Kenji & Guylian Café

Sitting at the counter of Kenji, your back faces one of the world’s iconic landmarks – the Sydney Harbour Bridge – but the dozen or so counter seats at this open air eatery make it feel like you’re sitting at a kitchen island bench as there is nothing to separate you from the action of your food being prepared. (Well, albeit the kitchen of a very expensive place which has views of Sydney Harbour.) There is no barrier, no glass partition, no sushi conveyer, nor chilled display cabinet. It’s quite comical when our order is taken by a waitress standing behind us and moments later we hear the whir of the docket being printed from a machine sitting just in front of Monsieur Poisson, whilst I sit directly facing a sink.

We are familiar with Kenji-san’s skilful sushi and sashimi from having eaten at Koi previously. Kenji is Kenji-san’s latest venture and we notice a few familiar items such as the ‘Seared scallop carpaccio’ on the menu. We start our dinner, however, with the ‘Small chef's selection sashimi’ which is all about the fresh produce and nothing else. Monsieur Poisson is a little disappointed as he was hoping to order uni (sea urchin) as well but, alas, is it not uni season.

It is the proximity of the seating and the casual setting which affords us an opportunity to speak with Kenji-san. We discover the high standards he sets for his food and his passion for quality ingredients. He insists on using Japanese nori sheets which cost $10 per pack and rice from Japan which he finds less gluggy than local variants. When we tell him we really enjoyed his version of the ‘California Roll’, something which is inherently not Japanese, he offers a simple reason and justification for its $15 price tag – the filling is a combination of scallop and crab meat. As in, it is real seafood and not the usual seafood stick/extender stuff.

The ‘Soft Shell Crab salad’ is a jumble of mixed leaves and crispy crab legs with a light, tangy dressing topped with matchsticks of crunchy radish. It is the perfect contrast to the steaming bowl of ‘Tempura Udon’ where the crunchy tempura prawns are cooked before your eyes and served separately on the side (yay!) negating any soup-induced sogginess.

A short stroll later and we find ourselves at Guylian Café wanting something sweet. We share a larger than expected milk iced chocolate (because Monsieur Poisson is not a big fan of dark chocolate, unlike me) which comes with a little square of Guylian chocolate for nibbling on.

And then comes our plate of petits fours which Monsieur Poisson has devised. As soon as you step in the store there is a display cabinet of these dainty creations for takeaway purchase, but because they had so captured our attention we wanted to try them in house. Monsieur Poisson chooses several and we are surprised when they are presented with the extra effort of chocolate and fruit gel decoration on the plate – thoughtful!

A choc fudge slice sprinkled with the finest trail of salt flakes. A passionfruit cake-let with a mini-syringe of raspberry sauce for injecting into the centre. A tiny tiramisu in a miniature chocolate teacup! And a bite-sized lemon meringue tart. Everything was so adorable and had Monsieur Poisson talking about Sugar Hits again – not long to go now!

Kenji

Opera Kitchen, Lower Concourse, Sydney Opera House NSW

Tel: 9247 0480

Guylian Café

Shop 10, Opera Quays, 3 Macquarie St (entrance on harbour foreshore next to Dendy Cinemas), Sydney NSW

Tel: 8274 7900

happy eating!

Gastro parK

Monsieur Poisson had, until recently, worked in a building which has a coffee kiosk in the foyer. He would usually stop in for coffee and sometimes raisin toast partway through the morning and would regularly chat to the owner/operator. One day, he and Coffee Guy were discussing where they liked to dine out when Coffee Guy handed him a business card saying it was for a new place where he knew quite a number of the staff. He urged Monsieur Poisson to try it and we made dinner arrangements there during a particularly busy period at work for me a couple of months ago. I had read very little about the place and was confused when online maps pointed to it being located at the site I associated with Blanco.

This newish baby of Grant King, ex-head chef of Pier, is intimate, cosy and tucked away from the, erm, bright lights of Darlinghurst Road. The service is friendly and I find it quite endearing that our waitress appears a tad nervous when serving us the complimentary bread when it doesn’t seem to want to leave the grasp of her cutlery-cum-tongs. I treat myself to a glass of Longbend sauvignon blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand which has tropical fruity notes, while admiring the squishy cutlery rests filled with pebbles suspended in a clear gel. (And, yes, I liked the wine so much that I bothered to have the name scribbled down for me so that I could remember it for future purposes.)

Gastro parK’s menu is brief but full of whimsy and playfulness. From the snacks section of the menu, we start with the ‘Putanesca wafer” and “Onion & mushroom macchiato, caramelised sweetbread”. The wafer is constructed from a framework of lacy grated parmesan which shatters easily and is a bit messy to eat, but a visual delight to admire being wedged into the crevice of a stone.

Monsieur Poisson is blown away by the flavour packed into the small glass of mushroom soup topped with sweet onion purée. The sweetbread has a sticky honey flavour to the outside and is presented skewered on a twig of rosemary.

We share an entrée of “Seared scallops, carrot tofu, Serrano ham, endive reduction, hazelnut” mainly due to Monsieur Poisson’s weakness for anything which makes mention of scallops. There are three scallops on the plate, of which one is encrusted in...I have no idea what, but its appearance resembles the coating on Cheezels! The carrot tofu looks like an orange-coloured panna cotta but tastes like carrot and nothing like tofu. I think at this point in time I started to lose my mind due to my eyes telling my brain to expect certain flavours and then they were anything but!

For mains, I’ve chosen the ‘Rangers valley beef fillet, sauté kale, onion soubise, caramelised veal sweetbreads’. The soft and juicy beef fillet features a thin, even crust and is flanked by onion purée akin to that in the macchiato as well as more sweetbreads. The kale is surprisingly crunchy with a texture like lettuce but served warm.

Monsieur Poisson has what has become Gastro parK’s signature dish – ‘Crispy scaled snapper, smoked potato purée, calamari crackling, ink sauce’. For starters there are the ink black components contrasted with the white plate, then there is the centrepiece of moist fish with an almost-bubbly layer of crispiness. Yes, those are real fish scales and not something else masquerading as. The calamari crackling is crisp like a light prawn cracker but a little oily on the fingers, and we still don’t know what those black little cylinders were!. This is the most fun dish of the evening and reminds us of dining at Restaurant Arras, especially when we are left guessing about the components.

Dessert is the shared ‘Pear & praline soufflé, Chantilly cream’. Soufflés are my default option to round off a meal as they’re light and also pretty to look at. If only we had the room to fit in a dessert each then we would have ordered the ‘Nitro pavlova’ as well!

I can quite confidently say this has been the most exciting meal of the year thus far. It was fun, relaxed and entertaining. Hey, even a certain Mr Durack gave them a 16/20 in his review.

Gastro parK

5-9 Roslyn St (corner Kellett Way), Potts Point NSW

Tel: 8068 1017

Opening Hours:  Sun & Mon  CLOSED

Tues-Thurs  6pm-10pm (dinner only)

Fri & Sat  12pm-2:30pm (lunch)

               6pm-10pm (dinner)

Le Chasseur giveaway winners

Thank you to those who took the time to enter this competition courtesy of Kitchenware Direct. Monsieur Poisson had the pleasure of reading all of your creative responses and has chosen the following one as the lucky winner:

Anonymous said...

Le Chasseur Nordic Square Grill Pan 25cm

This would be fantastic to own, grill steaks with the char lines, garlic bread with olive oil, vegetables etc. would be a great addition to the kitchen's cooking cupboard, the mrs will be happy :) cross fingers

10 July 2011 7:00 PM

Anonymous, I have sent you an email notifying you as the winner and someone from Kitchenware Direct will be contacting you soon regarding how to claim your chosen prize and to arrange for delivery. Congratulations, and I hope you enjoy creating some delicious meals!

Thank you once again Kitchenware Direct for their generous giveaway offer.

happy eating!

Hunter Escape: Leaves & Fishes

Leaves & Fishes came recommended to us by Dr King and Kiki after having eaten there several times when they’ve visited the Hunter Valley themselves. We stop in on our last day at the Hunter, via somewhat of a detour before heading home. It is a gorgeously sunny day which serves only to enhance the relaxed atmosphere of the covered deck dining area, decorated in country comfort accents and punctuated by bright flowers. There is only the sound of soft chatter amongst patrons and the surrounding lake to act as a backdrop. You definitely feel like you’re at someone’s house rather than at a restaurant.

We start with an entrée-sized ‘Deli plate of house made duck pâté, chicken pistachio terrine, vegetables and prosciutto’ to share. Tart caperberries and gherkins, sundried tomato segments, roasted beetroot wedges and sprigs of watercress are strewn around the cold meat elements of the plate as well as a roasted whole tomato. We are most impressed by the collection of crostini, grissini, toasted flatbread and lavosh presented alongside – the serve is so ample that we have pieces left over long after the contents of the deli plate have been consumed.

We appear to have gone a little overboard and have decided on two mains between us. The ‘Crispy whole fish with ginger, pea sprout salad and seared greens’ is a snapper in this case and rather sizeable. The fish has been dusted in a light coating of flour and chilli powder prior to being deep-fried. The salad and greens provide needed crunch and work well with the tangy, tart (tamarind?) sauce.

The ‘Malay barbecued chicken with corn fritters, pickled red cabbage and lime’ was ordered without knowing what Malay barbecued chicken was admittedly. We are presented with a tender half of a chicken, which has been flattened slightly, sitting atop three corn fritters and the lot dressed with a balanced sauce tasting of sweet chilli, saltiness, spiciness and a subtle nuttiness.

The menu is mixed in a very mod-Oz way, packing in lots of flavour influences. The tranquil, lazy atmosphere setting reminds me of sitting on a friend’s back porch and whiling away the time chatting about nothing in particular. Leaves & Fishes also has four boutique cabins around the back overlooking the lake as an accommodation option as well.

Leaves & Fishes

737 Lovedale Rd (between Majors Lane & Wilderness Rd), Lovedale NSW

Tel: (02) 4930 7400

Opening Hours:  Mon & Tues  CLOSED

Wed & Thurs  lunch only

Fri & Sat  lunch & dinner

Sun  lunch only

happy eating!

Hunter Escape: scones at Enzo

Located in a quaint little village of sandstone buildings, Enzo boasts sundrenched outdoor seating replete with shade umbrellas and a cute water fountain. Their breakfast and lunch menus both sound enticing but we are here with only one thing in mind – scones!

After hearing both Betty and Karen sing the praises of Enzo’s scones, it quickly got added to our Hunter Valley “itinerary” (food stops form part of the travel plans, okay?). I had strategically left room for scones after lunch at Firestick Café, whilst Monsieur Poisson just can’t resist another cup of coffee when we spot that familiar Campos logo emblazoned on some of Enzo’s shade umbrellas.

His cafe latte comes with a few cute teddy bear biscuits on the side but it’s Devonshire tea for me as I enjoy my scones with a cuppa. And the scones! They’re served warm dusted with icing sugar and have a thin, soft crust. They feather-light without being cakey, yet have a nice, soft crumb. Plenty of whipped cream and berry jam are served alongside and we agree that these are the best scones we’ve ever had.

We didn’t get a chance to sample any of their breakfast or lunch fare during this trip unfortunately but, um, anyone fancy a drive up to the Hunter? Perhaps for some scones as well?

Enzo

Peppers Creek Winery, corner Broke Rd & Ekerts Rd, Pokolbin NSW

Tel: (02) 4998 7233

Opening Hours:  7 days  open from 9am for breakfast and lunch

(Not sure what time they close, but we sat down for scones at around 3pm and at no stage were we rushed to leave.)

Hunter Escape: Firestick Café

When Monsieur Poisson and I have holidayed at the Hunter Valley, we don’t go out at night. Partly because we tend to visit early- to mid-week when there’s nothing open at night time, and partly because it’s incredibly dark at night and driving on both sealed and unsealed roads can be rather hazardous. Hence us never having visited Rock Restaurant, the region’s only hatted restaurant and a 2-hat status for three years running at that.

So discovering that Rock Restaurant morphed into the more relaxed Firestick Café during the day meant that we were still able to sample the kitchen’s food. Unfortunately both Rock and Firestick have since closed at the end of May 2011, although the Pooles Rock winery continues to operate, so we will not be able to drop in again on subsequent visits. The quality of the food was great and, seriously, how many cafés serve you an amuse bouche?

The little appetite-teaser of ‘Beetroot Lyonnaise with labne on sourdough’ was definitely an unexpected touch. As we were saving room for scones later in the afternoon, Monsieur Poisson and I ordered a small (most dishes were offered in two sizes) portion of ‘Grilled sirloin with wilted spinach, red wine jus, café de Paris butter and hand cut chips’ to share along with a ‘Pizza of confit pork belly, braised red cabbage and pear relish’.

The steak was cooked well and the red wine jus glossy and rich which we mopped up with the chips. The pizza had a light, crisp base with thin pork belly slices whose fat was perfectly cut by the red cabbage. Monsieur Poisson couldn’t resist ordering the ‘Apple and blueberry crumble’ when he spotted it on the menu (big apple crumble fan here), whilst I defaulted to my usual coffee/dessert combination of an affogato.

Firestick Café had decent prices although I’ve heard Rock was much more upmarket. Regardless of the reasons for which they closed, it will be interesting to see if there is a new venture down the line.

Firestick Café – CLOSED

Pooles Rock Winery, 576 Debeyers Rd (near corner McDonalds Rd), Pokolbin NSW

happy eating!

Hunter Escape: Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop

What’s in a name?

The Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop, situated on the grounds of the Tempus Two Winery, definitely has a distinct and whimsical name to boast about. It has a vast array of cheeses yet is so much more than a specialist cheese shop. They’re well-stocked with gourmet cooking ingredients and, apart from their cheese and deli meats display, are also in possession of a cheese room, a cured meats room, as well as a gelato bar.

Taste-testing of their cheeses is welcome and we settle on a wedge each of King Island smoked cheddar (which we later discover is available pre-packaged at our local supermarket) and the in-house Smelly Cheese Shop single brie alongside some sopressa salami and crackers for dinner. But before we leave we must, of course, sample their gelato.

Now that, my friends, is not a miniature cone sitting beneath standard scoops of ice-cream. Rather, it is a normal-sized cone being completely dwarfed by two huge/humungous/ginormous/mutant-sized scoops of gelato as large as Monsieur Poisson’s fist for the bargain price of $6.50. For the purposes of research and variety, we decide to try two flavours but never expected quite such generous scoops! Two separate groups of people walking past us said, “Look at the size of that ice-cream!” Yes, looky indeed.

Now, quantity is nothing if there isn’t equivalent quality to back it up. I’m happy to say that the coffee crunch and pistachio flavours were both exceptional. Neither possessed lurid colouring and both were delicately smooth. And, although this may sound stupid, the pistachio gelato had plenty of nutty pistachio flavour instead of that sometimes almond essence/marzipan taste. Needless to say we struggled to get through the gelato but did triumph in the end following a slow and extended battle. Following that a dinner of savoury cheeses and salami was most welcome.

Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop

Tempus Two Winery, Hall 1, 2144 Broke Rd (corner McDonalds Rd), Pokolbin NSW

Tel: (02) 4998 6713

Opening Hours:  Mon-Fri  10am-5pm

Sat & Sun  10am-6pm

happy eating!

Don’t forget to enter the Le Chasseur product giveaway courtesy of Kitchenware Direct!

Leave a comment at the end of the post and remember to send an email to mademoiselledelicieuse@gmail.com as well, with the subject line of “Le Chasseur” and include your full name as well as a copy of your comment in the body of the email. (Some entries so far have yet to send me an email – I need this so I can contact you to let you know you’ve won!) Entries close Friday 15 July 2011.

Guest blogging for The Galeries

When this blog was started close to two years ago – out of a combination of self-indulgence, the want for yet another hobby, and the need for a welcome distraction – I honestly didn’t expect it to provide the opportunities of meeting many lovely, like-minded people nor the fun (fun, fun!) times and laughter we would share together.

Nor did I ever expect an opportunity such as where I was recently invited by FOLKE to guest blog about dining at Dome Restaurant, Arthouse Hotel, for The Galeries and their newsletter. The post is now up on the EAT/DRINK section of The Galeries site and, if you care to indulge me and read it, you can swing by here to do so.

happy eating!

Le Chasseur giveaway from Kitchenware Direct

There has been a distinct chill in the air during weeks of late and winter is well and truly upon us with crisp mornings and short daylight hours. While the middle of the day may be pleasant enough with winter sun (that is, when it’s not bucketing down with rain or blowing gale-force winds), the nights are definitively cold and there’s nothing quite like having something warming for dinner to comfort yourself from the inside out. Think stews, braises, casseroles, soups, risottos...the list goes on and on. And thanks to the lovely people at Kitchenware Direct, you get the chance to win a Le Chasseur product to create some warming food for yourself!

images from Kitchenware Direct

Le Chasseur is famous for its enamel-coated cast iron cookware handmade in France. Their range includes roasting pans, grill pans and, of course, French ovens in a variety of colours to suit your kitchen décor. Just looking at some of colourful items above is enough to bring cheer on a dreary winter’s day.

Kitchenware Direct are giving away a Le Chasseur product up to the value of $150 from their site to one lucky Spoon, Fork & Chopsticks reader. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what Le Chasseur product you would choose if you won and what you would cook in it, then send an email to mademoiselledelicieuse@gmail.com with the subject line of “Le Chasseur” and include your full name as well as a copy of your comment in the body of the email. Entries close Friday 15 July 2011 at 11pm Australian Eastern Standard time and are open to Australian residents only. The winning entrant will be chosen by Monsieur Poisson (AKA the Husband, AKA the one who doesn’t cook) based on originality and entertainment value and will be published here in a future post, so make sure you stay tuned! Any rude/profane/offensive entries will be deleted and excluded from the competition.

Seriously, if I could enter I would so don’t pass up this opportunity and get cracking!

Terms & conditions:

1. The winner will receive one Le Chasseur product of their choice up to the value of $150 from the Kitchenware Direct website. The value difference between $150 and the chosen product will not be refunded.
2. The item chosen must be in stock.
3. The winner will be contacted by Kitchenware Direct to arrange delivery details.

good luck!