L'Office - Paris, 9th Arrondissement

L'Office serves fresh modern French food in the 9th arrondissement.  It is a tiny restaurant and we were lucky to get the booking for 9:30pm.  Yes everyone eats late here, there were even people coming in at 11! 

 

I found this by reading French food blogs and wanted to go to a similar restaurant called Septime but couldn't get a reservation.  It is supposed to be one of the must go to restaurants for foodies as it is a new type of cuisine they are serving up in a chilled environment.

There were only 2 guys running the show and the chefs downstairs, hence service a bit slow.  We sat by the stairs so saw each plate as they came up from the kitchen.  The dishes are clean and simple with that French flair and clever combination of flavours.  I think the owners are apparently American, hence we noticed a few Americans in the house.  Yet there were quite a few locals too.

 

Again the menu was only written on the blackboards and it was a set menu, this time for 33 Euro for 3 courses.  No amouse bouche or starter though.

 

Overall it's a good restaurant to try but I kind of was expecting better from all the blog reviews I read. 

Ok, my entrée was this the "saumon" tartare.  As you can see, these chunks of salmon are pretty big.  This is the best tartare of salmon we have ever tasted!  So clean.

Below, entrée of assorted mushrooms.  Very earthy tasting.  They did taste like they were just picked from the French woods, hahaha.  The hazelnut went really well too.  I'm usually not a nut person when it comes to nuts in dishes.  Snickers, yes, in a salad, not really.

My main of duck breast was ordered apprehensively as we had eaten a lot of duck over the past weeks, but seeing as there was only 3 options, to me this sounded the best.  And, lucky it didn't disappoint of turn me off duck.  It was absolutely delicious.  The mini turnips with the stem still on presented nicely and added a bit of zhusj.  The cucumber however could have been given a miss.  The winner was the duck, cooked to perfection and with the salty risotto it sat on, was a mouthful of satisfaction.

Ok, so even now with a bit of a fancy camera, I could not for the life of me get this pork main to focus.  Maybe it was saying something.  "I'm not worthy of a shot. . ."  All I can remember was ordinary.  Lucky it wasn't my main, haha.  Poor husband.  It was ok, the gnocchi and eggplant additions helped it along.

Dessert time!  I wanted the ricotta soufflé but it was sold out.  Damn.  So I got this runny concoction of chocolate and sesame something or rather.  It was nice.  Nothing fancy.  I thought it had sat on the pass for too long but when I saw the next one come up the stairs it looked exactly the same as mine.

 

The cheesecake dessert was nice.  Not too cheesy and was more like a brulee.  Looked pretty though.

 

Le Square Gardette - Paris, 11th Arrondissement

Back to reality, but reliving my recent holiday to Europe through my food pics.

First night in Paris was this bar/restaurant called Le Square Gardette.  Sitting at the tables on the pavement with "vin" in hand, looking at Parisian apartments glistening as the sun goes down, it was a perfect first night amongst the locals.  Then when our stomachs started rumbling we went inside.   It is an eccentrically decorated dining room with moose heads hung on the wall.  Feels like a grandma's house with old carpet and single stem flowers on the tables.

This place is further out from the centre but it is a developing hipster suburb with lots of restaurants popping up experimenting with modern French fare.  Tenne Belles is a coffee bar fave amongst Aussies for coffee in Paris which is a few blocks up from this place. 

This meal set the standard for the rest of the trip.  Like most restaurants it is a set menu.  For 41 Euro we got 3 courses which is pretty good value for what we got.  The menu is written on the day depending on what the chefs source from the markets.  The waitress had basic English skills and struggled to translate some dishes but we kind of got the gist of the main things.  If you are that keen on the exact dishes you can translate from the menu below. . .

If in the arrondissement I highly recommend this place.

I forgot to take a pic of the amouse bouche and we also got this tasty starter as a surprise before our entrée.  Forgive me it was a quite a few weeks ago but I cannot remember what this dish was.  Sashimi with zucchini noodles I think!

Below was my entrée of fresh taglitelle, with slithers of cuttlefish, shallot, egg yolk and raspberry sauce!  Amazing! 

My husbands' entrée:  Ceviche of white fish, with kiwi and popcorn and probably other things.  It was an unusual combo but tasted great.

Main of poached chicken with mango and some type of vegetable puree.  This was good but my least fave of the night, lucky it wasn't my choice lol!

 

My main of fish with ratatouille, eggplant puree and pamplemousse, which is grapefruit.  This was delicious.

 

Dessert time!  Chocolate tart with a yummy crumble.  I clearly remember this chocolate to be so creamy but not that sickly rich.  Even at the end of the meal you could scoff this and not feel ill afterwards.  Must be a really good type of cocoa.

My dessert was a meringue with tarragon Chantilly cream and grapefruit.  I left a few pieces of the "pamplemousse" (love that word) behind as it was just a bit too tangy. 

Momofuku Seibo - The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Sydney

To mix things up a bit I had a request last week from a friend to do a guest blog.  And I thought, why not?  I mean, one person cannot simply have the time or budget to experience all the amazing eating houses/restaurants in Sydney or the world over to share with all of you.  So please enjoy the review and fine (proper) photos by Wesley Tan.  I apologise for the small size of them!
 
If there are any readers that use blogger as their platform  could you please tell me, if you know, why I cannot resize my photos?  The pop up menu only works for the first photo.  Very strange and frustrating!

Anyway I'll let the review start now. . .

I love food. Like, I LOVE food. And that’s really no secret to anyone who knows me. I love the universality and ubiquity of great food - it really doesn't matter if you're having a $225 degustation or a $2.50 banh mi, whether there are 30 ingredients in a bouillabaisse or 4 in a nigiri; given quality produce, they all have equal potential to be absolutely delicious!

 

 

It was with this in mind that I booked a lunch degustation for 2 at Momofuku Seibo, the Sydney branch of David Chang’s gastronomic kingdom, and the best new restaurant in town if the 2013 Good Food Guide is to be believed. Momofuku has a 20 day online booking policy - bookings open at 10am and allow everyone equal access, meaning you don't have to book for a special occasion months in advance but have sufficient time to eagerly anticipate the goodness in store. And that anticipation was definitely not wasted. For what we were served, the lunch degustation is supreme value - $110 pp for approximately 8 courses (we had 11). Their dinner degustations are $185 pp.

We were seated at a table adjacent to the bar. Service was brisk and polite, with various chefs personally delivering courses to our table, but not attentive enough to discover after 11 courses and our repeated and obvious migration of eating utensils that we were both in fact left-handed.

 

The first course we had was smoked potato encased in a cylindrical tuile biscuit with dehydrated apple and apple gel. Delicate with a subtle sweetness and savouriness, it was a harbinger of great things to come.

 

 

 

Next came the moment I had been waiting for my entire life - the infamous David Chang pork bun. I held those pillowy, alabaster clouds encasing that perfectly unctuous, gelatinous pork belly for a good minute as I admired it from every angle before I dared taste it. It was love at first bite. That said, my friend said she still preferred the ones she had tried in New York.

 

 

The cured striped trumpeter with celery and mustard oil was perfectly balanced and delicious, with the sweetness of the fish carefully accentuated.

 

 

The deep friend parson’s nose with crispy potato and watercress was one of our favourites.

 

That was followed by one of the most beautiful dishes I’ve ever eaten - sous vide octopus on eel dashi jelly with radishes, sunflower and almond milk. I found the creativity of the dishes inherently regressive, as they rendered me as giggly as a tween holding Robert Pattinson’s hand while on Red Bull at a One Direction concert. While the peppery radishes were a tad unwieldy to eat, I was impressed by the fact that this wasn’t just beauty for beauty’s sake, or complexity for complexity’s sake - but every element had clearly been carefully considered and balanced in a demonstration of supremely technical cooking.

 

 

 

Next came a perfectly cooked egg yolk with spiced cauliflower on an emulsion of fermented mushroom. A perfectly seasoned textural triumvirate.

 

 

Then we were finally onto the mains. First came the perfectly cooked pan-fried striped trumpeter with fennel, dill and a squid ink reduction, followed by my personal favourite - pork neck with squash two ways, kombu and a broadbean puree. As the pork arrived the music in the restaurant transitioned from a blissful Bon Iver track to a Beastie Boys classic that had most of the diners rapping along between mouthfuls.

 

 

To cleanse our palette we were then served a small bowl containing South Australian goat curd, mint oil and a blackcurrant juice.

For dessert we were served slivers of pear and honey cream dotted with native Australian muntries berries; again a perfectly balanced flavour and texture combination.

 

 

To our surprise this wasn’t the last course, as we were finally delivered their version of a French canalè - perfectly crispy on the outside, moist and sticky on the inside; and a decadent salted caramel fudge that left me with a lingering sense of satisfaction as we left the restaurant with our vacuum-sealed packet of Momofuku kim-chi in hand.

 

 

 

Momofuku definitely isn’t your typical 3 hat restaurant. If eating with your hands, loud and eclectic playlists and sitting at the bar are not to your taste, then this mightn’t be the place for you. Personally, I found that the somewhat childlike curiosity I entered the restaurant with was keenly fostered by the relaxed environment. I’m already saving to go back for dinner.

 

West Juliett - 30 Llewellyn Street, Marrickville

Lunch is the time to explore new places to eat instead of eating at your bloody desk all the time.   A colleague of mine suggested this new café, not so new now as this post is so overdue.  West Juliett is one of those cutesy, DIY, natural, organic vibed cafes.  Very reminiscent of what's happening in this part of town like The Grounds and Kitchen by Mike but much cosier.  It is known as a breakfast café, but lunch I must say from reading other reviews is the way to go for me  so I can give you a review of non breakfast offerings.

 

Anyway as usual I was starving and so in order to taste not just one dish individually we shared two and I'm glad I did.

 

We opted for the 12 hour roasted pork sandwich and the Greek style beef soup.  I was too excited that I didn't take a pic of the menu to remember what I actually ate.  All I can say is that I am not a sandwich lady, I prefer heartier hot meals, I think that's down to my Asian upbringing.  So after eating this sambo I am converted.  If someone made me a sandwich with fresh, great quality ingredients, preferably with soft shreds of pork and fab mayo, I would  happily eat them for lunch every day.

 

For double meatiness, the beef soup was really tasty.  The broth was thin but delicious!  Not too light as the big chunks of fall apart meat and potato filled me up quick!  The fried sage reminded me how much I liked this herb.  It also came with two big pieces of soft brown bread and a small block of butter that I used to mop up every last drop of this soup.

 

 

There's a great counter filled with baked goodies, but I was too full to sample any.  My colleague got one of those huge salted choc bikkies to go and of course I had a bit when it was arvo tea time, how could I refuse?  And gee was it yum.  That perfect consistency of soft and crunchy and the dash of pink salt on top.

 

I for, the life of me cannot remember how much it was but I can confidently say it's reasonable, the servings are a good size and the food is just so fresh and tasty. It doesn't leave you feeling a bit regretful that you ate so much.  You will leave feeling happily satisfied.  I will be back for a coffee and sweet baked treat.

 

If you're heading Marrickville way, make some time for this low key joint.  You will be glad you did.

 



Barrio Chino - 30 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross

I have eaten here about four times now and so I thought it was time to write my review about this place.  It's nothing to rave on about but at least it's consistent.  It's Asian fusion Mexican you could say.  A wierd combo, but I know of the owner and he is Chinese with other joints under his name, Fei Jei and Bayswater Diner which is just opposite this place.

I suggest going here during the week when it's less busy so you get more attention from the staff as it can get hectic and noisy.  On this night we have one very genuinely nice  and attentive waiter and another waitress not so much as she asked us with attitude "is that all we were ordering?" not knowing we had already ordered the first lot of food with the other guy.  Then she realised and kind of apologised.  Still.

Not sure if you will notice but these pics have been taken with a proper camera and not my iphone!  Much better looking!

Ok, so here is what my husband and I ate. . .

We started off with Botanas which is snacks, in Mexican.  It was the Botanas specials night.

3 Queso Grilled Jalapenos, $4 - The little jalapenos packed a punch and was great with the 3 cheeses melted on top, not sure what cheeses they were but it was nice and creamy with the right amount of saltiness.  Could have had double the amount for $4, as it was only 2 halved peppers.  Tiny.

 

 

Salsa Picante Wings, $4 - Nice and saucy with the dipping mayo to mellow out the heat of the wings.  Pretty yummy.

Kingfish, prawn and squid ceviche tostada, $4 - Tiny but I knew they were going to be.  It was fresh and zingy and the crunch of the tostada makes it a great combo.  That is why I ordered the tuna tostadas.

Tuna tostadas, $14 - For $3.50 each they better deliver and they did!  This time however was the first time it was a large chunk of tuna on top instead of like a tartare of tuna.  I prefer it this way so you can taste the tuna more.

Crispy potatoes, ancho chilli salt and chipotle mayo, $6 - Had to have a filler.  Not so crispy, but it was the mayo that lifted this dish from plain to better than average.  Needed more of that stuff though.

 

Taco Carnita, $ 6 - Prune and garlic braised pulled pork with char grilled pineapple salsa.  These are pretty good, and the pineapple is just bordering on too much, as it nearly over powers the pork which is already sweet with the prune flavour.  I reckon they should be $3.50 each, not 6.  Plus the three chilli sauces are a great addition, all you need is a bit.  The hottest one is far left and the mildest the green looking one. 

 

 Overall Barrio Chino is a restaurant/bar that won't go out of fashion soon, yet isn't the newest and hippest place to be.  The food is consistent and the vibe is good, you shouldn't be let down if you do go.  Try the weekly special nights for better value.

 

Beef Brisket Pot Roast Recipe

Since starting this blog one and half years ago, one of the most read posts has been my recipe for Chinese 5 Spice Pork Ribs.  So finally on this second day of winter I will share this recipe so that you can try it over the next three months of roast worthy weather.

 

I put this recipe together by amalmagting a few other recipes I found on the net, it is a cross between a beef bourguiginon and a normal casserole I guess.  I've added spuds to make it more of a hearty stew so I don't have to cook them separately in a mash and added lots of carrot as the vege component.  A one pot wonder.

 

Here is what you need for 2 hungry people with some leftovers for lunch the next day.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 4 hours.

1. Beef brisket 750g - 1 kg (comes in a roll)
2. 3 medium potatoes
3. 3 medium carrots
4. 3 medium onions
5. 8 garlic cloves (I think I added like 16! I love coked garlic)
6. 2 bay leaves
7. Few sprigs of thyme
8. 1 teaspoon of Paprika
9. 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
10. 1 cup of  red wine
11. 4 beef stock cubes dissolved in 1L of water
12. Olive oil
13. Salt
14. Pepper
15. 1 teaspoon of cornflour

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper.
3. In a 4L heavy based pot heat up the oil and wait until it's really hot then brown your beef on all sides.  I tied it up to help it maintain it's shape.
4. Put it aside.
5. Put in the quartered onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, paprika, tomato paste into the same pot with a bit more oil.  Sweat down the onions and then add the wine.  Simmer until reduced while cleaning all the brown bits stuck on the bottom of the pot from with a wooden spoon.
6. Add the big chunks of chopped potatoes and carrots coat in the liquid.
7. Clear a space in the middle of the pot to put the beef back in and then pour in the beef stock.  It should cover the beef halfway. 
8. Bring to the boil and then place in the oven.  Cook at 180 for 20 minutes and then turn down heat to 135°C.  Cook for 3.5 to 4 hours.
9. I turned my beef at half time so all of it got a turn to cook in the liquid.
10. Just before it's ready, mix a little bit of water with the cornflour and add it to the pot to thicken up the gravy.

You can serve with some steamed green beans to brighten up the dish but I just roasted more potatoes and carrots.

Forgot to take a photo of it dished up (was just too hungry)!  It's not a terribly good looking dish anyway but it is pretty tasty and so rich in flavour.  The gravy with all the onion melted into it and the garlic chunks now so soft is absolutely delicious.  It's perfect for a winters night like tonight. 

Here are some pics of the process.