Be The Foodie

I’ve always had a rule that I generally stick by and rarely break – never order food from a joint where the chef isn’t from the same background as the cuisine. Not to be discriminatory in any way, the simple fact is that I like my food authentic as I can get. Also, call it a quirk of mine, but my mind simply refuses to comprehend the disassociation.

There are however a handful of chefs that beg to differ. Sake Restaurant at the Rocks as can be expected by the name serves contemporary Japanese food and but the executive chef is not Japanese, but a gaijin by the name of Shaun Presland (previously of Sushi E and Establishment Teppanyaki in Sydney) who has been termed by SMH Good Living as being “as Japanese as you can get without actually being born in the shadow of Mount Fuji”*.

My visit here however didn’t get off to a great start though. With my less than discrete SLR camera, I started snapping photos of the impressive sake room that caught my eye as soon as I entered the restaurant – only to be cautioned by the hostess that photos were strictly disallowed. With some further conversation which resulted in the hostess ducking off to get confirmation, I was allowed to take photos of the food, but not the interior as it was frowned upon by the designers responsible. Fair enough, I thought.

Walking further into the restaurant it wasn’t hard to see why the designers were so protective of their work. The centrepiece of the main dining area is most definitely the bright open kitchen giving every eye in the dining room full view of the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. For those wanting a theatrical kitchen experience, you can also sit at a bench surrounding the kitchen for a close-up view of the action. In contrast to this, the rest of the restaurant is warm with a modern Japanese influenced interior predominated by dark wooden furniture. Along one side there are some traditional seating and for those needing just a little segregation from the crowd, there are also some semi-private dining areas separated out by some simple wooden slats along the opposite side.

The variety of dishes, cocktails, sake choices on the menu is extremely comprehensive and even includes a kids menu for the little ones. It’s a nightmare for the indecisive like myself when it comes to food with plenty of options for cold starters, hot starters, kushiyaki (grilled skewers), kushiage (fried skewers), mains, salads, sushi, sashimi, sushi maki and desserts. Determined to try as much as we could, we ordered as a group and shared every dish. We may have had a shaky start, but once the food arrived, all was forgiven.

Sake Restaurant

Astro Boy

A combination of Shochu Tantakatan, plum wine, plum puree, pink grapefruit juice and peach bitters, the tart fruits used in this cocktail nicely complimented the smooth alcoholic components.

Pink Blossom

With a strong combination of fruits in the form of strawberries, orange wedges, lime, lemon and passion fruit, the distinct taste of the plum wine in this was surprisingly not lost in the mix. The freshness of the fresh fruits and the generous serve of ice meant it was the perfect summer cocktail.

Sashimi Combo

We started the meal off with a sashimi combo that was delicately presented on a bowl of ice to ensure maximum freshness. On offer were the classic sashimi in the form of tuna, salmon, kingfish and one single scallop which inevitably ended up being eaten by the birthday boy.

Tuna Avocado Salad

Sometimes simplicity results in the best dishes. With just the addition of shiso (a mint like herb), bubuarare (no idea what this is, and Google failed me here, anybody have an idea?) and mustard soy, the generous portions of tuna were super fresh against the creamy texture of the avocado.

Nasu Miso

I couldn’t eat this owing to an allergy to eggplant that could potentially send me gasping for air on the dining room floor (and have myself miss the rest of the dinner? No way!). However, my desire to try everything won over when I risked myself in the name of good eating in licking a dot of sauce from the tip of my chopstick to find a rich thick salty miso sauce which would also have gone nicely with a piece of meat. Since they say that eggplant is a meat substitute for vegetarians, the oohs and aahs from my fellow dining companions indicated to me that the sauce also went very well with the piece of grilled eggplant.

Dynamite Maki

My pick of the foods from Sake Restaurant is definitely the assortment of sushi maki (or rolled sushi) on offer. So good in fact that after ordering (and eating!) several rolls between us, we simply had to add to our original order. The maki on offer are largely familiar but with a modern twist that brought all the rolls we tried to another level altogether. You won’t get these rolls at your corner sushi takeaway store!

First up, is the dynamite maki which is a combination of spicy tuna, shredded onion and cucumber with spicy tobiko (flying fish roe). Add dynamite to any dish name and I expect a mouth-burning, water-grabbing heat, however I was nicely surprised to find that the spiciness of tuna and tobiko was subtle and finessed. Contrasting the spiciness, the cool cucumber also gave a textural crunch in the middle of the roll.

Spider Maki

Always a favourite, the soft shell crab was crunchy without being overly oily from the frying process. Combined with spicy tobiko, cucumber, mayonnaise, chives and ponzu, the citrusy ponzu sauce did nicely to cut the richness of the mayonnaise.

Nixon Maki

A lot of people I know balk at the thought of combining cream cheese with fish. In my eyes however, whoever thought of it, whether accidentally or purposely, and had the guts to offer it up as a dish is a genius! In this case, the nixon maki was a classic grilled eel and cream cheese combination with a twist of some tempura crunch for texture and jalapeno mayo for a little spicy kick.

Salmon Skin Maki

Another favourite on our table, in fact, this was the one dish that we couldn’t resist but order a double of when we decided the three rolls we had originally ordered weren’t enough to satisfy our curiosity. The combination of fresh salmon with the crisp salmon skin was most delectable. Definitely my favourite of the meal.

Philadelphia Maki

Another cream cheese combo, this one was instead a combination of fresh salmon, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, chives and a tempura crunch for some added texture. I can’t say this enough – but it was delish with the creaminess of the avocado and cream cheese going together very well.

Chicken Teriyaki

A pick from one of the boys with their constant need for lots of meat, the use of thigh fillets instead of breast meat meant that the bits of chicken were juicy and tender. The teriyaki sauce was sweet but not so overpowering that you could eat it as is without needing a bowl of rice.

Spicy Garlic Prawns

Served with baby corn, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, the spicy garlic prawns were perfectly cooked. The crispness of the baby corn and asparagus nicely complimented the tell tale crunch of the fresh prawns.

Miso-Cream Scallops

I couldn’t get enough of the sauce in this dish. The richness of the cream was nicely paired with the strong earthly taste of miso and delicate yuzu flavour which despite the strong flavours, did not overshadow the delicate taste of the pan seared scallops.

Matcha Bombe Alaska

The wow factor in a bombe alaska is undeniable with the soft meringue and sponge surrounding a matcha green tea ice cream. The white chocolate sauce made up for the lack of creaminess usually found in green tea ice cream, while the pistachio pashmak (or Persian fairy floss) was a nice nutty addition.

Green Apple Mille-Feuille

With the majority of us going for the bombe alaska, being the foodie, I waited until everybody had made their choice before I chose to have the green apple mille-feuille. I’ve always loved apple desserts particularly those incorporating granny smith apples due to their sweet and sour taste so this was the perfect choice for me. The crisp pastry gave a satisfying crackle with each spoonful was taken while the traditional crème pâtissière filling was replaced with a smooth green apple mousse. To top off the apple combo, the concentrated apple syrup was set to one side for those wanted an added sugary hit.

Deconstructed Russian Cream

Typically served as a single cup, the deconstructed Russian cream broke down this dessert into its key components. Starting off with a delectably wobbly buttermilk panna cotta, the tart and creamy flavours were a contrast to the sweet and sour notes provided by the raspberry sauce and raspberry jelly served alongside it.

Sake Restaurant

12 Argyle Street, The Rocks, Sydney, Australia

P: 612 9259 5656 F: 612 9241 1613

www.sakerestaurant.com.au

Nestled neatly on a quiet side street in Petersham is a homey feeling French and European restaurant called Blancmange to which a group of us converged on to celebrate our friend Amy’s birthday. Lucky for us, she managed to secure the private dining room for the dinner on the restaurant’s last day of service for 2009 and we were ushered into the restaurant in style via a super secret back entrance.

Complete with a our very own (and very lovely) waitress named Marissa, the private dining room seats sixteen (though we squeezed in seventeen). One of the charms of this place is that the menu here is ever changing and is amended very frequently depending on the fresh produce the kitchen is able to acquire. At just $55 for a three course (and may I say very generous) meal, this place gives 5 star food at a 3 star price.

Despite our large group, I was quite impressed that the chef was able to send out each course to the table at the same time (albeit with several trips back and forth from the kitchen!). Definitely not an easy task considering we as a group ordered practically every entree and dessert dish available on the menu! Being in the private dining room also meant I was able to roam freely taking pictures of everybody’s dishes. I cannot comment on everything though – don’t think my friends would have been too pleased if I took a bite out of everybody’s meal!

Blancmange

Blancmange Private Dining Room

Fresh Bread & Butter

Don’t know why, but I adore having a piece of bread with some fresh butter and sprinkling of sea salt.

Entrees

Beetroot Cured Salmon with Roast Baby Beets & Cherry Tomatoes with Creme Fraiche & Beetroot Vinaigrette

Braised Ox-Tail with Soft Polenta, Baby Spinach & Fourme D’Ambert

Seared Kingfish & Pancetta with Julienne Celeriac, Apple & Radish, Sweet Sherry & Vinegar Reduction, & Paprika Oil

The kingfish was very lightly cooked with just a slight bit of pink in the middle. Complementing the very lightly seasoned soft fish meat, the celeriac, apple and radish salad was very refreshing while the sweet sherry and vinegar reduction served to bring out the sweetness of the finely sliced apple nicely.

Twice Baked Herb & Gruyere Souffle with Seeded Mustard Bechamel served with Witlof, Watercress, Pistachios & Shaved Parmesan

My choice for my entree. The soft souffle was contrasted with the crunch and slightly bitter taste of the witlof. The seeded mustard bechamel served to enhance the richness of the souffle nicely while the parmesan brought out the the distinct earthy taste of the gruyere cheese.

Kipfler, Parmesan & Leek Croquettes with Enoki Mushrooms served with an Almond & Chilli Beurre Noisette

Mains

Pan Roasted Ocean Trout with Green & White Asparagus, Watercress Puree, Poached Quail Egg & Ocean Trout Roe

Roasted Berkshire Pork Belly & Loin with Roast Apple Puree, Salad of Frissee,  Fresh Fig, Shaved Fennel, Apple & Walnuts

One of two of the more popular mains, the provision of both pork belly and pork loin in the dish meant that you were able to compare the texture of the soft fatty belly meat against the more fibrous meat of the pork loin. Always a perfect accompaniment to pork roast, the roast apple puree was sweet with a slightly sour note that was nicely brought out the taste of the fresh pieces of apple in the salad.

Roasted Angus Beef Fillet with Pomme Puree, Red Wine Braised Eschalots, Sauteed Mushrooms and Bordelaise Sauce

Definitely the most popular main at our table (I think a third of us chose this), this was a special main that we could choose for an extra $6 on top of the three course price. Definitely worth the extra cost in my eyes.

The steak was cooked perfectly which went very well with the slightly sweet and rich bordelaise sauce. Accompanying the steak was a nice assortment of sauteed mushrooms of which the enoki mushrooms were definitely the highlight with its crisp texture. Special mention must go to the pomme puree (a.k.a. mashed potatoes) though, which in my opinion has to be the best I’ve ever had – creamy and silky smooth with a distinct buttery taste. It might have been a simple side, but the fact that it was as close to perfect that you can get meant that everybody who got this dish could not stop raving about it.

Desserts

Forme D’Ambert Cows Milk Blue served with Walnut & Currant Bread, Quince Paste, Fig & Apple

Dark Chocolate Belgian Tart with Valencia Orange Sorbet

Fresh Summer Fruits with Chantilly Creme, Mint & Vanilla & White Wine Jelly

Roasted Apricot with Bruleed Soft Meringue, Almonds & Raspberries

Mango Flummery with Fresh Mango & Lime Creme Fraiche Sorbet

With summer in the air, there’s little you can do to deny a dessert which features mango as its key component. Not knowing what a flummery was, we inquisitively asked and were told that it was a best described as a soft jelly. The texture of the flummery was as described which was nicely contrasted with the pieces of fresh mango. To balance out the rich mango flavours, the lime creme fraiche sorbet was refreshingly light with a distinct creme fraiche and lime flavour.

Vanilla Creme Brulee with Mixed Berry Compote & Chantilly Creme

Breaking through the caramel with the most satisfying crackle (I can’t seem to explain why I find it so rewarding to do so), the soft custard underneath was a traditional base with a distinct vanilla flavour. The sweetness of the caramel and custard was nicely cut with the extremely sweet and sour mixed berry compote while the chantilly creme was a nice smooth touch.

Liqueur Affagato

Blancmange

1 Station Street, Petersham, Sydney, Australia

P: 612 9568 4644

www.restaurantblancmange.com.au

Tip number one – if you’re going to brag about your specialty dish, then it’s best not to do so in front of a foodie. That is, unless you’re willing to make good and prove its worthiness. After a few side comments from our friend Andy about the sheer awesomeness of his beef rendang, a group of us decided to challenge him to make it for us to eat. The perfect occasion for this was his birthday which was just around the corner and we were lucky enough to be treated to an Indonesian feast, followed up by the obligatory birthday cake.

Teh Botol

An Indonesian meal is not the same without a popper of Teh Botol – an Indonesian sweetened Jasmine tea.

Indonesian Platter

How pretty! The bulk of our food was catered by an Indonesian restaurant in Kingsford and was beautifully presented as a platter. In the centre was a cone of saffron rice surrounded by Indonesian favourites such as fried tempeh (an Indonesian soybean cake), grilled chicken, grilled beef, hard boiled eggs with sambal and spicy pickled vegetables which was very similar to Indian achar.

Steamed Dumplings

Another Indonesian favourite, these were served with a creamy peanut sauce and a generous drizzle of kecap manis (a thick syrupy sweet soy sauce).

Pumpkin & Fetta Salad

A bit out of place at an Indonesian meal, but there had to be a vegetarian option!

Andy Wana’s Beef Rendang

Finally, the dish of the day. I’m used to a semi-dry beef rendang so it was a bit of a surprise to find that his version was more saucy than I expected. Not that this was a bad thing, the sauce was extra creamy with a decent amount of coconut milk and had just the right amount of spice. The slow cooked beef was nice and tender which was perfect with a bowl of white rice drowned in the luscious sauce. With the majority of us going back for seconds, there were nothing else we could do but undeniably justify Andy in his claims.

Birthday Cakes

Since it was a birthday lunch after all, there was no excuse not to end the meal with a piece of birthday cake. On offer were a black forest cake and a vanilla fruit cake.  Not being able to resist, I had a piece from each! Once again, “Happy Birthday Andy!” :)

On a side note, a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everybody! :) Hope that 2010 brings along many more eating escapades and cooking challenges!

The last few months at work has been manic to say the least. With starting up the blog, a rebounding market and the resultant influx of work, I was fast running out of steam and eagerly looking forward to the lead-up to Christmas. Historically, this has been a time when work slows down and you’re given the opportunity to wind down and let your hair down. No luck there.

In the end, the hard work paid off its dividends when I was fortunate enough to be invited to a dinner organised to celebrate the successes of our overall team during the past quarter. The place that was chosen to host this dinner was Monkey Magic, which, as luck would have it, has been on my ‘to-eat-at’ list for quite some time. For me, it was finally the kick-off point to the festive season and a perfect occasion to sit down to get to know fellow colleagues better. Not to mention, it was also an opportunity to be able to eat to my heart’s content on the company card.

After a quick drink at the Dolphin Hotel next door, we headed in to the restaurant and were seated immediately. Since we had a large group, we had already ordered the set menu, which at just $45 a head* is definitely good value and includes several entrees to share and a choice of three mains. The food is not the most traditional Japanese though, while it retained the some Japanese qualities and used a variety of Japanese ingredients, the food was tweaked to give it a more modern Australian twist. The interior reflected this direction and had a modern warehouse feel to it with its wooden furniture contrasting with the raw brick walls.

Monkey Magic

I loved that this rustic door was retained in its original form even though with the interior remodeling, it now led to nowhere.

Everybody got stuck into conversations while I wandered around taking photos. :)

Edamame with Pink Salt Sprinkles

Unlike edamame I’ve had elsewhere, these weren’t boiled until the soybeans were mushy but retained a good amount of crunch without being completely raw. The rough grains of pink sea salt melted nicely in the mouth to give flavour to the otherwise bland soybeans while you popped them out of the pods.

Sashimi

You can’t have a Japanese set menu without the inclusion of some fresh sashimi. Accompanying the fresh salmon and tuna sashimi, we were given a bowl of pickled radishes which I loved. With my penchant for sour foods, I was slightly upset that they took the unfinished bowl with the plate when the sashimi was finished, but I reacted too late to get it back.

Soft Shell Crab Roll

Always a crowd favourite. The substitution of the usual avocado with the lettuce added to the crispness of the sushi roll.

Caramelised Pork with Roasted Tomato & Nam Jim Salsa in a Lettuce Cup

Last time I checked, I don’t recall ’sang choy bao’ being a Japanese dish. Also, coupled with the fact that nam jim is sweet Thai dressing, I was a bit perplexed with this inclusion on the set menu. Taken out of context, the sauce was light and tangy but the excess of coriander in the mix meant that the flavour of the pork was overpowered. Also, having to eat this with our hands made this dish a little messy to eat – definitely not a word that is usually associated with Japanese cuisine.

Salt & Pepper Cuttlefish with Beansprout, Chili & Coriander Salad

Again, not too sure about how this dish fit into the fact that this place is specifically advertised as a “Japanese Restaurant”. That said, this restaurant’s take on ’salt & pepper squid’ was majority voted as the best dish on the set menu. The cuttlefish was very tender and coated with a very flavoursome salt and black pepper mix. Delicious with a light squeeze of lemon juice for some acidity, the cuttlefish overshadowed the beansprout salad which for the most part went ignored.

Twice Cooked Pork Belly with Ume-shu & Lemongrass Reduction, Tangelo & Sauteed Peppered Silver Beet

My choice for the main was the pork belly – not the healthiest dish, but I cannot resist the way the  fat melts into the layers of meat when cooked properly. Unfortunately, for this dish, there were a few pieces of meat that failed at this test and could have used an extra few minutes of cooking. I did however love the sauce and the sauteed silver beets that came with this. The ume-shu and lemongrass reduction had a sweet and rich plum flavour with a slight hint of lemongrass while the peppery silver beets were a perfect accompaniment to the sweet notes of the sauce. Included for those who like it was a dollop of hot mustard to be eaten with the pork.

Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna with Eggplant & Miso Puree, & Marinated Red Pepper & White Anchovy Salad

One of the three mains we were given to choose from. I didn’t get to try this, but judging from the empty plate that was leftover at the end it must’ve been quite palatable!

Grain Fed Sirloin with Celeriac & Potato Gratin, Roasted Bone Marrow & Miso & Pepper Sauce

The last choice of the mains, unfortunately this did not receive stellar reviews from my fellow dining companions. I didn’t try this myself, but I was told that the meat was very coarse despite being a sirloin cut and was a bit overcooked.

Monkey Magic

410 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia

P: 612 9358 4444 F: 612 9358 4433

www.monkeymagic.com.au

* Note: a 10% surcharge applies for groups of 10 or more.

Today, I, along with another 50 or so fellow Sydney food bloggers were invited to get together for a Christmas picnic in Hyde Park by fellow Sydney bloggers Chocolatesuze and Grab Your Fork. The only catch – we each had to bring one dish and a food-related kris kringle present.

So after a night of putting canapes together and a slight detour when I got the meet-up location slightly mixed up, I walked tentatively towards a large group of people all standing around what I could only assume from a distance to be a large array of culinary delights. Of course, the abundance of cameras everywhere were a dead giveaway too.

Adding my contribution to the already decent spread, all the food went untouched for a respectable amount of time to allow for everybody to take all the pictures they needed. We all posed for an anonymous group shot and then it was time to dig in.

Peanut Butter & Bacon Cupcakes

Winner for the most innovative dish definitely were the peanut butter and bacon cupcakes which was made by Grab Your Fork (featured below). I’ve always been tentative of the idea of having meat in desserts, but in this case, the peanut butter topping was saltier than the bacon itself which in the end meant in a strange way that it all went together quite well.

Fairy Bread, Cornflake Crackles & Coco Pop Crackles

Ah, the simple things. Seeing these three presented all together brought back many memories of primary school bake sales. :)

Kris Kringle

After all the eating, mingling and more eating until we were all at an uncomfortable dilemma of wanting to try more of the goodies but didn’t have the stomach space to afford it, we moved on to giving out the kris kringle presents. In this case, the presents weren’t predestined to a certain someone. Instead, we each drew a random number, and then going one after another we were invited to either open a new present or steal (borrow) a present that had already been opened. Breaths of anticipation were held while each person opened theirs up.

At first, the stealing (borrowing) portion of the game was ignored with the majority of people unwilling to ruin social decorum by taking somebody’s present. That is, until the Food Face surfaced. The quirkiness of the item meant that everybody who was still waiting in line for their turn vied to be the last one holding it.

My present that I got was a set of Jim Bean marinade sauces. Considering this is barbeque season, I’m sure I’ll be using it sooner or later. So to whoever brought it along as their KK present – thank you!

All done for the day, we all packed up and went our separate ways. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed putting faces to blogs and of course the food was the highlight. Definitely looking forward to the next Sydney foodie event… :)