Brewtown, Newtown

Not actually late to the party this time. Just a huge backlog of stuff I need to do. That aforementioned party is the huge social media driven attention that Brewtown is currently experiencing. Keen to check it out for myself and always happening to be around Newtown, off we went to hipster town. 

If you haven't heard of them already, Brewtown is hot news right now. Avid followers line up outside keen for their freshly fried batches of cronuts, roasted coffee and other simple breakfast items.

Corned beef hash with garden peas, poached egg and parmesan crumbs 15

We start off with potato hash, corned beef and eggs. I'm always looking forward to perfectly poached eggs but they definitely need to up their egg game because they were incredibly over-cooked.

Beetroot cured ocean trout with goat's cheese, caper berries and baby beets 16.5

Next up is a fresh little garden of watercress, sweet baby beets, salty caper berries and dill with sweet ribbons of ocean trout and creamy mild goats cheese thrown around. 

Squid ink linguine, garlic chilli prawns, kale and parmesan 18.5

Health nuts rejoice as the usual affair of squid ink pasta, parmesan and prawns is twisted up with the addition of kale. We love the touch of chilli at the end which brightens up an otherwise plain-jane dish.  

Cinnamon Cronut 4.5

Chocolate Crumble Cronut 4.5

Raspberry Jam Cronut 4.5

First time ever with cronuts and they're pretty good... for a fad (I adore macarons by the way so a little ironic). I think I set the bar a bit high but you get what you expect: a flakey layered doughnut. They're nice and crisp with simple toppings; perfect way to finish.

The food's top notch, the coffee's roasted and brewed up stairs and they've almost single-handedly fed Sydney's obsession with pastry hybrid. Matched with bright-eyed service, it's easy to see that the whole hype around is totally justified.

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Pinbone, Woollahra

Pinbone has opened up with much attention thanks to their considerable list of pop-up dinners. They've finally got a permanent spot up and if you've haven't heard of them before, you might want to pop by their instagram to prepare your tastebuds. 

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Biota Dining, Bowral

This whole Noma movement has taken the world by storm. Who would have ever imagined to go along the road, dig out the first green thing you see and eat it. Sounds like what a two year old would do. Like a recipe to get a drug induced high more so than gastronomic enlightenment. And yet we have restaurants all over the world basing their entire concept on the art of foraging.

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Excelsior Jones, Ashfield

I'm a breakfast sort of person. You know what they say, it's the most important meal of the day. But there are days where you just don't want to get up and the meal quickly turns to brunch. I find myself in Ashfield one day and the newly opened Excelsior Jones grabs my attention for that very meal.

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Jaan, Singapore

Jaan in Singapore comes highly recommended by many international reviewers. With the arrival of chef Andre Chiang, it's direction really started to head off in the way of sourcing rare produce and gained international attention along the way, climaxing at no.39 in the World best 50 in 2010. With the departure of Chiang, french chef Julien Royen has very much continued this direction. Royen is the main attraction here and the restaurant makes no secret of it, exposing his so called 'artisal' cooking style in every opportunity.

As you enter the Swissotel complex, you pass through 2 checkpoints before you enter the restaurant itself. Located 70 floors up, 741 feet up, the view is absolutely breathtaking to say the least. Really gives new meaning to high-class doesn't it. Sorry that was lame. What isn't is the adjacent buildings quivering against its height as you see the Singaporean skyline along with Marina Bay with its distinguished Sands hotel and garden amongst many other things. Windows of the room are large and the room itself is elegantly understated save for the elaborate ceiling so as to avoid detracting from the view.

A bread selection from truffle brioche to traditional sourdough gives us an interesting variety. I obviously opt for the truffle brioche in an attempt to get the most value and its generously laced with visible truffle strands and the flavour itself is potent.

Canapes

You've got to love freebies as they continue to bring a whole set of canapes along to enjoy. We begin with the smoked eel enhanced by the apple jelly and cut right through with tart limes (back) and then move on to chicken skin pressed flat and spiced (middle) and then onto the delicious cheese croquettes (front).

'My Hummus' with crisps

Royen's hummus is deliciously chunky packing loads of Puy lentil flavour sourced from a little French village called Saint Flour. Almost transparent thin crisps with a variety of seeds accompany it and you're invited to spread them on.

A little soup start us off which begins as a airy sabayon (egg emulsion) laced with cepe  
mushroom and topped with buckwheat puffs lifted here with an almost too generous amount of seasoning. 

Hot mushroom consomme then poured from a coffee press in front of us and the mixture rises up.

Their signature comes with a bit of theatre involved. It comes in 2 parts: the dish simply of slightly salty iberico, mushrooms and its puree and a crunchy buckwheat puffs as well as the egg itself. 

55' Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg
Smoked Rattes, Wild Mushrooms, Chorizo Iberico, Buckwheat

This 55 minute, 64 degree creamy thing of beauty is rosemary smoked and arrives liquid nitrogen rosemary-perfumed in its eggshell for good measure. As if that wasn't even enough, rosemary is smoked underneath the transparent bowl as well. 

Scottish Salmon Tartare
Horseradish, Pickled Kohlrabi, Aquitaine Caviar

Their other entree comes in the form of a salmon tartare with caviar with kohlrabi balls dotted around. A bit different from usual tartares but, as opposed to the previous appetiser, it just seems a little tame at the same time. It was delicately delicious, yes, but it didn't have as much impact.

Line Caught John Dory suppl 15
Romanesco Textures, Crustacean Bisque 

Tiny little romanesco broccoli plays the star attraction here. The joy is not in the taste which has slightly less flavour and milder in taste than its cousins rather than in its looks. The textures come in the from of pan fried, crumbed and pureed. This little fractal beauty is a feast for the eyes if you take the time to notice the cone like shape and comes at the forefront with all its textures. By itself it feels a little bland even, missing a little oomph that's quickly remedied by a saucing of crustacean at the table.

36 Hours Kurobuta Pork
Forgotten Vegetables, Winter Broth

The fat to meat ratio on the pork is nauseatingly tilted towards the fat . It feels like it needed a little something to be fresh and punchy, something bitter or sour to cut through it all which it didn't have. 

Organic Chestnut Ravioli
Jerusalem Artichoke, Black Trumpets

Chestnut has never tasted so good. It's mind blowing how much chestnut flavour they squeezed into the little tortellini and the creamy nutty flavour is further amplified by the earthy trumpets and artichokes.

Choconuts 4th
Sable Breton, Textures of White, Milk and Dark Chocolate

Our first dessert feels like a textures of chocolate refined with additional elements. In digging in you experience a textural delight; you might get a little sherbet going on, maybe one of the 3 assorted Valhorna icecreams on the plate or a little dense brownie mixed with the crumbly sable breton or the crispy chocolate leaves.

Chestnut 'Gormandise'
Speculos, Meringue, Eglantine

We were advised to mix everything up together and eat it so but I couldn't help but be a little curious about how they tasted like individually. Turns out the waiter was right as the glossy eglantine puree, a rose native to europe and asia, was incredibly bitter but mix it all up and its just magical. The mix of textures is sublime but it's its concoction of the boozy kick of yellow rum jelly mixed together with the smooth chestnut icecream wrapped in a cylindrical tuille which offsets the sharp bitterness that makes it a winner.  

Petit fours and coffee finish off our light lunch with the most memorable being the liquid nitrogen rosemary smoked chocolate which seriously works, why have I not discovered this before and the ice block with popping candy which brought me back to my childhood.

What Royen does superbly and makes him special is the ability to squeeze the utmost absolute flavour out of ingredients. What's more astounding is this is achieved with seemingly no gadgetry and maintaining a prevalent theme of earth driven produce with root vegetables making an appearance in nearly every dish. Coming from a generation of farmers, his respect for ingredients is unparallel. 

The food is right up there but its the front floor where it starts falling apart. Mistakenly getting handed a dinner menu during lunch was certainly an awkward start as well as the dirty green thumb stain on the lunch menu and forgetting to sauce my dory dish mid way through. Service exhibits a welcoming tone of relaxation and calmness but can occasionally be quite imposing especially during payment where they'll just idly linger around very close to you. Still, the food more than makes up for it and besides a few missing touches here and there, Jaan rounds out a great Singapore culinary experience.


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Bodega, Surry Hills

Bodega. What can I say that I haven't said already. It's bloody brilliant food. Such commendation would be reserved for the ending of this post but it's undeniable the fact that there is genius that lies behind this ever popular restaurant so why postpone it? Elvis Abrahanowicz, formerly of Porteno, has since returned to Bodega to grace it with his culinary presence. His return has brought with him an entirely new menu, energy charged and full of life.

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Circa Espresso, Parramatta

I know so little about Parramatta. Besides the food court in westfields and a few decent asian eateries littered around the area, Parramatta to me isn't exactly the most bubbling hub of foodie centric delights. However, searching around, you can't help but be drawn in to Circa  with its easing going yet upbeat nature, even if it is over a computer screen so a real visit was going to happen sooner or later.

Cappucino 3.5

I didn't have a coffee, fearful that I would just crash in the midst of a crucial scene in TDKR later on that night. My friend tells me it's aromatic and a bit bitter but we were both fascinated by the little coffee art. The little things in life.

Baked eggs with sujak, danish fetta, tomato & chilli 14

Judging from other blogs, their baked eggs has to be by far one of their most popular dishes. Or pans should I say. Tomatoes, fetta and sujak sausage give it big robust flavours and the smell is intoxicating. 

Portobello Mushrooms in a sourdough with hummus and rocket salad 12

The mushrooms were cooked superbly, big and meaty but balanced brilliantly with with a nutty hummus and an acidic salad. The sourdough was a little disappointing as it eventually gets drenched in the juices and just gets all tough and cardboardy. The previously replaced brioche may have faired a lot better.

Banana bread with house made passion fruit butter 6

I wasn't here for the bread but luminous yellow passionfruit butter caught my eye. Viscous, tart and sweet, it goes really well with the banana bread.

Circa is the ultimate care free day, long slow brunch, talk endlessly whilst losing yourself sort of place and you'd be hard pressed finding any other place like it around the area. Cue Bruno Mar's The lazy song. Their menu changes daily so you'll never get bored. It's little wonder, despite being hidden away from the main street, from breakfast till lunch that the crowds never die down even on a gloomy rainy day.



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Marque, Surry Hills

Perennial 3 hatter and Australian Gourmet Traveller restaurant of 2012, Marque restaurant can be seen to represent the penultimate experience in Australian dining. Having been there already and thoroughly enjoying the experience, the 45 dollar Friday lunch prix fix was too good of a deal to pass up and keen to see what the restaurant has to offer, a return visit was in the works.

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