Assiette, French, Fine Dining

Assiette Restaurant,

French & Fine Dining

http://www.restaurantassiette.com.au/

48 Albion Street Surry Hills

9212 7979

Nestled deep in the bustling heart of Surry Hills, Restaurant Assiette provides an intimate and stylish haven for foodies, gourmands and casual diners alike; a sanctuary to relax and enjoy the best food and wine with a modern French twist.

If you're a foodie like me, then you must have read in the news that Becasse will be relocating to the Sydney Westfield on Pitt Street. This is very sad news for me. First of all, I've never once ventured into Becasse, so I guess I'll never get a chance try out the Clarence Street establishment. Secondly, Plan B will be changing and this may be the end of its famous wagyu burgers. But I guess at least I've dined in a restaurant that once held Becasse.

Assiette:

Assiette is the type of place you would want to go if you have an anniversary to celebrate, a special date or just when you want to wowed over by gorgeous food.

They have a degustation menu for $99, which is extremely good for a two hatted restaurant. Our group chose to have the a la carte menu as we were not very hungry.

Starter- Pumpkin & leek soup

Entrees:

1) Cured Marlborough salmon with prawn peignets, pink grapefruit, mandarin and fennel

My friend who ordered this said it was delicious.

2) Terrine of duck and foie gras with cured duck breast, raisins and caramelised peach

This entree was probably the wrong choice for me. It was too meaty, too strong and too heavy for my tastes. The foie gras was also extremely fatty and didnt actually have much taste to it. However the caramelised peach was sweet and juicy and matched the duck breast perfectly.

I apologise for the photo quality- the restaurant was very dim.

Mains:

1) Mushroom crusted veal fillet with cepe spaetzle, asparagus, dashi jelly and mushroom emulsion.

Cepe spaetzle? I have no idea what this is but I hear its very good

2) Pan fried dory with seared scallop, onion bhaji, cauliflower puree and mango chutney

I love scallops and I loved this dish. I couldnt really taste the mango chutney (which I think is a good thing)

Overall I enjoyed the experience and recommend Assiette.

Altitude

Altitude Restaurant

http://www.36levelsabove.com.au/

Perched above Sydney's spectacular harbour at the top of the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, Altitude Restaurant is among the city's most iconic dining experience.

The views from this restaurant is just breathtaking at night. Imaging the sydney harbour bridge as the backdrop of your dinner party.

We had the four course dinner menu at $120 per person.

And of course, our meal was accompanied by an assortment of cutlery.

Complimentary Bread. Thankfully Altitude doesnt serve tiny servings so our group didnt need two servings of bread.

Freshly shucked Sydney Rock and Pacific oysters

Mains:

Pan Roasted crispy skim Mulloway Cod

Blackmore wagyu beef pithvier

Palate Cleanser

Desserts

Petit Fours

A very enjoyable experience.

Quay

Quay, Circular Quay, Fine Dining

Quay Restaurant is Australia's most awarded restaurant, and one of only two Australian restaurants on the prestigious San Pellegrino World's Top 50 List.


Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks

For my twenty-first I decided to have my birthday celebrations at Quay. I invited a small number of friends (as far as my budget could stretched) and we dined at Quay on a beautiful cloudless Saturday night.

We ordered the four course dinner menu instead of the seven course tasting menu, but since every one shared their dishes, it was pretty much degustation anyways.

To start with we had various cocktails:











The menu



Amuse Bouche. I think this was tuna sashimi and something.. it was SO good





Course One: Seapearls, Sashimi tuna, sea scallop, crab, green lip abalone, octopus. One of these had edible gold leaf on top too :O





Entrees:
Gentle braise of pearl oyster, shaved southern squid, lettuce hearts, golden tapioca, lobster velvet, pea flower

Patridge entree.. I think this was a special so its not on the normal menu

Slow braised pig cheek, ginger milk curd, fresh palm heart, green lipped abalone, Tasmanian wakame & chestnut mushroom consommé. Wow. WOW. Can I just say that this dish blew me away.. it was THAT good. This is the one dish that I say you just HAVE to order to get the whole experience

Squid Entree.. Also a special, cant see it on the menu anymore.





Course 3

Course 4

8 textured chocolate cake











Highly recommended :) I had an awesome birthday and an awesome time.

Mino, Mosman. Japanese

Mino,

521 Military Road Mosman


Wednesday 12th May 2010

A late 4 month date

Mino is a cute little Japanese restaurant hidden along Military Road. It was actually a last minute restaurant choice since our first choic, Ryo's Ramen, is closed on Wednesdays.

We had the Goshu Kaisei weekday special which is $43 and the tempura udon.

The Goshu Kaisei is:

- a seasonal shot cocktail and a small side dish as aperitif and amuse bouche

- seared wagyu beef slice wrapped in root vegetable and fig sauce as appetisers

- entrees: sashimi, ocean perch marinated in soy, lime and teriyaki miso, scallop cheese gratin, slow cooked wagyu beef pie and tempura prawn with sweet chilli

The sashimi was soo good, literally melts in your mouth.

- main of wagyu beef sukiyaki hotpot &tempura udon

tempura udon was absolutely delicious

- dessert of green tea ice cream, green tea pineapple creme and seasonal fruits

I would definitely recommend this restaurant. The ambiance is romantic and intimate at the same time as friendly and cosy.

Waterfront Restaurant

Waterfront, Circular Quay, Modern Australian

27 Circular Quay W, The Rocks

A close friend had her twenty-first birthday at Waterfront and we had the Group Choice menu. Waterfront is a modern Australian restaurant with a focus on seafood. Located in the main dining district of the Rocks, Waterfront has fabulous views and a really great atmosphere.

Most of our group chose the smoked salmon with avocado salsa, red onion, baby capers and toast or the salt & pepper tossed queensland prawns.

I absolutely loved the smoked salmon but I did find the prawns a bit too salty for my taste.

For mains I had the chargrilled 300g sirloin served with potato gratin. My steak was perfectly cooked however I tried another friend's steak and their steak was chewy and very tough. I think the steaks were a bit hit and miss. The potato was really nice though.

The pan roasted barramundi fillet with roast fennel, tomato broth and parmesan crisp was quite nice.

The servings were a good size and didnt leave you hungry but the dishes were quite salty. All in all, it was a nice occasion and what lacked in the food was made up by the view.