Mr. Wong

Australia Day Monday. How to celebrate? With Chinese food obviously!

It happens to be pissing down with rain thanks to the remnants of cyclone Oswald, so it is the perfect day to be inside with good food and nice cocktails. Unfortunately everyone else wandering around Sydney seems to have the same idea. Luckily my forward-thinking mother booked us the best table in the house (I’m not telling you which one) in advance, so we are quickly whisked from the wet doorway to our cosy nook.

Those of you who are fans of the Merivale group will know that Mr. Wong has replaced the former nightclub Tank, but the last thing this place feels like is a converted bar. There are thick wooden beams, dark green tiles, 1920’s light fittings and an eclectic mixture of wooden furniture, both modern and colonial. A healthy bustle fills the space, which takes up two floors. Only the upper floor is open for lunch service, and the space is full. At the far right end there is a kitchen replete with a few benches for customers who enjoy watching the carnage in the kitchen, and large glass case full of BBQ chicken, pork and pecking duck. Quite a display! In the middle is the dumpling kitchen, and round the corner to the left is a beautifully stocked cocktail bar.

The menu is styled much like the one at your local Chinese; dumplings and raw dishes are listed first and subsequent dishes are categorised either by meat or noodles and rice. There are even banquet menus ranging from $68 to $148. The selection of dishes is comprehensive enough to cover all your favourites (including sweet and sour pork), but not so large you get lost. Even if you do flounder a bit the crisply-dressed staff are extremely helpful. We start with a selection of dumplings, which are apparently designed by a master dumpling chef from London of all places! The lobster mei si roll is crisp and contains a surprise vein of cheese and a slither of fragrant greens; beautifully balanced. The Xiao Long Bao, or ‘soup’ dumplings are just perfection. The translucent asparagus and scallop dumplings with XO sauce are equally satisfying. Looks like the head-hunting for an kick-arse dumpling chef paid off.

Now all of you know how big a fan I am of the steak tartare at Ms. G’s, so when I saw the Sichuan spiced steak tartare on Mr. Wong’s menu you know I had to give it a try. The floral Sichuan pepper and garlic marry well with the rich red meat. It is a very satisfying interpretation. We also order the five spice slow roast belly pork with Hoi Sin. It is tender with perfectly rendered fat, and the lovely crispy spiced skin is satisfying to bite through. We also order the stir-fried rice noodles with Wagyu beef, bean sprouts and garlic chives. This dish is possibly the only one I wouldn’t bother ordering again. This sweet dish is missing any depth. It could do with either some acid or spice to lift it.

I am so, so in love. Thank you Merivale group. You have your critics, but I am not one of them.  

3 Bridge Lane

Sydney NSW 2000

http://merivale.com.au/mrwong

Sushi E

We in Sydney do love our sushi. Oh yes indeed we do. And while there are many nice places in Sydney to enjoy a chunk of raw fish (mainly in train format) there is only one place that captures some of the essence of a Tokyo sushi restaurant, Sushi E.   

The Establishment building on George St. is mostly known for its namesake bar on the ground floor (P.S. do not go here on salsa night unless already accompanied by a man, seriously), but if you venture to the 4^th floor and manage to resist the charms of Hemmesphere you will find arguably the best sushi restaurant in Australia. You are guided to a hushed space, humming with light chatter and sleekly dressed staff. There are about 40 seats, half of which are dotted around the waist-high, central kitchen. Classically trained Japanese sushi Chefs reverently slice fish to order overlooked by their well-heeled clientele.

While the almost religious mood of sushi dining has been maintained at Sushi E, the menu has been tweaked to include many non-sushi options as directed by Chef Ura-san. We start with two Sydney rock oysters, one natural, one steamed. The natural oyster comes with salmon roe, cucumber and ponzu, a lovely refreshing combination. The second oyster is delicately poached, retaining the creamy texture you expect of an oyster accompanied by soy, mirin, shallot and peanut oil. This is followed by snapper sashimi dressed with white soy and sesame. It is by far my favourite dish. Every component lifts the next, with the slightly smoky sesame balancing the sweet flesh of the snapper, and the salty soy rounding the dish off. The prawn shumai are silky little pillows that melt in your mouth. A truly stunning sashimi platter comes with tuna, salmon, kingfish and bonito. Save the bonito for last; it’s intense flavour is a pretty unique sashimi experience (in a good way). Seared scallops coated with spicy mayo and chilli are quickly devoured, as is the scampi nigiri sushi.

The cocktails up here are excellent. I recommend the Ume royal, a Japanese take on the Kir royal. A bitters soaked sugar cube, sake and Chandon. The rest of the meal is accompanied by cold sake, akishika shuzo, a lovely dry sake that goes beautifully with the meal.

If you do find yourself in need of a really good sushi fix, this is your place. Nab a spot at the bar if you can, it is the best spot to watch the chefs work their magic and do a little people watching for night time entertainment.

Level 4, Establishment

252 George St, Sydney 2000

http://merivale.com.au/sushie

Momofuku Seiṑbo

So Momofuku Seiṑbo. The super-hyped, New York import that has Sydney siders harping away at Melbournites. David Chang blah blah, lucky peach blah blah, you can read that shite anywhere. I’m going to tell you about the food…

Going out for dinner is a ritual engrained in many cultures, each with their own variations, but for the most part it has a fairly predictable natural progression. The courses get richer as the meal progresses, alike dishes will all be plated in exactly the same manner and desert is the final course. Not so at Momofuku Seiobo. The team at this place do what they want, when they want, how they want, and now it is exactly what I want. This place has selected which rules they want to follow and have discarded the rest. There are no white table cloths, the dishes are served by the chefs, music circulates through rock’n’roll to chilled Radiohead to hip-hop, you do not know what you will be eating that evening until it lands on your table and you get to use your hands! I think the one change that shocked me most (and this is lame of me) is that the still and sparkling water are both filtered tap water, so you don’t have to pay shitloads to stay hydrated if you like some fizz. Sounds like utter chaos eh? Reality is they know what they are doing and invite you along to discover a new form of dining. One where all pretence is removed. Instead it is about the flavours and textures, and those hard working geniuses in the kitchen putting it all together for you.

Momofuku Seiṑbo is snuggled away behind closely-spaced dark beams opposite the glare of Adriano Zumbo’s patisserie at The Star; only a large silver peach indicates that there is something inside. The dining room is dark woods and deep blue, with a small spotlight over each table making the setting intimate. You must pre-book. The system is not difficult to navigate if you are organised, so quit whingeing about it. Once your bum is on a seat the food starts arriving. Now the menu here varies, with one or two dishes changing on a daily basis as ingredients are fresh, or new ideas arise. You should trust these guys.

All up there were 14 courses. And there is no way I am going to describe all of them to you. We started with smoked eel brandad, with apple gel. The crisp pastry hides salty, smoky mash cut through with the bitter sweet tang of green apple. Best part; you eat it with your fingers. Yes next up was a pork bun. These are world famous. This is what people line up for. And guess what? At Momofuku Seiṑbo they sell them per piece at the bar, so you can have a dinner consisting solely of buns. And booze. Next; striped trumpeter with celery and mustard oil (chopsticks for this one). The celery enhances the freshness of the dish, and the mustard oil provides the richness and tang the lifts the dish from being regular sashimi to something else. The most interesting dish was the wagyu beef with radish, black bean and watermelon. The beef is diced finely with watermelon, coated in blackbean and then hidden under finely shaved radish. The watermelon and astringent fresh radish cut through the black bean and beef creating a dish that takes a couple of mouthfuls for the flavour combination to get rolling, but once it does there is this wonderful whole-mouth feel to the dish (oh dear that sounds dirty).

I think my favourite dish was the ham congee with donuts and yolk, but then I am a huge fan of salt. A beautiful dollop of soft, briny rice porridge contrasts with the crisp little fried balls of savoury dough, coated with a thin egg yolk film. Just enough of each to get the perfect amount in each mouthful. I could eat this dish forever. Marron with broccoli and lemon was probably the most conventional dish served, and would have been at home in any of Sydney’s top restaurants. Squab with caramelised lettuce and pear comes as a breast and a leg (foot still attached – love it!). The breast is medium rare and a little on the tough side but the leg is fall-apart tender. The pear matches nicely and the ‘cooked’ lettuce provides the fresh flavours the dish needs to cut through all the richness.

Dessert is roasted pineapple with yogurt wafers, and vinaigrette sorbet. Yeah, vinaigrette sorbet. Oh man, so good. We all sat there for a long one trying to guess that one! The sorbet matches the slight bitter tang of the pineapple, rather than trying to smother it. The caramelisation of the pineapple the sweetness of the yogurt wafer round the dish out and prevent it being too punchy. Now for the final course, more a ‘petit fours’ according to the staff, a dish of 8 hour slow roasted, caramelised pork shoulder. Meat? After desert? Oh yes. And this pork is good! I don’t care when you serve it, I just want it. It is to be eaten with the hands. Get messy. 

Drinks wise there is the pairing (if you can handle 14 glasses), but there is also a fruitjuice degustation for teetotallers. I went with Pinot Noir from Bordeaux, forget the name. The wine selection is long enough to satisfy curiosity, but short enough not to get lost in.

This restaurant is not for everyone. If you are after the classic opulent special-occasion dinner where you can get a steak and potatoes this place is not for you. However if you want to explore food the likes of which you have never experienced before get yourself to a computer.

Bar Zini

A small Italian hideaway (replete with Italian staff) that knows a thing or two about la dolce vita. In the morning you will find locals knocking back coffee at the bar, the barista starting conversations with all the regulars, and people snatching a quick moment with their loved one before work. It makes the start to the day that much brighter. For breakfast I recommend the bacon and egg roll, it is rare to find a straightforward one nowadays in Sydney; runny free-range eggs, lovely smoked bacon, Turkish bread, and that’s your lot. Incidentally they do spanking good coffee right through the day. Lunch has all the pastas and salads you expect, all balanced and refreshing – definitely not the stoge some places try and pass off as Italian. Evening, however, is my favourite time of day at this joint. When the weather is warm and the air is buzzing with post-work recreation, a frosty glass of Italian white and some lightly dressed pasta is just the ticket for a civilised wind-down. Want to know what makes this even better? It’s free! Every Thursday and Friday between 5pm and 7 pm Bar Zini generously invites everyone to enjoy free aperitivo consisting of salad, pizza and pasta. If you have religiously saved ten coffee stamps the glass of wine is thrown into the bargain too! I must warn you, if you do take up this generous offer it is highly likely the dinner menu will lure you to stay for something a little more substantial. As the menu varies daily I can’t make specific recommendations but past favourites include; veal scallopine with gorgonzola sauce and spinach and some fantastic mussels with a rich tomato based sauce and soft polenta. Whatever time of day you find yourself in Bar Zini you will enjoy it.  

78 Harris St
Pyrmont NSW 2009
http://www.barzini.com.au/

Tasmania

I owe you all an apology. According to Blogger I haven't posted since the 5th of September. An extremely busy work schedule and one friend's fabulous wedding has meant that I have barely had time to remind my family that I'm alive. Hopefully I'll be able to update you on all the restaurants I have tried in the past couple of months.

I thought I'd start with a brief overview of a few of the places I tried in Hobart.

Pigeon Hole: A little trek uphill through Hobart brings you to a lovely little cafe in a suburb full of pretty houses. The kitchen is located in an old fridge, but despite the space limitation they manage to pump out a range of home-made breads and in-one-pan egg breakfasts that are simply delectable. It is hard to resist one of the lovely pastries on display for a post-breakfast treat. I recommend the rhubarb danish with one of Pigeon Hole's coffees.

Jam Jar Lounge: They have Bloody Mary cocktails on the breakfast menu. Enough said.

Daci and Daci: Fantastic bakery, you cannot go near this place and not be tempted! Pain au chocolate passed the test.

Jackman and McRoss: Another fine bakery. Get a pork and pistachio sausage roll a go for a stroll around the Battery Point area.

MONA Wine Bar: When you can't take anymore sex and death slink away to the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) Wine Bar for super fresh Tassie oysters and lovely Ploughman's lunch. With a vineyard and brewery on-site there is no shortage of drinkies! (Don't get the Moo Brew larger, tasted like floral VB).

Jack Greene Bar: Burgers! Really good ones! And about 10 beers on tap; feels really similar to the Local Taphouse on Flinders in Sydney. The Fish burger comes as an actual fillet of perfectly cooked fish. Blue-eye trevalla no less! The Belly Pork burger is also worth a look in. Top it off with cider and you are well on your way.

Nant Distillery: An artisan distillery an hour outside of Hobart, near Bothwell. Three course lunch, whisky tasting, distillery tour and two hours of clay-pigeon shooting; what more could you want? Lunch consisted of confit trout from the distillery’s own streams, twice cooked duck with plums and a fabulous sticky toffee pudding with whisky butterscotch sauce. The blokes running the shoot are hilarious. I want their life.

Salamanca Markets: A must-do if in Hobart on a Saturday. Go to one of the German sausage sizzle stands, get a bratwurst and take in a buskers show.

Kate's Berry Farm: If you find yourself driving up the east coast of Tasmania make sure you stop in at Kate's Berry Farm in Swansea. They have a selection of berry pies, jams and chocolates for sale. Disappointingly no fresh berries! But the pies are stuffed full of berries and are absolutely delectable.

The Edge of the Bay Restaurant: Attached to the Edge of the Bay hotel this is one of two up-market restaurants in Coles Bay, near Freycinet national park. The menu is limited, and there isn't much seafood on the menu (two dishes in all) which is such a shame given the restaurant sits on the edge of such pristine water. I thought they would at least have oysters. The pulled pork entree was seasoned very strangely and wasn't enjoyable. The main coral trout was perfectly cooked and beautifully accompanied. The cheese plate was lack-luster. The view however was knock-out.

Coles Bay Marine Farm: The oysters were a bit deflated, having been left too long between shucking and serving. The scallops and mussels were beautifully cooked. Nice place for a spot of lunch.

Blue Eye Dragon

Now I owe The Jet-setter an apology. She wanted to go to this restaurant before I had tried it, and in my indecisive flimsyness I suggested somewhere else. Stupid past-self. Now I have been; come close dear readers, for I am about to share with you a gem of a restaurant. Sure Australia has some rockin' Asian food, some cheap and cheerful, others ritzy, but this place has an intangible magic about it that makes it one of my absolute favourites.

Blue eye dragon is located behind The Star casino on Pyrmont St. nestled in an old school hall next to a quaint little church. A huge iron dragon guards the entrance to a very sparse looking concrete courtyard that has pieces of naturally formed, expensive looking furniture that give the place a very Zen feel. A door to the left opens up into the cavernous dining room that still contains the 'stage' from the buildings days as a school. Diners up here are subtly screened so they need not worry about their eating habits being on display, so feast away!

The tables are white-clothed topped with large sheets of paper, and the delicate light provides intimacy without making the menu difficult to read. Now a note about the staff; they are brilliant! The restaurant owner greets every new table at the door with a huge grin. He warmly seats you and explains how the menu works. There is the straight up a la carte delio, or of there are four of you in your party you can order the banquet. If you are lucky enough to be in the latter situation, DO IT! At $50 per person you get to choose 6 entrees and 4 mains. Yep, ten courses! While these dishes are designed for sharing they certainly aren't tapas sized. My family, the one full of chefs, had to take the last dish home. We simply couldn't fit anything more! And we are well trained in the multi-course marathon. For shame!

You could choose dishes like the fried chicken with five spice salt, or the pork mince filled tofu. You must get the beef shin; don't argue with me! Queensland scallops in house XO sauce, slightly spicy with the right balance of sour and salty without overpowering the delicate meat of the shellfish. You all know I am a huge fan of belly pork, so the slow cooked version in an awesome salty broth is always on my 'must order' list. The beef fillet is also on there. Now I realise this isn't Taiwanese cuisine in the authentic sense, it has most definately been re-styled for the western clienelle but they have done a nice job of it. Kept the flavours we love but ditched the blood jellies and chicken feet. Go, you know you can't stay away now you have read about it.

http://www.blueeyedragon.com.au/pc.php

Graze

It’s Friday night after a very long week at work. I have tickets to go see ‘The Beards’ at the Manning Bar, but they won’t be taking the stage till about 10 pm. My date, being the workaholic he is won’t be out of work until 8 pm so I have a few hours to kills. Hey Mum fancy dinner out? My treat? Deal.

I have wanted to try this share-plate restaurant in Pyrmont since it first opened its doors to reveal a funky, mod interior that is all light wood furnishings and dark walls with large French windows that open out onto Harris Street on a hot night.  My thinking was ‘why not give it a try for lovely lady-night-out’? Surprisingly Graze has space to squeeze a last minute booking for two on a Friday, only if we come straight away though. So come we do.

Mum and I are escorted upstairs to a nicely spaced dining room decorated in the same style as downstairs. There is a balcony that faces onto Harris street with counter-space and seating for four diners, an ideal people-watching spot I’ll be sure to nab next time (especially on a Saturday; the crowds that go to the Casino are hilarious! Ladies the world is not your gynaecologist). Despite the emptiness of the restaurant at this early dinner hour the atmosphere is intimate and relaxed, none of that awkward whispering-until-the-room-fills required. The staff, are among the best I have encountered, they are ever-present, never intrusive, have perfect timing and are happy to chat and have a laugh. Furthermore they are not ‘gimicky’ (as much fun as that is at times), they are just really good at what they do. 

So what to eat? Well the jamon and cheese toasty with cauliflower milkshake just sounds too good to pass up. The toasties are mini, buttery and crispy, with the warm cauliflower milkshake served in a mini Perspex milk carton. How fun! We also get truffled duck egg on toast with parmesan and grilled asparagus. These little soft-poached gems are stunning. The earthy truffle combined with the bite of parmesan, crunchy toast and asparagus make for a dish that should be on every cafes lunch menu. Simple, not fussy, ever so perfect. The soft shell crab with native finger lime dressing is also lovely, but my heart belongs to the duck eggs.

For mains we have chicken wings with sweet potato puree and corn that has a lovely balance of sweet and salty. The wings have been nicely de-boned so you can eagerly stuff your face with the juicy, tender meat. The second main of filo wrapped lamb doesn’t quite hit the right notes though. The pastry isn’t as light and fluffy as we would have liked, and it isn’t ample enough to absorb the juices from the lamb mince. While the pastry has remained crisp, there isn’t a flavour that comes through strongly enough to be the centrepiece of the meal. It is a bit flat. All this food is washed down with a lovely Italian wine that I randomly select (I am really flying blind here, Australian wine is the only type I know anything about) and it turns out to be lovely (but naturally too much led me to forget the name of it). Reminds me a lot of a granache, mourvedre blended with something else. Smooth.  

Desert consists of Eaton mess, strawberries, meringue and cream has all the right components, but not enough meringue and a bit too much cream. The balance of flavours needs work. The espresso crème brulee with rhubarb has lovely texture and the interesting combination of espresso and rhubarb is nice. I could go another one to myself (we had to share didn’t we?).

Overall this place is warm and welcoming, a lovely option if you want to linger of nice wine and food to catch up with friends, family or the other half you keep neglecting for episodes of revenge.   

http://grazepyrmont.com.au/