Category: Modern Australian

The term Modern Australian arises when the influence of globalisation, mainly the exotic flavour of South East Asians, is fused with contemporary food.

The Grounds of Alexandria – Breakfast Review

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8/10

Price: $11 – $19 breakfast main

Place: 8/10

Review:

The Grounds of Alexandria is one of the hottest restaurants in Sydney. When I heard my friends describing it, it was always ‘come before 8 AM or you’ll be forced to wait for at least an hour!’ However, they also said ‘it was worth the wait.’

I finally got a chance to visit this fabled restaurant last week and I must say I am impressed! … and on a side note: No Queue! (I admit I cheated a bit by coming there on my day off Thursday Morning). Before you jump in to your car to visit the restaurant, make sure you turn your GPS on or you might need to make a very far U-turn if you missed it.

The Grounds of Alexandria gave us more than just a place ‘To eat and To drink’, it was a place to experience great coffee in a relaxing environment (you will see more pictures below). The front page of the menu also mentioned it was ‘made with skills and precision.’ There weren’t that many dishes that we tried this time because there were only the two of us.

Coffee was obviously our main focus coming to the restaurant. It reflected on what the waitress asked us to begin our breakfast ‘What coffee would you like to start with? ‘. I ordered my usual Café Latte. In addition to its great coffee, if you paid attention to the green saucer below (there was a small chip on it), it was actually designed like that.

The menu was divided into two, breakfast and lunch. Since we arrived quite early, we only could order from the breakfast menu. We ordered two dishes that caught our eyes the most.

Our first one was House Cured Ocean Trout – $19. It had quite a hi-tech description from the menu: Soft boiled eggs with dill crème fraiche, pickled cucumber, micro herbs and sourdough. I can simply say: one fine dish! The combination of cucumber and crème fraiche was incredibly refreshing and the soft boiled egg was perfect. Enter the trout and you got yourself a really good dish for breakfast.

On the opposite side, Lemon Myrtle Mushrooms ($16) looked dead simple and I loved the selection of mushrooms; Shimeji, enoki, field, baby button and woody mushrooms. These tasty mushrooms were cooked in The Grounds lemon myrtle butter. The lemon toned down the mushrooms’ woody and charred taste to a delectable level. To make it consistent, the fried egg and brioche enhanced the dry look of the dish.

The next two pictures had nothing to do with The Grounds’ food and beverages. I wanted to show you that even if you didn’t get a seat inside, the outdoor area was about the same size. There was no table service for outdoor area.

The final verdict for The Grounds of Alexandria

The Grounds of Alexandria really lived up to my expectations and I was happier as I didn’t need to queue to get a seat! The House Cured Ocean Trout was fabulous and I have tasted nothing like it before.

Did you know?

In the block where The Grounds of Alexandria is located, there are three other shops opened. With very limited parking spaces, finding a parking around the area might be a difficult task.

One of the shops there deserved a special mention: Salt Meats Cheese. They sell some things that I’ve never seen anywhere in Sydney.

Details:

Building 7a, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria 2015

Phone: +61 2 9699 2225

Dec 26, 2012
Kitchen by Mike

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Unfortunately, Kitchen by Mike has closed its doors in 2016. Chef Mike opens a new restaurant called No. 1 Bent St.

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Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8/10

Price: $11 – $54

Place: 7/10

Review:

Kitchen by Mike fantastically transformed a very old warehouse into a rustic, communal-type restaurant. Interestingly enough, they only served breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Their menu is constantly changing depending on the seasonal product available on the market. Instead of the usual table service with menu, Kitchen by Mike displayed all dishes they cooked today in a display table.

On the left most of the table were stacks of sourdough bread and a fattening-looking butter. It was a quite pricey Sourdough slice and butter ($3.5). However since my last sourdough disaster, this one tasted so damn good. To top it off, the butter was delicately soft and tasty.

The only meaty dishes for Kitchen by Mike were the first couple of dishes on the table. It was really hard to miss the Ham, Cumberland sauce and Champ since it was intimidatingly massive. The addition of Cumberland sauce gave it a nice and sweet flavour and champ (mashed potatoes with spring onion) added a smooth complexity of the mashed. At a price point of $11.5, this dish is really worth buying.

For the same price, we could also opt for Roasted chicken, sweet corn, and Harissa. Harissa is a chili (piri piri) sauce originated from Libya or Tunisia.

The bulk of their dishes are salad. They are both cheaper and vary in colour and taste. Although I am not a big fan of it, I still managed to order two dishes. Cabbage and walnut apple salad ($4.5) was the better of them two. It was a crunchy type salad with delectably refreshing. Woodfired butternut squash, pomegranate and coyo was the more expensive one at $5.5 and not the one I particularly liked.

Kitchen by Mike also catered for small eater where you could get a whole range of sandwich, tart and tartine from the next part of the menu.

Finally, dessert time! There were five options for this but our eventual choice went to Olive oil sponge cake with strawberry ($7) since we really couldn’t take that much for a lunch. I remembered my son really loved this dish but I just couldn’t get past our earlier dishes.

Even after tasting that many dishes, there were still a lot more that we didn’t try this time. There was a Chorizo and Chickpea soup in a pot that we could not see. Other salads, including Watermelon Salad, looked oh-so-healthy. There was also a massive looking pizza that was most likely be Margherita Pizza.

The final verdict for Kitchen by Mike

Kitchen by Mike is interestingly different than any other restaurants. Not only they are closed for dinner (with the exception of private functions), they also didn’t have a fixed menu. You can see and choose the dishes you want to eat.

Did you know?

Kitchen by Mike is connected to a furniture show room, Koskela. This joint space created a spacious effect to the restaurant.

Details:

85 Dunning Avenue, Rosebery NSW 2018

+61 2 9045 0910

Oct 26, 2012
Tomislav Restaurant

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Unfortunately, Tomislav has closed its doors for good.

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Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8/10

4-course degustation: $94

Place: 8/10

Review:

We went to Tomislav Restaurant for my birthday last week, that’s why this review was expedited instead of the one showing in ‘Next Week’s Menu’ 🙂

You have two options when dining at Tomislav: A four-course dinner or an eight-course dinner. Within the four-course menu, there are four options for each course. However, since there were eight of us, I had to take one of the options off the menu. It was good to see that the menu was specifically catered for us (i.e. only displaying three, instead of four, options).

To start

Luckily I glanced at other reviews before I went to Tomislav. Otherwise, I would’ve missed this delightful entrée. It was simply named Rice Crackers. Before you think about those supermarket brands, rest assured that it wasn’t. They were fine and delicate sheets of rice crackers. For an added sensation to the dining, the sea salt and vinegar option came in a mist spray bottle. We were quite playful with the mist spray and had a very high excitement level!

There were complimentary Bread and Butter before starting the courses. The butter was exceptionally smooth and soft with a hint of coffee! Unfortunately I was only given a tiny piece and that was the only piece I got for the whole night.

Course 1

I was over the moon when the first course arrived. It was Scampi Carpaccio with sour cream and pumpkin juice. The juice was poured from a test tube prior to us eating the course. We couldn’t really see the scampi since it was all covered by condiments. All of the elements worked so well together.

I also managed to try Venison Tartare with quail yolk, mint crumbs and crackers. I felt pretty bad in poaching the tartare from my wife as it was already very small to begin with. It was pretty in the presentation.

Course 2

Another pretty-but-small dish arrived for my second course, Poached Hen’s Yolk with foie gras and green peas. I am not quite sure why the Hen’s yolk was the highlight of the dish when the foie gras clearly dominated the plate.

I was a little bit envious with the people who ordered Grilled Blackmore’s tongue with beetroot and malt ice cream. Two perfectly grilled blackmore’s tongue with grilled onion were so good, especially with a touch of beetroot sauce.

Course 3

Roast Lamb Belly with wasabi and grilled pineapple was my next dish. The wasabi in this dish wasn’t hot at all. On the contrary, it was so smooth and there was no hurt-your-nose sensation after you tasted one. It was a generous serving of lamb belly, perfectly roasted so that you could feel its juice mixing with the sauce. It was an overall sweet and savoury dish.

Roast Veal Sweetbread with purple onions and popcorn milk was the other one I tasted. It was also quite a sweet dish, courtesy of the onions and milk.

Course 4

The least appealing of the three, my last course, Caramel Pudding with toasted walnuts and yoghurt sorbet, arrived. I think the burnt caramel taste over-powered the smooth yoghurt sorbet. I wasn’t too happy for it to be my last dish of the day.

The cheesecake in Vanilla Cheesecake with apple ice and roast apple ice cream was presented in two ways: a diced sturdy form and the more emulsified one. It was a nice combination of sour and cold apple with the heavier cheesecake.

Third set

For the last set of degustation, some of our friends ordered them but I didn’t have a chance to taste. Poached Yellow Fin Tuna looked a bit too tiny for me, but the Roast Quail looked pretty apetising.

Similarly, the braised beef short ribs wouldn’t stand a chance against my lamb belly. The milk chocolate cream cake on the other hand looked very interesting and I wish I could’ve ordered that instead of my caramel.

The final verdict for Tomislav Restaurant

Tomislav Restaurant earned the rights to be amongst the elite restaurants in Sydney. We had a mixed review of individual dishes, but the overall feeling was an enjoyable one. I would have loved it even more if I wasn’t still hungry at the end of the service, since they only served the bread once.

Did you know?

Although Tomislav is technically in Darlinghurst, It is actually located on the opposite of the big coca-cola sign in King’s Cross.

Just like any other top restaurants, don’t expect to see the same menu in a different season. They would keep rotating the menu to freshen up.

Details:

2/13 Kirketon Road, Darlinghurst NSW 2010

+61 2 9356 4535

http://www.tomislav.com.au/

Oct 7, 2012
Lime Street Cafe

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Unfortunately, Lime Street Cafe has closed its doors.

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Rating:

6.0 / 10

Taste: 6.5 /10

Price: $30 per couple

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

This week, we were fortunate enough to score one of the ‘deal of the day’ websites. It was a $30 per couple meal for the value of $70 at Lime Street Cafe. At first we were puzzled on the kind of food we’d had, but it turned out we could order anything from the menu up to the value of $70. That really drove our interest through the roof. The food themselves seemed reasonably priced for a King Street Wharf restaurant.

We ordered three appetisers and a salad. The first to arrive was Lightly Fried Calamari with rocket salad. It was too similar to my homemade deep fried calamari on a bed of rocket with a slice of lemon. Then we had Marinated Lamb Skewers. Although the skewers were pretty small, it was complemented with nice sauce.

The next tapas didn’t look as appetising. It was Prawns, chorizo and rocket with balsamic dressing. The chorizo was really dry and the salad was almost identical with all the sides of the day. Luckily, the prawns were to die for; it was cooked really perfectly. Similarly, Chicken Caesar Salad looked a bit of ordinary but it was the best tasting out of them all so far.

When the pizzas came, we barely had a room on our table for them. We ordered Pizza Pesto Chicken and Marinara. Unfortunately, both of them really looked and tasted like Pizza coming out of those pizza chain restaurants. The pesto looked more like clusters of green goo with no visual on the chicken. Thanks to the squids, the Marinara looked a bit more presentable, but it was still on par with those ordinary pizzas.

Our table was even more crowded when Seafood Risotto arrived. Yet again, it looked really bland and the risotto tasted like… well… steamed rice. Fortunately, we remembered the prawns’ taste from the previous dish and it was still the same. I really have no comment for the last dish of the day, Beef Lasagna. It’s just another ordinary dish. Not bad and not good…

The final verdict: Granted that we did not have to pay full price for these dishes, but the taste just did not deliver. The first three dishes created the illusion that the nights were going to be a ‘great deal’ but eventually the Pizzas and pastas were sub par.

Did you know?

It’s worth checking all those deal of the day sites, granted that you might get a sub par experience once in a while, but it’s really worth to find out how they are with half the price, rather than paying the full amount.

Location:

60 Lime Street, King Street Wharf, Sydney, NSW 2000

Website:

May 26, 2011
Bentley Restaurant and Bar

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Bentley Restaurant has moved to a new venue in Radisson Blu Hotel.

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Bentley Restaurant’s Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 /10

Price: $85 per person

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

This is our anniversary week and we are in for a treat. We had the honour of experiencing Australia’s two-hat restaurant, Bentley Restaurant of Surry Hills. Once we stepped into the restaurant, it was a totally different experience. Instead of spotless white tablecloths and brightly lit rooms, we were taken to sort of dark bar décor with wooden tables and a simplistic table setting.

Duck Liver Foie Gras Parfait – with Puffed Rice & Pickled Raisin

We started off the night with this ‘Appetisers to share’. Beautifully decorated Foie Gras with Rose Petals ensured the night started off with a bang. The combination of strong duck flavour was complimented by the sweetness of the raisins. It was the ‘OMG-I-can’t-believe-it’s-very-good’ dish of the night.

Balmain Bug – with Lamb Sweetbread, Black Bean & Coconut Curd

The Entrée for the Mrs and another nicely arranged. We weren’t really paying attention on the details at first and thought the sweetbread could’ve been a brain. However, the overall combination was lovely and the sauce’s bitterness was just the right amount.

Ocean Trout – with Ocean Trout Mousse & Fennel Pollen

Unfortunately this one was less appealing, presentation-wise. My wife reminisced the sauce to be the same as Indonesian traditional’s pepes, which I wasn’t really fond of. The trout had a really nice texture and the mousse was really soft.

Brussel Sprouts – with Smoked Yoghurt

This was the side dish for the night and it added a little green in what otherwise be a ‘meaty’ night.

Roast Spatchcock – with Sweet Corn Polenta, Pistachio & Asparagus

The spatchcock was roasted to perfection. The polenta and pistachio further enhanced this Game bird’s taste with a hint of crispy texture from one element on the dish I couldn’t quite work out.

Slow Roast Duck Breast – with Cuttlefish & Mushroom

I always enjoy a good duck and – I know it could be disastrous if not handled properly – this one was definitely one of the good ones. The duck was really tender with a hint of sweetness. I’d have to guess that the black grainy thing was the mushroom, but it was very tasty. The combination of the three key ingredients created a unique experience.

Frozen Goats Cheese Mousse – with Violet, Buckwheat Praline & Passionfruit Ice Cream

There were quite a few elements on this plate, the cheese mousse, the sweet and sour passion fruit, the cake, the granules, and the sweet green sauce.

Our opinion was divided on this one. I think that the mousse was perfect without the overpowering taste of passion fruit, whilst she thinks that the passion fruit actually balanced the strong goats cheese’s taste. So you have to try and experience it yourself.

Malted Milk Marshmallow

Technically, it was just a well-burnt marshmallow on a stick, but they presented it in a nice board and a nice-looking stick with malt powder.

The final verdict for Bentley Restaurant

Bentley certainly had the complexity of a fine dining restaurant. Every dish was presented beautifully and tasted wonderfully. Love the different ambience and unique décor of the restaurant. Unfortunately the share plate, Foie Gras, was much better than the rest of the night.

Did you know?

There is also a degustation menu that they offered for $120, but I found it disappointing since it only listed one main and 4 entree from the regular menu, which is not an incentive for me to try.

Surry Hills is a suburb full of exciting restaurants. However, you are wise to check the reviews on these restaurants or you might be left with a high bill and feeling disappointed.

Location:

320 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

+61 2 9332 2344

http://www.thebentley.com.au/

Apr 25, 2011
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