Latest reviews by coathanger's friends

The Restaurant, Art Gallery of NSW - review by TamaraC

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:40:43 +0000

The Restaurant, Art Gallery of NSW - review by TamaraC

Rating: 3.0

Location: Art Gallery Road, 2000, Sydney, Australia

Phone: (02) 9225 1819

Website: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/restaurant

I love a high tea - the muted chit chat, the luxury of fancies in the afternoon, the drama of The Stand, the anticipation of what goodies will be heaped upon it...

High tea at the Art Gallery of NSW sounded like just the thing for my work team to celebrate with our 'staff appreciation' budget. At $25/head (or $33 with bubbles), and with a stunning view over the gallery gardens down to Woolloomooloo and the Harbour, it's quite the deal.

As the pics show, high tea is the standard three tier affair. Unfortunately for the Gallery, they've picked stands too big for the goodies sparsely laid upon them, so you get a terrible let-down as they place them down the table - that 'Oh. Is that all there is? Wish I'd had my cheese and pickle sandwich before coming along' feeling.

Luckily for the Gallery, the morsels proved to be very filling and generally very tasty. Sandwiches (cucumber and prawn, and mushroom ricotta) a little bland, but substantial. Tasty vegie croquette and roast beef on parmesan bikkie, but best was definitely the third tier. Now I'm not a fan at all of rice-based desserts (there's a grain that belongs firmly in the middle of the menu in my opinion), but this creamy creamed rice on stewed rhubard, served in a little pot with freshly ground nutmeg was delicious! Competition between heavenly orange choc truffle and crunchy-based dark caramel slice for the 'save the best for last category' but was ultimately glad I gave way to my bias for caramel slice and ended with its deliciousness.

Great tea too, and our Vegan colleague raved and raved about her selection - so make sure you request ahead if you or your buddies are Vegan.

Service was disinterested and unsmiling, reminded me more of a factory cafeteria than the Art Gallery, but still, you have to make your own fun huh?

Rock Restaurant - review by TamaraC

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 07:21:29 +0000

Rock Restaurant - review by TamaraC

Rating: 4.0

Location: 576 Debeyers Road, 2320, Pokolbin, Australia

Phone: 02 4998 6968

Website: http://www.rockrestaurant.com.au/

Tags: Modern Australian; contemporary feel

This is the second of the two great spots reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald by Simon Thomsen that I loved. The restaurants, not Simon Thomsen : )

Now this one is an out-of-towner, located in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley wine region of NSW (conveniently located only 2 hours from Sydney). It's a great region, and you're spoiled for choice for dining in the Valley, so I turned to Guru Simon for advice. The other option was a place I won't mention because you have to pronounce it the French way and then you sound as pretentious as it looks. That's why we didn't choose it. Everyone can pronounce The Rock'.

This restaurant is part of the Poole's Rock winery, which produces the well-known white Cockfighter's Ghost. As one wine-tasting funny boy told me, you have to be careful how you pronounce it once you've had a few glasses, because you can easily swap the ghost' elsewhere in the name of the wine and end up in trouble ; ) We played it safe and ordered NZ wines!

To start with though, me and DC had a leisurely pre-dinner drink in the funky bar area which featured cushions so cool I wished I'd brought a bigger bag&

Once we were seated at our table with the rest of our party, it was revealed that my very kind friends had pre-ordered a bottle of Moet et Chandon Rose Imperial in honour of my birthday, so the six of us toasted, sipped and enjoyed this wonderful luxury, while we perused the menu.

It was one of those menus that featured all the hot-button ingredients, so choosing was tricky. Everything was available in tasting, entrée or main sizes, so that guests can choose a tasting menu, a traditional three courser, or something in between. We all opted for three tastings and a dessert.

I started with scallop tortellini with king brown mushrooms, pancetta and Riesling cream. Delicate, but I couldn't pick up the pancetta flavour and thought the texture of the tortellini was a little dried-out under the Riesling cream.

Second came duck breast, stuffed with apple, raisin and hazelnut, on a generous bed of Tasmanian truffles, with licquorice sauce. The combination of duck, truffle and liquorice were what tempted me, and while the truffles were deliciously woody and flavoursome, I couldn't taste any liquorice, and the duck was on the tough side. My fellow diners who also had the duck in their selections reported that their's were succulent, however they seemed to have far more stuffing and far less truffle than mine featured.

My last tasting was of the grilled Wagyu rump, on artichoke puree with a fine leaf salad atop. I am in the philistine category when it comes to steak - I don't like mine to have any of the blood still running, so this was a little full-on for me. Also, a little sinewy.

This left dessert, for which I chose a prune and cognac soufflé, delightfully presented in a copper ramekin with pouring cream alongside. Who doesn't like a nice piece of serving ware?! Breathing in while having mouthful of this eggy soufflé in your mouth was a heady experience as the full force of the cognac came through! Elegant petit fours completed a delicious meal, marred for me only by the texture of my choices. We had chosen our wines well, with a Seresin 2006 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and another wonderful NZ Pinot Noir (whose name escapes me now) utterly drinkable, and an evening of great company with great friends!

And as a PS I have to say that the service was among the best I've had anywhere recently. Knowledgeable, with useful suggestions, touch of humour, no attitude, thoughtful and warm, everyone we came across was professional and attentive.

Ottoman - review by TamaraC

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 06:40:30 +0000

Ottoman - review by TamaraC

Rating: 5.0

Location: Pier 2, 2000, Sydney, Australia

Tags: turkish, Harbourside

I have recently visited two great spots reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald by Simon Thomsen. I loved both. This is like when your friend says it's the funniest movie I've ever seen' again, and the last time you saw one of his funniest evers' you left before it finished. Except in reverse. I think Simon Thomsen may be my gourmet guru.

So, in homage to Simon Thomsen 1.

On a dark, glittery night in July I visited Ottoman with my two significant others (AKA my Mum and my DC.

Ottoman, as Guru Simon told me, is the sibling of Ottoman Cuisine in Canberra (Australia's nominal capital) and has had an A$5 million fit out. It had that totally understated A$5 million feel to it - two-tone metallic-wallpaper feature wall, amazing chandelier (someone told me, I didn't notice it&), warm, cosy, comfy chairs and vintage glass lamps in the main dining room. I wondered idly whether the A$5 million included the Fink water jugs (pictured) which we have admired in galleries elsewhere&oh - the food, the food, that's why we were there.

Our young but knowledgeable waiter (turns out he has worked in the Canberra branch for years) asked whether he could put together a tasting menu for us, or whether we'd like to choose from the extensive and very tempting menu. We opted for his tasting menu, with a few choices of our own from the menu. I noticed that at other tables nearby where diners had also ordered the tasting menu that they all appeared different - I was impressed.

Now I have to be honest, I can't quite remember what was on each of the plates, but every mouthful was delicious and perfectly cooked. There was veal wrapped in thin pastry, quail and couscous, tiny, succulent mouthfuls of dressed salad, cabbage rolls, and Turkish Delight in three flavours to finish.

The balance of the meal meant that we were comfortably full at completion, totally Goldilocks - not too full, not too empty.

If you're visiting Sydney, or you're local and want somewhere different and special (and not outrageously expensive), Ottoman is your place.

Papaya - review by TamaraC

Sun, 20 May 2007 08:24:57 +0000

Papaya - review by TamaraC

Rating: 3.0

Location: 307-309 Military Rd, Cremorne, 2090, Sydney, Australia

Tags: crowded, Modern Thai; noisy

Papaya Thai was not my first choice for a Thank-God-it's-Friday dinner out. We ended up at Papaya Thai because they were full at Cactus Blue. (A good sign for Cactus Blue' I thought, for future reference. This supports the evidence for it being a good-value, modern Australian venue, thereby allowing me to use two of my favourite tags' for it when I review it for Trusted Places!') In any case, lucky for us, Papaya could squeeze us in at 7.30 if we could please leave by 8.45. Which I was told twice on the phone and twice on arriving, then once during the meal. All very politely, but firmly. I began to wonder if some celebrity was due at 8.45 and had said and I MUST have that cramped noisy table at the very back corner of the restaurant', but apparently not.

In any case, Papaya Thai is a very visually appealing restaurant decorated in a style I would describe as Thai Funk'. A long dark wood communal table, surrounded by smaller square tables with square squat stools or benches for seating. Vases with decorative twiggery, subtle metallics and funky lighting furniture. but extremely noisy (no soft furnishings, hard floor, packed in like sardines). If you're going and you have a choice, ask for a table near the window, that way you will be able to hear your fellow diners and speak without spitting pandan leaves at them.

The food is a far cry from regular Thai offerings. There is a page of the usual Massaman or Green curry, but why would you take them on when there is Kai Hor Bai Toey'? The dish arrived and I could see that portion size is not a problem at Papaya. Four generous packages of marinated chicken, literally wrapped in pandan leaf and skewered to secure. No pasty deep fried coating, only a crispy, slightly tea-leaf tasting leaf. I unwrapped mine (the tea-leaf factor becoming a big much after chewing through a couple of mouthfuls) to enjoy the tender, moist pieces of chicken.

We followed this with Som Tum' a North Eastern Thai salad of shredded green papaya tossed with dried shrimp, cherry tomato, peanuts and lemon juice dressing, that comes with a choice of Kai Yang', Moo Ping' or Neua Yang'. We chose Moo Ping, bbq marinated pork pieces, which were smokey and tangy and a welcome relief from the fire in the papaya salad that was so chilli that I remarked to DC that my mouth actually hurt. The crunchy green papaya and sour-spicy flavours of the sauce were a great accompaniment to the pork, just could have done with a little less chilli!

Our second main was Ped Nam Buoy'. Chunky pieces of duck roasted with plum sauce in luxury quantity were interspersed with long shards of cinnamon and star anise and a thick fragrant sauce A little bed of bok choy and shiitake mushrooms was another welcome calmant after the fire of the papaya salad. Only trouble was trying to delicately eat whole baby bok choy with chopsticks as it slapped its saucy leaves against my face! I was glad of the dim corner and wished for a knife.

I thought the food was great, and many other things on the menu tempt me to return, so next time Cactus Blue is full, we'll be back!

PS No photos of the food because lighting was so dim!

Rock Lobster Cambodian - review by TamaraC

Thu, 17 May 2007 12:51:11 +0000

Rock Lobster Cambodian - review by TamaraC

Rating: 4.0

Location: Shop 6, 332 Military Rd, Cremorne, 2090, Sydney, Australia

Tags: family & home feel, Cambodian; friendly staff; outdoor seating;

On a Thursday night sometimes me and DC just don't feel like cooking, or even defrosting one of our Gourmet Dinner Service' meals (more another time). What we fancy is a nice, hot, tasty meal, not too expensive but nice. We pulled into Young Street Cremorne, which is the street behind the Orpheum. In a plaza that includes a tasty cheap Japanese restaurant, along with a nail salon and Laundromat (should you require that particular suite of services), is a Cambodian restaurant called Rock Lobster Seafood Restaurant'. Someone' (whom I can't quite remember) recommended Rock Lobster saying that they do groumet fish and chips, barramundi, prawns, that sort of thing, but what is really special there is the Cambodian food.

So we tried the Cambodian food and it was GREAT. Having never tried Cambodian food before we said to the lovely jovial host (Liep) What's good? We haven't tried Cambodian before'. He suggested, and we tried the Sam-Lom Machu (tender beef with lemongrass, lime leaf and Tamarind sauce) and the Kary Trey (traditional Cambodian prawn or fish curry).

Before receiving these dishes though, we were treated to tiny home-made spring rolls, fresh from the fryer and filled with chicken mince, glass noodles, taro and carrot, with a garlic ad sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

It turns out that Cambodian food is much like Cambodia itself something between Vietnamese and Thai.The beef was finely sliced, tender and tangy with a perfect balance of chilli, lime and tamarind flavours. The prawns were incredibly fresh and sweet, and not overpowered by the gentle yellow curry sauce with basil and spices. We complimented Liep on the food, especially the prawns which, he told us, were freshly shelled before they were cooked.

We also enjoyed a conversation with Liep about eating in Cambodia and will definitely go back for his friendly, welcoming style as well as the delicious gentle cooking.

Alchemy 731 - review by TamaraC

Wed, 09 May 2007 12:37:56 +0000

Alchemy 731 - review by TamaraC

Rating: 3.0

Location: 731 Military Road, Mosman, 2088, Sydney, Australia

Tags: Swanky, spare, excellent service

You know, it's nice to have friends who shout. Not literally of course, those friends would be, well, annoying. These are friends who say we would like to host you at a fabulous 8-course degustation dinner to celebrate one of our 33rd birthdays'. Nice huh? And what if I said that earlier that day the same friend (whose 33rd birthday it was indeed) had said to me and three more friends come and join me for a manicure and pedicure so we look fabulous for our 8-course degustation dinner. I'll pay'. And that then, later in the day, but before the 8-course degustation dinner, another friend organised a photo shoot of the four fabulous top and tailed girls just for posterity? REALLY nice huh?

And so I found myself, on a balmy evening in Mosman, Sydney (that's in Australia by the way - they say it's not the capital, but really, EVERYONE knows it should be), liquored by a couple of glasses of sparkling, triumphant from a photo shoot that showed I had the photo, I just needed the book deal, with DC and eight friends, being hosted to an 8-course degustation dinner at Alchemy 731'.

(So you can see how it's a nice theme - Alchemy, the art of turning base metal into gold/ turning four 30-somethings into fabulous 30-somethings? And of course, turning wonderful raw ingredients into dining gold?)

And can I say at the outset that there was no disappointing pyramid of chocolate here (see Eat City'), but a dessert course trio of chocolate fantasia, headlined by a chocolate crème de menthe tart that stands out as my favourite item in our meal.

At the other end of the meal the Amuse bouche' failed to amuse a few fellow diners who felt the pickled herring factor was a little high& Lamb three ways' also raised a few eyebrows for it's risqué suggestiveness, and hidden inside these three morsels were parts of the lamb best hidden beneath crumbing (I think it was brain but I don't really want to know&) Other delicious morsels included beetroot cured salmon with fennel, roasted hazelnut, pink grapefruit tartare and black pepper tuille' featuring fine pieces of smoked salmon with beetroot-stained hems; prosciutto of venison with melon, baby herbs, poppy seed wafer and parmesan' and a parmesan ice cream that accompanied one of the vegetarian's degustation courses.

Wine matches were variable, with the standout the 2003 Glenguin Stoneybroke' Shiraz from the Hunter Valley matched with the three-way lamb ; ) (couldn't resist) In a completely coincidental twist of fate, a number of people at the table had sailed aboard Stoneybroke' the yacht owned by the Glenguin vigneron himself!

While degustation can sometimes leave you feeling a little disgusted with how much you've eaten, I think the Alchemy version would have done better with a little more heft in the middle courses, at the expense of the two-course dessert (keep the crème de menthe tart, but you can buy berry sorbet at the supermarket) and the Caerphilly cheese course (looked like it had come out of a packet from the QANTAS flight in from the UK). We had great company and a great night overall, and really, it would be too rude to complain when it was such a generous shout!

Thelma & Louise - review by TamaraC

Tue, 08 May 2007 12:09:24 +0000

Thelma & Louise - review by TamaraC

Rating: 4.0

Location: 1 Hayes Street, Neutral Bay, 2089, Sydney, Australia

Tags: cosy, chai, need to book on weekends, awesome harbour views, genuine retro, proper food, amazing brew, crowded, lively, cozy

As much as I love it, I don't drink coffee. I love to inhale the smell emitting from a well-scented cafe, but I don't drink coffee. What I do love to drink is chai, aka Punjabi Chai, but rarely 'Chai Latte'. Once you've sampled the real deal in India, that frothy, sugary, nasty-fake-spice flavour of so many Chai Lattes made on powder just don't cut it. And hence I drive my friends (mostly NVL) crazy with my (polite) refrain 'is your chai made with leaves or powder?' and if it's not made on leaves, it's Earl Grey for me.

If you can find somewhere that makes it a) with real leaf and/or b) brewing it on milk as well, you've struck gold.

These are my chai ratings:

Thelma & Louise Neutral Bay
These people really know how to do it. A small china teapot filled with milk, chai leaves (including whole spices) and a layer of froth so good that I've been known to drink it even with the tea leaves in it. The brew comes out the colour of a gentle afternoon latte, full of cinnamon and cardomon, perfect with a cookie dunked in (or not...). 5-star chai.

Espresso and Exotic Chocs walking tour of Sydney - review by TamaraC

Tue, 08 May 2007 11:46:26 +0000

Espresso and Exotic Chocs walking tour of Sydney - review by TamaraC

Rating: 5.0

Location: cnr Phillip and Bridge Streets, 2000, Sydney, Australia

Tags: walking tour, great value; chocolate; coffee;

As you may have guessed by reading my other reviews, I do like chocolate. But you know, I don't eat that much of it. Chocolate is a definite trigger ingredient on a dessert menu, and I love a single piece of 70% Lindt dark as an afternoon pick me up, but I don't need it every day. So when my much-loved brother visited home recently, I thought about what I like (chocolate) and what he likes (coffee&and&chocolate) and found something fantastic - the Espresso and Exotic Chocs' walking tour of Sydney city.

I have lived in Sydney all my life (apart from two ill-fated years in Melbourne - even good restaurants don't make up for it; and another two fun years in Auckland - who knew how many great restaurants they have!) and like to keep up to date with new and fab places in my city. How could Jeff de Bruges' have escaped my notice!!? (see pic taken by m-lbro). This and other wonderful boutique chocolatiers were revealed in our 2 ½ hour pleasantly paced, generously sampled walking tour.

We started at the Museum of Sydney, learning that the First Fleeters had planted coffee plants right there on Bridge Street hoping for a crop. Sydney being somewhat south of the optimal coffee-growing zone, the crop failed sadly. Rum all round instead!

A short walk took us past historic buildings to Vanderwee Chocolate in the Wintergarden atrium, where we sampled 70% chocolate imported directly from Bruges, and truffles made by hand by Hendrik and Hilde Vanderwee Rosseel. I tried the passionfruit truffle and have to say I could detect no passionfruit flavour at all, but the centre was a lovely creamy consistency.

Following this it was off to Adora Chocolates in the arcade adjoining the Sofitel Wentworth. Hot chocolate made from liquidy chocolate was on offer, along with our choice of two truffles from the display. Here I chose a black sesame truffle - a grey speckled semi-soft (ganache) centre with a gentle sweet-bean flavour; and a ginger truffle - fine ginger flavour from the freshly grated ginger infused with cream dipped in dark chocolate. No mistaking the flavours here!

Then it was off to the Lindt Café, a haven for anyone who loves their Lindt, and a homing-beacon in Sydney's otherwise business and high-fashion oriented Martin Place. Come to think of it, if you could afford to shop at Armani then pop into the Lindt Café for the caramel and pear torte (picture a half-tennis ball size torte with outer layer of caramel mousse, and enclosing a centre of caramelised pear) that would be no bad thing&in any case, I was happy on this visit with a peanut butter Lindt ball. Puts those peanut butter M&M's to shame (who knew?)

And then my friends, it was off to Jeff de Bruges, ironically, a French chocolatier. (And what's with the Jeff' isn't that an Australian name? Jeff Fenech, Jeff Kennett) Now you know when you look back at your photos and you have taken stacks of particular places that really rated off the scale? Well Jeff de Bruges was it for me and m-lbro. Gorgeous chocolate brown and aqua blue merchandising, counter piled high, soft serve flavoured with pistachio or mocha, this is class! And the chocolate was amazing. For my free sample I chose Lemon' - milk chocolate with a lemon pie' ganache centre (just the right amount of contrast), and took home Makassar' for later. This little gem has a dark chocolate exterior and cinnamon and coriander flavoured praline centre, absolutely amazing. They have franchises all over France, and, their website informs me, will soon have one in Kazakhstan (those Kazaks, can't get enough of it&; )

Our last stop was the Sheraton on the Park where we enjoyed teas and coffees in their very elegant café fronting Elizabeth Street.

What I haven't said is that for the coffee-lover there were ample opportunities to sample different style coffees, and that our warm and knowledgable host Shelagh brought along samples of cocoa and coffee beans and pods along with other visuals to illustrate her informative talks on the origins, history and processes of making coffee and chocolate.

A great day out!

Eat City - review by TamaraC

Wed, 02 May 2007 12:52:16 +0000

Eat City - review by TamaraC

Rating: 4.0

Location: 349 Kent Street, 2000, Sydney, Australia

Tags: French, intimate atmosphere, Australian, Good value, bistro

Recently, I was the happy recipient of a visit from my much-loved brother and sis'lo. I may have shared some of my visiting rights with others, but one chilly night in Sydney, husband DC and myself had them all to ourselves. I checked out the Good Living weekly restaurant reviews, I asked my up-to-the-minute dining-out friends where they liked to go, and taking the advice of a my red-headed friend, I reserved a table at Eat City', a restaurant in the city centre specialising in a selection of dishes to share, a sort of French Yum Cha' with menu items larger than entrée but smaller than main'. While the name suggests a badly-translated and still worse-tasting buffet diner, Eat City' is actually a sophisticated, wood-floored, low-lit bistro with knowledgable, attentive staff and fantastic food. We settled in.

With only 12 menu items to choose from, you would think the selection of any four dishes to share' for the incredibly reasonable sum of $38 per head would be fairly simple. But no. There were trigger ingredients for us all over the menu - haloumi, white truffle vinaigrette, soft shell crab and Wagyu beef. In the end we had to vote - we literally took a tally for each dish - and the clear cut winners were:

Soft shell crab with chilli salt crust, fennel, ginger and oyster mushrooms; Kurobuta pork neck roast with buttered cabbage and apples; Duck confit with Puy lentils; Wood roasted Wagyu beef, served rare with gratin potato and mushroom red wine jus.

Each dish came out on a rectangular platter with four serves of each dish sized just right for sharing and for satisfaction. No fighting for the extra crab claw for example&

First came the crab, plentiful with a sauce piquant with Asian flavours, but the crust could have had more chilli and less salt - it left me reaching for the sparkling water.

Next, melt-in-your mouth duck with the lentils cooked just right, overall, a beautifully balanced dish.

This was followed by roast pork neck (ordered by an insistent DC who was charmed by the word Kurobuta' - it put him in mind of a South Korean front-end loader). In any case, it was delicious, with an accompaniment featuring small balls of apple (think melon balls) mixed with perfectly-sauteed cabbage.

For the finale to our main course feast, the Wagyu beef on gratin potato came out, and was so tasty and so silky that you could eat it until the cows came home (thankfully for us of course, they did).

The prospect of choosing dessert from a trolley wheeled to our table was wonderful, but I was a little underwhelmed by the selection, and by the dessert itself, a pyramid of chocolate sponge, with berries. Adequate, but hardly up to the standard of the main course offerings.

I would go back. I would have the scallops, the haloumi salad (ok ok, that's one of my trigger ingredients!) and the duck, pork or Wagyu again and again. And I would take my red-headed friend's suggestion that the cheese selection is fantastic and give the dessert trolley a skip.

Thankfully the underwhelming pyramid of chocolate did not bring us down (and lets face it, anyone can be undone by an underwhelming pyramid of chocolate&). We had enjoyed our wine, enjoyed our meals and each other's company enormously, and were reaching for diaries to try to find more time for just the four of us' in an already packed schedule. Although it was not to be, it was proof that a great night out is sure to leave you wishing for more!

Kobe Jones - review by nalish

Thu, 10 May 2007 11:30:29 +0000

Kobe Jones - review by nalish

Rating: 4.0

Location: 29 Lime Street, 2000, Sydney, Australia

Tags: lively, something a bit different, japanese with a californian twist, great waterviews

The Number One Special is one of the best dishes I have ever tasted!
I have been to Kobe Jones several times and enjoy the varied and unusual menu. There is lots of different flavours and combinations that would be hard to find anywhere else in this city.
It's easy to over order, I would recommend a number of the rolls and signature dishes rather than the main dishes. The volcano and rainbow rolls are very tasty. The sushimi desert with chocolate chopsticks was delicious.
The view is great - catch a ferry right up to the front of the restaurant.
Highly recommend for something a bit different. Good place for a couple or groups.