The Morrison Bar and Oyster, CBD

Morrison's oyster month last month (sorry) was their annual celebration of all things oyster. There was a special 1 dollar per oyster promotion and that drew in raves of people including me.  

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Lorraine's Patisserie, CBD

Lorraine's. Again. This time for a free pie promo to promote Merivale's newest product: Bert's pie and Bert's sausage roll. A quick 'on-the-way' to uni detour brings me along there on a dreadful winters day. Really packed as you'd imagine so if you're going to take advantage of it today, thoroughly recommend you get there by 11:45.

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Light My Fire Food and Wine Showcase, CBD

 A very interesting 40 dollar per ticket event saw me at Merivale's Light My Fire showcase the other night hosted at Palings Kitchen and Bar. Merivale, of course, is Justin Hemme's hospitality juggernaut, boasting 10 restaurants, more than 20 bars and many other venues and hotels. I've been to a few of these places and besides a few minor issues, most of them were outstanding. It's a wonder how they can keep the consistency up. 

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Tenkomori Ramen House, CBD

Winter is coming (bet you that's definitely not the first time you've heard that) and ramen noodle bars are becoming hugely popular. As autumn chills get progressively colder, a bowl of hot steaming soup is ever appealing. After mothers day we went all over the city and that very cold night brings us to Tenkomori.

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Misschu Tuckshop, CBD

A quick lunch brings me to Town hall where we find the hugely popular Misschu already busy.

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Sepia, CBD

It's 3 and a half years since ex-Tetsuya head chef Martin Benn colaborated with George Costi from De Costi Seafoods to form Sepia. It's evidently a match made in heaven; Benn's very Japanese grounding (being obviously a very seafood driven cuisine) and a reputable seafood entrepreneur in Costi. It has since gone to receive glowing reviews and has been at the forefront of Sydney's gastronomic attention.

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Rockpool Bar and Grill, CBD

Neil Perry's building quite a stable food empire these days, looking to ambitiously expand abroad. A jump into high risk, high reward openings has been incredibly successful for him and was built around hard work and ambition. It's not the first time I've been to Rockpool Bar and Grill. I've had the wagyu burger here before and whilst not the best burger, it came pretty damn close. And of course onion rings and chocolate jaffa mousse cake followed up after that and were just brilliant. It's been a while since I came back but I managed to convince a friend to go (the lure of watching Looper proved helpful).

Rockpool Bar and Grill is almost an iconic Sydney space in it's own right. In stating the glossy green marble columns, art deco building, dark stained oak tables, leather seats, neon purple tinted windows, open stainless steel kitchens, legions of white jacketed front house..., I'm describing what countless others will have already recognised. It's cool without being outlandish and edgy, sophisticated and grand without being too intimidating (it is initially) and I'm all for it. But you know the usual story, dark lighting and plating make for terrible photos so let that be the last we ever speak of it.

henney's dry cider 15

The Henney's cider had a pricey mark up but was delicious with a fair bit of tannin; needless to say it was dry but it pleasantly bittersweet with only a sadly mild apple flavour.

Bread and butter start us off although we can hardly stop at one serving.

Brioche with Slow Cooked Hen's Egg with Bone Marrow and Red Wine Butter Sauce 21

Brioche, good. Gorgeously silky, oozy, slow-cooked egg, good. Sweet cooked down onions doused in a rich red wine jus, goooood. (Friends reference by the way, Rachel's trifle), but what really does it for me are the small discs of pale bone marrow with pink centres that is truly the epitome of foodie joy. Only just holding together, the melting fattiness is beyond mesmerizing.  

Cape Grim Dry Aged 36 Month Old Grass Fed Scotch Fillet 220g 49

Various condiments are offered with the your steak but it comes unadorned, with none of the suspect chips and salad, except a wedge of lemon which is more than enough. A had the scotch fillet grass fed that felt, despite the lighting, was a little more on the medium side rather than the medium rare we ordered. The incredibly pungent harrisa has the slightest bit of heat and tastes almost Indiany/ Moroccan whereas the bearnaise was much more rounded and light in flavour with the usual hints of tarragon bringing it up.

Cape Grim Dry Aged 36 Month Old Grass Fed Rib-eye on the Bone 350g 60

My experiences with wagyu, besides the wagyu brisket from Marque, have been bafflingly disappointing given all the hype that surrounds it. I choose, instead, a grass fed rib eye which I found more giving than the previous sirloin and it has me imagining how much more tender a grain fed could of possibly been. It had a robust complexity and a gorgeous crust going on although the charring from the wood-fried grill resulted in a few burnt bits that were bitter. And of course gnawing on the bone isn't exactly the most civilized thing to do but it's always the best bit. 

"Mac and Cheese" 9

Our Mac and Cheese was superbly cheesy and rich; featuring a gratinated top, a mixture of gruyere, parmesan and cheddar and was just beyond delicious.

Royal Blue Potatoes Sauteed with Wagyu Fat and Rosemary 12

The potatoes with rosemary are a must have here, hearty, soft and crispy with the distinctive licking of meaty fat.

Rockpool Bar and Grill isn't on the cheaper end of the dining spectrum; there are steaks here that run for 110 dollars and a caviar toast that goes for 600. In saying that, you do get what you pay for; all the ingredients are superb and quality driven. It's beautiful, hearty, well cooked food although it could do with a little more needle-like precision that comes with the expectations bounded with the place. The professional service is incredibly consistent and has you well looked after. It's the sort of place you'd take someone out to impress; the food isn't polarising as opposed to the some of the other places I've been to lately although the bill in the end might be. I begrudgingly admit I didn't manage to finish all of it which I found surprising given I can polish any degustation with ease. Must have been all the potatoes and servings of bread I hard earlier. We came out bursting at the seams and very content however I'll leave that 110 steak for some other day, maybe when someone else is paying...


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Ladurée, Sydney

I've been having Laduree envy ever since my monthly (lately weekly) fine dining partner A spent 3 days in Paris and all 3 days were spent in Ladurée. Macarons, fruits and champagne for breakfast, macarons and sandwiches for lunch, panfried salmon and macarons for dinner, needless to say she made her experience sound so magical that ever since I've been frantically following the opening of Ladurée. 

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Quarter Twenty One (closed), CBD

It's long been since that when I first tried the famous Wagyu Burger and Peanut Brittle Banana Tart at Plan B that I had to one day eat at one of Justin North's actual restaurants. Relocation and price made that a bit difficult but Quarter 21 is a step towards the more affordable side especially after it joined Full Society as one of the restaurants you can get discounts at. My little secret. But first I want to ramble on about Avengers so skip to the 3rd paragraph if you're only after food.

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Mizuya, CBD

Hopped into Mizuya for a quick-fix dinner. It was actually not as packed as me and my friend thought it would be. Thank gosh for that! There's something rather intimate and cosy about eating at Mizuya, with its small, isolated wooden dining space. It was a rainy, wet day and my feet were drenched. Walking around for the whole day with yucky, damp feet is disgusting and not very fun, so as soon as we walked into Mizuya with its dim lighting I took off my flats. That was totally unrelated to the food, but a small perk of dining at Mizuya!~However, that made taking lovely photos a bit tricky. A redeeming and funky part are the touch screens! Fun to play with but self-esteem destroying when the screen doesn't respond to your touch... Yeah .....

Onto the food! The goooood bit! Entree consisted of the soft shell crab salad. Omnomnomnom, cue happiness.

Soft shell crab... such crispy goodness!

Super delicious. A great way to start the meal. Crisp, deep fried soft shell crab with creamy mayonnaise and refreshing greens! The natural texture of the soft shell crab means that deep frying it adds a certain crispness that makes it very pleasant to chow down! The lovely mayonnaise was wonderful, splendid, gorgeous... all the lovely words! Honestly though, you really should have the crab with the salad because without it, you can taste the oiliness of the deep fried soft shell crab.. which can be sickening if eaten by itself (too much). By the way, the menu stated the dish contained cherry tomatoes, it came with field (normal?) tomatoes. Interesting, but nothing complaint-worthy.

Then, we had the grilled beef.... More omnomnomnom-ing.

The grilled beef

This was delightful! I love how well it was cooked! It was 'medium well' if I were to "classify" it. Juicy and tender, simply delicious! My main complaint with the dish is the sauce/marinade totally overpowered the taste of the meat at times. Accordingly, the sauce basically overpowered the bean sprouts and the potato... leaving the meat to be the best part of the dish!

Finally, a little dessert in the form of a green tea sundae!

Green tea sundae

I loveeeeeeeeeee green tea, and I looooooooooooooveee ice cream. So yeah. This was perfect. If I had to be fussy and complain about everything, I'd say the strawberry was sour. ... Yeah, pathetic attempt indeed. I just really, really, really love green tea ice cream!

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Felix Bistro and Bar, CBD

Ahhhh Bonjour mes amis! C'est la journée parfaite. And it really was. Rain threatened to kill the day but it never happened. And I can't help but get all excited anything french. I'm a self- admitted francophile, just the mere thought of french girls' exotic accents to getting lost in Paris's magical buildings or the language itself with all the sibilance and silences to waking up with a croissant in one hand and a macaron in the other sends me in french filled stupor. And it helps that french workers happen to have a 2 hour lunch break standard. Enough for a quick degustation. Can't possibly be a bad thing right? 

Forgive me for the shakiness of the pictures. That was due to the aforementioned excitement. That in conjunction with the lighting makes this a nightmare place to take pictures. 

Deviate off the main road and onto a little alleyway befitting of the Melbourne CBD, walk through the outside smoking dining area complete with the requisite awnings, past the legions of long-aproned, bow tied waiters and wine-walled dining area, plop yourself on at a table with your own frilly table lamp and you know you've stepped into Merivale's faithfully beautiful rendition of little France. 

A basket of assorted sourdough was placed in front of us before we even did anything, a sign of the homely generosity to come. Crust was chewy and nutty and the butter was cheesy and soft, a good way to start off. 

Munching on bread, you can't help but look around in awe of the world you've just stepped into. Opened kitchen on the left, oyster bar in the middle with stacks of unopened oysters ready to be shucked sitting on ice and a bar to the right all walled in with french wines. Browsing through the menu reveals a unmistakable collection of french classics like steak tartare, bouillabaisse and tripes a la lyonnaise but it's the duck confit and parfait that catches my eye, two quintessential dishes no French brasserie is complete without.

Chicken Liver Pate, Currant Relish, Cournichons 16

I'm starting to really really like liver parfait because this rustic dish was brilliant. You get hunks of torn sourdough, a little watercress, zingy gherkins and fruity currants and most importantly, a rich, smooth and spreadable parfait and that would quite possible be one of the best single bites I've ever had. Oh and cournichons are awesome, really awesome, just pierces through all that fattiness and has a lovely bite. I just abandoned all cutlery and went cave man because you have to be really meticulous while putting everything in a single bite. The sourdough was charred a little more than I preferred though.

Goats Cheese Soufflé 22

Bring a defibrillator because Oh man this souffle is heart-attack inducing. So cheesy and yummy, eggy and the caramelised crust gives it a real nice crisp texture. Probably not suitable eating this by yourself though, and a few nuts or a little salad or herbs on top wouldn't go amiss.

Oysters with Condiments 3.50 each

E kept telling me repeatedly how good these oysters were, small yet plump and achingly fresh. Man... I regret a little not getting some.

Garlic Mash 10

The garlic mash was as it should be: smooth and buttery. However the garlic flavour was lacking to the point of non-existent, something that would helped bring another dimension of flavour.

Duck confit, red grapes, walnut, frisee, radicchio 32

Duck was crispy and fall apart but it is really the salad of radicchio, frisee, grapes, cournichons and walnuts that makes it even better. Such a wickedly intelligent combination; tart, crispy, fall off the bone tender, bitter, crunchy, all types of sweet and the wonderfully sticky sweet sauce just lifts it and just makes it a real winning dish.

Pan fried fish with cabbage salad and cucumber creme fraiche 28

L had this and quite enjoyed it. I sampled a bit and the fish was perfectly cooked and moist, the salad, creamy and zingy yet not sickening, at least not to me. 

Lamb pie, sautéed mushrooms, and tarragon jus 32

My friend E had a look at the menu and exclaimed "what? 32 for a pie?". She then went ahead and ordered it. I too, however, share her opinion and am mixed about this pie. I love mushrooms, however it may have been a bit too much, admittedly they get sickening sucking up the sweet sauce. The filling was packed with meat but was a tad dry. However, spiking it with a little tarragon gives it a hearty aniseedy punch and the pastry had a satisfying crisp. A little extra greenery would have been nice.

Felix is charming bistro located in the heart of NSW CBD but it might as well have been teleported from Paris itself. And there's so much more to try: de plateau de fruits de mer (fun fact, fruit is pronounce "fweets" in french, I found that interesting...), the entire dessert menu, the wines, something from the rotisserie, the regular daily specials like bouillabaisse. Hospitality was light-hearted and friendly and the food was thoughtful despite being a little heavy-handed. But really, what is french food without that little extra portion of butter, or cheese, or a dollop of cream, an extra sprinkling of sugar? A touch of luxury. Oui, s'il vous plaît



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