Category: French

Small, but pretty, dish. Definitely not for the big eaters

Tetsuya’s Fresh Oysters Vinaigrette Recipe
This oysters vinaigrette recipe was first written by Tetsuya Wakuda, the owner of the infamous restaurant Tetsuya’s. If you are new to the website, please visit our review of Tetsuya’s restaurant.

The first part of this recipe is the actual recipe written by Tetsuya. I will then let you know each of the items we used to make our rendition of the Vinaigrette.

Happy Cooking!

The recipe is called Tasmanian Pacific Oysters with Rice Wine Vinaigrette

Here are the ingredients:
1. Ogonori
2. 12 large Pacific Oysters, shucked
Vinaigrette
1. 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
2. 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3. 1 teaspoon castor (superfine) sugar
4. 1 teaspoon soy sauce
5. 6 tablespoons grapeseed oil
6. 2 tablespoons olive oil
7. 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Garnish
1. chives, finely chopped
2. 3 tablespoons ocean trout roe
How to make the Oysters Vinaigrette?
1. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl or jar.
2. Place a little ogonori on the base of the serving plate. Put the oysters on top and spoon over the vinaigrette.
3. Sprinkle the oysters with the chives and ocean trout roe.
So, the important question here is: How do we get all of those ingredients?
1. You can pretty much grab any soy sauce you can find in your cupboard.
2. We use crushed ginger that is normally sold in supermarkets
3. Castor (or superfine) sugar should be a staple ingredient for cake makers.
4. For the rice wine vinegar, we like to use Hinode Mirin. Mirin has a sweeter taste than normal rice wine vinegar.
5. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – I don’t think you need an explanation for this.
6. Lemon Juice (you can easily squeeze it from a fresh lemon if you want).
7. Grapeseed oil might not be the thing you would normally have in your cupboard, but it should easily be available in any big supermarkets.
8. You should be able to buy freshly shucked oysters from your local fish market. They might also sell ocean trout/salmon roe.
For an added kick to your Oysters Vinaigrette Recipe:
1. Just like any other fresh seafood, please buy the fresh oysters closer to the time you want to consume it – and for the love of God, do NOT buy them a day earlier!
2. I personally haven’t tried this (because I think the vinaigrette is already awesome!), but Tetsuya advised that you infuse 10 cm of konbu in a bottle of 750 ml rice wine vinegar.
3. The vinaigrette can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator.
4. Tetsuya recommend a good-quality champagne to accompany the dish.
Dec 23, 2013
Ninety-nine Restaurant

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7/10

Price: $15++ per person

Place: 8/10

Review:

This week’s restaurant is located in the most posh mall in Jakarta Indonesia, Grand Indonesia. Ninety-nine restaurant promised a casual-yet-exclusive place with a rustic feel of European setting. Expectedly, it was nice-looking but I couldn’t shake out the feeling of being in a food court, a pricey food court. The menu was designed to capture all (too many!) interests: from European to Seafood to steak, they also have Indonesian and Chinese food.

How is their food? Our first two dishes of the day were the entrees: Breaded Onion Rings with Mayonaise and Tomato Ketchup and Mushroom Fritto Misto with fried garlic and chilli salt. We were really blown away by them. The onion rings were very crunchy and perfectly matched with the condiments. The assorted mushrooms were even better! I liked how they combined different mushrooms to create an interesting assortment of textures.

The next two were from the seafood section of the menu. There was an interesting combination for the Grilled Norwegian Salmon. It was served with tomato and mushroom butter rice and lemon sauce. The other one was Dory fillet with almond thyme crust, leaf spinach, whipped potatoes and lemon caper butter.

My father decided to go with Indonesian’s traditional Sop buntut goreng. It was a clear vegetable soup with fried oxtail and emping (crackers from gnetum gnemon). There was also the Hainan poached chicken – I must say it looked pretty standard when compared to Singaporean ones.

The last dish of the day was the one I actually ordered. It was Croque monsieur. The sandwich was pretty big by Indonesian standard and it was grilled beef ham with swizz cheese and mornay sauce. This is one of the dishes that I could only eat in Indonesia, because the real croquet monsieur was typically served with ham. The sandwich was delectable! It was crunchy, tasty and add an extra tomato sauce if you want to enhance it a bit more.

The final verdict for Ninety-nine Restaurant

There are some issues that restricted me in giving a higher score to Ninety-nine restaurant. The obvious one was its price! It was seriously expensive for the food court setting. The food was generally nice with a decent serving.

Details:

Grand Indonesia LG Floor East Mall

Jl. MH Thamrin No 1, Jakarta 10210

+6221 23581196

http://www.ninetynine.co.id/

Jul 24, 2013
Pier Restaurant

Update 17 September 2012: Unfortunately, Pier Restaurant has closed its doors in June.

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8/10

Price: $100 pp ($119 degustation)

Place: 9/10

Review:

There are a few restaurants in Sydney with a more stunning view than Pier Restaurant whilst commanding a fantastic dining experience. Pier Restaurant is located in a posh suburb of Rose Bay with a view of the harbour and plenty of boats.

There were two choices of Market Menu or Six-Course Degustation menu. We thought that we would get more variety by ordering the Market Menu and I didn’t really fancy the degustation menu since they only served chocolate for dessert.

Cones of King Salmon – Ocean Trout

Our first dish was cones of king salmon and ocean trout. It was presented on a desk-like plate in a crispy cone. The fish was accompanied by capers, salt, and garlic. It was a really refreshing start to the day. I liked the trout better since it had more flavour than Salmon.

They could also serve kingfish or yellow fin tuna for this cone.

Whiting Carpaccio – soft herb leaves – lime water vinaigrette

Our first entrée of the day was whiting carpaccio. It was a very delicately and nicely decorated carpaccio with a surprisingly generous serving. The vinaigrette complemented the carpaccio well. It was light and had a touch of summer in this autumn season.

Spanner Crab Gazpacho – avocado mousse – almond oil

In contrast, the second entrée was a really heavy one. This was the chef’s representation of the Spanish Gazpacho. It was very rich in flavour and there was also this strong taste. The strong taste was softened by mixing the delicate avocado mousse. The centrepiece of it was soft-boiled spanner crab. It provided yet another dimension to the dish. Lastly, it was accentuated by green leaves and almond oil. Definitely not your typical Gazpacho!

Rangers Valley Sirloin – watercress – chips – bordelaise glaze

We ordered the only non-seafood main course in the menu, medium-rare sirloin. I was again amazed with the size of the sirloin. The steak was covered in black sauce and I had a suspicion that it was Indonesian’s traditional ‘Petis’ sauce. I am glad I was wrong and it turned out to be a nice complement to the steak.

Roasted Barramundi – braised cos – shimeji mushrooms – mushroom consommé

For the second main course, they poured the consommé after the dish was in front of us. This allowed the barramundi to be further roasted whilst on the plate. Cos was used to accentuate the plate on an otherwise monochromatic display. The fish was extra soft and perfectly cooked inside with a very crunchy skin.

Kiwi Fruit Vacherin – yoghurt meringue – apple sorbet – basil – mint

I didn’t need to ask the waiter what’s good for the dessert. The description said it all. It was just great, except for the meringue that looked a bit gooey. This dessert was a busy one. It showed multilayer of complexities, from the crunchy crumble, icy sorbet, basil seed and minty flavour.

Strawberry & Guava Soufflé – strawberry sauce – strawberry crème

My mind was made up even before I looked at the menu because I noticed it when the waiter brought this dish somewhere else. It was an eye-catching presentation with a little pre-serving routine. The waiter cut the soufflé open and poured the sauce in it. It literally melted in your mouth and was heavenly smooth. The cream provided an extra dimension of cold.

The final verdict: Pier restaurant’s dishes were surprisingly massive, compared to other degustation restaurants. It was a really long and satisfying lunch for us. High quality of food and service as expected from this one-hat restaurant. However, there wasn’t anything spectacular to warrant a comparison to a three-hat restaurant.

Did you know?

Pier was one of the top restaurants in Australia with three-hat status from 2007 to 2010. However, the unthinkable happened in 2011 where they lost two hats and had been a one-hat ever since.

Details:

594 New South Head Road, Rose Bay, NSW 2029

+61 2 9327 6561

http://www.pierrestaurant.com.au/ – The restaurant has closed and replaced by The Sailors Club

Apr 26, 2012
Assiette

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message color=”alert-info”]

Unfortunately, Assiette Restaurant has closed its doors in January 2013.

[/vc_message][vc_column_text]

Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5/10

8-course Degustation: $105

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

After last week’s record low, I will take you to one of the best restaurants there is in town. Opened in 2005, Restaurant Assiette has never missed a hatted status within the Australian culinary world. They serve 8 courses of French Cuisine.

Seasonal Oyster with Vietnamese dressing and baby coriander

It was a simplistic dish to start off the night. The crispy, fried shallot gave a different accentuation, but the dressings failed to present a notable taste. They also gave the option to use lime if you needed more sourness, although I would not advise you to.

Kataifi Quail Egg with mushrooms, duck consommé and crispy pig ears

The dish might look tiny but it packed a few punches. First sip of the consommé already blew my mind, so delicate and lovely. The quail egg was perfectly soft-boiled and blanketed with the crispy kataifi. The additionof brown mushroom paste made the overall dish to be more savoury with a hint of sweetness.

Sashimi Tuna with crustacea cream, pickled octopus, hibiscus and almonds

It was a straight-forward sashimi Tuna with a dried nori.There was a funny combination in the pickled octopus. I think it threw the balance off a little bit. The crustacean cream made the overall taste to be a bit too fishy. I reckon this one was the oddball. The sweet hibiscus and almonds actually saved the dish from the octopus.

Seared Mackerel with avruga, cucumber, cauliflower puree and dill emulsion

In contrast to the last one, a perfectly seared mackerel set our mood back in place (and further!). Crispy on the outside and soft in the inside, the mackerel tasted delightfully refreshing with the cauliflower puree, cucumber and dill emulsion. To top it off, avruga and crumbs introduced the savoury taste into the dish. It was simply fantastic.

Ballotine of quailand foie gras with croustillant of confit leg, braised salsify, walnuts and date puree

This scrumptious dish also had a great combination of taste.The combination of tasty outer ring of the ballotine with quail and foie gras was incredibly soft and smooth. Confit leg was cooked to perfection with a layer of golden brown croustillant. Walnut and date puree complemented the overall taste.

Roasted Denver leg ofvenison with boudin noir, dauphinoise potato and heirloom carrots

This was the final savoury dish of the day. The taste of medium-rare venison leg was wonderfully enhanced by the sweetness of beetroot puree. The softness of dauphinoise potato and sweetness of heirloom carrots complemented the strong taste of boudin noir. The addition of roasted rice gave an accentuation and an extra complexity for the dish.

Pre dessert of Lychee and Pineapple

Presented in a small cup, highly refreshing lychee combined with sweet pineapple gave such a clean feeling to the palate after series of savoury dishes. An extra hint of freshness was delivered by the sweet-sour lemon sprinkles, balanced by a nice serving of cream on top.

Strawberry and raspberry salad with yoghurt sorbet, vanilla doughnut and mint emulsion

This dessert closed what turned out to be a fantastic night.Yoghurt sorbet provided the sourness and refreshing taste of the dish with. It was made better with fresh strawberries and raspberries. The vanilla doughnut gave us the warm and soft feeling to the plate. There were also some delicious home-made marshmallows. The overall combination with the mint emulsion created a nice mixture of taste.

The final verdict for Restaurant Assiette

Assiette certainly delivered one of the best dining experiences for us. The degustation worked wonderfully, since they gradually gave us dishes that were getting better and better through the course of the night. The last meal of the day was fantastic and the dessert was noticeably big and delivered quite a range of fantastic taste.

Did you know?

Assiette is a French word forplate.

Unfortunately, Assiette lost its 2-hat status for the 2012 Good Food Guide. They were downgraded to 1-hat. Personally, I think they are equal to or better than some of the 2-hat restaurants in this year’s list, in terms of the food taste.

Details:

48 Albion Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

+61 2 9212 7979

Oct 12, 2011