Review: Assiette, Surry Hills

Well well well, hasn't it been a while?

Having survived an incredible, career-defining period of epic-stress (where everyone here at Team Nom practically realised a whole new level to their stress-o-meter), the time has finally come to pick things up where we last dropped off...

Last night was the first time in a VERY long time that JL and I had even thought of going out for a random impromptu "date night". The special place we picked, Assiette, has been a place long raved about by AL (for those who don't know, AL is a fellow foodie and a long-time friend with whom I travelled around Vietnam with earlier this year). All the raves had made me worry that I had set my expectations too high for the occasion.

Left: Seasonal oyster with Vietnamese dressing and baby coriander (1); Top-right: Granny smith apple jelly with Vanilla syrup and apple granita (9)

First impression inside was excellent - an elegant, intimate dining space where the lighting still allowed one to see the face of the person sitting opposite you at the table. The floor staff seemed polite enough, though somewhat robotic as they rather monotonously listed what was sitting on the plate before you without so much as a smile as they tacked on "Enjoy." at the end of the briefing. Nevertheless, the food is what we were after, and the food is what we really cared for.

Left: Pan-fried dory with seared scallop, onion bhaji, cauliflower puree and mango chutney (6); Right: Cured Malborough salmon with prawn beignet, pink grapefruit, mandarin and fennel (2)

To say that the food was anything less than amazing would be the understatement of the century. The balance of texture, taste and artistry was beautifully choreographed on almost every plate that was presented on the night. I say almost because there was a pretty bad boo-boo in one of the courses- more on that later.

Being the seafood-addict that he is, JL loved the Indian-inspired pan-fried dory with the onion bhaji. I personally fell in love with the smooth and almost velvety texture of the cauliflower, pureed with the slightest hint of curry to delight the senses. Tasting the air-dried mandarin (it was like dehydrated awesomeness in a mouthful) was a first time experience for both of us - it provided a lovely crunch against the backdrop of silky salmon.

Terrine of Macleay Valley rabbit with celeriac, raisins and Waldorf Salad (4).

JL was a little bit apprehensive about being served bunny again. That only meant good news for me because I've long given up trying to convince him to give things a go and simply learnt to resolve the situation by gobbling down his share as well. This bunny and celeriac concoction did not disappoint.

Seared tuna with smoked eel, beetroot jelly, wasabi cream and baby basil (3)

The standout of the night for both JL and I went to (might I add, surprisingly), the Seared tuna with smoked eel and beetroot jelly. Even as I sit here today typing this, the smoky taste of the smoked eel mousse inside the beetroot cannelloni still lingers in my mouth. The pairing of the sweet tang of the beetroot to cut through the smokiness really just had one's senses wrapped around its little finger.

Ballontine (sic) of quail with prosciutto, chestnuts, white asparagus and crispy quail egg (5)

When the ballotine of quail arrived before me my heart sank a little:
"...Dangit I think it's raw."
"Are you sure?"
*Cuts into the piece - or rather, struggles to cut through the piece*
"Yep. Definitely raw..."

So I sat there for a while pondering my options:

1. Send the dish back Matt Preston style (Pros: Get a cooked dish, Cons: We had to be out before the next sitting started - so probably end up with no dessert)
2. Eat around the uncooked parts (Pros: Eat, Cons: Miss out on the ballontine and possibly still die from salmonella poisoning anyway)
3. Eat the whole thing (Pros: Research for what it feels like to eat raw poultry, Cons: possibly die from salmonella poisoning)

I'll just say now that I did not take option one. I'll leave it to you to decide which of the other two options I picked, but judging from the fact that I'm still here today to type this epic blog post for you all, I did not died from salmonella poisoning - though do NOT take this as advice to start eating raw poultry. It was possibly just a stroke of luck.

Either way the rest of the dish was excellent. You probably can't tell from the picture, but there were the most BEAUTIFULLY fluffy sauteed gnocchi sitting beneath the ballotine. There were also little cradles of sweet baby brussel sprouts next to the gnocchi which were to die for. Literally.

Left: Banana Mousse with white chocolate ice cream and peanut brittle (10); Right: Selected cheese with pear puree and toasted fruit bread (8)

Lastly came the round of desserts which included a composition of apple jelly and granita (with perfectly sized brunoised apples mixed in with the granita), a cleverly-deconstructed effort of "cheese-cake" and an absolutely lickable delight of banana and peanut. My heart was won by the train of thought behind the "cheese-cake" - a quinelle of some sort of blue cheese (guesswork) with pear puree and a crumble base - rather like a typical cheese cake. This was served with a small muscatel and mango chutney with fruit bread - a combination that is seriously more-ish. I could nom on this all night with a glass of wine and a book.

JL absolutely adored the banana feature. The banana mousse was so soft and fluffy, wrapped tightly in a cylinder caramellish cone (?). The peanut brittle gave a lovely crunch with the cone against the smooth and silkiness of the mousse and ice cream. The combination of flavours really was the perfect way to finish off a lovely evening.

We'll definitely be back again.

Assiette
48 Albion Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9212 7979

Review: Spice I Am, Darlinghurst

About a week ago AL, VH and I decided to hit up Spice I Am in Darlinghurst, located beside the lovely Tastevin which we had been the secret hideout of our previous girly gossip session. Despite each of us going on separate ways post-high school, each and every one of these meetings remind us of just how little we have grown up...

Booking a table in the lounge section in front of the bar meant that we simply could not control our alcoholic tendencies. Besides, what's a gossip session without the cocktails?

Luckily for us, Spice I Am does a range of scumpdiddlyumptious fruity cocktails.

Canadian Summer (left): Fresh corindi raspberries, Canadian Club Whisky, Absolut Raspberry vodka, French rockmelon liqueur, and ruby red grapefruit juice

Tiger Paw (right): Crushed pineapple, panama passionfruit, Wybowora apple vodka, French mango liqueur, and a touch of tiger secret

I rest my case.

Bour Tod (Phuket style fritter of green school prawns on crispy betel leaf with chilli sauce, crushed cashew nuts and coriander) - $14

I'd like to point out right about here that the waitress in charge of my area was perhaps one of the most lovely and attentive waitress I've encountered in my various roamings around Sydney's eateries. This Betel Leaf dish was one of her many recommendations for our table, and it was most certainly a winner.

If you ever visit Spice I Am, do yourself a favour and try it. Who knew a piece of leaf could taste so good?

Roast Duck salad served with whole cashews, chilli and lemongrass (seasonal special)

The roast duck salad was most definitely a winner with all of us at the table as the plate disappeared before you could even take a deep breath to soak up the aromas. Every mouthful was bursting with fragrance, flavour and fire.

Yeah fire. Did I mention that the dish was damn-freakin' hot?

As I quickly guzzled down water to put out the fire in my mouth, AL and her Malay innards pointed and laughed at me the way Ralph does in Simpsons. Despite practically losing my oral sensations, I still happily licked the plate clean. It was that good.

Pla Yum Ma Muang - Deep fried whole baby snapper with green mango salad, palm sugar, garlic and red chilli dressing - $38

Hello SK! This snapper is for you!

Anyway, I may have forgotten to mention that when our table ordered the snapper as one of our main, our ever-helpful waitress took a quick look at us before warning that the dish could feed us 4 times over. But then who can say no to deep fried snapper? I mean, you're talking about the person who could eat a chairleg deep fried. The snapper had to stay, and to that end we quickly struck off a few other dishes and stayed with this one.

Was I glad? You can bet your FIFA World Cup that I was.

The snapper was so moist and juicy on the inside, and the mango salad dressed on top was a real tangy hit to rid of any hint of greasiness from the deep frying. (What greasiness? Pfft...) I think I may have demolished 3/4 of the dish as AL and VH watched in horror.

Yum Hua Plee - Shredded banana flower with king prawns, roasted coconuts, shallots, chilli, coriander and nam pik pao dressing - $35

Back when we were in Hoi An, Vietnam, AL, VH and I all attended a private cooking class where we learnt how to make banana flower salad. From that day on not only did we fall in love with the incredible flavours of the dish - spicy, tangy, refreshing, fragrant, savoury, sweet, you name it - but everything about this dish brings back memories of our epic trip and sunfilled days biking around Vietnam.

This one was no different, except when it arrived all we could really talk about was how the banana flower market in Sydney may as well be a black market. I never see any around my area, but AL claimed to see them selling at $6 each in Cabramatta. I think I nearly choked when I heard that. Imagine what the prices would've been like during the banana crisis we had a few year back.

Hello QLD? Sharing is caring.

Khao Naew Ma Muang - Sticky rice served with fresh nam dok mai mango and coconut sauce - $20

The great thing about Spice I Am is that this is most definitely a place you could hit up later in the night for a good cocktail and grab some dessert. This Khao Naew Ma Muang was to die for, combining a delicate balance between a light savouriness in the sticky rice, the tangy bite of the mango and a light, smooth and creamy sweetness from the coconut sauce. Needless to say I was too full to fully devour this, but this is something that I would definitely reorder on my next visit back.

Saa Ku - Tapioca pearl with coconut and dark palm sugar sauce - $15

Oh heaven save me from my ever-increasingly bulgy stomach. Not only was this a great dessert to finish the night off with, but the mango iced topping worked surprisingly well as a refreshing palate cleanser with light coconut milk syrup being beautifully indulgent without the richness. Unfortunately our three spoons simply did not fit well in the glass all at the same time so the table descended into anarchic hell as we turned our spoons into swords and battled down to the very last morsel of this dessert.

Classy as always. Interpret how you will.

Spice I Am

296-300 Victoria Street

Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

Tel: (02) 9332 2445

http://www.spiceiam.com/the-restaurant/index.html

Review: Restaurant Balzac, Randwick

'Congratulations...you have won...' were the keywords that jumped out at me when my mother came into my room, waving a postcard in my face, preparing to interrogate me on the whereabouts of the stated restaurant. The other which followed were '$100 worth of matching French wines' at 'Restaurant Balzac'. I've honestly never won anything in my life - not the toy watches with the Coco Pops cereal boxes or the iPhones from career fairs. Although I may have preferred winning food as opposed to wine, as I have not quite developed myself as a connoisseur in that area, I was extremely happy! Taking time out of our continued tasting selection that day at Taste of Sydney to fill in these little competition cards was worth it after all!

I had limited time to make use of the voucher and it had to be between Tuesday and Thursday. Seeing as exams were coming up, the restaurant was a short walk from uni and we had a meeting on a that evening, SK and I booked a table for a quiet Tuesday night at 7:30PM. It was only a short walk from our UNSW Kensington campus and by the time we arrived we were about 20 minutes early but was greeted by a warm and friendly waiter at the front who told us it was fine to be seated early and that 'The early bird catches the worm...but obviously you won't be served worms!' It might just be me, the inexperienced fine diner, but I appreciate a bit of humour and warmth even when I go to fine dining restaurants...really helps me relax and enjoy the experience!

There was a little initial confusion, possibly my own fault for not presenting my voucher upon arrival, but we were presented with menus and a wine list before being left alone to decide the fate of our stomachs. It wasn't long before another waiter came by and realised we were here for the degustation menu with matching wines, politely apologised and congratulated me on my prize. I've never had degustation before but was glad that for once there was no need to pore over menus and spend ages deciding what we wanted. I was however quite amused when the table was set with additional cutlery...I have never seen so many forks and knives placed together for a meal! (I probably sound naive and uncultured to all you foodies at this point!)

So to kickstart our meal that evening, we were served four slices of Sonoma Sourdough and a small pot of butter with a small amount of salt. For those of you who know me, I'm conscious of my health (Mostly! Although when it comes to chocolate and dessert I rarely resist), and avoid too many condiments and rarely ever eat butter or even margarine. When you see SK and I slathering on the butter (or maybe it was just me), then you know it is excellent butter. Not too heavy and with the sprinkle of salt, it spread easily on the sourdough and together just dissolved inside my mouth. I tried my best to not eat all of my share because I didn't want to spoil my appetite for the remaining 8 courses but that attempt failed...in fact, I ended up finishing half of SK's slice because she had better self control than me! I loved that salted butter mmmm...

Sonoma Sourdough 

By the time our first dish arrived, I was still busily savouring the sourdough but quickly swallowed to begin my descent on our dainty dish. It was a Venison Bresaola with Brussel Sprout Remoulade arranged neatly on a square plate. I'm personally not very fond of brussel sprouts and found that the aroma actually spoilt the bresaola for me but in combination with the piece of rocket used to garnish the dish and the drizzle of olive oil actually allowed the flavours to meld really well with the saltiness of the bresaola.

Venison Bresaola with Brussel Sprout Remoulade

The next time our table was invaded, I was quite unprepared to receive a small teacup as our next dish. Fine dining has taken me a fair while to accustom myself to. Let me explain and enlighten you. Coming from a Chinese background, we have several large dishes to share amongst our family members and eat a lot with our bowls of rice. I have grown up eating large mouthfuls of food. Fine dining requires the appreciation of small dishes and a lot of restraint and training has been required of me not to finish everything in one bite. This time however, I was challenged to not drink the entire cup of White Onion Veloute with Thyme Chantilly in one gulp. While SK took her continuous small sips, I tried my best to ration it. Do you have any idea how hard that is?! Even now, I want to just run into the kitchen and drink from the huge pot that this must've been cooked in!

White Onion Veloute with Thyme Chantilly

Before our next dish arrived, we were graced with the presence of a 2008 Domaine Bondeville Grenache Blanc, the first candidate from my prize originating from France. It delivered a crisp taste, not too acidic; just enough to be refreshing.

2008 Domaine Bondeville Grenache Blanc – Languedoc, France

What came next was absolutely beautiful...to look at! The Seared Yellow Fin Tuna was sliced thinly; a bright translucent red with a cooked rim garnished with with some herbs and red onions and finally topped with a single beignet (which I still don't know how to pronounce!). It wasn't misleading in any way whatsoever - as delicious as it was aesthetically pleasing, the tuna melted in my mouth

Seared Yellow Fin Tuna with White Anchovy Beignets and Salsa Verde

As the next set of matching wines arrived, a 2007 Bourgogne, Chanson Viré-Clessé, we were also greeted by an equally hard to pronounce dish (I may only be speaking for myself) of Panfried Mahi Mahi, ‘Petit Pois à la Française’ with Salt and Pepper Cuttlefish. This white wine was a long drier than our first and neither SK nor I appreciated it quite as much. The waiter explained to us the fact that there were peas made in three different ways (French peas or petit pois, a pea foam and a pea puree). I'm pretty sure that at this point, SK was squirming at the overwhelming platter of greens. She's not too fond of green items unless they are dessert related. Being a bit skeptical at first, I was personally hooked by the pea foam - it wasn't too strong but offered a sweet flavour to the dish especially in combination with the cuttlefish.

Panfried Mahi Mahi, ‘Petit Pois à la Française’ with Salt and Pepper Cuttlefish

The first word that came to mind when I tasted the Braised Should of Venison, which was paired with a 2007 Bourgogne, Lucien Muzrd Et Fils, was 'Chinese'. The venison in combination with the flavours from the chestnuts and the sauce itself reminded me of a warm and homely dish that I eat a lot as a child. I had no complaints though, in fact I adored the tenderness of braised venison!

Braised Shoulder of Venison ‘Bourguignonne’ with Chestnut Spätzle 

2007 Bourgogne, Lucien Muzard Et Fils – Burgundy, France

As a foodie-in-wheels, wheels which may never be removed, I feel that I can voice my uneducated foodie blunders without being embarassed. The waiter approached the table with our Daube of Beef and proceeded to introduce them as our 'mains'. Now you're all going to think I'm stupid but it never occurred to me that we would have received so many entree dishes prior to our main! Okay, enough focus on my inexperience - back to the main! 

We were given the choice of a Shoulder of Lamb with Moroccan Spices, Aubergine and Sheep’s Milk Yoghurt but upon DD's recommendation, we both decided to choose the beef instead. The sauce was a thicker and stronger in flavour than I expected and probably would have overpowered the flavour of the beef had there not been a delicate balance struck by the beautifully smooth 'teardrops' of mash potato! The mash was unlike anything I've tried before - it was more a smooth cream since it had been placed through a sieve. The creamy texture and lighter flavour balanced out the sauce perfectly. 

Daube of Beef with Artichokes and Wild Pine Mushrooms

2008 Mas Des Bressades Rouge – Languedoc, France

Having finally managed to get through our entrees and mains, the best part of the dinner (of any dinner) arrived. The dessert. SK and I are both dessert lovers but if I recall correctly, at this point, she was already extremely full. That clearly didn't stop her. The Cinnamon Spiced Rice Pudding was what was called a 'pre-dessert'. Not entirely sure why but I wasn't complaining. Essentially my tastebuds and stomach were saying, 'Why not? We have two desserts then!' Perhaps it was named as such because it was a lighter dessert which would prepare us (and quite well done I'd say!) for the sweeter ones to come!

We were first presented with the French dessert wine which I never managed to catch the name of (menus are a saviour!) and even if I did, would definitely not have been able to replicate in pronunciation anyway. This was perhaps the only wine SK actively disclosed her liking for while I was a bit more reserved simply because it was a dessert wine and too sweet for my liking. I was ready to pounce on the fondant instead!

2007 Les Clos De Paulilles Banyuls – Roussillon, France

I'm eternally grateful for the invention of what I have affectionately termed 'dessert stomach'. It let me consume the warm and velvety chocolate fondant which always tastes so great with the cooling feeling of ice cream in your mouth topped with a sprinle of crunchy peanut brittle. Who cares if you're full? You can always fit in dessert. Always. That's a philosophy I hope all readers will share with me! Having said that, afterwards, I could relax with some English Breakfast tea but only managed to finish one of the petit fours and took a small nibble from the other honeycomb chocolate. 

Warm Chocolate Fondant with Porter Ice Cream and Peanut Brittle

English Breakfast Tea 

Petit Fours

This was definitely the most prolonged dinner experience I've ever had and I enjoyed every moment of it. Contrary to some reviews I had read before, the service at Restaurant Balzac was impeccable - all the staff were friendly and the door was even held open for us as we left. I'm glad that I won that voucher from Taste of Sydney - otherwise it may have taken me a while to get through the rest of my list before finally arriving at this place!

Restaurant Balzac

141 Belmore Road

Randwick, NSW 2031

Tel: 9399 9660

Review: The Falconer, Darlinghurst

Rocket, radicchio, pear and parmesan salad with aged balsamic - $12 (large)

Oh my god. It's been a while...I can almost smell the mouldiness of the place already...

Apart from being completely bamboozled by what can only be described as an utter black plague of assessments this semester, I've also had my time quickly devoured by a few extra commitments I've taken on. Never mind that, I figure that instead of trying to divulge all the reasons why I haven't had the time to post, I may as well get a move on with the dusting of cobwebs around here.

Crispy shoe-string fries with the Falconer aioli - $8

Thanks to the wonderful Billy, the team here has finally had a few lessons on how to make our photos even more droolworthy. After-all, we are the hub of saliva-generation are we not? I'm still not too good with Lightroom, but practice makes perfect, and I'm happy to say that I've finally gotten over the noobish fascination with mindless clicking of the auto-white balance feature in Lr.

It's awesome isn't it?!

Okay, let's get back to work.

A few weeks ago AY, AW, JL and I decided to hit town for a night of relaxation in the midst of a World War against our textbooks. As we ran from the incessant fire of APV and DCF models, we luckily found a quiet refuge at The Falconer, located on Oxford Street, after a friendly recommendation by FW.

"So what's so good about this place?" I asked.

"Well, apparently they serve rabbit."

Braised organic rabbit ragu pappardelle with tomato, port & mustard seeds - $19

I must admit the thought of hacking up a fluffy bunny and cooking it did not at all seem appetising, but it was a thought which I pushed aside into my cranial Pandora's Box as I gave in to my unfettered weakness for pappardelle. On this particular occasion, luckily, the pappardelle did not disappoint with its bite and flavour. The ragu was beautifully cooked and the bunny meat so amazingly tender that I would have happily devoured two plates of this despite my initial apprehension.
Risoni with sauteed mushrooms, lemon, thyme and white truffle oil - $14

Bunny hackings aside, AW and JL both chose a serve of Risoni with sauteed mushrooms with lemon, thyme and white truffle oil. The flavours surrounding this plate was most definitely earthy and robust, but sadly the risoni was just a tad too al dente for my liking.

Slow-baked Bangalow pork belly with saffron pears and chestnut puree - $24

AY being the awesome solo demolition team at any dinner table, ordered a nice hunk of pork belly just to rub satisfaction in the face of the health-conscious. The amazing thing is, it doesn't seem to show on his body. Feel free to sign here for life-long membership to his hate-club. Jokes.

In all seriousness though, the meat was moist and tender, and so full of flavour that sadly there just simply wasn't enough to satisfy the hungry sonuva-. But in retrospect that was a good thing, especially for those of you reading this...

Because...

Vanilla bean crème brûlée with mango & cashew nut crisp - $11

Ooooright. Giggidy giggidy.

For dessert we had a lovely, smooth Crème brûlée (albeit a little runny still). The mango and cashew nut crisp which came with the dish was so wonderfully crispy and light - a wonderful accompaniment.

Can you tell that my word of the day is "wonderful"?

Not sure if it was because I had a little too much wine and cocktails to drink beforehand, I quickly became unsatisfied with eating the crème brûlée like a normal, healthy-minded human being. Acting in the name of research, I began to enjoy my crème brûlée with the french fries pictured above and oh gollie was it sensational! It was like the childish fascination with dipping you fries into your sundaes at Maccas, except so much awesome-er. Definitely recommended if you're not too fussed about being classy. Perfect for those suffering from a mild-case of Peter Pan Syndrome.

Overall, my the experience here was a big thumbs up. I gave it bonus points for its ability to make me feel like I should be wearing more vintage style clothing that came straight out of Frankie Magazine. If you like that old-fashion diners atmosphere that feels warm and inviting - look no further, this is the place for you.

The Falconer
31 Oxford Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9267 8434

Review: Jah Bar, Manly

I live up in the Northern Beaches area and the rest of my friends either live on the North Shore or somewhere down south or out west. What does that mean? Well it means that we rarely ever dine out near my area which subsequently leads to me driving far far away for outings. This particular night however, JTC and WF were going to be in the area and so we decided to choose a place in Manly to satisfy the growling of our stomachs.

We had no preference for cuisine, so the criteria were merely anything which tasted delicious and was bearable for our wallets. Jah Bar was what we ended up with. Situated in a small laneway right opposite a large carpark which has free parking at nights, it was bustling with people by the time we arrived. The restaurant itself was separated into three sections with a couple of tables out the front, the bulk of tables out the back and a bar in between. The diners here ranged from couples on romantic dates to large group bookings all eating and drinking under an area lit dimly by a string of Christmas lights. 

Being a table of boys, we were pretty much starving by the time we sat down and made swift decisions to order. Not long after, we were graced with the complimentary presence of sourdough bread and olive oil. Nothing particular special but always a nice way to start a meal - and to keep us munching and distracted while we waited for our main course.

The first dish that arrived was the Pizza Margarita with Tomato, Basil & Buffalo Mozarella, sliced neatly for us to share. I'm a big fan of the crispy crust which seemed to be achieved with oil at a bare minimum. The tomato was deliciously juicy and surprisingly did not affect how crunchy the base was. I felt quite happy with my slice of pizza and not at all unhealthy. Sometimes it's a nice change to eat something so delicious and still feel unburdened by oil and fat!

Pizza Margarita $16

I think I failed to mention that when we made the orders, both JTC and WF looked straight at me and had little input except with the serving of prawns. Naturally, I picked dishes that I loved and the Seared Scallops & Morcilla with White Bean Puree fell right into that category. I have many friends who aren't big fans of seafood and don't like the slightly chewy texture of scallops but I beg to differ. That texture is beautiful, flavorsome and when seared ever so lightly and dipped in that beautiful puree - it was brillant...that's what my tastebuds told me anyway, so don't take my word for it!

Seared Scallops $14

Chorizo is a dish which has brought upon both pleasure and pain since I was first acquainted with it. In Hong Kong, I've experienced the spiciest, most inedible chorizos I have ever tried but in a general sense, has actually brought great joy to me. This particular variation accomplished the latter but with most chorizos, my only complaint was I had to share with the other guys on the table. Yeah, yeah...I know that sharing is caring...but sometimes taking such a small bite doesn't quite satisfy my eager taste buds. 

Chorizo $8

This was quickly followed by an assortment of mushrooms which had been sauteed with garlic and a squiz of vingagre de jerez. Mushrooms in home and at places that I have dined at, are usually complementary to many dishes, mixed in to add that tangent of flavour. As a feature dish, the different types of mushrooms with a side of bread was delicious - absolutely loved the juicy crunch in my mouth. Meanwhile, the waiter had delivered our King Prawns & Sobrasada cooked in Spanish apple cider and just judging by the small dish, the prawns had definitely soaked up all the flavour. I'm not generally a big fan of prawns, especially the 'take-my-shell-off-with-your-hands' variety. I'm a bit lazy to do it usually and I find that all the flavour is lost once you remove the shell. It was, however, quite yummy so don't let my personal laziness put you off from ordering this one!

Assorted Mushrooms $11

King Prawns & Sobrasada $13.50

Of course, you'll rarely ever catch me finishing up a dinner out without dessert so these Spanish doughnut sticks were a given. Ask me to dip anything into a pot of melted chocolate and you'll be greeted with a smile - a perfect way to end a splendid dinner out at Manly!

Churros $8

Jah Bar

Shop 7, 15 Central Avenue

Manly, NSW 2095

Tel: (02) 9977 4449

Taste of Sydney 2010, Centennial Park

Coming back from overseas and jumping straight into full time work and part time uni doesn’t leave me much time to be browsing newspapers and flicking through magazines to actually know what events are coming up. What I rely on are friends and family or the occasional blog to keep me ‘in the know’ and this time, thanks to Betty from Betty Bites I stumbled upon something I should’ve known about ages ago – Taste of Sydney.

Armed with a set of tickets and a minimal amount of crowns (currency for this event), WX and I set foot (albeit a bit late) into the grounds of what I like to call Premium Foodie Heaven. Just to be specific, by minimal, I meant that we had $30 worth of crowns to share…to put things into perspective, we ended up spending about an additional $70 each on crowns during our 3.5 hour stay!

As with any event remotely associated to the word ‘food’, there is bound to be some sort of free promotional item including a Gourmet Traveller magazine and Ferrero Rondnoirs within our first five minutes there.

Our first stop, even though our stomachs were grumbling quite loudly, was the first session of the Australian Gourmet Traveller Taste Kitchen featuring Giovanni Pilu from Pilu at Freshwater who showed us the way he made Risotto with Crystal Bay Prawns and Zucchini.

I’m not much of a cook myself (that’s WX’s department) but just watching the digital screen showing us the detailed process was enough to make me salivate. Did I mention it was already 1pm and we’d opted to watch this session before satisfying our stomachs? For someone who only needs to cook to survive and has never really tried to make anything elaborate by himself, it was interesting to hear from Giovanni that soup stock should always be made rather than purchased. Apparently the different types of soup stocks that you can purchase are, in fact, taste and smell exactly the same! Or maybe I’m just a noob =)

After that half hour session (where we weren’t able to try the dish!) we finally made our way through to the food stalls. It was the beginning of a journey…one which would leave my jeans constricting my waist…

First up, was the Miso glazed Marlborough King Salmon with Japanese radish salad from Assiette. It was the first dish we tried and probably the most satisfying of the lot. No, we weren't paid to write this review but seriously, by the end of it, both WX and I were envious at Assiette's mastery of cooking the salmon just enough to leave the flesh tender and flavoursome. I can tell you now that this taste test has definitely placed Assiette on the cards for a visit soon!

Miso Glazed Marlborough King Salmon with Japanese Radish Salad

Saddle of Suckling Pig with Garden Peas and Smoked Bacon Jus from Restaurant Balzac was next. I'm a big fan of suckling pig normally, with a particular emphasis on the skin. I'm a fairly health conscious person and avoid food items which may place me in my coffin any earlier than necessary but this is a dish which I would never pass up. Unfortunately, what I looked forward to the most was quite disappointing. Perhaps it was the preparation method and the logistics behind producing the dish quickly for this sort of event, but the skin was a big letdown - tough and soggy. We saw that subsequent dishes actually had the skin removed so I'd say it was a logistics issue.

Saddle of Suckling Pig with Garden Peas and Smoked Bacon Jus

Slow Roasted Moran Lamb Spit Roast from ARIA

12 Hour Slow cooked Lamb Shoulder; Minted Crushed Peas and Feta Dressing from Four in Hand

The words 'slow', 'roasted' and 'lamb' had me salivating. Being followed by 'slow', 'cooked' and 'lamb' only made matters worse! Let me just say that I was lucky that WX is a girl and she only has limited stomach capacity!

Paella a la Maestre from El Toro Loco

We never ended up trying this but for the sake of satisfying our readers' visual hunger, we decided to take a photo of this Paella from El Toro Loco. It was truly an amazing sight but when you come to something like the Taste Festival, you really need to pick and choose what you want to eat. Instead, we picked the Vanilla Stone Fruit and Sangria alternative to quench our thirst and provide a bit of sweet relief. It was only after I skulled the remaining Sangria did I remember I still had to drive and I wasn't on my full licence! The stone fruit was juicy and not too sweet and made me feel like I was making a good attempt at being healthy!

Grilled Vanilla Stone Fruit with Sangria from El Toro Loco

Attempts at being healthy certainly didn't last long. Just imagining the chocolate oozing out of a fondant was enough to make me fall in love with the next dessert we chose. Overall the Warm Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from Restaurant Balzac wasn't too sweet and having a spoonful of the cold ice-cream with a spoonful of warm chocolate fondant placed me in the highest levels of tastebud heaven! I didn't appreciate the Zippulas nearly as much unfortunately. I would liken it to the 'Sar Yung' Chinese Sugared donuts that you can order at Yum Cha. Delicious but I'm not a big fan of citrus flavours.

Warm Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from Restaurant Balzac

Zippulas - Sardinian Donuts with Citrus Sugar from Pilu at Freshwater

After our small splurge on desserts we managed to get back on track and finally tried the risotto from Pilu at Freshwater. It was was as good as it looked - the consistency of the risotto wasn't too runny or thick and the flavours of the prawns and zucchini ran right through each mouthful. Shame that it was just a tasting plate - I wouldn't mind having it for lunch every once in a while.

Risotto with Crystak Bay Prawns and Zucchini from Pilu at Freshwater

Yellow Fin Tuna with Sweet Pork Crackling and Ruby Grape Fruit from Flying Fish

First words: beautiful presentation. Second words: delicious. I've always imagined tuna to be quite a hard dish to cook but this was done really well. The tuna was fresh and just melted in my mouth with the sweetness of the ruby grape fruit. WX decided not to try the pork crackling so I got to devour the whole thing - oh yummmmy!

Slow Cooked Lamb Rump, Confit Capsicum, Eggplant Caviar and Black Olive Oil from Marque

Lamb - again? Well you can never have enough of lamb though I did feel it was a bit overcooked. I did however, like the flavour combination of confit capsicum and eggplant caviar.

Tiramisu Roulade - chocolate sponge rolled around a Paesanella Mascarpone and Marsala Sabayon from Bird Cow Fish

Ultimately, my biggest soft spot is for desserts, especially the chocolate-y kind, so to finish off our eating endeavours for the day before Taste Kitchen presentation, we tried the tiramisu. The alcohol in this tiramisu wasn't as overpowering as many that I've tried before giving a good balance of lovely chocolate aroma. It was the perfect way to end my eating escapades that day!

Finally, we made it back to the seating area to await the start of the final Taste Kitchen demonstration for the day by Peter Kuruvita of Flying Fish.

He was an extremely charismatic chef and definitely kept me entertained for the entire session. I was also grateful that he was willing to bend the rules to serve us the golden brown potato chips he cooked up right in front of us!

Everything that he made looked absolutely amazing and the day I decide to get off my lazy ass and learn how to cook properly, I aim to make a crab dish the way Peter does - it's like a work of art! The aroma of it was extremely tempting too - shame he wasn't willing to share that with us!

Taste of Sydney was definitely a great day for my stomach and my tastebuds. My wallet would probably disagree wholeheartedly but overall, it was a really good opportunity to taste the food from such a large array of fine restaurants. What do we do from here? We save lots and lots of money so we can satisfy our stomachs some more - this time, it's not going to be tasting portion size!