Patisse

5th July 2012

Whilst watching Masterchef on the Monday, they introduced a new desert king rather than the usual Adriano Zumbo, Vincent Gadan from Patisse in Sydney who made a desert called 'Parfum de Femme' . As we were headed down to Sydney in the new few days I managed to convince my family (not that it much) that we should head down and try this amazing looking desert.

When we arrived on Thursday, we headed down to Patisse which is housed in a old warehouse which mostly housed expensive furniture outlets and located in a slightly dodgy area with housing commissions nearby between the suburbs of Redfern and Surry Hills in Sydney.

After arriving we sat down at a mismatch of what appeared to be garden furniture and ordered our food. I went with the aforementioned Parfum de Femme and agreed to split the desert with my mum, who ordered a different desert. A salted praline mousse with some crushed pureed fruit and a piece of praline inside and covered in a crystallised violet and rhubarb velvet with a gold painted chocolate spray top and string leading down to a truffle filled with rhubarb coulis.

The result as show below was a masterpiece of presentation and vision and the taste equalled the beauty of the cake. The truffle filled with rhubarb coulis was exquisite and the mousse was rich decadent and wonderfully flavoured.

My mum choose the Yuzu cheesecake (a Japanese citrus fruit) with salted caramel and a macaroon Breton base. Great contrast of flavours with the citrus and the salt from the salted caramel acting brilliantly together. Whilst not as pretty or as good as my desert, i was still a masterclass in cake making.

The quality of these deserts was on a par with Zumbo and whilst the range and creativity was not as extensive, the signature desert was a masterpiece and well worth the trip down to this oddly placed patisserie. If in Sydney and you love cakes, it is a must visit.

Verve - Gold Coast

30th June 2012

After having booked my flight up to the Gold Coast for the Saturday morning before the Marathon on Sunday, i realised i would have plenty of time after picking up my race pack and checking in to my hotel to have a substantial lunch and therefore have a smaller nutritious dinner before heading to bed early in preparation for the race.

With my hotel and the race pack pick being in Broadbeach, i decided to choose a restaurant close to the area and settled on Verve which was a 15 minute walk from the hotel room. Located in broadbeach waters it was in one of the more unusual locations on the whole list. Located on a corner of a suburban housing area next to a milk bar and a hairdresser, it was an unassuming outside contrasted by a elegant decor inside which still had the Queensland spirit of open shop front which allowed views of outside and the bright Queensland sun to envelope the restaurant.

The restaurant itself was very empty with just two other people in for lunch. The decor was sophisticated with white table clothes, fine cutlery and purple walls and what would be a romantic setting during the night. A small one room dining area and what appeared to be an even smaller kitchen gave the place a homely, cozy feel.

After settling down on my banquette style seating, i was offered a reasonably sized wine list from which i choose a glass of Catalina Sounds Pinot Gris. The food menu had one page with about 7-8 choices each for entree, mains and sides and deserts and cheese, with a separate initial page for small tasting plates to start. They also offered a degustation menu. After contemplating the degustation option, i decided to go for a entree, main and desert feeling my training would overcome any overeating for the marathon the next day.

With several of the options on the entree menu i was torn and spoilt for choice. I eventually went with a Quail pie. Rich buttery pastry (that unfortunately stuck to the ramekin slightly) was broken to reveal a filling of tender moist chunks of quail meat , Swiss brown mushrooms and several small tarragon and truffle dumplings and a rich sauce. Very good and touches of both rustic homeliness and modern ingredients and techniques. The only disappointment was the rocket salad on the side which was bland, unseasoned and unnecessary.

Although there were also several great options for main course, there was one that jumped out and required me to order. And it did not disappoint with a sublime dish of slow roasted pork neck that fell apart with the slightest touch of a fork served with a sweet potato cream, pickled love plums and a honey and mustard jus. Each ingredient was fabulously cooked and presented and the taste was superb both individually and as a combination. Another mix of superb homely food with modern techniques and finishes to create a memorable dish.

Having had 2 fairly heavy courses, i decided on a lighter desert (although i was sorely tempted by the cinnamon donuts, pot au chocolate, caramel gel and espresso ice cream). Whereas the two previous courses mixed rustic and modern, this dish was all modern technique and flash. Toasted passion fruit marshmallows, with a mango salad, candied lime slivers and a small almond and coconut milkshake. Perfectly presented with a light balanced and delicious flavour it was an excellent end to the meal with the candied lime a personal highlight.

Overall not much to fault with this restaurant, a mix of quality food, technique, style value ($85 for 3 course and wine) and service meant a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon gazing out into the bright sunshine of Queensland enjoying delicious food and wine. If you find yourself in the Gold Coast for any reason, try to find your way to this restaurant that warranted its hat status in Queensland's inaugural good food guide.

Sette Bello

29th June 2012

For our end of financial year dinner the directors (on Brent's suggestion) took us out to a restaurant that featured in my Good Food Guide, Sette Bello. Having heard glowing reports from Brent about the quality of this place i was keen to see for myself whether it lived up to his hype.

However as this was an office function the normal dining experience would be slightly different. After initial drinks and casual conversation between work people and partners, we sat down to a three course meal. We were working off a slightly reduced menu from the full one but they still offered a selection of 5-6 options for each entree, main and desert. Having had the menu emailed around during the day i was already on top of what options i was going to select whilst others frantically choose their meals as the waiter patiently waited for their orders.

With everyone settled and speeches finished we sat down to our first course. I had chosen a carpaccio of very thinly sliced beef eye fillet topped with fried capers, pear, rocket and Parmesan. Nicely cooked beef and quality cut of meat and excellently balanced with the pear, cheese and rocket. Very nice flavours, well presented and a great start to the meal.

The main course arrived in a reasonably short time after (although not rushed out). For main course i went with the Porchetta. A roll of crisp skinned pork belly filled with rosemary on a bed of sauteed spinach with roman potatoes, caramelised apple and a sherry vinegar reduction. The pork belly was well cooked and delicious but was unfortunately occasionally overpowered by the strong rosemary centre. The spinach and potatoes were a great touch as was the sherry vinegar reduction. However the apple had an unusual texture and didn't fit with the other accompaniments. It could have done with just one of these elements either the apple or spinach and potatoes but not both.

The final course was a modern take on an Italian classic of Tartufo. A classic hazelnut parfait filled with a sweet cherry centre was classic Italian cooking and perfectly done. However the modern additions were crushed hazelnut praline encasing the parfait and topped off with Persian fairy floss sitting as a crown and an earl grey infused chocolate sauce. This was my favourite course, an excellent blend of flavour, texture and both modern and classic cooking.

Overall a very fun night out with work people supplemented by some quality food. The service was decent and drinks were always on offer but apart from that the wait staff were inconspicuous when not needed. Given it was a work function the value was extremely good with the company picking up the whole tab. A few mistake lead to the overall meal to be slightly below hat worthy but well worthy of a visit if you find yourself out in Glen Waverley.

Cookie

20th June 2012

After deciding that a group of us hadn't caught up in a while, the four of us decided to go out for dinner again, after heading to Papa Goose for the first event. After various places were suggested, we settled on Cookie, which i had never been to for food, and added a fifth member to our group (not a sixth, sorry Meg).

Having booked a 7pm dinner reservation, we were still required to wait and have a drink in the exceedingly cramp, noisy and busy bar area. After a short while we were shown to our table located at the back which was also a bit cramp and close to the other tables. A mix of cartoon art and reasonably loud music gave the place a hip vibe but also not a place to enjoy a long relaxing meal.

After taking a seat we were offered extensive menus of both food and drink (the wine list was upwards of 50 pages and there was a separate menu for a non wine drinks). The food menu was broken down into 3 areas of small, medium and large dishes. Given the varied tastes we decided to eat order our own food and i decided on a having both a medium and a large item both served at the same time as everyone else was having one dish.

For the small dish i decided to compare a dish on this menu with one i had previous eaten (at Longrain), the egg net salad with minced chicken, spinach, chili and cashews. Compared to Longrain's version the ingredients were of a lesser quality and the egg net itself was slightly thicker and less delicate and the flavours were less complex and balanced but overall a more than acceptable dish.

The large course was served on a huge sizzling plate with several fat pieces of squid stuffed with mice pork, lime leaf and served with an abundance of hot and sour sauce and dried herbs. The pieces of squid were decently cooked and had good flavour and the hot part of the sauce packed a decent punch, however the sourness of the sauce was overdone and it added a weird after taste that didn't go down great.

With the selection of deserts being fairly limited and most of Asian themed (except one random tiramasu) nothing jumped at me and we decided to skip desert. The food overall was of a decent quality but nowhere near the quality of Longrain or hat worthy. Very decent value and the portion sizes were plentiful and service was actually reasonable considering how busy it was. But would go back back to Longrain every time rather than here.

Pei Modern

14th June 2012

After being out on tuesday for a late dinner, i was back out again (this time slightly earlier) on thursday night this time in the city at Pei Modern with a friend. A new restaurant (opened in February) from renowned Sydney chef Mark Best (Marque - 3 hats) this was billed as more of a bistro rather than a fine dining extravaganza but with the quality of a exemplary chef. After having seen a review in the age (15/20 indicating a hat worthy restaurant) and having walked past a few times in the past month i felt i needed to give it a try.

Located at Collins plaza on the ground floor of the Sofitel lobby it was under the big canopy that covers the entrance way, allowing us to sit outside and watch poeple go by without a thought for the perpetual rain that seems to be aflicting Melbourne at this time.

The restaurant inside was split into 2 sections with a bar and casual bar snacks on one side and the rest of the restaurant to the other side with the bar splitting the 2 areas. Dark with soft lighting and edgy furniture. We opted for the alfresco dining area outside which offered the same level of comfort but with an open view.

After getting settled and asked by several of the staff if we wanted the heating turned on, we settled in with the wine menu, (i choose a glass of white that was very nice) and the reletively small but enticing menu.

After a few deliberations, i went with the whole 3 courses and settled in for a throughly enjoyable dining experience. After we selected our food, we received some housemade sourdough bread delivered in its own cloth bag with housemade. Very good quality and a great introduction.

For entree i setlled on the almond gazpacho with blue swimmer crab with red grapes and parsley. A vibrant flavoursome, rich and creamy gazpacho with hints of almond and lemon is matched with beautiful chunks of fresh and delicate crab. The grapes provide a different tangy flavour and the parsley added an additional freshness. A sublime dish.

The main course was a beautifully presented dish of roast rabbit, saltbush, wakame and jerusalem artichoke. The rabbit was clearly slow roasted and was beautifully moist on the inside (although a couple of pieces were the tiniest bit rubbery on the outside) and excellently paired with a mix of nutty and salty flavours. I choose to accompany this with a side of Dobson's chips which were amazingly crunchy on the outside and have great flavour.

Unfortunately my favourite course of any meal was a slight let down after the inspired cooking of the previous 2 courses. Good and well worth having but certainly not in the same class as the other 2 courses. I went with a mix of white chocolate, mandarins, sorrell sorbet and milk wafers. Extremely fresh and very good flavours indivudally and wonderfully presented but the sorrell sorbet drowned out and muted some of the other flavours especially the white chocolate. A reweighting of the different ingredient sizes could have lead to another winning dish but as it stands it was only above average.

Food that was certainly very much more hit than miss and several highlights acomapnied with great service meant it was worthy of the 1 hat that will likely be bestowed on it in the next Good Food Guide. For 3 courses and a side dish and a glass of wine for $100 was decent value and is well worth a visit.