Posts Tagged ‘Modern Australian’
October 25, 2009 | 
Author Quay Restaurant
Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, Sydney 2000
(02) 9251 5600
![IMG_2754 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2754-640x4801-300x225.jpg "IMG_2754 [640x480]")
Named Restuarant of the Year by the Age and GT two years in a row makes QUAY my to eat list when I go to Sydney. I went there with high expectations and I feared the Quay would disappoint me, especially with the weird decor they had- tacky plastic shower curtains-like decorations, mirror on the ceiling..etc… yikes. But you know what, the decor is the only “disappointment” for the night. The evening’s dinner is sublime, the service is friendly, knowledgeable but unintruding.
In the evening you can choose either a dinner menu ($155 for 4 courses) or their signature menu ($210 for 8 courses). Both menu features modern Australia style food with an Asian influence. For those who know me, I am extremely cautious about “Asian influence” as normally it means asian food being screwed up beyond recognition- but this meal is beyond my imagination and took Asian cuisine to the next level.![IMG_2757 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2757-640x4803-300x225.jpg "IMG_2757 [640x480]")
We chose the 4 course dinner. The amuse bouche is tuna with tapioca “pearls”. It was beautifully presented with a delicate little flower on top. The tuna is so fresh which just a hint of saltiness, with the chewy texture of the pearls and the creme fraiche it makes a yummy play on textures. This certainly sets the scene of what is to come next.
Our entree is Sea Pearls ($20 supplement)- 5 colourful round balls, the treasures of the sea. Clockwise from the top there’s salty tuna & caviar; the smokey octopus, egg white and smoked eel; subtle mud crab with tapioca pearls; abalone suspended in dashi consumme; sea scallops w/wasabi flowers. This looks so beautiful that I stared at it for ages before I ate it!
![IMG_2771 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2771-640x480-300x225.jpg "IMG_2771 [640x480]")
Second course, Hubby had crisp confit of pig belly, braise of abalone and cuttlefish, handmade silken tofu, Japanese mushrooms, chive flowers. This is so delicious also, but Hubby teased me by just giving me a little tiny bit at a time, so I couldn’t really taste the true mixture of flavours and textures 
Yet what I had was fantastic, the crispy suckling pig is not too fatty.
![IMG_2773 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2773-640x480-300x225.jpg "IMG_2773 [640x480]")
My second course was the Five textures of Southern rock lobster.
Clear lobster bisque with silken tofu at the bottom which absorbs all the flavours of the lobster bisque.
Sitting next to this bisque is a trio of lobster texture: lobster foam at the top with some snow pea sprouts, a disc of lobster meat and lastly lobster dumpling in the bottom.
I love the intensity of the lobster bisque and the tofu that absorbed all the essence, but after having that the trio of lobster texture tasted a bit bland. I wonder if I should have eaten the trio first…
![IMG_2774 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2774-640x480-300x225.jpg "IMG_2774 [640x480]")
For the third course hubby had Free range chicken breast cooked sous vide style, truffle butter, baby radish, spring onions, garden peas, garlic cream, pea shoots. The chicken is so tender, and although poached, so flavoursome. Once again this dish is dotted with pretty miniature flowers and micro vegies that features in so many Peter Gilmore’s dish.
![IMG_2775 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2775-640x480-300x225.jpg "IMG_2775 [640x480]")
My third course is a Bass Groper, parsley crust, slow braise of baby abalone, periwinkles, sea scallop, winter melon, hasuimo, green tea and seaweed consomme.
This dish is very gingery which is normally a flavour I dislike, but this dish is so fresh and simple that I love it.
To choose a favourite dish would be hard, but the desserts are the grand finale of this decadent four course dinner.
![IMG_2786 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2786-640x480-300x225.jpg "IMG_2786 [640x480]")
A pile of raspberries, violet, almond, vanilla cream sitting prettily on a plate is hubby’s choice of dessert. There is a fresh burst of flavours in every bite. It is especially good with the Moscato di Asti. Yum!
![IMG_2787 [640x480]](https://www.bellygood.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_2787-640x480-300x225.jpg "IMG_2787 [640x480]")
Eight texture chocolate cake featuring Amedei ‘Chuao’ Chocolate- yum yum! I love chocolates and I’ve heard other diners raving about it. It started out perfect- a smooth disc of dark chocolate covered what lies underneath. Then the waiters pour molten chocolate into the centre and the middle just melts…divine…
The Crosstown Eating House
Cuisine: Sharing plates, Australian
23 Logan Road
Woolloongabba, Brisbane
Ph: (07) 3162 3839
The Crosstown Eating House opened up less than a month ago on a little stretch of Logan Road in Woolloongabba I am now considering calling the greatest place on earth. Well maybe if Chouquette and Salon move there too.
One one side of the dusty, roadworks laden street is Pearl with the great cakes and breakfast and directly opposite is the Crosstown.
Several weeks ago staff at Pearl told some my friends that a friend of theirs was setting up shop across the road. This sort of thing excites me and fuels my curiosity. Hubby, my sister and I were early and were still waiting for four more of our party. We went in to wait and were led to the courtyard. A cosy little “outside” area turned into an inside space. You’re on the verandah and through the window is the bar where a friendly face is offering you drinks and nibblies. I immediately fell in love with Crosstown. It feels like your neighbour or a good friend has invited you over for a drink and a nice meal and now you want to move in with them.
They don’t take bookings, but invite you to just rock up. It’s that whole friendly neighbour thing again really. And bring friends of course, that’s highly recommended.
After we were all seated our table were made ourselves busy trying to decide what to eat. After trying to stop ourselves from ordering one of everything per person, it was explained to us that the idea behind the menu was to share. I noticed that they had to explain this to other diners as well after they experienced similar dilemas to us. It might save them some hassle in the future if they print the explanation of sharing plates on the menu or tell guests when they are seated. After all that though I think we did almost order everything on the menu. Only a few of us wanted lamb cutlets or oysters but everything else we shared in our feast. We had managed to order just the right amount of food with room for dessert.
Before I show you all the food, just to save me some typing, EVERYTHING was good.
Meat Balls and Sauce ($14) – I suggest you order some bread to dip in the sauce left over at the end.
Prawns and white anchovy mayonnaise ($15) – the prawns had a sweet flesh and the mayonnaise was a great complement with a light anchovy flavour.
Steak and horseradish ($15) – tender steak in a lovely horseradish sauce, another one to save for dipping bread into.
Lamb Cutlets ($4 each) with a lovely tomato relish. There is enough to load heaps of relish onto your cutlet.
House shucked oyster ($3 each), very fresh oysters, why did I only have one?
Lamb Shoulder and Pasta ($25), was what I am certain was handmade pasta as it was so soft and the sauce with tender pieces of lamb shoulder was delicious. This was one of my favourite dishes and one of the more substantial sharing plates.
Spatchcock and outside stuffing ($28), was again one of the more substantial sharing dishes and also one of my favourites. The meat was moist and full of flavour. The “outside stuffing” was pieces of bread with herbs and not all soggy as “inside stuffings” can be sometimes.
Whiting fillets and tomato ($16) nice pieces of seasoned whiting.
Mushrooms and toast ($12), an absolutely wonderful mushroom dish. A nice mix of mushroom types in herbs, garlic and olive oil with crusty slices of toasted bread. Another favourite.. how many can I have?
And then we had room for dessert. My sister and I were a little overzealous when it came to dessert and ordered 3 of the 4 available, but it was totally worth it.
Mini Ice-cream Cones ($8), 3 mini waffle cones with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice-cream sitting in a pot of granola for dipping. This has to be one of the cutest desserts ever. You would think that because there are three that you should share, but you really don’t have to and you probably won’t.
Jam drop and chocolate chip walnut cookies ($4), 2 very big cookies, perfect for your coffee.
Chocolate Pear Pot ($9) a little chocolate pudding/souffle with pear down the bottom and a side of pouring cream or custard. Very rich and good for chocoholics.
Favourite dessert time and the winner is the Strawberry Sanga (sandwich) ($9). Two slices of sponge cake for bread, with marscapone cream and strawberries, cut and arranged club sandwich style drizzled with strawberry sauce. How can you say no? Don’t say no.
I think I have worked out what I would order if I ate there on my own but I know it’s probably food for two. I had a really wonderful meal here and of course it had a lot to do with the company too. I will definitely be going back to my new home away from home. Maybe I’ll see you there some time.
Posted in Brisbane, Dessert, Italian, Modern Australian, Sharing Plates | 
Tags: Brisbane, Dessert, Modern Australian, Sharing Plates | 
3 Comments »
Verge
1 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
(03) 9639 9500
I am always a bit wary of Asian fusion restaurants, so this European/Japanese contemporary restaurant was not my choice- perhaps it’s the plethora of Asian fusion restaurants I’ve tried in Brisbane that scared me, for it certainly made me hesitant for ever. This being said, Verge is different. Verge is happy to use fresh ingredients; Verge is happy to try new things. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but hey, at least they tried, and most turned out very, very tasty indeed.
This is my entree- Japanese eel tortellini, cauliflower, rice senbei (crispy rice), melon & spring onion $19. Beautifully presented, simple and appetising. The cauliflower puree works beautifully with the tortellini, and the eel is surprisingly good in the pasta casing. I felt that the pasta was slightly undercooked though.
Hubby had freshly shucked oyster ($3 each) with Buff Boy and it was so fresh that at one point we thought one of the oysters was moving. I’ve tasted a little bit and for those who know me, I absolutely loathe the fishiness of crappy oysters, but this one is so fresh that there’s barely a hint of the fishy aftertaste.
The mains came, and Hubby had a Grade 5 Chargrilled Wagyu Scotch, Miso braised brisket, smoked potato, beer onion skins $45. Hubby let me try a tiny little bit and the beef was so tender and full of flavour. The miso paste goes really well with the beef also- wonder if I can try this in my cooking- probably not. The potato is way too smoky for me, it just tasted weird.
My main is a Hapuka on a bed of eel risotto dusted with wasabi powder with a Japanese berry $38.00. Hapuka is a fish from NZ- it’s really fresh and it was cooked to perfection. All the flavours are delicately balanced, but I can’t really taste the wasabi… maybe it’s for decoration purposes only?
I decided to share a dessert with hubby and the staff has thoughtfully halved the dessert for us for our convenience. Obviously that means no cheating- I can’t have a bigger portion of this dessert! Doh! Anyway, evil musings aside, this is the chocolate ganache with chestnuts, chestnut puree and chestnut icecream, mini donut, popcorn bits and popcorn flavoured icecream $15. The chocolate ganache is smooth and it’s not too sweet. I love the whole concept of having bits and pieces of dessert to try, but the flavours are a bit weird, perhaps it’s because of the chestnuts- it’s in season and everything but it doesn’t seem to gel with anything else. The problem is that a bit of chestnut puree is on everything- the popcorn, the donuts…
Overall the food is great-but- what’s with the size of the dish? They are so tiny that everyone ended up still being hungry afterwards. I know there’s this whole miniature movement going on, but honestly, I think I’d like it better if mains are actually a main. 7.5/10
The Point
Aquatic Drive, Albert Park Lake
03 9682 5566
Hubby loves loves loves his steak, so on his birthday I took him to The Point after several close friend’s recommendation (only the best for my hubby!) . The main worry in this case is to degustate or not to degustate? Their seven course degustation menu is undoubtedly tempting, but we have our eyes set on steak, so steak it is!
Have I told you that I love free food? This appetiser of salted cod is with compliments of the chef and it’s very savoury and moorish. And of course this and the lovely warm breadroll stop our growling bellies while we wait for our dishes to arrive.
Hubby ordered the 24 hour braised black lip abalone, St Helens oyster,peking duck consomme and aromatic herb salad $24. The duck consomme is poured in the last min so the oyster is lightly poached. The consomme is rich and hearty, and compliments well with the herb salad. At first we thought the abalone is mixed with the herb salad, but no, we found silves of abalone fanned out underneath the oysters. The abalone is very tender, but unfortunately it has absorbed all the flavours of the oyster, instead of the duck and I find the fishiness of the oyster flavour too strong for my liking.
My entree delighted and intrigued me. Mud crab filled zucchini flower, warm smoked eel, honey lime espumas and Joselito Jamon crumbs $27 is presented in a plate with a dramatic dash of black
. For one moment I thought it was charcoal- then I realised- it’s actually squid ink. Dishes like these makes me feel invigorated, it keeps you guessing and make things just that little bit interesting.
Everything on this dish is as fresh as you can get. The scallop seared middle-rare, so I can just taste the hint of freshness. Crab is full of flavour and I just wish there’s more of these. The eel is smokey but the sweetness of honey lime foam balances the flavours out.
The steaks came- 250g Wagyu Porterhouse MS 8+ and The Point garnish $55 for Hubby, while I selected the Special of the Day, Aged eye fillet with mushrooms on the side $55. The steaks were cooked to perfection. The Porterhouse started off with a chewy texture then gradually melts in your mouth, matches beautifully with the red wine sauce.
My medium-rare rib eye steak is extremely tender, just the way I like it. The pureed mushroom compliments
the beefiness perfectly. As the beef was in slices, it felt less daunting than eating a whole piece of steak. The mushroom is beautifully cooked and there’s a few bits of treasure such as baby brussel sprouts (trust me! It’s yummy!) and chestnuts underneath.
We also ordered a few sides: King Edward Potato champ $8 and Warm salad of figs, pancetta and Yarra Valley fetta $8. When we were unsure of which potato
to order (there’s also hand cut Russet potato w. thyme), the waiter recommended us the champ, and it was fantastic. The potato is steamed then slightly mashed with butter and spring onion.
I must admit I haven’t had fresh figs before and didn’t know what to expect. But this dish just surpassed all my expectations- the contrast of the soft, sweet figs with crispy pancetta and the slightly pungent taste of fetta made with goat’s milk is a refreshing side after eating so much meat. I think I have fallen in love with figs. It really helps that The Point uses only seasonal produce so the dishes are all at their freshest.
I love desserts, but what I love more is The Point’s PRE-dessert!
Once again, with compliments from the chef, the waiter brought out two delicate looking shot glasses, each filled with mango and apple jelly and atop with lemon sorbet. It certainly cleansed our palette in preparation for dessert!
We couldn’t decide what to have for dessert, so we chose a dessert plate $35 with everything. Well, they said it’s with everything but sadly, they didn’t give us the Black Forest Souffle, which is actually what Hubby wanted. Clockwise from the left:-
- Confit apple terrine- was sour and more to Hubby’s taste
- Chocolate fondant- extremely rich and slightly on the too sweet side
- Mascarpone and vanilla bean panna cotta w/ poached rhubarb and almond crumble- the pannacotta texture and taste is a bit like rice pudding for some reason, and the rhubarb tasted a bit like apricots! Nonetheless it’s the yummiest out of the 4 desserts, not too sweet.
- Brillat Savarin and passionfruit cheese, lime creme fraiche sorbet- This dessert has a very strong, pungent cheesey flavour, probably best for cheese lovers. Brillat Savarin is made from cow’s milk and has 75% fat- I am slightly disturbed by this and thought about how many kms I would need to run to work this off. The lime creme fraiche sorbet is too creamy for Hubby.
Overall we think that our mains are the best, they need to work on their desserts but their pre-dessert is certainly perfect. Environment-wise, don’t expect a tranquil lake view on autumn/winter nights- you won’t be able to see a thing. The other thing that confuses us is that in this high class restaurant we can hear a chef shouting from the kitchen, I don’t think he’s yelling at anyone in particular, but I can hear bursts of “WAGYU PORTERHOUSE MEDIUM RARE!” We weren’t even seated anywhere closed to the kitchen! -7.5/10
Yering Station
38 Melba Hwy, Yarra Glen
03 9730 0100
Hubby and I have been yearning to come here for quite some time now, and since we were free last weekend, we jumped into the car straightaway and headed off to Yarra Valley.
For entree, Hubby ordered Fig, blue cheese and sage filled quail with buffalo kabana, spinach and enoki mushrooms, cherry coulis 19.00. It was so flavoursome, sweet and juicy. I normally love quail, but I was a bit apprehensive of the blue cheese. I need not to worry, cos the blue cheese was quite subtle 
My entree came, smoked eel and salmon cigars with pickled apple and cucumber, dill buttermilk dressing 19.00. Don’t ask me why, but I was drawn towards the salad- it looks so fresh and green. It was so refreshing for a deep fried dish. The cigars are slightly oily, very crispy. The smoked eel inside has a subtle smokey flavour, and I love the Dill dressing. I don’t really like the pickled apple though- it’s wayyyyy too sour. 
Hubby ordered beef eye fillet with ham hock and potato mille-feuille, mushroom, asparagus and shallot salad, red wine jus 35.00. Hubby asked for Medium Rare, but was given Medium Well… he reckons they’ve heard him wrong, but I reckon even if they did they should have clarified! I would have send it straight back but Hubby was fine with it. The side salad was beautiful, and Hubby ate all of it, even though he doesn’t like mushrooms! The potato was good too but nothing memorable.
cocktail potatoes with rosemary and garlic 9.00 tasted good but had lots of deep fried bits of nothing. Not that it matters, this dish is too big for both of us anyway.
pan-fried snapper with scallop and ginger wontons, confit celery and snow pea salad, herb oil 34.00 was my main. I love the pan-fried snapper, it was so fresh and it was cooked perfectly. I was a bit disappointed with the scallop and ginger wontons though, I was hoping that it will be steamed/boiled/ pan fried but it’s deep fried. Deep frying it to crisp just dries out what’s inside and makes it look like those dodgey westernised chinese takeaway “dim sims”. I love the snow pea salad though- if all snow peas are that fresh, no kids would feed this to their dogs!
Craving for cheesecake after Monkylicious blog on Pearl, I insisted in ordering the tiramisu cheesecake with coffee dusted strawberries, cherry coulis 14.00. Hubby just adored this dish- he lovessss cheesecake as much as I do!
The service is good but not great, the food is also very good but not great nor consistent- I would rate this Yering Station a 6.5/10