Archive for the ‘Surry Hills’ Category
V Rating: VVV (for degustation) A couple of weeks ago I slipped out of my youthful twenties and into the sophisticated thirties. After waking up on my 21st birthday in the 12 bed basement of a grimy London youth hostel, I decided that I wanted to augur in the dawn of a new age in style. But there presents a problem for vegetarians. You have money to spend, an anniversary to celebrate, and a lot of fancy, meat ridden Modern Australian restaurants to choose from. After much umming and ahhing (I’m a food blogger. Turning thirty. On a Friday. The pressure is intense) I settled on the degustation meal at Assiette . Assiette is a modern French restaurant tucked away in the alleys of Surry Hills. As a matter of course, when I made the reservation I specified that Andy and I were vegetarians who ate no meat or seafood, my Dad is a vegetarian who does not eat meat, and my Mum has no special dietary needs. Anticipating it would be too hard to make individual degustation (tasting menu) meals, I offered to each have the vegetarian version. To my surprise and delight, they assured me that we would each get degustation meal matched to our dietary needs. This was an impressive effort, because it meant three different ten course menus and preparations (although some dishes did overlap). What follows is a photo essay on the strict vegetarian degustation. I didn’t ask if they would do a vegan version (which would stretch French cooking to its limits) but may be worth a try. First up was an espresso sized creamy sweetcorn soup with basil oil. Next was pickled beetroot with goats cheese and pine nut vinaigrette. Tart goats cheese and beetroot are a classic combination, and didn’t disappoint us in this incarnation.
Assiette hit its straps by third course, a ratatouille with Bearnaise sauce.
The freshly steamed asparagus spears made a nice contrast to the runny crumbed poached egg, although this was one of the less exciting dishes of the night.
The saffron and carrot risotto with carrot chips was a highlight. The saffron gave a beautiful yellow hue to the dish, and the fried carrot chips complemented the creamy risotto base.
Again showing an Italian influence, the next dish was cardamon puree with roasted pumpkin and gnocchi.
The open ravioli with field mushrooms, parsley foam and avocado mousse was my favourite dish of the night. The large field mushrooms were perfectly sauteed and full of flavour, while the parsley foam added lightness and colour to the meal.
We’d reached the end of the main dishes, and moved on to crisp lavosh bread with blue cheese and sweet honey and walnut. This was a great combination and something I’d like to try at home.
Our palates were cleansed with grapes, pretty cabernet sorbet and basil leaf.
The meal ended on a high note with a spiced pear brulee with lime and pear coulis. Assiette is a very small restaurant with white walls and dark furnishings. The look is austere compared to the bling of most Sydney restaurants, but the small open kitchen where you can watch chef Warren Turbull work his magic adds warmth and familiarity. The service was reasonable. The different degustation meals were stressful for the waiting staff so there was a slightly strained air to our interactions. But on the other hand, the sommelier was knowledgeable and wisely talked us out of a matched wine degustation in favour of ordering off the wine menu. I thought Assiette was good value and did an admirable job of catering for our different dietary needs so I’ve given them a VVV. Their standard menu is less veggie friendly - so perhaps save this for special occasions where you will call and book in advance.
V Rating: VVV Last year, a Veggie Friendly reader tipped me off to the Nepalese Kitchen on Crown Street. I’ve been looking for an excuse to go there ever since. Compared to your average ultra hip Crown Street restaurant, Nepalese Kitchen feels time-honoured and intellectual, the kind of place where conversation could turn to the politics of Nepal’s neighbours China and Tibet, as easily as complaints about the state of the Sydney.
We tried it on a Friday night, where our reserved table was the only free one amongst the busy, noisy crowd. The excitement was palpable as we checked out the yummy steamed momo dumplings (two out of the three types were vegetarian), but we also ordered the eggplant stuffed with onion and served with a yoghurt sauce. As much as I love momos, the eggplant entree was a highlight. The eggplant was soft but kept its shape, while the onion stuffing was light, and sweetly flavoured with cumin. There were five different vegetarian mains so our group of six tried them all. At my end of the table the favourite was the Bhanta, an eggplant and potato curry with cherry tomatoes, sauteed with cumin, garlic , ginger and chili. The eggplant was melt-in-your-mouth good.
I also liked the mushroom curry with potatoes, sauteed in a spicy tomato sauce with cinnamon and black cardamom. There’s nothing like sinking your teeth into a whole button mushroom slathered in curry sauce.
The tama was a hot and sour curry with potato, pickled bamboo shoots and black-eyed beans.
The kwali, a nine bean curry cooked with chili, parsley seeds and traditional spices had me at hello.
We also ordered the bandakopi, a vibrant green dish of peas and snowpeas stir fried with shallots, coconut, coriander, green chilies and spices. A sweeter dish, it made a nice contrast to the heavier potato-based curries. To balance out the meal we also shared a light, watery dal.
At the end of the meal we were greeted with a very reasonable bill and a shiny plate of candied fennel seeds to freshen our breath.
A quick poll of the table voted the food as pleasant but not special. I felt more kindly towards Nepalese Kitchen. I enjoyed all the dishes, liked the vegetarian variety, and loved the atmosphere. A fun VVV experience.
V Rating: VV After a six month absence, I rejoined Book Grub, my Asian themed book club, last Wednesday at Matsuri in Surry Hills. The neat thing about Book Grub is that each month we read a book set in a different country in Asia, and then meet to talk about it at a restaurant from the same culture. This month’s book was Across the Nightingale Floor, which is set in Japan. I was feeling very sheepish that I hadn’t found, let alone read, the book - so much for making a good impression on my return.
Our themed venue was Matsuri on Crown Street. Happily, for a Japanese restaurant Matsuri offers a decent vegetarian choice, with a selection of vegetarian entrees and sushi, if fewer options for mains. My friends were Matsuri regulars, and recommended the edamame beans and the agedashi tofu entree. I think that would have been a good choice. Stupidly, I distracted everyone with the specials menu and we ended up with the agedashi eggplant, and a tofu dish that I don’t remember the name of (this veneer of professionalism, it’s very thin). We threw in the spinach with soy and sesame from the regular entree menu and had some miso each.
These dishes were nice, but not as good as Japanese food I’ve had at Musashi or Naniwa-Tei. The eggplant was soft but quite oily and hadn’t fully soaked in the agedashi flavour. The fried tofu cubes had an interesting presentation, but I found the dish a little dry.
My friends also shared a plate of sushi and sashimi. Even though there was a wide range of vegetarian sushi to choose from, I short-sightedly decided I had enough food to eat with the entree dishes.
This was a pretty dumb decision on my part. As regulars know, Matsuri is famous for its sushi and sashimi and my friend’s plate looked amazing. I wouldn’t normally write about non-vegetarian dishes, but I’m posting this photo to remind myself not to be such a fool and overlook the sushi next time I try Matsuri.
V Rating: Super V I’ve been promising to review Maya Masala for Maya Masala is on the eastern end of Cleveland street, surrounded by trendy retro shops and other Indian and Lebanese restaurants. It can be easy to miss, so look for the bright green neon Maya Sweets sign in an otherwise nondescript glass window. Although, I like eating in cafeteria style surrounds while Bollywood movies play happily in the background, it’s fair to say that no-one goes to Maya Masala for the genteel atmosphere. No, my friend, you go there for the food.
The Maya menu is much more traditional than your average Indian restaurant. Rather than a long list of curries, you choose from thalis, dosai, chaat, or tandoor dishes. It also takes a matter-of-fact approach to vegetarianism in that they don’t heavily promote the fact the restaurant or dishes are all vegetarian, they just take it for granted that patrons will assume as much. A good choice at Maya is one of three types of thali tasting plates. I order it every time (I mean, why have one dish when you can try ten?) The downside to the thali is that I inevitably eat more than physiology suggests is possible. Something about serving food in little plates of goodness always leads me to think I’m not eating that much. Ahhh, the happiness of a fool.
This time around we got the punjabi and South Indian thalis. Mine (the South Indian version) came with a spinach curry, an okra curry, a vegetable curry, rasam, raita, rice, a pickle, 2 pieces of puri, a pappadum, kuchumber salad and a little rice dessert. My favourite dishes were the soft textured spinach curry and creamy, slightly sweet rasam. Maya Masala also offers 19 varieties of dosa - huge Indian crepes with a variety of fillings. These look amazing (one first-timer saw her dosa being set down at the table and almost fell off her chair), although can be a little slow to arrive if you turn up first thing in the morning. If by some miracle you aren’t full by the end of the meal, it’s worth taking advantage of (or at least gazing in wonder at) Maya Masala’s undisputed speciality: sweets.
The Maya sweets fill two glass counters at the front of the store. The sweets are traditional desserts generally made from milk or cheese (Maya claims they are made by an experienced Indian Halwais or sweet makers). They come in a myriad of shapes and colours and often have a thick, soft, doughy texture that may be sweetened by being doused in a syrup. Some favourites include gulab jamun, rasmalai and burfees. It’s probably the case that you will find better Indian food in Sydney (although the dosai are hard to beat). But for the sheer pleasure of being able to eat traditional, all vegetarian Indian meals for less than $10, Maya Masala is an unassailable Super V choice.
V Rating: VV Bill Granger is the celebrity chef du jour in Sydney. He writes a weekly column in the Sydney Morning Herald, hosts a cooking show on pay TV, and publishes copious cookbooks filled with impossibly bright, light, airy photos and casually brilliant recipes. Oh, and he runs a few restaurants as well.
So, when a good friend of mine came to Sydney on the weekend I promised to take him to a special lunch spot - bills Surry Hills (formerly bills 2). Unfortunately, we arrived at 11.30am. Lunch didn’t start until 12.00pm. As a line was already starting to form for tables we didn’t like our chances of coming back in half an hour - so we had breakfast instead. I ordered the ricotta hot cakes with banana and honeycomb butter because every review I’ve read about bills make mention of them.
The hotcakes were thick, light and fluffy. The fairly meager slices of banana (bloody cyclone) were tucked cosily underneath the hotcakes. The slices of butter on top of the hot cakes looked surprisingly like slices of banana - making for a not so pleasant first mouthful. The hotcakes were good - don’t get me wrong. But not as good as the reams of glowing reviews suggested. Andy and our friend had the good sense to order sweet corn fritter, with tomato and spinach. On the menu it comes with bacon, but they had it with mushrooms instead.
The truly amazing thing about these babies was the succulent, whole pieces of corn. Even though the cakes were fried, the corn still retained a strong, fresh, sweet taste. And yes, I had food envy the whole meal. The thing about bills was that if it were a cafe I’d wandered into from the street I probably would have thought it was an amazing find. But because Bill Granger has such a mythic status in Sydney, by the time I tried it out it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The cafe is stylish and funky. The food was clearly made with high quality, fresh ingredients. There are some good vegetarian options on the menu… but maybe next time I’ll wait until 12pm and try lunch.
V Rating: VVVV Where a rundown, rowdy bar used to be, Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt have set up the very cool Bentley restaurant and bar that just won Two Chef Hats and Best New Restaurant from the 2007 Sydney Good Food Guide. Both Savage and Hildebrandt have resumes that read like a who’s who of the Australian restaurant industry, one a highly inventive chef and the other thought to be one of the country’s top sommeliers (in fact he also won the GFG 07 Sommelier Award). What better hands to be in? The room was smaller than I expected (it was a tight fit for waiters) and the crowd were relaxed and casually dressed. Cool jeans and smart t-shirts won over black shoes and collars. The bar section had a few stools and there were three or four tables for those wanting drinks and tapas. The colour theme was certainly red, white, black and pale wood; the room divided by a shiny red metallic board with cut out leaves. My fellow diners didn’t like the décor but I thought it suited the dressed-down clientele and Surry Hills locale – it had a kitsch plastic chic that I found playful. While waiting for my companions I indulged in a cocktail called Dust?Anyone?Dust?, a salute to the Fat Fighters convenor from the BBC comedy Little Britain (extra points to them for a reference which happens to be one of my favourites). It was a great cocktail that mixed strawberry, rose and basil and was topped with shaved ice and a sherbet that snapped and crackled happily over the fuchsia drink. The Bentley does a vegetarian degustation so we opted for “the gus” as we have affectionately started to call it: $90pp for the food and an extra $60pp for matching wines. There were three omnivores and one vegetarian in our party. The first part of our degustation was a wonderful white gazpacho (ajo blanco) flavoured by almonds and garlic. It came in an elegant glass bowl and was dotted with a pretty splash of green olive oil. I love ajo blanco and this was a particularly good version, smooth, milky and garlicky. For the fish eaters came a bite size morsel of Claire de Lune oyster atop ruby grapefruit and crackling described as a “pork bubble”. Ever since trying a tuna, grapefruit and pork dish at Pyrmont’s Flying Fish I have been a big fan of these flavour combinations and I love Claire de Lune oysters as well. This morsel worked well for me and the creamy low-saltiness of the meaty oyster matched the salty sweet pork and bitter grapefruit. Instead of the oyster, our veggie was given two extra gazpachos: green and red. The green gazpahco was made of green tomatoes and had a distinctly earthy, leafy flavour. The red was made of tomato and capsicum and was sweet and spicy. They were all very good. Our vegetarian thought the red was the best by far, while I still leant towards the ajo blanco. With this course we all drank the 2004 Salomon-Undhof Grüner Veltliner ‘Wieden’ (Krems/Stein Austria). The winemaker describes this wine as “pure, spicy, peppery with fruit-stressed acid”. I found this a very interesting wine and not something I had tasted before. It was slightly sour and the flavour seemed young and green (perhaps explaining why the grape varietal is called Grüner). Next we all shared the same course, a Jerusalem artichoke custard that came with asparagus, roasted baby garlic and fennel and beans. The menu listed “borlotti, soy and lupin beans” although I only recognised the green soy beans. The beautiful purple beans I had never see before because I had always thought lupins and borlotti were white. The custard had a wonderful flavour and I was surprised by this because I generally don’t like Jerusalem artichokes. The roasted garlic and fennel were a sweet accompaniment to the earthiness of the custard. The wine with this course was my favourite white of the evening: 2005 Tscharke Albariño ‘Girl Talk’ (Barossa Valley, SA). The albariño grape comes from Spain and Tscharke’s wine seemed slightly acidic, quite aromatic and had a hint of savoury marzipan (or maybe that was my cold). The kitchen’s next delivery was a soft free-range egg topped with breadcrumbs. Of the four diners, two did not enjoy this dish and two did. (FYI the non-vegetarians received crumbs of crispy jamon as well). The wine that accompanied it, a 2004 Bernard Moreau Bourgogne Chardonnay (Burgundy, France). This was a lightly oaked chardonnay and although I enjoyed it, I somehow liked the albariño better. I would definitely like to try this one again though. The next course was a unique combination of sautéed corn, black fungi and zucchini flower. The zucchini flower had been opened flat, the black fungi was sliced thin and the tiny zucchini stem had been placed on top. This dish was subtle but good, although our vegetarian did say the corn tasted slightly tinny. At the same time the seafood eaters enjoyed a shellfish salad – whiting, mussels, plump clams and a salsa of vegetables which was a delicious course with a sour, citrus dousing. This course was served with the 2004 Domaine des Baumard Rosé de Loire (Loire Valley, France). This rosé was crisp and dry with a slightly tart red fruit flavour (like currants or cranberries). I liked it a lot, but I am known to be very partial to rosé wine. The next course was roast carrot accompanied by delicate splashes of avocado and a sprinkling of “olive dust”. The carrots were roasted until sweet and the olive dust added a pleasurable saltiness. A sweet sauce encircling the plate could have been unnecessary because the carrots were sweet enough without adding this extra element. Our vegetarian suggested a lemon based sauce would have broken up the sweetness a little more. During this course the meat eaters had boudin noir (blood pudding), seared quail and a squid salsa. The plate was decorated with a bold slashing of squid ink. Our carrots/blood pudding were served with the fruity 2004 Capcanes Mas Donis Grenache Blend (Monstant, Spain). Somewhere on the internet I read a description of this wine that summed up my own experiences beautifully, the key words being: mineral, redcurrant, black tea and rose hips. The last savoury course was a potato ‘risotto’ with mushrooms and warm parmesan cream. This was a pleasurable dish with a clean potato taste. It was also a good sized portion, although potentially needed a dash more salt seasoning. For the others it was Mandagery Creek venison with a burnt onion sabayon, frothing out of a crispy basket and accompanied by a pool of lentils, flavoured heavily with fresh oregano. This was also a successful dish with complimenting flavours. The 2003 Star Lane Merlot, Beechworth Victoria had dusty tannins and a woody, cherry bouquet. Next was the cheese course. Artavaggio came thinly sliced and then melted onto a toasted finger of lavosh, drizzled with a sherry caramel sauce and chives. I loved this dish, and enjoyed the sweet sauce although two of my companions felt the sauce overpowered the cheese. The wine served with the cheese was a 2004 Kracher Beerenauslese Cuvee (Burgundland Austria). This was a gorgeous dessert wine, heady with apricot but not too sweet. It was perfect for those who don’t enjoy overpowering dessert wines. I love this style of wine in general, having tasted another Beerenauslese from Burgundland at Gordon Ramsay’s Claridges in London in March. A pre-dessert arrived to cleanse our palates: cactus and fruit sorbet was surrounded with kiwi juices and topped with a pretty shard of clear, glassy toffee. A nice little morsel. For the dessert course we received the signature “Chocolate and Honeycomb Ice Cream Cone with Warm Banana Milk”. This came with a glass of rich Pedro Ximenez sherry, sticky and dark but subtly raisin and honey. It wasn’t overly sweet and the perfume was fragrant. The chocolate cone came propped in what looked like a plastic golf ball tee and was beautifully speckled with black and white toasted sesame seeds. The ice cream inside was rich and the cone had an interestingly confusing texture of crunchy toffee and melting chocolate. I have no idea what it was made out of, but it tasted good and got stuck in my teeth like toffee does. Savage’s famous warm banana milk was something I had been looking forward to and I was not disappointed. The milk showed only a pale tint of yellow and the flavour was so real and natural, a perfect banana infusion. The chocolate straw started to melt on my lips and was childishly playful. A great positive ending. A potential consideration would be that the vegetarian degustation was the same price as those that included seafood and meat, when perhaps it should have been fractionally less. The price of the ingredients would be lower and I was conscious that meat is much more filling so either the vegetarian degustation should be cheaper or the portions should be increased so that vegetarians walk away as full as the meat eaters. While I enjoyed each of the wines, on this particular occasion I was not as bowled over by the food and wine matching as I have been in the past. I am a big fan of Hildebrandt because it was the wines he paired with the degustation menu at Marque that first made me realise the value of an excellent sommelier. On that occasion I suddenly became a wine lover and I haven’t looked back. I can thank Hildebrandt for that and the world of food and wine it subsequently opened up. On this particular occasion, however, I didn’t feel like the choices lifted the food to new heights. I read somewhere that the presentation of Savage’s food could be compared to the art of Miro, and I have to agree with this. Some people might find that a drawback, whereas I found it creative and impressive. Although the visuals were still vibrant, the food flavours were subdued and reliable with a few key dishes showing vitality and flair. For a restaurant that could easily be a regular dinner venue for locals, I think these are good attributes. The service was friendly and professional. Hildebrandt was in control of the floor the entire time and the only negative comment I would make is that the time between each course was much too long. The initial courses were very small and bite sized, not providing anything substantial to soak up the generous servings of wine. I would have preferred the smaller courses to come a little faster and then slow down over the larger portions and dessert. The fact that both owners were visually present (Savage appeared later on) made the experience seem much more intimate. In other restaurants service can be anonymous and the owners and chefs far removed from the diners, but here the creators were close at hand. It occurred to me only afterwards that perhaps I should have asked permission before photographing each and every course. In such intimate quarters, with the owners looking on, my photography could have been considered invasive. This is certainly something for me to bear in mind for the future. The total cost for four of us was $680 including a 13% tip. For a degustation $90 is very reasonable, whereas $60 for the wines is fairly standard, although wine portions were on the large side, just as they had been at Marque. Overall, good value for inventive food and renown wine choices in funky venue. The vegetarian menu is interesting and well thought out. During a time where Sydney is leaning heavily towards the bistro and meat, meat, meat, Bentley offers a unique vegetarian experience. Anna, Morsels & Musings
V Rating: VVV This post is all about celebration. On Monday August 8, we went to Longrain for the lovely K’s birthday. Coincidentally, Longrain had celebrated its sixth birthday two nights before. To top it off, this review marks the 100th post for Veggie Friendly. Here’s cheers. Longrain epitomises cool, minimalist design. The open plan, converted warehouse holds a cocktail bar at one end and a restaurant at the other. The polished wooden banquette conjures up Hollywood glam, while large flatscreen televisions with rotating images add a vaguely cyberpunk vibe.
We turned up at 8pm after I’d confidently predicted Longrain would be quiet and we wouldn’t have to wait for a table. Apparently inner-suburbanites didn’t get the memo about rising interest rates and petrol prices. Longrain was jumping and we had to cool our heels at the cocktail bar. Half an hour later a waiter fetched us for dinner. In keeping with the Asian focus, the restaurant has long, noisy communal tables evoking banquet style meals. We steadied ourselves on our high stools and deliberated over the vegetarian section of the menu.
One of the main reasons why we chose Longrain was their salt and pepper tofu. This is one of my favourite dishes and Longrain makes the best version I’ve ever tasted. The soft tofu is served in large cubes and absorbs the flavours of the light, slightly sticky salt and pepper batter. The amazing thing about this dish is that the batter is so light that it doesn’t taste oily or fried, but it still gives the tofu some structure - I’m convinced that this is only possible because chef Martin Boetz has struck a Faustian pact. We also tried the vegetarian eggnet with pomelo, bean sprouts, peanuts, coriander and sweet vinegar. This is a beautifully presented cold asian salad with a refreshing sweet dressing. Andrew could have eaten this whole dish by himself.
The remaining vegetarian dishes are stir fried Asian greens (good accompaniement) and a red curry with crisp fried tofu, baby corn, snow peas and Thai basil, which we didn’t try. Longrain is one of the few upmarket retaurants in Sydney that makes a real effort to cater for vegetarians. It gets a VVV rating on the basis that a party of 3 vegetarians could come here and enjoy a beautiful meal. |
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