Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining: Molecular Cocktails, CBD Sydney (19 Oct 2012)

82-88 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.rabbitholebar.com.au

Cocktail & dining wonderland

“Cocktails at the Rabbit Hole are a culinary and alcoholic institution. Extensive research and a genuine passion for flavours and textures on the palate have resulted in a list that captures the imagination and caters to the most discerning of taste. We have created a vast array of house made syrups, spice mixes, flavoured sugars and only use the freshest produce.”

Thanks to Georgie Dodds from Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining for inviting me to sample a few cocktails and dishes. I fondly remember it used to be Bar Europa and how things have changed. You won't just find your usual selection of beers, wines and spirits behind the bar but a creative menu of molecular style cocktails designed by Doug Laming who was an AHA Bartender of the Year finalist in 2011. His passion and skill level is quickly evident as I watch him make the New + Old School Sparkling Cocktail ($18). Spherified Cointreau Caviar are made to order adding a lethal extra kick with Remy Martin VSOP and Jansz NV. A couple of these will soon help make you forget about your tough office day and put you in gear for a fun night. The Jellied G&T ($11) is made with Hendricks gin and served on a cucumber slice with a rose crystal. Enjoyable but less cucumber skin would have been my preference and the one mouth wonder comes at a price that's quickly consumed. Everyone loves their grandma and a Boozy Grandma ($16) is even better. Sophisticated flavour, easy to drink and noticeable alcohol content makes it a favourite. Tea Smoked Apple ($18) made with Laphroig scotch is an acquired taste with its peaty overtones. You'll either love it or not. I quite enjoyed the The White Cloud above Mt Gay ($18) not only for the double pour of Mt Gay XO but its pineapple caramel and marshmallow foam makes it more of a dessert. To experience a few techniques the Texture Taster ($21) will be your best friend. Caffeine addicts will enjoy the coffee hit in The Babycino ($11). I thought the side of toffee should be just a bit thinner to best avoid any dental accidents.

Executive Chef Tomoyuki Usui shows off his creative flair in the menu with nice dish presentation and some flavour challenges thrown in for the palate. The Seared scallops, celeriac two ways & buckwheat ($16) are nicely cooked although I'm not a fan of tiles as plates. They present well but unfortunately make a terrible chalkboard scrapping when you use a knife. The egg is perfectly cooked to mix amongst the Tiede wagyu tartare, onsen egg & truffle meringue ($14). I would have liked more seasoning and ingredients though in the tartare and generally prefer firmer crackers to spoon the tartare on like the one at Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse. The Caramelized Bass Groper, burnt butter, anchovies & almond ($28) was my favourite dish of the day. Fish cooked just right and flavour combo working well. I was surprised the passion fruit worked quite nicely with the Sous vide chicken breast, roast thigh, potato three ways & passion fruit ($25). Meat was tender and would have loved more of its crisp skin which was so good. The Melon, crisp pancetta, cognac ice cream & botrytis gelee ($15) was a challenge for me. I enjoyed the sweet components but struggled to appreciate the crisp pancetta — perhaps others will see the light. Strawberry mousse, compote, pink pepper & pistachio ($13) added some mystery and fun to crack the surface to reveal the enjoyable flavours underneath.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Quality cocktails with a difference, Interesting menu, Nice decor, Cocktails and dishes well-presented, White Rabbit beer on tap

CONS: Making special cocktails can take a while, A bar like this would suit Surry Hills and Darlinghurst but might be a challenge to attract the schooner drinking city crowd, Menu could be a little too creative for those just wanting a beer and bowl of wedges

MUST TRY: Boozy Grandma
VERDICT: A place to discover cocktails with a difference and deconstructed dishes which still retain some familiarity of what you'd expect to taste with not too many elements on the plate which might leave your palate otherwise confused.

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New + Old School Sparkling Cocktail ($18) 
"What, a lava lamp? NO! It’s a sparkling cocktail. Spherified Cointreau Caviar float through the bubbles of the glass while Remy Martin VSOP, orange bitters and demerara syrup highlight the Jansz NV."
WORTH TRYING :-)

Jellied G&T ($11)
"Eben Freeman of NYC created the original recipe for this. We use Hendricks gin to elevate this recipe and serve it on a cucumber slice with a rose crystal. Take a bite and let this solid alcohol fizz on your tongue like its original namesake."

Boozy Grandma ($16)
"Ode to our Grandmother’s rum balls. We have recreated this with MT Gay XO rum infused with muscatels, cooked SousVide, stirred down with Fee Brother’s Xocolate bitters, Joseph Cartron white crème de cacao, vanilla syrup, Fee Brother’s Creole bitters and lime."
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Tea Smoked Apple ($18)
"Laphroig scotch and Joseph Cartron pomme verte is shaken with house-made Ceylon tea infused cinnamon syrup, Fee Brother’s rhubarb bitters and cloudy apple juice. This cocktail is carbonated with fresh cider and the lightest dusting of smoked salt finishes it off."

The White Cloud above Mt Gay ($18)
"A double pour of Mt Gay XO is showcased in this cocktail by highlighting the subtle flavours of this rum. It is shaken with a house-made black pepper and pineapple caramel, fresh lime and pineapple. It is poured through marshmallow foam to let the drink take on this flavour and give the drink the white cloud on the top. Some toasted coconut tops this off."
WORTH TRYING :-)

Texture Taster ($21) — mini caprioska foam

Texture Taster ($21) — lava lamp containing spherified Cointreau Caviar and Pama Pearls

Texture Taster ($21) — alcoholic lemon jelly

Texture Taster ($21) — mini caprioska foam

"A Rabbit Hole Bar sampler of some of the techniques we use. Enjoy the alcoholic lemon jelly, savour the mini caprioska foam and sip on your lava lamp containing spherified Cointreau Caviar and Pama Pearls."

The Babycino ($11)
"Mozart Clear is infused with coffee beans cooked Sous Vide. Joseph Cartron crème de cacao is added and topped with house-made maple foam. A dusting of chocolate powder and it’s all yours."

Seared scallops, celeriac two ways & buckwheat ($16) — nicely cooked scallops although not a fan of the tiles which grates when using a knife on them

Tiede wagyu tartare, onsen egg & truffle meringue ($14) — egg very good but would have loved more seasoning with the tartare and firmer crackers to put the tartare on top to eat together

Caramelized Bass Groper, burnt butter, anchovies & almond ($28) — fish cooked nicely, flavours work well on plate, nice presentation 
WORTH TRYING :-)

Sous vide chicken breast, roast thigh, potato three ways & passion fruit ($25) — tender meat, flavours work well on plate, passion fruit surprisingly seems to work

Melon, crisp pancetta, cognac ice cream & botrytis gelee ($15) — was a challenge for me to appreciate the crisp pancetta in the dessert and would have preferred without

Strawberry mousse, compote, pink pepper & pistachio ($13) — interesting presentation, enjoyable flavours

Table water poured out of Cointreau bottles

Executive Chef Tomoyuki Usui and Licensee-owner-cocktail guru Doug Laming AHA Bartender of the Year 2011 finalist

Front bar area

Back bar area

Clean toilet but unfortunate placement of hand paper towels between urinal and cubicle rather than conveniently located closer to sink

Decorative table supports like this can look nice but I find them ergonomically awkward for resting my feet comfortably

Down the rabbit hole literally

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Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse: Singapore Chilli Crab, Woolloomooloo (4 Dec 2010)

Restaurant 10/6, Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011
http://www.kingsleys.com.au

Eating crab is a messy business

Using a $200 gift voucher I received from the Pacific Restaurant Group for helping out at a Managers Creative Day on 23 August 2010 comes in handy for a family lunch at Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse. The weekend special of a glass of Louis Roederer NV ($17) seems a nice way to start although its elegance is soon overshadowed by how messy the complimentary crusty bread was to cut leaving exploding crumbs all over the table — I’m suspecting this is why many restaurants serve it pre sliced. A good selection of table pleasing entrees included a nicely presented Yellow fin tuna sashimi, nicely flavoured Hervey Bay scallop on half shell ($5.50 each) and the Steak tartare ($17.90) which I’d previously enjoyed with surprise. My mum was against trying the raw meat assuming she’d hate it but after much coaxing finally tried a tiny bit and announced she actually didn’t mind it and thought it was quite nice. A reasonably priced 2010 Totara Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough ($34) seemed good value at such a nice water view restaurant. The Alaskan King Crab legs ($59.90 600g) was on my must have order which possessed decent chunks of sweet crab meat easily accessed through its softish shell.

For mains an Aged rump 120 day grain-fed, Riverine Premium Beef ($26.90 300g) of marble score 2+ was sliced up for easy sharing and cooked nicely to our medium-rare request. Similar to Mad Cow steaks seem to be served as is with no sides — quality meat but at a price. The main drawcard for the visit was to try the QLD Mud crab in Singapore Chilli sauce ($69.50 1-1.2kg) which is at a set price so you know what you’ll be hit up for. My brother refuses to eat crab these days because it’s so messy and involves a frustrating amount of time in finding the meat with usually little gain. The rest of the family still persevere in enjoying the chilli sauce which isn’t too hot and full of flavour with some decent chunks of meat to be found. Unfortunately we were also left with very messy hands that lingered with crab smell well after the meal — one of the downsides of crab eating.

For sides the Steakhouse chips ($6.90) included some ridiculously sized pieces which went nicely dipped into the crab chilli sauce. The Caesar salad, anchovy, sourdough croutons ($9.90) had a nice dressing although I missed having some bacon and egg in it. For a really well flavoured dressing I’m a big fan of the Iceberg salad, radish and blue cheese ($11.90). Most of the sides seemed quite reasonably priced including the Green beans, almonds ($7.90) and Kipflers, spinach and chorizo ($9.90). For a cheap lunch I reckon just ordering all the sides to share like tapas would do the trick. Mocha ($4.50), Cappuccino ($4.50) and Long Black ($4.50) weren’t too bitter and we ended on a sweet note of Cheesecake ($13.90) which I would have preferred more base and a warmly served Butterscotch Pudding ($13.90) which was more to my liking that came with a decent amount of ice cream on top.

Other visits to Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse:
• 17 Aug 2011 – Grasslands Launch

• 4 Dec 2010 - Alaskan King Crab, Singapore Chilli Crab, Iceberg Salad, Aged Rump, Caesar Salad, Butterscotch Pudding

• 9 Nov 2010 - Bloggers Dinner: Alaksan King Crab, Steak Tartare, Baby Octopus, Beef Wellington, Burrata Mozzarella Salad, Iceberg Salad, Creme Brulee

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Water views, Quality ingredients, Nicely presented dishes, Nice decor, Set price for Mud Crab

CONS: Surcharge fee for use of credit card, Depending on what you order could be considered expensive, Crusty bread was very messy to cut

MUST TRY: Yellow fin tuna sashimi, Hervey Bay Scallops, Steak Tartare, Alaskan King Crab, Iceberg salad

WORTH TRYING: Singapore Chilli Crab if you don't mind the mess

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Louis Roederer NV ($17)

Complimentary bread — although was very crunchy and messy to cut

Yellow fin tuna sashimi with daikon and apple ($20.90)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Hervey Bay scallop on half shell ($5.50 each)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Steak tartare with truffle aioli and sourdough crostini ($17.90)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

2010 Totara Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough ($34)

Alaskan King Crab legs served chilled ($59.90 600g)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Aged rump 120 day grain-fed, Riverine Premium Beef marble score 2+ ($26.90 300g)

QLD Mud crab in Singapore Chilli sauce ($69.50 1-1.2kg)

Steakhouse chips ($6.90) — look at the size of this chip!

Caesar salad, anchovy, sourdough croutons ($9.90) — although can you really have a caesar salad without bacon and egg?

Iceberg salad, radish and blue cheese ($11.90)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Green beans, almonds ($7.90)

Kipflers, spinach and chorizo ($9.90)

Mocha ($4.50)

Cappuccino ($4.50)

Long Black ($4.50) — with a requested side of milk

Cheesecake ($13.90)

Butterscotch Pudding ($13.90)

Bill for 5 people $370.30 minus $200 voucher = $170.30

Messy hands from eating crab

Weekend drink special menu

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