maybe orange rind??). My favourite was the toffee top. It gave the dessert a nice crunch, but wasn’t too sweet to overpower any other flavours. During this course, I made a comment about rhubard: “Don’t you think rhubarb tastes like celery, but its sweet?” – Does anyone else believe in this too because I certainly do! I LOVE cooked celery. The rhubarb was a little sweet to my liking. I guess it didn’t help by being drenched with the vanilla anglaise.

I love daylight savings

I’ve always had a positive experience at Danks St Depot, however during the busier times, the service is sometimes not as attentive as they should be, but the knowledge of how sweet the waitresses are, the attentiveness is not necessary.
The head chef of Dank St. Depot (Jared Ingersoll) believes in slow-cooking, and I being of the philosophy of slow-eating felt a natural draw to come and eat here. So, if you do too, perhaps check this place out for breakfast, lunch, dinner… or all 3. And @$50 for 3 courses per person, it’s a steal!

Danks Street Depot
1/2 Danks Street (Cnr Young St),
Waterloo, NSW 2017
Web: http://www.danksstreetdepot.com.au/

Breakfast & Lunch: Monday to Sunday
Dinner: Thursday to Saturday

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We ended up getting there before everyone else and so I had to make up some story about how they were running late and for us to be seated first (I guess technically not really a story, because they were!). The surprise kind of fell apart when he overheard the number of people the booking was for (six) and the name the booking was under (Belinda). I lamely tried to hold it together by muttering that my friend’s mother was called Belinda and that I did tell him earlier that it was a really small civil ceremony, but he wasn’t buying it. Sigh. I realised then that organising secret dinners can be hard work but keeping it together til the last minute is even harder!

Grilled Turkish Bread with Rouille, Smoked Eggplant and Broad Bean Dips ($8.50)

Our exclamations of how famished were received with a laugh from our waitress and she asked us if we would like to get the Turkish bread with mixed dips while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. Unhesitatingly, we said yes.

There is always something on the menu that’s totally unfamiliar to me. This time it was Rouille and Wikipedia is ever helpful in telling me that rouille is a sauce made from olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron and chilli peppers.

By the time the dish came out, the rest of our party arrived and we were all heartily digging in. The broad bean dip was a big hit with us (though personally it kind of tasted like humus), while I seemed to be the only person who really liked the smoky eggplant.

Grilled Oysters with Smoked Paprika, Chorizo, Tomato and Onion ($3.50 each)

On finding that he actually likes oysters though only when cooked, F eagerly ordered this dish and was not disappointed. The heat from the smoked paprika and chorizo was, so I was told, a very nice compliment to the warm oyster. Everyone seemed to like the oysters a lot – so much so that they ordered another plate!

Grilled 1/2 Shell Scallops with Chilli Hollandaise and Asian Salad ($19)

While I couldn’t try any of the oysters (chorizo AND smoked paprika would have sent me jumping into the harbour, I’m sure), I eagerly dug into the scallops. Unfortunately for me, I forgot about the “chilli” component in the hollandaise sauce and I had a moment of creamy bliss before the fire. Sigh. The scallop was fairly decently grilled, being juicy and slightly firm though on the verge of being over-cooked, and paired quite well with the sauce.

Gorgeous view

As we finished off the remnants of our entrees, we were treated to a pretty sunset and the sun slipped from view just as our mains were served.

Pan Seared Tuna with Tabouleh, Garlic Toum and Romesco ($28)

Nausicaa finding her fish being perfectly and tastily cooked, shared it amongst us and I had to agree: it was deliciously cooked. I thought the sauce was wonderfully creamy, matching very well to the fish.

Salt & Pepper Squid with Chilli Sambal ($26)

The squid was soft and moist – surprisingly the chilli sambal wasn’t very spicy. Though to be honest, I didn’t have much of this dish as I was too busy digging into my main.

Pan Seared Ocean Trout with Coriander Rice, Asian Salad and Chilli Jam ($28)

The fish was very well cooked and seasoned but I think the coriander rice and Asian salad was just a bit disappointing for F.

Pino's Lamb and Rosemary Sausage with Crushed Kifpler Potatoes and Red Wine Jus ($28)

Sadly, I never found out what the lamb and the sausage was like, but from the empty plate I saw being taken away said something I should think! Hehe

Grilled Beef Tenderloins with Pumpkin and Smoked Sweet Potato Mash, Red Wine Jus and Tomato Fondue ($29)

While the beef was wonderfully succulent and tender, there was an overwhelming taste of… well… the char from the grill. I got a bit distracted by it and was grateful for the wonderfully creamy mash, crisps and the quite lovely sauce.

Creamy Mash ($7)

This mash reminds me of the time dad instant mash with not enough milk and too much of the dehydrated potato. His mash was quite thick, but interestingly, this mash wasn’t – it wasn’t dry either, even though it looked like it was.

Assorted Cheese Plate with Grapes and Crackers ($22)

F decided to be different and ordered the assorted cheese plate (I know I’ve said this before, but cheese plates are not dessert!). He thought the cheese were nice and creamy with a smooth texture – and the blue wasn’t too overwhelming. The grapes were a nice touch, as it brought a refreshing sweetness inbetween bites and cheeses.

Cracked Mocha Creme Brulee with Biscotti ($12.50)

I heard that the creme brulee was only “okay”, though much fun was had in cracking the top, as it was satisfyingly substantial.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry Caramel ($12.50)

The panna cotta was well liked and the raspberry caramel was enthusiastically mopped up with each mouthful. The fairy floss added that extra bit of sweetness to the dish.

Menage a Trois of Summer Berries with Mascarpone Mousse and Crisp Meringue ($14)

I was drawn in by offering of luscious berries, mascarpone and meringue. I thought it was a really nice surprise to get a big ball of berry sorbet on top of all that yummy goodness. It was a really nice, refreshing dessert, but to be honest, it was a little much. By the end of it, I was quite sick of the mascarpone.

Big Ol' Smily Face Himself

Ripples at Milsons Point was a more casual dining experience than I expected. We all were dressed up and I was surprised (and a little embarrassed) to see pretty much all of the customers in casual clothing. In saying that, it’s a laid-back type of restaurant with gorgeous views and great wait staff.

Ripples at Milsons Point
Olympic Drive
Milsons Point, NSW, 2061
Ph: (02) 9929 7722
Web: http://www.ripplescafe.com.au/

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Post tags: beef, Dessert, lamb, Seafood

Last time I was here, I was with Minh and the menu was a la carte. I heard that Oscillate Wildly changed the format after that and only served a degustation menu. I’ve always wondered if the degustation was a good idea (was totally ambivalent about the change) and so it was rather exciting that I got to try it out as an early birthday dinner.

When our waiter advised that I might want to give the bread a miss due to the degustation being fairly large for some ladies, F and I traded amused looks as we thought about our epic effort at Etch. I thanked him for his advice and quite without meaning to, polished off my bread before F did (honest!). A bit belatedly, I hoped my stomach was up to the task.

King Prawn, Eggplant and Beancurd

The warm beancurd was incredibly silky smooth, pairing very well with the perfectly seasoned king prawn and crispy eggplant. The little stick thing was actually dehydrated beancurd, giving the dish that extra crunchy texture. I really wanted to make this delicious dish last, but it was a bit too good to keep from polishing it off somewhat quickly.

Bantam Egg, Ortiz Anchovies and Rye

The Bantam egg was slow-cooked in a 65-degree water bath for I think 65 minutes. The yolk was a glorious gooey mess that mixed together with the saltiness of the anchovies and the almost bland, but wonderfully al dente rye noodles. The crisp, also made from rye, added a welcoming crunch to the dish and I loved visual of the dehydrated parsley that was sprinkled on top of the egg.

Mulloway, Fennel, Speck and Black Sesame Pearls

I can appreciate how hard it is to cook a piece of fish perfectly so that the consistency of the flesh is moist and tender throughout (though I suppose some pieces/fish are easier to cook than others). As I methodically demolished the fish, it was very apparent that this was one very perfectly cooked mulloway. Bliss. The large grains of salt and hard speck added a really nice salty and crunchy component to the fish, though I couldn’t really taste the black sesame pearls.

Chicken, Celeriac and Puffed Grains

The chicken was scrumptiously succulent and I loved how well-matched it was with the roasted puffed grains. Upon request, the waiter told us that there were five type of grains used… though sadly I can’t remember any except for quinoa.

I’ve recently discovered why I get so light-headed when a degustation is particularly good: I forget to breathe properly – I just eat bite after bite, savouring the textures and flavours. It’s silly, isn’t it? I had to remember to take a break and breathe properly by this stage when I realised I was starting to get light-headed.

Pork, Kartoffel Knoedel and Kale

Our waiter came over with our dishes and asked me how I was going. I told him that I was okay and could still eat some more. He commended me on how well I was doing, as the degustation had bested ladies who were bigger than me, and said that I would get prize. Then he hastily added that really there wasn’t a prize and that he really should have said that. Haha… aww, shucks.

It was unfortunate that a bright, blue light switched itself on at this point in time (what is it with me and blue lights?!) and I naturally fretted how the photos would turn out (end result: not happy, so I apologise for the remaining photos).

I think so far, out of all the dishes that have come and gone, this was the most interesting looking. Its dramatic dark blue-purple dollops and smears with the crispy, fan-like kale and the delicious-looking pork just made us stop and admired it at all sorts of angles (though of course I was looking for the best angle to photograph it… haha).

The pork lived up to what it looked like: so tender, moist and well-seasoned and I really enjoyed the different flavour combination of the kale and potato knoedel, using most of my pork to mop up the plate.

Cheese Platter

We were given the option to get a cheese plate or to go straight onto desserts. I’m not sure why we went with the cheese plate, as we normally don’t get it, but I’m really glad that we did. The cheese (unfortunately I have no idea what it was) was mild, soft and smooth, while the fresh apples and kamquats helped cut the creaminess of the cheese. I really liked the “crackers” (for lack of a better word) and I really should have asked what they were.

Sichuan Marshmallow, Mandarin and Strawberry

I was a bit worried with the Sichuan marshmallow (as we all know my tolerance to chilli – or lack thereof hehe), but it was all for naught, as the spice was quite light on the tongue. I adored this dessert: the mandarin sorbet was incredibly refreshing and slightly tart, pairing surprisingly well with the strawberries (both fresh and dehydrated). I forced myself to slow down and just savour the different flavours and textures – it was really hard to have such self-control in the face of something so delicious.

Pear, Chocolate and Celery Sorbet

I was actually more apprehensive of this dessert than the Sichuan marshmallow, as who have ever heard of celery sorbet? For me, celery are best had in soups, as then I can’t taste its bitterness in its raw form. Our waiter told us that the components in this dessert should not be tasted individually, rather they should be tasted all together.

Obediently, I tried all the components together. The chocolate sorbet was surprisingly dry, while the celery sorbet provided the refreshing and bright flavour component of the dessert. The poached pear added the much needed touch of sweetness and juice to the dish, though I barely noticed the basil seeds.

F loved this dish and I think it’s because despite of the unusual components of the dessert, he felt like they all worked well together. For me, it’s a bit too unusual, but that’s not to say I didn’t like it (just not as much as F! Hehe) and I really admire the gutsy-ness in trying something so different.

Petit Fours - Dark Chocolate Caramel Lollipop, Mixed Nuts and Berry Nougat and Blood Orange Jelly

Ah petit fours. I realised that I am in love with petit fours – no matter what they are. It’s always exciting to see what they will be when I order my tea. The lollipop was pretty nice, but I crunched my way through it to get to the nougat (where it dawned on me that I have a soft-spot for nougats). The nougat was soft and as you can see, packed with nuts and berries – bless. I have an even bigger soft-spot for blood orange and saved what I thought would be the best for last. The jelly was soft, sweet and had that sharp tang you’d associate with blood orange. Yum.

Even with such great expectations, I didn’t feel like I was let down once during our meal. Just short of gushing, I loved the delicious creativity and freshness of the produce from Oscillate Wildly. The wait staff were so friendly and always had a smile for their customers. It’s also really nice that they knew the dishes really well and was able to answer all our probing questions (even though I’ve forgotten most of them! Sadness). When our waiter saw me taking photos of the menu, he promptly produced a copy of the menu complete in an envelope for me. Now that’s some service!

Oscillate Wildly, as F tells me, is under some renovation for a couple of months. I’m not sure when exactly they will be re-opened, but keep an eye for it! This is definitely one restaurant you should try. Booking is essential, as it’s a tiny restaurant, seating about 30 people.

Edit: The degustation was $95 and the cheese plate was an extra $12.

Oscillate Wildly
275 Australia St
Newtown, NSW, 2042
Ph: (02) 9517 4700

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Post tags: Dessert, pork, poultry

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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We were surprised that there were three options available for their Let’s Do Lunch (on SIFF’s website, there’s only one): jewfish, duck leg confit and roast lamb. I slightly lamented that we didn’t have a third person with us, but what can you do. I stuck with my original choice (the only one I thought was available) of jewfish, while F opted for the duck.

One of the waiters informed us that the shaved calamari had run out and whether it would be okay if the chef replaced it with some seared scallops. Heck yeah. I said “yes” in a heart beat.

Pan Roasted Jewfish with Seared Scallop, Spring Asparagus, Beans and Peas and Romesco Salsa

(...)
Read the rest of SIFF Let’s Do Lunch, est. Sydney (487 words)

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So, Gary and I ended up at Bistro CBD simply because it was my turn to choose where we were going eat and I wanted to see what Bistro CBD was like. It also didn’t hurt that Bistro CBD is about a minute away from my work (so lazy, I know! It’s terrible).

For a Wednesday night, the ground floor bar was completely packed out, most if not all of whom were business people. It wasn’t all that fun trying to squeeze past all the tall people too involved in their conversation to move out of the way to get to the spiral staircase tucked away in the far corner. I couldn’t help but survey the room once I got to the stairs and was in slight awe at just how many people there were – it was a sea of dark coloured suits.

Upstairs in Bistro CBD was a completely different story: we were the only people there though a few more people trickled in as the night progressed.

4 freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters

(...)
Read the rest of Merivale Winter Feast, Bistro CBD, Sydney (725 words)

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Post tags: Dessert, lamb, veal

I don’t find myself in Windsor all that often, but when a restaurant that’s only been opened since late last year has been getting quite a word-of-mouth praising by their customers, I thought I might pop over there and see what’s the go.

We were promptly shown to our seats when we arrived and served water soon after as we perused the menu. I had taken the initiative to pick out my main beforehand from the online menu (yeah, I was kind of overly enthusiastic), but noticed that the menu was slightly different, which kind of threw my plans into a slight disarray.

Finally though, after some “I’ll get this if you get that” dealings, we worked out what we both wanted.

Side of Wedges and Aioli ($8)

Hand-cut Wedges... So massive!!

When F’s entrée of wedges with aioli came out, we both thought they had gotten our order wrong and had given us a main! The huge bowl was filled to the brim with hand-cut wedges, which were lightly seasoned with some spice. They were also cooked to perfection: crisp on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. The aioli was okay (F took a shine to it actually), though I liked eating the wedges on its own.

Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Wasabi Coleslaw and Pork Reduction ($16)

I was glad that my entrée wasn’t as ginormous when I saw it approach the table – I hate wasting food because I can’t finish it. The pork belly was pretty nicely done; I liked how crunchy the skin was and how succulent the pork was underneath. I didn’t care much for the coleslaw though. I felt that the cabbage taste, made sharp by the wasabi, jarred and overwhelmed the delicate flavours of the pork a bit.

Lamb Backstrap with Port Jus on Rosemary and Olive Polenta with Wilted Spinach ($35)

F’s main looked so scrumptious and hearty – and I looked on with envy. The lamb was beautifully cooked and deliciously well-seasoned. The lamb was so incredibly tender that F’s knife slid through it like a hot knife through butter. F loved the polenta and I was told that the components all complimented each other very well.

Side of Caesar Salad ($8)

When his “side” order of caesar salad came out, we again thought they had our order wrong… It was gigantic! We couldn’t help but check out the receipt afterwards and realised that it truly was a side serving. The salad was your average fare, though it did spark a bit of a debate between us: was that fried bacon or fried prosciutto? I thought it was fried/dried bacon or something because it was a bit too thick to be prosciutto and it wasn’t as salty.

Beef Tenderloin on Volcanic Rock with Mashed Potatoes, Bernaise Sauce and a side salad ($35)

I don’t know what it is, but I love cooking my own dish at the table. Hearing the sizzle as the beef cook on the volcanic slab and having to turn it over, making sure it doesn’t burn, was a lot of fun. Though for some reason, when I read on the menu that I’d be cooking my own meat on a volcanic rock, I thought that I’d be literally cooking on a rock, draping my meat over it and all that. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t because the volcanic rock-slab was so… civilised. Heh.

I found that I had to take the tenderloin off the slab before it cooked too much – the slab stayed hot for quite a while. I really liked the beef; it was perfectly seasoned with thyme and pepper and it was so jucily tender. I’m a total wuss with anything spicy and that also extends to pepper – terrible I know. Anything that has “too much” pepper in it makes me reach for a glass of water, spluttering. I was surprised that even though it looked like there was a lot of pepper on the beef, it was pretty mild.

I had a choice of roasted potatoes, chips, or mash. Much of the reason why I chose mash was the curiosity of how they make it (and see how it compares to the french-style mash I’ve grown to become overly obsessed about). The mash was quite good: heartily thick and creamy with a few lumps (I actually like my mash a bit lumpy).

Garden Salad that accompanied the Beef Tenderloin

To be honest, I didn’t get to eat much of the salad that accompanied the beef. I was pretty full by this stage (I totally blame those addictive wedges) and was mindful of the dessert we were to have later. I did pick at it (mostly the tomatoes and cucumber) and managed to finish about half of it.

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta served with Balsamic Reduction Strawberries ($12)

Ever since we had Jonah’s panna cotta at the Taste Festival, F likes to do the “wobble test”: if it wobbles like Jonah’s did, then there’s a high probability that it will be good (see chocolatesuze chuck a wobbly). The Vault 146′s panna cotta did wobble like Jonah’s and it was delectably creamy. The strawberries and balsamic reduction were a nice touch too.

F still raves on about the panna cotta and said that if he didn’t know any better, he would have thought the chef that made that Jonah’s panna cotta works here.

Creme Brulee with Toffee Shards and fresh Strawberries ($12)

The toffee shards had me a bit worried that the creme brulee would not have that famous hard caramel to crack (I love cracking it), like it was some sort of fancy de-constructed creme brulee. It wasn’t, but it wasn’t very thick either to have that satisfying crack as you tap the top with your spoon (it cracked rather meekly and quietly as it was so thin). Despite that, it was actually pretty good, even though it had a hint of ginger in it (and I don’t normally like ginger in anything).

I loved the toffee shards though. They were fun to eat and when combined with a nibble of strawberry and a spoonful of creme brulee… oh! It was a deliciously fun party.

Looking into the Kitchen

More often than not, we seem to be seated near the kitchen and it’s always interesting to see how the kitchen and wait staff out in front work together.

The chef would ding his bell to signal a dish ready to be served and the wait staff would come up to collect and serve it appropriately. With one of the dishes served that night, the chef dinged once, noticed that the waitress was already heading his way and dinged the bell a couple more times in a well-known rhythm, which the waitress seamlessly finished off when she got there. Cute!

Outside Vault 146

Vault 146 is established in a building that used to be a bank, which made me realise why it looks grandiose. Inside, it is a spaciously shiny restaurant/wine bar with a relaxing atmosphere. I was surprised to find that even though it was a Wednesday night it was decently filled with customers – mostly by couples, although there were a couple of families.

The service here is brisk and efficient – the wait staff friendly and direct. Both F and I really enjoyed our night at Vault 146 with their super generous serving sizes (we were so full, we practically rolled back to the car) and equally wonderfully flavoured and textured dishes. We would definitely come back for a satisfying meal.

Quite frankly, I think this is one of those restaurants that gives the stereotype that there isn’t any nice, affordable, “fancy” food in the west the boot.

Vault 146
146 George Street
Windsor, NSW, 2756
Ph: (02) 4587 8146
Web: http://www.vault146.com.au/

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, Dessert, lamb

A last minute invitiation from Melanie at Merivale saw a group of food bloggers huddled outside of Bistro CBD in honour of their 15 years in service. Merivale seems to be really stepping up their game this winter, firstly with their Winter Feasts menus and now Bistro CBD celebrations. Having never had the chance to eat at Bistro CBD before I was curious to see what their food would be like.

Apologies in advance for some of my photos! Using flash in a restaurant is usually a taboo I try to avoid, but in canape gathering type situations the flash inevitably comes out of my bag. My settings are somewhat all over the place at the beginning of the night resulting in what must be one of my worst food photos yet… a photo so dark that the platter looks like it is floating in midair… I promise you that somewhere in this photo is the arm of one of the servers.

Duck Rilette & Beetroot En Croute

Oh dear. To its credit the dish tasted much better than my photo gave it credit, the Croute gives a satisfying crunch and being a fan of Duck I enjoy the beetroot/duck combition.

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Read the rest of Bistro CBD Tasting Event, Sydney CBD (620 words)

© Minh for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bistro cbd, blogger event, canapes, Dinner, merivale

I have a habit of always returning to the same places to eat even though there are so many other places to dine at. When you’re begging for a pay rise but also struggling to figure out what you want to do in your career, keeping an eye on your wallet when satisfying your stomach is a tough ask. It also doesn’t help that over the years I have developed a finer appreciation for good food, hence the start of this blog. Sure the food has to taste good, but there is also a sense of enjoyment when marvelling the aesthetic brilliance of food. It seems Sepia is one of those restaurants which delivers on both fronts.

Sepia is located on the Northern end of Sussex St which does not attract a huge proportion of the CBD crowd on a Friday night, but judging by the packed house this evening it seems one of Sydney’s best kept dining secrets won’t be a secret for too much longer. There is a nice relaxed ambience when walking into Sepia despite the huge crowd as we were seated promptly by our Waiter. You know your evening is off to a good start when the waiter is happy as well.

Before dining here I did a bit of research and was amazed at the pedigree of the Chefs who worked here. Martin Benn was the Executive Chef at Tetsuya’s and Daniel Puskas was the Head Chef of Oscillate Widly. Surely we were in for a treat ?

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Read the rest of Sepia Restaurant & Wine Bar, Sydney (2,364 words)

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: CBD, Degustation, Dessert, Dinner, sepia, Sydney

F ordered 4 scotch fillets and initially, we were going to have 2 of the scotch fillets for lunch, then the last 2 for dinner. However, we didn’t count on how full we’d be after the first lunch and so opted to have the other 2 for lunch the next day instead. I think if we hadn’t done so, I would have been full until the following Tuesday.

Wagyu Scotch Fillet Sandwich

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Read the rest of CookShow&Tell, Wagyu Lunches (1,469 words)

© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: steak

Having somehow managing to miss most of the previous Merivale events I was pretty excited when the launch fell on a night when I was available. We were graciously invited by Melissa from Merivale to come in 15 minutes before the general opening to the public, just enough time to rush around a grab shots of most of the plates. However, I managed to get myself so lost I ended up at the Ivy and doing a dash in the drizzle to make it over to Establishment with barely 5 minutes to spare.

Avocado, king crab and mint on lavosh

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Read the rest of Merivale Winter Feasts Launch, Establishment (527 words)

© Minh for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Yes, I’m the biggest groupie. After seeing the egg net salad on Masterchef, I went through a phase of “ hey it’s on Masterchef, it must be good … let’s go there! “. A week later, I find myself at Longrain and seeing Martin Boetz in the comfort of his own kitchen making copious amounts of the infamous egg net.

Ping Pong: Lemon, Vodka, Lychee Liquer, Lychee, Passionfruit and Lime

I’ve always maintained a love hate relationship with modern interpretations of traditional cuisines. They have not always lived up to expectations as it sometimes seems the chef is trying too hard to be different when it is the simplicity of the original dish which already makes it unique. Naturally I was sceptical of Longrain, after my first visit I should probably never judge a book by its cover.

From the outside, Longrain looks very mundane, nothing special. Once you pass through the front door, it’s a whole different atmosphere. The warehouse type setting is separated into two sections, one side is transformed into a hip bar with trendy crowds sipping on fantastic cocktails chattering away accompanied by music played by the house DJ in the background. Divided by the open kitchen, the opposite side houses two long communal tables packed with patrons gleefully enjoying their meal.

Stickmata: Sole berry vodka, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, Lime

Asia carera: Pear Vodka, sake, pineapple, mint, falermum syrup, cloudy apple juice, fresh lime juice

Rose Porteous: Lemon vodka, watermelon liquer, fresh mint, watermelon, cranberry juice

The next of our cocktails were named after the famed Asia Carera and mega wealthy woman Rose Porteous. The Asia Carera is quite exotic with the inclusion of falernum syrup. Trusty old wikipedia suggests that falernum “contains flavors of almond, ginger and/or cloves, and lime, and sometimes vanilla or all spice”

The richness of the Rose Porteous is how I would actually imagine Rose to enjoy her cocktails, a mix of all the good stuff.

At the bar

We were told that the wait could be at least an hour, disappointed we moved to the waiting side and ordered a couple of cocktails and nibbles while thinking how glad we were to be escaping from the torrential downpour outside. One thing led to another and we ended up with a few entrees.

Freshly shucked oyster with red chilli lime juice & deep fried eschalots $4.00

Fresh briny oysters with a slightly sour chilli sauce accompanied by crunchy eshalots was a great start to our meal. This reminded me of the oysters served at Assiette.

Betel leaf topped with prawn roasted coconut mint & chilli $5.50

Despite the utilisation of the same chilli sauce that had been used on the oysters above, the inclusion of the betel leaves and toasted coconut helped differentiate the flavours between the two dishes, with this one imparting a more fragrant flavour.

Grilled beef pieces with a peanut dipping sauce

Tender pieces of beef marinade in a chilli peanut sauce then quickly grilled. A great accompaniment to our cocktails. I recall eating a similar dish on my last trip to Singapore and Malaysia, chargrilled pieces of meat dipped in a peanut satay sauce while knocking down a few ice cold beers.

Time for the mains

Coincidentally as we finished our bar dishes and cocktails, our seats were ready. Walking past the fish tank, peering into the kitchen, I spotted Martin calmly cooking away. After a quick 15 minutes, our first dish arrived, it was the eggnet, made famous my Martin’s celebrity chef challenge on Masterchef.

Eggnet with pork prawn peanuts bean sprouts & sweet vinegar $28.50

Laces of fine threads of egg encasing a plethora of pork, prawn and bean sprout pieces, garnished with coriander and basil with a sweet and sour sauce. This colourful and fresh dish was as tasty as it looked. I’m embarrassed to say that I had the dish to myself. A beautiful light salad with fresh crispy vegetables, fish sauce and crunchiness, encompassing everything that is Thai food.

Caramelised pork hock with five spice & chilli vinegar $29.50

Next up was the infamous caramelised pork hock. One of the most addictive things that I have had the pleasure of eating. A crispy slightly exterior pork skin aligning soft tender meat. Dipped in the accompanying sweet vinegar chilli dipping sauce, served with fragrant warm rice, my favourite dish of the night by a country mile.

Slow cooked curry of pork with thai basil & coconut cream $38.00

Despite the pull apart softness of the pork, I found this dish too spicy for my tastebuds, thus requesting the aid of chopped iced cucumbers. The perfect ailment for a burning numbing mouth.

I was about to desert the dessert

By this stage I was stuffed to the rafters but after spying the desserts our neighbours were having, I had to give them a whirl as well. As usual, our ambition combined with 2 bottles of wine and four cocktails between two people made us order the dessert platter.

Centre: Passionfruit pulp and young coconut jelly

The slightly sour passionfruit pulp helped neutralise the rich coconut jelly. I did notice that the juice/flesh of the young coconut was much more fragrant than the more mature ones which are often utilised.

Black sticky rice, custard apple and sweet coconut cream

I can’t recall this dish having a great impact on my tastebuds, however looking back at the picture, I’m pretty sure I would have appreciated it much more had I been sober.

Middle : Vanilla flavoured Tapioca, Top Right: Duck egg custard, Bottom Right: Sorbet

A very common dessert in most South East Asian countries which is simple in aesthetics but delicious. The tapioca balls add texture to the creaminess of the coconut milk.

At this point, I was just too full, and so the thought of sorbet and custard was daunting. I had a small bite of each, I can’t remember what flavour the sorbet was, but it was quite sour compared to the overly sweet custard. In saying that, it’s the perfect contrast of flavours. The duck egg custard was extremely thick and rich, it would have gone down well with a cup of tea.

Toasted coconut with palm sugar ice cream with banana fritters

I’m glad we left this till last. It was one of my favourite dessert of the night, beautiful creamy ice cream atop crispy gooey banana fritters. I loved coating my tongue with the cold ice cream, and then biting into the hot fritter, quite a novelty.

Prior to attending Longrain, I was quite sceptical of the quality and authenticity of the food that I’d be served relative to the price. However, I can safely conclude that the food at Longrain not only retains the authentic flavours that is specific to Thai cuisine, but through the inclusion of Martin’s creativity has actually enhanced it without compromising the basic flavours of Thai cuisine. The queue was long, the price a little steep, but the food and alcohol more than made up for it.

Longrain

85 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Phone (02) 9280 2888
Fax (02) 9280 2887

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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I’ve read about the Wagyu burger on several blogs recently, so I figured it was time I ventured down Kent St to try one of my own. I tend to neglect places which are close to my work place, my work mates tend to stick to the ‘favourites’ so it is often a hard sell to get them to venture down to somewhere like Plan B.

Luckily I have Minh, Timbk2 and Pun Man acting as my sidekicks who are willing to try new things for lunch. They couldn’t resist the lure of a $10 burger, especially if it’s wagyu.

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Read the rest of Plan B, Becasse (506 words)

© Howard for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: lunch