Café Sopra @ Walsh Bay

This front's been quiet for a while. I like to imagine that it's the height of summer and I'm Juliette Van Der Becq, whisked away by the irritatingly seductive heartbreaker Alex Lippi for ten days of revealing secrets and a string of breathtakingly romantic events. Just two mysterious not-quite-strangers somewhere along the southern coast of France. Penniless in my current predicament, a French getaway (bodyguard included) is out of the question but perhaps a quick rendezvous with her Italian neighbour would not be entirely impossible...

Sopra is the ever popular daughter of the Fratelli Fresh family. Like Van Der Becq, she's kept within arms reach. You'll find her roaming about Waterloo, Potts Point, Bridge St and Walsh Bay but always under the watchful eye of a Fratelli. 

As a Fratelli Fresh offspring, exceptional quality runs in the family and Café Sopra is no black sheep. A perpetually changing blackboard menu that features produce to reflect the seasons' best keeps the locals coming back for more. Avocados, cucumbers, beans, fresh basil, blueberries and tomatoes are just a taste of what's in store. Peruse the aisles as you wait for 6 o'clock to roll around but be sure you don't lose track of time or you may lose out on a table too.

It's terribly cold and dreary, and it's been drizzling since morning. It's one of those days where my knees creak like rickety stairs and I'd much rather stay in bed. Our trio rocks up at 5 past 6PM and barely ten minutes later the entire café is filled with upmarket suits and boobs. It seems like a different crowd down here but whatevs. I'm just here for the food.

The blackboard menu takes up an entire wall. Impressive. The only printed menu supplied at the table is the beverage list. Garganega, Mourvedre, Teroldego Rotaliano.. I have no idea what any of these fancy pants words mean so I pick a cocktail that's spelled out in plain English - Italian Sour. You can't go wrong with citrus and Aperol. 

Diners linger between tables, carefully perusing the blackboard menu. Cucina Italiana means serious business.

Chicken liver pate is something that Chris has sworn to detest but the silky smooth mouthfeel and beautiful sweetness is enough to convince her otherwise. Accompanied by sliced cucumber, beans, cornichons and fine slivers of eschallot tossed in vinaigrette, it leaves a luxurious dish in perfect balance.

Dee's heard great things about the meatballs so we order one of those. It doesn't disappoint. Three oversized meatballs with personality to match perch above a delicate tangle of tagliatelle and a vibrant tomato sauce. It's a good thing we ordered these early on as halfway through our meal a waitress draws a thin line of chalk across the board. They've sold out.

My table mates ogle the blackboard special, mussel fusilli insalata. I'm not much of a fan of slippery mussels and spiral pasta but it's nice and my dining partners enjoy it.

A little plate-sized baked ocean trout arrives. It's been scored and sprinkled voraciously with a mint and marjoram confetti. I moisten my lips and my olfactory senses revel in the wafting aroma of its succulent pink flesh... Have I died and gone to heaven?

Since Spain, I've never been able to resist an opportunity to slip a few screaming white anchovies down my throat so we request a panzanella. For a bread salad it's pretty darn tasty. Chunky tomato and cucumber, fried ciabatta dredged in olive oil and torn basil, draped with white anchovies that continue to sing on the palate long after they're gone. Strangely enough, it makes the perfect palate cleanser and prelude to dessert.

We're totally stuffed but we can't leave without trying a dessert.. or two. The cannoli with honeycomb sounds mouthwatering and Dee has been pining after the blueberry swirl semifreddo since we sat down.

With a lightly salted honeycomb filling, the cannoli resembles a mango-scented Gaytime. I smoosh the chocolate pastry to bits with my spoon and find to my dismay that the honeycomb cream hasn't been piped all the way into the centre. It's a heartbreaking  moment. 

Poached blueberries tumble across two sticks of homemade semifreddo. Dee reckons it's a little icy. I reckon she's right. My guess is that raw blueberries were whizzed into the mix which would have added excess moisture and short of buying a super expensive machine to evaporate liquids at low temperatures under vacuum to retain fresh flavours, there's not much that can be done about it other than boiling the crap out of the blueberries first which would lend a cooked, jammy kind of taste. Nice taste, okay texture. Overall.. yeah nice.

A waitress floats past with a banoffee torte... What was I saying? Oh yes, that's definitely going on the to-do list next time...

Café Sopra @ Walsh Bay

fratellifresh.com.au

Bloodwood @ Newtown

How do you define success? Is it enjoying life? Doing what you love? Making a contribution to society? Or perhaps, as Soren Reichelt says, it's 'a chicken dinner'. 

Success in the dining scene is distinguished by customers revelling in momentary bliss, torn between leaving gracefully or lingering just a moment longer to scrape the very last morsel of pound cake drenched in quince anglaise from the bottom of the glass.

Bloodwood, Newtown - now there's a success story, a point of difference where one can find all of the above. 

Love in amidst a chicken dinner.

Bloodwood Restaurant & Bar

416 King St, Newtown

(+61 2) 9557 7699

www.bloodwoodnewtown.com

Tuesday Tasting Menu @ Duke Bistro

I dined at Duke Bistro once before in late February. My memory of the event is a little shady - I'd had champagne at a friend's house and a few beers with the sexy blonde girls who I used to work two doors down from; before meeting work colleagues, dashing to the Duke for a quick drink, and then running off again to another party.

I remember lounging in the dark and sipping on a Penicillin, my senses awash with the warmth of smoky scotch and honey. Complimentary dishes arrived at our table, thanks to the magnetic pulling power of the very charming EggBert - ex-partner in crime to Mitch The Pasta Master from Sepia days. There was something with prawn and a bizarre seaweed I'd never seen before, slivers of cured ham of some description, a smoky soup with clams and fregola perhaps? Details are wishy washy at best. It was damn good though, and I've been dying to return ever since.

What a serendipitous moment to find an old friend slaving over the hot coals of my desires. Textural delights, meat mastery, edible flowers and housemade butter for crying out loud! This is love - the real thing, but beware. Kate Moss was here. This Duke is addictive.

Leather Jacket Cheek, Oyster, Cucumber

Duck Liver Parfait, Bread, Housemade Butter

King George Whiting Fish Finger                                       Drinks List                 

                 Prawn, Pasta                                         Pig Tail Tile, Bone Marrow     

  

Boar Neck, Garlic Shoots                                 Nasturtium, Goat's Cheese

          White Miso Caramel Eclair                        Rhubarb & Rosemary Jelly, Mini Pavlova 



http://www.dukebistro.com.au/

63 Flinders St

Darlinghurst, Sydney

Dinner @ Billy Kwong

After catching a glimpse of Kylie Kwong at Greenhouse by Joost on the preview of the Masterchef episode to be aired tonight, I thought it was about time I posted some of the pictures from my last dinner* at her two hatted restaurant Billy Kwong. 

For all you Kylie Kwong fans out there, Organic Expo & Green Show has a signed copy of Kylie's latest book 'It Tastes Better' up for grabs. Entries close on June 30th so click, click, click away and get those entries in! Luckily for you, I already have a copy or I'd be keeping this one all to myself! :)

  

My friends and I are lucky enough to get a table at 6:30pm on a Wednesday night without the infamous wait. Complimentary homemade Chinese pickles are sent out while we peruse the menu. The banquet is recommended and we advise the waitress what our must-have dishes are so they can be incorporated into the super special menu prepared by Head Chef, Mat Lindsay.

Freshly shucked oysters steamed with ginger and shallots are delicately scented with sesame and coriander. Gently steamed, the oysters are provided with a little more substance and texture.

Sashimi of ocean trout and hiramasa kingfish are coupled with thin slivers of raw cucumber, pickled celery, radish sprouts and a redolent dashi-based dressing. The dish has changed over the years but this version is no doubt my absolute favourite. The flavours meld and diverge with every mouthful. It's fresh, fragrant, peppery, crisp and just a tad acidic to counter the luxuriously fatty ocean trout flesh.

Mat's garlic chive dumplings are a playful rendition of prawn har gow. The steamed dumplings are filled with nothing but Australian-caught prawns and they're incredibly sweet. The translucent wrappers are a light green from chlorophyll captured by steeping garlic chives.

Rice noodles filled with biodynamic beef brisket and black bean sauce is one of my favourite dishes. Beef brisket is braised for hours and caramelised with shiitake mushrooms, before filling sheets of rice noodles. Each rice noodle roll is shallow-fried in the wok to give it the beautifully crisp exterior to contrast with the soft and robust filling. Black beans give the sauce a good kick in the pants while the celery sprouts scattered over the top pair inextricably well with the beef and meaty mushrooms.

Steamed pancakes with Saskia Beer's black Berkshire pig isn't available today and I curse silently but Mat supplies us with something just as good, if not better - pancakes with roast duck, cucumber, shallot and spicy sesame seeds; and a salad of duck, fresh figs and celery.

Fried biodynamic eggs with tamari and homemade XO sauce was the standout dish during my last visit and they're just as I remembered. Warm and runny yolks nestled among crisp and feathery whites, all doused with a generous helping of sweet and meaty XO, sliced chillies, tamari and shallots. I don't usually eat much chilli but I'll always concede for these irresistible fried eggs.

Steamed bass groper with ginger and shallots, silken tofu with roasted tomatoes and dashi, steamed choy sum with organic tamari, and crispy Sichuan-peppered duck with blood plum sauce are followed by a platter of organic pineapple, passionfruit and a small saucer of dark Fairtrade chocolate.

I'm absolutely stuffed. I'm amazed that we're still able to stand up and my jeans aren't bursting at the seams.

Other recommendations: pork sung choi bao, white-cooked chicken, stir-fried South Australian vongole, steamed whole snapper, dry-fried green beans with miso and sesame.

* These comments are in no way biased ..I may have spent two years working for Kylie Kwong who also happens to be the most awesome boss in the whole world but that has absolutely no influence on my opinion of the food in any way whatsoever.

Billy Kwong
Shop 3, 355 Crown Street
Surry Hills, NSW

Australia 2010
ph: (02) 9332 3300

Dinner @ Sean's Panaroma

Sean Moran, head chef and owner of Sean's Panaroma is part of a grassroots food movement that is quickly gaining pace. An increasing number of Aussie chefs have pledged their support for non-GM food as a result of environmental destruction and liability issues that companies like Bayer and Monsanto have left in their wake.

The man is a rarity. Unlike most chefs, Sean and his partner designed the restaurant with a closed loop system in mind. For fifteen years now, kitchen scraps have been composted and returned to their property to grow fruit and veg for the restaurant. Very cool, very cool indeed. 

My most recent visit was for a work function, a BK tradition of sorts. Fortunately our visit to Sean's Panaroma was for both business and pleasure. Oh there were definitely unbridled sounds of pleasure. Between you and I, Sean's duck liver parfait is one of the most rich and irresistible morsels that may cross your palate in your life.

Don't go past the oysters either. Seafood generally seems to be more popular during the summer months however oysters are best enjoyed in winter as they spawn during warmer weather which causes them to become excessively creamy and lose their sharp, almost mineral taste.

Simple Mediterranean flavours and fresh, quality produce are what make the food at Sean's worth returning to time and time again. When an establishment has resident bakers and chefs who take the time to make their own bread and butter from scratch, you know that whatever you choose will have been nurtured and respected every step of the way.

Sean's Panaroma

270 Campbell Pde

Bondi Beach

NSW, 2026

ph: (02) 9365 4924

visit the website

 

Bloggers & beef assiettes

It never ceases to amaze me how lucky we are in Australia. Despite the continent being one of the driest in the world, facing a constant uphill battle with wildly unpredictable weather; we still somehow manage to produce beef that is so damn good that there's enormous demand for it in over 100 countries worldwide.

We're the second largest exporter of beef after Brazil where cattle feed on GM soybeans and are linked to a myriad of issues stemming from deforestation of the Amazon and deformities caused by heavy pesticide use. In contrast, our industry is so heavily regulated that every single animal bred for the dinner table can be traced back to its grassroots, which for us means integrity and quality of produce. Strict quarantine measures also ensure that Aussie beef is free from scary derivatives of spongiform encephalopathies like 'mad cow' disease.

Before this beef dego I had absolutely no idea what it is that Meat & Livestock Australia does aside from publishing 'Chef's Special' and facilitating intercollegial meat judging with uni kids. As I've since discovered, they actually fund a lot of research and development projects geared towards improving grazing methods, animal welfare and sustainability. During dinner I also learned that grain-fed cattle eat loads of legume 'grains' like field peas and fava beans which all assist in nitrogen fixation, improving the soil without chemical fertilisers. A lot of the C4 grasses with increased efficiency for carbon sequestration like maize and sorghum which I mentioned in my last post, funnily enough, also come under 'grains' so although I still prefer grass-fed beef in terms of energy input and overall sustainability, I don't feel quite as guilty about eating Australian grain-fed beef anymore.  

Unless you've been living under a metaphorical rock, you will know that red meat is good for the body's iron levels. Haem iron to be exact - the little cells that improve oxygen transportation through the blood. It really makes me wonder about the level of improvement when I'm tramping through dense undergrowth in the Hawkesbury after consuming nine courses of beef and there are six humongous killer leeches swinging from my ankles. We'll not mention the part about me screaming like a sissy, but anyway.. Aussie beef is not only healthy but it is an incredibly versatile ingredient too! The MLA degustation really highlighted different cooking methods and a wide array of matching flavour combinations that I never would have thought of.

To get the most tender result when using different cuts of beef, it's important to remember how collagen and elastin (the silvery sinew) react with heat. With long and slow braising, collagen breaks down into delicious gelatinous stuff (my favourite bits!) whereas any heat makes sinew become tough so it should be removed first.

Recipes can be found at corresponding blogs and more. Hopefully you'll be inspired to try creating some of these mouthwatering dishes at home!

First up from Sarah of Taste was a rich and comforting 'Beef and ale pie'. Crisp and buttery puff pastry concealed slow-braised beef shin, celery and caramelised carrot, melded for hours with the rich and malty, full-bodied virtues of Guinness.. I could go another one right now..
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Anna's (Morsels and Musings) 'Achiote and tequila cured beef knuckle with pozole rojo' was cured for 24 hours in sugar and tequila then poached for 30 minutes at 100ºC. It reminded me of the corned beef sandwiches of my childhood but in this case with pointedly Mexican flair. Avocado, corn, tomato and baby coriander were laden over the cured beef, dotted with pozole and a wistful hint of smokiness.



'Seared sirloin, buttered roots, horseradish and wakame' by Aficionado (that's me!). The sirloin was cooked sous-vide (vacuum sealed and poached in a water bath), seared and served alongside baby beets poached in butter and dashi, pickled radish and celery, enoki mushrooms, daikon jelly, wakame seaweed, horseradish and fried lotus. Simple, clean, seasonal flavours, a flirtatious integration of textures and totally fantastic (being completely objective of course).

Warren's contribution of 'Thai beef salad with mint, peanuts and chilli dressing' made use of the flat meats coupled with cucumber 'spaghetti', tomato, chilli, peanut caramel (made with roasted peanuts and palm sugar) and tiny cubes of intense lemongrass jelly. A very robust, deconstructed adaptation of the traditional.

Ellie of Almost Bourdain created a hawker dish of 'Beef satay with spicy peanut sauce, rice cake and herb salad', unlike any satay I've ever had. Ridiculously tender marinated rump was served with compressed rice rolled in toasted coconut alongside a surprisingly irresistible salad of betel leaf and was a real eye-opener to the world of Asian cuisine that I've still yet to experience. I have no idea what betel leaf is but I've since decided that I'm going to find a way to grow it so I can have it every single day of the week.

From Fouad came 'Scotch fillet with moghrabiyeh', seared first then cooked sous-vide. Moghrabiyeh I learned, is a type of Lebanese couscous which was paired with chickpeas, carrot puree, pickled carrot, saffron-poached onion, beurre blanc, cumin, cardamom and caraway. Rich, smooth and creamy countered with just a hint of acidity for balance.

Trina the Gourmet Forager had a hand in creating this 'Pulled beef and pine mushroom cannelloni'. The chuck was wet-roasted for three to four hours with red wine, beef stock and dried mushrooms for intensity of flavour before being pulled apart and rolled in delicate sheets of pasta. Speck was added to the reduction to impart an element of smokiness and pine mushrooms roasted with garlic butter and oregano. Reminiscing about this dish, I can almost imagine the perfect setting by the edge of a woodland forest - a chequered picnic blanket spread amongst a sea of wildflowers, sipping on a lusty red and licking mushroom cream from my fingers under falling light..

Ex-chef and experienced foodie Rebecca of Inside Cuisine incorporated 'Braised beef in coffee with brandied cumquats and onion milk'. The blade was cooked for eighteen hours at 63ºC and wet-roasted to create a coffee 'crust', wrapped in a croustillant of brik pastry and shoestring potatoes for a juxtaposing textural crunch, and dished up with tantalisingly sweet and nutmeg-y onion soubise.

The Internet Chef - Bridget's 'Slow braised brisket with cauliflower cream and Pedro Ximenez muscatels' drew immediate parallels with a dish of braised beef cheek with unbelievably smooth and creamy cauliflower puree that I tried at Movida last year. Braised, pressed and glazed, it wasn't quite as soft and gelatinous as Frank Camorra's, but undulating bursts of sweetness and acidity from plump PX-soaked raisins countered with a crunchy dissection of pickled cauliflower elevated Bridget's dish to another level. If I wasn't in full-view I'd have no qualms about licking my plate squeaky clean.

This was the most disappointing dish of the night: Soren's 'Citrus terrine with yoghurt sorbet and poached rhubarb'. Yes it was tasty, refreshing, super delicious, palate-cleansing, tasty, did I mention it was damn tasty? But I was left with a gaping question.

Where's the bloody beef?

Many thanks to Meat & Livestock Australia, Hausmann Communications, Alison McIntosh, Anthony Puharich, Warren Turnbull and the awesome team at Assiette for making this event happen! :)

 see more photos of the night here..

Dinner At MoVida, Melbourne

Movida was at the top of my list of restaurants to dine at during my brief trip to Melbourne. There's something about the Spanish way of eating that I adore, and I must admit, I've often envisioned a siesta after a lazy lunch. How I'd love to be sitting in the middle of a terraza, feeling the worn cobblestones beneath my tired feet, the dappled sunlight warming my cheeks. The moment would be complete when a ruggedly handsome waiter appears with a platter of paper-thin slivers of pulpo á galega in one hand and a glass of Mahou con limon, dripping with cool beads of condensation, in the other. "Muchisimas gracias!" I'd say, rolling the long 'R' off my tongue and trying to imitate the soft lisp that only true Spaniards can make sound absolutely sexy.

It's my first time in Melbourne so we spend the afternoon exploring dark laneways, and taking photos of public artwork and commission pieces. Our map leads us down Hosier Lane where I spot the Spanish mecca. I peek through the window to get a glimpse of what wonders tonight may hold and I'm greeted by a dingy looking room with posters plastered to the walls and a vacant stare from the chef sitting inside. Umm.. Awkward..

We return at half past 8 after whetting our appetites at Der Raum in Richmond. Under the cover of night, Movida undergoes an immense transformation. Soft lighting and rich wood panelling set a moody scene. We're seated at a long booth that divides the dining room floor. A few large tables look like they're finishing up as we settle into our seats and the second sitting begins.

It's a full house tonight and our waiter is friendly enough if not a little rushed off his feet. He takes our order without pen and paper which of course ends up being completely botched. The wrong wine is poured, rabbit is mistakenly placed at our table and the Valencian salad never arrives.

Two types of bread come out first. They're served with a little side of olive oil that has a really pungent, peppery kick. I like it. Confit salt cod is next and quite frankly forgettable. It's dusted with a little paprika, alongside a smear of lemon "emulsion" with a single fried parsley leaf on top.

Tigre is another matter entirely. Spring Bay mussels are stuffed into croquettes and deep-fried. The subtle flavour of the sea combined with the velvet soft filling and crisp coating of fried breadcrumbs provide the perfect medium to match with a sharp tangy lemon aioli and the meaty flavours of dried chorizo.

The specials tonight include cured tuna with goat's curd and almonds. It sounds appealing but the tuna is overly salty and the dish lacks lustre. Thinly sliced, air-dried Wagyu follows. The waiter suggests we pierce the poached egg and combine it with the "truffle foam" that surrounds it before digging in. The foam is rich and creamy but instead of bathing in that familiar earthy musk, my olfactory sensors are overwhelmed by the distinctively pungent odour of artificial truffle oil, and again, the cured meat is way too salty.

Thanks to the truffle oil, my taste buds are now defunct and the pulpo with fried potatoes I'm chewing on seems fairly bland. A chef I'm dining with loves the bombas. They're seriously large croquetas filled with creamy potato and spicy chorizo sausage. The chilli and ground spices give the mojo quite a kick but I'm not a fan of the harsh acidity present.

Caballa ahumado is the dish I'm looking forward to the most. Transparent slices of smoked mackerel line the plate. A quenelle of gazpacho sorbet is perched in the middle amidst a drizzle of sauce, reduction and sprinkling of pine nuts. The plating has as much visual appeal as a 5-year-old's finger painting and unfortunately it doesn't taste much better. The fish has a deep and enticingly smoky flavour but yep you guessed it. It's too fucking salty. The reduction that is drizzled over the sorbet is too intense for enjoyment and when it comes to overall balance, the dish is left seriously wanting.

The special of roast partridge is cooked perfectly. If good food is like sex on a plate, then this is definitely it. The breast is sliced and fanned so that the delicate pink flesh sits exposed. Crushed hazelnuts trail down the side, paper-thin rings of raw eschallot are scattered about. A burst of sweetness, a mild tang, smooth, creamy, crunchy, mmm.

For the first time in my life dessert doesn't hold any interest for me. A companion orders flan con pestiños so I try a little. The flan is beautiful. It's just set, not too eggy, and doused in caramel. Someone needs a little more practice turning them out though, as one side looks a little sad. I'm nothing short of confused by the pestiños. Pestiños that I've eaten are light and flaky, flavoured with lemon peel and anise, cooked in the deep-fryer until just golden and dipped into hot, runny honey. Is this supposed to be a modern twist on the traditional? Are they supposed to be stale, over-fried, dense fingers dredged in a copious amount of cinnamon sugar?

Spanish cuisine holds a special place in my heart but despite the cool setting and theatrics, Movida fails to evoke gastronomic bliss. Dinner ends and I'm left with an unordered glass of wine on the bill and the unsavoury taste of bitter disappointment on my lips. If I were to return, it would be with trepidation, as the Spanish say "tantear el terreno".

MoVida - Bar De Tapa Y Vino

1 Hosier Lane

Melbourne 3000

+61 (03) 9663 3038

http://movida.com.au/hosier.html