Cafe Birkenhead, Birkehead Point

It has been a while, dear readers! I have found life is really catching up to me and things have been non-stop busy, busy, busy. In between the midst of working, uni and just trying to get things sorted in general, I managed to catch up with one of my good friends from my old work place I haven't seen for a while. Our weekly chats have been missed sorely! And what better way than to catch up over lunch with a great view and then some shopping?

L to R: energy booster, $6.50 / strawberry daze, $9.00

We started off with some beautifully girly drinks. Are you all digging the lovely hues of pink? We certainly were much too enamoured by the prettiness of it all. The energy booster sounded super fresh with watermelon and mint and tasted exactly so. A question I now pose to you is: when is it not time for a cocktail? When the mocktails sound enticingly zingy of course! Fresh strawberries muddled with lime juice and soda water? Yes, please.

Duck sausage risotto, $22.95

Yep, you guessed it. My eyes zoned in on the truffle oil (and mushrooms!) and I just absolutely had to get this. Whilst lacking in that punch of truffle I was looking for, the flavour of the duck sausage made up for it. Normally I do love my risottos a touch creamy, but this was definitely a bit on the heavy side for me.

Salmon fillet, $29.95

The salmon was the pick of the two, cooked to a beautiful medium rare as ordered. It really didn't need anything extra other than the salt and pepper it was seasoned with. Quinoa is a grain that does do much better with extra sauces and herbs, so it could've been doused lightly with some kind of dressing, but the asparagus, corn, tomato and feta were a welcome addition to the overall dish.

Perhaps I will forgo food next time and instead go for a cup of coffee (or mocktail!) to kick back with in the arvo after shopping gets tiring. And it normally does! Will have to give the coffee a go next time :)

Cafe Birkenhead
46 Roseby St  
Drummoyne, NSW, 2047
 
Crystal Noir and friend dined at Cafe Birkenhead courtesy of Carly Lund. Opinions however, are entirely her own.

Jones The Grocer 2, Sydney CBD

Don't think that I had begun neglecting my blog did we, dear readers? But the end of assessments mean I can finally update again (more like catch up on what I've been eating during my absence!). After loving Jones the Grocer so much the last time I dined there (that sticky date pudding gives me all sorts of heart palpatations every time I think about it), I was ecstatic at the opportunity to try out their new winter menu thanks to Ashley Hucker from Jones The Grocer.

L to R: Blood orange & cardamon cordial; pear & blueberry cordial, $5.50 each

We may have been given the same drink as they both looked at tasted of blueberry to me. Regardless, a wonderfully sweet and refreshing start to our meal.

Lamb cutlets, $28.00

The lamb cutlets were a beautiful blushing pink when cut. Though a tad underseasoned by itself, the eggplant relish provided a wonderful acidity that gave it that extra punch when eaten together.

Mushroom conchiglie, $17.00

You'll see me running when I hear the word mushroom, cream and pasta all in one sentence. So it was a given that we ordered the mushroom conchiglie. Creamy pasta with plenty of meaty mushroom pieces hidden beneath all that sauce is what you call a perfect pasta to sauce ratio. A sprinkling of young celery leaves and both my sister and I were all smiles.

Wedges, $8.00

These wedges were by far the crispiest wedges I've ever had. They must have been triple fried to achieve that level of crispiness!

Panna cotta, $10.00

And who ever says no to dessert? We couldn't help but giggle at the wobbliness of the panna cotta. But that's what a perfect panna cotta does, isn't it? I was glad the lemon verbena wasn't overpowering but it was strong enough to give the panna cotta that wow factor. The strawberries were doused ever so lightly in a rose syrup as well so the entire dessert was super fragrant and reminded me of flowers and spring time.

Creme brulee, $10.00

Boy am I glad I had the panna cotta first. Whilst I loved the first dessert, this one blew me away. We held our breaths before the first moment the spoon touched the blow torched sugar on top and were very satisfied with the solid crack we heard. The custard underneath was utterly beautiful and the rhubarb added an extra tang that made it almost reminiscent of yogurt - which we absolutely adored.

Our waitress, Maisy, for the evening was absolutely darling. You can't help but love her friendliness and bubbliness - it's contagious! Whilst I was very happy with the dinner menu, it's the breakfast menu I'm dying to try out. Breakfast risotto anyone?

Crystal Noir dined as a guest of Jones The Grocer courtesy of Ashley Hucker. Opinions however, are completely her own.

Jones The Grocer
Cnr Castlereagh & Market Streets
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Level 5 Westfield Sydney

Opening Hours
Monday - Saturday: 8:00am - late
Sunday: 8:00am - 7:00pm

Swine & Co, Wynyard

I have a question for you, my dear readers. What is your favourite type of meat? I, myself, am such a huge fan of pork. There are not only so many different cuts of meat you can get from the pig, but also so many different ways to cook it. And it is with this promise of lots of pork that we end up at Swine & Co after Chef Meathead's graduation (congratulations!).

Specials cocktail / Charlie Chaplin, $18.00 each

Who doesn't like starting the meal with a girly cocktail? I got lured in by the specials cocktail which  tasted like whizz fizz that I had as a child! I can't remember the exact mix but there was brandy and cherry liquer in it. McMini ordered the Charlie Chaplin which was equally as drinkable with gin, apricot brandy, lime juice and rhubarb bitters.

Complimentary bread

 Those sticks were very addictive because of how airy, crunchy and light they were.

Charcuterie, $30.00

I think we all have a slight obsession with cured meats but Chef Meathead wins on how much he loves his cured meats. I tried some of the chicken liver pate which was very rich and creamy and was coated with a thin layer of fruity jelly to add an undertone of sweetness to the salty pate.

King salmon, $30.00

Look at how perfectly the salmon is cooked! Who knew that salmon would be great with fennel? The olive soil scattered was a very clever way to add seasoning to the dish by allowing us to choose how much we wanted to eat with our salmon. But what I found super addictive were those seaweed pieces and am curious how they managed to get that crispiness to them.

Pork belly, $34.00

You really can't go wrong with pork belly if you have tender soft meat topped with a wonderful slab of crunchy crackling. And with a little croquette on the side? I'm won over! I'm used to eating pork with apple, so the introduction of a super smooth pumpkin puree and peppercorn jus was something new to which I'm glad to say I tried and liked.

Suckling pig, $40.00

Now this was a large chunk of meat I'm telling you. I was expecting something smaller, more delicate and have to say, the meat wasn't as tender as the pork belly when I had been expecting the suckling pig to be more so. I think we were all starting to get the meat sweats at this stage... There was a lot of pork happening. But no matter, we had veggie side dishes!

Brussel sprouts, $12.00

Not everyone is a fan of brussel sprouts but surprisingly, I actually like them (does that make me strange?). This version has been cooked with lentils, fermented chilli and speck. I do find that brussel sprouts needs to be cooked with a meat to soak in flavour so I was happy to see the addition of speck.

Dutch heirloom carrots, $12.00

Sweet roasted carrots with caraway butter! The addition of the crumbs on top made me feel like I was eating a dessert as they were quite sweet and reminiscent of cookie crumble.

Hand cut chips, $12.00

Aioli makes everything alright when eaten with all kinds of chips. I guess this doesn't really count as healthy veggies to help break down all the meat we were consuming :P

Located in the heart of Wynyard, the bar upstairs was very busy and packed out with business men and women when we entered on a Friday night so I have to say that booking is a must if you want to try out all the swine available for consumption here!

Swine & Co.
16 O'Connell St  
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 9:00am - late

Felix Bistro & Bar, Wynyard

Merivale currently has meal deals for $33 as part of their March into Merivale celebration so yes to cheaper meal deals :D McMini, M and I were seated outside for our girls date so thank goodness there weren't big gushes of wind that night! We ended up ordering from the normal menu and not the meal deal menu.

Complimentary bread and butter

Slather on that butter! Choice of sourdough, multigrain or rye with butter - how can you go wrong? The pick of the three had to be the sourdough with the lovely crust.

Twice baked Gruyere soufflé with onion puree, rocket and walnut, $20.00

Souffle is not something I've had before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was so fluffy! The souffle by itself was nice, but it was lacking a little something which I found the onion puree made up for. The two together really gave us a delicious start.

Slow cooked, herb crusted lamb shoulder with  slow roast tomatoes and rosemary jus, $33.00 (for one)

The flavour that was encrusted in just the herb crust itself was delicious. The lamb shoulder itself was beautifully soft and tender as all soft-cooked lamb should be. Just a tad underseasoned but overall, incredibly tasty.

Confit duck leg, frisee, lentil and green bean salad, lyonnaise sauce, $33.00

How can I ever say no to confit duck? M offered us both to try some of her confit duck and it was divine. Just as good as the one I had at Le Pub :) I loved the subtle sweetness from the lyonnaise sauce.

Roast cauliflower, spring onion, mint and marinated goat's cheese, $10.00

We also got a side of roast cauliflower because you know, veggies! I do love cauliflower though - the insides were so soft. And with pomegranates and marinated goat's cheese, it's hard to dislike the sweet, tangy, salty and herby flavours. Always a fan of the addition of spring onion.

Looking back, we ordered some solid winter comfort food in the dead midst of summer... Didn't regret ordering any of those, because they were all delicious! Who says you have to eat according to the weather? :P

Felix Bistro and Bar
2 Ash St
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours 
Lunch
Monday to Friday: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Dinner
Monday to Saturday: 5:30pm – 10:30pm
Sunday: 5:30pm - 9.30pm

Christmas Day Menu @ Watsons Bay Hotel, Watsons Bay

Happy New Year, dear readers! Sorry I haven't been blogging as of late - I've been busy, busy during this festive season! I hope you've managed to keep your resolutions now that we are just a tad under a week into 2014 :) I would like to start off the year with my biggest meal at the end of 2013 and probably most expensive at a whopping $250 per person so I would really like to thank my oldest friend M for bringing me as a guest. We were offered Moet champagne upon arrival so here's to us and over ten years of friendship!

Seeded bread with butter

Seafood platter

When our initial seafood platter arrived, I was already thinking about how the hell was I going to have enough stomach space for mains, dessert and post-dessert? Was it even going to be physically possible? Just look at all those prawns, oysters, mud crab and Moreton Bay bugs along with thousand island style dipping sauce. Fresh seafood always goes down well.

Whiskey a& honey glazed Kurabuta organic ham with cinnamon roasted peaches

And now the real meal starts. When I looked at the menu, I thought to myself: "how good could ham possibly be?" But damn this was good ham. Especially paired with those peaches. I've always had pork and apple together but peaches were completely out of the equation until now. It actually worked together!

L to R: BBQ split Yamba prawns with garlic, chilli & lemon / Roasted whole snapper with heirloom cherry tomatoes, olives & basil

The snapper was also a sight to behold. Steamed whole with olives on top, the juices of the olives flowed into the knife scores along the fish and really was beautiful. Whilst I am normally not a fan of olives, I found the flavour cooked into the fish wasn't quite as strong and it was actually very enjoyable to eat. There was some some acidic balance from our side of shaved fennel, radish and orange salad.

Slow cooked lamb shoulder with quinoa, pumpkin & pomegranates

However, this was the star of the mains. The whole lamb shoulder was cooked to tender perfection and the yogurt dressing with pomegranate pieces completed the dish. We had a side of maple roasted sweet potato and candied pecans. I kept coming back for the candied pecans - so sweetly addictive! And the sweet potatoes too because I'm a sucker for roasted sweet potatoes.

Mango and berries pavlova with mascarpone cream

And if all that food wasn't enough. There was still dessert. I love a good pavlova and I loved this tropical rendition with mango, passionfruit and mascarpone cream. I do wish the pavlova was less dry and more fluffy inside - though that didn't stop us from finishing it all!

Chef's selection of cheeses

I thought the pavlova was the final course but I completely forgot about crackers and cheese. Oh dear. Stomach space please grow so I can fit more food inside you. We tried a miniscule amount of the blue vein cheese before deciding that our tastebuds still haven't quite grown accustomed to the strong flavour and so we stuck with the brie and cheddar. Amazing cheeses! And to eat with the cheese, we had some sweet, juicy grapes.

We were much too full to even contemplate trying to squeeze in a coffee. It did smell amazing though! I don't think there were even any crevices left for the liquid to seep through within our stomachs. But I was already so pleased with my meal I couldn't even complain about not fitting in coffee!

I hope all of you had equally as large feasts on Christmas Day along with beautiful company just like who I had.

Watsons Bay Hotel
1 Military Rd
Sydney, NSW, 2030

Opening Hours
Monday – Saturday: 10:00am – 12:00am
Sunday: 10:00am – 10:00pm

Breakfast
Monday – Sunday: 7:00am – 10:00am

Lunch & Dinner
Monday – Friday: 11:30am – late
Saturday & Sunday: 11:00am – 4:00pm / 5:00pm – late

Jones The Grocer, Sydney CBD

The following day after I came back from my trip to Korea, I caught up with one of my friends at Jones the Grocer inside Westfield Sydney, which currently resides where Justin North's Becasse used to be. I've always walked past this restaurant that sits in the corner of the food court, but have never ventured inside until now.

Pear & blueberry cordial, $5.00

For drinks to start off with, our super friendly waitress recommended the pear and blueberry cordial as a personal favourite, and I decided to take it with sparkling water. The bubbles made it taste like a softdrink! It was sweet and really quite lovely.

Mixed board for sharing, $45.00

Our eyes zoned in on this as soon as we read it on the menu. We were warned that it really was quite huge and is normally shared between two people as an entire meal! That didn't deter us though because cured meats and cheese is a combination that's just meant to be. It really was spectacular when it hit the table simply because of the sheer size. There was proscuitto, fennel and garlic salami, wagyu bresaola, mild chorizo on the meat platter and I really loved it together with the marinated goat's cheese and bread which is all house-baked. The marinated mushrooms were also surprisingly tasty and mildly sweet to counteract the saltiness of the meats.

Soft herb risotto with fresh asparagus, taleggio & black truffle oil, $19.00

I'm a huge risotto fan when it's done well and I loved, loved, loved this one! It took me on a rollercoaster of flavours from the hit of truffle when you first take a spoonful of the rice, which slowly dissolves into something wonderfully creamy and cheesy. Yet it didn't feel heavy at all because the final flavour which lingers on the palette is the freshness of the herbs and asparagus. Definitely could not get enough of this one!

Angel hair pasta with blue swimmer crab, chilli, rocket, garlic & grand padano, $22.00

The angel hair pasta pales in comparison to the risotto. Get this if you're a fan of crab! I personally kept going back for the risotto because the flavour intensity was much stronger ;)

Warm sticky date pudding with salted caramel sauce & vanilla bean ice-cream, $12.00

At this point, both of us were stuffed. And guiltily staring out the window at the gym across Pitt St Mall right in our line of sights. But we were encouraged to get dessert because the sticky date pudding is apparently to die for! And boy were they right. Just look at the pool of salted caramel it's sitting in! It was so rich and moist and amazing of all sorts... We polished it all off despite mentioning we were full beyond relief just 10 minutes prior hehe.

Young coconut rice pudding with mango & almond crunch, $12.00

The other dessert we ordered was the young coconut rice pudding which was nowhere near as rich as I expected it to be because young coconut juice is used instead of the heavier version of coconut milk. The rice still retained a bit of bite - thank goodness it wasn't overcooked like the mushes some rice puddings turn out to be. I very much felt like I was eating a Thai dessert!

They nicely offered to pack away our antipasti boards to takeaway as we could not finish it no matter how hard we tried - there's only so much two Asian girls can eat! But I know I will be back to try the dinner menu as the beef rib is tempting me :P Along with many other things! And situated so conveniently in the city, how can you not make a stop by?

Crystal Noir and friend dined as a guest of Jones The Grocer thanks to Jessie Hargreaves of Cav Con

Jones The Grocer
Cnr Castlereagh & Market Streets
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Level 5 Westfield Sydney

Opening Hours
Monday - Saturday: 8:00am - late
Sunday: 8:00am - 7:00pm

Sepia, Sydney CBD

Sepia is one of the three hatted restaurants that had caught my eye after reading raving reviews from numerous bloggers as well as critics. So naturally, it was an easy decision to make a dining reservation here a week prior in order to celebrate my younger sister’s 19^th birthday accordingly. I wanted her to have a wonderful time to call her first fine dining experience!

The interior décor itself is very contemporary and quite dark. Quite the atmosphere for a date night I say. It was an easy decision to choose the spring set menu as there were two options per course, which meant between the both of us, we could try eight dishes all together for $140 per person! Too perfect.

Bread & butter

We were served bread and we ooh’d and aah’d over the perfect sphere of butter. It’s so round!

Amuse bouche

The amuse bouche was a jelly of sorts with little bursts of fish roe, all sitting on eggplant puree. Can’t say I was the biggest of fans of the flavour but I can appreciate the technicality of the dish.

Sashimi of Big Eye tuna, steamed Japanese omelette, white soy, apple and sheep yogurt cream, puffed buckwheat, wasabi

The first dish was the sashimi of big eye tuna. Normally, my favourite kind of sashimi would have to be salmon, but this slice of tuna was beautiful. It was cut wonderfully thin so that it almost dissolved on the tongue with the sweetness from the white soy, apple and sheep yogurt cream. Whilst I did love those elements along with the textural addition of puffed buckwheat and slight kick of wasabi, I cannot say I loved the steamed Japanese omelette that the tuna sat on top of. I would’ve preferred it if it was just plain egg, as opposed to the strange mix of flavours in this omelette that didn’t sit quite as well with me.

Poached Scarlet prawns, shiso jelly, cauliflower miso, rye, smoked salmon roe

This poached prawns dish blew me away by both its prettiness and flavour. I never knew prawns could be cooked to that level of tenderness. The cauliflower miso that the prawns were bathed in was spectacular in every way and the cubes of shiso jelly along with the surprise burst of saltiness from the little beads of salmon roe when you managed to spoon some altogether really united all the components.

Miso black cod smoked over Japanese charcoal, nori, wasabi rice vinegar, tonburi, artichoke, tree spinach

When this dish was served, the elaborate deep-fried paper-thin wafers of nori definitely made an impression. Don’t they look gorgeously crispy? These delicate morsels lived up to expectations that it would simply fragment into tiny pieces upon touch and melted on the tongue. The smokiness of the miso black cod definitely shone through with its fragrant charcoal essence and flaked beautifully as it was cut into. The creaminess of the artichoke puree really offset the  sweet acidity of the wasabi rice vinegar surrounding the miso cod.

Bonito, flavours of roasted chicken, umeboshi, upland cress, green tea, nori

I wasn’t quite expecting a bonito piece that was quite this slender but I could see why when I dug my fork into it and it just pulled away like it was butter. It was a trippy course to eat. It had the texture of sashimi but it tasted like chicken. The sprinkling of green tea powder also added a slight bitterness that was welcome to the tastebuds when eaten with the slightly tart umeboshi cream on the side. Very enjoyable to eat!

New Zealand Scampi cooked over charcoal, peas, shellfish mousse, sudachi, shiso caramel, shellfish powder

Scampi was something that I was looking forward to as it was not a shellfish I had eaten yet. It had a texture not unlike prawn or lobster, and rather reminiscent of a mix between the two. Whilst the shellfish mousse was interesting (I love how they make purees and mousses out of everything here), I cannot say I am a fan of the strong fishy flavour that it encompassed and preferred eating it without. The shiso caramel was powerfully sharp, though it was a shock that was not unwelcome and the citrus flavour was enjoyed quite thoroughly in smaller quantities.

Seared rolled David Blackmore wagyu beef, chestnut mushroom, roasted red onion juice, wasabi fried potato and kombu crumb, citrus soy

I love nothing more than a piece of perfectly cooked beef and this was just so. The wagyu beef was sliced ever so thin and then rolled up so the outer could be seared yet the centre remained medium rare. Scattered amongst the kombu crumbs were morsels of chestnut mushrooms which were gratifyingly juicy. The wasabi fried potato was converted into a puree that was silky smooth and I couldn’t help but lay it on top of every bite of the beef along with the citrus soy for that hint of tartness.

Pre-dessert

This pre-dessert in the shape of a mountain really reminded me of Christmas! Don’t you think it looks like snow? Though I have to say it was the combination of gingerbread crumbs and green herb that looked like a Christmas tree that really gave me that idea. In the midst of all that powder was a tangy lemon sorbet to cleanse our palettes in preparation for our next dessert course. Dessert stomach space activate!

Caramelised apple, house made clotted cream, malted meringues, salted buckwheat toffee, muscovado blackcurrant and sorrel leaves

Ah, this contemporised version of apple pie was quite nice. Presentation was stunning and it instantly reminded me of a forest, no? The caramelised apple pieces were extremely soft and so sweet that it was almost too sweet, but the clotted cream and salted buckwheat toffee really pulled it down a notch.

Frozen strawberry, champagne chiboust, alpine strawberry jelly, strawberry sherbet, pistachio

But out of the two desserts, this one really won me over. I would have to say it was the dish of the night! I was wondering how they managed to de-seed the strawberries and hollow them out at the same time so that they could be filled with the champagne cream. It really just blew my mind thinking about it. So crafty of Sepia! Everything from the strawberry jelly and sherbet to the strawberries and pistachio crumbs was just so fabulous and melded together so well that my tastebuds were doing a happy dance. What an outstanding way to end our meal.

All in all, most of the dishes were executed pretty much perfectly and I was impressed with our four course meal. My sister was very happy dining at Sepia and it surpassed her expectations – her enjoyment was all I could ask for!

Sepia Restaurant
201 Sussex St
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Dinner Tuesday - Saturday from 6:00 pm.
Lunch Friday & Saturday from 12:00 noon