Posts in Review

Chinese New Year 2012, Belmore Park

Review January 30, 2012 1 Comment

Last year I had a look at the Chinese New Year Festival at Belmore Park, and thought I’d go again this year. Even the intermittent and very grouchy weather couldn’t dampen (haha!) my spirits!

Somehow, though, the festival this year didn’t have the same bustling atmosphere. Sure, there were a lot of people, but it felt like there weren’t the same number of stores, or that the stores were wayyy more spread out. And there weren’t the same randoms! Where are the bunny people???

Anyway, entertainers aside, the only interesting stall that I found this year was this one:

I have no idea what the background really is, but anywhere that I can get a serving of noodles for $4 is well worth a shot! (Mappen still has a special place in my heart)

For a grand total of $10 combined, Sean got his dumplings…

…and I got this

This bowl of 凉粉 (cold noodles) was surprisingly good! It suited the warm, humid weather well, and had a refreshing zing to it. A light addition of chilli oil made it interesting, and the jelly-like slippery noodles made the kid in me giggle. Quite fun to eat.

For that matter, it was really fascinating to watch them make! The noodles came off this translucent dome

Some guy with a hand grater carefully grates off a pile of noodles.

When you order, it gets put into a container with the relevant sauces, and you get a noodle dish!

I think part of the reason why I like it so much is the novelty of eating it – I must admit that it’s not something that I’d enjoy a massive bowl of.

Oh and the dumplings? They were ok. Not mind-blowing, but really we didn’t expect it to be. But they were at least better than the random “Dim Sim” *shudders* places that they had there.

I miss spending Chinese New Year at home!!!!!!

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IKEA, Tempe

Review November 27, 2011 3 Comments

Image by yassan-yukky

I have a confession to make: I am a big IKEA fan. I once was in a discussion with an Art History teacher about the scariness of being able to walk out with an entire environment, but I still love it. I like the funky colours and the nifty ideas and the showrooms. LOVE the showrooms. And if that makes me a slave to pop culture and convenience, then so be it.

Part of the convenience that is associated with IKEA is that you can get practically anything there, including food! I’ve already done a post on their cheap breakfasts, and since Sean and I decided to make a day trip out of visiting the brand-spanking-new IKEA Tempe store, we sat down and ate a proper meal while we were there.

I decided to try the Shrimp with Wheatcorn Pilaf while I was there. Sure, the shrimp was not near the usual Sydney standards (I must say that Sydney does prawns surprisingly well), and it had been left in that bain marie for a touch too long, but it was actually really enjoyable. I guess part of it was that it was relatively cheap (the whole meal cost us under $25) and it was a quick and easy stop in the middle of our big IKEA trek.

Having the Swedish meatballs was a really easy choice for Sean. He always gets it and it’s always consistently enjoyable and again, relatively cheap. The creamy gravy is always nicely set off by the lingonberry sauce, which, by the way, is superb on a smoked salmon sandwich.

And because we had worked up an appetite walking around this furniture superstore, we decided to order some sides. The mashed potatoes come with the meatballs, and Sean and I decided on Veggie Pasta and Chips and Gravy. The Veggie Pasta was surprisingly creamy and well seasoned, and the chips and mash, were, well chips and mash. Nothing particularly special, but they both really hit the spot in terms of mid-shopping food.

It’s food that I like to term pseudo-gourmet – it can be gourmet if executed differently, but at least it’s interesting and really enjoyable for a really affordable price ($25 for the lot). Isn’t that like its furniture though? Affordable, reliable and consistent, that’s IKEA (for me) in a nutshell.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there, but if I’m in the shopping in or in the vicinity of an IKEA, it’ll definitely be on my list.

Oh, and for those of you wondering about the Tempe part of this IKEA post – sure it’s large, but that’s kind of what IKEA always has been. It may be larger than the Rhodes store, but I really don’t feel like there’s that much of a difference in terms of the feel of the store. As an avid IKEA fan, I still don’t think there are enough differences to make me want to travel all the way out to the Tempe store unless I’m maybe visiting someone in the area.

We ate at:

IKEA Tempe
634-726 Princes Highway
Tempe NSW 2044
(02) 8020 6641

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Surprises

Review November 22, 2011 3 Comments

It seems to be a week for pizzas. We had a very lovely drop-off at work today, from the café down the street. Teru Café and Pizza is a relatively new addition to the food wonders in Glebe, and I’ve heard that pizzas and coffee have been the owner’s life leading up to this café. I’ve also heard that there’s someone from Rome involved in the café, which ups the chances of authenticity if you are after that sort of thing.

I’ve never been to Rome, so I can’t comment on authenticity. But really. Who cares when it’s so yummy!

We had the two-face of pizzas arrive today – one side covered in moist, smoky roast veggies, and the other topped with slices of salami and mushroom.

The roasted veggies were sweet and caramelized with a hint of char. A tomato paste covered base was generously smothered with zucchini, sweet red peppers and Spanish onion. The crust had a nice crunch, but was not overly tough. A great support to the medley of ingredients that lovingly cling to it.

The seemingly simple meat half of the pizza had slivers of salami and mushroom, which created light bursts of flavour with the tomato base and melted cheese. Contrary to the stereotype of a typical salami/meat-lovers pizza, this pizza did not leave me feeling heavy and sleepy. I strongly believe that the tomato paste has sun-dried tomatoes in it. There is a strong hit of rich tomato flavour, and I can taste the sunshine in it. The near paper-thin slices of meat created a cloud of tangy spicy flavour in my mouth, and together with the sun in the tomato paste, this pizza tastes like a beautiful day in Sydney.

In all, the pieces of pizza transported me to a sun-drenched farm, with sweet vegetables and a philosophy toward food that is far away from the overly carnivorous tendencies of many pizza joints that saturate the market at the moment. Definitely somewhere to try with your nearest and dearest, for what is a better side to good food than great company?

Food from:
Teru Cafe and Pizza
02 9566 4949
33 Glebe Point Road
Glebe, NSW 2037

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The Bellevue Hotel, Paddington

Review November 13, 2011 5 Comments

The lovely people from the Trish Nichol Agency and The Bellevue Hotel invited myself and a couple of other bloggers for a tasting session after the big revamp of the upstairs bar. It’s really nice in a gentlemen’s club sort of way. Luxurious leather armchairs, dark wood shutters, and lots of old world charm. The whole setting made me feel like dressing up in a 20’s flapper dress and wear my hair in a short dutch bob – not that it’s flattering on me, but you get the idea. I immediately got the impression that it would be great for a murder-mystery party. It is really unfortunate that the pictures I took of the interior really didn’t do the venue any justice, but the photos on their website gives a great idea of the feel of it.

What I did get photos of though, is the food – what kind of food blogger fail would it be if I didn’t?

We had the Meat Short Board, $35, the Mixed Short Board, $35 and the Mixed Long Board, $45, for maximum variety.

The Meat Short Board had Little Pig Sliders, Veal, Pork and Sage Meatballs, and Lamb Cutlets with Salsa Agresto.

There seems to be quite a lot of debate online as to what a “slider” actually is, but from what I can gather it’s firstly a burger. Many say that it’s a mini-burger, and some disagree, but I haven’t seen a slider that wasn’t some form of burger-type food, so let’s go with that.

The meatballs and lamb completed the line up, with the meatballs carrying a light spice and the lamb nicely pink on the inside.

The Mixed Short Board had Patata’s Bravas, Salt Cod Brandade with Anchovies, Capers & Toasted Sourdough and more Little Pig Sliders.

The Salt Cod Brandade with Anchovies was my favourite of the lot – this is my first time eating a Brandade – it being basically an emulsion of fish and oil – but I’m pretty sure that as a lover of fish, it’s something that I’d be quite happy to try more of in future. And for those who are afraid of anchovies, rest assured that this is not the fishy, overly-oily cheap tinned versions that you find in inconspicuous corners of bad supermarkets. Yes, the dish is still relatively fish-y, but nothing as bad as the rep that anchovy seems to have.

And finally, the Mixed Long Board had Stuffed Mushrooms, Veal, Pork & Sage Meatballs, Garlic Prawns & Tomato Hot Pot and Salt & Pepper Squid with Fennel Aioli

The Salt and Pepper squid was the favourite at the table, and was nicely cooked, with a nice crunch on the batter without the squid being overcooked.

Now, if you’re familiar with the blog you’d be wondering why I’m not going into detail about each dish and how it made me feel. The thing is, the food was…okay. Besides the squid and the brandade, everything else felt slightly under-seasoned. Now I’m a big lover of salt, so take from that what you will, but besides the seasoning, I felt that the food was just a touch..empty. It felt to me like whoever made those platters had a broken heart. Maybe he/she was having a bad day? The sliders – which we heard so much about – seemed to lack a wink in its eye, and the garlic prawns seemed to lack…the garlic. It was nice enough, but not something that would make me walk away planning the next trip.

What would make me want to plan the next trip back, though, was the ever-helpful Ian-the-bartender. I must admit that it might be a slightly biased experience since we dined as guests, but he seemed to be like a genuinely nice guy. He even proffered a great food idea – smoked salmon and baked beans. On a side tangent, it really works! And now you know where that idea came from.

But back to the topic at hand. The conclusion that we had come to at the end of the day was that – in all fairness – we food bloggers are quite a picky lot. We spend so much time dreaming about fabulous food that have been augmented by fabulous memories, that anything short of that does disappoint us slightly. To a regular pub-going public though, it’s got great execution and is great food to pick at with a beer (I’m paraphrasing from Sara since I don’t really drink). Most of our respective partners would be quite happily munching away and polishing off the platters, so maybe it’s just us.

Either way, it’s good to-share food, and the venue’s great for a cozy party. Has anyone else been? What did you think?

We ate at:
The Bellevue Hotel
159 Hargrave St Map
Paddington, NSW 2021
(02)9363 2293

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Tambourine of Insatiable Munchies and the other bloggers mentioned in this post dined as guests of The Bellevue Hotel and the Trish Nichols Agency.

Hog’s Breath, Forster

Review November 9, 2011

Over the weekend, Sean and I went to Forster for a short break. We met up with Toni, his sister, and we decided to do Hog’s Breath for dinner.

After being bombarded by promises of “slow cooked steak” and tasty ribs by ads that run in Sydney, I was quite excited to try out this chain that I haven’t really had an opportunity to try in Sydney.

Toni’s partner, Birch, ordered the Hickory Smoked Prime Rib Steak, $30.95.

With it’s inky dark treacle-y brown Hickory Smoked BBQ Sauce, this was the dish that looked fantastic in person, but was extremely difficult to photograph. I’m told that this is Birch’s usual, and if he keeps coming back for it, I’m assuming that it must be of a certain standard. I can’t vouch for the steak since I haven’t tried it, but I can definitely vouch for the sauce…but more about that later.

Both Sean and Toni ordered the Byron Bay Chilli Prime Rib Steak, $31.95.

Sean ordered his steak medium-rare, which ended up like this:

Now I know that I like my steak on the rare side of medium-rare – and that might affect my judgement – but I’m pretty sure that that’s closer to just being medium. Sure, the steak was still juicy and pink, but it was a touch overdone for our liking.

The Byron Bay chilli sauce, though, now THAT was the discovery of the night.

It’s spicy for some, but what really struck me as a chilli lover is the complexity of the flavour! It had great depth, and gave much more flavour that presented itself in the aftertaste of the chilli hit. This is a chilli that made me want to find out about the Byron Bay Chilli Company and possibly get bottles of the different flavours that they have. And as a collector of condiments – the members of which include Sean’s dad and their neighbour – I think that is definitely a credit to the company. The chilli sauce, to me anyway, outshone the steak.

And since everyone else had the steak, I ordered the Smoked BBQ Ribs, $33.95.

The ribs definitely lived up to its tender reputation, but once again, the meat was outshone by the sauce. The Hickory Smoked BBQ Sauce was a little bit sweet, a little bit smoky, and very addictive. While Sean and I both enjoyed the ribs immensely, I think what we liked the most was dipping those curly fries into the remainder of the sauce on the plate. In fact, the BBQ sauce mixed in with the chilli, was A-MAZING. I actually think that I’d be quite happy ordering the two sauces and a serving of curly fries.

In all, it was a really good experience. The food was more than decent, it’s got a great atmosphere, and good service. It is a touch pricey, but it’s one of those “let’s bring the family out for dinner” places. Definitely worth a try.

We ate at:

Hog’s Breath
2 Little Street Forster Nsw 2428
Forster NSW
(02) 6554 5100

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Genghis Khan, Sydney

Review October 17, 2011 7 Comments

I recently got into online coupons, and I was really excited to make a booking for this deal that I got off Scoopon – $16 for an all you can eat Mongolian feast!

I have heard the restaurant name before as there is also a Genghis Khan restaurant in Singapore. It has more of a Japanese mix – because it seems that Singaporeans love Sashimi in an all you can eat. And I can vouch for that. I don’t think that the Genghis Khan that we went to in King St Wharf has any link to the one in Singapore, but it’s an eating experience nonetheless.

The process is simple.

First, you select your meat – lamb, beef, pork or chicken – and then you select your vegetables and sauce. Then, you line your bowl up to get fried up on a gargantuan flat hot plate. Apparently, this has evolved from the Mongolian warriors shaving off frozen meat and frying them with twigs on their round metal shields.

The result was really yummy and fresh, and the variety of what you can choose from keeps it from being boring. Quite simply, it’s great stir-fry.

It was a little bit hard to photograph, though…

It all kind of looks the same, but there are subtle differences in flavour with the different sauces that are available. The meat was tender and juicy, and the vegetables still crispy.

There was one small down side though.

The meat, on occasion, was slightly undercooked. Which, is not necessarily a bad thing – I really dislike overcooked meat. However, it does get a little bit awkward when that happens on a pork or chicken dish. Something to look out for, but I think the flavour of beef and lamb works better anyway, and so that didn’t really affect the meal for me.

In all, it was a fantastic meal for the coupon. Sean and I walked away with our bellies full, all the while knowing that we didn’t stuff our face full of something that we’ll regret for the rest of the week. It was a light sort of full, and it still felt great the day after.

Still, I’m not sure if I would pay full-price ($26.80 for dinner) for it. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with the place – the staff were attentive and the food tasted great – but would it really be worth the near $30/pp (I’m rounding up for drinks) price tag?

I’m not so sure.

We ate at:

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House, Surry Hills

Review October 7, 2011 1 Comment

And, no, it’s not the doctor on TV. Vina and Lauren had heard about a dessert called “Better Than Sex” at House, in Surry Hills. Talk about expectations hey?

Well, there always needs to be a lead up, so first.

We had a great seafood salad – Yum Sea Food, $14. It was a little bit on the spicy side, but the seafood was nicely cooked with a great dressing. It was light, tangy, slightly salty…I thought it went really well with the glutinous rice, which came in this uber cute steaming basket!!

We also had some lovely spiced chicken – Gai Yang, $16.

It was surprisingly well cooked – there are so many places that seem to overdo the chicken for some reason – and full of bursting flavour. The chicken was juicy, and not fatty, and each bite was lovingly dipped into a sweet/spicy chilli sauce that it was served with.

And the last savoury dish that was ordered was the herbal soup – Aorn Gai, $14.

Topped with dill, this soup was really refreshing…in a broth sort of way. It’s quite hard to describe, but it whenever I started feeling a little bit full, the soup actually made me feel…cleansed, and actually whetted my appetite. Served in a little pot on a stand, it was also really cute, and had great visual effect.

And finally.

What everyone has been waiting for.

Better Than Sex is a piece of extremely soft white bread is fried and topped with a gargantuan, monolithic scoop of pandan coconut ice cream and treacle-y caramel syrup. Was it good? Extremely. Did it live up to its name? Well, depends on how you like either I suppose. But it is very good.

In essence, the food was tasty, and the service not too bad. There was a nice flow of people through for dinner, and it got neither too crowded or quiet.

Definitely somewhere that I would go to again.

We ate at:

House
(02) 9280 0364
Surry Hills
202 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills, 2010

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¡Hagamos una fiesta!

Review September 19, 2011 6 Comments

Which, I’m told by Google means “let’s party!”.

Mad Mex – whose food I’ve reviewed before – has just opened a brand spanking new location in George St in the city. It’s right near Central Station, and shines like a bright beacon of tasty food right before you descend into the yawning maws of the underground tunnel that leads you to the train station.

The opening night had a more-festive-than-usual atmosphere – balloons, colours, and of course, the food.

But before all that, Clovis Young – founder of Mad Mex – brought us through a course in tequila and salsa.

Part of the flavour of the salsa comes from charred vegetables.

Onions, peppers, and tomatoes are blackened over fire and then chopped up and placed into a blender. Sounds simple? Well, don’t go breaking out the gas stoves just yet.

Fragrant, spicy Mexican chillis are then added to the mixture, giving it a kick that I can only describe as piquant and incredibly addictive. The variety of chillies that are used here really give it a certain something extra, which sets the salsas apart from salsas from other origins that can sometimes taste rather…flat. Apparently, Mad Mex uses about 20,000kg of chillies and 12,000 kg of avocados a year!

Now, onto the juicy bit, THE FOOD!

What seemed like every imaginable condiment was laid out before us while the servers worked in a conveyor-belt-type line to keep hungry people fed.

Clockwise from left: Mad Mex menu, Crispy Tacos, Grande Melt

That night, we had a choice of anything on the menu, and boy did my tummy appreciate it.

Beef Burrito

Beef Nachos

Out of everything I had that night, my absolute favourite had to be the Nachos. While the flavour of all the ingredients – and there were some that were pretty common across the board – works together nicely, I liked having the option to just have certain elements on their own. The Burrito was good, as usual, and the Grande Melt deserves special mention – I brought half of it home and it reheated very nicely the next day.

The most obvious thing that I noticed that day was that I didn’t feel overly sick and filled with grease. No, I essentially ate till I dropped and still got away with it! It tasted fresh and light, and while filling, didn’t weigh you down at all! It’s a great change from the typical Mexican fare that can get rather oily and heavy. Especially good for a quick lunch in the city!

Clockwise from left: Clovis Young, founder of Mad Mex, Sean ordering at the counter, the high-energy staff at the George St store.

And what’s a great party without the great people?

There was a mariachi band that night, and friends and family were all invited for a feed. It had great energy that night, and I think it’s great that it was a similarly great energy when I went to the Darlinghurst store previously. No matter how much I like the food, the service is always what I come back for.

Good food, great people – what else could you ask for?

We ate at:

Mad Mex
Haymarket
815 George St
Ultimo NSW 2007

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Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

Review September 14, 2011 3 Comments

View from Flying Fish, where we had dinner.

Isn’t it beautiful? The lovely people at Wine Selectors and Keepleft PR invited a few bloggers and myself to a wedding – to be specific, the marriage of food and wine.

We were first greeted by little wedding favors – Bombonieres – of sugared almonds. Champagne was cheerfully offered, but knowing my extremely low tolerance for alcohol, I tried to politely defer till dinner. In the meantime, I ordered something else to drink in the meantime.

Behold! The only non-alcoholic drink in the room!

Regardless of my (dis)ability with alcohol, I had a very lovely pre-dinner chat with Chris Barnes – consultant wine educator to Wine Selectors and visiting lecturer in Wine Studies at the University of Melbourne – about the science of wine.

From left: 2005 Chrismont Riesling, 2010 Dandelion Vineyards Wonderland of the Eden Valley Riesling

We started out with two really nice Rieslings. The younger of the two smelled distinctly of fresh pears and apples, and the older had a slightly more complex scent of ripe fruit.

Clockwise from left: Toasted Brioche with Duck Rillettes and Foie Gras Mousse, Cornet of Ocrean Trout Tartare with Chive Creme Fraiche, Freshly Shucked Sydney Rock Oysters with Soy and Ginger

The younger Riesling worked really nicely with the oysters, and the older of the two cut through the richness of the Duck Rillettes and Foie Gras. While I enjoyed the lighter, juicier Riesling more, the more layered, older Riesling worked better with food. I guess what I’m trying to say rather clumsily is that I would enjoy the younger Riesling on its own, but would rather have the older Riesling with food.

We then had a choice of two different mains that we could have, and Simon and I went halfsies!

Roasted Blue Eye Trevalla with Textures of Potato, White Anchovy and Herb Vinaigrette

The fish was marvelously flaky, but the best part of this dish for me was the tasty, tingly vinaigrette! There was such beauty in the way that the flavors sparked my tastebuds and the silky-yet-flaky white fish felt in my mouth that the individual elements didn’t really make that much of an impression. It was just a glorious, light, soul-lifting whole.

Dutton Park Duck Breast & Confit Leg Pastilla with Buckwheat, Quince & Pan Juices

As much as I usually prefer seafood – and that fish was divine – this duck was everything a duck should be. Or any meat for that matter. It was chock full of flavor, juicy, and I finally can say that I understand why there is such a tizzy about duck fat. There was just a certain satiny richness that coated my tongue, mellowed out the sharp saltiness of the pan juices and gave a great depth of flavor to the buckwheat.

The mains were paired with two Pinot Noirs – 2010 Riposte by Tim Knappstein No 1 Pinot Noir and 2008 Tarrawarra Estate Reserve Pinot Noir. To be honest, to a wine novice like me, the reds were just a bit much. I could definitely appreciate the jammy berry scents in the older of the two reds, but as far as the tasting, I was just a little bit lost. I did, however, learn about the importance of oxygen to flavor.

The oxidation process apparently allows for a greater complexity of flavor. Chris likened it to the process of cooking – oxygen molecules are excited and the flavor of the food changes. Hence the idea of letting the wine “breathe”, which apparently is a misnomer as the wine doesn’t exactly go through expiration and respiration. The process of oak barrel maturation was explained to me like this – the wood allows some of the liquid to evaporate, and oxygen is then pulled into the barrel, which then interacts with the wine and brings out a more complex, deeper flavor.

At least, that’s how I understand it.

A final red – 2009 Coriole Vineyards Sangiovese Shiraz – was then poured out for us to enjoy with the cheese platter.

We had two different kinds of cheeses that night – an American Cheddar, and a Delice de Bourgogne. The shiraz had a dark, chocolatey flavor, and the tannins cut through the creaminess of the oozy Delice de Bourgogne really well. It was really enjoyable, although I still felt that there was a limit to which I could enjoy the Shiraz because I couldn’t fully understand it.
But that’s the thing.

In my chats with Chris, what I really learnt from him and this wonderful dinner with the people from Wine Selectors is that you’ve gotta start somewhere. The perception of wine seems either to be that it is intimidating – probably because of a lack of exposure – or that it is pretentious. I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t have to be either. It is a little bit like food, I guess, because you win some and you lose some. I’ve just realized that while I wouldn’t consider myself a wine lover, I do like a young Reisling. And seeing as how I started my love affair with cheese with creamy white mould cheeses and now love a good sharp blue, I’m pretty sure that before long I’ll work my way up to appreciating a nice, full red.

A big thank you to the nice people at Wine Selectors and Keep Left PR for inviting me to this lovely dinner, and the intriguing introduction to wine.

Note: Insatiable Munchies and other food bloggers mentioned in this post dined as guests of Wine Selectors and Keepleft PR.

We ate at:

Flying Fish
Lower Deck Jones Bay Wharf,
19/21 Pirrama Road
Pyrmont NSW 2009
(02)9518 6677

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Happy 120 Years TAFE!! Weird Food Dinner

Review September 6, 2011 4 Comments

As you all would know, I love LOVE odd food. Chances are, if it’s really out there and doesn’t really sound like food at all, I’ll desperately want to try it. Which is why TAFE’s Weird Food Dinner – which is part of the Ultimo Science Festival and TAFE’s 120 year celebrations – was my PERFECT idea of dinner. There’s just something about edible creativity that really sparks my interest.

When you first walk in The Apprentice – the resident TAFE restaurant where the cookery and hospitality students get to use all the skills (and probably more) that they’ve learnt in their TAFE courses – two large television screens greet you.

These screens both show footage of what’s going on in the kitchen. The whole dinner is actually prepared by students in Year 2 of the Commercial Cookery Certificate III. The hum of conversation rises as everyone speculates what dish is being prepared in the kitchen. All the footage is live, and provides great insight to the tension, the energy, and the nerves that go on behind the scenes. I actually saw a student’s hand shake as she lifted little white beans (more about that later) from a tray of clear liquid. As a self-confessed food nerd I must admit that I watched with endless fascination like a child at the aquarium.

The dinner started out with baskets of warm bread being rolled out by the Food and Beverage Certificate IV students. Smartly dressed in monochrome tones, fragrant rolls of chewy goodness were waved temptingly under our noses, singing its siren’s song of toastiness. There were a few different varieties (I kinda scoffed them all before I remembered to take a photo. FAIL) but my absolute favourite was the Beetroot Bread (right). There was the subtle sweetness of beetroot, mixed with the amazing chewy texture of the bread. Plus, the vibrant infusion of fuchsia was absolutely stunning.

Appetizer: Diego Munoz, Bilsons. XL White bean, Kurobuta pancetta, black garlic

When the appetizer came, I actually had a really strong impression that I’ve seen this dish somewhere before. Especially the XL White Bean.

Does anyone else get food deja vu?

Anyway, the XL White Bean is actually made up of white bean that has been first poached in ham stock, pureed, then had alginate added, before careful spoonfuls were dropped into a calcium chloride solution. This process is called spherification, and the idea is that a thin skin forms on the outside of the puree, giving it its form. This large “white bean” is then delicately topped with the thinnest sliver of Kurobuta pancetta. Buta is japanese for pig, and Kurobuta refers to a specific sort of (I believe) black pig that has a good amount of fat bred into the species. Sounds exotic? Well, it’s nothing compared to the other element – the Black Garlic.

Apparently, the way you would get black garlic is to ferment it for 40 days at a specific temperature. Most methods that I’ve seen online call for a heating element (but not too hot) and low humidity. The result of all the kerfuffle? Beautiful, soft garlic the colour of inky night skies with a strong umami flavor that leaves your tastebuds tingling in excitement. If ever there was a relatable definition to “big mouth feel”, this is it for me. I was specifically instructed by the cook/chef that accompanied my waiter that I was meant to eat a full bean, the garlic and then the full bean again. It was almost as if the first “bean” was to set me up for the explosion of flavor that the garlic gives, and the second “bean” was there to bring me down gently in a cloud of white bean puree. My only gripe would be that I didn’t really taste what the pancetta brings to the party. After hearing so much about this pig – bless you, Iron Chef – I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t get to experience what this little piggy was really meant to do.

Entree: Patrick Dang, Concrete Blonde. Giant red claw yabby, bisque ice cream, bacon powder, porcini broth

About 30 minutes after the appetizer was served, the dish that I was anticipating the most came through the swinging doors of the kitchen. I have a weakness for crustaceans. There. I’ve said it.

When I first looked at it, I was pretty sure that my scoop of bisque ice cream had fallen of its yabby pedestal, but I like to think that it might have been a creative decision by the person preparing my dish because it kind of looks like an abstract melting Dali crustacean from the side. I think it’s cute. And that’s what I’m sticking with.

I think this had to be my favorite tasting dish of the night. The fresh yabby had a great spring in its flesh, the porcini broth imparted a great ‘meatiness’ to the dish, and the bisque ice cream. Oh, the bisque ice cream! It was divine. I could’ve eaten a whole tub. The shellfish flavor that I’m so addicted to came through all the creaminess like a bright light shining through a paper lantern – its potential glare was kerbed by the soft, melting creaminess that hugged the tongue. The bacon powder sounded like a great idea, but didn’t actually do much for me. The rest of the dish was so yummy that – rather than provide a contrast in texture like I think it was meant to do – it actually kind of sat there like an un-needed appendage.

Still, I feel that all the omnomnomminess outweighed any and all potential negative the dish might have had. It was just yummy. And let me state for the record that it is very difficult to try and scrape your plate clean in a fancy posh setting. Just sayin’.

Main: Alfonso Ales, Jonahs. Aylesbury duck, “Apicus” Hunter Valley

The main came out of the kitchen in a waft of gorgeous aroma. The poached and spiced pears and citrus fruit were carefully arranged in a line beside the duck, adding fresh colour to the earthy palette on the plate. I was actually quite excited by the thought of this dish – I don’t know why, it might have been a fantasy fueled by the visions of Heston Blumenthal’s Duck a L’orange. Somehow the sight of duck with citrus just triggers that fantasy for me.

But anyway.

I’m sad to say that this dish wasn’t exactly my favorite of the night. While the fruit hit all the right notes, the duck was a little bit…overdone for my taste. Excuse my plebeian tastebuds, but it tasted just a little bit powdery for me. Just a little. Maybe it’s an acquired taste for the texture, like liver.

The skin and the sauce however, went really well with the fruit.

Dessert: Nathan Griffiths, Ultimo College. Bistro Burger “all the trimmings”

If the Entree was my favorite flavor profile of the night, then this has to be my favorite visual. As a fan of Heston Blumenthal, I LOVE the idea of a certain food masquerading as something else. And this hit all those targets and captured my imagination. Smooth, custard-y vanilla ‘buns’ were topped with a chocolate mousse ‘patty’, raspberry ‘tomatoes’, pistachio biscuit ‘pickles’, white chocolate ‘cheese slice’, pistachio sponge ‘lettuce’ and another wobbly dome of vanilla ‘bun. And on the side, dehydrated pineapple ‘french fries’, accompanied with raspberry coulee ‘ketchup’ and mango ‘mustard.

HOW CUTE IS THAT???!!!

You can’t really go wrong with those flavors : it’s not exactly ‘out there’ but meh, who cares when it is so CUTE! It tasted good, I don’t think I really have to say anything else.

And when you think you’re done, the dinner is topped off with a white chocolate lollipop (is it scattered with cocoa nibs? I’m not sure) and a selection of chocolates.

In all, it was a fun and informative dinner, which was well worth the $75 price tag. True, it wasn’t exactly my idea of “weird”, but then again, I watch a lot of programs that feature Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria, so maybe I’m a little biased. Hey, at least I got to enjoy the creations of these great chefs, TWO of whom worked for Ferran Adrià!! I’m now only separated by 2 degrees!!! *Squeals like a fangirl*

Anyway. The food was good and the staff were absolutely lovely. I’m not sure what the menu at The Apprentice is like usually, but I wouldn’t mind going there again to find out. And a quick flick through the Ultimo Science Festival program that was given out before dinner showed me all the really cool stuff that I had missed out on this year. =(

I definitely know what I’ll be doing next year though. Any food nerds want to join me? 😀

I ate at:

The Apprentice Restaurant
Level 7, Building E
TAFE NSW Sydney Institute, Ultimo College
Harris Street, Ultimo 2007
(02) 9217-5527
SI.TheApprentice (AT) tafensw.edu.au

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