Rockpool on George @ The Rocks, Sydney

My 21st Birthday Celebrations continued, even after a month. As a part of one of my birthday presents, some of my girl friends invited me to a 3 course lunch at Rockpool on George. Due to exams, it was post-poned to July.I have tried Rockpool Bar & Grill, and now lucky enough to have tried Rockpool on George.

Rockpool on George, is now a 3 chef hat restaurant (2013), after being a 2 chef hat restaurant for the past 3 years (2010-2012). They have also won awards in all different areas over several years. The wall of awards shows a commitment to good food, and wine. We were seated at the table that was at the front of the restaurant and front of the kitchen, allowing lovely natural light and a view of the kitchen staff doing what they do best. 

We we able to choose from the lunch menu, or have the set 3 course lunch ($65 on Friday). We all chose from the lunch menu, where some people had one course, others 2, and myself 3.

Awesome crunchy bread, and a petal iced tea

Sushi: Chirashi zushi of kingfish, trevally, tuna, octopus, prawn and squid

I thought I would take advantage of the seafood available on the menu, so I chose the entree of sushi.  The element of sesame in the rice added a lovely taste and smell. The accompanying sauce was not your usual wasabi-soysauce mix, it was spicy and tangy. It was a fresh and tasty dish.

Goat's cheese lasagne, apples, lavender scented kiplers, 

pangrattato and broccoli sauce

2 of my friends ordered the lasagne, and with a little sample, it would have been a tasty dish to consume all to myself. The goats cheese was soft and creamy. The hint of lavender added an extra taste and aroma.

Pigeon with corn, scallops, eggplant, black mushrooms and coriander

This was my dish, pigeon. It was infused with Asian flavours with a lovely aroma and great taste. The pigeon had a slight caramelisation, which accompanied the eggplant well. I was able to get all the meat off the bone, as Rockpool provided a warm hand towel to clean my hands =).

Beef sirloin with celeriac, onions, grated daikon and sauce vierge

Another 2 of my friends ordered the beef sirloin. The presentation was clean. In terms of taste, there was nothing extremely exceptional about the dish.

Lamb from South Australia, rolled saddle, bo ssam shoulder, celery, wheat infused soybeans

and tea smoked muscles

I tried some of my friends lamb dish and it was delicious. The beans and muscles with the lamb was a combination I would have never thought would work. The sauce accompanied with the beans added a great taste. A lovely warm hearty dish for a winters lunch.

Complementary salad

Now for dessert, 4 of us opted for desserts, as they just sounded too enticing. 

Passionfruit Souffle

The passionfruit souffle was perfect. It was perfectly risen, with an intense yet balanced passionfruit flavour. The extra scoop of passionfruit ice cream, when dolloped on top of the souffle melted, and added to all the passionfruit goodness.

Toffee Apple: Roast apple and hazelnut parfait, puff pastry, cognac and

rosemary sabayon

This is not what you expect your normal toffee apple to be, especially in terms of presentation. The bits of apple were encased in the centre, underneath the caramel shell. The best part was the rosemary sabayon which they provided plenty of.

Vacherin: Pandan custard, coconut parfait, jasmine sorbet, lime granita and meringue

My choice was the Asian inspired dessert. I was completely wowed by the presentation. All the flavoured were encases in the smooth meringue ring. When digging into it, I was overwhelmed with the wonderful flavours. The sweetness of the coconut parfait, and pieces of young coconut. Then there was the fresh lime granita with jasmine sorbet. However, when all combined in one spoon, it was definitely a spoonful of goodness.

On top of the normal dessert, I was also provided with a special dessert because it was my birthday. It was a chocolate mousse cake, encased in sugar cage. They also provided a lovely candle, it was a great gesture.

We were also provided with petit fours, my favourite of them was the nougat and chocolate ganache with  popping candy!

Petit fours: Nougat, pineapple jelly, chocolate ganache with popping candy

and madeleines

If anyone has seen the movie No Reservations, and know the truffle scene, the same thing happened at Rockpool. The chef was smelling and testing the truffles to purchase. One of the wait staff whispered to us that the truffle delivery has come, and it is an exciting time of the year.

The service at Rockpool on George was exceptional, and food exquisite. The wait staff catered for every need and were also conversational. Our main waiter, even decided to jump in the photo with us. Definitely somewhere I plan to dine there once again!

Good food, good times!

ExpressOrganica @ Concord

We all love a good brunch spot, but what about a place that is practically open all day everyday? ExpressOrganica is the place to be. . They are known as one of Sydney's Best Coffee Spots, and have been mentioned in SMH Everyday eats guide 2012. 

They provide an all day breakfast, lunch menu and dinner menu. The menu showcases an array of various foods, without having too many choices. The breakfast menu was my favourite, where I have never spent so long trying to decide what to eat. We decided to order some coffees and 2 breakfast/brunch choices.

Pretty Mocha

Vegetarian Stack

All the brunch favourites, avocado, poached eggs, sautéed mushrooms, baby spinach and roasted tomato and sourdough bread. I chose the dish without hollandaise sauce, because I am not the biggest fan, but either way, it was tasty. You can also add extras to the dish such as salmon, if you want some more flavours to start off your day.

Asparagus & sweet potato salad

This was part of the specials, and sounded too good to not order. It was composed of asparagus, sweet potato, mixed salad, cherry tomato, feta and walnuts. I thought the highlight of the dish would be the asparagus, where in fact it was the sweet potato. Perfectly cooked sweet potato, that helped with the salty feta and balsamic dressing.

The overall dining experience was exceptional with wonderful service, and great coffee. The store itself provides a warm vibe, with the brown and cosy décor. The bill was $44 for 2 people, which includes 2 coffees and 2 mains.

Good food, good times!

Food Bloggers - Ladies Lunch @ The Village, Potts Point

About a month ago I received am email to attend a complementary lunch held by Ladies Lunch, which is based at The Village in Potts point. The Village, Potts Point contains three bars, two bistros, a court yard and dance floor. I really enjoyed the decor where the ceiling advertised the daily specials, and along one of the walls hung some lovely black and white photographs.

The concept of Ladies Lunch is to create a lunch, with a casual upbeat atmosphere in comparison to a high tea. It allows ladies to be able to talk and drink with good food resulting in a great time.

Pimm's and lemonade cocktail

This was the second time I had tried Pimm's in a cocktail and it was refreshing. The taste was similar to that of a lemon & lime bitters. 

Antipasto plate with cured meats, artichokes, chargrilled red peppers, semi-dried tomatoes, marinated olives, hummus, beetroot dip & toasted sour dough

Now to the starter, a very lovely set up antipasto platter. They provided an assortment of flavours to suit everyone's palate.

Arancini balls with spinach and smoked mozzarella

An aracini ball is cooked arborio rice that is balled and fried. This results in a soft centre (similar to a risotto) and a crunchy outside. I personally find these rather addicting and enjoyable.

Crispy salt and pepper squid sprinkled with sea salt, and rocket, lemon & chilli aioli

The salt and pepper squid was crispy and accompanied the rocket and aioli well. I normally find that salt and pepper squid can be too salty, but this one had a great balance.

Roasted pumpkin with pine nuts, baby spinach & marinated feta

This was one of my favourite dishes. The simplicity of the dish is what made the dish wonderful. The pumpkin was perfectly cooked where it was soft but had a bite. The pine nuts added at great texture.

Tomato with mozzarella, fresh basil, olive & balsamic vinegar

A refreshing break from all the fried food. 

Margherita pizza fresh tomato, garlic, oregano with fresh basil & parmesan

The pizza was cheesy with a thin and crispy base. I love pizzas that have a thin and crispy crust. I wish the pizza had a bit more tomato pieces, but other then that it was yummy.

Left: Apple & berry crumble with vanilla bean anglaise, 

Right: Chocolate fondant with berry coulis & vanilla bean ice cream

Now to dessert, where we were given 2 desserts to share. The apple and berry crumble was warm and the crumble was crunchy. I don't like cooked apple, but in this case with the sourness of the berries it made it more nice and bearable. The anglaise was sweet and creamy. The chocolate fondant was my favourite dish of the whole lunch. It had a crunchy top, and a gooey chocolate centre. The berry coulis and vanilla ice cream helped counteract the intensity of the chocolate.

The overall experience was wonderful. Ladies Lunch is a great way to celebrate a girl friends birthday, or for a day out to catch up with some of your closest girl friends. For more information go to: http://the-village.com.au/

Good food, good times!