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.

Tartufo: Tony's Italian Table

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of being invited by Karen Reyment (TheWordOnFood) to join her and a few other bloggers at Tony's Italian Table. Tony's Italian Table isn't the name of an event but a gorgeous new offering at Tartufo which allows groups of six or more to enjoy a multi course Italian feast. This offering is changed daily based on seasonal produce and naturally the whim of Tartufo Head Chef, Tony Percuoco. As a native of Naples, Tony is absolutely passionate about his food and this is evident from the care he takes to ensure special dietary requirements are met and the passion in his voice when he describes the source of his produce. All of the bread and pasta used in the restaurant are made on site and while the majority of the Tartufo produce is sourced from growers within a 200km radius of Brisbane, Tony can't ignore perfection so you will see the occassional distant treat such as Gippsland Veal or buttery Italian Proscutto. 

 

Our Italian feast opened with beautiful crusty housemade bread served with organic extra virgin olive oil, marinated mixed Italian olives and platters of traditional antipasto. If you have a favourite item then I recommend you get in fast as in the tradition of a family feast it is first in best dressed. However Tony is aware that occassionally we have our favourites so each guest was served their own individual arancini ball. The recipe for the arancini are just as Tony's Mother used to make and filled with peas, parmesan, mozzarella and tomato. Absolutely delicious, fresh, balanced like all the dishes in this feast but for me the stand out dishes were:

• Insalata Caprese
  Fresh sliced tomatoes topped with mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil.
• Vitello Tonnato
  Braised Gippsland veal served cold, thinly sliced, topped with a tuna mayonnaise of capers, anchovies and served with cornichons. 
• Gnochetti Sardi Ai Piselli
  House made small shell pasta with onion, pancetta, fresh peas and pea puree, pepper and pecorino cheese.  
• Semifreddo Al Torrone
  Hazelnut, nougat semifreddo (house made ice-cream terrine) served with crostoli and espresso sauce.  

Parking and public transport is highly accessible at the Emporium, the space is welcoming, the food was divine and service impecable. But apart from a huge thanks to Tony and his wife, Gordana, I wanted to also thank Karen for being such a warm host and the other bloggers on the table for their company: 

• Eat, Drink and Be Kerry
• Itty Bitty Bites
• Miss Lolly Loves Food
• Rhubarb Whine
• Tiffin

So might I recommend that you grab a bunch of six or so of your closest friends and take on the impressive feast that is Tony's Italian Table. You won't be disapppointed.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Address: 100 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006.
Open: Lunch and Dinner 7 Days.
Phone: (07) 3852 1500.
Price: $50 per person.

Beer Stalker

Thanks to a random number generator and the lovely Renee at the Pantry Review I managed to win a double pass to the Lifestyle Maggie Beer Chefs Table at the Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show but never has a prize been so difficult to claim! 

I was informed by Renee on Saturday that the ladies at Square One PR would mail out the passes and without any sign of them by the Thursday I was growing concerned so I called the company. They assured me that the passes had been mailed but to call them if there were any problems so they could arrange collection from the Box Office. There were times when I was ready to cry but honesty there were that many errors that in hindsight it was hilarious: 

• The passes arrived 2pm on Friday for the 1pm Friday session. I didn't make this discovery until I opened my mail at 6pm and frantically called and twittered Square One PR. The ladies picked up and said they wouldn't be able to correct it until the next day.
  
• I was contacted the next day to say that unfortunately the Maggie Beer Chefs Table's allocation was exhausted and to make it up to us, they booked us into the Celebrity Theatre that afternoon and arranged for a meet and greet at 3.30pm.
  
• I arrived at the Good Food and Wine Show to pick up the tickets from the Box Office to find the Celebrity Theatre session was 11am. I called Square One PR in a panic and they confirmed the meet and greet was still on but they had booked me into the Chefs Table with Anna Gare at 5pm.
  
• Come 3.30pm and I'm ushered into the VIP lounge with Spensley. We're treated to some canapes, a comfortable chair and a cool drink. We wait for an hour and Maggie Beer never shows. However my brother who was mixing it up with the great unwashed managed to score a photo with her. The time stamp on the photo out of interest was 3.30pm. 

But I can highly recommend Anna Gare! She is as lovely and bubbly as she comes across on television and I came away with a solid respect for her cooking. The Lifestyle Food Goodie bags were also extremely generous, chock full of numerous food and kitchen products and I'm pleased to say that I am now the proud owner of one KitchenAid product ... a spatula! On a whole I loved the Good Food and Wine Show from the passionate and bustling cheese alley (I highly recommend Bruny Island Cheese Co and Banglow Cheese Co) to scoffing icecream sandwiches and running into what seemed like half of Brisbane. This foodie event is still the must see event of the year ... oh for those wondering we never did get to meet Maggie Beer. There's always next year.          

Kettle and Tin

If you're a regular at Anouk or Eurovida, you couldn't help but notice the haphazard colours of the former Pandemonium Cafe dissolve and give up to an elegant gunmetal gray shopfront. But what is? So when I heard along the grapevine that this site has been acquired by the owners of the New Farm establishment, Ponycat I started actively counting down and was even more excited when I heard it was open. So I grabbed Spensley and we made our way through the bracing cold to Paddington. Perhaps I had built up Kettle and Tin too much in my head because we entered the gate, we were stopped by a gentleman who automatically intoned, "we not ready for another 15 minutes." Maybe it was the lack of greeting, the hunger, the cold, the lack of coffee or a combination but I was annoyed as their Facebook page advises a 6.30am start. So after killing some time in the newsagency, we made our way back to the cafe and we greeted with a rustic but modern decor. The metal chairs are a tad cold on ones' backside in the morning, but I can assure you the coffee is taste, warm and the menu hearty.  

The photo doesn't do it justice but Spensley ordered the Parmesan and Spinach Egg White Omelet. This dish will keep the health conscious pleased with three parts egg white to one part whole egg. My partner is fond of sides, so disregard the mushrooms as they are just one of the optional extras you can add to your plate to fortify your stomach before you start your day.

I on the other hand was keen to try out the Eggs Benedict which was perfect. Crisp english muffins, a layer of caramelised leeks, house cured gravlax, running eggs and home made hollandise made for perfection. I would be delighted to have this dish as my last meal and despite my little service grumble, the food has me worshipping their feet. So visit!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Address: 215 Given Terrace, Paddington, QLD 4064.
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 6.30am-4pm. Sunday 6.30am-2pm.
Phone: (07) 3369 3778

Ten Foods Toxic To Your Dog

Thanks to a long running Oreo campaign, we all know that chocolate is bad for dogs. But have you ever wondered what else is bad for your faithful companion? Some of these will surprise you.

• Alcohol
• Chocolate
• Garlic
• Green Potatoes
• Sugar
• Peach/Apricot Pits
• Onion
• Grapes/Raisins
• Mushroom
• Yeast Dough

Attachment: Ruby Cafe June 2012 Menu

Please note this article was last updated Tuesday, June 5 and is an attachment to my January 2012 review of Ruby Cafe. 

Ruby Cafe has a new menu for June and Spensley and I, are eager to work our way through all the delicious combinations which capture the best of the season. I must say I had breakfast envy when Spensley's choice of salmon, baked eggs, caramelised leaks arrived. The gorgeous were generous and they were served with crusty sourdough. 

My dish also came with crusty sourdough but I admit the gamble of Breakfast Peas did not pay off. I love peas but admit I was tad disappointed to find the dish was a bowl of frozen peas with mint and batons of speck, topped with an egg. Perhaps Gourmet Traveller has spoilt me, but I had visions of pureed peas and mint, spread over crusty bread, with a poached egg and generous waves of crispy bacon of crumbled speck. The flavour combination has potential but you shouldn't have to chase your breakfast with a fork at 6.30am!

Formatting

One of the greatest challenges of food blogging is the fact that restaurants are an ever changing entity from the mood of the staff to the release of a new menu to capture the best of the seasonal produce. In my attempt to be accurate, I will now be adding additional entries and attaching them should I return to an establishment after I've reviewed it. Pip pip carry on!