Sydney Food Diary

Byron Bay Food Diary

Besides the rather obvious and well documented fact that Byron has an unfair share of Australian natural beauty -we were amazed at all the good food that is to be had on all ends of the food spectrum.

To start with there are a great many food products made locally from tasty bite-sized Byron Bay cookies to the terrific Byron Bay Chilli Co (made by the "Chilli Dude") Salsas and sauces (our favorite even in Sydney). It is like they have their own little alternative universe going where the tasty small batch foodstuffs have equal footing with the big labels.

Then there are the great local favorites like the burgers at The Rails.

Or the unbeatable fish and handcut chips at Fishmongers (hands down the best we've had in years)

Or any of the tasty baked treats at L'Ultime

Or the simplicity of sitting outside of Ate: The Art of Food in Bangalow (while not technically Byron), nibbling a cheese plate and watching the town slowly roll by.

And then there is Fins. I'm not sure what we can say about Fins that hasn't been said before but we are certainly happy to add emphasis to the praise it has received. It is an exceptional restaurant by any measure but even moreso for an attitude which mirrors it's laidback setting.

Here is what we sampled:

Steamed Sydney rock oysters (Hastings River) with kaffir lime chilli tamari and ginger

Soft shell mudcrab in chilli tempura and yuzu sauce

Piri Piri prawns Mozambique style

Mauritian Seafood Sambal - packed full of bugs, prawns, fish, clams in a spicy bouillabaisse

Morracan tagine of fish of the day, in this case beautiful NT wild barramundi - this was beautifully rich and arromatic with spices and meltingly soft dates

Flourless chocolate torte with Amaretto soaked prunes

...and don't forget to take home some of the delicious chilli capsicum jam. (we had some on toast this morning with some melted smoked cheddar)

Fins is at the Beach Hotel Jonson & Bay Streets Byron Bay, NSW 2481 Phone: (02) 6685 5029
L'Ultime Open 8am - 3pm Mon-Fri at the Johnson/Lawson St roundabout
'The Rails' The Railways Friendly Bar is on Jonson street
Fishmongers< is in Bay Lane (Behind the Beach Hotel)
Ate is at 33 Byron St Bangalow

Momofuku

Another of our favorite meals in NYC that we now find ourselves hankering for more of back on the Sydney side was at David Chang's Momofuku. (thanks to Michael and Nina's tip)

Momofuku has turned casual dining into high-art in the East Village in sliver of a space.

There's the famous and incredibly rich and delicious ramen made with specially sourced Berkshire pork, baskets of sweetbreads served up McNugget-esque with dipping sauce on the side, tasty pork buns and unbelievably addictive smoked chicken wings. It's not really for vegetarians, as Chang proudly warns "There's pork fat in just about everything at Momofuku" - that includes the veggie dishes.

But the real reason for this post isn't to tell you about a restaurant that you can't go to, it's to share a recipe that Debbie sent us for a dish that we sampled and loved. So with more that a little fanfare here is sugar snap peas with grated fresh horseradish, click through for the recipe. (thanks to Debbie)

Per Se

Ok, so the previous post (now removed) was a tease to say that we did also get to Thomas Keller's Per Se when we were in NY (as we little by little try to work our way through this list).

Suffice it to say that we had a terrific meal without flaw, no surprise there. But we were surprised by how warm and open the service was. In most of my (admittedly somewhat limited) experience with restaurants of this calibre (and there aren't many) service was professional and proficient but at the cost of individual personality and charm - making the whole experience a bit stiff.

The case here was the opposite and despite the fact that we were overlooking Columbus Circle there was an intimacy to the whole experience that we genuinely enjoyed.

(the photos are a bit ordinary, apologies we were too focussed on the eating)

Amuse

"Oysters and Pearls" - "sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Russian Sevruga Caviar

"Torchon" of Moulard Duck Foie Gras - Pickled Bing Cherries, Pistachio "crumble", "Sylvetta," Balsamic reduction and toasted brioche

Pan Seared Fillet of Sturgeon - Smoked Sturgeon "Rillettes" Roasted Beets, "Melted" Leeks with Horseradish-Golden Beet Emulsion

(Photo MIA is Minestrone - Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster, Spiring Pole Beans, Hand Rolled "Trizzi," Lobster "Consomme" and Armando Manni "Per Me" Olive Oil 2002)

All-day Braised Four Story Hill Farm's Pork Shoulder - Braised Collard Greens, Tokyo turnips

Rib-Eye of Nature Fed Veal 'Roti a la brioche" - "Ragout" of "Ris de Veau," Greenmarket carrots, Bluefoot Mountain Mushrooms and English Peas with Anson Mills White Corn Polenta "Croutons" and Veal Jus

Burrata - "Pain de Campagne," Sweet 100 Tomatoes and "Petites" Basil Leaves with Garden Basil Syrup and Tomato oil

Tarte au Chocolate Noir Acidule - Yuzu-scented Chocolate Ganache Grahma cracker dust and Lemon-Verbena Infused Lemon Curd Ice Cream

(Photo MIA is Strawberry Sorbet - Vanilla "Chiboust," Strawberry "Jam" and "Coulis de Creme Fraiche")

Mignardises

Take home Macrons

wd-50 A New York Story

So most people who've been reading this blog for awhile will know that wd-50 in New York is my favorite restaurant in the known universe.

Well naturally we took the opportunity to stop by when we were in town last month.

The menu was:

- Spanish Mackerel, morcilla, cucumber, peach, marjoram

- Carrot-coconut "sunny-side up"

- Foie Gras, candied olives, green peas, beet juice

- Shrimp canneloni, chorizo, thai basil

- Beef tongue, fried mayo, tomato molasses

- Miso soup, sesame noodles (featuring a squeeze bottle to make your own noodles!)

- Smoked eel, peanuts, snow peas, whipped caramel

- Spring lamb, carob, honeydew, fava beans

- Corn bread ice cream

- Tonka bean brulee, sour cherry, marjoram

- Soft chocolate, sesame ice cream, ancho caramel, peanut powder

- Carrot ginger jellies

(click the picture above for a more detailed view on flickr)

T8 Shanghai (last travel post)

Our absolute favorite meal in Shanghai was at a restaurant that we hadn't planned on (or even heard about) before we arrived.

T8 Restaurant in Xiantiandi served us up an incredibly well handled degustation and a wonderful bit of "kitchen theatre" as we watched each dish come together under the watchful guidance of the talented and pedigreed (under Marco Pierre White, Eric Chavot and Jeremy Stode) Australian chef Stephen Wright.

Here is how the menu ran:

Kingfish sashimi w/ mango

Great hot housebaked bread with a tasty green zucchini puree

Gold wrapped strawberry in champagne matched with the next photo

Tataki of pepper encrusted tuna

Cappucino of green peas, goats cheese and black truffle

Ravioli of lobster and scallops in fragrant yellow curry emulsion

Ballotine of foie gras

Naturally, we had one each of the wagyu beef tenderloin with onion jam...

...and the roast turbot, tempura oyster and Jerusalem artichoke

Pre-dessert (not on the menu) was a deliciously decadent shot-glass chocolate milkshake

Canneloni of white chocolate with marinated peppered strawberries

Jean George Shanghai

For NYE we went to the Michael Graves designed Three on the Bund Complex, and tucked into a deliciously decadent degustation at Jean George (Mr. Vongerichten's self-titled Shanghai star).

The menu read like this:

...and I've posted the pics in running order...

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Shanghai Highlights

First stop, M on the Bund. We really enjoyed but weren't blown away by the food. But it's impossible to argue with the spectacular view, wine list and warm service of this local favorite.

Three salmony things ~ Hot smoked with apple and capers, a Tartar served with mustard sauce and a salad of pickled cucumber with salmon and quail eggs

Koka ~ a warm flaky pastry tart filled with roasted red peppers served with an olive and almond tapenade and a little drop of sherry

Slowly baked, salt encased selected leg of lamb with spinach purée and roasted potatoes & soft onions

M’s crispy suckling pig served with colcannon ~
potatoes with cabbage and leeks

Pastry tart filled with caramelized bananas, rum and raisins with vanilla bean ice cream

We lined up for this next item because lost of other people were...it was really delicious if somewhat salty. We still have no idea what exactly it was.

Respect to the Beard Papa.

We ate China's highest sashimi before drinks in the world highest bar.

We waited the better part of an hour for these Xiao Long Bao and damn did they taste good...

Later we discovered the best in Shanghai were quite near our hotel.

and handmade "la mian" noodles as well...

HK Highlights

Christmas dinner was at SPOON Alain Ducasse which on top of stunning views of the skyline lightshow that is Xmas in Hong Kong, presented an exceptional degustation. (we've got the menu somewhere around here and will post it post haste so you know what's what)

One other meal worth noting (well besides a delicious Christmas Eve, thanks Ian and Marina!) is one with a bit less glam, Wasabisabi in Time's Square served us up the most delicious black cod with miso (a la Nobu) and sashimi on warm rice.

Xmas Travel Food

As our long term friends of SFD will know, we normally try not to post much about our food travels, prefering rather to keep things relevant to our Sydney Food focus.

That being said, we had some stunning meals on this most recent trip that deserve a bit more than an amalgamated post - we're thinking we'll do three posts but we'll limit them to mostly photos. I hope that's ok, we promise not to stray for too long.

Starred in NYC

Ok, so this is Sydney Food Diary and as such we try not to say much about food in other places even when we do travel (which we do pretty often). But as food loving citizens of the world, I think we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that the first ever Michelin stars have been doled out in NYC.

As the first, it is significant anyway but also as the New York Times points out, there are some surprises.

In total, 39 stars were handed out only just a few more than London's 34 starred restaurants (although in London, only 1, Gordon Ramsay has three stars) but fewer than half as many in Paris.

"Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin and Per Se each received three stars, the top ranking, and four restaurants received two stars: Daniel, Masa, Bouley and Danube.

While the eight top rated restaurants are all high-priced and high-style, there were some surprises among the 31 restaurants that received one star. Babbo, perhaps the most popular Italian restaurant in New York, and the Spotted Pig, a no-frills Greenwich Village pub with a highly regarded menu, each got a star. Two Brooklyn restaurants - the 118-year-old steakhouse Peter Luger and Saul, a cozy contemporary American spot on the Smith Street strip in Boerum Hill - were the only restaurants outside of Manhattan to win stars."

Also among the starred is wd-50 - our personal favorite stop in NYC.

Complete list is here.

Although we think it is interesting as outsiders to see how these restaurants stack up there are (naturally) many in NY who are taking the French ratings with a grain or two of salt. We particularly liked what Anthony Bourdain had to say on the subject:

"I don’t even think we’ll be in the book—we’re not really cooking that caliber food at Les Halles that we’ve got to sweat Michelin. But I don’t think it will mean that much in New York. Of course, the three- and four-star French guys are very aware of the fact that it is important to Japanese tourists. It’s also a huge prestige issue with their pals back home. But given a choice of losing a star from the Times, and getting three from Michelin, I think a lot of people would be perfectly happy to hang on to their four Times stars and be misunderstood by the Evil French. The big question is who will get a top ranking: The thinking is that Ducasse is a shoo-in for three stars. If they don’t give it to Ducasse, it will just be a terrible slap. And if they don’t give three to Per Se, that’s really a huge turd in the punch bowl. If Per Se gets three, and Ducasse doesn’t, that’s a whole other political situation. At least that’s the girls’ talk—you know, when the chefs are all sitting around bitching and gossiping. As for Zagat, it’s devalued. It’s like, “Some say ‘delicious’; others say ‘smells like cat pee.’ ”