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Everything posted by Nich
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Thanks, I totally forgot to check McGee, it answered a few of those questions.
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How and why does a creme brulee work? I had always been taught that custards are done when they're about 80c (176f) - much over 83 (181f) and they risk splitting. I understand that ingredients other than egg will change this a bit, but I have trouble trying to quantify it so I'm not reliant on any specific recipe. There's a nice table in modernist cuisine (Book 4, somewhere around pagge 84 I believe) that, under creme brulee (as in, achieving that texture), it suggests that 30% egg be used at 83c (181f), 50% egg at 80c (176f), and 90% egg at 75c (167f). Which is great, except it seems other things impact. For instance, I've cooked anglaise out to 83c in the past and it was fine but not quite thick enough until I held it there for another 10-15 minutes. Sometimes lemon curds will set at that temperature and other times they will refuse. What is it that makes a baked CB set firmer than one cooked either on a stove or sous vide (assuming they're all cooking to the same internal temperature)? Is it just a bit of dehydration/reduction? Is it the lack of stirring/agitation that lets the proteins bond differently? Does it matter if the cream (and/or milk if you're that way inclined) is heated before tempering into the eggs, rather than blending to a homogeneous mix and then heating? Does passing post-cooking destroy some of the bonding created during the cooking that provides thickening power? To avoid vanilla seeds sinking to the bottom of the ramekin, is it best to let the temperature of the mix cool down, a la pannacotta, so it better suspends in a more viscous custard? I had a read through a couple of creme brulee threads on here and there is just so much conflicting advice, even as far as whether to use a water bath when using a convection oven; to use a low temp (or boiling) steam oven; or whether the mix should sit overnight (cooked or uncooked) before setting in dishes. Some background/context: I've just started at a new kitchen, and the former pastry chef just left. No handover or exchange of recipes. We each in the kitchen have recipes we've used in the past that work, but the pastry oven, for whatever reason, has no control to lower or even disable the fan. The force of the air leaves a (thin) set foam that looks unpleasant but is hidden by the caramel. There are two other ovens in the kitchen but they're frequently used. My preference would be to cook it in a pot (pastry has it's own induction 'hotplate'), but I feel that'd tie up too much time stirring it. There's a single sous vide waterbath that's used for other things, so it'd be asking a lot to comandeer that for a couple of hours needed to get it up to temp and then cook the custard. Today I tried to cold-blend the mix, vac-seal it and put it into an empty oven set to 'steam' at 84 degrees (which seemed a tad too hot to me, but was the temperature another pastry person said they'd used in the past in a pot on the stove), but I was told it came out lumpy. I wasn't there to see if passing/blending would salvage it. Really really would prefer to not use the 'Thermomix' recipe, despite it seeming to work - mostly because it seems to be too high a temperature (85c) and yet still seems to come out smooth (and also because professional pride and learning opportunities). For reference, after looking over MC@home and Advanced bread and pastry, and comparing recipes other chefs (and myself) have used successfully in the past, it looks like the egg:cream ratio varies from 21 to 40%. The recipe I did a test batch with was 28% (that's 4 yolks and 1 whole egg to 500g of cream; a variation I also tried (less sugar, seemed to let the nutmeg shine better) had 7 yolks to 500g of cream. I don't think it was the recipe(s) that was the problem.
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I have a favourite recipe that uses creme fraiche, but it's a relatively tiny amount and would not figure into a substitution with water.
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I'm a lot happier with a pizza being a tart than a pie.Unless we're going to start referring to sandwiches as pies, and then all bets are off.
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Would putting a pan of water in the bottom of the oven not combat some of the moisture loss anyway?
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Sorry for the delay, I didn't forget it's just been a busy few months. I can't help you out with photos - I'll see how I go the next time I order some - but apparently the sauce we've been using at work is a mix of jus and plum sauce. Either native plums, or just plain old regular plum sauce. I don't think I added any additional fat when I did the sausage rolls. Which is probably blasphemy. If I made them again anytime soon, I'd probably forgo fat again, so as to not colour the flavour of the kangaroo meat.
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I find rabbit is sort of like that for anyone who grew up having to eat it. It's difficult to explain that it's a nice and tasty animal that is up there on the great things about being a carnivore. I expect that this is kind of the same reaction that people get when trying to explain why horse is an animal that should be eaten more often. I'm okay with that, tho', because it means more for me! I've never really noticed that too much, I guess. When I did sausage rolls specifically, I don't think I used much more bread crumbs than when using processed pork sausage meat, but I have a much less critical eye for savoury food. I'm also a fan of not-puffed puff pastry, so I'm less likely to notice if the extra moisture affected that aspect. I'll see what I can do, although my camera is on the fritz again. The sauce is something that's made at work, but I'm having trouble working out if they're still using native plums, or have moved on to something else. I'll try to find out over the next few days, if they're not too busy, what actually goes into it and a vague recipe.
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To be fair, this is approximately how I say these - I can't vouch for my terrible accent being particularly representative of anyone else from Melbourne (Mel-b'n . mocha = MOCK-uh (I hear mo-KAH too) gyros = Yi-ross (I try to roll the r a little; pretty common to get YEEE-ross) pecan = PEE-kan croissant = kru-SONT (unless I'm talking to someone who speaks native francais!) dolmades = dol-MA-diz (I mostly hear DOLL-mades, and wonder what the doll made) basil = BAZ-ull (as in pull) oregano = orry-GAH-no I might just not be frequenting the right places, but it's rare to actually see/hear shawarma or even gyros; it'll typically just be kebab or souvalaki ( or even just 'souva'). It's rare for me to hear jalapeño screwed up too much, but that seems weird because as delicious as Mexican cuisine is, it's a rarity here, and 'el niño' is often simply rendered 'el nino'. It is common to hear gelato referred to as gelati - even if it is one scoop of one flavour :< Who am I to insist that it is one gelato and not a million conjoined bits of gelati.
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A 'rainforest plum' sauce goes excellently with kangaroo. The majority of the red meat I buy to cook at home is kangaroo. With some whole seed mustard and cayenne, minced kangaroo also makes a mean sausage roll.
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As a non-American, I'm curious how 'croissant', 'habanero', 'chipotle', 'jalapeño', and 'mocha' are all pronounced up there. Is there any consensus on 'pecan', too? As far as 'gyro/gyros' goes, is it at all common to see it written as 'yeeros', in the US/UK?
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The Bordelet is the only Calvados I've had that was nice enough to remember the name and chase it down. Even if it is prohibitively expensive - I think it retails for AUD$200+ :\
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A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
Some notes from what I remember, as I go through and archive a bunch of this stuff. A few clarifications, too, because I'm finally sitting down to look at the menus of the places we visited; I deliberately wanted to go in with no expectations whatsoever, which worked against me for a few things. Now that I understand what Ormeggio were doing with their chocolate dessert, I am happy with how strong the coffee taste was - after all, it's meant to be a mix of equal parts coffee, cream, and chocolate. I still think it dominated the tokay, but that's my preference for very sweet with a little bitter, rather than very bitter with a little sweet. Normally, anyway. When I was younger, I worked at a raspberry farm for a few years, and so I got quite used to picking the overripe berries for myself to eat while picking the ones you usually see on sale at market for work to sell. There's nothing like an over-ripe raspberry, that is more blue and purple than red; it's incredibly sweet, has almost no texture from being so soft (to the point that they turn to mush if any weight is placed on them), and yet remains that lovely tartness that raspberries are known for. Knowing why these can't be sold commercially or used in kitchens has still made it hard to be let down when most places use ripe, or barely ripe, fruit. I was definitely too harsh on a number of places for using perfectly fine raspberry fruit. So much for my exptectations not getting in the way of enjoying new and strange food. That being said, I still think the raspberry mille feuille at Guillaume was lacking. The ginger rice-pudding at Four-in-hand was amazing, especially with the shaved and roasted coconut. I want to make this for at home, and at some point for at work to replace the vanilla rice-pudding. I need to remember to add more egg yolks. Much more. So. Incredibly. Rich. I really liked the eel at Sake (it is hard to ruin eel for me, TBH), but my favourite were the tonkatsu cups. It's the first time I've had porkbelly and it's been *light*. I really liked Becasse. Really really. The service was never short of amazing, the food was never less than good. They were understanding of my having to cut back on extra courses because we'd gone overboard at lunch. And yet I feel like lunch had killed the mood - or at least, three hours in the city, and no-where quiet and relaxed to unwind and recuperate. I definitely want to visit Becasse again in the future, and will definitely be making sure I don't eat much before I go there. Also, the kitchen looks pretty amazing. And, I don't know if I mentioned, but I was really really impressed with the winter still life. I've been to a few places that have done landscape desserts that show a natural setting. Becasse's is probably my fabvourite, if not my favourite dessert. At est, I have to say that, yes, the wine was the best dessert drop I've ever had. I kind of suppose I'd want it to be, at ~$60/glass, but I know that's not particularly expensive in the scheme of things. The desserts were all nice, but I couldn't really say which I liked the most. I liked that muscovado was used with the fruit, and that the fruit was given a chance to speak with their own sweetness. The souffle was probably one of the better I've had, but I haven't had enough of them to know how a souffle should ideally be, so the centre felt a little too foamy and un-set to me. As much as I tried to enjoy Sepia, I was well fatigued by that point of the week, and the noise was loud enough that I could not really hear anything said at the table I was on, nor most of what the staff said. The food was all nice, and the Japanese twist was a nice counter to everything else we'd eaten that week. The venison was, somehow too rich for me. The still-life dessert was a nice touch, as were the complimentary 'stones'. I really liked that the petit fours were made with Meyer lemons - they see so little use in this country. Pier was... odd. When I heard that the pastry chef who had left, and probably helped cause some 'hats' being handed back, had potentially been worth those two hats on their own, I was really worried. And, when we got there, the service was very patchy, and the menu just didn't grab my fancy. It seemed to take a good five minutes to convince one of the wait staff that, yes, I wanted a four course meal entirely comprised of desserts. No savoury. Just cake. Only cake. And I wanted them roughly brought out as everyone else had a course brought out. Not four at once at the very wend after watching people eat for an hour or two. At some point, Chris and I went for a short walk outside to let our poor ears rest; surrounded by nothing but glass, the sound inside had nowhere to go but around in circles, even with only perhaps four or five more tables than us being seated. It was a little, uh, disturbing to see just how much better the overall service became once we walked back inside, camera and notepad in hand. The noise was still too much, tho', and so I sat there with a dozen friends, barely able to hear the person right beside me. With that being said, the desserts were mostly nice. I really liked the kiwi fruit one, and their use of yoghurt meringue - I ordinarily hate meringue for being too sweet (go figure). The ice-cream cone inspired one was very very nice. The Island one was inspired - Pier's take, I guess, on a still life by adding the movement of the tide, but tasted quite bland in comparison. The chocolate one was nice enough, but I'm not sure if the use of salt in among the chocoalte was, like the mains, a deliberate touch or just accidental heavy handedness with seasoning. I definitely enjoyed my meal more than most we were there with, but it still reflected quite poor value, considering the price I paid and the service I got throughout. I ended up liking Bentley enough to go back, a week later, with a different group of friends (and some who'd been sick that day). The service was still good. I went with the vegetarian degustation, this time, which did some very very sexy things with vegetables. Really liked the spiced beetroot dish. A couple of people commented that, I think the lobster dish, was a little overcooked. About half of us went for the dessert degustation off the back of the savoury one, tho' we had to hurry it along a little; I'd booked us in for 1pm on a Saturday, but being Slurry Hills on a weekend, it took us over an hour to find parking and get inside. The ice-cream, as previously, was all superb. I ended up ordering a glass of $20 bourbon (Hudon's baby bourbon), just to see if I liked expensive bourbon more than cheap bourgon; I'm happy to say I did, tho' I'm confused that it took a non-sweet bourbon for me to finally appreciate bourbon. I ended up going back to the Locla Taphouse again, too, for a liquid lunch with a burger. Such a filling burger. Worth pointing out that the cider-of-the-day on tap was called Dirty Granny. Teehee. I ended up passing on Bilsons; I was just too worn out, even after a week gap of eating two courses per day. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
I was planning to go back to Bentley tonight for desserts with a couple of friends who hadn't been before, but apparently Sunday evenings are not busy enough to be open for. I'm thinking of maybe heading to Bilson's with some friends this week, if I can get a dinner booking at such short notice. The next time I'm up - I try to visit Sydney at least once every 4-5 months - I'd want to revisit Etch and Bentley, and probably Marque and Quay. There are a few places up in the Blue Moutains that I'd try to make room for, and a few other places - Rockpool, Tets, Billy Kwong, and a few others I would definitely do a lot more research (not hard, hah) and find some places that specialise in desserts, or are specifically known for their desserts - it's where my palate is most developed, and what I most enjoy, so I feel like I'd be getting more out of that. I'd probably be happy, if I did something similar again rather than a last grasp at my 20s, to only book one thing per day, whether it be lunch or dinner. I'd fill in most of the other meals with sugestions from staff at places I liked, or I'd just be happy to only have one degustation per day. The first few days of last week were okay, but I guess it got beyond silly when we started eating for more than 75% of the day. Becasse definitely felt like it would have been a lot more enjoyable if we had done nothing else that day. As far as taking photos, if you have a camera, go for it. There are enough people with blogs and whatnot, these days, that I can only imagine really insecure establishments are going to be offended or say something. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
Will post a few more thoughts in a few days when I get some time to myself and amn't rushing between lunch and dinner reservations. Really impressed to see a bar with a geuze on tap. Especially impressed to see some Cantillon bottles available. Even if they were in the $40 per 750ml ballpark. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
Bentley was one of the best places I've eaten at, full stop. I was surprised by how small it was - it looked like it'd struggle to turn over more than about 30-35 covers at a time - and that it was a bar and restaurant, so to speak. From the moment we sat down and looked at the menu, I anticipated very good things to come. We pretty quickly decided that the full degustation was the way to go. The presentation and choice of ingredients for most things was playful, but also respectful of what was being showcased. A number of dishes included lots of similar elements, or differnt parts of the same animal, in a similar but better fashion to some of the 'nose-to-tail' dishes at other places this week that gave you some crispy pig ear and some crackling with your pig jowl or belly or whatever. As much as Etch felt restrained, and Marque felt like it was being clever while also elegant, Bentley felt like it was confident in what it was doing, with most dishes artfully spread across the plate, with a nice selection of colours and everything without ever feeling arrogant or extravagent. In part because they offered an actual dessert degustation ($40 from memory, with four desserts which in full portions would normally be $18 each), and in part because the desserts were all very good in every single way (from plating to construction to the things actually on the plate complementing each other), I felt like this was perhaps the first place this week to really take their desserts both seriously and passionately. I guess it's not particularly fair to make that comparison, because I didn't even see the a la carte dessert menu at Marque and wasn't able to eat more than a couple of desserts at most places. But Bentley's were consitantly good. Really good. And they didn't pander to sugar addicts; a lot of them were mildly sweet, but made good use of everything on the plate to be both coherent as well as interesting. Highlights included a beer sorbet, and the 'ricotta dumplings' being little doughnut balls with a ricotta centre and coasted in cinnamon sugar. In part because lunch sprawled across five hours, I guess, I felt very sated and never hurried when we finished. In retrospect, I probably would have come back next week or on the weekend to do the dessert degustation, because that + being in the city from 12pm until 1am was incredibly tiring, and took some gloss off dinner at Becasse. The kitchen was positively tiny by most standards. I liked that you could peek into one window when heading to and from the 'facilities' and see a large dewar of LN2 sitting under what counted as their pastry bench. It was nice to talk to the chefs and the waiter slash somellier about both the food at Bentley, and different places we had been to and they had liked. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
Aria: The pre-dessert strawberry-and-pannacotta was nice. It looked like some diced strawberry swimming in a strawberry soup with a slice or two of mint on top. The pannacotta was nice and fairly soft. I don't know if it was an isue with gelatine or whatever thickening/setting agent they used, or the acidity from the strawberries, but it had an odd grainy/lumpy texture. Or it ay have just curdled : \ The caramel poached apple with macaron was nice; the macaron itself had the gingerflavour, with layers of cherry inside it, from memory. The ginger beer sorbet was nice and light, but could have perhaps had a slightly more ginger beer-y flavour. I really liked the plating and presentation of this one. The second dessert was less striking looking, but tasted lovely. I enjoyed the presentation of things leaning in a bunch of directions on a line. Between the wine-poached pears, shiraz granita, praline ice-cream and hazelnut brioche, it was rich without being particularly heavy. The petit fours were nice enough, tho' I probably would have preferred more than 2-3mm of lemon curd beneath the little mountain of meringue. Quay: The quail breast is one of those foods that I want to have if I ever end up on death row and need a last meal (along with Marque's rabbit, and possibly their duck egg). It's not rich because it's served with a bunch of nuts, but because it's served atop a nut custard - walnuts, perhaps. Probably one of the heaviest dishes we've had, anyway. As Chris said, the fact that quail made pork jowl taste light was a feat unto itself, tho' the pig tasting comparatively light also increased my enjoyment of the pig itself. The pre-dessert 'pearls' were nice enough, and I could appreciate it all, but the jelly spheres were a little bland. The fromage blanc sitting among the granita was a nice touch. The little meringue droplets were... odd. I don't know if they weren't cooked properly or if the sugar wasn't incorporated properly or if they used cornflour, but they had a rather grainy texture as they melted in your mouth that I assumed was starch but wasn't quite sure of. I was tempted to swap out the real set dessert for the chocolate cake - I felt like we'd eaten enough that day to not want to risk adding an extra dessert - and am glad I didn't. The warm vanilla brioche was good in every way you want brioche to be good ,tho' I don't recall really tasting the palm blossom (or knowing what it was meant to taste like). I really liked what they were doing with the white chocolate and amaretto cream and walknuts and prune sorbet; it felt a little like a nod towards middle-eastern desserts without being that stereotypical plate of some baklava and some Persian fairy floss and similar sweet pap that we've foun at a number of places over the last year or two. As far as the snow egg, I'm glad I got a look at it - I'd been wondering all afternoon what they were going to do to make the relatively boring snow egg feel classy. I'm also glad I didn't have to eat it all. The chocoalte cake didn't have the intended effect, it being a little too cold near the windows, but I liked that it was predominantly made from chocolate, rather than milk chocolate. The wagyu beef thing was awkward, but I always felt satisfied (and then some) with the staff and how they handled it and us and everything. A slight regret at asking to see the kitchen so late, when they were mid-way through cleaning and it wasn't really safe for us to talk in. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
The flourless orange had some stronger flavours in it, and was reasonably nice by flourless orange standards (it helps that I'm a big fan of cinnamon and orange pairings. Who am I kidding, I'm a sucker for anything cinnamon). The sesame one is nicer than it sounds, and after finishing it I'm finally getting the liquorice taste coming through. They taste better than they sound or look. I'm not sure if that really says much, tho'. To be fair, there was a little bit of detail and intricacy in their construction. And it wasn't in the "we're going to put a little bit of flavour in the bottom left quadrant so that you will only taste it if you eat a spoonful from that area" level of frustration that Burch and Purchese cakes instilled while we tried to find every single flavour listed as being in them. If it came down to it, at this time of year on school holidays, I'd much rather walk into Etch and order the potato side to go and eat that for breakfast the next day, let alone on that same day. And, really, potato and prosciutto and mayonaise may get bumped and jumbled around on the way home, but that won't make you think any less of them. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
Can't overstate how impressed I was with Marque; it set a new bar (which, I guess, is to be expected, being the first three-hatter I've visited). The liquid caramel sitting on top of the sauterne custard was a little too rich for me, but the sauterne added a nice level of acidity to the custard to help balance it. The pineapple/truffle/pepper course was nice, but probably a little flat for my tastes. I know I wasn't as lucky as Chris to find a whole Szechuan pepper hiding under the pineapple, to give it a bit of a kick. The rabbit was the best I've ever had. The cashew/nutmeg pairing was really amazing, and the rabbit itself was incredibly tender and juicy. I could quite happily eat the duck egg dish for breakfast, and the rabbit for lunch or dinner, on a very regular schedule if they always tasted that good. A friend with us opted for the wine pairings. Some of them felt a little hit-and-miss, but the Spanish oloroso added a very nice nutty depth to the calamari and it's peppery black raddish (as well as being a very nice olorosso on its own). Also, they're the first place (so far, at least) that has stocked cider from Orange. Small Acres Ice Cider is amazing stuff, and for the only cider on the menu, a rather distinctive member of the dessert section. Oh yes, and ignore Chris, the 'sweet' member of the petit fours was delicious. Coated in castor sugar, it virtually melted in the mouth, and was full of caramel and sugar flavours and perhaps some citrus zing. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
The potato side at Etch was, I guess, a take on a typical pub side of potato wedges - the potato was certainly spiced with a dry rub of somesort before being fried. There felt like a lot of food for a side, but I guess that's in the context of an eight (for me) course lunch. Really really liked the food and the service and the interior, especially with most of the dishes being understated but still strong. I felt genuine remorse that I had to pass on the Brillat Savarin cheesecake because I'd eaten the potato side instead. I went to Zumbo's Balmain shopfront with pretty low expectations. The shop looked nice, the staff were friendly and helpful, but someone had never thought to make lots of extra product for the initial school holiday rush. I find it hard to believe this doesn't happen every few months when there is a fresh batch of school holidays. There was a bit of variance in the sesame cake that apparently no-one much had bought, as far as the finish and decorative pieces, but I'd expected that kind of thing. (Burch and Purchese, in Melbourne, may have had an overall blandness from using lots of white chcolate paint as a textural item, or lots of dairy fat, or caramelised white chocolate - and I freely admit this blandnes comes from buying 10 cakes and eating them in one sitting, rather than other a few weeks - but they were all impeccably finished, with no variance at all.) I don't know if I feel disapointed for coming away from a Zumbo shop with sho little to show for a 45 minute wait from joining the queue to leaving with product in hand, but I certainly felt cheated. To boot, it looks like the cakes I bought - and, I guess, potentially most of his 'range' - travel extremely poorly. I have two cakes that have been mushed into one. PS I'm glad I skipped on the macarons. I still don't understand how I can find them too sweet, and yet Chris can't stand much nicer plated desserts for the same criticism. PPS The trifle at Etch was really good. Refined and understated, like I guess most or all of their stuff. I'd have liked more gingerbread than just the curly strips, but it smelled delicious. I initially thought the poached fruit on top was pear in a red and white wine, respectively, but looking at some pictures now and I can see it was most likely the quinces. There was a very thin jelly over the custard layer, presumably made from either the quinces or their poaching liquid. The date tart was, as for Chris, a surprise in it's lack of sweetness. I guess we both had images of overly saccherine sticky date puddings and butterscotch sauce. Despite that, or perhaps because of, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish, I guess, that the burnt-butter was plated with a bigger quenelle, it disappeared so quickly. -
A week in Sydney: two restaurants per day plus cake
Nich replied to a topic in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
I was typing up some notes - I'm on this food pilgrimage with Chris - but it felt very long-winded. Being a dessert fiend, the things I've enjoyed and disliked have been almost polar opposites to Chris's preferences. Ormeggio's dessert tasted, to me, like the coffee totally overpowered the coffee and Tokay reduction. It seemed to be nice chocolate and it seemed to be treated well, so being almost entirely unable to taste it confused me. I found the wine-matching at Guillaume was nice overall - and hey, it's my first wine matching - but I found the whites too acidic, and I didn't feel like my food was made to taste better by the pairings. The raspberry mille feuille that I ordered from the alc menu was paired with a botrytis riesling, I think, and the largest sources of sweetness in the dish were the meringue droplets and the Persian fairy floss - the raspberries were lovely and tart, and possbly not quite ripe enough (tho' that then causes issues with bruising and handling), but I guess I expect a dessert wine to be more sweet than acidic. The chocolate mousse was paired with a red that we couldn't identify, that was also not sweet - I guess personal preference that I want a big, dark, heavy, fortified wine tasting of raisins and toffee and other dried fruits like fig and maybe prune. The chocolate mousse alc dessert felt a little too warm - the mousse had almost no texture at all (although the tastes were all lovely and chocolate-y). Conversely, I quite liked the degustation desserts; the fruit soup did what it needed to as a palate cleanser that was light and seasonal. The passionfruit soufle was nice enough, but the banana and passionfruit sorbet it was plated with made me remember how awesomely banana and pasionfruit go together. Four-in-hand, tonight, was definitely the highlight of the week so far. The smaller group meant there were no service mishaps, unlike Saturday night. The food was lovely, but the overall feel was of a mugh more casual nature (which IMO also added to the enjoyment factor). -
When will restaurants understand that their websites suck?
Nich replied to a topic in Restaurant Life
My work's website is not very good, but it sounds like it is better than most out there. Location/contact details/opening hours on the front page. Menus available via PDF or HTML, tho' both are horribly out of date (which is funny considering the menu has barely changed in the last year). No music, but the site looks tiny on any modern computer display, and obese on any mobile display (pages won't scroll, navigation buttons are too small). My consolation is the website was apparently made for free, and I inherited it. I want it 'fixed', but there are more pressing things that need fixing.