03 February 2010

MUMU Grill: Boutique Beer Tasting Dinner, Crows Nest (3 Feb 2010)

70 Alexander Street, Crows Nest NSW 2065
http://www.mumugrill.com.au


A passion for grass-fed beef

Thank you to Chef Craig (pictured) from MuMu Grill for inviting me along to be part of his tasting focus group in the new private dining room for the Beer Tasting Dinners coming soon which I think should be more appropriately named as 'Boutique Beer Tasting Dinners'. For lovers of good quality beer you'll be impressed with the depth of knowledge Dan Hampton from Beer Snobs will share with you while guiding you through the boutique beers sourced mostly from Australia which are carefully matched to the dishes prepared by MuMu Grill. There's four appreciation steps I learnt tonight when sampling beer besides opening the bottle and drinking it. 1. Swirl, 2. Notice the colour, clarity and carbonation, 3. Smell it – three times, then finally 4. Taste. We agreed that The Local Taphouse is one of the best places so far in Sydney where you can really enjoy a large range of boutique beers at the moment, also RedOak Boutique Beer Cafe is another one.

Tonight there were two standout dishes I really enjoyed. The Angus Pure T-Bone cooked Tagilatta style slow cooked with rosemary and garlic was excellent with great taste and tenderness of meat. And the Sour Cherry Chocolate Tart with Hazelnut Sorbet was delicious with melt in-your-mouth chocolate and refreshing hazelnut sorbet which matched the caramel and chocolate taste of the Moo Brew Dark Ale. The Braised Cuttlefish and Chorizo was an interesting combination which I thought worked well with the mint and finely shredded red cabbage — the cuttlefish was nice and tender. The simplicity of the Ox Heart Tomato with 18 month Jamon Serrano was also good as a starter — although I poured my matching Murray's Pilsner with too much vigor and ended up with mostly froth, oops!

Other visits to MUMU Grill:
29 Mar 2011 - Porkestra The Encore
22 Sept 2010 - Ribfest (Lamb, Pork and Beef ribs)
31 Aug 2010 - Lambageddon Dinner
3 Feb 2010 - Beer Tasting Dinner
15 Aug 2009 - Lunch Express Menu, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Eye Fillet, Zucchini Flowers
30 April 2009 - Take It Slow Wine Dinner, Mr Riggs Wines, Jamon, Saltbush lamb, Double roasted duck, Brown sugar pavlova

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Sustainable produce, Boutique beers appreciation
CONS: Not for vegetarians or those who dislike beer
MUST TRY: Angus Pure T-Bone cooked Tagilatta style slow cooked with rosemary and garlic, Sour cherry chocolate tart with hazelnut sorbet

Tasting Match 1
Grass fed Angus Pure beef tartare on cruets

Moo Brew Hefeweizen, Tasmania

Tasting Match 2
Garden home grown Ox Heart Tomato with 18 month Jamon Serrano on herbed bread

Murray's Pilsner, Port Stephens. Check out the really bad pour by me, WOOH that's a lot of froth — I don't think I'll be pulling beers at a pub too soon ;-)

Tasting Match 3
Sydney Rock Oysters and Pacific Oysters


Marston's Oyster Stout, UK

Tasting Match 4
Slow cooked pork shoulder cooked in beer and sage with baked beans, bacon and topped with lightly battered zucchini


Pigs Fly Pale Ale, Bowral

Tasting Match 5

Angus Pure T-Bone cooked Tagilatta style slow cooked with rosemary and garlic and served with duck fat potatoes
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)


Enterprise Knappstein Brewery Reserve Lager, SA

Tasting Match 6
Braised Cuttlefish and Chorizo


Fish Rock Brewery Red Emperor Amber Ale, Mittagong

Tasting Match 7


Sour cherry chocolate tart with hazelnut sorbet
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)


Moo Brew Dark Ale, Tasmania

The Beer Tour Guide
Dan Hampton from Beer Snobs

The Private Dining Room
Social Media pre dinner drinks

Chef Craig welcoming guests to the private dining table

Wood-fired oven in private dining area

Chef Craig providing information about grass-fed beef

View to a room


View Larger Map
Mumu Grill on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

Looked like a fantastic evening! And that's from me who doesn't drink beer.

Krissy @ The Food Addicts said...

that is so awesome that you got to be a part of this event! those oysters look so delicious. i am totally craving them!

Simon Leong said...

hi joey, i think you might enjoy boutique beers than normal beers unless your allergic to them. they are more refined in taste :-)

hi krissy, i'm a huge fan of oysters too. it actually matched the beer quite well too. :-)

Sarah Winehouse said...

Awesome! Looking forward to their DuckFest too!!! :)

Simon Leong said...

hi sarah, i've never had a duckfest but it sounds like a great one to try :-)

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