Northern Italian smokehouse? I was immediately intrigued and decided to pay Grolla in Neutral Bay a visit. Nearly all the items on the menu have a smoked element, from appetisers to desserts.
My friend and I started with the Smoked duck breast. The smoked duck was beautifully prepared, paired with ricotta and a caramelised fig sauce. You can't go wrong with this combination.
The Smoked kingfish carpaccio is one of their signature dishes. The smokiness was subtle but noticeable. It presented beautifully with a drizzle of olive oil, flying fish roe and a sprinkling of beetroot powder.
Onto the mains and we went with the owner's recommendation and ordered the Smoked beef rib. The beef rib was incredibly juicy and melted in my mouth. The Mojo Verde packed a punch of flavour and really freshened up the dish.
Similarly, the Smoked pork jowl and cheek was infused with great flavour from the smoking process. Each mouthful, with the smooth, creamy cauliflower puree was a joy to eat.
Onto dessert and the food continued to impressive, both in taste and aesthetic appeal. A beautiful glass ornament landed at our table. Lifting the lid, we were greeted by our first dessert: Macadamia nut Lemon myrtle Coconut ice cream, corn puff, pistachio, smoked salted caramel. The ice cream was creamy and refreshing, and I loved the crunchy texture of the corn puffs. The smoked salted caramel tied the whole dish together.
The Mascarpone semifreddo looked equally stunning. The mango and lime curd center was simply divine. The semifreddo was topped with a sprinkling of the strawberry dust, and of course the smoked caramel sauce. I was impressed Grolla has been able to incorporate smokiness into desserts and actually elevate the dish, rather than being a distraction.
Grolla is definitely worth a visit, offering beautifully presented, fusion cuisine with unique flavours and personable service.
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Why worry about Monday when you can have a Stressless Sunday? That's the premise at Ormeggio at the Spit, where you can have a six course dinner for $79. Amazing value for a two hatted restaurant. The beautiful view of Mosman Bay is not bad either.
The menu changes each week, depending on what seasonal produce is on offer. We started with some Sourdough and whipped ricotta with a sprinkling of chives. It's good quality sourdough, served warm and the whipped ricotta was a great alternative to butter.
We started with the Eggplant and tomato consomme, a very delicate and fresh dish. The eggplant was incredibly soft and the consomme, whilst there wasn't a lot of it, packed a punch of flavour.
Next was the Pan fried kingfish with puffed rice, broccolini powder and mussel water. The fish was cooked remarkably well and the puffed rice gave it a nice crunch. Although I didn't get much of a mussel flavour, it was still a very delicious dish to eat.
The Tagliolini was also cooked to perfection. Whilst the serving looked small, the mascarpone made it an incredibly creamy and decadent dish. I loved the hit of umami from the bottarga (fish roe) too.
The single meat dish of the night was the Lamb with coffee crumble. The lamb was braised, formed into thin sheets then fried, giving it a crispy crust on the outside. The coffee flavour was strong but not overpowering and worked in harmony with the sour cream emulsion and the black garlic puree.
Dessert was simply titled Textures of lemon and almond. It consisted a lemon and almond sponge, with almond ice cream lemon and almond puree, vanilla crumble and lemon granita. It was light and refreshing, but felt a little bit more like a palate cleanser/ pre-dessert than a full dessert.
All in all, Ormeggio is a great showcase of modern Italian cuisine. With friendly and professional service, water views, it's not a bad place to spend a Sunday evening.
Walking down the spiral stairs of Restaurant Hubert past thousands of miniature spirit bottles, you are transported into another world: the red drapes, candlelit tables, timber paneled walls and a baby grand piano catches my eye. It feels warm, romantic and full of character. It's hard to believe this used to be the site of a Chinese restaurant with a pagoda and a fishpond!
We started with the Ouefs en gelee, made with soft egg yolk, bonito jelly, trout roe and avruga. It's a rich, textural dish and had the umami flavours that are more commonly associated with Japanese dishes.
We couldn't go past the Duck liver parfait with maple syrup jelly. It was deliciously creamy and intense in flavour. The maple syrup jelly helped cut through the fattiness of the parfait. I simply couldn't stop eating it.
We were recommended by our waiter to order the Malakoff, it's everyone's favourite, we were told. It was hard to argue with that after taking a bit into the golden crust and being rewarded with a gooey ball of Gruyere cheese with a hint of mustard. Definitely one you don't want to share with too many people!
Just as impressive was the Steak tartare, a quintessential French dish. The wagyu topside had a great texture, mixed with the egg yolk, chives, capers and cornichons. It was topped by a generous mountain of fries.
For mains, the whole chicken or duck sounded tempting but a bit too big for our table of three, so we opted for the John Dory provencal. The basil and olive oil sauce was just simply outstanding and really the star of the dish, going perfectly with the poached John Dory fillets and the pippies.
The sides were just as impressive. The Pommes Anna is basically crispy layers of potato served with a buerre blanc sauce. It's hard not to love carbs when they're done like this!
We were intrigued by the Kimchi gratin and it did not disappoint. It packs a punch in terms of flavour and heat.
Onto desserts and we started with the Melon en surprise: a Santa Claus melon hollowed out melon balls with sorrel jelly, finger lime and young coconut sorbet. It's an incredibly refreshing dessert with a light sweetness and I loved the pop of the zesty finger limes.
Our second dessert was the Le Grand Macaron. The tartness of the raspberries was balanced by the sweetness of the rice cream and it was another joy to eat.
Hubert is a wonderful sensory experience and definitely lived up to the hype. I will definitely be back to try the Roast duck, of which they only have a limited quantity per day. Bookings are limited to group of 6+ but you can always take a seat at the bar whilst waiting for a table.
Hidden away from the bustling Military Road in Neutral Bay is La Puerta, a great place to dine if you are a fan of Latin American cuisine. The restaurant design features red, black and dark wooden hues with a dramatic mural depicting two dancers in the midst of a tango.
The food is made for sharing and we started with the Tiradito. Thin slices of kingfish have been marinated with Aji Amarillo (a chilli paste), dressed with lime juice and red sorrel leaves. It's similar to ceviche, wonderfully fresh, tangy with a bit of heat.
I love my grilled corn and La Puerta’s Mazarcada Corn is just as delicious as the ones I’ve tried at Mamasita or Ms G’s. The corn was topped with a generous amount of grated haloumi cheese and a delicious spice mix.
For the bigger dishes, we opted for the Grilled giant octopus with chorizo and crispy potato. The grilled octopus almost tasted meaty, and the capsicum chutney together with the aioli made for a great flavour combination. It was definitely a moreish dish.
Can’t say I’ve tried Pork belly with avocado puree so I was a little apprehensive, but it turned out to be a great combination. The pork was incredibly tender with crispy crackling, and finished off with a chorizo crumb. The smoked potato and avocado puree provided a good balance to the bold flavours of the dish.
Onto dessert and the Popcorn and soursop ice cream sandwich definitely caught my eye. I love the taste of soursop, but have usually only found it in some Vietnamese restaurant as an ingredient to a smoothie. First time having soursop ice cream and it was very refreshing and perfectly offset the sweetness of the dulce de leche-laced popcorn brittle. It was definitely a fun dessert to eat.
La Puerta has a lovely ambience and it's definitely worth a visit to experience some South American cuisine, tapas style. There’s an extensive cocktails and wine list too, featuring mainly Chilean and Argentinian varieties.
The end of the year is a great time for reflection ... which were the most memorable dishes for the year?
From Left to Right, top to bottom:
Sitting above Kensington's Spice Alley is Mekong, serving a melting pot of cuisines from all the South-East Asia countries along the Mekong River. Dishes from Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are all represented. The restaurant is split into two parts, a more casual eatery serving predominantly Vietmanese food downstairs and the full service restaurant upstairs.
We started with their signature Squid Ink Dumplings. The squid ink dumpling skins were very delicated, encasing a Thai crab meat and prawn filling. It was served with a amazingly fragrant chicken pho broth poured from a teapot. The broth really elevates the flavour of the dumplings and was definitely the highlight of the dish.
Next was the Thai grilled pork neck wrapped in betal leaf with housemade tamarind sauce. These little parcels packed plety of flavour and the pork neck had a lovely sticky caramel texture.
The Lao crispy omelette was stuffed with sliced pork roll, sour pork, morning glory and accompanied with a soy chili sauce. Another tasty dish but not as memorable as the preceding two.
With the aim of tryig as many dishes as possible, we ordered the Indochine shareplate. The highlights were the Lao sour pork sausage and the Vietnamese rice flour cups with prawn, sweetcorn and cucumber relish.
Onto the mains and the quality food just kept on coming. The Sweet lemon rumdul, a Cambodian beef rib curry with sweet potato and lemongrass paste was utterly delicious. It makes me wonder why there aren't more Cambodian curries on menus in Sydney. The beef fell apart at the slightest touch and the sauce was wonderfully rich.
Next was the more familiar Thai red curry with duck confit. The duck was exceptionally cooked - juicy and moist on the inside whilst retaining its crispy skin. The cherry tomato, and pineapple added some freshness to the creamy and aromatic sauce.
For a lighter dish to offset all the curries, we had the Young Ginger, a stir fry with Vietnamese black soya chicken. It was well executed and the quality of the produce was clearly on show.
The Royal Seafood Amok is one of the more famous dishes of Cambodian cuisine and Mekong's intepretation is definitely on point. It's a coconut based yellow curry with a ton of seafood - here, it was served with barramundi, scallops, prawn and pipies. The seafood really soaked up the flavour of the sauce and we had no trouble finishing this off.
Luckly, we still had room left for dessert. The Bangkok ice cream bowl was just the refreshing dessert I was after. It consists of Coconut ice cream with pomegranate, sweet corn, roasted peanuts and palm seeds sitting on a bed of coconut sticky rice and served in a coconut shell. The Coconut ice cream is the best I've ever had. It's super smooth and creamy, and packed with coconut flavour. All the other accompaniments just fitted wth the ice cream perfectly. It definitely left a smile on my face.
Of course, one dessert wasn't enough. The Basil panna cotta with raspberry puree, walnut and lemon meringue was another flawless essert. Strawberry and basil is a great flavour combination and the puffed rice and walnut gave the dish a great crunchy element.
The food at Mekong was very impressive, both in taste and presentation. It's wonderful to see the cusines of Laos, Burma and Cambodia featured along the most common varieties. It's a bit more expensive than your average South East Asian restaurant but well worth it. My only gripe is that the menu is a bit hard to decipher as the title of the dishes aren't very descriptive e.g. 'Grandma in the garden' or 'Full moon' but I can overlook it when the food is so delicious.
The team from Automata has opened a brunch pop up, and it's every bit as delicious. Taking residence in the Old Clare Hotel, it's definitely not your run of the mill cafe menu. The classic Eggs Benedict has been given a modern twist, with the addition of black pudding. The hollandaise sauce was divine and the houseade black pudding made it even more indulgent. Who says you can't have fried chicken before lunch? Auto.Lab's Fried chicken, ube waffle with smoked maple syrup sounded too good a combination to resist. The waffle took on a lovely colour from the ube (purple yam) and the fried chicken was perfectly cooked - what more can you ask for. Amazing food in a great location. It's a pity that it's only a pop-up, Get in quick before it closes on Dec 24th!
Via Alta means High Street in Italian, so it made perfect sense that this restaurant was located on High Street in Willoughby. From the same group that brought us the fine dining Ormeggio, Via Alta is a more casual Italian trattoria serving some great seasonal fare.
We started with the Crab meat bruschetta. The crab meat was beautifully cooked and had a lovely flavour from the burnt butter sauce, complemented by the crunchy macadamias. It was a great teaser to whet our appetite.
Next was the Bresaola, a form of air dried beef, served with some caper berries. I love cured meats, and this had a nice saltiness to it without being overpowering.
Risotto, as we've all seen on Masterchef, can be easy to get wrong. This Saffron risotto had a great aroma as it hit our table. It was cooked al dente and was paired with the luscious, red wine braised beef cheeks. A simple dish executed to perfection.
The Grilled flank steak was another highlight of the night. The beef was just simply stunning, cooked to a perfect medium rare. The roasted beetroot puree added a great depth of flavour and I also particularly enjoyed the potato gratin. Often, it can be too creamy and heavy, but they got the potato, cream and butter ratio just right. The dish just tied together so beautifully.
For dessert, we opted for the Tiramisu. Again, it was beautifully executed. Not too sweet, not too much alcohol - the balance of the dish was just perfect and it was surprisingly light.
Via Alta is a great Italian eatery serving some beautiful dishes. It's worth the drive to Sydney's north even if you are not a local.
There's no shortage of cafes on the lower north shore but not many serve as delicious food as Cavalier Specialty Coffee in Crows Nest.
But first, the coffee. I decided to go for the Chai Latte and it was velvety smooth with just the right balance of sweetness and spice.
For the food, we decided to go with the waitstaff's recommendation and ordered the Juniper cured ocean trout and the Hand made burrata with smoked almonds and cucumber.
First to arrive was the Ocean Trout which looked almost too pretty to eat, almost. The trout was beautifully cured and egg was perfectly cooked, interspersed with the mayonnaise, the buttery crumb and shards of toasted rye. The sprinkling of caviar just added that extra touch of decadence.
The Burrata was another beautifully constructed dish. Burrata on its own is already pretty tasty, but the crunchy smoked almonds and the refreshing cucumber soup really elevate it to a whole other level. The waitress advised that it's best to be shared as it's quite heavy, but I probably could have eaten it all myself!
The dish came with a croissant and a slice of rye bread, perfect for soaking up all those delicious juices.
Service was friendly and enthusiastic. I will no doubt be back again to sample the rest of the menu. Seating is limited in this cafe so be prepared to wait for a seat if you come during peak times.
S'age Bistronomy has opened in Crows Nest, taking over the spot previously occupied by Waqu. At S'age's helm is the former head chef of Waqu, Tomoyuki Usui. As the name suggests, the type of food served is a combination of bistro and gastronomy. I went there with my family to try the Three Course Lunch Set Menu, at a very reasonable $49.
There are a selection of entrees, mains and desserts to choose from as well as a series of sides (which are not included in the set menu price). For entree, I chose the Grilled lamb backstrap, aroma crumble and mussel emulsion. The lamb was well cooked, pink in the middle, and the aroma crumble gave it a great crunch and peppery note. The hint of mussels in the emulsion, however, was not very strong.
For main, I got the Smoked spatchcock. I was very happy with my choice. The spatchcock was perfectly cooked, succulent with a crispy skin. The nectarine and corn salsa give it a fresh twist and a lovely sweetness.
We decided to order the Charred cabbage with truffle ponzu as a side. It wasn't quite up to the lofty heights of Toriciya's Savoy Cabbage but it definitely came close. The miso crumble together with the ponzu dressing really lifted the flavour, though I would have loved a stronger hit of truffle.
Onto desserts and the Figs and berries, with pink pepper crumble and milk ice cream was a great combination of flavours and textures. My favourite, though, was the Mont blanc (chestnut cream cake) with mandarin puree and yoghurt ice cream. I enjoyed the intensity of the chestnut flavour and the yoghurt ice cream was very smooth and light. The mandarin puree really balanced out the dessert.
The food at S'age Bistronomy is modern and beautifully plated, with an interesting fusion of Japanese and French flavours and techniques. It's a welcome addition to the lower north shore.
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