A Mouthful of Fabs: Bilson's Restaurant

Tony Bilson is nicknamed the godfather of modern Australian cuisine. Having such a title really does say a lot about the calibre of this restaurant. Bilsons is a three hatted restaurant serving up french cuisine, nicely tucked inside Radisson hotel on O'Connell Street.

We came here a few months ago and it seems the menu has now changed. Quite refreshing to know that the chef is constantly on his feet, conjuring up ideas to entice his audience.

The decor is simple which is apt, as it does not distract you from the food which is the star of the show. We ordered the 6 course degustation with coffee/tea to prevent us staying up all night, however we did leave at 11.30pm. The service was friendly and not pretentious.

I think Bilson's has definitely tried its hand at molecular gastronomy in its utilisation of foam in many of its dishes.

Amuse bouche

The crab and prawns were delicate and fresh with a burst of sweet vinegar from the black grape. Very well balanced in flavours using top notch ingredients.

Dressed Crab, Verjus Gelee, Pink Radish and Black Grape

After devouring the amuse bouche and crab first dish with much satisfaction, the upcoming risotto was a definite low point of the night. Im not a fan of barley - the risotto base was extremely salty and heavy, coupled with hard grains of rice. It was a miracle i finished my plate, but with much dislike. When we were asked about our dish, i was quite honest with our waiter, but the waiter's response, "personally i love this dish and the entire degustation". Fine. So much for asking opinion.

A Risotto of Organic Pearl Barley with Roquefort and Southern Highland Mushrooms

More foam with the ocean trout! however thetrout was fresh and cooked beautifully with a lovely tomato salad on the side.

Aromatic Confit of Ocean Trout, Haricot Blanc Cream, Iberico Ham and White Tomato Emulsion

Its interesting how many fine dining restaurants serve up sucking pig or pork belly nowadays!
Our suckling pig had a nice crispy skin with juicy well cooked meat. the beans gave the dish some crunch. the jus did not overpower the succulent flavours of the animal, and overal a lovely dish.

Suckling Pig with Black Pudding, Pig's Trotter and Bean Ragout

Time for dessert. this was quite a treat

The basil ice cream was an absolute delight. Not your typcial idea of an ice cream flavour but worked wonderfully. the ice cream sat on a bed of crumbles which gave it the crunch needed to compliment the silky ice cream in your mouth. i think i fell in love with basil ice cream =)