Three Blue Ducks, Bronte
After hearing about Three Blue Ducks on The Sydney Morning Herald a while back and feeling somewhat adventurous, mister T and I trekked to Bronte for some lazy Saturday breakfast…
Pork belly with chilli jam, enoki mushrooms and asian greens ($30.oo)
This dish was confusingly great! The pork belly had a very fine crispy layer of skin and mixed with the asian flavours and vegetables it seemed highly fine-dining for lunch time! Having said that, I don’t know if I would pay $30.oo again for this dish at lunch time…
Steak sandwich with red pepper mayo, tomato, onion marmalade & rocket ($18.oo)
Now THIS is what I call a real steak sandwich! I usually shy away from steak burgers as I find the steak quite messy to eat but in this case, the steak was real juicy and tender – easy to eat. You can tell some real thought was put into this burger because the rocket was thoroughly tossed with vinaigrette before being put on the burger so the flavours were nice and even. Nothing worse than having bits of salad which either have no taste or too much taste that it knocks your senses out.
Ginger ninja + Berry Smoothie ($7.oo each)
The Food Zoo experience: I was severely disappointed by the timing that breakfast/lunch was served. I quote the Three Blue Ducks website on the day of dining: “Breakfast finishes at 12 noon on the weekend and at 11.30 am during the week.” COMPLETELY UNTRUE. We got there 11:35PM and was told that breakfast was finished and lunch orders would be taken after a 25 minute wait. You can’t make bookings either so who would’ve thought of calling up to double check the time on the website? Being mentally prepared to dine at Three Blue Ducks I had no choice (in my mind), but to wait for lunch time.
That being said, the food was really good though some dishes I felt were a bit more expensive than what I would normally go for. I will definitely be going back to try the breakfast menu though!
143 Macpherson Street
Bronte, NSW 2024
T: (02) 9389 0010
Gumshara Ramen, Sydney
There are three spectacular ramen places in Sydney that I’m aware of; 1) Ryo’s Noodles 2) Gumshara Ramen and 3) Ippudo. Just as I was drafting this post, I was totally beaten to it by SMH!!! Check link for a more well written article on ramen. I guess I will just let my pictures do the talking for now… T___T
“Our soup is made by traditional Japanese way to cook which only uses fresh pork bone and water. No MSG is used. The richness of the soup comes from the marrow of the bone and the soft bone. It contains a lot of collagen which is essential to maintain smooth skin”
Quoted directly from the shop display, this adds another reason for me to have the delicious ramen from Gumshara!
Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen Noodle + Soft Boiled Seasoned Egg ($13.oo)
Super Mega Ramen Noodle ($25.oo)
The super mega ramen consists of spare rib, BBQ pork Skewer, egg with tonkotsu thick soup. It is a crazy ridiculous amount of food – should only order if you are super mega hungry!
The Food Zoo experience: My favourite which I order every single time is the garlic tonkatsu ramen. If the soup is too thick or too rich, you can also have that adjusted (at the time of ordering). The wait time can fluctuate between 10-40 mins but you can always keep yourself entertained by watching the chef make 4 bowls of ramen at a time at lightening speed. Did you know the chef tastes every single bowl of soup before it is served?
Also, don’t leave without trying the soft-boiled eggs! Haven’t had them better anywhere else. Perfectly made with a soft runny yolk.. I’ve just had dinner but talking about Gumshara is making me hungry again!
Gumshara Ramen
Shop 211, 25-29 Dixon St
Haymarket, NSW 2000
Quay, The Rocks
Ok, this post is a bit overdue… Just a bit… And by bit I mean… 6 months? My amaaaaaaazing brother shouted me for my birthday so this post had to make it to The Food Zoo eventually one day. The following dishes were shared a la carte though I’m sure the degustation would be just as amazing!
Complimentary bread & butter
Complimentary appetiser
Roasted Partridge Breast, Steamed Truffle Brioche, Confit Egg Yolk,
New Season White Walnuts, Fumet of Vin Jaune
Fragrant Jasmine Tea Poached Chicken, Shaved Hand Dived Sea Scallops,
Smoked White Eggplant Cream, Pea Blossoms perfumed with Korean Virgin Black Sesame Oil
Sashimi of Corner Inlet Rock Flathead,
Tasmanian Trumpeter, Salt Cured Wild Oyster Cream, Black Lipped Abalone,
Raw Sea Cabbage, Green Radish, Nasturtiums, Warrigals, Periwinkles
Berkshire Pig Jowl,Maltose Crackling ,
Prunes, Cauliflower Cream, Perfumed with Prune Kernel Oil
Poached Wagyu Beef, Oxtail,
Moral, Black Pudding, Farro, Buckwheat, Hazelnut, Ezekiel
The one and only… Quay’s Eight Texture Chocolate Cake
Guava snow egg
The Food Zoo experience: There is no doubt that Quay is famous for their dessert, the eight texture chocolate cake is so rich yet you can’t stop eating… The guava snow egg on the other hand was deliciously refreshing… The flavour of the granita changes seasonally but hell I’d be happy with any flavour. As for the rest of the menu, I have absolutely no clue what half the ingredients are but they definitely work extremely well together. Unfortunately Mister T. missed out due to work but I guess I’ll have to go again… Oh such a tough life!
Quay
Overseas Passenger Terminal
The Rocks 2000
T: (02) 9251 5600
Revolver, Annandale
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” - Theodore Roosevelt
Time for a new beginning… new job, little changes and getting my priorities right. No time to waste on people who take me for granted and time to cherish those who have always been there for me. So what better than a bit of brunch with mummy dearest and Mister T on a sweltering hot Sunday morning!
Sumac cured bacon, parmesan scrambled eggs, & fennel & Rocket salsa ($14.50)
Skim mocha ($3.20)
Revolver Big Breakie ($16.50)
The Food Zoo experience: The coffee was good, staff were cheerful and loved the cozy atmosphere and cute little LV chairs. I loved the value of the big brekkie, authentic tasting baked beans and a complete abundance of bacon… Thinking about it still makes me feel so full!! Definitely will be going back to try the lunch menu =)
Revolver
291 Annandale St
Annandale, NSW 2038
T: (02) 9555 4727
Sweet Disposition, Bathers’ Pavilion, Balmoral
Did someone say a 7 course dessert degustation? I’m in!
This was a one night event held during the Crave Sydney International Food Festival. $85 is a price I was willing to pay for this experience. I’d also said I wanted to try a dessert degustation, so when my friend expressed interest in it, I was more than happy to give her that little nudge :)
All the tables had to start at the same time, much to my dismay. We had gotten there on time, if not slightly early.. but we were left waiting for about 30 – 40 minutes while the other guests arrived… and darnit, I was HUNGRY!
Strawberry and lychee consomme, Champagne savarin, white balsamic powder
All four of us at my table started eating this as soon as it came out. After about 1 or 2 bites, the waiter came around to pour the consomme onto our dessert.. I have to say though, it was tastier before it got drenched, and the rest of us agreed ):
Peach and yoghurt parfait, almond nougatine, apricot creme
Caramelised white chocolate, apple tart tartin, apricot creme
My favourite one of the night :) The apple tart was the cutest thing ever and I think that thing on the spoon was sherbet? That was a bit weird, but the white chocolate was heaven. Absolute heaven.
Pineapple carpaccio, lemon verbena, sorbet, frozen lemon marshmallow
frozen marshmallow = awesome tasty :)
Roasted baby beetroot, goats cheese, walnut crumble
This dish made me cry.. I did not like it unfortunately. Trying to cut the delicate pastry around the goats cheese was fun though :) And it was not wasted, as my friend readily scoffed the remainder from my plate up.
Honey and milk mousse, mango brulee, cara crakine crunch
This was served with cracked cacao nib and vanilla sea salt. The vanilla sea salt was weird tasting on the dessert, but smelt nice. But I prefer my desserts sweet, and salt free. This was perfect to end on! much tastiness to be had all around. nom nom nom. A few members of my table didn’t finish theirs off.. those fools! I stole it alllllll
Nougat bar + banana caramel bar
Okay, I’m not a fan of nougat.. this was my first time trying it. It was very chewy. the banana caramel bar is super sweet, and the taste of banana hits you like BAM! Good if you feel like indulging… or over-indulging during heavy exam periods >_<
I would have to say that this was worth my $85. It was a good experience, as I’d neither had a dessert degustation before, nor tried Bathers’ Pavilion. I must make an effort to go there and try the food for real though.
Bathers’ Pavilion
4 The Esplanade
Balmoral, NSW 2088
T: (02) 9969 5050
Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney
So all my visits to sugar hit have been spur of the moment. If I find myself with nothing to do at night I’d drop by one and hope there’s a table. As a result they’ve all been taken with my iPhone camera :(
So just in case any one was wondering what was in the Shangri-La sugar hit, here it is.
Lemon macaron, Pistachio rice pudding, opera cake, chocolate bavarois and chocolate, whisky candy bar, and cherry tart
I started with the pistachio one, thinking that I wouldn’t like the taste at all, but I was wrong. It would be hard to pick a favourite from this, I’ve thought about it over and over since I visited 2 weeks ago. I often find myself trying to find the time and dedication to trek up that huge hill to go back and order this sugar hit again. I’ve been to 5 thus far, and this was my first and favourite one. I loved the red Brown Brothers dessert wine it was paired with. None of the other sugar hits I’ve been to has served that wine, even though they really should have. It went perfectly with the chocolates on the plate.
yum :)
Shangri-La Hotel
176 Cumberland Street
The Rocks, Sydney
T: (02) 9250 6000
Spiedo Restaurant and Bar, Sydney
It’s been way too long since I last posted but this is a well deserved, long needed break! Plus, it’s one of my new favourite places which I honestly want to share with everyone!! The post below is a snapshot of the dessert that Speido has to offer and also Sugarhit for Crave Sydney 2011.
Spiedo Dessert Plate: Mix of Strawberry Sorbet, Spiedo Tiramisu, and Amedei Chococlate Barbajada ($18.00)
Strawberry sorbet served on finely chopped strips of fresh strawberry
Fruity flavours were never really my thing but now I am just converted. The strawberry flavour is so refreshing you’ll be finished before you know it and asking for more.
Unique Spiedo Tiramisu
One of my favourites! A deconstructed tiramisu… A crunchy chocolate biscuit based with a shot of coffee served with a soft sponge and cream on the side.
Peanut Butter gelato
The waiter kindly allowed us to choose the gelato on our second Speido Dessert plate. The peanut butter was light and creamy and honestly, much better than I had expected. Would definitely order that one again!
Sugarhit: House-made buttermilk panna cotta, strawberry granita and basil ($20.00)
The panna cotta tasted quite tofu-like but loved the strawberry granita which was so refreshing. Maybe strawberry desserts are their specialty? Anyway, will leave that for you to decide! But remember, sugarhit is available for October 2011 only!
The Food Zoo experience: Highly recommended! The pasta I had last time was really special (will need to blog about it later) and the desserts are absolutely fantastic and refreshing =)
Spiedo Restaurant and Bar
188 Pitt St Westfield Sydeny Level 6
Sydney 2000
T: (02) 8072 9999
