Category: Global Cuisines

All About Food Blog loves trying different cuisines from all around the world. Sometimes food has the same name but completely different look and taste.

Three Blue Ducks

Rating:

8.5 / 10

Taste: 8.5 / 10

Price: $150 for 2.5 people

Place: 8.5 / 10

Review:

A little prelude before my review of Three Blue Ducks restaurant: My wife had wanted to go to this restaurant before we eventually had the occasion to do so. I would probably describe the restaurant as French-style modern Australian with Asian influence. The only downside here was that I did not bring my big camera with me and had to rely on my iPhone! Three blue ducks menu is a very simple piece of paper on a clip board. I think it is quite beneficial as they change dishes seasonally. The dish was divided into four categories: smalls, bigs, sides and sweets (I think you can figure out what they mean).

It is obvious that we have to select seafood as our ‘smalls’ dish as five out of seven selections were seafood dishes in three blue ducks. Our first option went to snapper ceviche ($14). It was a beautifully presented dish that gave us a fresh start to our dinner. The next one was an unconventional corn, chawanmushi and crab ($17). It came as the ‘swipe’ presentation on one end of the plate.

We also took out their special of the night, beef brisket with chimichurri. When the wait person explained the special for us, all I could hear was ‘Beef brisket… slow cooked for x amount of hours… then cooked with chimichurri’. However, since I am a big fan of chimichurri, I took this option. I know my picture really didn’t do justice here, but the beef was great. It was very soft and you didn’t even need a knife to cut it up!

Now, we move on to the ‘bigs’ dishes. It would be a sin if you go to three blue ducks without actually trying their duck menu. On this occasion, it was duck, chilli jam, mushrooms and greens ($32). I was actually quite reluctant to try because of the word ‘chilli’. However, when a one hat restaurant in Australia specified chilli on the menu, you wouldn’t be expecting a blistering hot one! I had to share the duck with my son, because he chose this more than the beef brisket or chawanmushi we prepared for him. I guess he wasn’t wrong because it was clearly the best dish of the day. We didn’t even leave a single drop of the sauce!

Our other ‘bigs’ dish was wallaby, broccolini, pickled grapes ($30). We tried this out of pure curiosity. How many restaurants listed wallaby as an item on their menu? Possibly not many! The interesting part of this perfectly cooked wallaby was a hint of wasabi on its sauce. To be honest, we had difficulties in actually recognising that it was really a wallaby meat.

They have some unusual items for side dishes, the ‘sides’. However, we found that they were the best value for money and tasted pretty great! For the first dish, it was a rich and flavoursome mushroom and grains dish ($8), they used different types of mushrooms and grains that were most likely consisted of barley and quinoa. We also loved the roast carrots, honey and almonds ($8). Not only they provided a sweet dimension to our dinner, it was also presented in quite a decent size.

I must say the ‘sweets’ section had a list of dishes with quite unusual ingredients. We decided to pick apple & pears, ginger & mint custard ($14). It was quite an interesting mixture of sour apple sorbet, diced pears, and strong flavour of ginger and mint sauce. They also used savoiardi (or ladyfinger biscuit) that soaked up most of the strong-tasting custard.

The final verdict for Three Blue Ducks

It is quite rare that we went to a restaurant with high hopes and met with equal or better presentations. Three blue ducks restaurant actually exceeded my expectations as a one hat restaurant!

Details:

141-143 Macpherson St, Bronte

02 9389 0010

http://www.threeblueducks.com/

Feb 24, 2014
ChaoPraya Thai Restaurant

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $35 per person

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

When I went to the Gold Coast the first time, long before I started writing this blog, we had dinner at this restaurant. We were pretty pleased with the food and it left quite an impression that I decided to write my next piece here. ChaoPraya Thai Restaurant has quite a nice interior design, very friendly staffs and the restaurant is located strategically on The Gold Coast Highway.

Our first dish of the day was Fried Rice Thai Style ($15.90), The description said it was ‘chef’s own special style of fried rice with chicken, egg and Vegetable’. All I could remember was that it was especially HOT! They put a decent effort in decorating the dish but it was just too hot for me.

Fortunately the second dish was a lot friendlier to me, it was Sweet & Sour Fish ($33.90) – Fried fillet of fish combined with tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, onion, shallot in sweet and sour sauce. It was nicely served in a fish-shaped plate and had quite a nice balance of flavours.

Our next one was another nicely-presented dish, Larb Chicken ($24.90) – Minced Chicken cooked with lime juice, onion, coriander, chilli powder, toasted ground rice and mint leaves. It was also said to be ‘served with green lettuce at room temperature’.

The Crumbed Calamari ($12.90) – Calamari rings crumbed and deep fried. Served with sweet and sour chilli sauce – was presented in a squid-looking plate! We couldn’t help but wonder how many plates they have in their arsenal! Unlike the fish, the crumbed looked a bit darker. However the calamari itself was quite okay.

For our dessert, we ordered Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango ($9.90). In the menu it has the word ‘seasonal’ in bracket and we were lucky that mango was in season at that time.

The final verdict for ChaoPraya Thai Restaurant

There is no doubt that you would feel good after visiting ChaoPraya Thai Restaurant. They have good and beautifully-presented food and friendly services.

Did you know?

There is also a Chao Praya restaurant in Sydney. At first I thought they were related. However looking at their website, I don’t think they are.

Chao Phraya (???????????????) apparently is the name of a major river in Thailand.

Details:

Corner Frederick Street and Gold Coast Highway, Surfers Paradise

07 5538 8118

Feb 10, 2014
Donto Sapporo

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $50 per person

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

Urbanspoon listed All About Food Blog as 11% Japanese cuisines. I think now I know why as our first ever post in Gold Coast was (surprise, surprise) a Japanese restaurant! We were actually relying on Urbanspoon’s readers that showed us the best tasting Japanese restaurant around the area where we stayed. Our choice fell to Donto Sapporo Japanese Restaurant.

We didn’t order that many dishes because there were only the three of us. For the first one, we ordered the mid-range Sashimi that they called Fisherman’s Choice Sashimi ($35). The cuts were very fresh and neat as expected. However, the kinds of sashimi they put in were quite on the average-side for the price tag.

The second dish of the day was Donto Sapporo’s special: Duck Soup ($9.5) – my apologies that the name escaped me as it was a combination of long Japanese words. It was a nice and manageable portion of duck with clear broth/soup with some vegetables to accompany the duck. We were pretty happy that our first two dishes were refreshingly fresh!

Another Donto Sapporo’s special for our third dish: King Crab Tempura ($19.5). I must say I was quite surprised when I saw this special menu; there are not many restaurants in Australia that serve King Crab Tempura! In addition to the king crab tempura, they also did seaweed in tempura batter and also some vegetables. The crab itself was very juicy and meaty!

Our last dish was Tempura Udon ($24). There were the usual suspects in Australian tempura dish: prawns, sweet potato, long bean, carrot, eggplant. However, they also threw enoki mushroom into the mix. The udon was also textbook-spot-on. Strangely enough, this tempura tasted a lot crunchier than the king crab tempura. I think it was because the king crab tempura had a lot more meat in one piece than this one.

The final verdict for Donto Sapporo Japanese Restaurant

We left Donto Sapporo feeling pretty impressed with the restaurant. Honestly, we thought we would get those tourist-y over-the-top premium restaurants. However, it turned out to be a nice and homey restaurant with good food and great service.

Details:

2763 Gold Coast Highway, Broadbeach 4218

07 5539 9933

http://www.dontosapporo.com.au/

Feb 3, 2014
Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab

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Harry’s has moved to a new venue, please check restaurant website for its new address.

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Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $50-60 per person

Place: 7 / 10

Review:

We conclude our feast-ival January with another Chilli Crab restaurant. Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab restaurant has quite a confident sounding to its name. It even has the owner holding a mud crab as a picture on its billboard sign. We only ordered four dishes this time, but that was because there were only four of us. Nevertheless, I am still amazed how we could finish those dishes!

Our first dish of the day was (this is what’s written on the menu) Harry’s Pepper and Salt Calamari ($22.50). I think it was the dish flawless dish of the night. It was presented quite nicely and had an extra sauce should you require it. The calamari itself was perfectly crunchy and chewy at the same time. The calamari was quickly followed by Garlic Sauce Kangkung ($15.00). It was very similar to something that you would prepare at home, it looked very boringly green and tasted equally so.

For our next dish, Today’s Market whole fish in Ginger and Shallots ($38.50), the fish was overcooked. It was quite unfortunate because I think the combination of flavours and presentation were spot on! It had all the flavours of a ginger and shallot dish with additional tofu and green vegetables.

Of course our last dish of the day was Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab (MP $85 per kg). There was quite a messy feel to its presentation, but then again you WILL get messy when eating a crab. From the taste department, this was the hottest crab that we ordered so far (PS: we always asked the chef to cook the crab ‘normally’). It was accompanied by nice-looking buns although it might be a bit too greasy. The crab was quite on par with other mud crab restaurants I have reviewed before.

The final verdict for Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab

The dishes at Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab was quite average. Given the pricey nature of the crab, you would expect the accompanying dishes to be quite enjoyable as well.

Details:

198 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills 2010

02 9281 5565

http://www.harryschillicrab.com.au/

Jan 29, 2014
Cafe Mix

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $75 buffet dinner

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

Prior to this review, I’ve been to Cafe Mix at Shangri-La Hotel a couple of times before for both its buffet and a la carte dinner. However, we decided to write on their buffet dinner. Available only on weekends, they have a buffet dinner called Spectacular Seafood Buffet at Cafe Mix Shangri-La, a big and catchy name for sure. So, how was it?

The buffet was divided into four sections with the first one strategically located just after the entrance. It was a crepe station with a fondue fountain filled with loads of goodies: strawberries, churros, marshmallow, and lollies. It would definitely grab instant attention for kids and adults alike.

The second one was its centrepiece: seafood buffet bar. There were a lot of chilled seafood dishes, like Balmain bugs, crabs, oysters and prawns. There was also whole poached salmon. Squid, octopus, scallops, and white baits were made into different kinds of salad. There was also a selection of salads for vegetarians. There were two Japanese dishes (sushi plates and miso soup) fitted awkwardly next to the seafood buffet. I didn’t like the sushi and didn’t even try the soup.

The third section comprises of a mixture of hot dishes, mostly of Asian influence, like roasted pork belly, BBQ pork, and noodles. There were also some European dishes, including Arancini mushrooms, carbonara pasta and mussels in white wine. At the other end of the table, there were several Indian dishes, like Mango Chicken and basmati rice with pappadums (love the pappadums!). However, I skipped most of them (including some vegetable dishes I didn’t bother to check) to reserve my tummy space for its dessert.

Lastly, we have the dessert section. As I am a big fan of macarons, my eyes were fixated on them. They still couldn’t beat Baroque’s in terms of taste, but were more than okay for ‘free’ ones! I am also a big fan of crème brûlée, but I could only taste my wife’s crème brûlée as they weren’t available when I tried to get it! Other notable desserts include: apple crumble, some chocolate desserts, meringue and jelly.There was also a selection of cheese if you fancy them.

The final verdict for Cafe Mix at Shangri-La

There was definitely abundance of choices when you dined at Cafe Mix. However, these dishes were simply too ordinary for the listed price. I did hog on the Balmain bugs as they were pretty uncommon and quite similar to lobster.

Details:

Level 1, Shangri-La Hotel

176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW 2000

02 9250 6000

http://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/restaurants/cafe-mix/

Jan 20, 2014
Xanthi Bar and Restaurant

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Unfortunately, Xanthi Restaurant has closed its doors in March 2014.

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Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7 / 10

Price: $35 per person

Place: 8 / 10

Review:

Our review this week came at the back of an ad hoc visit to a one-hat restaurant, Xanthi Bar and Restaurant (Greek: ????h?). To give you a perspective on how rare this was, we only went to a hat restaurant on special occasions, like birthdays.

The original title of our first dish was BBQ Calamari, but we had it changed to Crumbed Calamari ($16) because it suited our son better and they were willing to accommodate that. As expected, the calamari was perfectly fried. Our second dish of the day was a staple in a lot of Mediterranean/Greek restaurants, Dip Selection ($10). I think it was a great bargain for its price. You got tarama (salmon roe), split pea, and tzatziki dips and toasted pita bread.

This next salad/fruit combination might be a bit unusual to some people, Watermelon and Manouri Salad ($11). It was a combination of watermelon, manouri cheese, candied almonds, and vanilla & honey vinaigrette. It turned out to be quite a refreshing dish with a playful sweet and savoury taste to it. Conversely, the Seafood Filo Rolls ($22) suggested by the waitress fell short of my expectations. The dish sounded really fancy: prawns and scallops with a cayenne pepper, coriander and flaked almond cream sauce, served with cos lettuce and cucumber ribbon salad with an olive oil vinaigrette dressing.

Our next dish was the most expensive of the night, 250gms Lamb ‘Horiatiko Souvla’ (from the spit) ($38) – Served with toursi (greek pickles), tzatziki, Greek salad and chips. I am a big fan of its crispy lamb skin! It was seriously crunchy like pork crackling and I’ve never tasted lamb skin cracked like that!

Our last dish of the day was Deconstructed Seafood Saganaki (34). We got two skewers of marinated prawn and calamari with spicy seafood sauce and creamed feta complemented the decoration.

The downside of our visit there was that they missed the extra order, we wanted Lokaniko Spetsofai (sausage), but it never came.

The final verdict for Xanthi Bar and Restaurant

As expected from a one-hat restaurant, Xanthi Bar and Restaurant delivered us quality meal in their dishes. However, with the exception of its Horiatiko Souvla’s crackling, there was really nothing spectacular either.

Details:

Westfield Sydney Level 6

02 9232 8535

http://xanthi.com.au/

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Jan 15, 2014