Zilver Bondi, Westfield Bondi Junction (17 Sept 2016)

Level 6, Westfield Bondi Junction
500 Oxford St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022
http://www.zilverbondi.com.au
https://www.instagram.com/zilverbondi/

Salt & Pepper Lobster Love

When my awesome brother @plus1guest wants to take the family out for a Salt and Pepper Lobster treat it's happy days. But in the true traditional of how my family works it also comes with my dad doing a mini research trip of at least 5 restaurants in advance to check the price of the live lobsters, the state of the tanks and the ease of parking — and I think he sometimes even enquires whether there's a Seniors Discount available just in case. It's also a drawcard if they can do a good crispy shredded beef and we take into account past experiences as well. So after the countless emails, suggestions and change of minds we finally decide on Zilver Bondi.

For our table of five (minus the 2 kids which thankfully are being looked after by a very kind friend) we choose a 2.008 kg Salt and Pepper Lobster ($477.90, $238/kg). We've found 2 kg+ is a good size to provide decent chunks of meat in the tail. They've done us proud here and we're happy. The 2014 Rock Bare The Clare Riesling ($40) seems to have been a good choice to enjoy with the lobster with some nice buttery notes and not being overly sweet. Steamed oysters with soy sauce, ginger, shallots ($8.50 each) are huge. Maybe a little too large as they're bigger than a mouthful to try and eat but flavours were good. We've had the Peking Style Shredded Beef ($24.80) here before and happy again with it. Nice amount of crispy batter without being to thick and a tasty sauce. Stir fried scallops and vegetables with xo sauce ($42.80) have plump scallops in a tasty sauce that goes well with the Zilver special fried rice with crab meat, fried scallop, crab roe and egg ($24.80). We had to get nicely made Steamed BBQ Pork Buns ($8) for the Mrs as this is one of her favourite yum cha dishes. Fruit platter ($18) ended up being served complimentary and we had to get a Deep fried ice cream with caramel sauce ($9.80) for some nostalgic dining.

Eleven Bridge, CBD Sydney (9 Aug 2016)

11 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.rockpool.com/elevenbridge/



New name, same location

“With an emphasis on this country’s finest and most sustainable produce, Executive Chef Phil Wood’s seasonally inspired a la carte menu offers a diverse selection of modern Australian dishes, interspersed with celebrated classics from Rockpool’s rich culinary history. ”

Eleven Bridge now sits where Rockpool Est. 1989 was with an introduced a la carte menu, similar decor and new polished floorboards, and apparently a new kitchen floor as well. Service is polite, formal and professional. French cart service brings a bit of theatre to the table. The complimentary special appetiser of chicken wing in kombu butter topped with caviar is so good if you're lucky to get one and overshadows the amuse-bouche of crisp nori with crab meat. Complimentary sourdough bread served with an addictive kombu butter and light tasting housemade ricotta made just that morning makes for a nice start as you wait for your first dish. 

Sydney Rock Oysters served natural ($4.50) from Merimbula have a nice amount of brine and are presented well on ice with a netted lemon. The tasty side dressing goes really well as an option. I've decided to match with a glass of their featured Nantua by Giaconda Chardonnay 2015 ($25) with lovely flavour and buttery notes. For main the Roast lobster served with various garnishes and congee sauce ($120 market price) is plated table side from a trolley. The local lobster is cooked well with a decent amount of meat for its size. The sauce is tasty although has quite a few 'garnishes' added which goes against the 'less is more' preference for me. Not so keen on the crispy fried bits of bread which probably suits a more traditional congee soup and I think I'd probably be just as happy with a couple less ingredients so the dish focussed more on the tasty sauce base and allowed the lobster meat to shine as the main ingredient. Just before finishing a complimentary leaf salad with palm sugar vinaigrette is served to help cleanse the palate and enjoy with any remaining sauce on the plate.

For dessert the legendary Date tart — original recipe from 1984 ($20) was a must. Rockpool Est. 1989 used to serve small slices as petit fours but now its made its way on the dessert menu. You could probably share but it's light enough to enjoy all to yourself. A selection of four petit fours follows for an extra sugar hit. I probably should have ordered a coffee at this point to help wash it all down. The choux pastry one was so surprisingly light in texture and a favourite. After checking out the nice toilets upstairs (with welcomed privacy screens I should add) I spotted a romantic table for two on the balcony which apparently is table 50, or affectionately known as the Romeo & Juliet table. If you're planning a date night this is the one to ask for in your booking. All in all a very pleasant dining experience and one that leaves me curious to try more of the menu.

Bistro Bruno: Lobsta-Palooza seafood platter, Balmain (4 Feb 2012)

3 Beattie Street, Balmain NSW 2041

http://bistrobruno.com.au

Lobster lovers platter

“Sydney Rock oysters, king prawns, tiger prawns, harbour shrimp, black lip mussels, razor clams, scallops in the half shell, scampi, blue swimmer crab and lobster, reclining on beds of ice, accompanied by tasty and intriguing condiments. ”

I'm a huge lover of quality seafood but that makes me very particular. Its sadly taken me nearly a year to post this review about Bistro Bruno's Lobsta-Palooza seafood platter deal ($55 per person) but thankfully they've launched it again for January 2013 ($59 per person) if you're keen to try. Lobster alone is expensive and this is the main drawcard for trying this seafood platter. It was a decent size and fresh so gets the tick of approval. Lobster legs where fairly easy to extract which is always a good sign. Tiger prawns were pretty large, shelled and deveined ready to eat. King prawns were decent size however flesh and shell was softer than preferred which made the flesh less firm and more mushy after peeling. Scampi had nice flavour although don't provide much meat. The Sydney Rock oysters (Pambula) were freshly shucked and had good flavour although was hoping for more brine. Black lipped mussels were fresh and fairly decent size but a little bit of beard left on some. Blue swimmer crab had nice sweet meat but a challenge to open leaving fingers smelly. Razor clams had a unique texture and flavour although I wasn't a fan to appreciate and would have preferred extra prawns instead. Scallops in half shell seemed to have suffered being a little squashed as shell markings were visible. The Harbour shrimp was my least favourite item and would have preferred without or having them crispy flash fried instead like they do at District Dining. The greenish looking ones didn't look appetising at all and more like fishing bait.

Hand cut chips, saffron aioli ($8.5) were good. Chunky with a nice outer crisp. For dessert we tried the Caramelised Banana parfait, praline, puff pastry ($15) with nice flavours although parfait seemed a little icy so not sure if it was supposed to be. Cappuccino ($4) was decent and Affogato ($8) had nice flavour although hardly any ice cream. Would have preferred at least two scoops served in the large cup to start with. Toilets were clean and functional although no baby change facilities but perhaps it's not the kind of place you might want to bring a baby along as it's a nice dining place. Erez Gordon the owner was friendly and welcoming and sure knows a thing or two about hospitality. There's limited free street parking but check out the free council car park on Beattie Street first for availability. My 10 week old baby daughter was in tow for this visit. We sat on the verandah and thankfully she slept all the way through our dining experience to our amazement — and actually for 12 hours straight for the first time that night. I'm glad I visited because looking at the a la carte menu has made me want to come back and try other things but perhaps without the baby next time.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Friendly and accommodating service, Nice decor, Platter deal seems fairly reasonably priced considering it includes lobster although would tweak a few things to make it even better value

CONS: Could do without the harbour prawns or have them crispy fried, Limited free street parking in the area, Deal only available if seated before 7 pm, Seafood platter sadly doesn't include chips

MUST TRY: Checking out other meal events they have and trying the a la carte menu
VERDICT: I wish Bistro Bruno was closer to home because it seems like a really nice restaurant for a nice meal with friendly service

—

Simon meets Blue Swimmer Crab

Complimentary bread and butter — good

Sydney Rock oysters, king prawns, tiger prawns, harbour shrimp, black lip mussels, razor clams, scallops in the half shell, scampi, blue swimmer crab and lobster ($55 per person, seated between 6-7 pm, minimum two people)

Salt and pepper

Negroni: Campari, Gordons Dry Gin, Cinzano Rosso, soda & ice ($17) — nicely made and didn't skimp on the alcohol
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Dal Zotto Prosecco Pucino NV King Valley Victoria ($8)

Hand cut chips, saffron aioli ($8.5) — cooked well, chunky, decent crisp outer
WORTH TRYING :-) 

Sartori Soave 2010 Veneto Italy ($10), O’Leary Walker Watervale Riesling 2011 Clare Valley South Australia ($9)

Red wine vinaigrette, seafood sauce, chilli mash sauce — needed to ask for small serving spoons

Lobster — decent size and freshness

Lobster legs where fairly easy to keep flesh intact showing evidence of freshness

Tiger prawns — pretty large, shelled and deveined

Sydney Rock oysters (Pambula) — freshly shucked with good flavour although was hoping for more brine

Black lipped mussels — fresh and fairly decent size, a little bit of beard left on some though

Blue swimmer crab — nice sweet meat but a challenge to open and crack leaving fingers smelly

Razor clams — unique texture and flavour although I wasn't a fan to appreciate and would have preferred extra prawns instead or Omega Seafood clams

Scampi — nice flavour although doesn't provide much meat

Harbour shrimp — least favourite and would have preferred crispy flash fried instead like District Dining. The greenish ones didn't look appetising to me.

Scallops in half shell — perhaps a little squashed, could see shell marks indented so they've been stacked

King prawns — decent size although flesh and shell was softer than preferred which made the flesh less firm and more mushy, flavour OK

Caramelised Banana parfait, praline, puff pastry ($15) — nice flavours, parfait was a little icy though

Cappuccino ($4)

Affogato ($8) — nice flavour although hardly any ice cream. Would have preferred at least two scoops already served in large cup and just pour coffee into this

Lobster-palooza menu

10 week old Isabelle thankfully slept through the whole dinner

Bill $189.50 for two

Woolworths and air conditioning unit view on verandah. Air con unit had a bit of a hum so perhaps opt for the other side if you can although it'll be more in direct sunlight.

Verandah seating

Upstairs dining inside

Downstairs dining

Clean and functional toilets although not suited for baby changing

Erez Gordon owner restaurateur

Free council car park on Beattie Street — pity about the graffiti

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