Quarter Twenty One

Quarter Twenty One

Level 5, Westfield Sydney

Pitt St Mall

(02) 8064 7900

www.quartertwentyone.com.au

Take the express elevators up and on your right will be Quarter Twenty One. Sleek, modern and contemporary, the restaurant has been on my 'must try list' ever since it opened. So when Quarter Twenty One announced they would be participating in this year's Crave Sydney Food Festival 'Lets do lunch' promotion, my tastebuds were already salivating in anticipation. ready for the lunch.

Fast forward two weeks later and finally we have lunch! I was joined by the lovely Dolly and the awesome KSY.

Don't the ladies in this photo look so carefree and happy? Wish I could have long breezy lunches every day :)

We were served some complimentary bread to start. The butter that was served with the bread was really cool, it was foamy rather than hard. The bread roll was warm and freshly baked.

Slow-cooked short rib of beef, spring vegetable ragout and fondant potato

The beef is slow cooked for 38 hours which meant it was incredibly tender. The flavour was also spot on but I found my rib a little fatty though. I loved the spring vegetable ragout! It was colourful, vibrant and an array of textures. It makes the dish look really beautiful.

The 'Lets do Lunch' promotion also includes either a glass of Brown Brothers red or white wine, coopers beer or sparkling water for $38. If you can spare an hour during your lunch break, I definitely recommend you try the Quarter Twenty One 'Lets Do Lunch'. Also the three guys sitting across us ordered an amazing looking dessert which I think must have been the warm 68% alto beni zokoko chocolate pudding, orange & tonka bean ice cream. The dessert looked so good that I think I'll be coming back just for it..

The Good: Good location, Ambience, Fantastic friendly service

The Bad: I didn't get to try that dessert! Damn :(

District Dining, Modern Australian

District Dining

17 Randle Street

Central, Sydney

9211 7798

http://www.districtdining.com.au/

I've been looking forward to fooding at District Dining for months. When a few friends agreed to celebrate the end of exam (singular) by giving District Dining a go, I didn't hesitate to book lunch four weeks in advance (haha).

The restaurant is in Surry Hills but to be honest, its actually opposite Central Station. This is great in terms of convenience (wooo no need to organise car pool pick up/drop off).

Apologise for the slightly lopsided photos. We were given 20 minutes to order before the kitchen closed, hence less focus on photo taking and more focus on menu ordering.

We share the Kingfish, wasabi pannacotta, quinoa and ponzu ($19)

Can I just say that YES! this does taste as beautiful as it looks. Wasabi pannacotta?! What an ingenius idea. I actually thought this was wasabi mayonnaise at first but it didn't have the right texture for mayonnaise. Absolutely gorgeous AND delicious. Must try.

We also order the Crispy Pork Belly, asian style salad, chilli and peanuts ($24). This reminds me of Longrain's eggnet salad. This was refreshing, crunchy and very flavoursome. Recommended by Miss Piggy :) I don't know how to write the code for links so please refer to the side bar for foodie blog links! (IT fail.)

The mushroom risotto, truffled marscapone and parmesan crisp ($25) is the best damned risotto I've ever had. Creamy risotto rice grains covered in buttery marscapone. Mushrooms galore. Delicious.

And what better way to accompany a meal AND reward oneself for finishing an exam other than by eating hot chips. Reminds me of High School :)

French Fries ($7)

The Good: The Mushroom Risotto, the Kingfish and the Pork Belly. Wow 3/3 stand out dishes. Kitchen for lunch opens until 3pm. Modern interior. Great value $75 for 3!

The Bad: Nothing I can think of :)

Longrain, Thai, Sydney

Longrain Restaurant & Bar

85 Commonwealth Street Sydney

9280 2888

http://www.longrain.com.au/

Thank you to the lovely J for dinner tonight :) I am very lucky to have such an amazing friend.

Longrain is a modern Thai restaurant that serves authentic Thai food with a fine dining twist. I never used to think that the words 'authentic", thai' and 'fine dining' would ever go hand in hand but tonight has definitely changed all that. Longrain is chic (I mean.. come on, it sits inside an old converted warehouse) and the food is absolutely spectacular.

Eggnet with pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts & sweet vinegar ($31)

This dish blew me away. There was just so much flavour.. I would love to learn how to match flavours together like this. The prawns, pork, peanuts, bean sprouts etc.. everything complemented each other perfectly. The only thing that I couldn't taste was the egg (haha).

Caramelised Pork hock with five spice and chilli vinegar ($33.50)

J recommended this and it was delicious. The pork hock was crunchy - not crispy like the way pork belly is. The problem with pork belly is that its just crispy fat which is really really unhealthy. At least with crunchy pork hock its crispy meat and not crispy fat. Anyways .. I think this is slightly healthier than pork belly. It tastes better than pork belly too :)

We couldn't finish the pork hock or the egg nett and we were so full. But we ordered dessert anyways!

After much debate we decided on the Thai Chaos, coconut jelly, black sticky rice, tapoica and custard apple ($16.50)

How good does that look? Its like triple layer happiness. Whoever said love, fame and fortune makes you happy was wrong. I think the real answer is food..

Glass Brasserie, Hilton, Sydney

Glass Brasserie

Level 2, 488 George Street Sydney

Hilton Hotel

www.glassbrasserie.com.au

So today I took a day off, time in lieu, and started it off with buffet breakfast at the Glass Brasserie Hilton Hotel Sydney. What better way to start a three day weekend other than to feast on a humongous breakfast range?

Its nearing the end of my rotation and soon I will be moving to our office near King St Wharf .. for four whole months. No more Hunter Connection lunches, Jimmy's hainan chicken and food from Pitt St mall :( Sad..

But its okay, its good because it means now I can actually get back in shape! I feel like lately all I've been doing is eat (which ironically is why I blog) and I cannot handle all this gluttony. I must cut down on excessively high calorie foods and up the ante on gym classes.

Anyways so back to breakfast. Waaahhh so good lah!! I arrived early and spent a good 10 minutes walking around taking photos. Its so nice to have good lighting and seriously, I should just blog about breakfast and lunch because most of my dinner photos turn out sh!t.

Restaurant interior

Wine Bar

I wonder how they get the wine bottles from the very top... ladder maybe? Or maybe they are just for show and you don't actually GET them... just like the fish in Chinese restaurant tanks.

Fresh juices

Didnt get to try any of these but from memory they had pineapple, orange, mango, apple etc

Cereal and fresh fruit bar

Spot the mangos

Freshly squeezed juices

AAAHH!! These were fantastic. The glass with the fruit shows you whats in the fruit juice mixes and I tried the Dragon fruit, orange, watermelon, rockmelon and pineapple one and also the mango and wheatgrass one. The mango and wheatgrass one was really good! The lady at this stall was very sweet and I think you can also make your own juice and choose your own fruits.

Fruit Bar

Strawberries, Grapes, Pineapples, Rockmelon, Honeydew and Watermelon

Super vege shots

I've never even heard of carrot or beetroot shot. Sounds too weird for me. I gave the wheatgrass shot a go and didn't mind the taste. L tried the beetroot shot.. didnt seem like it was very enjoyable.

Asian Breakfast Bar

Actually more like japanese breakfast bar.. no congee here.

Cheese platter

Cheese for breakfast? Really? Is that normal?

Cold Items Breakfast Bar

Look at the tubs of Philadelphia cream cheese! I love food that comes in individual portion sizes. So cute. Its cute like how baby socks are so adorable and cute :)

Salmon, capers and cream cheese on mini breakfast roll was delish.

Yoghurt .. and Yakult

I was shocked to see Yakult here.. I didn't expect it to be a popular breakfast item. I had to get one. Also tried the guava yoghurt which didn't taste anything like yoghurt. Taste like guava puree which is alot better than yoghurt. For all the yoghurt enthusiasts out there, don't worry- they have three yoghurt choices with like muesli, fruits and ecetera

Grilled Mushrooms

Crispy Bacon

Sausages

Roasted tomato and spinach, hash browns, french toast, grilled peaches and poached eggs

Pastries ..

I didn't get to try any of these but they look great

My drinks!

Lightly sparkling mount franklin (couldn't find any still), mango and wheatgrass juice and yakult.

By the way they also make coffees and teas to order- the proper barista types. Super duper happy.

My Breakfast No #1

Another breakfast plate (not mine)..

Okay.. this one I will admit is mine..

Glass is a fantastic place to have buffet breakfast if you have a few spare hours in the morning. The fresh fruit/juice/made to order options are so vast and great tasting and the service is superb. Love the made to order coffee and tea options. Definitely recommended!

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.

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.