Sydney Food Diary

Restaurant Sojourn

Sorry for the lack of posts lately it's busy as much as lazy but both have played a role.

Anyway we had an impressive meal last weekend at Restaurant Sojourn which sits pearched on the hill above the Balmain East ferry dock in a subtle sandstone-lined space.

Sojourn is chef-ed by yet another talented ex-Banc man, Paul Camilleri and his wife Kim, formerly pastry chef at Cruise. The food is modern European with an emphasis on ingredient and technique (sound familiar?).

When we had a close look at the menu we felt compelled to order the degustation because the choices otherwise seamed entirely too difficult.

I think we made the right choice, the meal was stunning and didn't falter at all through the ten tastes (including and amuse and a pre-desert). It proved to be good value by our measure at $90 ($140 with wine matches).

This was the amuse bouche.

Seared Venison, mushroom a La Grecque, creme fraiche & horseradish ice cream

Twice cooked goats cheese souffle with baby beetroot and parmesan wafers

Prawn agnolotti with fennel puree and sand crab salad

Roasted Saltwater char with chorizo stuffed baby squid, tomato and shallot vinaigrette

Roasted fillet of pork wrapped in crisp pancetta with confit belly, smoked hock & toffee apple puree

Gorgonzola picante with fresh walnuts, apple and truffle honey

Vanilla and spearmint panacotta

Vacherin of strawberry & Marscapone sorbet with poached pear

Restaurant Sojourn is at 79 Darling St Balmain East NSW 2041 Phone (02) 9555 9764

Brasserie Bread Brekkie

We've been hearing a lot about Brasserie Bread and also seeing their bread popping up everywhere. So we caved to the pressure and headed out to Banksmeadow to check it out.

What we found was an excellent assortment of simple day starters, sandwiches and pastries - the above corned beef hash with fried egg and sourdough. They serve all of it up with Allpress Espresso, naturally (same owner).

And we couldn't resist taking home a loaf of their delicious sour cherry loaf which has featured in some of our favorite breakfasts.

Brasserie Bread - 1737 Botany Rd, Banksmeadow NSW 2019, T 02 9666 6845

Guillaume at Bennelong

Location, location, location.

Ok, what applies to real estate doesn't always make a difference to restaurants. However location most certainly can contribute an unfair share of intangible enchantment in some circumstances.

And when that "intangible" is dining inside one of the major landmarks of the world, looking out on the spectacle of Sydney harbour - as it is at Guillaume at Bennelong - location takes the dining experience to a sublime level.

The food too is absolutely faultlessly elegant (if somewhat less than adventurous) with an eye equally on ingredient and technique.

On this occasion (our anniversary last year no less), our service was a little patchy, with the wines falling a bit out of sync with our courses and the courses spread a touch far apart for our usual sensibilities - but in such a place, we really didn't mind.

Here is how our menu ran:

Basil Infused Tuna with mustard seed and soy vinagrette

In-house Smoked Salmon Roulade with sterling caviar and toasted brioche

Moreton Bay bug in a light chilled tomato broth with cucumber, Yarra Valley salmon roe and mint

Carpaccio of Venison with juniper berries, apple, endive and walnut oil

Sealed Barramundi, yabbies, scallops and a light ginger emulsion

Deboned rack of lamb with pancetta, soft polenta, white asparagus and shiitake mushrooms

Carles Roquefort

Fondant of Valrhona chocolate, fresh raspberries and pistachio cream

Guillaume at Bennelong, located in the front two shells of the Sydney Opera House. Entry via lower concourse, next to concert hall entry. Sydney Opera House Bennelong Point Sydney T: +61 (0)2 9241 1999

Nest for dinner

It was such a short while ago that we were telling you how much we liked to fly on into Nest in Potts Point for brunch but we are happy now to report back that they are doing a swell dinner now as well.

They've kept the food simple and homey with great flavours across a short but globetrotting menu which is complimented by daily specials.

They are only open for dinner Thursday, Friday, Saturday at the moment but we think it'll be one of the sleeper spots for summer al fresco noshing.

You could choose mouth-watering asparagus in brown butter with goats cheese, hazelnuts and currants

Or the deliciously anchovie-rich pisaladiere

We had a special of braised lamb in tagine spices with dates and toasted almonds

And the fish of the day which was barramundi

And we saved a bit of room for milk chocolate and orange mousse

Cafe Nest is at 145 Victoria St Potts Point, Phone (02) 8356 9505

Benzin

We also had a good meal recently at Benzin (Thai for gasoline) which is the spawn of Sailor's Thai in the former Fuel Bistro spot on Crown St, Surry Hills.

Benzin's a great spot to pull up a window seat and watch Crown Street go by while enjoying affordable Thai that is a cut above most of what is available in Sydney. We also have to admit that though it isn't entirely new, we still enjoy the novelty of eating in the middle of a functional auto showroom.

(as much as we still love Spice I Am, this was a decent, similarly-priced alternative where you can sit a little longer over your meal)

Grilled squid salad a refreshing start

Caramelized pork hock with a vinegar dipping sauce, our favorite of the three

Jungle curry of barramundi was excellent

Benzin is at 480 Crown Street, Surry Hills Phone 9360 5546

A'Mews

The pun-y name is a little hard to swallow but we were stoked to find a restaurant that is doing food of this calibre on Glebe Point Road amongst the mediocre Indian and anonymous cafes.

The food is the sort that is most often described as "gastopub" but is decidely French in technique and with a keen emphasis on quality ingredient.

We really liked almost all of what we ate (the venison just didn't work for us) and the warm, friendly and knowledgable service proved a potent combination. The little touches (onion and madeira consomme and pre-dessert sorbet) were welcome surprises.

They've also got a short and sharp winelist that is packed with value (and they even brought us proper stems).

A'Mews is at 99 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe Phone (02) 9660 4999

Bodega

We love tapas as a format - it's the hott (with two t's) thing in New York at the moment and it's bound to take off here as well. (actually judging by the number of people that bundled in to this space on a Wednesday, it already has) And it's hard to hear the name "bodega" and not think of NY and it's ubiquitous corner shops.

But that aside and try as we might (even despite this deliciousness), we just didn't love Surry Hills' new Bodega.

Oh how we wanted to fall in love. What a cute little space. And what enthusiastic service beyond the call of duty. Some of what we sampled was ok but most of the food just fell short of the mark for different reasons in different dishes.

We'd like to think that maybe we ordered poorly but we sampled so much that it's hard to chalk it up to that. The only other excuse we can hope for is that since it's a fairly new kitchen, maybe things will settle in - let's hope this is the case.

Best of the night was the morcilla with apple and radish salad pictured in the first image below.

Bodega is at Shop 1 216 Commonwealth St Surry Hills 2010 NSW Ph: (02) 9212 7766

Assiette

In the tradition of the amazing Sunday degustations at Balzac that we are always on about, we've just discovered that chef Warren Turnbull of Assiette is also putting on special degustation dinners on the first Sunday of every month (just a few more Sunday's to fill in :P)

We went just the day before it's hat was doled out and not only was it our first degustation here but it was also our first visit to this location since the Becasse name came off the door.

We'd heard really good things about the food here, most notably from Keith at Fuel Bakery who kept asking us if we'd been yet, but even with the hype, it blew our expectations away.

The wine pairings too were excellent and the team here always had the time to give us a little bit extra information and opinion.

All in all, this meal ranks easily with the best meals we've had all year.

Here is how the order ran:

Oyster beignet with horseradish sauce and watercress veloute

Goat's cheese cromeski with beetroot and pinenut salad

Seared and tartar of tuna with cucumber spaghetti and ginger sorbet

Baked potato of salmon

Duck martini with beetroot olive

Pork and foie gras terrine with Pedro Ximinez jelly and crackling

Crispy chicken wing with seared scallop, mushroom duxelle and cepe cream

Crispy raviolo of prawn with saffron aioli, chorizo and green olive salsa

Squid ink risotto with sauteed squid and a herb vinagrette

Foie gras stuffed quail with garlic bread and butter pudding and lentil cappucino

Breast and cutlet of lamb with caponata and basil hollandaise

Bleu de Basque with waldorf salad

(I missed a photo here as I was too busy enjoying my wine....it was Buttermilk pannacotta with chamomile tea jelly and carrot granita)

Lemon and honey pudding with a citrus salad and orange ripple ice cream

Chicory creme brulee with coffee ice cream

Assiette is at 48 Albion Street Surry Hills Ph (02) 9212-7979

Tagine

One restaurant that didn't find it's way into the Good Food Guide but that we think is a real treat is Tagine at the Republic in Easy Sydney.

Hidden away just beyond Pizza Mario at the base of the Kings Lane stairs, Tagine is a cute little spot serving delicious "modern moroccan" food mostly centered on, you guessed it, tagines.

It's tables, lit by candles and glass lanterns, spill out of the small space into the square making it a perfect spot to while away an upcoming summer night.

For us, the star is their delicious dish of housemade sausages...

...but the tagines are also excellent, alive with spice and the perfect size to share....

....that is lamb above, and fish is below....

....cap it off with some sticky date with butterscoth sauce (which tastes far better than it looks)...

....and then sip away on the rest of your Woodcutters and relish the summer.*

Tagine is at Shop 40, King's Lane (off Palmer, between Burton and Liverpool Streets) in East Sydney Tel: 9357 7577

*I know this post comes on a rainy weekend but summer is a state of mind

Hurricanes

After quite a few recommendations, we finally got dragged all the way out to Hurricanes in Bondi by a crew of enthusiastic rib-minded friends.

We'd heard that the ribs here presented a fair rival to Tony Roma's and that the atmosphere was infinitely better. (which couldn't be hard since Tony's is a bit like eating dinner in the lobby of a Holiday Inn)

Well the racks of ribs (full slab of pork course) were so big that they would've made Fred Flintstone blush and the meat was moist and tender.

We were less impressed, however with the sauce which we felt was a touch salty and otherwise a bit one dimensional compared to Tony Romas Original recipe (well all of Tony's sauces really).

That being said the atmosphere really was better and being at Bondi, not to mention right beside the incredibly delicious gelato of Pompei's, certainly isn't a bad bonus in terms of an overall package.

HURRICANE'S GRILL - 130 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach Phone (02) 9130 7101