Simon Food Favourites: 3 Hatted Restaurant

Showing posts with label 3 Hatted Restaurant. Show all posts

28 September 2012

est. Moët & Henschke with Lunch Promotion, CBD Sydney (3 Aug 2012)

Level 1, 252 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://merivale.com.au

Fine dining with free wining

est. is one of those three hatted restaurants that seems very expensive unless you’re very rich. Entrees are nearly $40, mains hover around the mid $50 and desserts are all set at $28 but with a ‘Moët & Henschke with Lunch’ special promotion during August I thought it was a great opportunity to hit the a la carte menu. If you ordered two courses at $90 you’d receive two bottles of wine for free but the three courses at $110 with three bottles of wine included sounded like much better value and it was. My ordering strategy was to pick the most expensive dishes which came to $127 which meant I saved already $17. At first I thought we had the choose between Moët or Henschke but was informed during ordering we had a menu of 22 wines to choose from which was fantastic. With a hasty scan of the normal wine menu I applied the same ordering strategy of trying to choose the most expensive wines and ordered the N.V. Moët & Chandon ‘Brut Impérial’ ($145), 2009 Stonier ‘Reserve’ Chardonnay ($95) and 2008 Moulin De La Lagune Cabernet Blend Haut-Médoc ($130). These would have cost $370 but because of the promotion we got them for free — awesomeness. And they were really nice wines, especially the Cabernet Blend.

For entrée I ordered the Salad of spanner crab ($40) which had nice flavours that worked well together but had dish envy when I saw the Moreton Bay bug ($39) which I’d go for in hindsight. The Grilled white scallops ($39) was surprisingly quite a generous serving which I probably would have preferred as well. I was very happy with my main of Rangers valley angus beef fillet ($59) which was tender with good flavour. One of the diners thought it was ‘possibly the best steak they’d ever had’. It was very good although Fix St James also comes to mind for quality steaks as well. The Duck breast ($55) was nicely cooked with crisp skin, a decent portion size and a dish many thought they’d be happy to order next time. Serving sizes were quite generous overall but we managed to find our dessert stomach to push on for a sweet ending. All desserts were nicely presented and it was hard to pick a favourite. They all had dish components that we enjoyed so I’d recommend go with the one that appeals the most to you. Service was professional yet welcoming and down-to-earth. There was one time when we had to prompt service for our red wine with the mains but was no drama. The dining experience was well worth it with the promotion savings.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nicely presented dishes, Quality ingredients and wines, Professional service including table dishes all served at the same time, Nice decor and ambience

CONS: You need to allow at least 2 hrs for a long lunch, Not a fan of the table supports which aren't an issue on the larger round tables near the front windows, Very expensive but promotional deal made it great value

MUST TRY: Moreton Bay bug, Rangers valley angus beef fillet, 2008 moulin de la lagune cabernet blend haut-médoc
VERDICT: Having three bottles of wine included for free made the dining experience very good value considering the quality of dishes, ambience and service — I'd be tempted to go again if repeated

—

n.v. moët & chandon ‘brut impérial’, épernay - france ($145, complimentary with deal)

2009 stonier ‘reserve’ chardonnay, mornington peninsula - victoria ($95, complimentary with deal)

WORTH TRYING :-)

2008 moulin de la lagune cabernet blend haut-médoc, bordeaux – france ($130, complimentary with deal)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Selection of promotion wines to choose from — my strategy was just to pick the most expensive ones which ended up being $370 worth

Complimentary bread

Grilled white scallops, pickled pear, winter purslane, foie gras, pedro ximenez - lentil vinaigrette ($39 + extra $10 4g truffle shavings on top)

Moreton Bay bug, cavolo nero, green peas, mini radish, young turnips, bonito flakes ($39)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Salad of spanner crab, jicama, lime, apple jelly, elderflower ajo blanco ($40)

Duck breast, grilled treviso, slow poached quince, duck jamon, fresh walnuts, crisp polenta ($55)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Braised beef cheek, dijon mustard spätzle, fresh peas, trompettes de mort ($56 + extra $10 for truffle butter)

Rangers valley angus beef fillet, young leeks, bone marrow, morel mushrooms, nettle puree ($59)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

That's one serious looking steak knife

Seasonal vegetables ($12)

Caramel poached pear, fennel, toasted hazelnuts, white coffee ice cream ($28)

Valrhona chocolate delice, confit orange puree, almond praline, yuzu ice cream ($28)

Pave of granny smith apples, vanilla cheesecake, rose – earl grey ice cream ($28)

Passionfruit souffle, passionfruit sorbet (20 minutes) ($28)

Petit fours — the est chocolate branded one is my favourite

Take away box available for bread if you simply can't let it go to waste

Bill $562 for five (4 diners x 3 courses, 1 diner x 2 courses) which included $370 worth of wine as part of the promotion

Shavings of truffle available

Nice decor and ambience

I wonder if they'd notice if I 'borrowed' one of these?

3 hats all the way

I was here — reflection shot of self

You know how I love these sort of table supports — NOT!

View Larger Map

08 May 2012

Marque Restaurant: Friday Prix Fixe 3 course lunch menu $45, Surry Hills (4 May 2012)

4/5 355 Crown Street Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.marquerestaurant.com.au

Hitting the Marque for lunch

Thanks to Richard Elliot for organising a catch up lunch with two other friends at Marque for their Prix Fixe 3 course menu ($45) which is only served for Friday lunch. It included an amuse-bouche and post-dessert plus housemade bread making it perhaps one of the best lunch deals in a 3 hatted restaurant. I was fearing the service would be a bit stiff but thankfully they came across as friendly and welcoming while still being professional with a good knowledge of the dishes being served. Seating was comfortable and the ambient music relaxing and appropriate. On the menu the restaurant prewarns you they've installed a chilled, filtered, carbonated water system and to support this initiative $5 per person will be added to every bill. I thought this was a bit rich since plain old Sydney tap water is available for free at most if not all other restaurants in Sydney including 3 hatted restaurants but luck would have it due to a machine breakdown table water was free on this visit. The wine menu isn't cheap but Richard generously bought a bottle of 2009 Bourgogne Blanc Domaine Roulot ($114). Complimentary Housemade sourdough was good with the Coopers Pale Ale rye caraway bread having a bit more taste than the plain — I enjoyed both.

First served was an amuse-bouche of Black olive mousse with mandarin granita and juniper salt which I struggled to like. I liked the granita and the olive mousse on their own but not together although others at the table did enjoy. Perhaps the olive taste was meant to help lead the taste buds into the entree? The entree of Fried mussels with barigoule, tomato & mussel custard had great flavours making it a favourite for me. The shavings of their housemade kalamata olive truffle sprinkled over the dish was very good. Celery shavings was a clever technique I hope to use at home one day, maybe for a salad. I enjoyed the tender meat and flavoursome greens in the main of Veal rump with buttermilk, chocolate & lettuce although I could have perhaps done without the flavourless wafers of crispy burnt milk on top. I feared the chocolate would overpower the dish but thankfully was quite subtle mixed in the jus. For dessert the Jasmine with hazelnuts & new season apples had nice flavours and I really enjoyed the jasmine ice cream but I tend to find deconstructed dishes quite awkward to eat when you have to try and get a bit of everything on your spoon to taste it together. The meal finished with a Sauternes custard with bitter caramel which was very smooth and delicious — more please, and I'd love to know how they cut those eggshells so perfectly.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Service was knowledgeable and professional yet still down-to-earth and friendly, Innovative and interesting dishes, Quality ingredients, Nice ambience and seating

CONS: Expensive menu but good value Prix Fixe, Table water is billed $5 per person, Some dishes challenge the palate which might not suit everyones taste, Need to allow time for a long lunch

MUST TRY: Returning to try the degustation menu

—