Assiette

To celebrate our anniversary I decided I wanted to share a beautifully executed gastronomic experience with Spensley in Sydney. With Quay is booked out for dinner until March, would it be possible to find a restuarant with amazing food, a relaxed environment and didn't cost the first born child? After a lot of research, I decided to settle on a modern French restaurant in Surry Hills called Assiette. For us, non-Frenchies Assiette means 'plate' which is the perfect name for this no fuss modern French diner by Warren Turnbull. Once we were welcomed at the front door, a friendly staff member showed us to our table. Crisp linen, a room of clean lines broken up by a sexy peak into the kitchen and a trio of artwork depicting a playful woman's expressions. After a quick peak at the menu to ensure we weren't missing anything we proceeded with the degustation beginning with hiramasa (Kingfish) ceviche with coconut, heirloom tomato, jalapeno and yuzu. The challenge of ceviche is always taking the best fresh raw fish marinating it with citrus juice and a touch of spice but ensuring the fish isn't overpowered and this dish does it. The hiramasa was the star with uplifting citrus notes and the coconut milk balanced beautifully against the blanched tomato.  

The next dish that followed was Jannei goats' curd, vinocotto, figs, golden beetroot and cereal. I love all these flavours but the magic touch was the toasted cereal which added texture and additional sweetness.

The third dish was Glazed Silver Lake smoked eel, black sesame, grilled leek and onion puree. The black sesame and onion purees worked well with the smoked eel but I found the texture to be quite dense dense and the baby leek was challenging as even in gourmet food death it fought against being consumed. But I didn't mind as leek has never been one of my favourite vegetables. 

After the first three meals were served in quick succession we took a small break before moving onto Bass grouper with saffron parsnip, mussels, dulse and candied lemon. Though the bass grouper was lovely the most incredible component of this dish were the silky mussels so delicate that they came apart violently with a fork and dissolved in the mouth.

Crispy-skin quail, picked carrot, Szechuan salt and ginger vinegar signaled the end of the seafood dishes. Well presented, the quail was beautifully moist, tend and the picked carrot made for an easy flavour transition.

The Milly Hill lamb loin, aubergine puree, baked Jerusalem artichokes and balsamic jus was probably the most traditional dish featured on the degustation. Every component was beautifully cooked and I was almost fooled into thinking the Jerusalem artichoke was a potato. Delightful. 

Pre desserts are always a great way to cleanse the palette as even with the perfectly balanced portion sizes, moving from the rich lamb to a chocolate marquise would have been death. So we lingered for a while with this refreshing pana cotta with blood orange foam.

Our final dish was this ultra decadent Chocolate marquise and sorbet with salted caramel ice cream and cocoa nibs. It was gorgeous but I will admit I was judging it against the one I had earlier in the week at One Eleven. The One Eleven version was a little more tuned to my personal tastes with the fresh raspberries but if you like chocolate on chocolate, then this is heaven. Though I've given some personal thoughts on the flavours don't be fooled as the experience was impeccable. The venue is comfortable, staff are friendly and warm, food is divine but you only have until 22 December to enjoy Assiette as they will be closing their doors. Warren Turnbull will be relocating to New Zealand to focus on his more casual dining offerings. A true loss to Sydney, so if you have the opportunity try to sneak in while you still can!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Address: 48 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.
Open: Lunch, Thursday & Friday (12pm - 3pm), Dinner, Wednesday – Sunday (from 6pm).
Phone: (02) 9212 7979.
Price: Degustation $105 per person. Matched wines $65.

Anise

I've mentioned the gorgeous Andrew and Misty in some of my previous food adventures, but it was young Andrew's 31st birthday on the weekend and a trip to was arranged. Anise is a cosy 21 seat bistro and a world away from the hustle and bustle from Brunswick Street. By stepping through the door and hopping up to the bar, you are choosing to begin your culinary adventure immediately. Anise offers an extensive selection of Absinthe, tempting cheeses, a wine flight, knowledgeable and accessible staff and oh my goodness the food! The food is gorgeous and the menu has kindly included an English translation for those kids who decided to forgo their French language education. Pictured above is one of Andrew's degustration dishes - a Local Scollop Mousseline Stuffed Zucchini Flower with Celeriac Remoulade and Chilli Jam.

Andrew and Luke decided to have the degustation, so after salivating over their petite dishes, it seemed like an age before our mains arrived. I selected an entree size Pan Fried Potato Gnocchi with Wood Mushrooms, Morel Cream and Truffle Pecorino. It more than ample for dinner and the texture of the gnocchi was amazing. Smooth, light and easily the best example I have had for some time.

I know she doesn't look like much in the dark but you're looking at something gorgeous. This is Anise's Fig Napolean layered Puff Pastry with Almond Cream and Raspberry Pruee. The figs are beautifully caramelised and well matched with the cream and pruee. So did I enjoy my trip to Anise? Absolutely! I loved the atmosphere, the concept and its unpretentious nature. But most of all I was happy to share the experience with friends and hope you will too.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Address: 697 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, QLD, 4006.
Open: 7 days a week, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Phone: (07) 3217 9809
Price: Entrees: $16 - $23, Mains $36 - $45, Desserts $14.

Montrachet

Located in the inner city suburb of Paddington is the charming Montrachet. Opulently decorated the restaurant features warm red, brown and gold colours and whisks you away into another reality. Over the years I'd heard only glowing reports about this restaurant so I decided it was time experience this bastion of French cuisine and was joined by the lovely Alex, Kate, Kat and Patrick.

Montrachet has sitting times, so we settled down to business of ordering quickly and I decided on the Carré d’Agneau and the Grand Marnier Souffle. The Carré d’Agneauis comprised of a baked lamb rack resting on cauliflower puree, a petite lamb pie and carrot jus. The lamb was well seasoned and moist and the pastry of the petite lamb pie was just divine. If that pie was my last meal on Earth, I'd be pretty happy and all the dishes were served with fresh bread to allow you fully savour the rich sauces.

The Souffle was the dessert du jour at our table and it was beautifully presented and light. Though it wasn't a bad execution, I felt the example I was presented with at Alchemy was of a higher standard. The evening was full of good company and merriment but sadly the experienced by damaged at the end of the evening by the waitress.

We waited patiently for our change and after an extended period of time decided to enquire. The waitress returned with the change and stiffly commented, "ordinarily that would have been a tip." We were all taken aback by the rudeness and it disappointing to end the evening on that note. Montrachet is beautiful, the food is gorgeous but it obvious that the venue has a skewed perception of profits and dining experience. There is no where for customers to wait with the bar area being utilised for dining and the wait staff must slide the tables out to allow guests to maneuver in and out. Montrachet is still worth a look and would have rated as a lower end 4.5 star experience bar the final exchange.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Address: 224 Given Terrace, Paddington QLD 4064.
Open: Lunch: Monday - Friday: 12pm. Dinner: Monday - Thursday: Sittings at 6pm and 8:30pm.
Phone: (07) 3367 0030.
Price: Entrees: $12 - $28. Main: $38 - $42. Desserts: $9.60.