Author: Ardi

Ginger and Spice Singapore Restaurant

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8 /10

Price Range: $25 – $30

Place: 7/10

Review:

It was really hard to decide which restaurant I was going to review after a fabulous night at Quay… but the show must go on and I chose Ginger and Spice Singapore restaurant. Reviewers described this restaurant as ‘a place to experience genuine street food as you might find in Singapore’ – No tone down, no westernised taste.

Upon arrival to the restaurant, we were greeted by the ‘usual’ Chinese-style waiting and I also caught a glimpse of an article about Tetsuya’s visit to the restaurant. We were a bit early and had to wait until our allocated time. However, as one of Sydney’s finest Singaporean restaurant, we were less impressed by the seemingly ‘standard’ table arrangements and menu.

As with any other Chinese restaurants, we ordered 5 dishes to be shared by the whole table. Unsurprisingly, their trademark, Hainan Chicken was brought out first. It was the only dish that they served in a nice leaf-like plate with three different sauces. It was the only-well presented dish of the night and the taste was also great. We had to wait for quite a bit for the next one, Beef Rendang, to come out. A classical Malaysian/Indonesian Beef with Rendang flavour. The meat was very tender and the sauce was also nice.

The third dish was Garlic Prawns, although to be honest, it was more like ‘a bunch of onions with some prawns on top’. It was our least favourite dish of the day because of the fact that it was too simple. We could just get it from any other Chinese restaurants for a much cheaper price, and not everyone got a prawn. Next one came the only veggies of the day, Long Bean Balacan. Another classical Asian dish, long beans stir-fried with real shrimp paste and some other yummy ingredients. This is one of the few vegetable dishes that I could actually enjoy.

Best one for the day, and came lucky last, was the Sweet Soy Calamari. Presentation wise, it was worrying, and we did not expect anything judging by the looks. However, on a first bite, it quickly became the dish of the day. The calamari was cooked to perfection, crunchy all the way. Since sweet soy sauce was also my favourite, the experience became extraordinary. For drinks, I ordered a Grass Jelly drink. This typical Southeast Asian reminded me how refreshingly different they were.

The final verdict: There is no doubt that in terms of quality, the food was excellent. Special credit goes for the Sweet Soy Calamari. However, lack of efforts put on interior design and staffs’ below-par customer service has made the experience a less satisfying one.

Did you know?

Neutral Bay is known as the mid-upper class place where over-priced restaurants are everywhere, unless you get the quality one.

Generally speaking, I always hesitate to go to Indonesian-like restaurant because of the exorbitant price when compared to real street food in Indonesia.

Location:

240 Military Rd, Neutral Bay NSW 2089

Website:

It’s surprising to learn that as a famous restaurant, they don’t have their own website.

Nov 16, 2010
Quay Restaurant

Rating:

9 / 10

10 for its Snow Egg!!

Taste: 9 /10

Price for Degustation: $210

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

Quay Restaurant is officially Australia’s best restaurant of 2010. It captured the crown from Tetsuya’s, which plunged on the world’s rating. One of its strengths was the restaurant’s location. It sits atop Sydney’s best spot with vintage view of both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

We were indulged in eight exquisite tasting plates – with an additional appetiser, petits fours, and coffee and tea of our choice, from Sydney’s infamous chef, Peter Gilmore. We also specially requested to have their legendary Eight Texture Chocolate Cake since it was not on the degustation menu. There was also four types of sourdough bread that you could have as a side.

Amuse-bouche – Truffle and Consomme

This is the chef’s welcome plate. I am not sure what was in it or how the waiter exactly pronounced it, but this tiny plate packed up massive punch. Unfortunately for me, it tasted better than most of the entrees for the night.

Smoked eel & sea scallop pearl, horseradish

The name didn’t really reflect all of the ingredients of this plate. On top of the dish were two purple flower petals and edible silver foil. The next layer was the smoked eel and a ball of sea scallop pearl with a hint of horseradish sauce at the bottom. It was a simple and beautiful dish in a shell-like plate.

Salad of pink turnips & breakfast radishes, violets, olives, pine, resin, balsamico

Definitely my least favourite plate of the day! Basically, it’s a plate full of colourful vegetables in a bed of goat cheese. Granted that they must be the freshest and most exciting vegetables I’ve tasted, but at the end of the day, they’re still vegetables and I don’t like them. The goat cheese saved my day since it brought in flavour into the plate.

Gentle braise of pearl oyster, southern rock lobster, shaved squid, tapioca, lettuce heart, oyster cream, pea flowers

Our next entrée was a plate full of mashed up seafood. The seafood flavour was too rich to my liking and the vegetables did little help to neutralise it. There were slices of scallops that did not seem to be on the menu. It would have been much better if they would go easy on enhancing the seafood taste, since individually the seafood was excellent.

Butter poached coturnix quail breast, chestnuts, truffle, milk skin, and walnuts

The main course came in with a bang. Beautifully cooked and glazed quail breast was laid in a bed of chestnuts and a truffle with some nutty sauce. On its own the quail was pristine. Juicy, chewy, and yummy flavours all rolled into one. Combined with the nuts and truffle, it became unbelievable. One of my friend described eating it as ‘ I’m having my out-of-this-world moment’. It was just surreal.

Poached Blackmore wagyu fillet, Tasmanian wasabi, morels

The second main course was also breathtaking. Lightly poached marbled wagyu fillet accompanied by soft Tasmanian wasabi tasted extremely chewable and juicy. The soft meat was complemented by nice green spinach and green peas puree. I was amazed by the softness of the meat.

Braised Snapper Fillet (alt. Slow braised Berkshire pig jowl, maltose crackling, prunes, cauliflower cream, perfumed with prune kernel oil)

The pig jowl was in the degustation menu but we opted for the alternative Braised Snapper Fillet. Perfectly cooked fish fillet with white cucumber and tasty yellow sauce with a garnish of spinach. Although it was the least interesting of the three, the fish was very good. The alternative menu looked equally crackling.

Jackfruit Snow Egg

This one was made famous by the show Masterchef. Full-on gastronomy in action! It was an egg-shaped meringue with custard filling. Covering the egg was burnt caramel and sprinkles of powdered sugar. The glass’ base was filled with jackfruit granita (shaved ice with jackfruit flavour). This was a real stunner. You had to ‘crack’ the egg as if cracking a real egg. Then the soft egg whites would stick to the skin with ‘egg yolk’ dripping out of the egg. Taste wise? Heavenly refreshing!

Preserved wild cherry compote, coconut cream, chuao chocolate crumble, milk meringue crystals

This was supposed to be the heavy hitter that replaced their legendary cake. Presentation wise, it was great but it didn’t quite capture my tastebuds. The compote was excessively sweet. The combination of coconut and chocolate base was two of my least favourite dessert ingredients. We thought it was too heavy to be the last dish of the day.

Eight Texture Chocolate Cake

This one was out of the menu but we ordered it to fulfil our curiosity for Quay’s legendary cake. First it looked like a block of plain chocolate cake. Then melted chocolate was poured on top of it and created a concave into the cake.

Café Latte and Petits Fours

As a closure, there were café latte with 4 pieces of hazelnut chocolate and Bailey amaretto chocolate.

The final verdict: Quay totally deserved the title of this year’s best restaurant because of its innovative array of menu. Snow egg and Quail breast were my highlights of the day. I reckon they are much, much, better than the legendary Chocolate Cake. Decoration wise, the restaurant looked a bit out of date, but with a view like that, nobody would complaint.

Did you know?

As with any other ultra-famous restaurant, Booking is a necessity. You will not get a table if you just walk in – unless if you are Brad Pitt, I suppose. So, please book months in advance.

Unlike in Tetsuya’s, we actually did not meet Peter Gilmore in person.

Location:

Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, NSW, Australia

http://www.quay.com.au/

+61 2 9251 5600

Nov 1, 2010
Yuzu Restaurant

Rating:

8 / 10

Taste: 8/10

Price Range: $15++ per dish

Place: 8/10

Review:

One of the finest recommendations by my colleague, Yuzu restaurant surprised me with their simplistic-yet-classy decoration and not-your-average-yet-very-tasty Japanese food. They have a very simple selection of food, which were served according to the season. This review took place in wintertime. Before we start the review, I must warn you that this is not your average dine out restaurant as each dish cost in excess of $15 and ideally each person would order around 3 dishes. Also as usual, please book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Similar to Tetsuya’s style, Yuzu served a combination of French-style Japanese cuisine. The dishes came in a degustation-style plate. First dish that came out was the Aburi Salmon Sushi. We were not given soy sauce for the Sushi because the Salmon were already pre-soaked in the sauce before they aburi (seared with blow torch) them. It’s definitely one of the better sushi that I’ve tasted, since I couldn’t really differentiate between great and excellent sushi.

For the second plate, we had Shiitake Tempura. Judging by its presentation, it’s the least interesting dish of the night but it packed a few surprises. Firstly was its accompanying green tea salt. Then, inside the tempura, there was also stuffed beef. The green tea salt accentuated the shiitake and beef flavour.

Next one on was Deep Fried King Prawns. I must say that the picture did not justify how big the prawns were. In addition to its size, the prawns were also very crunchy and golden brown. The green tartare sauce added a whole new dimension to their flavour.

Our main dish of the night is Alfoncino Nimono. According to Wikipedia, Alfoncino is a pretty rare red fish that are found in deepwater of a temperate ocean. Nimono is a kind of Japanese simmering technique that can also mean boil and season. The fish was cooked perfectly but yet still retain its juiciness. The nimono technique drew out sweet flavour from the fish and the shiitake with green vegetables were complementing the fish.

Last but (definitely) not least is the drink, the Yuzu tea. This drink is the best non-alcoholic drink I have ever tasted. It looked like a lemon tea, but instead of lemon, they put Yuzu’s (which is a kind of Citrus fruit) zest and peel. It tasted very sweet with a hint of bitterness, but at the same time very refreshing. Again, it’s not our regular cup of tea and unfortunately they don’t do refill.

Did you know?

Pyrmont is the home of some of Sydney’s famous places. The Sydney’s Fish Market is a place to be if you want good, fresh seafood. It’s also cheaper to buy the fish here. Star City casino is also located in this suburb. The casino has a one-hat restaurant, Lyrics theatre, and several other entertainments.

Location:

1/7 Scott St, Pyrmont NSW 2009

Oct 17, 2010
Potluck

This week will be our Special Potluck Event. We invited 12 friends to share dishes. We had three appetisers, three main courses, two desserts, and a drink menu. I am going to list the dishes based on its order of serving. Since there will be 9 items here, I will only describe what it looks like.

The Experience

Appetiser #1 – Pacific Oysters with Tetsuya’s Vinaigrette

Coincidentally, my dish was presented first. It was a kind of too-simplistic version of Tetsuya’s infamous Vinaigrette Oysters. It was simply a mixture of ingredients stirred together to form the vinegar and, then, poured on a freshly shucked Pacific oyster.

Appetiser #2 – Hokkien Prawn Mee

Our second dish for the day was made by Pin Fong. Two perfectly cooked prawns and fish cake were laid on a bed of Hokkien mee and glass noodle with a handful of bean sprouts, sliced egg, and excellent prawn-based soup. This was Pin Fong’s traditional dish when he lived in Kuching, Malaysia.

Appetiser #3 – Chicken and Mushroom Pie

A classic Australian meat pie, made by Shienny was next on the menu. Chunks of chicken breast, mushrooms, and onions were baked and covered by layers of crunchy pastry. It was so delicious that we could not believe it was her first attempt!

After the appetisers, we had a one-hour break to lessen our tummy’s tension before getting into the main course. Some of us played the Board Games ‘Acquire’ and some just watched some cuddly animals on TV.

Main Course #1 – Indonesian-style ‘Empal’ Beef

Maria and Sud presented a finely decorated plate of ‘Empal’ beef. It is an Indonesian-style dish that was made using the pressure cooker method and then sweetened and fried. It was accompanied by Indonesian Rice Crackers.

Main Course #2 – Roast Lamb

This one is Wil’s all-time favourite, Roast Lamb. It was an oven-roasted lamb with Wil’s special mustard marinade. He cooked it in a way that the lamb was still tender and juicy. It was another simple dish with a big taste!

Main Course #3 – Singaporean Chili Mud Crab

Another first-attempt dish of the day, Singaporean Chili Mud Crab by Inggita. A mixture of blue swimmer crabs and mud crab twice cooked in Singaporean-style chilli sauce. It goes well with Basmati Rice.

This time we also took an hour-or-so break to prepare for the always-so-devilishly-delicious desserts.

Dessert #1 – Blueberry and Chocolate Mousse

Jason brought in a beautiful looking cake which was layers of dark chocolate mousse, chocolate hazelnut biscuit, blueberry compote with a mirror of blueberry glaze.

Dessert #2 – Homemade Tiramisu

This one is Rahmat’s fully-perfected homemade Tiramisu. The tiramisu needs to be chilled for a day before serving. It was also non-alcoholic due to dietary requirements of some of the drivers.

Drink – Fruit Punch

Apart from regular soft drinks, we were also treated by Arein’s special Fruit Punch. A mixture of sliced fruits are combined with heaps of fruit juice that created a very refreshing drink.

Did you know?

According to Wikipedia, apparently Potluck was originated from England in Middle Ages.

Location:

Our Apartment, Maroubra Junction NSW 2035

Website:

http://ardipradana.com/

Oct 4, 2010
Almond Bar

Rating:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 6 /10

Price Range: $15 – $20

Place: 8/10

Description:

Baba ghanouj: smoky eggplant dip

Lab’tar: combination of yoghurt and oregano, sesame, sumac and sea salt

Shawandarr: traditional roasted beetroot & yoghurt dip

Haloumi: grilled sheep’s milk cheese with olive oil, oregano & diced tomatoes

Scallops moghrabieh: tender scallops tossed in giant cous cous, shanklish (aged yoghurt cheese) & diced tomatoes

Mukloubi with chicken: layers of spiced rice, eggplant & chicken, finished with homemade yoghurt, almonds & pine nuts

Chargrilled lamb skewers: marinated in a special house sauce

Review:

Our friend’s colleague recommended us to Almond Bar. According to the recommendation, this restaurant was one of the finest Middle Eastern restaurants in town. When we got there, my first impression was: it’s a pretty restaurant with a lot of wooden decorations. Our maître d’ greeted us with warm welcome and showed us our table. The table was kinda small with pre-arranged menu and welcome snack.

Upon glancing the menu, we found a banquet-type food that consisted of assortments of dishes from the Mezza (share dish). We decided not to take it and opted to choose from the list of food on the Mezza list. Since Maître d’ recommended us to get between 4-6 dishes, we expected to have a small-ish dish.

We decided to have one starter and four Mezza on this occasion. The starter was Pita Bread and Vegetables with 3 dips: Baba Ghanouj, Lab’tar, and Shawandarr. It came with deep-fried and baked pita bread. This was the nicest dish of the night, especially Baba Ghanouj, it accentuated on the eggplant’s smoke flavour. The mezza that was sort of in-between dishes were the Haloumi Cheese. It was pretty small and the cheese was pretty bland.

Next one on was the Scallops Moghrabieh. This time, the presentation was not good. Since the lighting was yellow-ish, there was no clear distinction between the scallops and cous cous. To top it off, the flavour was, again, pretty bland with a little bit of seafood sensation in the scallops. By this time, we kind of felt let down by the food so far. The Lamb Skewers only helped to increase our faith in the restaurant a little. The lamb was nicely grilled and its sauce added an accent to its flavour.

Last one on the line was Mukloubi with Chicken. It was written in the menu as the ‘Chef’s favourite dish growing up’. We had a very high expectation on this signature dish. When the dish arrived, we were taken aback by its shocking presentation. It looked like fried rice, covered in gooey yoghurt and a sprinkle of almonds. The taste was even more challenging, considering that we have never had fried rice combined with yoghurt. I personally think that those two don’t go well together. It could have been better if the yoghurt was served on a separate bowl as an optional add-on.

The final verdict: It was a nice and quiet place to have dinner. The service was also good. The food was not particularly appealing and over-priced. In terms of flavour, it was pretty standard and way off of our tastebuds.The only consolation they had was the dips.

Did you know?

There are plenty nice-looking restaurants, but be careful not to choose some random ones without any recommendations or you might be disappointed!

Location:

379 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010

02 9380 5318

http://www.almondbar.com.au/

Sep 26, 2010
Palm Breeze Cafe

Rating:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 6.5/10

Price Range: $18 – $33

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

I had a very good first impression when we first stepped into Palm Breeze Cafe. It had a very nice and cosy ambience, friendly staffs, and our table was prepared within seconds. Upon glancing the menu, I was impressed with the wide arrays of cuisines they offered. They have pretty much everything from the Mediterranean to Western dishes.

After looking around for a few minutes, I decided to taste their Scotch Fillet and Ribs combo. I was fully aware that by doing this, I was ready to directly compare the café with household names like Kelly’s and Hurricane’s. I pictured the combo would be of similar size of Hurricane’s because other steaks that went past me were huge. However when it came, the steak and ribs were tiny. I only got a rack of lamb ribs and a very tiny slice of Scotch Fillet. The fillet was cooked nicely but the ribs were quite bland. The other main that I tasted was Vitello Oscar. It is grilled veal with creamy garlic prawns on top. It had the best presentation for the night. The cheese would melt right through the prawns and veal. The prawns were really nice but the veal was a bit overcooked.

The next two that we ordered from the menu, I did not really taste as my friends ordered them. The first one was Moroccan Chicken Salad. It was a quite colourful salad and had a quite big portion. In addition to the usual salad, they also put in onions, cucumbers, cashew nuts, and Moroccan-style grilled chicken. The other one was Schnitzel Parmigiana. It was the least interesting plate of the night. It was practically a chicken schnitzel with a little bit of cheese and sauce on a bed of chips and salad.

For desserts, the five of us picked two of our most favourite desserts: Crème Brulee and Tiramisu. Again, presentation wise, the two desserts were above average. They really stimulated our curiosity. However, upon tasting, we found that the crème brulee’s caramelised top was too thick and the layer of cream was also too thick. We had similar experience with the Tiramisu lacking the ‘memorable’ taste.

The final verdict: It was a nice place to spend the night. The food presentation was really nice. In terms of flavour, it lacked the wow factor that made me want to return to try other stuffs on the menu and was kind of par rating.

Did you know?

This café is located in the Sydney’s suburb, Burwood. It is one of the first suburbs that I am familiar with due to the fact that my game store is located there. It is also home of the last destination of Sydney’s longest bus service route 400 (In my opinion). The bus goes from Bondi Junction – Randwick – Maroubra – Eastgardens – Airport (Domestic & Int’l) – Rockdale – Campsie – Burwood. Six times (or more) the travelling time of trains or cars!

Location:

128 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134

http://www.palmbreezecafe.com.au/ (The website is currently inactive)

Sep 19, 2010