DJOblong

I love the Talago River blue from Oz - it's a mild blue and beautifully creamy. You'd need to go to a cheese specialist. David Jones stocks it in their food hall in Oz - not sure whether it gets to NZ

Thanks for the linky Daddy-A This comment is absolutely hilarious: "Yes, I have been quite afraid of C restuarant for awhile now. Oatmeal oil? Dijon Mereingue? Come on. It seems part of this rising trend in food nowadays to place odd ingredients together indiscriminately. Have you heard of argan oil? Here it is! Taste. What could be more decadent than eating gold leaf with caviar? Nothing, taste!" LOL. I don't remember anything on the current menu sounding quite as silly but it's definitely still not quite exactly there.

Thanks all Hey great to hear frmo another fan of Becasse! Getting a little off topic for a sec your comments are spot on around restaurants stuck in time with their menus. I'm wondering whether because 'lighthouse' restaurants like those mentioned get such a wide and diverse audience that they like to keep the menu the same/similar so that each new visitor experiences a similar meal. This obviously punishes regular/local diners to some extent. But back to Becasse. I have had the tasting menu there about 3 times and each time it has been 100% different. That was over the course of 6 months. Justin North has to be one of the hardest working chefs in Sydney to be so constantly changing his menu and still blowing minds with every incarnation of the menu. He even has (not sure if it's still going on) a monthly regional tasting menu based on cuisine from a select region of Europe. From what I could remember this was literally a one off. AMazing work ethic. It helps that they used to only open for dinner Wed-Sat or Sun - I guess it gives them to time to plan. North really leaves the old workhorses of the Sydney fine dining scene like Rockpool and Tetsuya's for dead in my mind. back to estufarian's comments it's kind of like those are the old Empires who have stagnated and Becasse is a new buck of a Republic on the scene. I must also give 'props' to Restaurant Balzac in Randwick. Another ex-Banc chef creating a new, vibrant restaurant on the site of an old Pizza Hut no less!

Golden Century is about 1 block from BBQ king and mops the floor with it. BBQ king is for punters, I'm sorry. Golden Century has one of, if not the best, seafood selection going if you can afford it. Steer clear of the abalone and leave it to the wealthy chinese. GO for the Sichuan Mud Crab or Black Bean Mud Crab - about a 1-1.5 kg crab is a decent size. Also scallops in the shell with ginger and shallots are great. Or a steamed fich like Rock Cod. Delicious. Even the 'westernised' chinese dishes like mongolian lamb, etc., are superior. Oh and their Peking duck is as good as any in China town. Plus they are open til around 4 AM on weekends - no better destination after getting tanked at a Sydney bar. In terms of non-traditional Billy Kwong in Surry Hills is great and there is another small restaurant called Mahjong Room on Crown St Surry Hills which is very nice too. If Longrain is Chinese then Tetsuya's is mexican. LOL.

Thanks for the feedback. Ah El Bulli - never had the pleasure. Tetsuya's - my wife ate there and found it a bit over-rated also. We both found the tasting menu at Becasse in Sydney better and staggering due to the rate at which the menu items are rotated (i.e. weekly) & quality maintained. I have eaten at the Fat Duck and that was definitely in a different league to C IMHO. I would actually say it was the best gastronomic experience of my life. Essenitally flawless. I walked away from C thinking it was very good but I floated out the door of the Fat Duck in a state of bliss.... Plus I think I can almost still remember every dish 1 year down the track.... I agree C had good service. Not too cloying and definitely very efficient. I must try Lumiere next.

Hope that title got some attention. I tried the 14-course tasting menu at C the other night and was not very impressed I must say. It really struck me as a matter of style over substance. Clearly here is an executive chef who has been keeping pace with the trends towards customised serving crockery/plates, innovative use of non-traditional elements and the school of presentation, presentation, presentation. I have had limited opportunities to eat out in Vancouver and was recommended to C by a number of friends. Given the rare occasion I thought it best to sample the chef's tasting menu to truly sample the best this establishment had to offer. I found the first 3 dishes of the night quite 'showy' and not really one stand-out among them. I don't know if I suffer from small town mentality but if you are going to excel in the presentation stakes I would expect a taste to match: Cured Trout asparagus salad, yoghurt - this was dominated by the presence of a large icey ily sphere filled with what was presumably the yoghurt, which itself was quite tasty. The ice sphere was not explained and the waiter did not recommend whether to eat it or not but it collapsed as cracked open so was difficult to avoid all together. It was over icey and kind of dominated the dish. The trout seemed like an after thought. Sablefish Cheek Confit tarragon, brioche - I think this was the most disappointing dish on the menu. I have not had sablefish before and it was featured twice here. This first instance was like a terrine and quite a fishy flavour. There was a small sherry reduction which may have been nice however was in too small a quantity to really be noticeable. It may have helped a dish that to me was in dire need of some help. Evergreen Steamed Salmon morels, pinenuts - Not a bad dish but again not spectacular and even a little bland. 'Virtual' Smoked Kagan Bay Scallop cedar, matcha - This was perhaps the most innovative presetnation with what was apparently a customised smoking vessel, resembling an upside down wine goblet. The scallop was skewered on the top pipette so as to best capture the smokiness rising from the cedar. A well cooked scallop and nice smoky flavour. Good dish. Seared Foie Gras brioche, pistachio, meyer lemon - Probably the best dish of the night. Strange that this was best despite C being renowned as a seafood restaurant. The brioche was a little crumbly and difficult to compose into forkfuls. I think a slightly softer brioche with a cripsy outisde (maybe slighly thicker cut) would work better (IMHO). Braised Globe Artichoke crispy halibut side, parsley - It came with a 'parsley salad' - i.e. some parsley flakes. I think the descriptions on the table menu differ slightly from those taken here from the on-line menu. Again not a bad dish but not special. Grilled 'Ultra Rare' Albacore Tuna confit fennel risotto, house made bacon, salsa verde - Lovely piece of tuna. Very nice dish. Roasted '200 Mile' Sablefish seville orange, bread, sablefish 'chorizo', green beans - This was the second coming of the sablefish and again disappoitning. I guess I will put this down to a general distasste for the sablefish, one I will avoid in future. Crisp Pork Terrine organic peas, black truffle - Nice however I am having difficulty even remembering the taste of this 2 days on. Maybe it was the sheer number of the 14 dishes... Dry-aged 'AAA' Beef Striploin beef shortrib, brown butter, shallot - I would have liked a richer jus with this. The short rib did not pack as much of a punch as I thought it would. Just OK. Rhubarb Soda chocolate, caramelized cream - I think this was replaced with a small puff pastry and a blueberry soda shot on the night? A nice palate cleanser. Farmhouse 'St. George' Goat Cheese lavender, honeycomb, grilled bread - One of the highlights of the night. Delicious. Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake banana jelly, peanut brittle - Strong chocolate taste. Very nice but not memorable. Piconcillo Crème Brulee roast cinnamon, hibiscus, mexican chocolate - Also delicious. Migardise ? All in all I think maybe a 15/20. Where 18/20 is superb, 20/20 perfect (e.g. the Fat Duck, which I would class as a 20). I have had maybe 2 dozen tasting menus in my life at restaurants in New York, London, Paris, Sydney, San Francisco among others. This was certainly in the bottom 5. Assuming this is the best the chef has to offer methinks I will try Mr Feenie's cuisine at Lumiere for a similar style of dinig experience next time. In fact I wish I had sent my $500 his way after watching a repeat of his Iron Chef victory over the weekend. Anyone agree/diagree strongly with this review?

Well it was again excellent food, although exactly the same menu. The head waiter (who is bordering on over enthusiastic, but very sweet) mentioned they will be bringing out maybe 3 or 4 new dishes to the Rasoi Gourmand (degustation) menu in the next few weeks. My wife had the vegetarian option which was sadly a little bland and one too many dishes were based predominatly on rice (kinda repetitive and filling in a 9-course meal). I'll be keen to try the new dishes in the coming months. It looked like the restaurant was really full for a Tuesday night too. Hopefully RVB will continue to go from strength to strength.

Well I am going again this Tuesday night Andy so I'll let you know. The person who answered the phone told me it hadn't changed. My wife is also pregnant so it will be interesting to see what they adapt for the shellfish dishes - 3 out of the 9 on the tasting menu involve shellfish.

Well It hasn't - just booked and asked the booking staff member. Does anyone else find that a bit odd? I guess it's difficult to change in their first year.

Hi All I went to RVB late last year and had a fantastic meal. My mother grew up in fiji eating curries and is visting here soon. I wanted to take her to try thisholy grail of Indian cuisine and wondered whether anyone has been recently can tell me whether the menu has changed since 6 months ago? I am obviously keen to try more of Mr Bhatia's dishes but I'm sure I'll go again even if the menu is the same... Cheers

Actually he used the F word 35 times - sadly I counted it too - but was genuinely fascinated to find out

My word! Absolutely superb. The mushroom khidchi with mahkani butter ice cream - truly inspired. Thought the lobster was a little underwhelming. The most substantial dish was the Lamb Korma which heaven - creamy, spciy buttery mouthfuls of love. Possiby the best curry I have ever tasted. Please go and sample Vineet's wares as soon as you can - he is in the kitchen every night that he isn't travelling in case you were wondering. Word of warning, the 'wine waiter' (I don't think you could really call him a sommelier just the waiter with the best knoweldge of the wine list) recommended a glass of burgundy for the later dishes (lamb). Unfortunately, whilst being nicely paired with the lamb, had an awful reaction with the tamarind glazed quail the proceeded it, to the point where I thought the wine must have been corked or something. Make sure you time your libations correctly... The half bottle of Pouilly Fume was a commendable partner to the first 5 or 6 dishes, in case anyone needs a suggestion. Thanks

Hi All After reading Andy's comments on Vineet Bhatia I changed my plans to Monday night, my wife's actual birthday, and will be heading along tonight! Thanks for everyone's help and I'll certainly post my impressions later in the week. Cheers

Yeah thanks found it. Very English sounding cuisine and also very tempting. I had St John confused with St Johns. Cheers.

If that's the case I probably found the wrong St John on line - will re-investigate. Funny you should mention Rasoi Vineet Bhatia I had just been reading the link on it and yes, it does sound like an excellent choice that you'd be hard pushed to find anywhere else. Just for the record, I am Australian so no doubt most of these places will scare me....

Thanks for those. Simpsons seems stodgy - St Johns is a glorified gastro pub with great food? Doesn't sound appropriate for a quiet dinner for two... Wiltons looks very traditional and inviting. We are big fans of tasting menus/degustation - I should have mentioned that in my last post ... Lindsey house sounds like it might be a good choice for that?

Hi All I have recently moved to London from LA. My wife's birthday and mine fall on this MOnday and Sunday respectively. We'd like to go out for a meal on Sunday night and would like to try one of the true greats of London. We have visited here before and tried J Sheekey and also Asia de Cuba (the latter of which is hardly a true London great!). I guess what I am after is the sort of place that you cannot leave London, after having lived there, without trying at least once. Bear in mind it's Thursday and I need a booking for Sunday night so nothing that has a 3 month waiting list is going to help me much... Cheers All - look forward to hearing back from you.

There is an excellent turkish place in Surry Hills/Redfern on Cleveland St (cnr of Crown St) called Erciyes. Order the lamb shish kebab and have hummus and chilli dips with it and their turkish bread. The restaurant looks really shabby but the lamb is so tender we could not believe it. It is also really consistently good. You won't be disappointed. Cheapish, but not dirt cheap

Just stumbled across this discussion. "PLease save this guy." Sheesh! Tough crowd! Anyhoo, the purpose of my post was admitting that I have sweet FA of an idea about the scene in general so wanted some opinionated opinions. Thankfully this site has plenty ... Kidding. But it is good to have such vigorous points being made so that I can absorb the different points of view, run it through my own personal taste filtering system, and derive a perfecto answer. For the record I am going with Daniel, as that seems to be regarded, if nothing else, as definitely one of the best and also an excellent experience. Fortunately I will be spending a lot more time in NY in the near future so plan to check the other options out too. It was a shame Per Se had that fire but hopefully it will get cleaned up and the waiting list my someday become realistic... Cheers DJO

I think you mean "Yabbie". Scabbie sounds like the guy that crosses the picket line when the workers are striking. And yabbies are great - very similar to Marron which are found mainly in Western Australia - big, sweet, crustaceans bigger than king prawns but not quite lobster size

Hey there. Not sure if you are still looking for info but here's my two cents: 1. Sushi - there are some truly excellent Sushi places in Sydney. More expensive there is Unkai on top of ANA Hotel in the city - unbelievable view but expensive. 2. There is a top italian place in Balmain called Il Piave where the little old Italian grandmother hand makes the pasta every morning - trei Italiano, no? 3. There is an awesome cheap Turkish place on Cleveland Street in Surry Hills, near the corner with Crown Street, called Erciyes. They have this lamb shish kebab which, for such an assuming place, is so succulent and tender it is astounding. Great dips too - hummus, chilli, to have with Turkish bread. Great baklava for dessert. 4. Lunch by the shore - Doyle's is an instiution but forget the one at the Fish Markets - Watson's Bay is the money, with great views of the harbour. The snapper pie at the Boathouse in Blackwattle Bay is legendary and well worth a visit. 5. Fish fish fish. A good place called Mohr Fish in Surry Hills is cheaper ($20 main) and for the shiz-nit, yes Pier is fantastic, but very expensive. Jordan's is just WAY too touristy. 6. Fabulous cheese plate. Well I did have a great cheese plate at one restaurant called Becasse in Surry Hills. Not sure whether it is the best cheese plate around but you should defninitely go to becasse. Absolutely world class food at less than world class prices. Constantly changnig menu and very resonably priced degustation menu - $90 and it includes cheese. I think there is an option to have it with wine for $120. Lots of good french wines. Prob one of my top 2 or 3 restaurants in Sydney. 7. Splurgey lunch? Well if you are looking to just spend serious cash - Bel Mondo, Rockpool, Aria, Quay. Take your pick. Aviod Rockpool in my opinion - over-rated. Quay one restaurant of the year here and great views of the harbour. Cottage Point is a cool option too. 8. Oysters. Not my bag, baby. Looks too much like snot.

I'd definitely agree with One If By Land, Two if By Sea. The degustation menu I had there in December '02 was just excellent and the accompanying wines showed great insight. The service was not to snooty and, in fact, the sommelier & waiter were quite happy to engage us in any discussion about the food & wine, however ignorant our comments were (oh, and they were). The building that the restaurant is in is supposedly one of, if not the, longest standing building that has been used as a restaurant - dates from the 1750's or so I believe. It's very warm and homely also. Tell them it's a special occasion and I'm sure they can seat you in a discreet table, although in general the tables are nicely spaced apart. Have fun!

Hi All This is my first post - most impressed by some of the writing on this website - some real word smiths are in the house... Anyhoo, I am planning my delayed honeymoon with my wife to Europe in May and wanted to get some advice on restaurants in Paris. I have had a look through many of the topics in this part of the forum already and found reams (Reims?) of useful information - sorry, bad pun, couldn't resist. I read about Tour d'Argent a few years back in a high-follutin' magazine of some type and it does sound highly romanticised and old world. I am an Australia native and have not had the pleasure of dining in truly ancient eating emporiums much at all, so the historical significance of this place appeals immensely. One of my favourite meals ever was at New York's One if By Land, Two If By Sea, although it was not simply the building being steeped in history that one us over, the brilliant degustation menu was the real key. Now obviously there are some more highly fancied restaurants on Paris - Lucas Carton seems to be a favourite among forum posters - so I was wanting a fank opinion on whether tour d'Argent is more "showy" and my money would find a better experience at another 2 or 3 starred Parisian eatery. Feedback would be highly appreciated. Cheers