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Market & Co and more Nobu desserts at Crown Perth

Posted by  | Categories: Desserts, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants

Being a veterinarian makes me the only scientist in my direct family; my mother is a retired Jazz singer, my father is a fashion designer and even my sister will oil paint in her spare time. Whilst I do enjoy the freedom and creativity of the arts, my strongest loyalties will always lie with my furry patients and their owners.

This isn’t to say I don’t love and cherish my blog too and with Chompchomp turning three this month it has been so exciting to watch my readership steadily grow each year. I find it so touching to know that through my writing I can help others with food intolerances find the courage to dine out while still providing some entertainment to those who are not restricted in their diet. These days I find my inbox filling up with invitations and product trials at an alarmingly fast rate. Because of my long shifts and late hours, there are many events that I have to knock back and I need to ensure to only choose  the ones that I think are relevant to me and my readers.

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I recently attended the South Africa Roadshow held at the Burswood Convention Centre. South Africa has always been on my bucket list and I imagined this would be an event aimed at people in the travel media including journalists and bloggers. I soon found out that it was actually a night for travel agents to help them learn to pitch and sell different tours and resorts to their customers. Not really applicable to my blog at all.

While the Boy was keen to stay and enjoy all the free South African wine, I had come off the back of a long day with not much to eat and was hungry enough to eat my own arm. After asking the waitress three times if there was anything gluten free I quickly grew tired of waiting around for a reply and decided to leave. I had given the event organisers advance notice of my gluten free requirement but obviously this was to no avail.

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Salt and pepper cuttlefish with Asian coleslaw ($17, GF)

Instead of returning home, the Boy agreed to stay for dinner but requested we go somewhere cheap. I have a history of blowing the budget at the Crown and with their flagship restaurants including Rockpool, Nobu and Bistro Guillaume it is an easy thing to do.  I knew that their cheaper option Market & Co was in the Entertainment Book which would mean we would get a discount of up for $45 off our meal. I found a bunch of gluten free options on the menu with a few more dishes able to be adapted. We started with the salt and pepper cuttlefish with Asian coleslaw. It was fairly decent serve for the price, freshly fried and coated in thin gluten free batter. The coleslaw had seen better days and was not much more than a pile of tired looking cabbage.

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Lobster risotto, truffled corn puree, caramelised leek, salsa verde ($30, GF)

The Boy ordered the lobster risotto. It was served on a bed of truffled corn purée and garnished with random blobs of salsa verde splashed across the plate like an accident. The risotto was laced with a generous amount of “lobster” meat which was really crayfish however this dish was somewhat ruined by the faint dishwater after-taste as if the rice had been cooked in a dirty pan.

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Grilled salmon, shiitake mushroom risotto, saffron lime beurre blanc ($36, GF adapted)

I chose the grilled salmon which the chef adapted to be gluten free. It came with a shiitake mushroom risotto and an oddly placed squiggle of saffron beurre blanc on the side of the plate. Presentation was seemingly not the chef’s strong point for the evening but despite my dish’s appearance the mushroom risotto was creamy and tasted freshly made.

The only gluten free dessert option at Market & Co was a fruit salad which didn’t inspire me at all. Instead I managed to twist the Boy’s arm and convince him to head next door to Nobu for a night cap. On the walk over I reminded him of Nobu’s drop dead gorgeous gluten free chocolate fondant with its luscious eruption of gooey chocolate centre. I even dug up a photo on my phone to remind him.

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From the Chompchomp Archives…. Nobu’s Chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream

I am pretty sure he wasn’t even listening to me, he just heard “green tea ice cream” and it was a done deal for him.

However after taking our seats at the bar in a brief moment of spontaneity, I ended up ordering us the other gluten free option on the menu; the salted caramel miso parfait. Topped with Tonka foam and white chocolate and garnished with caramelised popcorn, it appeared to me that my highly esteemed fondant had met its match.

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Salted caramel miso parfait, caramelised popcorn, white chocolate and Tonka foam ($18, GF)

 

The obvious solution to this conundrum is that now I am going to have to go back to Nobu again, order both the fondant AND the parfait and then compare them both to find out the real winner! 😉 I mean, chocolate fondant + salted caramel parfait + popcorn + champagne….does it actually get any better than that?

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Salted caramel miso parfait, caramelised popcorn, white chocolate and Tonka foam ($18, GF)

Chompchomp was an invited guest of the South Africa Roadshow where she enjoyed a couple of glasses free wines and cheese. Sadly that was the extent of the freebies for the evening and the meal at Market & Co and Nobu was funded for by herself and the Boy. Not to worry as the Entertainment Card gave a neat little discount off the total bill making it a super cheap night. 
 
Market & Co
Crown Promenade Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6100 | (08) 9362 7551 | www.crownperth.com.au/restaurants/casual/market-co/about

 Market & Co on Urbanspoon

Nobu
Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood 6100 | (08) 9362 7551 | www.noburestaurants.com/perth
Nobu Perth on Urbanspoon

Gluten Free Italian at Modo Mio, Crown Perth

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Featured, Italian, Perth, Restaurants

Enjoying gluten free Italian cuisine in a restaurant is a rare luxury for me. Whilst it is easy to make gluten free pasta dishes at home, the number of Italian restaurants that can accommodate us are few and far between. Nearly three years ago, my gastroenterologist insisted I return to eating gluten for nearly seven torturous weeks in order to take the necessary biopsies for Coeliac disease testing. It was a hard slog with every day becoming an effort as the “poison” of gluten decayed my health.

In a pathetic attempt at maintaining a glass half full attitude, I decided to make the most of this time and eat all the gluteny foods that I had been missing for years. I consumed copious amounts of pasta, croissants, donuts and real bread for the duration of my gluten challenge. The fine dining Italian restaurant Modo Mio had only just opened at the Crown and so off I headed with the Boy to eat fresh pasta and bread while I still could. Just a side note, for those who choose to click on the link and read this old post of mine; please be warned! It is one of my very first posts I published back when I was on the steepest part of this blogging learning curve. I find it somewhat cringeworthy to read but remind myself that everyone has to start somewhere.

Years later I was approached by Crown Perth to return to Modo Mio for a subsidised return visit. I was interested to see how this fine dining establishment could handle a gluten free customer such as myself and so I gratefully accepted the invitation.

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(Note this isn’t the gluten free bread I received, it’s the Boy’s normal bread)

It had been a mad working weekend filled with emergencies and drama so the thought of sitting in an ambient restaurant with my favourite person sounded like the perfect recipe to unwind. We were warmly greeted and shown to our table which oddly happened to be exactly the same table we sat at back in October 2011. A weird coincidence indeed!

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Our waitress for the evening came over to introduce herself and answer any questions regarding the menu. She knew all the dishes in depth and proceeded to talk me through each one advising what was gluten free or how they could be adapted. I was pleasantly surprised that despite being a cuisine I thought wasn’t very gluten free friendly I had an abundance of options. There was even gluten free bread AND pasta available.

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Mosaico di salmone affumicato con caviale Oscietra ($33, GF)

We started with the trio of salmon entree. I could immediately see Modo Mio have lifted their game since they opened a few years ago. Our dish was beautifully presented with each component as fresh as the next. In the centre of the plate was a mound of soft salmon tartare tossed with citrus, cucumber and sour cream. Each mouthful disappeared in a second with subtle salty flavours accentuated by the occasional burst of a salmon roe egg.

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At the far end of the dish sat two silky smooth rolls of salmon perched on cucumber discs and filled with sour cream. One was topped with fresh dill and the other with crunchy poppy seeds. The Boy knows how much I love the sensation of poppy seeds splitting between my teeth and so he allowed me take that one as he reached for the other.

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The final component of the salmon trio was not the easiest portion to share. A hard-boiled egg was filled with more of the satiny smoked salmon and topped with a decadent spoonful of Oscietra caviar. We carefully halved the portion to ensure we each got an equal amount of the decadent topping. Not a bad mouthful of luxury for the price!

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We had specifically planned to share just one entrée so we could also have a plate of pasta before we hit main course. I mean, how can I NOT order pasta when she offered me a gluten free version? Our waitress had recommended that the best dish on the menu to have with the gluten free penne was the “spaghetti ai fruitti di mare” or, seafood pasta.

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Spaghetti ai fruitti di mare ($32, using GF penne)

Gluten free pasta can be temperamental to cook however I noted ours was exquisitely “al dente”. Each tube was liberally coated in richly flavoured chilli tomato sauce and buried deep in the dish was a generous serving of mussels, cockles, fish, squid and octopus.

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Abandoning all cares that I needed to leave some room for both our main and dessert, I tucked into the pasta greedily like a child with an ice cream on a hot day. This was an uncommon treat that I wanted to enjoy to the maximum.

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For my main dish I ordered the “doppio barramundi”, or double barramundi. This dish originally comes with Parma ham saccottini which are little parcels of pasta filled with Parma ham, and therefore it needed to be adapted to be gluten free. The chef kindly replaced the saccottini with some buttery greens and roasted cherry tomatoes.

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Doppio barramundi e prosciutto crudo, ‘saccottini’ al prosciutto e salvia ($48, made GF by the omission of saccotini)

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Each of the two fillets of barramundi were clean tasting without any of the muddy aftertaste that this fish can sometime have. The dish was simply finished with a thick sage and caper butter sauce.

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Orata alla plancia, caponata di melanzane, salsa ‘aioli’ e calamari ($45)

The Boy also ordered fish for his main choosing the seared snapper. A thick chunk of crispy skinned snapper on a bed of the smoothest mash was topped with a flavoursome eggplant caponata. A couple of portions of crumbed calamari, roasted cherry tomatoes and a light drizzle of saffron aioli finished the dish.

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Pure’ di patate con funghi trifolati ($12, GF)

I wasn’t anticipating such generously sized main meals as I’m accustomed to most fine dining establishments serving smaller portions. Consequently I ordered one side dish for us; the fresh made mashed potato with sautéed button mushrooms. Although I knew the Boy had already mash in his dish, I wanted some I could enjoy without any gluten contamination. Plus, who can go past sautéed mushrooms? Not me.

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Gelato ($14)

Many of you may have heard me mention about the Boy’s love of ice cream. It is an addiction that spans back for as long as I have known him. He waxes and wanes with his ice cream intake in a similar all-or-nothing fashion like I do with chocolate.  Modo Mio’s ice cream trio of amarena cherry marble, vanilla and Nutella did not disappoint my beloved ice cream connoisseur.

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Pannacotta alla vaniglia, zuppetta di ‘amarene fabbri’ e rabarbaro e croccante al caramello ($15, GF)

I opted for one of my favourite traditional Italian desserts; a pannacotta. It was perfectly formed with an exquisite ability to jiggle about without losing its shape despite my repeated attempts as I wobbled my plate about the table. It passed my test and I knew I made the right choice.

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It was served in a cherry and rhubarb consommé giving alternating sweet and tart flavours. We went silent as we tucked into our final dish for the evening. All you could hear was the repeated chink of our spoons against our plates as we scooped up each mouthful, both wistfully off in our own private thoughts of decadent dessertland.

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I love returning to a restaurant and seeing how they have grown and developed, especially when it is for the better. Whilst there wasn’t anything overtly negative with our first visit to Modo Mio, we did experience slow, inattentive service and our meal lacked any wow factor.

In total contrast, our most recent visit we were very impressed with the quality of the food and the attentive, knowledgeable service. We also found Modo Mio’s prices quite reasonable considering its location in the Crown complex. We will look forward to returning again in the future.

Chompchomp dined as a guest of Crown Perth. She was offered a meal of the value of $150 however in her usual gluttonous state she couldn’t hold herself back and ordered a further $100 worth of food and drink. She was more than happy to pay the remaining balance of their meal herself. She was in no way obliged to write a favourable review and did not let the wait staff know the purpose of her visit.
 
Modo Mio
Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6100 | (08) 9362 7551 | www.crownperth.com.au/restaurants/premium/modo-mio/about
Price: $$$$ Entrees $25-33, Pasta $27-34, Mains $31-51
Modo Mio on Urbanspoon

Jazz Apple's Taste the Crunch cocktail party ends in a dabble in the Rockpool

Posted by  | Categories: Events, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
Disclosure: Chompchomp was invited to attend Jazz Apple’s Taste the Crunch party as a guest

It is safe to presume that most people have been invited to a party for birthdays, engagements, Christmas and the like. Even food festivals get their own launch party these days. Cake clubs happen around the world on a daily basis and I am going to a blogger’s celebration of pork belly this week.

But have you ever heard of a party thrown specifically for an apple? Yes, that’s right. A party for a piece of fruit.

Well neither had I and when I received an invitation to Jazz Apple’s Taste the Crunch cocktail event at Bistro Guillaume I cannot deny that my first instinct was to politely decline. You see, although apples are gluten free and therefore entirely safe for me to eat, they are also full of fructose. Whilst fructose definitely won’t kill me I do get some rather unpleasant after-effects from indulging in it. The Boy does not suffer from fructose malabsorption and was conversely quite excited at the opportunity to attend. We grow apples in our own suburban backyard on cute little dwarf apple trees and he is a passionate green thumb. He was keen to see what sort of apple gets its own party. Being a loyal wife I agreed to attend the apple party with him.

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The Jazz apple is a relatively new variety of apple which experienced a sell-out season last year. This year they are looking at having the biggest bumper crop to date and their producers in WA wanted to celebrate in style. A number of Perth foodies were invited to join them for a night of apple enhanced food and beverages.

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King Salmon tartare (right) & chicken liver parfait (left) both with Jazz apple

The entire restaurant at Bistro Guillaume was adorned in hundreds of fresh Jazz apples while a groovy two piece jazz band beebopped away loudly.

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Jazz apple martini

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Knowing that I was going to eat apple I prepared myself by chowing down a handful of glucose tablets. Glucose can, to a degree, help my gut absorb some fructose however this is only to a point. The bartenders busily worked away make a variety of elegant apple cocktails of which the apple Martini was my favourite, of course! 😉

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Confit duck with pea puree & apple

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Berkshire Pork belly with pickled cabbage and apple

The kitchen staff churned out plate after plate of Jazz apple laced morsels such as pork belly, salmon tartare and duck with pea purée. Each delectable mouthful ended with the sweet aftertaste of Jazz apple. The chef even made some gluten free adapted, apple topped crème brûlée just for me!

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Jazz apple jelly

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Gluten free adapted vanilla crème brûlée (the original was in a pastry casing)

Although the amount of food provided was very generous I had to hold back somewhat as I knew if I got too carried away I was in for some serious fructose overload! At the end of the night on our way out we were given a show bag containing a six-pack of Jazz apples. I planned to take them into my work colleagues the following day to test them out.

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Steak tartare with chips ($25, chips are not GF)

Before heading home the Boy and I dropped into Rockpool for a quick bite to eat. It was easy getting a table and the waitstaff were very quick and attentive. I ordered my favourite of steak tartare however I was informed that the fat chips are cooked in the same oil as gluten containing foods so they are regrettably not gluten free. The Boy was more than happy to oblige by eating them for me. The steak tartare was reliably amazing; I have ordered this umpteen times and never been disappointed. Soft, nearly creamy in texture I got to enjoy every meaty mouthful to myself.

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West Australian marron ($35, GF)

The Boy ordered the marron which was served with lightly poached plum, fennel purée, olives and a mint gel. His dish was nearly sweet enough to pass off as dessert and although I was happy with my carnivorous choice I did look on in envy.

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Wood fired grilled creamed corn ($15, GF)

No visit to Rockpool is complete without an order of their wonderful sides and I noticed a new one had appeared on the menu that I hadn’t seen before. It was described as wood fired grilled creamed corn with chipotle chilli butter and Manchego cheese. To be honest, all I needed to see was the mention of Manchego cheese and I was sold. Add in the flavour profiles of subtle smoke and spicy chipotle and it effectively turned this simple dish of creamed corn into a taste sensation.

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A very nosy fur-child must investigate all.

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On our way through the lobby to catch a taxi home we accidentally walked past the lobby lounge bar where there was a cake stand full of macarons on the counter. It stopped me dead in my tracks. Before I knew it I had bought one of every flavour as the Boy rolled his eyes at me. What a good man, he knows never to come between his wife and a macaron.

The next day at work I took in the Jazz apples and got the following verdict from my apple munching colleagues:

“It reaches every taste-bud in my mouth and makes them go pop-pop-pop.”
“It’s a party in my mouth”
“It has a good balance between tart and sweet and the skin is as much a part of the apple eating experience as the flesh”
 

Love my work mates…thanks guys! 😉

Chompchomp attended Bistro Guillaume as a guest of Jazz Apple. We paid for our meal at Rockpool in full.
 
Bistro Guillaume
Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood | (08) 9362 7551 | www.bistroguillaumeperth.com.au

Bistro Guillaume on Urbanspoon

 Rockpool Crown Perth
Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6100 | (08) 6252 1900 | www.rockpool.com/rockpool-bar-and-grill-perth

 Rockpool Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon

Lobby Lounge at Crown Metropol Perth
Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6100 | www.crownperth.com.au/bars/bars/lobby-lounge/about

 Lobby Lounge at Crown Metropol on Urbanspoon

Make it all legal at the Crown Promenade and The Merrywell, Crown Perth

Posted by  | Categories: Accommodation, Featured, Hotels, Luxury, Perth, Pub, Restaurants, Wedding

In March this year, I married the love of my life in the most magical fairy-tale wedding of my dreams.  Because we chose to get married in Thailand, our wedding was not legally recognised back in Australia unless we made a pre-wedding pilgrimage to Bangkok to arrange the necessary papers. Prior to getting hitched, the Boy and I had already spent more than ten years together and we had always celebrated our anniversary in April often with much greater enthusiasm than for either of our birthdays. It seemed logical to us, that upon our return from Thailand we would arrange a very private official ceremony back in Perth specifically on our anniversary date. This enabled us to invite special friends that weren’t for able to join us in Thailand. It also means we now get to celebrate TWO anniversaries! 😉

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In total contrast to the extreme detailed organisation of our Thailand wedding, this second wedding was a much more casual affair. Ann Lord, a lovely celebrant I met at a Wedding Upmarket day helped with the proceedings. We found a patch of grass in Burswood Park and without all the fanfare, anxiety, nerves or build up we repeated our vows once more.

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To celebrate the legalisation of our marriage, we booked a Loft room at the Crown Promenade to enjoy one more night of luxury before we started making a serious attempt at paying off all our wedding debt! I had called in the morning to request an earlier check in and was told by the reception desk that this was not a problem. Unfortunately upon our arrival this was to prove not true; we were informed our room wasn’t ready for another hour and to make ourselves comfortable with our suitcases in tow in the lobby area.

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This would have frustrated me greatly if I hadn’t managed to find to find myself a beautiful collection of macarons to snack on. Seeing as I no longer had to fit into wedding dresses, I slipped back into my excessive ways and ordered a whole box to share with the Boy. By the time the reception staff gestured to us that our room was ready, all the macarons were gone.

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The loft room has an expansive balcony that gives glorious panoramic views of the city’s skyline. It was not as breathtaking as the views from our Andara villa in Thailand, but it was by no means shabby.

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The loft itself is of considerable size with a living room, dining room and well stocked kitchen complete with a full mini-bar. There was an iPod docking station for music and flat screen TVs screens in the living room, bedroom AND the bathroom. Not that we watched any television that is!

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The bathroom is ginormous with separate his and her vanities, wall to floor mirrors and a lovely deep spa bath. The flat screen television is positioned directly facing the spa…how relaxing would it be to sink yourself into bubbles while watching a movie. And drinking bubbles of course!

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The bedroom is similarly spacious with a full King sized bed and reading area overlooking the city scape. The curtains successfully make the room pitch black no matter what time of day meaning a late checkout can be well utilised to gain those extra ZZZs if you need. We certainly did.

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After the very short ceremony, we all headed over to the main casual pub of the Crown complex; The Merrywell. The Merrywell’s style of cuisine has been coined “dude food” by a number of professional food critics and whilst I don’t really like this terminology it does describe it well.

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Quesa Fun-dido ($19) (Mexican Cheese fondue, Chorizo, Pico de Gallo, Pretzel)

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Pink Snapper tacos ($22) (Chipotle crema, Jalapeno, Tomato)

Artery clogging Mexican cheese fondues, fish tacos, burgers and hot dogs regularly feature on their changing menu. At the time we went, the waitstaff were not overly familiar with what dishes were gluten free and what wasn’t, but I have since noticed they now offer gluten free buns with their burgers so I presume they have improved their understanding.

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Fiery Mojito Lamb Chops ($34)

"Lollipop Buffalo Wings" "Blue cheese fondue" "celery sticks" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Perth" "Perth travel blog" "Perth restaurants" "Perth hotels" "Perth luxury hotels" "five star hotels Perth" "Perth hotel reviews" "Perth luxury hotel reviews" "Perth casino" "Crown Perth" "Merrywell" "merrywell Perth" "Crown Casino" "Burswood casino" "Perth Wedding" "Crown Metropole" "loft room" "Crown hotels" "casino hotels"

Lollipop Buffalo Wings ($21)

One of my favourite snacks of the night was the lollipop Buffalo wings served with a rich blue cheese fondue and celery sticks. I am pretty sure I slurped at least half a dozen of these wings off the bone each one mouthful at a time. All my bridal grace was thrown out the window!

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The drinking session progressed fairly late into the night and by following morning the Boy and I were nursing a fairly rocking hangover. But we didn’t mind one bit because it was official.

From this point we are now legally “Mr and Mrs”.

Just the very thought of this fact was enough to cast away most of our pain and we eased our stomachs back into the real world with some ultra-healthy room service. My egg white omelette was so fluffy is nearly looked like an Aerobar and it came with some roasted shiitake mushrooms, avocado, feta and fresh micro herbs. Washed down with a black coffee I was re-energised and ready to officially be a Mrs!

A big shout out of thanks to my dear friend Tara for taking most of the above photos. On the day I decided to give Chompchomp a night off and Tara was more than happy to take over the job role of photographer. She got some awesome shots and I am very appreciative. xxx
 
Crown Metropole Perth, Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6979 | (08) 9362 8888
We stayed in a Loft room and took advantage of their advance purchase rates which gives a significant discount off the standard rates. The full price for this room is around $1250 per night.
 
The Merrywell, Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6979| (08) 9362 7551 

The Merrywell on Urbanspoon

 

Our Wedding Gift to Each Other: Waku Ghin, Singapore

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, French, Japanese, Restaurants, Singapore

I cannot believe it is nearly six months since the Boy and I tied the knot in Phuket.  I still have a long backlog of blog posts from our wedding holiday that I desperately need to finish. Normally I am such a disciplined person and I think part of my procrastination is because I’m sad that it’s all over and our lives have settled back down to normal. I have finally decided to bite the bullet and plan to complete the last of my wedding trip blog posts over the next few weeks including our time in Thailand which was followed by our four day eating binge in Singapore.

Once we arrived in Singapore glowing with post-nuptial love our serotonin levels were high and thus so were our appetites so we filled our days with sleeping, eating and drinking. For our wedding present to each other we both decided that a gift was far too traditional and wanted to have an experience together instead. Memories are always more precious than materialistic objects and some of my best memories are of course involving food. So the Boy suggested I pick anywhere regardless of price to enjoy a meal of a life time together.

In Singapore that is no easy feat. This is a city known for its fine dining and the decision wasn’t an easy one. Our last trip to Singapore we dined at Guy Savoy’s celebrity restaurant so I wanted to choose something other than traditional French and settled for Chef Tetsuya Wakuda’s Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands. Ok so there IS a bit of French influence in Tetsuya’s style but it is very Japanese focused. A fusion of two of my favourite cuisines! A perfect way to celebrate the fusion of two people!

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At the Bar

Waku Ghin serves a ten course degustation only and you are advised to book your table well in advance as they have a reasonable waiting list and only seat 25 people each evening.  They have been awarded number 68 in the San Pelligrino World’s 100 Best 2013 and achieved 11th place in Asia’s 50 Best. I have always fantasised about having a world trip where we visit as many restaurants as possible off these lists, so it was fitting that one of them should feature on our wedding holiday (Note this is NOT our honeymoon!). I had emailed in advance to notify them of my gluten free requirement and asked them if they needed me to bring gluten free soy sauce with me.  They do not have their own gluten free soy available so I was grateful I had been lugging it around in my luggage all the way from Perth.

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My cocktail before the carnage

After making a bit of a spectacle of myself at the bar by knocking my cocktail over with my animated flying hands we were shown to our dining room which only seated four people. A lovely Japanese couple were just finishing their meals and left shortly after we arrived giving us the whole room to ourselves.

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Our supply of seafood for the evening

Our chef for the evening came out and introduced himself before presenting to us a box filled with all the seafood delicacies we were about to commence devouring. Everything looks so exceedingly fresh and some creatures where still alive.

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Salad of Buratta Cheese with Dried Tomato and Rocket Fennel

Our evening started with a salad of Buratta cheese with dried tomato, rocket and fennel. Burrata means “buttered” in Italian and you will understand where this fresh cheese got its name when you taste it.  It literally oozes creaminess and paired nicely with the full rich flavour of the dried tomatoes. It was the perfect lead into the following much more opulent course.

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Marinated Botan Shrimp with Sea Urchin and Oscietra Caviar

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A close up ;)

Next up was one of Tetsuya’s signature dishes, the marinated Botan shrimp with sea urchin and Oscietra caviar. Mind blowingly creamy and luxuriously luscious this dish left us hanging on the edge of our seats for more. The balance of salty caviar, sweet shrimp and custardy uni was an orchestra of perfection.

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Slow cooked John Dory with Roasted Eggplant

Our next course was some slivers of slow cooked John Dory layered with smoked eggplant and drizzled with a richly flavoured chicken jus. The fish was slippery soft and melted in the mouth like sushi. I am a big fan of slow cooked anything; it introduces such a silky element of texture to ingredients unobtainable with traditional cooking methods.

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The Chef preparing the bed of rock salt for the Crab

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Both legs are placed on the rock salt and steamed.

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Such simple but precise preparation

Our fourth course was a steamed Alaskan Crab claw with lemon and olive oil. With such simple preparation and very few ingredients the secret of this dish’s success was in the freshness of the crab. The chef shows us the bright red crab claws before proceeding to steam them on a bed of rock salt on the grill right in front of us.

"Steamed Alaskan King Crab" "lemon scented Extra Virgin Olive Oil" "alaskan king crab" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Singapore Food blog" "Singapore restaurant reviews" "travel blog" "Singapore" "Singapore travel blog" "Singapore restaurants" "Singapore food blog" "Singapore restaurant reviews" "Singapore attractions" "fine dining" "fine dining Singapore" "Waku ghin" "waku ghin singapore" "tetsuya singapore" "tetsuya" "Japanese french fusion" "japanese restaurants" "french restaurants" "marina bay sands" "MBS singapore" "celebrity restaurant"

Steamed Alaskan King Crab with Lemon Scented Extra Virgin Olive Oil

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Steamed Alaskan King Crab with Lemon Scented Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Once cooked to perfection he dressed them with just a light splash of lemon scented olive oil. And it needed nothing more. With four courses down and our eyes wider than saucers we sat on the edge of our seats ready for more.

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Live Tasmanian Abalone

Our next course was live Tasmanian abalone served simply with fregola, tomato and basil for the Boy with the fregola omitted for my gluten free version. This was my first time having fresh abalone.  I found it a little disturbing watching the live abalone squirm before my eyes as the chef cooked it on the stove top.

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Tasmanian Abalone with tomato and basil (GF)

I consoled myself with the thought that that surely these creatures don’t have enough awareness of self to suffer? I was surprised to find the abalone a little chewy and tough but not having tried it before I’m not sure if this texture was to be expected? Maybe the abalone eaters out there can educate me better.

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Fresh Canadian Lobster

The next course was certainly one of my favourites; braised Canadian lobster with tarragon. Although I have enjoyed Australian “lobster” countless times I only recently tried Maine lobster for the first time at Sky on 57. Anticipating it to taste much the same as crayfish I was astounded by the lobster’s delicate textured richness. I didn’t realise I would get to try it again so soon.

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Braised Canadian Lobster with Tarragon

Waku Ghin prides itself on its fresh produce which is flown in fresh and often live each day. Our Canadian lobster was prepared in front of us braised in a robust flavoured tarragon sauce that is made with stock from the lobster’s shells. The rich sauce balanced the sweetness of the oh-so-tender lobster precisely. I cannot wait to eat lobster again sometime.

"Japanese Ohmi Wagyu" "Shiga Prefecture" "Wasabi" "Citrus Soy" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Singapore Food blog" "Singapore restaurant reviews" "travel blog" "Singapore" "Singapore travel blog" "Singapore restaurants" "Singapore food blog" "Singapore restaurant reviews" "Singapore attractions" "fine dining" "fine dining Singapore" "Waku ghin" "waku ghin singapore" "tetsuya singapore" "tetsuya" "Japanese french fusion" "japanese restaurants" "french restaurants" "marina bay sands" "MBS singapore" "celebrity restaurant"

Oh … the anticipation

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Grating our fresh wasabi

Wagyu is such an overused term in the restaurant world and I never realised how truly amazing it can be until we tried Waku Ghin’s version. They serve Ohmi Wagyu beef which comes from the Shiga prefecture in Japan. This type of Wagyu is considered to be distinctive from other types as it is the only type with fat that has “viscosity” which gives it that incredible dissolve-in-your-mouth sensation.

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Japanese Ohmi Wagyu from Shiga Prefecture

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Japanese Ohmi Wagyu from Shiga Prefecture with Wasabi and Citrus Soy

Cooked with utmost precision this meat needed minimal garnishes and was served simply with some freshly grated wasabi, garlic chips and light citrus soy.  It had the texture of butter and was truly like no other cut of beef I have ever tasted. The chef was so flattered with our crooning that he offered us another serve which we both wildly agreed to.

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Consomme with Rice and Snapper

It was hard to believe our evening was drawing to an end and we were up to our last savoury course. This last course was a bit of a let-down considering the repeated wow factors we had received consistently throughout our evening. The Boy was served a consommé with rice and snapper which was tasty but had no specific element that amazed him in any way.

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Polenta with Ratatouille

My gluten free version didn’t even contain any fish. I received a small bowl of polenta with a scoop of ratatouille. I am a huge fan of ratatouille; it reminds me of my father’s cooking however considering the price of our meal I expected a replacement dish with a bit more effort.

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Gyokuro green tea

Before being moved into the lounge room for desserts, we were given some gyokuro green tea. Gyokuro is considered by the Japanese as the finest green tea and has a very delicate, sweet flavour. The tea is grown under shade cover, usually made from reed or straw screens, for around three weeks before harvesting. Reducing the available sunlight alters the level of photosynthesis in the young leaf buds thus reducing the chlorophyll concentration in the leaves. This has a direct effect on the proportions of sugars, caffeine, amino acids and flavonoids resulting in a much milder and sweet taste.

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Marina Bay Sands

For dessert we were moved in to the main dining area which overlooked the stunning skyline of the Marina Bay area. Our first dessert course was a salad of raspberry with wasabi and honey granita. This dish was more of a palate cleanser than anything else and whilst it was refreshing it didn’t have any of the elements of excitement we were anticipating.

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Chocolate mousse cake with vanilla and macadamia

The Boy’s main dessert came complete with a message of “Congratulations” for us smitten newly-weds. His chocolate mousse cake glistened like a mirror and I was so jealous it had gluten and I couldn’t steal a mouthful. Gluten schmooten….no fair!

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Fruit platter

My envy deepened as I looked down at my replacement option; a fruit platter. Whilst each piece of fruit had obviously been carefully selected and prepared it was still just a fruit platter nevertheless. I confess this was my only real disappointment of our evening.

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Petit fours: vanilla and pistachio macarons, chocolate orange mousse, meringues and tangerine jellies

Our night ended with some very moreish petit fours; vanilla and pistachio macarons, chocolate orange mousse, meringues and tangerine jellies. The kitchen kindly separated the gluten free ones to avoid any confusion. I was able to have most except for the orange and chocolate mousse which the Boy took great pleasure revealing to me how amazing it was via his facial expressions and rolling eyes.

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Our extra petit fours

Accustomed to missing out on some foods I still gain some level of enjoyment just by watching love ones eat so I requested to our waiter to bring us some more petit fours so I could watch my husband savour the flavours once more. It made a great series of photos but to maintain his privacy I’mu afraid you won’t get to see them!

Waku Ghin was quite possibly one of the most expensive meals we have ever eaten with the end bill entering the four digits for just two people.  Was it worth it? Eight out of our ten courses left us amazed, impressed and totally nailed the wow factor that I would expect to receive for such a price. The two courses that lacked wow were still executed beautifully and I cannot fault them with anything specifically except for the fact they just weren’t incredible like the remainder. The service doesn’t skip a beat with a warmth and friendliness that you don’t always see at fine dining establishments.

My answer; yes it was worth every cent.

Waku Ghin
The Shoppes, Atrium 2, L2-02, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956 | +65 6688 8507 | www.marinabaysands.com
 
Price:                     $$$$$
Food:                    4.5/5 (they just need a little bit of work on their desserts)
Service:                5/5 (impeccable)
Ambience:          4.5/5 (feels exclusive and special)
Drinks:                  4/5 (a very extensive bar; with a very wide price range)
Total:                     18/20

A spontaneous visit to Nobu, Crown Perth

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Featured, Japanese, Restaurants, Seafood

This year the Boy’s birthday caught us both by surprise as it seemed to come around with lightning speed. Appreciably the first half of our year was a whirlwind hurricane of wedding planning followed by the most fantastic wedding celebrations.  I haven’t even had time to stop and catch my breath yet half the year is already gone by. It is such madness how quickly time can fly when you are busy.  As we really need to try to fit more exercise into our hectic routines instead of catching taxis to restaurants we have been choosing restaurants that are within walking distance from our house and getting ourselves there on foot. Some of these restaurants have been relatively local and close to home such as Pinto Thai, but others have been a vigorous hour and a half trek away like The Stables Bar in the City.

Funds are a little tight this year and so the birthday Boy was happy to settle for a  night out with each other in lieu of a gift.  I think experiences make the best presents anyway. We headed off in the direction of the Crown Casino with the intention for a casual night out at The Merrywell. It was a beautiful 45 minute walk along the Swan River that time of the evening but once we got to the Merrywell we were desperate for a drink. I found a table for us while the Boy went over to the bar to get us a round of drinks. More than ten minutes later he was still standing at the bar drinkless waiting to be served. I received an exasperated sounding text message from him proposing we go to Nobu instead.  My rubber arm didn’t need much twisting; give me Nobu over Merrywell any day!

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The chefs in action

We didn’t have a table booked but fortunately for us there were a couple of seats available at the sushi bar. Woot! A spontaneous visit to Nobu is a sure-fire way to amp me up. This was turning out to be a much better way to celebrate the Boy’s birthday. There must be something about this restaurant and our birthdays; I celebrated my birthday here last year.

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Sashimi: Fresh water eel & Yellowtail

It was a week night and we both needed to switch off from our days’ work so to ease ourselves into it we ordered a couple of pieces of sashimi. We asked our waiter for his recommendations and on his advice we ordered the Yellowtail and some freshwater eel. Both were exceedingly soft and delicately flavoured. Such simple morsels are so easily perfected when they are fresh.

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The Nobu balls

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New Style Sashimi Salmon

New Style Sashimi is one of Nobu’s classic signature dishes. The idea came to Nobu Matsuhisa whilst he was trying to find a way to convince people who don’t like raw fish to eat sashimi. Thin slivers of sashimi salmon are plated beautifully and sprinkled with garlic, ginger, spring onions, sesame seeds, soy sauce and yuzu sauce. Boiling hot sesame and olive oils are then lightly dropped onto the fish around the plate which lightly sears it. Although this was quite an oily dish, the flavours balanced nicely and the occasional crunch between the teeth of sesame seeds added a bit of fun.

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The Sushi master at work

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Spicy Miso Chips Tuna

The spicy miso chips tuna dish reflected the fusion aspect of Nobu’s Peruvian Japanese cuisine. The spiciness was a bit disappointingly subtle for my palate but was at the perfect level for the sensitive tastes of the Birthday Boy. The tuna was as soft as avocado and sat coiled neatly on top of a crispy miso chip. This play on textures was really interesting and I will definitely order this dish again.

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Toban-Yaki Mushroom

Toban-Yaki refers to the method of cooking which involves serving the dish sizzling on a super-hot ceramic dish.   Being a self-confessed mushroom addict, this dish was the highlight of the evening for me.  Layers and layers of slippery mushrooms bubbled away in the piping hot plate including shiitake, eryngii, shimeji, king oyster and the cutest little babies of the mushroom world enoki.

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Sushi rolls: House special

We had been trying to make a conscientious effort to avoid ordering any dishes off the menu that we have already tried on previous visits to Nobu. Despite the lure of mind-blowing dishes like the Miso Black Cod we have so far had success. However our night was drawing to an end and we forgot our efforts and ordered the Nobu House Special sushi rolls. These tasty rolls are filled with smoked salmon, fresh tuna, flying fish roe, white fish, snow crab and avocado, and then wrapped in nori and daikon. Despite containing what sounds like a considerable amount of seafood to fit in one roll, each perfect bite size roll held together until the end giving a wonderful hit of flavours.

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Sea bass with jalapeno dressing

Our last main dish for the night was the sea bass with jalapeño dressing.  I wasn’t really expecting the appearance of this dish because I think I muddled up the name of this dish with their signature Yellowtail Sashimi with jalapeños.  Thick wedges of sea bass sat semi-submerged in a brilliant emerald green jalapeño dressing that at a first glance looked like pea soup.  The dressing was reasonably spicy with a very smooth and creamy after-taste.

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Sushi rolls: Soft shelled crab

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My mound of ginger

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Sushi rolls: Salmon skin

Sitting right in front of the sushi chefs as they perform at their craft made it very hard to resist ordering more. The Boy ordered us two more serves of rolls; one was his favourite and the other choice was something we hadn’t tried before. The soft-shelled crab sushi rolls were a crowd pleaser as always.  The other choice was the salmon skin rolls. These had a very strong salty taste with a similar crispy inside like the crab. I was nearly home and hosed in meeting my goal of being totally full and only had a tiny bit of room left for dessert.  There is always room for dessert.

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Bento Box: Chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream

There are only a couple of gluten free dessert options at Nobu but who really cares about options when you can have their Bento Box. It’s hard to believe that something this delicious can be gluten free.  The ooze speaks for itself.

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Nobu Baked Cheesecake with passionfruit sorbet

Earlier in the evening when we were ordering our dishes, it came into the conversation with our waiter that it was the Boy’s birthday. It was only a brief comment, yet he secretly took it on board and back to the kitchen in order to surprise us at dessert.  What a lovely gesture!

Read my previous review on Nobu from my birthday last year: Nobu, Burswood and a Birthday Surprise

 

Nobu
Crown Casino Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood 6100 | (08) 9362 7551 | www.noburestaurants.com/perth
 
Price:                     $$$$ (Cold dishes $14-65, Hot dishes $19-85, Sushi $8-28, Sashimi $3-10 per piece)
Food:                    4.5/5 (this is my kinda food. If only I could eat here every week)
Service:                4/5 (Much improved since our last visit)
Ambience:          4/5 (Watching all the action in the kitchen was great fun)
Drinks:                  4/5 (Extensive wine and sake list, I just stuck to my Verve this time)
Total:                     16.5/20 Half a point up from our last visit due to a perceivable improvement on service. 

 Nobu Perth on Urbanspoon

Sky high on the 57th level of Marina Bay Sands @ Sky on 57, Singapore

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Featured, French, Restaurants, Singapore, Travel

On our way home from Phuket still loved up and emotionally high on wedding bliss, we stopped over in Singapore for a few days to unwind before heading home.  We flew in Singapore accompanied by my Dad and Step mum who were also stopping over albeit only for a few hours. The thought of returning back to a heavy work load loomed dark over their minds so for one last hurrah we took to the incredible SkyPark up on the 57th level of the MBS building. There are two restaurants up in the clouds on SkyPark; Ku Da Ta and Sky on 57.  As Ku De Ta served a buffet style lunch we chose to dine at Sky on 57 for a more classy experience with a view.

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Marina Bay Sands. The SkyPark is the top level.

Our time in Phuket was the most amazing holiday of our lives and we were strongly determined to hold onto the last shreds of celebrations over a bottle of champagne. Still not accustomed to all the bling on my finger, I couldn’t help but take a little cheesy shot as it glimmered in the light. Excuse the shrivelled eczema hands thanks to years of eating gluten.

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Cheers again husband!

Head Chef Justin Quek’s style pulls from local Asian cuisines with some hints of European influences.  Singaporean classics like Hainanese Chicken Rice and Hokkien Mee featured on the menu alongside more French inspired dishes like pan seared foie gras and mussel veloute.  The view from the dining room expands across the whole end of the SkyPark’s end deck giving impressive views across the Marina Bay and the city skyline.

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Salmon and Oyster tartare, mango and basil coulis, micro salad

My salmon and oyster tartare tasted like a breath of the sea, fresh, salty and not overly fishy. It was beautifully presented with carefully blobbed pearls of mango and basil coulis polka dotted around my slate plate. The mango gave an added creamy sweetness that wasn’t too overpowering.

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Tempura of Soft Shelled crab, ginger flower dressing, crunchy vegetables

Dad and the Boy often share similar tastes in food.  It was no surprise to me when they both ordered the soft-shelled crab, a dish that has reached near obsession level with the both of them.  These critters were very meaty and the serving size for an entrée was substantial considering this was fine dining.

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Buri Oh Ceviche, micro greens, dried seaweed, truffle vinaigrette

My Step mum ordered the Buri oh ceviche. Wafer thin slices of sustainably farmed Japanese Amberjack, or Hamachi fish sat on a bed of fresh micro-greens and colourful flowers. It was served with truffle vinaigrette however I couldn’t taste any truffle in the mouthful I tried.  Her fish was similarly fresh and delicately soft.

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Sautéed Maine Lobster in Asian Pepper Sauce

My Dad and Step mum are generous people and love to spoil those they love. When Dad spotted the two of us pretending not to see the Maine lobster dish on the menu he asked us if we had eaten it before.  I confessed I hadn’t  the only crayfish I have eaten has been Australian in origin. Upon hearing this he insisted we all have the Lobster despite it being nearly three times to price of the rest of the mains choices. It was lightly sautéed in an Asian Pepper sauce and was nothing like any Cray fish I have had before.  In a mouthful I understood what all the fanfare and fuss is about, it is surprisingly sweet and incredibly tender. Totally out of this world. I want more. It’s hard to believe this delicacy was once a food reserved only for slaves and prisoners!

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Milo ice cream, evaporated milk anglaise, coffee emulsion, “Jivara” chocolate crumble

We still had a bit of time to kill and looked around for our waitress to order some desserts.  Unfortunately it would appear that in the afternoon the restaurant staff seemed to develop a little bit of amnesia and forgot about our existence as they vacuumed around us and moved tables.  After a good 15 minutes we managed to catch their eye and finally order  our desserts. We ordered two serves of the Milo ice-cream to share amongst the four of us. This dish was ultra-chocolaty with a perfect balance of bitter and sweet. Any excuse to squeeze in a bit of Valrhona chocolate is fine by me!

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Thanks Dad xxx

Once again there was a virtual cloak of invisibility surrounding our table while we were waiting to order our coffees and then again for said coffees to be brought to table.  It was a little disconcerting that while we waited for over twenty minutes for our hot drinks most of the staff chatted and laughed standing by the bar.  A sad drop in customer service compared to the beginning of the afternoon. The wait was long enough for my Dad to write nearly four pages full in my wedding guestbook.  I was so touched to read later that night that he had remembered his speech from the wedding night off by heart and written it down word for word for me to keep forever.

Sky on 57

Sands SkyPark, Tower 1, Marina Bay Sands Hotel, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956 | +65 6688 8857 |
Price:                     $$$
Food:                    4.5/5 (exceptionally fresh ingredients, faultless preparation)
Service:                2/5 (unfortunately didn’t match up to the incredible food)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (wondrous views, dining room a little clinical)
Drinks:                  4.5/5 (champagne, what can I say?)
Total:                     14.5/20

Blowing the budget at Guy Savoy, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, European, Featured, French, Luxury, Restaurants, Singapore, Travel

After landing in Singapore on the overnight flight from Perth I was accompanied by the Boy and one of my business partners Woki to attend a friend’s wedding at the Fairmont Hotel. Not willing to be discouraged by our lack of sleep we refused to waste our free day and spent most of it exploring the city. We conveniently ended our self-guided tour at Ku De Ta which is situated on the 57th level of one of the three Marina Bay Sands (MBS) towers. Sipping our drinks we watched a blanket of dark ominous clouds slowly envelop the city from our viewpoint on high and by the time the tropical storm reached us we were all seriously hungry. We headed back downstairs in search of some food.

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The storm just starting to come in (photo courtesy of Woki)

Back on the ground floor foyer, we were served by a small framed, elegant woman who kindly took great trouble to ring around a few restaurants in the complex in search of a table. She managed to secure us a booking at Guy Savoy, one of the “celebrity restaurants” at the Casino. The only time available was just an hour away yet there we stood all wind-swept, sweaty and in no way presentable for fine dining.

Jumping in a cab the Boy, Woki and I made a mad dash to return to our hotel but as we crawled inch by inch through peak hour traffic I started to feel the tension among us rising.  By this point, the monsoonal downpour was in full force and I could barely see the road in front of us. Jumping out of the cab to proceed on foot was completely out of the question!

Upon our return to Fairmont Hotel we quickly raced upstairs dripping wet to our rooms. With my heart pounding in excitement I flurried about spraying my hair with a ton of hair products and my face with a lathering of makeup. After the finishing touch of a smear of bright red lipstick I prayed my transformation into something more elegant was successful.

However, our building anticipation was not to end there. It almost felt like fate was against us as we ended up taking the wrong train, got off on the wrong station and then took a full circle route on foot of the entire MBS complex before we could actually find the restaurant.  Let me tell you, it is not well signposted and MBS is huge!

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Canapés: Foie gras “club sandwich”

A little flustered and nauseatingly hungry we were seated at our table ready for the fun to begin.  Our meal was kick-started by a few adorable bite size canapés.

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Canapés: Parmesan “gaufres” with black pepper mignonette

The gluten eaters received a pint-sized foie gras club sandwich and similarly Lilliputian cube of parmesan waffle.

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Canapés: Beetroot, black truffle, herb purée

My gluten free canapés included a spoonful of miniature cubes of beetroot sprinkled with black truffle on a herb purée and some finely grated apple with baby celery leaves on an almond crumble.

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Canapés: Celery & green apple with almonds

As we allowed these flavours to entertain our palate, our waiter wheels out an old polished wood trolley with a whole leg of Joselito’s Ibérico de Bellota Jamón. Ibérico jamón is a type of ham made from black Iberian pigs that are kept free range on pasture and oak groves where they feast on a diet of acorns, grass, herbs and roots. Joselito’s Ibérico jamón is world famous for being the best ham in world and wholesale prices start at around $600 for a small leg and can get well over $3000-4000 for an aged leg. They pride themselves on raising “happy pigs” and believe this is a major factor in their meat quality.

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Spanish Iberico de Bellota Ham (Aged for 3 years from Castill y Leon, Joselito)

The waiter carved in front of us about a dozen slices straight off the bone. Dark purple in colour and with multiple thread-like veins of white fat coursing through the meat; the wafer thin slivers of ham nearly dissolved on contact with my tongue. Eating Joselito jamón is quite an unforgettable foodie’s experience and I highly recommend that you try it yourself if you ever have the chance.

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Bread

The unusual pretzel shaped bread was unfortunately not gluten free and as there wasn’t any gluten free bread option I had to satisfy myself by just having a brief sniff of its fresh doughy aroma. I cannot deny it is always a little disappointing when I visit fine dining institutions such as this and a gluten free bread option is overlooked.  Not that I really needed bread given the enormous meal we were about to enjoy!

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L’amuse bouche

Our Amuse Bouche was a chilled Vichyssoise-styled soup made from leek, potatoes and cream.  The addition of fennel gave a slightly sweet and refreshing after-taste. Curiously hidden under the small mug of thick soup contained two little half spheres of fennel and leek “royale”, basically a smooth lime green custard topped with minuscule little micro herbs and pea sized blobs of herb purée.  With the subtle sweetness of the fennel in the soup still lingering, this little dollop served to extend and enhance the ambrosial experience with utmost precision.

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Crab with multi-coloured beetroot variations.

Both the Boy and Woki ordered the “crab with multi-coloured beetroot variations” for their entrée.  The concept of this dish was to “marry land and sea”. The blood red and lemon yellow shavings of roasted beets were curled into cone like flowers.  Each little beet “flower” was filled with a foamy light beetroot blancmange followed by delicate portions of the cooked Australian Spanner crab meat.  Savoury shortbread crumble and flecks of beetroot crisps sprinkled over the dish to add more complexity.

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Smoked golden beetroot tartlet

Alongside the salad was served a warm golden beetroot tartlet containing hints of cardamom and orange.  The pastry collapsed in the mouth like fairy floss.  It lay on top of a wafer thin square of transparent paper that looked a bit like cellophane.  We were informed this was salt paper and was entirely edible. Despite the tart being the accompaniment, both the boy and our companion agreed it was the star of the two components.

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Mosaic of poulard, foie gras and artichoke, black truffle vinaigrette (Photo courtesy of Guy Savoy restaurant)

This photo of my entrée is not my own and is courtesy of the restaurant.  My mosaic of poulard, foie gras and artichoke was by far and by large the highlight of the evening yet for some strange reason it completely bypassed me to take a photo.  Like a bizarre form of savoury layer cake, thick door stop-sized slices of young fattened poulard, wedges of soft foie gras and similar textured artichoke sat relatively unimpressively on my plate.  They were accompanied by two precisely equal sized blobs of black truffle vinaigrette.  The appearance of this dish does in no way make one’s mouth water; which is perhaps why my photography was overlooked.  However just one mouthful of these three simple ingredients with a conservative smear of the vinaigrette and you will change your mind forever. This dish was absolutely mind-blowing; the rich buttery elegance showed true respect for the ingredients with no need for embellishment.

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Chestnut Royale

As we waited for our mains to arrive out came a little prequel, some sort of intermission entertainment I guess; named the Chestnut Royale.  Now I am quite partial to chestnuts, yet I rarely see them feature on the menus in Australia. They always conjure up memories of walking down the streets of Paris where street vendors roast them everywhere in the winter. This innocent looking dish was quite a taste sensation.  A perfectly formed dome of smooth chestnut custard sat swimming in a light bed of chestnut milk.  Carefully placed on top a milk glazed chestnut glistened under the dim lighting garnished with tiny little pygmy sized celery leaves and chestnut chips.

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Shoulder of Australian wagyu in two preparations, young carrots

Woki thoroughly enjoyed his “Shoulder of Australian Wagyu in two preparations”.  By using an oyster blade steak or “paleron” as it is called by the French, the meat contained wondrous marbling and flavour.  The first portion was braised in a red wine jus topped with baby carrots and a black pepper mignonette.  The second portion of beef was purely just seared and garnished with dollops of wasabi.  Both portions of beef sliced like butter at room temperature as good Wagyu should.

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Potato Maxim’s

The accompanying side dish of potato Maxim’s and bitter greens was comparatively lacklustre and did not wow Woki at all.

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Pan-seared duck breast with eggplant gianduja sauce

I ordered the pan seared duck breast with eggplant “gianduja” sauce and “au poivre”.  I was informed by our waiter that in order to achieve the creamy pate-like texture of the meat the duck breast was seared, then cooked sous vide, and then finally seared again. On my plate balanced so carefully like a stack of cards were thin slivers of eggplant served with gianduja chocolate sauce. The sauce tasted a little reminiscent of Nutella due to its high hazelnut content. Tiny little purple delight flowers scattered amongst the eggplant giving a splash of colour and bitter flavour. The duck was richly flavoured and buttery tender and left me wanting more.

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Potato “tagliatelle”

My side dish was potato tagliatelle; thin ribbon like curls of deep fried potato.  This was the only dish I ate that I felt was a little lacking.  Perhaps some seasoning would have improved this element however even if that were the case it felt a little mismatched to the fabulous duck dish.

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Saddle, rack and shoulder of lamb “land and sea”

The Boy ordered the “Saddle, rack and shoulder of lamb; Land and Sea”.  Unfortunately for him, after being left relatively unimpressed with his entrée choice his main didn’t manage to suitably wow him either.  The main part of his dish contained a roasted rack of lamb placed on an almond and hazelnut praline.  The saddle of lamb was stuffed with bamboo clams and pan roasted. Next to the lamb I recognised some emerald-green samphire on his plate; something we were introduced to during our beautiful lunch at Millbrook Winery last year where the chef forages it from the banks of the Swan River.

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Saddle, rack and shoulder of lamb “land and sea”

The second part to his dish was his favourite. The shoulder of the lamb was braised and wrapped in thinly sliced potatoes and topped with sprinklings of purple potato crisps.  I recall the waiter mentioned that this component contained melted onions so I didn’t get to taste it! This dish was apparently seasoned in the bamboo clam jus.

By this point in time in the night I was starting to receive a number of subtly concerned looks from the Boy and knew he was worried as to how much this meal was going to cost us.  He is never been one to be a killjoy by any means and during our near fifteen years together we have shared some highly priced memorable meals together.  But he is also a sensible man, and he knew all too well that just coming over to Singapore alone was breaking the budget so close to our wedding, so enjoying a four figure fine dining experience was definitely going to break the bank. A smart move from me at this would have been to proclaim total fullness and call it a night.

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The cheese trolley! OMG!

And then out came the cheese trolley.  And all my sensibility went out the window. My thoughts of finances, savings and budgets temporarily felt incredibly less important.  Our dinner companion Woki was no help either. Being a father to two little ones means he rarely gets to experience such incredible culinary excellence and wanted to make the most of our evening. After a long consideration we settled for three cheeses: the curious looking Mimolette, Fourme d’Ambert and most dear to my heart Saint Marcellin; a cheese produced by my late uncle Jeannot’s factory in the Alps of France.

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Cheese: Fourme d’Ambert, Mimolette, Saint-Marcellin (clockwise from the front)

The Fourme d’Ambert is a very mild blue cheese that is considered to be one of France’s oldest cheeses dating back to Roman times.  It is a semi-hard cheese made with cow’s milk and has a luscious creamy texture and leaves a slightly sweet earthy mushroom after-taste.

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Cheese: Saint-Marcellin, Fourme d’Ambert, Mimolette (clockwise from the front)

The Mimolette had such a curious appearance that it was our wild card choice for the evening.  The cheese looked like a cross between a rock melon and a dusty cannonball.  It was a hard round ball with a pocked dimpled surface. I later learnt that the dimpled appearance is actually due to the activity of surface mites that burrow their way through the surface rind which in turn allows the cheese to breathe and mature. From the heart of this bizarre rock, our waiter scooped out some bright orange brittle cheese.  It tasted quite unexpectedly sweet and caramelised, and felt like you were eating a hybrid of fudge and cheese, but in a good way.

Our portion of the Saint Marcellin cheese regrettably wasn’t  warmed to room temperature and thus failed to relax into that sexy goo I have enjoyed many times before. I was very disappointed because for a number of years I have been talking up about this cheese to Woki. It is not easy to come by in Australia and this was his first time trying it.

For some reason the next two following pre-dessert dishes managed once again to escape my camera.  I think I was a little distracted by my growing concern as the impending bill.  Our first pre-dessert was so delectable that Woki jokingly exclaimed to the waiter that it was “no good” and that we all requested another one.  His sarcasm was lost on our waitress and with a worried look she scuttled away to get us another serve.

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The petit fours trolley

We were too full to order a dessert but were tempted by the trolley of “petit fours”-styled mini-serves of ice cream, sorbet and biscuits and each tried a little portion for ourselves.

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Earl Grey Sorbet

Just when we thought the near theatrical dining experience was over, as I sipped on my peppermint tea an Earl Grey Sorbet was delivered to our table for a final palate cleanse.  Served on top of a black pepper crème anglaise the subtle flavours of the bergamot from the tea left a very refreshing end to our wondrous meal.  Suffice to say, the Boy was right; we are still paying back our share of the meal to Woki!

Guy Savoy
The Shoppes, Atrium 2 L2-01, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956 | +65 6688 8513 | www.guysavoy.com
 
Price:                     $$$$$   
Food:                    4.7/5 (my choices were nearly faultless but there were some hits & misses at my table)
Service:                5/5 (very knowledgeable and attentive with a noticeable lack of any pretension)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (a little formal and stuffy but some fabulous views)
Drinks:                  4/5 (very extensive wine list but a considerable mark up on bottle prices)
 
Total:                     17.2/20

 

Finally......Bistro Guillaume, Crown Metropole Perth

Posted by  | Categories: Bistro, Featured, French, Perth, Restaurants

Things are definitely on the onwards and upwards for foodies living here in Perth.  This past year has seen a plethora of high quality dining establishments open their doors and it is certainly something to be proud of. We are fortunate enough to live only five minutes’ drive away from the Crown Metropol (formerly known as the Burswood Casino) where internationally famous chefs Neil Perry, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and Guillaume Brahimi all have flagship restaurants residing there.  Now it is never too hard to have a fancy meal out.

I made an initial reservation for the two of us at Bistro Guillaume during their opening week however this had to be postponed as I had forgotten we had already made plans to go out with some friends to Duende.   After managing to secure a table on another weekend, the Boy informed me that I had booked on the same night as his High School Reunion and would have to cancel once again.  By this point I am sure the reservation desk had red flagged me as an annoying customer! Third time lucky, we successfully synced our busy schedules and locked in date night.

It was the first time we had been back to the Casino since their massive renovations and its fresh new face lift has successfully dragged it out of the eighties into current times! We walked past Linneys on our way to The Merrywell for some pre-dinner drinks and like an insect attracted to bright light I couldn’t help but feel the powerful drag towards their sparkling boutique. Linneys designed my engagement ring and seeing as we needed to start looking at wedding rings soon I figured now was as good a time as any to begin.

As we browsed all their beautiful pieces, the store assistant kindly offered to clean my ring for me as this is a complimentary service offered to all owners of Linneys jewellery.  Only minutes later “my precious” returned to me all glimmering and twinkling like it had never been worn! I was left torn between amazement at its shining beauty and shame on how dirty it had become! I need to visit Linneys more often!

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Kitchen side!

Upon arrival to Bistro Guillaume we were shown to our booth which was perfectly located right in front of the kitchen.  It was like having a television with an action movie playing for us to watch while we chatted away and ate our meal. I was further impressed when some complimentary gluten free bread was brought to our table.  For once I wasn’t going to have to sit and watch the Boy eat his bread as I was too busy enjoying my own!

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Escargot en persillade

We commenced with the escargot en persillade, served the classic way my father used to make for us when we were young.  Melted butter, herbs especially parsley and loads and loads of garlic formed a little pool in which each slippery morsel sat submerged.  Beneath the overwhelming garlickyness I could still detect their subtle earthy flavour.  Like calamari, if overcooked escargot becomes rubbery and inedible, these were cooked perfectly.

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Freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters with shallot and red wine vinegar

I love all oysters and have been known to make a complete glutton of myself if allowed.  Following in the footsteps of my father, I could easily eat several dozen au natural in one sitting provided they are fresh.  One of my favourite types of oyster is the Sydney Rock; this species of oyster are smaller, have a more intense and distinct flavour than Pacific Oysters and apparently take 2-3 times longer to reach maturity. Knowing that I have a tendency to order too much food, the boy managed to intercept me attempting to order a full dozen in addition to our two entrees and convinced me of a compromise of a half dozen to share. Each mouthful was as fresh as the sea leaving that lingering sweet, creamy aftertaste.

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Steak tartare

The recent heartbreaking news earlier this year on the horrific treatment of our cows in Bali slaughterhouses has struck very deep to both of our hearts.  As a result our red meat intake has reduced dramatically and now I try to source our produce only from organic farms that are passionate about animal welfare.  However seeing steak tartar on the menu, neither of us could resist, it’s up there with Sydney Rock oysters in awesomeness. I took some consolation that it was made with Dandaragan organic beef. For those not convinced about raw, finely diced beef you seriously have to give this a try. The meat was exceedingly fresh and literally dissolved in your mouth leaving no unpleasant meaty aftertaste. The serve was particularly huge and I would have preferred a few more of the crunchy potato crisps to scoop up all the deliciousness.

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Venison tenderloin with beetroot, parsnip and horseradish

The venison tenderloin was out of this world. The rich nearly berry-like flavours of the venison melted beautifully into the beetroot sauce and this really was a match made in heaven. In my eagerness to devour it I accidentally splashed ruby red sauce about in a very unladylike fashion and was thankful to be wearing a dark coloured dress! I want to return to Bistro just to order this again.

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Veal sweetbreads with a fricassee of mushroom and truffle

The boy ordered the veal sweetbreads with a fricassee of mushroom and truffle.  The soft creamy pillows of glands were a little too fatty for him but this was circumvented somewhat by the hearty and flavoursome sauce.  There was a wide variety of mushrooms in his dish and you could clearly see the fairly generous servings of truffle buried in there.

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Cheese platter: Mont D’or, Sainte Maure, Caprin, Pyengana, Roquefort

Although I realise I am supposed to be limiting my calorie intake with our wedding day looming close, this is very difficult to achieve when you are approached by a handsome man with a thick French accent bearing a plate of cheeses. I confess I got a little lost on his cheese journey and may have accidentally ordered more than we really needed. Are you that surprised? I ordered Mont D’or, a soft but rich, washed rind cows cheese that just glooped onto the board; Roquefort, a well-loved blue sheep cheese; Sainte Maure, a classic raw soft goat cheese that we recently had at Duende; Caprin, a hard goat cheese with a distinct nutty taste that I often enjoy when visiting my dad; and Pyengana, an aged Tasmania cheddar.

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So lonely

As you can see, we had no trouble finding room for any of these cheese masterpieces.  They were served at the perfect temperature and were even accompanied by toasted gluten free bread.

"Mini pavlova" "meringue" "passionfruit cream" "mango sorbet" "dessert" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Bistro Guillaume, Crown Metropole Perth" Bistro Guillaume" "Guillaume Brahimi" "Crown casino" "Crown Perth" "Burswood Casino" "Burswood" "perth" "french" "bistro"

Mini pavlova with passionfruit cream and mango sorbet

I have heard many great things about Bistro Guillaume’s desserts however unfortunately for me the majority of them are not gluten free.  My only option other than the sorbet was the very un-French mini Pavlova with passionfruit cream and mango sorbet.  I am a little on the pedantic side when it comes to my Pavlova’s texture; in a similar vein to a macaron, there needs to be an external crunch, and spongy middle and a gooey centre.  This version exhibited a little too much crunch and not enough moist bounciness inside.

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Profiteroles with vanilla bean ice cream and warm chocolate sauce

Bearing in mind the Boy is not a big desserts person, I was super jealous to hear he thought the profiteroles were the bomb.  As our waiter poured thick molten chocolate sauce over the perfectly formed balls I figured if there was ever the temptation to poison myself with gluten then this was it.  He took no hesitation informing me the pastry was crackling crisp on the outside and flaky light on the inside.  Despite wanting a taste so desperately I resisted and was very thankful the following day.

Coming from a French background I may be a little biased in stating French cuisine is one of the best in the world and Guillaume has managed to capture its simple elegance without overindulgence.  Fresh local ingredients, traditional recipes and impeccable service…..Bravo!

Bistro Guillaume
Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood | (08) 9362 7551 | www.bistroguillaumeperth.com.au
 
Price:                     $$$$ (Entrees $18-28, Mains $30-45)
Food:                    4.8/5 (would have given a five if it wasn’t for the pav)
Service:                5/5 (highly attentive without being in your face)
Ambience:           4.5/5 (relaxed, comfortable bistro vibe)
Drinks:                  4/5 (lots of French options!)
Total:                     18.3/20

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Nobu, Burswood and a birthday surprise

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Japanese, Perth, Restaurants, Seafood

On the last night of my 3 day birthday eat-drink bender we booked a table at Nobu for a romantic night out just the two of us.  My only request to the Boy for my birthday present this year was for him to get me a gift that would be a total surprise!  Upon suggesting this to him some weeks before I was met with a number of retorts and complaints as he was certain that there would be no way he could think of something without any guidance. I knew he was wrong – when he puts his mind to it he comes up with the most awesome present ideas.

As the taxi pulled up outside our house, the Boy handed me a birthday card in a red envelope saying “Here’s your present!”  I decided to wait until we got to (A)LURE for our pre-dinner drinks before opening it.  It was such a fine evening so after ordering our drinks we sat out on the balcony basking in the setting sun.  I opened the envelope and in it was a card containing a printed piece of paper……curious….

“Happy Birthday Beautiful! Hope you’ve had a marvellous birthday and looking forward to an extra special one next year!”  Before even reading the enclosed piece of paper it suddenly dawned on me what he meant and I felt an overwhelming feeling of excitement and happiness! Next year for my birthday we will be in Thailand celebrating our marriage!!! Wooot!!!

To my even greater surprise the paper read as follows:

 “Aerial Combat Flight for Two: If Top Gun looked like fun then you’ll be thrilled by these combat formation flights with your family member alongside you!  Strap into a war bird and get set for an adrenalin fuelled flight!

When you and your companion arrive at the airport we’ll have you looking the part in no time when you put on your flight suit! You are then strapped into the seat behind the pilot and briefed on the mission ahead. Then it’s out to the flight line – the fun is about to begin!

The combat formation flight is performed with two CJ-6A Nanchangs. At the beginning of your flight you will experience the art of close formation as practiced by the air forces of the world. Then it’s time to split the formation. The fight is on! Diving and turning to gain position behind the opposing aircraft, your pilot will take you on an amazing aerial combat adventure, using real military rules and procedures. This is not a simulator or computer game – this is the real thing!

The CJ-6A Nanchang is the current primary trainer of the Chinese air force, with a 9-cylinder Radial-engine and sliding canopies. This aircraft is still in use, being employed by several air forces in training military pilots around the world.

After your aerial combat flight you and your friend will climb out of the cockpits, grinning from ear to ear and buzzing all over with excitement after having experienced an absolutely mind-blowing flight!

Far out!!! This has to be one of the most original and brilliant presents yet! The Boy has totally excelled himself! After guzzling a couple of glasses of champagne we moved over to Nobu to continue our evening.

We were warmly greeted and shown to our table where our waitress offered to bring us the cocktail special of the evening.  It was something sparkling and peachy but unfortunately I cannot recall much other detail.  The drink was very sweet almost overpoweringly so but totally enjoyable nevertheless.   Without even needing to ask, she came back to our table as we were sipping our drinks to remove our normal soy from the table and replace it with gluten-free soy.

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno

Our waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu and was thrilled to enthusiastically describe some of the preparation in the kitchen to us.  We started with the yellow tail sashimi with jalapeño – a true example of how Nobu does Japanese differently with Peruvian flair.  For this signature dish, we were advised to eat each delicate velvety slice of tuna with a coriander leaf to experience all the flavours. The cool freshness of the coriander along with the bite of the jalapeño was out of this world!  Being a big fan of wasabi – the heat of the jalapeño is quite a different kind of heat and made a unique and interesting change.

White Fish with Dry Miso

Miso is traditionally used as a paste to flavour a vast number of Japanese dishes. To dramatically increase the flavour Nobu has pioneered the technique of processing the paste to create “dry miso” and he uses it throughout the menu as a powerful seasoning.  To make the dry miso, the miso paste is spread out onto baking paper and cooked for a few hours in the oven at low temperature.  It is then crushed in a food processor to produce small granular chips of intense flavour. Our white fish was served with dried red miso, fried garlic chips, a sprinkling of chives and a tangy lemony dressing.  After the combination of heat and sweet coriander with the yellow tail tuna, the more salty and acrid flavours of this dish was a great progression in flavours.  An excellent second choice.

Miso Black Cod

If you are going to order anything off the menu – the Miso Black Cod is a signature dish that cannot be missed. This is where you really better believe the hype.  After being wowed by a copy of the same dish at Ku De Ta in Bali, I can truly appreciate how the original version here at Nobu has been perfected and mastered.  The fish is marinated in miso for no less than three days allowing it to fully permeate through the thick slab of Alaskan Black Cod.  The texture of the fish is so buttery and slithers into your mouth like silk.

Pork Belly with Miso Caramel

The pork belly with miso caramel is another signature dish but this in no way compared to the show stopping black cod.  The miso had caramelised to a sticky sweetness but the crackling lacked oomph in its crunch which was a little disappointing.

WA Marron Spinach Salad with Dry Miso

The marron spinach salad was a bit of a spontaneous order as we originally wanted to have a mushroom dish but were informed that all the mushrooms were marinated in wheat based soy and therefore not suitable.  Surprisingly the spinach was the highlight of this dish with the dry miso giving such an incredible flavour.  The marron was quite humble in comparison to its salad.

Soft Shelled Crab with Watermelon and Sesame

The soft-shelled crab was one of the specials of the evening and I was so pleased to hear it could be adapted to be gluten-free!  It was served with fresh watermelon and sesame which I haven’t seen before.  Although I know I shouldn’t eat watermelon I did eat some this time and its bursting watery sweetness was an interesting match with the salty crispy crab.  I really shouldn’t have though because I did suffer a bit the next day! Watermelon and other melons are a no-no for fructose malabsorbers.

Sashimi: Squid, Salmon and Smelt Egg and Sushi Rolls: Tuna Asparagus, House Special and Soft Shelled Crab

Now that we had sampled some hot dishes and some cold dishes, we moved onto some of the sashimi and sushi.  We order some squid, salmon and smelt egg sashimi. The sashimi was fairly good quality but not the best we have ever tried.  The squid was particularly well prepared with no chewiness. It was the sushi rolls that we both found most special.  The tuna and asparagus rolls looked so simple but they were like little bombs of flavour and the larger house made rolls were even more so.  I highly recommend all of the sushi rolls we tried.

Bento Box with Green Tea Ice cream

For dessert I ordered the Bento box purely based on it having green tea ice-cream which I adore.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when she opened the box lid and sitting innocently in there was a gluten-free chocolate fondant with one lonely little scoop of green tea ice-cream.  My eyes lit up like a child at Christmas as I cut my spoon into the centre and out gushed delicious chocolaty goo.  My birthday celebrations were satisfyingly complete!

Nobu definitely broke the birthday budget, and it may indeed be sometime before we return there but it was totally worth it!

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Nobu
Burswood Entertainment Complex, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood 6100 | (08) 9362 7551 | www.noburestaurants.com
 
Price:                     $$$$ (Cold dish $18-65, Hot dish $22-52, Sashimi $3-10/piece, Sushi rolls $8-28)
Food:                    4.5/5 (one word – cod! OMG!)
Service:                3.5/5 (although initially brilliant, service slowed significantly as evening progressed)
Ambience:           4.5/5 (great lighting and relaxing but sophisticated)
Drinks:                  4/5 (tried the Hokuetsu Junmai Daiginjo sake – floraly sweet and refreshing)
Total:                     16.5/20

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Modo Mio Cucina Italiana, Burswood

Posted by  | Categories: Italian, Perth, Restaurants

I’m on the final lap of my six and half weeks of this gluten induced ride through hell. My life has now been taken over by constant reminders of how poisoning this stuff is to my body. My previously clear skin is breaking out all over in unsightly eruptions of blotchy red sores and random areas of flakiness and I struggle to fall asleep at night as I’m so itchy all the time waking up repeatedly to start scratching. I am crossing my fingers that my skin can recover in time for our engagement party in 5 weeks or I may be investing in a big paper bag for my head! Aside from these hideous skin issues, my gut is crying out for a break having also endured way too much.

Italian cuisine is nearly impossible to enjoy gluten free so before I return to my GF way of life, I figured we should fit in night at Modo Mio Cucina Italiana, one of Burswood Casino’s new additions to their recently improved restaurant collection.

Giampaolo Maffini, the Head Chef at Modo Mio was head hunted from Milan and has over 20 years’ experience in the industry working all around the world including North America, Asia, Middle East and over ten countries in Europe at top-end restaurants such as the Raffles in Singapore and the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Bahrain. He is passionate about Italian food, using fresh, preferably locally sourced ingredients and changing the menu monthly. I was impressed to see his dedication to his job as halfway through the dinner service he was out and about in the dining area talking to the customers. Not something I’ve seen at high profile restaurants in Perth very often.

The interior design of the restaurant felt very opulent yet not overly pretentious with leather table tops, matching seats and elegant chandeliers giving the anticipation of something amazing about to come.

The service was friendly and cheerful albeit a little under-attentive, there were a number of brief but noticeable delays that I wouldn’t expect in such a high caliber restaurant such as the waiting to place our orders, and wine and water glasses remaining empty. Don’t get me wrong – the waits weren’t horrendous, but they were significant.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Modo Mio" Italian "Burswood Casino" "Victoria Park" Burswood "garlic bread" "cheese puffs" bread

Modo Mio Garlic bread AKA Garlic Cheesy Puffs

We started off with ordering some garlic bread. Upon placing our order our waitress informed us that garlic bread at Modo Mio is not your traditional type of garlic bread but went on to describe what can only be reiterated as a garlic cheese puff. Out comes these crunchy “puffs” of crunchy but hollow buns with some gooey cheesy garlic inside. They were quite tasty … but a bit odd for fine dining. I’m not sure if I would recommend it.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Modo Mio" Italian "Burswood Casino" "Victoria Park" Burswood "beef carpaccio" "cipriani sauce" rocket parmesan

Beef Carpaccio, Cipriani sauce, rocket salad and Parmesan

For our starters we shared two dishes. The first dish was the beef Carpaccio served with Cipriani sauce, rocket salad and Parmesan – a simple but delicious dish if executed correctly. The beef was sliced paper thin and was delicately flavoured with the traditional Tuscan style sauce. I think a few more lashings of olive oil and/or sauce would have perfected this dish as it was a little bland. Our second entrée was the roasted veal in tuna caper sauce with a celery salad, quail egg, and black truffle. The presentation of the dish was excellent. The tuna sauce was very overpowering and lingered on the palate too heavily to taste the truffle properly. Nevertheless it was still an enjoyable dish.

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Roasted veal, tuna caper sauce,celery salad, quail egg, black truffle

Next we shared a pasta dish so we could both squeeze in mains and dessert. The boy chose for us the homemade cannelloni filled with veal, pork & ricotta, spinach sauce, smoked pancetta and beetroot. I was really excited about this dish as it sounded like it was going to be the bomb! Unfortunately I found this dish to be very salty and over-seasoned and was disappointed to see only one tiny piece of pancetta dressing the dish.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Modo Mio" "Burswood Casino" "Victoria Park" Burswood cannelloni veal pork ricotta pancetta Italian

Homemade cannelloni filled with veal, pork & ricotta, spinach sauce, smoked pancetta, beetroot

Our mains were definitely the highlight of the evening. I ordered the red wine marinated Angus beef tenderloin with pan fried foie gras, polenta & taleggio ravioli and Pommery mustard marmalade. Despite ordering a rare fillet it was served medium rare. Normally this would be a call for me to complain and send the dish back but I have to be honest – it was so absolutely amazing regardless and I didn’t have the heart to do it. The foie gras and the nutty Pommery marmalade gave incredible depth to the octave of flavours rocking around in my mouth and when you added in the tangy cheesiness of the Taleggio ravioli – it was a taste sensation. I can highly recommend this dish!

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Modo Mio" Italian "Burswood Casino" "Victoria Park" Burswood "beef tenderloin" "foie gras" polenta ravioli "pommery mustard"

Red wine marinated Angus beef tenderloin, pan fried foie gras, polenta & taleggio ravioli, pommery mustard marmalade

The boy ordered the oven baked lamb rack with a macadamia crust, thyme jus and butternut pumpkin flan. This was also a stand out dish for him shown by the fact I didn’t even get a taste! He said it was fantastic and made up for the other disappointing dishes.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Modo Mio" Italian "Burswood Casino" "Victoria Park" Burswood "lamb rack" macadamia thyme pumpkin

Oven baked lamb rack, macadamia crust, thyme jus; butternut pumpkin flan

The meals are were all a bit on the smaller side which I didn’t really mind as it meant we could fit all these courses in – but it is something to note if you like your plate heaped high with food. For dessert I thought I would plant another nail in the gluten coffin and try another chocolate fondant. After the disappointment of my previous fondant experience at Jezabelle’s I was determined to chase that experience for one last time while I could. Alas this fondant had no gooey centre either but I still managed to demolish the lot so can’t have been that bad! The boy is obsessed by anything that screams ice-cream, he is not really a dessert kind of guy so I wasn’t surprised to see him order the gelati…ho hum boring!

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Gelati

Overall we had an enjoyable night but I’m surely paying for it today tenfold. Suffice to say I won’t be overdosing on gluten and having Italian again in a hurry, but if I did I wouldn’t hesitate to return to Modo Mio to give another pasta dish a go……..

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Modo Mio" Italian "Burswood Casino" "Victoria Park" Burswood "chocolate fondant" dessert

Chocolate fondant

Service 6/10 Food 8.8/10 Venue 9/10

Modo Mio Cucina Italiana
Burswood Entertainment Complex, Great Eastern Hwy, Burswood, 6100 | (08) 9362 7551 | http://www.burswood.com.au/Restaurants/Modo-Mio/
 

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