440 Rocky Point Road, Sans Souci NSW 2219
Tuesday - Saturday, 7 pm - Midnight, Tel: (02) 9529 5444
http://www.lebreux.com.au/chezpascal
Tuesday - Saturday, 7 pm - Midnight, Tel: (02) 9529 5444
http://www.lebreux.com.au/chezpascal
Filled up on French Fat
Dear Readers, sorry for the delay in posts but I've been recovering from an overdose of self-induced French cuisine aka 'Fat' from this cosy French themed restaurant. I've been wanting to try this place for a while and a friends birthday dinner of 12 gave me the opportunity to try. I prechecked Eatability and discovered many contrasting love/hate reviews of the food and service so I wasn't expecting too much.
Sitting with the largest group in the restaurant certainly made me feel part of a large French family experience as we started with real champagne and enjoyed our French damper with garlic butter. The young service was friendly enough and when they loudly announced the specials menu at our table my mind went completely blank when trying to choose from all the amazing French sounding dishes on offer. I finally chose two specials, the Gratin de Crabe Lorentine which ended up being very rich for me but at least I could slightly taste the crab throughout it and the Côte de Boeuf Sauce Diane which I really enjoyed, the meat was juicy and tender with it's tasty sauce.
You could definitely see a lot of oil in some of the dishes ordered, especially the Salade de St Jacques which unfortunately sat in a pool of oil. The Suprême de Poulet au Basilic Crème Fleurette was reportedly a bit dry and the side vegetables like mine looked a bit rustically dry and sad. The diners who ordered the Joue de Boeuf and Venison were happy with their tasty tender choices. For dessert I had to try the crêpe Normande which states 'will not be served with cream or ice cream'. It looked fantastic but we suspected it was a bit overcooked for us because it had a slightly burnt taste to it. It's a shame no complimentary baguette bread is served to mop up the sauces and green salad to cleanse the palette as I believe is tradition in France.
After 10 minutes driving home from the restaurant I had to make a critical emergency stop in the Novotel Hotel. I suspected food poisoning but no one else got sick that night so I think I've discovered my stomach is highly sensitive to large amounts of oily food combined with alcohol :-(. I actually hope to visit again with two real French men from Normandy (I'm not kidding) to see what they think of Chef Philippe's dishes and it's authenticity who by the way is actually from Mauritius.
Do you have a favourite French restaurant in Sydney?
Other French restaurants visited:
• Tabou - Surry Hills, 27 June 2010
• Sel e Poirve - Darlinghurst, 1 Dec 2009
• Tabou - Surry Hills, 9 Oct 2009
• Onde - Darlinghurst, 25 Sept 2009
• Chez Pascale Cuisine Francaise - Sans Souci, 8 July 2009
Starters
Champagne to start from the birthday host
My d'Arenberg 2003 The Footbolt Shiraz and decanter
Entree
Gratin de Crabe Lorentine $24.50
Coquilles St Jacques à ma façon: Tasmanian scallops cooked in olive & leeks $18.50
Foie Gras Sauce au Truffle $26 (includes Aperitif)
Salade de St Jacques $23.50
Champignon au Crevettes $23.50
Palette cleanser
Sorbet palette cleaner served after entree and before mains. Paul Bocuse is a famous French chef.
Mains
Faux-filet de Boeuf à la Bourguignonne: Scotch fillet cooked in red wine, mushrooms, onion & bacon $21.50
Coq au Vin $19.50
Côte de boeuf Sauce Diane $29.50 (cooked medium rare)
Suprême de Poulet au Basilic Crème Fleurette: Chicken breast cooked in olive oil with basil & cream $19.50
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Joue de Boeuf (Chef's Best) $17.50
Chocolate truffles with the coffees
Berries Lavender Anglaise $14
Crème Caramel $9.50
Crêpe Normande: Caramelised apple pancake with Calvados apple brandy $14.50
Chef note: This crêpe is a gastronomic delight from Normandy and so as not to ruin the tradition or experience, it will not be served with cream or ice cream! FORGET IT!
Chef note: This crêpe is a gastronomic delight from Normandy and so as not to ruin the tradition or experience, it will not be served with cream or ice cream! FORGET IT!
I managed to dip my crêpe in anglaise ;-)
Entree and main specials menu
Dessert menu
10 comments:
Ah yes French food is so creamy but so good too! I admit I hvaen't really ventured much to Sans Souci though.
Oh dear, always upsetting when the guts don't behave after a good meal, the food looks really rich though!
People keep recommending Chez Pascal whenever I mention French cuisine, but it's a bit out of the way for me to try unfortunately. It does look intensely rich, your poor stomach!
Sacrebleu! Sorry to hear you had the merde's on the way home! I'm the same after Eggs Benedict, love them as I do, there is always a price afterwards!
Fav french place would be Sel et Poivre in Darlinghurst - though that place looks pretty good too!
Oh my goodness, I feel like I put on 10kg just reading your blog! It looks delicious but so rich!
I will put my neck out and say that to take Chez Pascal to be quintessentially French would be like saying sweet and sour pork and lemon chicken is truly representative of Chinese cuisine. Or Kylie Kwong as the the definitive Chinese chef. Or those dolts on Masterchef declaring stir fry to be the basis of all Chinese cooking techniques. Personally, I'd go with Laif Etournard at Onde or perhaps Tabou (Crown St, Surry Hills) or even La Grande Bouffe for more accurate cross section of la cuisine française contemporaine. Just my deux francs worth!
Gobsmack'd
Hi Lorraine, beware of the creaminess
Hi YaYa, very rich indeed
Hi Stephcookie, there's possibly better places towards the city i keep hearing
Hi Kyle, it's a shame the stomach can't keep up with the taste buds
Hi Mel, thanks for the recommendation, will keep an eye out for it
Hi Gummi Baby, I think I gained weight for sure
Hi Gobsmack'd, I like your analogy and think you might be right. I've enjoyed Tabou much more and it's one of my favourite French restaurants I've visited so far. Onde has been recommended to me by a few people now so it's on my list and have heard of La Grande Bouffe so will add as well. thanks for the suggestions and feedback.
The French colonised Mauritius. The Franco-Mauritians kept their heritage still today. Mr Philippe Lebreux as you can see from his name is French with a Mauritian nationality.
The proof of the pudding is not in the eating but how you feel after you've eaten. Your tummy told you. French food is not necessarily oily. This chef uses pre-prepared sauces Ive been told and adds more oil
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