Est. Restaurant - March into Merivale

March into Merivale is happening until mid April and is offering some great deals across the Merivale group, including restaurants such as Est., Ash St Cellar, Bistrode CBD, Sushi e and Lotus. Being advertised as $33 for lunch or dinner, we ventured to Est Restaurant, a restaurant which has been awarded 3 hats since 2003.

$33 for 1 course, $50 for 2 courses or $65 for 3 courses.

I ordered the grilled scallop, green peas, sorrel, quinoa - lemon vinagrette as entree. The scallops were lightly seared with the centres slightly raw to ensure it is still soft and smooth texturely. First time trying quinoa, which is the pale grain like seed amongst the peas. Apparently very nutritious, it wasn't very flavoursome. The dressing was a little heavy handed and made the dish quite oily. Beautifully presented with attention to detail.



Last time i went to Est was back in 2009 and i vividly rememeber how awesome their chicken breast was - it was the BEST chick breast i have ever had. Hence when i saw chick on the menu, i ordered it without a moments hesitation.

When my chicken breast arrived, it was flawless. Just as i remembered, the breast was slightly tinged pink and so succulent, it could not be recognisable as chicken breast. Tender chicken with a thin crispy skin, served with a generous serving of caramelised mushrooms and spinach. Not a very creative dish but execution was impeccable.


crisp skin breast of corn fed chicken, lentils, spinach, portobello mushrooms, pan jus




crisp skin palmer island mulloway, grilled belgian endive agro dolce

For dessert i ordered the vanilla bavois with strawberry crumble and spiced syrup. The bavois was creamy and sweet but not over-the-top indulgent. I quite enjoyed the stawberry crumbs as it added a dry sour touch to an otherwise creamy dish.



Est Restaurant
252 George Street Sydney 2000

Marque Restaurant

Unfortunately, laziness and forgetfulness are amongst my flaws. This post is a quite few months late, but better late than never! Especially when the restaurant was as amazing as Marque, and no other restaurant deserves a mention more than this 3 hatter.

There is a reason why Marque is a 3 hatted restaurant - it takes the tastebud on a journey through creativity and innovation. Molecular gastronomy is something Mark Best does well and the plates served up are truly inspiring.

Marque is situated right next to Billy Kwong in Surry Hills. It has a very understated exterior, and extremely dimly lit with dark tonal decor.

We decided to order a la carte rather than the degustation this time. Unfortunately i cannot describe to you taste by taste of each dish, but i will endeavour to share the highlights.

I ordered this extraordinarily crafted masterpiece of an....egg....yes, a simple egg but an artist has evidently sliced the egg shell and filled it with poached the egg along with a myriad of complex flavours. What i remember most was the warm smoothness of the egg and the unexpected yolk sleeping at the bottom. Perfectly accompanied with salty grissini.

Chaud-Froid Free Range Egg

On came the entree. The volcano of almond jelly with crumbs rolling down the side captures your attention. The presentation is impeccable and you cannot go wrong if you serve up creativity with fresh ingredient. The crab was amazingly flavoursome with fluffy light almond flavours dispersed throughout but unfortunately it was spoilt when i found a small piece of crab shell. Such a shame.

Something i did learn though - avruga (which looks like black fish roe) is actually not cavier but made from herring fish and squid ink!


Almond Jelly with Blue Swimmer Crab, Almond Gazpacho, sweet corn and avruga





I ordered the venison with beetroot, unaware of the dominance of beetroot upon presentation. Beetroot slices weeved and folded itself on the plate and camoflaged the beautifully cooked venison. Not a fan of beetroot, so the beetroot puree and thick slices of beetroot were a bit much for me.


Venison with beetroot, radicchio and bitter cocoa



Our pre dessert came next. The pre dessert of Sauternes creme caramel was petite and only half filled the cup. Not to be deceived!! it was magnificently creamy and rich in Sauternes flavour, a french style dessert wine. The strong wine infused flavours really slaps you across the face, hence a bigger serving would have been too heavy.


Sauternes Creme Caramel

Our waiter recommended (with total enthusiasm) that we order the Lemon Tart. I could not stop my "wooo's and ahhh's" as i admired the dish. I love how a 'lemon tart' can be given such a twist. Nestled in a sea of chocolate crumbs sits a perfect frozen lemon ball.


"Lemon Tart"



Petit Fours



Marque Restaurant
Shop 4/5
355 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW
Tel - 02 9332 2225
http://www.marquerestaurant.com.au/