Bentley Restaurant and Bar

Whilst i was choosing a place for an anniversary dinner last yr, i stumbled across this 2 hatted restaurant in surry hills. Seemingly one of the cheaper 2 hatted restaurants with an amazing website - have a look at their photo gallery!!! If youre looking for a place which stretches the boundaries, you should definitely try this one.



As you can prolly see, it was heaps difficult taking pics with a normal camera as the lighting was super super dim...a bit unfortunate as you cannot properly see and appreciate the creations on the plates.

We ordered thier signature cocktail - hemmingway popcorn. OMG. If anyone has tried the japanese ice cream (dippin' dots), it has exactly the same texture! This cocktail looks like a witch's cauldron as it arrives 'steaming' from the dried ice....you scoop the cocktail with the spoon to eat it and instantly you're hooked.


Hemmingway popcorn

The food was flavoursome, full of contrasts in texture and surprisingly innovative for modern australian cuisine.


Complimentary bread

Bentley's tapas menu is very exciting as it is inspired by both western and eastern cuisines. From smoked eel parfait with seaweed salad and soft shell crab with szechuan pepper to crisp potato and chorizo with harissa - be inspired!


White anchovy sticks with pistachio praline $4/stick


Cod and potato crostini $8

Our kingfish entree was topnotch. Fish was smooth on the palate and fresh, balanced with a coconut reduction and mixed fruit to add texture to the dish and a hint of sweetness. The scallop was beatifully seared. It is rare that i get to taste a coconut reduction in a dish, so i was devouring this one like crazy.


Kingfish marinated in squid ink with perfumed fruit and coconut

Up to mains......I am definitely a duck lover and i reckon nothing beats a good beijing style peking duck. Not to be subjective but i think western style of duck dishes just doesnt cut it, as it never seems to be able to bring out the full flavour of the bird. But i adored this main - the roasted duck breast. I love a beautifully textured dish - crunchy pistachio, soft pumpkin, chewy tender duck which did the duck justice by bringing out the full flavour....it was also very exciting looking at cubed pumpkin and logged rhubarb.


Roasted duck breast with lentil puree, pumpkin and rhubarb $35


Lamb rump with jerusaleum artichoke $33


Chickpea chips

Dessert time!! haha...... When my dessert came out, the first thing that came to mind was, how odd....this doesnt look anything like a dessert.....but when u start eating, u realise that it is chocolate parfait cubed in disguise. It is artfully interwined by cubed custard chunks and stabbed by pieces of film-like toffee sheets, sitting on a bed of lychee puree. Such a humble looking dish but worth a standing ovation. What a creation!!!!


Toasted custard with lychee puree and chocolate parfait $16

I was going to visit this place again this friday, only to be disappointed as they are undergoing renovations until 11Feb 2010.... i can boldly admit that Bentley is one of the few fine dines that i will DEFINITELY go again.

Bentley Restaurant & Bar
320 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel- 02 9332 2344
http://www.thebentley.com.au/

Miso

Tucked away in the World Square complex in Sydney, Miso is another restuarant in the Masuya Group. I visited this cosy restuarant when it first opened and have seen it undergo changes to its menu and witnessed the queue of people getting longer and longer.

Came here for a small group gathering - this is not the ideal place to sit and linger as the place is quite small, and the waiters eager to maximise the turnover. Veering on the pricier side for jap food of the same calibre, the quality of the food makes up for it somewhat. This joint is great for some tummy filling japanese food as it comes in big servings. Be prepared to wait in the queue though!

Ordered the soya milk with honey dew shake - yummy, just as i remembered it.


honey dew shake


Green tea

I ordered the Nigata Don, which is teriyaki sauced deep fried pork cutlets. The meat was tender, the coating crunchy, served with a generous amount of rice.


Nigata Don $15.80


Unagi (eel) Bento - with eel, sushi roll, egg, tofu, salmon sashimi and eggplants $18.80






Katsu Don - deep fried pork cutlets. $15.80

Miso
Shop 20, World Square
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel- 02 9283-9686
http://www.masuya.com.au/restaurants/miso.html

Question of the day:

Fruits have seeds which you plant to produce more fruit trees. Then do banana's have seeds???

Restaurant Arras

Possibly one of the best one hat fine dining establishments in Sydney and unquestionably deserves another hat. Its one of the few restaurants that i want to pay more for the food, not less!



We came on a Friday night for my birthday and it was quite busy. On arrival, there were a variety of pre dinner lavosh to nibble on including honey flavoured and curry flavoured ones. The menu needs deciphering, however, the waiters were knowledgeable and patient whilst explaining the dishes in great detail.


Complimentary lavosh

There were also 5 different types of freshly baked bread rolls to chose from, we were in awe!! I love eating bread so this was a treat =) I could not resist and went back for second and thirds to try out the other flavours. Dont ask me, i dont remember what the different types were! haha


bread #1


bread #2


bread #3


bred #4


bread #5 !!

Complimentary amuse bouche was fish with a sweet and sour reduction.


Amuse bouche

We ordered 2 entrees, ‘tails from land and sea’ and ‘the raw and the cooked’. The raw and the cooked which comprised of 30+ different types of vegetables was so artistically presented that we contemplated not eating it. It was delicately compiled and very tasty.


Tails from land and sea $26


The raw and the cooked $25.50

We shared 2 mains – ‘Orange Squash’ a vegetarian dish and ‘A plate of duck – beak to tail feather’ which were both impressive, however, not entirely filling.


A plate of duck – beak to tail feather $43.50

...ummm...was expecting a whole duck..maybe?! ....


Orange Squash $30

~ the orange slices were actually pumpkin mash~ ooOOooo

We were provided with complimentary pre-dessert of rhubarb mousse and crumble which was delicious and light, as it should be.


Pre dessert - Rhubarb mousse with crumble

For dessert we ordered the cinematic soufflé and coffee/tea with petit fours.

The waiter came out with a tray of petit fours, at least 10 different types to choose from. I felt like a child at a candy store, definitely a highlight of the meal!!


Petit Fours and coffee/tea $10

The soufflé was served with popcorn flavoured ice cream and a small bag of popcorn to fit the cinematic theme.


Cinematic Souffle $17.50

Spending approx $80pp, it was well worth it. However, the servings were quite small - if it wasnt for my bread craving, i may not have walked out with a full belly.

We will definitely come back again to try the other dishes on the menu.

http://www.restaurant-arras.com.au/pdfs/ALaCarte.pdf
Current A La Carte Menu


Restaurant Arras
24 Hickson Road
Millers Point NSW 2000
Tel - 02 9252 6285
http://www.restaurant-arras.com.au/

Sam's Cafe

May i be damned if i do not introduce you to Sams Cafe - a hong kong style cafe in Epping and one of the best kept secrets in Sydney.

If chicken fillet with watermelon sauce, coke flavoured chicken wings, stuffed squid, tea flavoured ribs or souffle crabs tickle your tastebuds - congratulations, you have come to the right place. This is one of the best find throughout the many years of my gastronomic adventure.
As you enter this tiny hideout (seats around 10 tables) your eyes wander: the bright coloured walls, mismatched chairs, handwritten menuboards, colourful hanging lights and a wall plastered with pictures of various dishes you can try - makes you feel like you have just arrived at Happy Land.

This homestyle husband and wife team are not afraid to push the boundaries with their food creations. It has obviously proven a success as this place is usually packed and requires a booking in advance for special dates/occasions.

Having been here for many years, i usually start off with a seafood soup with puff pastry. The chef (husband) decorates the pastry with little heart cutouts served in a large mug.


Seafood soup with puff pastry



Lobster soup with bread and cheese



Stuffed chinese doughsticks

For mains you may be curious of the myriad of dishes on offer, hence why not take a look at the pictures ajourned on the wall?

My favourite has to be the stuffed mushroom with cream sauce and rice. The ginormous mushroom has been stuffed with chicken and the whole thing deep fried. It rests on a bed of rice blanketed with cream sauce.



Stuffed mushroom



Souffle crabs



Ox tail spagetti with cream sauce



Stuffed squid



Stuffed chicken wings


You can also venture here for your typical chinese noodles and rice dishes, however may be a bit dear price wise.

This place is dessert heaven *big smile*. Not only does it have souffle (durian, mango flavours), but also bombe alaskas, "heart-too soft" and chinese style dessert soups you cannot find elsewhere, and it has absolutely the best hotplate ice cream!!!

The hot plate icecream as the name suggests, is served on a hot plate. As soon as it arrives on the table, hot lava like caramel is poured on top which instantly bubbles. After you mesmorise over the bubbling and smoking of the caramel, you fight with your neighbour for the closest utensil. The creamy caramel is not too sweet that you can easily drink a whole bowl of it. The hot caramel sauce wraps itself around icy cold vanilla ice cream in your mouth, giving you the instantaneous burst of hot and cold. When the whole dessert has been devoured, you will be screaming for more whilst u lick off the remnants of caramel sauce.



Hot plate ice cream



Durian and mango souffle



Chinese style dessert soup



Creme Brulee



Heart too soft


Sam's Cafe
Shop 3274-76 Rawson St
Epping NSW 2121
0424 046 377

(no website available)

Sean's Kitchen

Situated inside Star City casino, this place was quite hard to find! Especially with the renovations currently taking place. My friend recommended this place as it has the same head chef as Astral but I was a bit sceptical re the quality of the food and service after reading other reviews of this restaurant. Nonetheless, we ventured out to star city for a friend's birthday celebration.



We were promptly served and our waiter was friendly but maybe a bit too eager to take our orders.


Complimentary bread for the table

The entrees were better than expected - the steak tartare wasn't overspiced and the chicken liver parfait with brioche was rich but can easily get too oily after a few mouthfuls.


Steak Tartare


Chicken Liver Parfait with Brioche

The mains however, were a mixed bag quality wise.


Suzuki Jewfish

If I was matt preston in masterchef and a contestant gave me this dish, i can bet you they would be eliminated!! First bite into the suzuki jewfish revealed bones and towards the end of the dish, realised the remaining fish was raw. The waiter apologised and gave us complimentary coffee/tea, which was a nice touch.


Rabbit pie

The rabbit pie pastry was brick solid rather than light and fluffy. My companion ended up just eating the filling. A tad disappointing.

The specials for the night was chicken with braised leek and carrots for two:



The whole chicken was wheeled out on a trolley and the waiter sliced up the chicken at our table. At least it proves they're serving the whole chickena and isn't ripping me off! haha.



We were pleasantly surprised by the juicy and tenderness of the chicken with leek and carrots. However, as i attempted to eat a meal for two by myself, i had chicken overload after my third piece of chicken =)





The sides were quite commendable actually. The roasted mushroom had a very rich garlic butter flavour but did not overpower the freshness of mushroom. The duck fat chips were very crunchy and came in a generous serving.



and finally, dessert time!



As a dessert lover, I was eagerly anticipating the duck egg catalan that i heard was to die for. However, it was definitely not the best dessert I have tasted. It lacked dimension and tasted like normal egg custard made with a lot of cream. I agree that it was smooth and creamy, however, the overly sweet syrup on top of the custard overpowered all other possible flavours.


Duck egg creme catalan

The churros were light and crunchy, dipped in chocolate sauce. A classic.


Churros with warm chocolate sauce


English breakfast tea

It was overal a lovely experience as the service was prompt and friendly. The ambience was lovely and not too loud, despite being quite crowded that night . As we used the entertainment book, it ended up being quite reasonably priced, however if we did not have the entertainment card, it would have killed my weekly budget.

There is room for improvement re the quality of the food. As this restaurant shares the same head chef as the one hatted restaurant Astral, i would love to try that one out next time. Hopefully it would be better than this one.




Sean's Kitchen
Level 2 Star City
80 Pyrmont Street,
Sydney City NSW 2000
Tel - 02 9777 9000
http://www.seanskitchen.com.au/