Foveaux @ Surry Hills

A special occasion always calls for a special dining experience. Therefore, to celebrate a one year anniversary (p.s. not marriage) my partner and I went to Foveaux. Foveaux is a one hatted chef restaurant, and becoming increasingly popular. The restaurant only seats 45 people, which allows or an intimate dining experience. We went for the the tasting menu and vegetarian (v) tasting menu.

The best part of the dining experience was the chef, Darrell Felstead. When I made the booking, I noted my partners dietary requirements, which  didn't end up get passed on to the kitchen. Therefore, on the night, the waiter had only just told the kitchen about the requirements. In some cases (such as Quay) the communication of these requirements are through the wait staff. 

However, at Foveaux, the Chef actually came to the table and discussed the requirements and went through the tasting menu of what could/couldn't be eaten. He was able to cater to most things by changing the sauces, where in one case he had to create a new dish. Definitely a great way to start the night!

Hommus soup

A strange start to the night. It was slightly sour, and reminded of some store bought chicken salt, but liquified.

...don't remember what this was (v)

Seared bonito, black sesame, mushroom milk, puffed rice with 

pickled vegetables and elk

A wonderful refreshing dish with great components. The mushroom milk was not like anything I have ever tried. It was foamy, yet had a solid nature to it. It accompanied the fish very well, and the puff rice added a subtle crunch to it all.

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Red pepper nachos, sour cream ice cream, sweet corn, avocado, tomato and black sesame sauce (v)

This was a great start on the vegetarian side of things. With my little sample, there were a lot of great flavours. The sour cream ice cream wasn't heavy, and made the nachos a light dish compared to other nacho dishes which are on the heavier side of life.

Smoked duck, cuttlefish, duck cheese

I am always a yes for eating duck when shown on a menu. All the condiments of the dish were things I had never tried before. The cuttlefish was a great addition, however the duck cheese is what was good. It was soft, creamy and had a lovely cheese taste.

Poached egg, raisin, ciabatta, roquetfort, with a salad of walnut, endive, apple & celery (v)

Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the perfectly poached egg. It was a nice dish with clean flavours. All the flavours could be used in a great salad!

Golden trevally, prawn braised leeks, fondant potatoes, kohlrabi puree and white wine reduction

I find that when ordering fish, it is never a stand out dish. In this case, it had a great crispy skin with a well cooked fish. However, it is the best fish dish I have tried to date. 

Roast broccoli, snowpea, watercress, umeboshi (v)

This was the dish that the kitchen had to create, as what was originally on the menu couldn't be eaten by my partner. It was a great concoction of flavours produced by the kitchen. All the broccoli and snow peas obtained all their bite.

Roasted venison leg, mushroom puree, juniper oil, spaetzle, pickled red cabbage 

This was my least favourite of the dishes. The pickled cabbage overpowered the taste of the venison. The mushroom puree has a bit grainy, and I found it didn't accompany the venison well. However, the roasted venison was cooked great, and the nuttiness of the walnuts was a lovely touch.

Chickpea cavetelli, beetroot, asaparagus, white mushroom and roquette (v)

It looks like a fruit tree on a plate. The cavetelli had a lovely creamy sauce. All the accompanying vegetables were delicate and the beetroot powder added an interesting texture.

Braised quince, rhubarb sorbet, apple crumble and custard

I love the concept of pre-dessert to cleanse the palate. The sweetness of the custard, and tartness of the rhubarb sorbet was amazing! The bits of crumble added crunch. A great fruity pre-dessert that enticed the palate for the real dessert.

Chestnut gelato, chocolate, coffee cloud, pear and ginger

A delicious dessert. The coffee cloud was the best part. I loved its aerated nature and is what I think a cloud would taste like (if all clouds were made of coffee). Though, overtime the coffee became overwhelming which was assisted by the chestnut gelato and dollops of chocolate.

Tamarillo doughnuts, orange miso custard, brazil nut praline, white chocolate and coffee gelato (v)

Another great dessert, that was very different to mine. It had more of a citrus taste. It would have even better if more than one doughnut was provided. The doughnut itself was nice and fluffy with a tamarillo filling.

Gifts (Kobo Aura & Engraved iPod Touch 5)

Foveaux was an exceptional dining experience, with great service and the Chef is definitely able to cater for any dietary requirements. A shout out to the Chef Darrell Felstead who was able to cater for the last minute changes.

Good food, good times!

The Devonshire @ Surry Hills

The last of my 21st birthday celebrations! It was a long time for all the celebrations, but they have now come to an end. The Devonshire was where it ended. The Devonshire is a modern Europen restaurant, with a dark interior design with lovely mirror fixtures along the walls. The simplicity in the design provides an elegance to the restaurant. Furthermore, The Devonshire is a 1 chef hatted restaurant. Due to one of my wonderful birthday gifts of a Sydney Entertainment book, we were able to dine for the degustation menu at a great price of $60 per person.

Bread with normal butter and honey infused butter

The honey butter was delicious, with the buttery texture, and the slight hint of sweetness from the honey. It was my first time trying honey butter, and something that would be good to get my hands on.

Salt fish brandade with caper sauce

A little package of fried mash potato. It reminded me of the KFC potato ball things. I couldn't quite taste the fish, however the caper sauce was tangy which complimented the potato well.

Chargrilled haloumi, woodside goat curd mousse, crushed peas, toasted seeds, nuts and dried olives

Their wasn't enough chargrilled haloumi, for it to be the key component of the dish. A highlight was the goat curd mousse, that was nice and fluffy. The nuts added the crunchy component. The dried olives provided the saltiness to the dish.

Crumbed short rib of beef, pickled ox tongue, enoki mushroom, red onion and fried capers

This was my least favourite of the dishes due to the conflicting tastes and textures. The flavour of the beef was lost due to the crumb. The pickled nature of the red onion and ox tongue just didn't work for me. However, I did enjoy all the enoki mushrooms and the sauces. 

Blue swimmer crab and scallop raviolo, salt & pepper calamari, parsley, lemon and ink dressing

A perfectly crooked raviolo with a delicious seafood filling. The salt and pepper calamari reminded me of crispy pig ears, no real taste, but a load of crunch. I still don't know how I feel about ink sauces/dressings. I find it plain, yet slighly salty. Not really sure on how it is supposed to be.

Pan seared Ora King Salmon, prawn & basil spring roll, macadamia, orange and chive dressing

The salmon was great, where the sweetness of the orange and chive sauce wasn't overpowering. The spring roll is definitely not what you expect a spring roll to look like. The prawn taste didn't come through, it was quite oily. 

Roast pork loin, crisp pearl barley & chorizo risotto, celeriac, sage & apple jellies

This was my favourite of all the savoury dishes. A very generous serving of pork loin, with a great balance between salt, crunch, and sweetness. It was a fantastic way to end all the savouries and prepare for the desserts!

Flavours of apple pie

A winter fruit pre dessert to cleanse the palate. It was a deconstructed apple pie with vanilla ice cream. The apples were done as whole pieces and caramelised. The light crumb added the crunch against the apples and ice cream. The piece of pastry helped break through all the flavours.

Warm chocolate fondant, shredded coconut & brownie praline, coconut milk sorbet

The best part of most dining experiences - dessert. The fondant was slightly overcooked where the centre didn't ooze out as it should. Despite that slight hiccup, it was a delicious way to end the meal. We all demolished the dessert with ease.

Bill presented in a tea cup

The overall service was great. However, their display of food was inconsistent, where everyone's dish looked very different. In terms of dishes, there were only 1-2 stand outs, and everything else was okay.

The Girls

Good food, good times!

Bentley Restaurant and Bar @ Surry Hills

Thanks to a special someone and a special occassion, I finally had the chance to dine at the famous Bentley Restaurant and Bar. The two hatted restaurant has been winning awards since 2006, and continues to hold excellence for both their food and wine. 

The restaurant has a modern interior, with a specific placement of lighting to have an intimate yet relaxed dining experience.  We didn't try any of the wine, because neither of us are big wine drinkers, but they do have a vast range to pick from. The following food images are from normal tasting menu ($120 per person) and vegetarian ($110 per person). 

Complimentary bread

Malt cured ocean trout with pine nut and trout roe

Tomato and yellow bean salad with pine nut and black olive

The delicately fresh pieces of trout were divine and the little bursts of trout roe made the dish more exciting. The bean salad was presented with such finesse where it looked too pretty to eat and displayed the wonderful colours of Summer. All the fresh ingredients made the dishes beautiful in both taste and presentation.

Seared scallop with purple sweet potato and sea banana

Eggplant with sweet potato and a cooked egg yolk

The eggplant dish was the tastier of the two. The cooked yolk was just irresistible, I am not sure on how they did it. Throughout the entire dining experience we continually reflected upon the egg. Just thinking about it now still makes me wonder on how such an egg is produced. The seared scallop dish was nice, but did needed more scallop. I loved the little pieces of purple sweet potato on the side.

Tuna, pickled mussels, octopus with squid ink quinoa and sea grapes

Baby potato with fenugreek, oyster mushroom and almond sauce 

The seafood on the dish provided a fusion of different flavours, where the cut of tuna was the best part. Squid ink quinoa was strange, but the crunch of the squid ink crisp added an interesting element to the dish. The vegetarian option wasn't too exciting, however it delivered simple flavours with fresh tastes.

Balmain bug with cured duck breast, black bean and coconut curd

Cauliflower with artichoke, hazelnut and black bean sauce and parmesan cheese.

I loved the different elements of my dish. The saltiness of the cured duck breast complemented the coconut curd and the softness of the balmain bug. It was an array of different flavours that worked extremely well. The thinly shaved artichoke with chopped cauliflower was generously dressed with parmesan cheese with a balance of flavours. It may have looked like a black pond with various lily pads, however it was nicer than it looked.

Pork cheek with fennel and black garlic sauce

Baby beetroot with white asparagus and radicchio

Multiple versions of pork cheek can not go wrong. One had a crumb, and the other piece was dressed with a caramel glaze. There was a great balance of salt which worked with the garlic and fennel sauce. On the other side of the table was a work of art. The vibrant colours of the fresh produce made your eyes pop. On top of dish were thin pieces of beetroot crisps which added crunch to the dish. 

Fillet of black angus beef with jerusalem artichoke, baby cucumber and burdock 

Slow cooked spiced carrot with black cabbage, forbidden rice and cucumber 

You know beef is cooked to perfection where it can be cut with a butter knife. It was quite a change to eat cuts of beef with artichoke and cucumber. After already eating 5 dishes, this was a great finish to the savoury components of the dining experience. The spiced carrot on the vegetarian dish was delicious. I admit, the forbidden rice looks bug like, but it was puffy rice. It was an interesting texture that takes some time to adjust to.

Pre Dessert: Honey dew sorbet with pieces of honeydew and liquorice cream

We both found the pre dessert tastier than the actual dessert (which was also tasty). All the components were refreshing and perfect for a summers night. There was pieces of dried out honey dew which had the texture of a sponge but taste of honey dew. It was a wonderful pre dessert.

Macadamia parfait with white chocolate, mint and lemon meringue 

A creamy light parfait with lovely pieces of white chocolate and a tangy broken lemon meringue. The parfait was different to what most may know as the one with layers. It was aerated and similar to a soft sponge, yet melted in your mouth. I loved the caramelised macadamia nuts which added crunch and extra sweetness to the dessert. A great finish to the meal. 

Bentley Restaurant and Bar definitely deserves their two hatted recognition. They provide exceptional service, and cater to everyone's eating style by slightly changing the menu to ensure everyone has a wonderful dining experience. 

Good food, good times! 

Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig Cupcake Launch @ Sparkle Cupcakery, Surry Hills

 Two of my favourite things have now been combined, Rekorderlig Cider and cupcakes. Rekorderlig has teamed up with  Sparkle Cupcakery  to introduce a limited edition Mango-Raspberry Cupcake. The cupcake uses fresh summer ingredients of raspberries and mango for a tastey sweet treat. The inspiration for the Mango-Raspberry cupcake was to create the perfect summer cupcake. 

I was one of the lucky few who were invited by Rekordelig Cider to attend there cupcake launch party hosted on 13th November 2012 at ther Surry Hills store. According to Rekorderlig-Cider Australia the cupcakes were a sell out on opening day (14th). The cupcakes will be available between 14th- 30th November 2012. The stores providing the cupcakes are in Surry Hills, Martin Place and David Jones Sparkle Cupcakery Stores.

Complementary Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig Cider

 Sparkle Cupcakery display cabinets

  

Mini versions of the cupcakes

Sparkle Cupcakery Menu

Now, to the wonderfully tasting cupcakes! There is a perfect balance between the buttercream frosting and the cupcake itself. The bits of raspberry infused throughout the cupcake provide the taste of summer. I found the mango flavour hard to detect, but a friend of mine was able to detect it straight away. I personally have tried to make Apple Rekorderlig cupcakes, but they didn't turn out quite right. I hope they provide the secret recipe to the delightful Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig Cupcake.

This was my first time trying Sparkle Cupcakes, and I will definitely be coming back to try other cupcakes that are on their menu. A thank you goes out to Rekorderlig Cider for the invitation.

Good food, good times!