The Malaya Restaurant: Good Food Month Let's Do Lunch, King Street Wharf, Sydney (27 Oct 2016)

39 Lime Street, King Street Wharf, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.themalaya.com.au
https://www.instagram.com/themalayarestaurant/

Let's Do Malaysian Lunch

Dined with three work colleagues for a birthday lunch and we were all very happy with the Let's Do Lunch shared menu ($38) at The Malaya. Salt & Pepper Prawns were an immediate crowd pleaser served up first. Nice thin batter and decent sized prawns. Chicken San Choy Bow was tasty with nicely presented lettuce cups. Kapitan King Prawns came with a decent amount of sauce to help flavour your bowl of steamed rice. The Szechuan Eggplant had a good crispy coating in a tasty sauce. Even though you can get a bottle of Yalumba The Y Series 2015 Riesling for under $10 at a bottle shop we all liked our glass of wine very much and it went well with the meal. Coffee wasn't included with their Let's Do Lunch even though many other restaurants were including a coffee. Pleasant water views and efficient service. Was a pretty popular place ranging from couples to large table groups. We thought it was pretty good value for the variety of dishes you got to sample. There was even some reasonably priced desserts on offer but we opted to save ourselves from the calories and seek our sugar hit from the Pink Ribbon Day afternoon tea back at work.

glass brasserie: Crave Let's Do Lunch, CBD Sydney (23 Oct 2012)

2/488 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au

Steaking out a craving

After spotting the oysters at the kitchen pass during a Salute Peru event with Chef Ricardo Zarate I was tempted to return to try them. It's very rare to find a restaurant that serves oysters with their shell lid. The only other place I've seen in Sydney that did it was the late Quarter Twenty One. It's a sure sign that the oysters have just been shucked to order and for a passionate oyster lover like myself the fresher the better to appreciate the all important oyster brine. The Oysters ($42 dozen) of the day were Merimbula Sydney Rock and Coffin Bay Pacifics. The oysters were a bit smaller than hoped so it could be due to the season. I preferred the pacifics which were a bit more plump and retained more brine in their deeper shell. The shucked presentation of some of the rock oysters was a bit on the rough side and I found a few oysters with a bit of shell which is always unfortunate. The migonette sauce was done well and very good. I generally order at least 3 oysters to have one natural, one with lemon and another with the mignonette sauce. The very nice complimentary bread was served warm. One of the waiters offered us a second helping but never returned which was a shame.

Crave's Let's Do Lunch in October provides a perfect opportunity to sample a dish with wine and a coffee at a reasonable price making it generally good value. The Spiced Rangers Valley flank with carrot cumin puree, mustard leaf, Madeira jus ($38) was enjoyable with tender and flavoursome meat. Cooked medium as per the kitchen recommendation. The elements on the plate worked nicely together and went very well with the 2010 Brown Brothers Tempranillo King Valley & Heathcote Vic which was smooth on the palate. As an extra treat to celebrate my friends birthday we tried the Selection of sorbets ($14) which was very good. We liked the lemon probably the best and then the coconut. The cherry was also very flavoursome. My Chocolate, ruby grapefruit & blood orange, candied ginger, salted chocolate sorbet ($20) had a nice combination of flavours. The grapefruit and blood orange helped to cut through the rich chocolate. I'm thankful to our friendly and polite waitress Alex for reminding us that coffee was included with the deal. The Green Tea and Hot Chocolate were both good.

Other visits to glass brasserie:

• 23 Oct 2012 - Let's Do Lunch, Oysters, Dessert

• 11 May 2012 - Hilton introduces new breakfast menu
• 5 Feb 2012 - $20 Corporate Lunch Deals

• 31 Oct 2010 - Let's Do Lunch

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor and ambience, Friendly and polite service (Alex), Quality ingredients, Let's Do Lunch deal can be good value considering it includes wine and coffee

CONS: A la carte menu can be quite expensive, Oysters on the small side at the moment and shuck presentation on some a bit rough

MUST TRY: Returning to try other dishes on the menu
VERDICT: Let's Do Lunch at glass brasserie is good value considering you get a quality dish with wine, bread and coffee in a nice restaurant setting with friendly service

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Complimentary bread - served warm and very good although when offered more it never arrived so service must have forgotten

2010 Brown Brothers Tempranillo King Valley & Heathcote Vic - very good, smooth, nice on the palate, not too much tannin, easy to drink
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Oysters ($42 dozen) Merimbula Sydney Rock, Coffin Bay Pacifics (preferred) - shucked to order and presented with shell lid. They were good but was hoping they were going to be a bit more plump in size

Merimbula Sydney Rock Oysters — brine retained but a few a bit roughed up

Coffin Bay Pacific Oysters — brine retained although on the smallish side

Excellent mignonette sauce

Spiced Rangers Valley flank with carrot cumin puree, mustard leaf, Madeira jus ($38 inc wine and coffee) - tender meat, nice flavour, no gristle found
WORTH TRYING :-)

Selection of sorbets ($14) — coconut was good, cherry was flavoursome, lemon was very good and my favourite
WORTH TRYING :-)

Chocolate, ruby grapefruit & blood orange, candied ginger, salted chocolate sorbet ($20) — flavours worked nicely together, grapefruit and blood orange helped cut through the rich chocolate
WORTH TRYING :-)

Green Tea and Hot Chocolate included in meal deal — both good

Nice decor and no shortage of business lunches

Sides menu — French fries is always tempting

Let's Do Lunch $38 including beverage and coffee

Oyster menu

Dessert menu

Bill $152 for two

These signature dishes look like they're worth coming back for to try

'Please tell us what you really think' — I certainly will

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Est: SIFF Let's Do Lunch, CBD Sydney (17 Oct 2011)

Establishment Hotel

Level 1, 252 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.merivale.com/#/establishment/est

Fine dining on a budget

On most given days you'd be hard pressed to get through the doors of the 3 hatted est for less than $100 considering entrees are around $35, mains $55 and desserts $28. That's why est is always on my wish list during Let's Do Lunch where you can score a main for only $38 which includes a glass of wine and coffee plus the added bonus of some lovely bread to start amongst a nice dining room and professional service. This years Barramundi, asparagus, green beans and peas, succory, almonds ($38 inc wine and coffee) was nicely presented with a crispy skin as hoped. The asparagus were properly prepared so they were non-stringy. Flavours all seemed to work together well. If you're particularly hungry it's always good to order a side or two to share which aren't too expensive. The Mash ($12) was buttery smooth and I'd hate to imagine how much butter was actually used. The Rocket, cucumber, cracker bread, goats feta and mint salad ($14) was very fresh and I really enjoyed the type of rocket that was used. I wasn't too sure about the use of cracker bread but the goats feta was delicious and a few more cucumber pieces would have been appreciated.

While waiting for the mains our table of five was generously treated to a few beautifully presented entrees courtesy of Frank Roberts (Merivale Group Restaurant Manager). For those who can afford $40 entrees you'll probably appreciate the flavours and freshness of these dishes. Visually you can see why this is a 3 hatted restaurant. The Sashimi of ocean trout ($38) was fresh tasting and the use of tasmanian wasabi gave a nice depth to the dish. I enjoyed the use of quinoa in the Salad of spanner crab ($40) and the horseradish gave it a nice palate kick. The Italian buffalo mozzarella ($37) had an interesting combination of flavours that worked well together although I couldn't identify what the larger black bark-looking bits were in the dish. I'm usually tempted to share a dessert but time was getting on to get back to work. Thankfully Petit fours (not sure if this is included with Let's Do Lunch) came with my well-balanced Mocha that provided a satisfying sugar hit. The signature est double choc petit four was my favourite.

Other visits to est.:

• 17 Oct 2011 - Let's Do Lunch: Barramundi with asparagus, Sashimi of ocean trout, Salad of spanner crab, Italian buffalo mozzarella

• 5 Oct 2010 - Let's Do Lunch: Pan Roasted Salmon

• 12 Mar 2010 - March Into Merivale: Oysters, Scallops, Veal Parmgiana, Corn Fed Chicken, Mesclun Salad

• 30 June 2009 - Winter Feast: Scallop linguine, Barramundi, Lamb rump, Chips, Cheesecake, Slow poached quince

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor, Professional service where dishes are presented at the same time at the table, Quality ingredients, Side dishes aren't too expensive to help compliment the main

CONS: No entree or dessert specials as part of Let's Do Lunch, Very expensive normal menu so it's best not to think about how much you're paying if you want to relax and enjoy yourself, Service became a little absent towards the end of late lunch

MUST TRY: Let's Do Lunch if you can get a booking, Petit fours as a cheap dessert alternative

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Menu cover — let's dine!

Nice cutlery that stands up and flower setting

Sourdough bread

Sashimi of ocean trout, tasmanian wasabi, avocado, apple cucumber, aloe vera ($38 — compliments of restaurant)

Salad of spanner crab, quinoa, pink grapefruit, witlof, horseradish, sorrel, chardonnay vinegar ($40 — compliments of restaurant)

Italian buffalo mozzarella, shaved fennel, artichokes, iberico jamon, broad beans, black olive powder ($37 — compliments of restaurant)

Barramundi, asparagus, green beans and peas, succory, almonds ($38 inc wine and coffee)

Mash ($12)

Rocket, cucumber, cracker bread, goats feta and mint salad ($14)

Petit fours

Mocha

Brown Brothers Chardonnay 2010 — refreshingly quaffable and went nicely with the fish

San Pellegrino Sparkling Mineral Water — nice touch with the side of lime

For some reason I couldn't get use to using the fork because of the heavy weighted shape that made it a little difficult to turn in your fingers

Table cloth cleaner — manual only

Decor and setting — very grand

Now that's my kind of drinks trolley!

Good to see liquid hand soap is the standard now in the toilets and not a cake of soap

Promotional flyers for Melbourne Cup Day lunches — est with a glass of Dom Pérignon and 3 courses sounds good to me if I had the money

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