My most memorable meal of 2010: Restaurant Arras

There are many reasons why a meal can be memorable – both good and bad – be it due to the food, the surrounds, the service, the company, the conversation, the occasion, or a combination of all of these things and more. Our meal at Restaurant Arras with the usual suspects was memorable because it came a mere few weeks after my wedding to Monsieur Poisson and it had felt like forever since we’d had the time to partake in a social outing with friends. It was also my first degustation (yes, that cherry took some time to pop), lasted close to 5 hours, and did not disappoint with its delicious and beautifully presented food with their whimsical names. Oh, and then there’s their infamous petits fours tray…

We step into the restaurant just after 7pm, having all found parking close by outside. We are introduced to a bowl of bread crisps, house made and of various flavours including fennel seed, poppy seed and caraway seed, sitting in a rubble of crushed peanut candy at the bottom of the bowl. The peanut candy is slightly salted and has Kiki ruminating about its similarities to Crunchy Nut Cornflakes.

We all decide on having the degustation and ordering duties for a bottle of red wine are passed over to Dr King as per usual. Warm bread rolls are served – white sourdough for Monsieur Poisson and a hedgehog-shaped garlic roll for myself. The garlic roll is fragrant but mellow in flavour and perfect with the oh-so-smooth butter.

We are next presented with an amuse bouche of deconstructed carrot cake. There is a salty-sweet carrot purée, cubes of sweet carrot cake and what we think are thin shavings of pickled radish and pickled carrot. Decorated with baby cress, the flavours and textures have me a little confused because I keep wanting to think of it as a sweet dish. It does, however, lead perfectly into the first degustation course.

‘The Raw and the Cooked’ is a pretty palette of garden colours arranged on a glass platter. Dollops of carrot purée from the amuse bouche feature alongside a crunchy, paper-thin, dried beetroot slice centrepiece as well as pickled vegetables and edible flowers. It is delightfully refreshing.

‘Smoked, roast and dressed’ has a flaky sardine fillet resting against a well-seared scallop sitting atop what we think are squiggles of celeriac purée. The disc of fennel balanced on top like a hat, as well as the tiny balls of cucumber and peanuts offer crunchy contrast.

My favourite dish of the evening is the ‘Quinoa Kedgeree’ which, traditionally made with rice, is subtly spiced and chewy-ish through its use of quinoa instead. Luxuriously smooth and smokily fragrant eel is used in place of the usual smoked fish, with soft-centred quail eggs finishing off the dish.

  

‘Birds of a Feather’ is a three-layered chicken terrine with a swipe of sweet pumpkin purée which reminds us of gingerbread through its notes of spice. A few mead-soaked raisins are scattered about and, although I’m not a fan of raisins generally, these are definitely not squishy in texture and offer complementary flavours when each component of the dish is eaten in conjunction with the others.

Blushing pink duck breasts are the focus of ‘St. Clements Duck’ with foie gras soufflé to one side in the guise of a fish finger. Carrot mash flanks the other side as well as some unidentified white vegetable dice. A stripe of duck jus forms the bottom border.

The final main dish is ‘Slow Cooked Lamb, Lavender and Honey Sweetbreads’. The lamb is soft and tender with a subtly lavender infused sauce drizzled around the plate. With a small mound of spinach to one corner, what surprisingly captures me are the honeyed and deep-fried sweetbreads. A conversation ensues about sweetbreads and I recall where I first most unexpectedly heard of them – in the movie ‘Red Dragon’ when Hannibal Lecter pulls out a copy of Larousse Gastronomique from his bookshelf.

By dessert time our stomachs are heaving from the main courses, but the pre-dessert has me cooing in delight. It is a donut with a raspberry centre, two yin-yang swirls of rich chocolate ganache, raspberry purée and what we think is a white chocolate ice-cream. It is the most generous pre-dessert I’ve had to date.

And then comes the playful ‘An Adolescent Breakfast’. I am sad to see that atop the peanutty cereal crumbs that the Chantilly cream is no longer presented in a cute toothpaste tube. Our waiter tells us that they had run out and were awaiting to be supplied more at the time. The chocolate caramel slice has a centre much like an Aero bar and the glass holds a quenelle of milk sorbet sitting on cereal crumbs. The dessert is light and not cloying in any way.

The meal ends on a high note with coffee and tea being accompanied by a petits fours tray where diners are allowed to choose as many or few as their hearts desire. The petits fours tray is impressive with its variety and is a veritable lolly shop on a large slate slab. Our waiter has the unenviable job of knowing what each and every sweet is and is able to repeat them at random when we are overwhelmed with choice. We are afforded a square slate tile each to house our selection until I proclaim I want “one of each, please” bar two from the blackberry jelly, nut truffle, flumph (?), peanut brittle, chocolate truffles, fudge, coconut ice, honeycomb, peach jelly, jam sandwich biscuit… *inhale*… and others on offer. It is somewhat embarrassing when I hear our waiter telling another staff member, "We'll need another tile here". However I do proudly eat most of the ones I've horded, except for the last few which I am only capable of nibbling on halves. My only advice is to allow room for these small beauties and to eat the honeycomb first, otherwise it will soften and become sticky from moisture.

A truly wonderful meal which set the bar high for future degustations and, although the menu will sure to have changed, it is a meal we speak of fondly which spurs the urge to return for more.

Restaurant Arras

24 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay NSW

Tel: (02) 9252 6285

*NOTE*: Restaurant Arras has closed as of mid-2011, but will be reopening at Clarence St in September/October 2011.

Opening Hours:  Sun & Mon  CLOSED

                        Tues-Thurs  6pm-10pm (dinner only)

                        Fri  12pm-2:30pm (lunch)

                              6pm-10pm (dinner)

Sat  6pm-10pm (dinner only)

happy eating!

2010: A reflection of what I have learnt

The past year has proven to be a busy ride punctuated by fun times, learning experiences and many delicious moments. For example, I learnt from just last night that if you stay up late playing mahjong whilst drinking sake with friends that you will then wake up rather late and start wondering whether you’ll get a blog post done in time… Good friends, laughter and being entertained by such things as a black helicopter with “turbo boost”, however, are always definitely worth it.

Over the course of the year I have also learnt:

1. Personal cooking challenges are easily set but not so easily completed on time due to such constraints as starting a new job, planning a wedding and general mischievousness. A kind request for a recipe contribution can always be accommodated though.

2. A simple food such as an aubergine can provide much hilarity.
3. People preparing food need to pay more attention to food presentation, and perhaps those consuming it need to keep their thoughts entirely innocent. 

4. I do not shy away from invitations to sing in public – even when the audience is a crowd of food-bloggers whom I’ve largely not met and who are dressed up in not their usual attire.
5. Food-bloggers are exceptionally talented people who are capable of making you not only drool over their photography and food descriptions, but also their creations. Quite literally.

6. The dismembering of some animals can be an enjoyment to watch. 

7. There are lucky ones in this world who can pull off wearing short skirts. Repeatedly.
8. Celebrating your blog’s birthday, your husband’s, or your own are all valid excuses to indulge in a special meal. 

9. Breaking your own sugar (hits) consumption record is something to be proud of! 

10. Good friends will bring you quirky gifts from their travels. Even better when they are food or food-related.  

Hopefully you’ve been rewarded by your experiences this past year and have many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for lovely people who take time during their day to read my ramblings here and often leave kind words. I am also most thankful for good friends who act as my surrogate family and who come to my aid when I most need them. These are the people for whom I will continue to express my gratitude through food.

happy new year & (more) happy eating!

Spain meets Japan with Izakaya Dining: Japaz, 5 Oct 2010

The month-long Sydney International Food Festival features many dining events as well as cooking classes, food tours and street fairs, but over the years Monsieur Poisson and I seem to have only ever partaken in Sugar Hits and the Night Noodle Markets. So when we were presented with a hugely discounted offer to dine at Japaz as food-blogging friends of one hungry.digital.elf, we promptly seized the chance to try out this restaurant specialising in Japanese-Spanish fusion cuisine located within our local vicinity.

Tucked just around the corner from traffic-heavy Military Road, Japaz is a small restaurant with a warm, rustic interior of dark wood notes and exposed brick walls. We walk in to find we are seated next to Penguin Says Feed Me! and Sir D for the evening as well as being in close proximity of other food-photo-taking individuals. These shenanigans seem to have the couple at the table on our other side quite bemused and I catch their gaze constantly being thrown in our direction. At one stage I even hear the gentleman at the table say, “Oh, they can’t eat yet until they’ve taken their photos!” Quite a correct observation indeed.

On the menu is an eight-course meal created especially for this event accompanied by five matching sakes. However upon consulting the printed menu provided, we discover there are actually six sakes on offer with one making two appearances – served cold then hot – including a cloudy variety which has been used in a sake sangria.

The sangria served in flute glasses is light and fizzy from the addition of lemonade with green apple and orange bits floating about as well as what appears to be shredded basil. It’s sweet and girly and makes the perfect summer cocktail. This has been paired with the ‘Gaspacho with Soumen Noodle’, which sees a twirl of thin slippery noodles covered with refreshing raw tomato soup anointed with a drizzle of herb oil and a clove of black garlic. The garlic is earthy and sweet, although a little hard to mash up with the small fork in the martini glass, and adds a mellow garlic flavour without the usual edge.

This is followed up by ‘Sashimi of lobster with crushed Spanish Gordal olives & tomato seed dressing’. A base of lobster sashimi is topped with chopped mild green olives and topped with a chopped tomato and shaved onion salad. The onion appears to have been soused in something beforehand as its usual in-your-face bite has been completely mellowed but its texture retained to contrast that of the lobster. My only complaint? More lobster please!

The lobster is paired with a sake that I describe to Monsieur Poisson as tasting like ‘man’ as it seems quite oaky and musty to me. Around this time some sourdough bread appears alongside some grassy green olive oil for dipping, and I take some to mop up the dressing from the lobster. The next course of ‘Pâté de foie gras with roasted beetroot & orange dressed with 12 year Spanish muscatel vinegar on pan con tomate’ comes with its own baton of toasted bread replete with diagonal charred grill marks resting on several cubes of beetroot sweet and mellow from their roasting. A pod of broad beans sits alongside.

The accompanying sake for the pâté I find tastes like a strong spirit on its own, however it does help to cut through the fattiness of the pâté. The next sake paired with the ‘Twice-cooked pork belly with jamon Iberico, truffle sand & asparagus, warm melon sauce’ I like much better with its apple-y spicy flavours. The fruitiness of the sake ties in with the sweet nubbins of rockmelon in the dish which taste quite sweet on their own, but are a perfect match for the pork belly ‘sandwich’ with salty jamon and truffle filling.

The sourdough bread comes in handy for soaking up some of the melon sauce and pork belly juices before we are presented with the ‘Roast duck breast with escalivada, ginger miso sauce’. Sliced perfectly pink duck breast sits on a bed of grilled capsicum and eggplant (aubergine!) before being enrobed in a thick ginger miso sauce. It is pleasantly not as salty as I expect but a bit heavy on the ginger, although I may be biased here as I’m not a big fan of strong ginger flavours.

Our final meat course is ‘Grilled Wagyu beef, reduction of Pedro Ximnez and ponzu sauce’. The meat is soft and cooked to a medium while being surrounded by a thick, sweet and sticky, spicy glaze. What it is sitting on causes a bit of confusion – we are variously told it is ponzu (perhaps they meant yuzu?) or daikon mixed with seaweed and chilli. It has a mildly tart taste with a hint of spiciness with the texture of citrus pulp. The accompanying sake is a warmed version of the one paired with the lobster and the change in temperature makes its flavours much bolder.

Before dessert is served there is a cheese platter of ‘Cabra Rulo & Manchego’ with sliced pear and dates. The former is a goat’s cheese which has been grilled. It is crumbly in texture and quite strong for my uninitiated palate. The Manchego is a slightly rubbery sheep’s milk cheese much milder in flavour, but I struggle to finish either as I find cheese to be quite filling, especially at the end of a meal.

We come full circle with the presentation of dessert in martini glasses. It is described to us as ‘Liquid biscuit with strawberry coulis and brandy ice-cream’. The layered dessert has a quenelle of ice-cream in a pool of coulis which is sitting atop a base of what we assume is the ‘liquid biscuit’ component. It tastes like a mildy-spiced biscuit which has been blitzed then liquefied but there is no way we would have picked this had we not been told beforehand! Monsieur Poisson rounds of his meal with a caffe latte served in a most retro-style cup along with irregular cubes of white sugar.

I have very little experience with consuming sake, so it was a great chance to get to try different varieties in the one evening. Apart from being able to compare and contrast the sakes, it was also of course an enjoyable evening of Spanish food served with a Japanese twist. Thank you to Chef Hiro for his kindly discounted offer and hospitality, as well as his generous gift of a bottle of sweet muscat vinegar at the end of the evening. We will be returning soon to sample the standard menu.

Japaz

165 Wycombe Rd (near cnr Military Rd), Neutral Bay NSW

Tel: (02) 9904 0688

Opening Hours:  Mon-Sat  6pm til late (dinner only)

                        Sunday  CLOSED

happy eating!

Birthdays Part 1: Tetsuya’s, 26 August 2010

spoon, fork & chopsticks is one year old! I’m actually a couple of days late (due to such annoying things as allergies and sinusitis) and as there are no special celebrations in store, I’ve decided to share a series of birthday-related meals instead. The husband’s birthday and mine are a mere eight days apart. That combined with multiple friends’ birthdays on the days in between and on either side makes for a lot of gluttony in the name of celebration. I turned much older than the age of this here wee blog a little over two weeks ago and my husband, the ever-thoughtful Monsieur Poisson, had arranged to take me to the world-renowned Sydney institution of culinary experience known as Tetsuya’s. He made the table reservation four months in advance, although we’re not sure that’s actually required given that we were dining on a weeknight. He tells me that he just happened to be thinking of my birthday at the time. Our dinner was not long before the announcement of the loss of a Chef’s Hat but this is likely to have negligible impact for us general eating crowd – the magic of Tetsuya’s will always be Tetsuya’s.

Tetsuya’s has been high on my to-eats list for years. I remember when Ms London left for her overseas sojourn, which has now become a permanent affair, that her first return trip to Sydney involved a meal at Tetsuya’s organised by a lovely friend of hers months prior to the event. I remember seeing photos and being completely mesmerised – she even managed to score a photo with the man himself! Many years have since passed and there have been numerous other photos admired from meals recounted at Tetsuya’s that there is a definite fairy tale aura surrounding this serene, modern restaurant overlooking an internal Japanese garden in the heart of the city.

It is a wild and windy evening in Sydney and we are the first table to arrive in our dining area. We are given a brief introduction to the menu, asked if we have any food allergies or aversions (no, and no), issues with meat cooked medium to medium-rare (no) and asked whether the meal is for a special occasion (my birthday). I enjoy a Perry Street cocktail made of cinnamon vodka, pear and peach juices whilst Monsieur Poisson and I joke about whether we should have mentioned his dislike of cucumber to the waiter. Funnily enough, about half an hour later, when another table arrives and are given the welcoming spiel, we hear the gentleman at the table quite emphatically state that he does not eat cucumber. This caused the husband and I giggles to no end!

We are treated to a suitably wintery amuse bouche of ‘Chestnut soup with roast chestnut cream’. Naturally sweet and nutty, even Monsieur Poisson who’s not a massive fan of chestnuts falls in love with this velvety smooth soup embodied in an espresso cup.

Then it’s a choice of either sourdough or Italian white bread rolls with Tetsuya’s famed truffle butter made with parmiagiano reggiano for added pungency and ricotta for a fluffy lightness. We both choose the sourdough but Monsieur Poisson loves the butter so much that he follows it up with an Italian white roll as well. And what’s not to love about it – the butter is pungent, and earthy, and salty, and smooth, and light and oh-so tasty!

Monsieur Poisson has an added course of oysters for a mere $9 extra only. I give them a miss as, although I do eat oysters, I feel they’re a bit wasted on me at times as I don’t always appreciate their taste and texture. They’re exceptionally good value though, being round and plump and submerged in a delicate broth of ginger and rice vinegar.

The official first course is ‘Hiramasa kingfish with seasoned black bean and orange zest’. Although there’s very little detectable orange zest, with the black bean flavours being also very, very mild, the dominant taste is that of a slightly sweetened soy sauce punctuated by aromas of finely sliced spring onion and micro herbs. We both agree that the soy mixture reminds us of that which accompanies Chinese steamed fish and once we’re done devouring the slices of firm, bouncy kingfish sashimi, we’re left wanting some rice to slurp up the more-ish soy remaining on the plate. And the plates – the subsequent courses are served on white crockery but these first two remind us of the ones used at Koi.

The next course of ‘Scampi tails with jus, curds and goat's cheese’ doesn’t look terribly impressive on the plate. Arranged somewhat like a short terrine, there are sweet scampi tails – scampi being one of Monsieur Poisson’s absolute favourite things – sitting on a bed of the softest, silkiest tofu curds imaginable with the whole lot topped with three small dollops of a very mild goat’s cheese and finished with a jus that tastes like an uncreamy bisque yet still manages to pack a lot of punch. Goat’s cheese is very divisive amongst my friends, I believe mostly due to its pungency. Weirdo loves it because he can ‘taste the farm’ from whence the cheese came, while Ms Sourdough simply claims that it tastes like goat – and not in a flattering way either.

Next we are presented with what is often described as the world’s most photographed dish – ‘Confit petuna ocean trout crusted with konbu and chives, served with apple celery salad and unpasteurised trout roe’. Much in contrast to the previous course, this dish really is something beautiful to look at with the coral hues of the trout and roe contrasting with the crisp green of the apple and celery, and the dark konbu chive ‘crust’ resembling crispy fish skin. Taste and texture-wise there is the salty smokiness of the konbu against the sweetness of the soft trout and the slightly tart crunch of the apple celery salad. Roe always provides fun through salty popping mini-spheres in the mouth. If you’re interested in recreating this masterpiece at home, then you need to take a look at this.

The last of our seafood dishes is the ‘Barramundi with garlic purée and globe artichoke’. The piece of fish is small and delicate and, we deduce, hard to cook well due to its small size. The garlic purée is light and creamy and I greedily want something crispy to dip into it. A side salad of greens was served along with the preceding dish and we are thankful for some refreshing crunch against all the array of flavours provided by these other dishes.

The first of the meat courses, ‘Slow-braised wagyu ox tail with sea cucumber and yuzu’, has Monsieur Poisson a little undecided. He loves slow-cooked beef cheeks and ox tail but has never been a fan of sea cucumber. I, on the other hand, love sea cucumber even when it’s been stewed Chinese-style in oyster sauce so it’s an absolute pleasure to see it at Tetsuya’s as two spongy gelatinous discs perched atop a few chunks of richly-flavoured tender oxtail. The subtle yuzu flavour offers respite from an otherwise rich and sticky dish.

The next meat dish is ‘Slow-roasted duck breast with leeks, onion purée and sansho’. The sansho has been liberally rubbed on the skin and lends a lovely peppery flavour although I do find the flesh a little rarer than what I’m used to with duck. The roasted leek and onion pureée complement each other well.

The final meat course and the last of the dishes before dessert is ‘Grass-fed black angus with swiss brown mushrooms, potato cream and porcini jus’. If only steak and mash with mushroom sauce was always as good as this! Tender beef sitting on a smooth and creamy dollop of potato with mushrooms hidden in between and a mushroomy broth that you just want to mop up with more bread.

And then it’s dessert time! And multiple courses of it too, starting with ‘Pear sorbet with walnut, and Tetsuya's bread and butter pudding’. The pear sorbet is smooth and refreshing, with half in the shot glass topped with walnuts and another quenelle perched atop. The bread and butter pudding is more like a crème brûlée studded with spiced bread bits and sultanas but is thankfully not overly rich.

The next dessert is unusual yet familiar to Asian cultures through its use of beans. Although we’re used to seeing azuki, mung beans and black beans, the cannellini beans in this ‘Sweetened cannellini beans with soy caramel and mascarpone mousse’ are actually quite similar in texture. Monsieur Poisson isn’t sure about them being in a dessert but I quite like their sweet nuttiness and contrast with the smoothness of the light soy caramel and fluffy mascarpone mousse.

Because we mentioned that the dinner is for my birthday, Monsieur Poisson and I receive different desserts. His is the standard menu item of ‘Chocolate pavé with cream cheese ice-cream, chocolate soil and cinnamon twigs’. Although, of course, standard is not apt in describing any of the food here. The chocolate pave is filled with a milk chocolate mousse-type centre sitting on a thin foundation of sponge and topped with a thin layer of cream before being enrobed in a dark chocolate jelly-like layer. From appearance, what we expect to be a rich chocolate ganache outer, turns out to be more like an Asian agar set dessert layer.

For me and so many others also celebrating their birthdays that evening (and yes, it did feel a little odd knowing other people in the same confines shared their birthday with me!), we received the alternate dessert of ‘Chocolate hazelnut fondant’. Soft and gooey, it was decorated with a few salt flakes on top, a couple of slicks of chocolate sauce around it and some cocoa dusted hazelnuts. Oh, and don’t forget the candle.

As if this wasn’t enough food, we round off our meal with a caffe latte for the husband and a pot of Earl Grey tea for myself. A plate of pretty, pastel-hued macarons arrives on the table and a big smile spreads across my face. We start with the pink rosewater ones, move onto the chewier green pistachio ones and finish with the chocolate ones. They are incredibly light, being sandwiched with a cream centre rather than ganache. Actually, the whole meal has us marvelling at how light everything is. As opposed to other meals with rich sauces that leave you happily clutching your belly afterwards, Tetsuya’s achieves a level of satisfaction that doesn’t leave you groaning from over-indulgence.

Our meal lasted around four hours but the courses were very evenly paced with not much of a wait in between. The intervals between the meat courses were a bit longer, possibly due to an influx of coinciding table bookings, but this was quite welcome and gave us time to appreciate as well as digest the food before more appeared. We had a selection of waitstaff looking after our table that evening but all were very well-versed in what was being served and most polite. They were very obliging when it came to taking photographs for diners and mindful of not blinding others with camera flashes in the process. I also received a copy of the menu as a birthday memento.

Tetsuya’s

529 Kent St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9267 2900

Opening Hours:  Sun & Mon  CLOSED

                        Tues-Fri  dinner from 6pm (dinner only)

Sat  lunch from 12pm

       dinner from 6pm

happy eating!