Category: Degustation

This option is only offered by the cream of the crop, the best of them all, and would guarantee an almost eternal happiness.

The Little Snail

Review:

I have known The Little Snail for quite some time, but I’ve only managed to visit it the other day. The Little Snail restaurant is located in the iconic Darling Harbour, Sydney.

I was actually quite surprised when learning that for 3-course lunch menu, they ‘only’ charge $38. I think it’s quite a decent price given the location of the restaurant. They also have a 2-course kids menu for $18 that comes with a choice of soft drink or juice.

Escargots de Bourgogne – dozens snails marinated in herb-infused court bouillon, oven baked in garlic butter

For my first course, I chose Escargots (aka snails), my go-to dish when I visit a French restaurant. The 12 rather large escargots were not deshelled. It was quite a spectacle!

Pate Maison – Armagnac flavoured duck liver pate with marinated champignons, date chutney and port vinaigrette

The other ‘must have’ dish from a French restaurant was ordered as my wife’s first course. It was quite a generous serving of duck liver pate with curious spots of mushrooms around the plate. The date chutney complemented the pate beautifully.

We had to order extra slices of baguette because we wanted to eat the pate to the last piece! It was very nice!

Crispy Fried Calamari and Chips

This was the first dish for the little kid. The calamari was crunchy on the outside and not chewy! It was pretty good!

Kangaroo Fillet – (recommended rare) on garlic pommes puree with a seasonal greens

Cooking a kangaroo is notoriously hard. You overcook it and it would render the meat inedible. Since the recommendation was rare, that was what I ordered.

The kangaroo was already pre-sliced to a bite size (mind you my bite size might be different than yours). It was perfectly cooked with a nice accompanying sweet sauce!

Citrus marinated Tasmanian Salmon – served on sweet peas risotto and sauce vierge

Another well-balanced dish with perfectly cooked salmon. I had to ask google about sauce vierge, literally translated as ‘the virgin sauce’. It was made from olive oil, lemon juice, chopped tomato and chopped basil.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberry topping

The kid’s menu ice cream (that was actually the same size as the grownups!) was very pleasant to look at – or in my son’s case to dip his hand into. They use sable Breton (aka shortcrust bread) to give that extra kick to the ice cream.

Classic Crème Caramel

It is a very simple and classic crème caramel… as expected.

Chef churned hazelnut and praline ice cream on sable breton and Grand Marnier caramel

It was actually quite similar to the kid’s ice cream in terms of quality. However the adult-version came with liquor content and the sugar ornament at the top.

The final verdict for The Little Snail

Darling Harbour is probably the next best thing in Sydney after Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Having a three-course lunch for $38 at The Little Snail in Darling Harbour is such a steal!

Did you know?

You can get a 25% discount when dining at The Little Snail restaurant if you have the Entertainment Book. Entertainment Book is a book used in fundraising campaigns for fundraising companies like Cancer Council and RSPCA. It contains a lot of discounts for a lot of restaurants!

Upon researching about The Little Snail, I came across an expired Groupon link. It would’ve been nice to get an even bigger discount for the restaurant!

Rating for The Little Snail:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $38 for 3-course lunch

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

50 Murray Street, Pyrmont

+61 2 9212 7512

http://www.thelittlesnail.com.au/

Feb 17, 2016
Boilerhouse

Dining Experience:

A pretty unusual dinner invite arrived in my inbox from esPoiR Communications. It was a themed dinner titled ‘Rich Man, Poor Man: Food Through the Classes´. The dinner is based on the food offerings served to the different classes of passengers that stayed at the Quarantine Station back in the late 1800s/1900s.

Having seen Heston Blumenthal’s themed dinner on TV, I was pretty psyched in going to my very first themed dinner! The dinner was prepared by Chef Matt Kemp who has worked in and owned some of the best restaurants in Sydney.

There was an MC dresses as a crooked captain guiding us through the dinner with a story of disease spreading in the dining room. He then tried to pinpoint which class was infected.

Canapes – Oysters Rich Man Poor Man Style – Oyster with Caviar & Leek and Potato Oyster Shooters

Drinks of Class – Beer, G&T, Bubbles

The canapes were actually served on the other side of the restaurant near the wharf. The three different drinks represented the three typical classes of passengers arriving at the quarantine station: Bubbles for first class, G&T for second class and Beer for the third class.

There were only two types of oysters: The upper class with Caviar and the lower one as shooters. I prefer the shooters than the ones with caviar as the latter was too dry and pretty warm for oysters.

Poached Smoked Haddock Fish Cakes with Wild Weeds with matching Bella Riva Pinot Grigio

The first course was the dish historically served for first class passengers. It had all of the elements of expensive entrée with sophisticated name and salmon roe at the top of the fish cakes.

Beef Braised in Ale with Cabbage, Carrots & Suet Dumplings with matching De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate Grown Shiraz

It was meant to be a third class dish. However, I’m pretty sure back then it was served and presented nowhere near this dish. The ingredients actually illustrated the difference in class. They used ale-based sauce and suet, or some might know it as beef or mutton fat.

Whole Saddle of Mutton, Neeps & Tatties, Garden Mint Sauce with matching Bella Riva Sangiovese

The third dish was designed as a share plate (I am wondering why it is not being done for the third class) for second-class passengers.

This dish was my personal favourite for the night. The fatty and crackle-like edge was so good when enjoyed with the garden mint sauce!

The chef asked us to plate our own dish… so here it is!

Pimms Jelly with Cream & Fruit – Middle Class Sweets

Again, it might not reflect a true ‘middle class’ back in the days with its presentation and edible flower. However, you would see how simple it was when compared to the desserts for the upper class passengers.

High Tea – Selection of Traditional & New Idea Sweets – with matching wines Deen De Bortoli Vat 5 Botrytis

High tea is the custom observed by the wealthy classes in England in the 1800s. It represented the upper class delicacies perfectly with the matching Botrytis.

The final verdict for Boilerhouse Harbourside Restaurant

Although it was not in the same stratosphere as Heston Blumenthal’s themed dinner, Boilerhouse’s was pretty amazing!

Did you know?

Boilerhouse Harbourside Restaurant is part of Q Station Sydney Harbour National Park in Manly. This place

There are a whole range of activities that you can do at Q Station, including Ghost Tours for every age… and for your bravery level!

Details:

Q Station, North Head Scenic Drive, Manly 2095

02 9466 1511

http://www.qstation.com.au/boilerhouse-restaurant–bar.html

Oct 28, 2015
Otto Ristorante

Review:

Otto Ristorante is probably not your average everyday restaurant. Most of us might only come here on a pretty special occasion. They are also listed as a one hat in the 2015 Good Food Guide.

You can choose to have a la carte menu or degustation. However, if you want to try its most famous dish, Spaghetti all’Aragosta, you must order a la carte.

Carpaccio di Manzo – $29 – Grainge Angus beef carpaccio, truffle dressing, aioli, capers, parmesan, baby rocket.

We are actually sharing the antipasto as our main is pasta heavy. The beef carpaccio was nice, but there was really nothing exciting about it. Quite a few restaurants in Sydney have a similar dish.

I also ordered an oyster for the main, but it wasn’t on the fresh side.

Risotto – $29 – Aged acquerello rice, assorted mushrooms, gorgonzola foam

My wife ordered the risotto and we ended up swapping the risotto with my spaghetti (reviewed below). The risotto was very nice, but it was very heavy. The gorgonzola cheese was prominent in the dish. The mushrooms managed to partially balance the cheese flavour.

If you want the main dish size, you need to add an extra $10 for it. However, I recommend you to order as is. The main dish portion was massive for a rice dish!

Spaghetti all’Aragosta – $106 – 650g Tasmanian crayfish, spaghetti, brandy, napolitana sauce, cherry tomatoes, baby basil

Spaghetti all’Aragosta is the cream of the crop for Otto Ristorante. It costs twice as much as the next most expensive main dish in the restaurant.

I wasn’t too excited about the napolitana sauce, but the lobster was fabulous. It was cooked perfectly! I have never been a big fan of lobster as I thought it was an over-priced giant prawn. Having to finally taste lobster that was in line with the price tag made me really happy!

Insalata di Rucola – $13 – Rocket, radicchio, apples, walnuts, parmesan and Fir tree honey vinegar dressing

The salad was a perfect addition to the spaghetti and risotto. It gave us the fresh feel to our otherwise heavy dinner!

Spaghetti Con Sugo di Formaggio – $35 – Spaghetti with white cheese sauce

Gelato Vaniglia – Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce

They have quite a variety of kids menu. On this occasion, my son chose his favourite ‘Spaghetti with white sauce’. He was quickly destroying the spaghetti. I had a chance to taste it as the portion was a bit too big for him. The spaghetti was the same as the much more expensive counterpart above. I also like the simple white cheese sauce. It was heavy and in abundance!

Brulee – $20 – Amaretto brulee, Amarena cherries, candied almonds, meringue, sour cherry sorbet

Looking at the description for the brulee, it was thick with Italian flavour from the amaretto and candied almonds. The Amarena cherries and sour cherry sorbet provided a multi-dimensional approach to the brulee. You can taste sweet, crunchy, sour, bitter, warm and cold all in one bite!

The final verdict for Otto Ristorante

When you see one item is twice as much as the rest of the menu, you expect great things from it. The Spaghetti all’Aragosta from Otto Ristorante had the nicest lobster I have ever tasted.

Did you know?

There are a few one-hat restaurants in the vicinity.

Rating for Otto Ristorante:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $29 – $106 for main course

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

Area 8, 6 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo, 2011

+61 2 9368 7488

http://ottoristorante.com.au/

Apr 30, 2015
Jazushi

Review:

Before I visited Jazushi, I had always had a doubt about this restaurant, mainly because of its name. Furthermore, Surry Hills isn’t the easiest place to reach by car on a weekend. So, when my friend planned his birthday there, I knew I would not miss the opportunity!

We opted for the degustation menu and I am also posting pictures of the Vegetarian option as some of us ordered it. The Jazushi set menu is priced at $55, whilst its vegetarian counterpart is $7 cheaper. Unlike other restaurants, Jazushi presented their degustation as shared plates.

Salmon and Kingfish Carpaccio – Asparagus with Saikyo sauce

You know you will have a great night when your first dish is already impressive. The carpaccio was very fresh and perfectly complemented with the basil oil.

Asparagus with Saikyo Sauce

Green Tea Noodle Salad

Both set menu was the same for the second dish. It was another light and refreshing dish for the night. The noodles were al dente and perfectly matched with the salad.

Grilled Silver Cod – Lotus Root ‘Kinpira’

Despite the size, the grilled silver cod was excellent. It was very tasty! If only I could have the whole plate!

Lotus Root ‘Kinpira’

Camembert Tempura

I could not get enough off the Camembert Tempura. It is so finger-licking good! Do I really need to say more about it?

Vegetarian option also got the same stuff.

Sushi – Vegetarian Nori Rolls

To be honest, the Sushi was the most standard-looking dish of the night. The quality was still there tho. The vegetarian rolls looked slightly livelier.

Vegetarian Nori Rolls

JFC – Breaded Mushroom

JFC is probably one of their signature dishes. Jazushi’s fried chicken came with homemade tartar sauce and yuzu citrus sauce. They were pretty good but other dishes were a lot more awesome!

Breaded Mushroom

Kakuni ‘Kurobuta’ Pork Belly – Tofu Steak with Teriyaki Sauce

When you slow-cooked (especially over night) pork belly, you will get this melt-in-your-mouth sensation. That’s what you get with Jazushi’s Kakuni.

In terms of presentation, the tofu steak was definitely more inferior to the pork belly.

Tofu Steak with Teriyaki Sauce

Wagyu Sirloin Steak – Nasu Grilled

Wagyu sirloin steak is only available for the degustation menu. It was a bit too small to my liking, but it was a nice steak.

I wasn’t fast enough to take the picture of Nasu Grilled.

Dessert

The dessert for the night was Green tea crème brulee. It had a nice caramelised top with smooth green tea cream.

The final verdict for Jazushi

I think Jazushi has become my newest favourite. Everything was spot on and the degustation has a really good value for money!

Did you know?

We ordered several a la carte menu, and we particularly enjoyed the seared sushi.

Rating for:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: $55 for Jazushi Set Menu ($48 for Vegetarian option)

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

145 Devonshire St, Surry Hills 2010

+61 2 9699 8977

http://jazushi.squarespace.com/

Feb 18, 2015
Nine Fine Food

Review:

One evening, I was walking around with a couple of friends in Northbridge in Perth. We couldn’t decide where to eat and had to ask for advice from our faithful friend, Urbanspoon. We decided to dine in Nine Fine Food, because 90% out of 1,200 patrons liked it!

Our first impression was the restaurant was quite pricey for a casual dining. Little did we know that they were ranked in the top 20 in the Australian Good Food & Travel Guide list. Since I was only in Perth for a short period, we decided to have their most comprehensive menu: Chef’s Selected 5 Course Tasting Menu.

Everyone has the same dish for the first two courses and a choice of two dishes for the last three courses.

1^st Course

Spicy Tuna Sashimi – Spicy Miso Marinated Fresh Sashimi Tuna, Mixed Beans, Herbed Salad

The first course was quite a simple Tuna sashimi that had quite a bit of punch in the miso sauce.

I was just unsure about the red hair-strand lookalike at the top that’s actually quite hard to chew.

2^nd Course

Kinoco Caviar Pasta – Angel Hair Pasta, Mushrooms, Tobico Caviar, Onion, Creamy Rice Wine Sauce (Additional Soft Shell Crab 6.5 each)

The Kinoco Caviar pasta was quite a unique dish. It was presented in a small cup with a cracker. The top bit was covered with colourful tobiko (fish roe). The pasta was, expectedly, al dente. This was the dish that I loved the most for the night. It was pleasing to see and fun to eat!

3^rd Course

Salmon & Scallop – Roasted Salmon, Grilled Scallop, Yuzu Mascarpone, Orange Miso

This course was by far the messiest of them all. The sauce (possibly the yuzu mascarpone) was everywhere. The fish itself was beautifully cooked with the occasional burst of flavour from the salmon roe (ikura). I’m not quite sure why the tiny grilled scallop was even included there.

Pork Belly – Roasted Pork Belly, Tempura Bacon, Apple Mango Sauce!

None of us picked the pork belly on that day. However, the dish looked to have quite the perfect combination in the description.

4^th Course

Barramundi – Steamed Saltwater Barramundi, Herbed Salad, Plum and Chilli Miso

I chose the dish to be the cover because it looked the prettiest. I had a small bite of the barramundi and it was also cooked perfectly.

Lamb Duo – Braised Lamb Shoulder, Grilled Back Strap Fillet, Mash Potato, Balsamic Soy

The lamb looked quite dry in the picture but it didn’t really do justice. The grilled lamb was cooked nicely and complemented by the mashed potato. The braised lamb was more of a melt-in-your-mouth experience.

5^th Course

Tiramisu – Creamy Tiramisu, Bitter Espresso

Unfortunately none of us picked the Tiramisu either, so I could not comment on it.

Mattcha Brulee – Green Tea Custard Brulee

I love Creme Brulee and I will never miss a chance to order creme brulee when available. This green tea-flavoured brulee was enjoyable and had the right amount of green tea.

The final verdict for Nine Fine Food

We were very pleased with the service and quality of food delivered by Nine Fine Food!

Did you know?

The restaurant is actually located on the outskirt of Northbridge. Northbridge is well-known as the main nightlife district of Perth and has quite a vast array of cuisines.

Rating for:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $77 per person

Place: 9.0 / 10

Details:

227 Bulwer St, HighGate WA 6003

08 9227 9999

http://www.ninefinefood.com.au

Jan 8, 2015
Est

Review for lunch menu:

Our rare moment without the little guy was spent for lunch at Est. Restaurant. They have quite a flexible lunch arrangement of two, three and four-course lunch. You can also request for degustation menu, but I think it’s a bit too much for a lunch period. In this occasion, we had the three-course lunch with an extra plate of oysters to start the lunch with.

I am pretty sure I don’t need to describe the menu in full details as the name of every ingredients is already listed.

To start

Six freshly shucked rock oysters, ponzu dressing ($5 each)

As six oysters would have been an overkill (especially for my wife), we decided to share this dish. Presentation was simplicity at its best and the ponzu dressing was pretty good!

In addition to the oysters, we also got the usual bread and butter. However the bread and butter was too ordinary to remember.

Course 1

Moreton Bay Bug, orange, green shallot, fennel, watercress puree, puffed quinoa.

The bug was presented very nicely. I love how all of the flavours worked well together. For Your Information, Moreton Bay bug is known as flathead lobster outside Australia.

Lamb consommé, slow cooked lamb belly, green peas, pickled radish, mint oil

When I saw it, I knew immediately that this dish was the one I should have ordered. The lamb belly was presented like a roast pork belly. I have never seen lamb cooked this way and I was even more impressed with how it tasted! It was presented beautifully and the consommé was fabulous.

For the first course, the slow cooked lamb belly beat my Moreton Bay bug anytime!

Course 2

Slow cooked rangers valley wagyu beef tri tip, spinach puree, salsify, spring onion, rye crumb, red elk.

My first impression was that the steak was actually quite small (I blame my tummy!). As soon as I tried everything on that plate, I was actually very impressed with the taste of the beef and the charred taste of the onion and rye crumb. The spinach puree gave an extra dimension of freshness to the plate.

Murray cod fillet, shaved abalone, snow peas, black fungi, ginger – green shallot vinaigrette

The vinaigrette was a high-end version of the usual Chinese restaurant’s steamed fish with ginger and shallot. However, the Murray cod fillet was beautiful… like really beautiful!

Both dishes were on par in terms of quality and taste, but I guess I am leaning towards the Murray cod fillet as it was slightly bigger than the wagyu beef!

Sides of spring asparagus, ricotta salata, marjoram, extra virgin olive oil ($11)

You can choose a selection of sides to accompany your main(s). We chose spring asparagus for this and was pretty pleased with it. They actually gave a near perfect amount of asparagus for us to enjoy.

Course 3

Strawberries, rhubarb granita, ginger cream, sorrel sorbet, hibiscus wafer

I thought granita was the highlight for the dish, but I think the two sorbets stood out more. It was a highly refreshing dish with the curious addition of ginger cream.

Peach, fresh peach juice, pistachio, summer berries, lemon verbena sorbet

I am not a big fan of peach, therefore I cannot make a fair judgement of what to like between the two. However, I am willing to try the mango with goat’s milk yoghurt the next time we visit Est.

Drinks and Petit Fours

At the start of the service, there was a trolley full of champagne. I guess it made sense as most people were here for a special occasion (except for a few people who looked like big bosses of big companies having normal work lunch).

There were still a plate of petit fours and a small birthday cake to end the day, but I am not a big fan of chocolate.

The final verdict for Est. Restaurant

Est. restaurant thoroughly deserved the two hats status for their lunch menu. Service was fabulous and food certainly did not disappoint. The best dish of the day was the slow cooked lamb belly.

Did you know?

Est. restaurant is Merivale’s flagship restaurant. The group owns several top market, high-rating restaurants in Sydney including Mr Wong that we reviewed earlier this year.

Rating for Est. Restaurant:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5/10

3-course lunch: $95

Place: 9/10

Details:

Level 1, Establishment, 252 George Street NSW 2000

+61 2 9240 3000

http://merivale.com.au/est

Jan 1, 2015