Lazy weekends of brunch and afternoon tea

Everyone has their own daily stressors to deal with and, when we manage to steal ourselves collectively away from them, more often than not the important women in my life will gather around to dissect and analyse life over cups of tea or coffee and plates of food.

We especially love afternoon tea, for it is the experience as much as the food – afternoon teas are always offered in such calming surroundings – that makes it so enjoyable. The physical act of making tea – steeping, pouring, stirring – is therapeutic in itself, and sets the atmosphere for the languid conversation which follows.

An afternoon tea enjoyed months ago at The Gallery Tea Lounge of Sheraton on the Park, was preceded by a shared club sandwich. (Club sandwiches are such a delight at hotels.) Savouries were bite-sized and tasty, but the scones were disappointingly dense and powdery. The top tier of petits fours entirely redeemed this whilst some of the handmade chocolates were rather intense in flavour.

High tea at Atlantis Seafood Restaurant

It’s funny how you can pass through the same area for years and not actually notice the specifics of what is there. I have been along the section of road where Atlantis Seafood is located a countless number of times and yet have never known that a restaurant there even existed. As part of the Quest Serviced Apartments complex, underground parking is available for overnight guests as well as diners via a down ramp which isn’t signposted but buzz the intercom to reception and you will automatically be allowed entry.

The husband and I are here to try out their high tea through a Groupon deal – only $35 for two – which is normally priced at $29 per person ($36 for sparkling high tea, or $45 with a glass of champagne). We’re not usually subscribers to group-buying deals because the husband’s previous rotational work schedule made it difficult for us to forecast too far ahead our availability to comply with validity periods. Besides, often the deals offer only a restricted sampling of an establishment’s menu when we prefer to have the freedom to sample from a greater range.

Sugar Hit 2011: Shangri-La

In recent years, the description of Sugar Hit desserts at some venues has become increasingly mysterious. “Your choice from our dessert menu” or “As uniquely designed by our pastry chef” don’t offer any insights for diners who are trying to decide where to go. If you want to grab people’s attention then you really need to advertise what’s on offer.

However curiosity got the better of Monsieur Poisson and I with Shangri-La’s Sugar Hit billed as ‘Indulge in a specially designed dessert’. We’ve had good experiences there in years past – well, perhaps not so much last year – and thought we’d take a leap of faith into the unknown. We later discover through the hotel’s dining website that the Sugar Hit is a ‘chocolate tapas plate’ and that they are being offered from 7pm each evening instead of the usual 9pm. Something to note for those wanting to attempt a Sugar Hit crawl.

The Sugar Hit is presented as a platter of six miniature desserts – chocolate bavarois, whisky candy bar, chocolate and cherry tart, pistachio slice, gâteau opéra and macaron – along with a glass of Brown Brothers Cienna with berry notes which work most well with chocolate flavours. The serving is most certainly sizeable and, we discover, comprised of a selection of desserts offered as part of Shangri-La’s chocolate high tea which takes place from 1-5pm on weekends.

I start with the pistachio slice as I expect it to be the least sweet. Its green foundation of pistachio sponge upholds a white chocolate and rice pudding bavarois and green pistachio glaze. Whilst the flavours are subtle and not overly sugary, I am a little put off by the greenness and the little bits of rice. I am biased, however, as admittedly I am not a fan of rice pudding to start with.

The lemon and white chocolate macaron is much less sugary than I expect and fragrant with lemon flavour. It has a pleasant chewy texture and marshmallow-like filling. The chocolate cherry tart in comparison is much heavier with its thick chocolate filling but the slightly tart cherry offers some relief.

The chocolate bavarois turns out to be my favourite with its smooth, mousse-like chocolate filling bound by jaconde sponge. The mini-pipette of raspberry coulis adds a bit of fun but the dessert is complete in taste even without its inclusion.

We find the gâteau opera a little dry, perhaps from sitting in the chilled display cabinet, but it does have a balance of chocolate versus coffee flavours. The whisky candy bar is saved until last due to its perceived richness but surprises us by being only rich in texture, and not too sweet in taste fortunately. A few chocolate-coated rice krispies adorn the top of a chocolate fudge square which sits on a rice crispy base with texture a lot like a Crunch bar. The chocolate has a hint of bitterness with a note of warmth at the end from the whisky, but it's the crispy base which wins me over.

Definitely a Sugar Hit which delivers good value but I still long for the days when the bulk of venues would offer up a dessert designed exclusively for Sugar Hit purposes only.

Shangri-La

176 Cumberland St, The Rocks, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9250 6123

happy eating!

Sugar Hit 2011: Sydney Harbour Marriott & InterContinental

October has come around once again and, apart from Christmas paraphernalia popping up in department stores (some since early September!), it also means the Crave Sydney International Food Festival is upon us. For Monsieur Poisson and I it means another year of Sugar Hit desserts, but we have both promised ourselves to take things a little easier than last year where we racked up a mammoth ten Sugar Hits – our most ever!

Sugar Hit desserts are offered at participating venues throughout October with a glass of Brown Brothers dessert wine for $20 from 9-11pm – some only on certain nights of the week so make sure you check before rocking up.

Sydney Harbour Marriott

Although we don’t spot anyone having the Sugar Hit when we arrive at 9pm, we were told when making our reservation that it would be a full house that night. The thing to take note of is that places often have a limited number of desserts prepared for each night and that once they’re sold out then that’s it.

The Sugar Hit here is billed as ‘A chocolate tasting including milk chocolate and hazelnut tower, white chocolate mousse and rich mud cake’. The ‘tower’ appears not so much as a tower as a slice of gelatine-set mousse on a chocolate brownie base and adorned with a puffed rice crunch. The white chocolate mousse is smooth and not overly rich nor creamy. Supported by a thin disc of sponge underneath, it is bound by a dark chocolate woven “basket” which has echoes of last year’s Shangri-La Sugar Hit. The mud cake is rich and dense but the least sugary of the three components, and rounds off the chocolate theme nicely. Served with a glass of Brown Brothers Moscato, the overall presentation of this Sugar Hit has me thinking of portions of desserts from a hotel buffet assembled together on a plate. The swirls decorating the plate are a plus point however, being raspberry coulis rather than a flavoured gel.

I’ve ordered a pot of Earl Grey on the side which, at only $5.50, is the popular hotel choice of Ronnefeldt and is elaborately presented on a silver tray with milk, honey, rock sugar and two bite-sized coconut cookies!

InterContinental

Sugar Hits at the InterContinental have consistently impressed both Monsieur Poisson and myself so we keep coming back year after year. It’s a popular choice as we spot two medium-sized groups of Sugar Hit goers as we are taken to our seats. When the dessert is placed down in front of us, we notice it is very similar in composition and presentation to last year’s.

The description of ‘Home-made pistachio and bitter chocolate vacherin with blood orange custard’ doesn’t actually prepare me for the elaborate layered chocolate slice with which we’re presented. Interspersed with windows of blood orange jelly and custard, the chocolate slice is flanked by a blood orange, chocolate ganache macaron perched on a strip of fruit jelly. I don’t detect any discernible pistachio, meringue, nor bitterness about the chocolate, however the whole dessert comes together well as a subtle and balanced interpretation of the classic jaffa flavour combination. No in-your-face orange here.

As for taking it easier this year, Monsieur Poisson and I have decided to share a Sugar Hit at each place we visit rather than consuming one each. This doesn’t stop him from ordering an affogato though!

Sydney Harbour Marriott

30 Pitt St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9259 7279

InterContinental Sydney

117 Macquarie St (entrance cnr of Bridge St & Phillip St), Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9240 1396

happy eating!

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!

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!

Sugar Hit: Glass Brasserie & Azuma Kushiyaki, 1 Oct 2010

October means for Monsieur Poisson and I what used to be known as Good Food Month. For the past couple of years revamped as Sydney International Food Festival, it remains our favourite way to indulge our sweet tooths in special Sugar Hit dessert menus and it also happens to be how we started dating. Our shared love of food is one of the things which brought us together and, well, when first dating you don’t have to worry about not having anything to say if you’re simultaneously stuffing your faces with food!

As per previous years, Sugar Hit desserts are offered at participating venues throughout October with a glass of dessert wine for $20 from 9-11pm. This year’s program sees the disappearance of quite a few hotels which have featured in the past, which is a shame because it’s always nice to sit in a hotel and indulge in the pretend notion that you’re away on holidays.

Worried about missing out, we jump in early this year and book last year’s two most popular venues – Glass Brasserie and Azuma Kushiyaki – as our starting point.

Glass Brasserie

We are running half an hour late whilst trying to secure parking in the vicinity of Hilton Hotel in which Glass is located. Monsieur Poisson is getting irritated (something which almost never happens) and I decide to cancel the reservation out of courtesy and so as not to run late for our next stop at Azuma Kushiyaki. Of course as soon as I do this we all manage to find parking spaces and score a table at Glass post-cancellation. Such is the cruel conspiracy of nature.

Described simply as ‘Alcazar chocolate and coffee cake’, we are presented with a rich multilayered cake with texture somewhere between mud cake and fudge. The cake is sitting on a slick of melted chocolate – not chocolate sauce as per our initial impressions – with a small pile of pistachio crumbs at the opposite end of the rectangular plate. There is an after-note of bitterness which we attribute to the darkness of the chocolate rather than the coffee which is not very obvious at all. Paired with a slightly sticky Brown Brothers Cienna & Cabernet, you get a wonderful chocolate berry flavour – the husband likens the wine to an alcoholic Ribena! And for those shying away from alcohol, Glass will happily swap this for coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

Azuma Kushiyaki

Due to our delayed start at Glass, we call Azuma Kushiyaki to push back our reservation and are very kindly accommodated. Their Sugar Hit last year was booked out by mid-month and was extended to run into November on accord of its popularity. Sharing its name with last year’s Sugar Hit, the ‘East meets West – Dessert Tasting Plate’ is a neatly-presented affair comprised of several components.

Monsieur Poisson chooses the Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora which has featured heavily in Sugar Hits past, while I go for a cleansing cup of green tea. There is also Hennessy XO on offer for those a little more hardcore, or perhaps with more refined tastes.

The dessert tasting plate is brought out in two stacked Japanese-style boxes. In one there is ‘Vanilla Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis’ and ‘Belgian Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry Coulis centre & freeze-dried Raspberry Flakes’ in the other. I start with the smooth soft-set panna cotta flecked with the occasional vanilla seed with tart berry coulis on top – it reminds me of strawberries and cream but requires no chewing. I move onto the other box of goodies before finishing with the chocolate mousse which has a tiny hidden sponge and berry coulis centre, but the highlight for me is the fluffy berry mousse layer on top and the dried berry bits. And I’m not even a person who normally enjoys eating mousse!

The other box is a bit heavier with a ‘Green Tea Ganache Tart’, ‘Petit Almond Financier’, ‘Wasabi Ganache Tart’ and ‘macaroon’ [sic]. The flavours of the macarons change daily and are decorated with different smiley face expressions – a cute Japanese touch to your dessert. There is only one macaron per dessert plate but we receive two flavours between us – orange with an orange zesty filling, and coconut (I think) with a yuzu-like centre. These and the financier are polished off quite easily while the tarts have me defeated. I was going into sugar overload by this point and with both tarts being crust heavy, although a buttery crumbly one at that, it means there is more shortbread-like pastry than filling. The matcha tart is obvious in flavour while the wasabi ganache has us divided – at least three of us can’t taste the wasabi and I was really hoping for an after-kick as you do with chilli chocolate.

Overall a fun and very sugar-filled evening, but I’m afraid attempting two Sugar Hits is no longer recommended for this small Asian female!

Glass Brasserie

Level 2, Hilton Hotel, 488 George St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9265 6068

Azuma Kushiyaki

Ground floor of Regent Place, 501 George St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9267 7775

happy eating!

Five days in Brisbane: Il Centro, 22 Oct 2009

I actually can’t remember how we ended up choosing Il Centro for dinner. Wifey, having lived in Brisbane five years previous, had suggested we try Cha Cha Char also at Eagle Street Pier but for some reason we went with Il Centro instead. We are seated at a table outdoors, taking advantage of the pleasant evening weather, and the menu had sounded quite promising until I studied it again after getting there.

I start the evening with a glass of prosecco. I actually did not intend to drink but I find it very hard to go past a glass of bubbles these days – it just so appeals to the girly girl in me! Monsieur Poisson, as usual, does not join me and misses out on this light drink with a dry note at the end. We order a ‘Pizza ai porcini, pancetta e basilico’ to start and the aromas of porcini are overwhelmingly inviting. The pancetta is finely chopped and not too salty, and we notice the distinct absence of garlic from this pizza which is scattered with a few leaves of rocket.

Our other primi is the ‘Capesante con riso carnaroli di timo e fave’ ordered partly out of wanting to try risottos on Dr King’s behalf and also to indulge Monsieur Poisson’s love of scallops. The scallops with roe attached are unfortunately just that tiny bit overcooked, but their sweet flavours are complemented nicely by the creamy, light lemon sauce and crunchy sweet broad beans. Interestingly, the scallops sitting atop are dressed with a tomato salsa before being topped with a herb salad.

For mains Monsieur Poisson orders the ‘Fruitti di mare con gnocchi di patate, salvia, castagne e piselli’ but I can’t remember if it’s the seafood or gnocchi that has attracted him. I’m encouraged by the mention of chestnuts but then am confused by the flavours when the dish arrives – I associate seafood with summer, chestnuts and gnocchi with winter, and peas with spring. The nutmeg-scented gnocchi (confirmed by my questioning of a waitress who had to check with the kitchen) are a flattened elongated shaped and are smooth and light in texture without risk of falling apart. However, the flavours don’t really gel for me in this dish which is topped by more of that tomato salsa.

I’ve chosen the meaty ‘Bistecca di manzo alla griglia’ that comes with duck fat roasted King Edward potatoes, broccoli and beans as well as either Béarnaise or pepper sauce. The menu says the steak is a certified 300 gram, 150-day, black Angus sirloin and is most definitely well-charred but juicy. The steak arrives unseasoned and for some reason I have chosen the Béarnaise to accompany this otherwise Italian steak. The sauce is served in a gravy boat and is devoid of herbs, which is normally Béarnaise’s distinguishing feature from Hollandaise. I am disappointed by the duck fat potatoes, only because I was expecting them to be like those served at L’étoile, and am further confounded by more of that mysterious tomato salsa adorning the steak.

Although we are quite full by this point, we make room for dessert mainly because we notice that petits fours are offered on the menu. Monsieur Poisson relaxes with a caffe latte which comes with biscotti. The biscotti are light and crumbly and not chewy like the usual, but the coffee is slightly grey in colour.

I settle back with a pot of T2 Earl Grey which is wonderfully fragrant. Our ‘Assortimento di cioccolatini e dolcetti’ is placed on the table without any introduction so we are left to guess what the eight individual components are. We assume them to be: a thin and crisp poppyseed tuille; a chocolate, cherry coconut slice; a frangipane tartlet with strawberry jam centre; a mildly bitter chocolate truffle with gooey centre; an apricot tartlet; a chocolate tartlet which is neither bitter nor sweet; an almond slice; and a chocolate stick perhaps with candied orange peel. It definitely brings a forensics component to the end of our meal!

Overall the food at Il Centro is not bad and the service is both friendly and personable. We just found the menu to be a bit confused, or perhaps it was just us that were confused by it. Nonetheless, the restaurant enjoyed an almost full crowd that night which should attest to its popularity.

Il Centro

Eagle Street Pier, 1 Eagle Street, Brisbane QLD

Tel: (07) 3221 6090

Opening Hours:  Sun-Fri  lunch from 12pm

                                    dinner from 5:30pm

                        Sat  dinner only from 5:30pm

happy eating!

Café Sydney, 9 June 2009

Monsieur Poisson and I were lunching at Young Alfred when I whinged to him about having never been to Café Sydney, and made him promise to take me one day. For Customs House plays home not only to Young Alfred but also to Café Sydney up on level five, where there are panoramic views looking out from Circular Quay incorporating Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

Monsieur Poisson has reserved us a table and the evening has an air of promise about it. We make our way there separately after work which gives it a definite ‘date’ atmosphere. I am made-up and dressed-up and, my goodness, it is mighty cold and gusty when I get there.

We take the lift, passing through deserted floors of the library, up to level five where it opens to face Café Sydney’s lounge area with their open kitchen up the back. The place is decorated in deep chocolate-toned wood panelling and the lighting is, um, romantic (read: very dim). I wonder whether this is to enhance the visibility of the harbour view.

We are led up some stairs by a waitress to the landing where the tables are, but we do not have the fortune of securing front row seats to Sydney Harbour. Our table and a few others are up an extra little step and the waitress warns us to be mindful of it. (An elderly lady subsequently trips upon this step later in the evening as it really is not visible, even with a younger person’s level of vision and contrast appreciation.)

Monsieur Poisson orders a ‘Kiwi Crush’ mocktail which is refreshingly limey and has chunks of kiwi fruit throughout. I choose to admire the fine tingly bubbles in a glass of Brown Brothers prosecco instead. We browse the menu over drinks and find we are more interested in the appetisers than the mains. Nevertheless, we order two of each but of course we end up sharing everything.

As an appetiser we have the herb-crusted tuna carpaccio with baby leaves, radish, horseradish cream and green peas vinaigrette. The tuna is thinly sliced and tastes fresh but hardly tastes herby despite being coated in a fine layer. The radish is shaved and tastes like it’s been briefly soused in some sort of dressing but still retains its crunch. The horseradish cream adds some lubrication and bite while the pea vinaigrette is pleasantly sweet.

Our other appetiser is the Moreton Bay bugs with avocado, kipfler potato salad with coddled egg dressing and ocean trout roe. It is a wonderful combination of springy crustacean meat with creamy avocado and creamy potato salad topped with salty roe to bring out the taste of the ocean. My only gripe is that the dressing is quite limey and is just managing to overpower the flavour of the other ingredients.

Monsieur Poisson chooses for mains the grilled beef tenderloin with braised beef cheek galette, Brussels sprouts, bone marrow and jus. The beef is nicely charred, cooked to his request and tender within. For me, the beef cheek galette and the jus outshine the tenderloin itself – there is such a depth of beef flavour. The Brussels sprouts hearts sit happily in a pool of jus which negates any bitterness usually associated.

I order the de-boned spatchcock with Swiss brown mushroom, leek and thyme pithivier and jus. The spatchcock is moist and tender with a lovely layer of seared skin sitting on some wilted greens. The pithivier sitting atop a thin layer of potato mash is buttery and flaky. The whole dish serves to aptly warm our wintery souls.

Somehow after all this food we decide that we can accommodate chocolate macadamia tart with praline ice-cream and a serve of petits fours. The tart is silken and deeply chocolately, and I especially enjoy the pairing of praline in the ice-cream with nuts in the tart.

The petits fours (from the bottom up) include coconut praline, blueberry frangipane tart, mocha slice and a pistachio friand. The praline is crunchy and tastes more of coconut than toffee. The frangipane tart and friand taste quite similar due to their nutty ingredients and texture. The mocha slice is quite fudgey but not too sticky in the mouth. I really enjoy these little bites as it means a sampling of everything.

To accompany our desserts Monsieur Poisson has a café latte which is served in a Bodum insulated glass while I order a Madagascan vanilla tea when I discover T2 teas featured on the menu. The tea is fragrant and especially comforting when a mouthful is sipped whilst inhaling its vanilla aromas.

Overall we feel the meal is enjoyable but not fantastic, especially when factoring in the price. Although not exorbitant, it is nudging the pricier end of average which we feel, in part, is attributed to Café Sydney’s location and view. And despite its name, Café Sydney does not actually serve café food. It did turn out to be a promising evening though, as Monsieur Poisson proposed to me after we got home.

And, my answer was yes.

Café Sydney

Level 5 of Customs House, 31 Alfred St (cnr Young St),Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9251 8683

Opening Hours:  Mon-Fri  12pm til late

Sat  5pm til late

                        Sun  from 12pm for lunch only

happy eating!

PS. As you are reading this, I am currently out having fun on my hens day in the unseasonably cold Sydney weather!