Simon Food Favourites: Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

12 July 2012

The Sydney Cove Oyster Bar: Oysters & Seafood, East Circular Quay, Sydney (11 July 2012)

1 East Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.sydneycoveoysterbar.com

Oysters with a harbour views

On a perfect sunny day it’s hard to beat a dozen Sydney Rock Oysters ($28.50 dozen) shucked to order with uninterrupted views of Sydney Harbour and thankfully the 3 year old Port Stephens oysters retained most of their salty brine. Perhaps their size could have been more consistent but their freshness was evident. The eschalot vinaigrette was maybe a bit overly stark on the palate and didn’t quite have the sophistication of the one I enjoyed at Danks St Depot with their freshly shucked oysters. The 2011 Clare Valley Watervale Riesling SA ($10) was refreshing and young and a quaffable match from the menu. The complimentary bread was served slightly cool which unfortunately had dried it out a bit and didn’t quite have that crunchy crust you’d hope for. I wondered if it had been precut ahead of time and kept in a cool room ready to serve? The Zucchini flowers, filled with crab, ricotta and lemon mayonnaise ($19, 4 pieces) had a fairly thin crunchy batter which was just a bit thicker & slightly chewier in a few spots but still decent. It had noticeable crab meat which was good to see and I thought a bit more ricotta filling would have been nice. The Western Australia scallops, pork belly & caramelised apple puree ($27) was nicely presented with flavours that worked well together although it was quite a pricey dish for three scallops. I’m still a bigger fan of the scallop dish at Bistro Avoca which has lots of great flavours working well on the palate.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Water views, Reasonably priced shucked to order oysters, Service was friendly enough, If you like the sun then grab a spot near the waters edge

CONS: Dining very weather dependent, Sort of small and awkward toilets, Glare from sun so bring your sunglasses

MUST TRY: Oysters

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2011 Clare Valley Wine Co Watervale Riesling SA ($10)

Complimentary bread with olive oil and salt

Sydney Rock Oysters, Port Stephens ($28.50 dozen)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Zucchini flowers, filled with crab, ricotta and lemon mayonnaise ($19, 4 pieces)

Western Australia scallops, pork belly & caramelised apple puree ($27)

The larger of the scallops was maybe just a touch underdone for my liking

Can you really call it a special when it's the same price on the menu?

Wine menu

Bill $84.50 for one

Table support can be awkward for long legs or big feet

Toilets: Think of airline toilets but possibly smaller

Look about and dream you're in the tropics on a nice day

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09 April 2012

Watts on Crown: Bistro and Wine Bar, Surry Hills (8 Apr 2012)

368 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.wattsoncrown.com.au

Watts up on Crown Street

An Easter long weekend lunch catchup brings me to Watts on Crown located where I believe Chilli Alchemy used to be and opposite Xage. It's not quite on the main restaurant strip you'd find further along Crown Street but still seemed to attract a healthy crowd of diners. Our table of eleven was upstairs including two babies on board. There was thankfully enough room for a pram and car capsule although unfortunately no sign of a change table in the unisex toilets — perhaps a wall mounted one could fit. The main attraction for all the diners was the Sunday Roast menu but I was more tempted to try a few smaller dishes. Chicken liver parfait ($12) was decently sized for the price and came with a really nice red onion marmalade. I thought the toast was perhaps a bit too toasted in parts bordering on burnt for my liking but the parfait was smooth and flavoursome parfait. My Scotch egg ($5.50 each) was quite good with nice meat flavour and the mustard mayo was subtle in taste, maybe too subtle. If the egg yolk was more runny like Arras Too Cafe it would have been great — Heston Blumenthal seems to have a recipe answer.

I enjoyed the crisp batter and tasty filling of the Stuffed zucchini flowers ($11, 3 pieces) and wondered if a small spoon for the red wine and shallot vinegar and small fork to pick out the oyster would have been handy for the Freshly shucked oysters ($3.50 each). I ended up getting three oysters when only two were ordered — maybe since one was very small they couldn't charge for it but added it for my benefit. They were quite fresh but very small and flat with little brine and I much preferred the size served at Manta and Felix. Nice touch with char-grilling the lemon to make it sweeter though. I didn't mind the Grilled quail with chorizo, braised peppers and crisp basil ($14) which had tender meat but felt more seasoning would have been benefitted the dish and found the small char-grilled piece of chorizo had lost some of its flavour in the cooking process — more chorizo too please.

Everyone except me ordered the Roast leg of lamb with mushy peas, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and mint gravy ($25) as their main. The lamb was quite good and I really liked the mushy peas and braised red cabbage but would have preferred more outer crisp on the flavoursome roast potatoes. Mint gravy was enjoyable but the handful of UK diners were disappointed with the Yorkshire pudding. They were expecting something more hollow style which they're used to back home allowing it to be filled with gravy. They still were happy to eat it but it wasn't quite what they were hoping for. The Cheese plate ($11 charged although $18 on menu) came with impressively delicate lavosh and I enjoyed the addition of mint in the Eton mess ($11) which worked nicely with rhubarb instead of the traditional strawberries which I assume was due to seasonal availability. As a special Easter treat we received a complimentary plate of Chocolate Easter Eggs and Italian chiacchiere aka Angel Wings which were very crisp and flakey as hoped.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor and cosy atmosphere, Interesting menu seems reasonably priced for the quality, Decent amount of seating upstairs for large group bookings, Service seemed professional and friendly

CONS: Yorkshire pudding wasn't quite what the UK diners were expecting and hoping, Oysters were a bit small for me, Kitchen turnaround of dishes seemed to take a little bit longer than hoped

MUST TRY: Returning to try other menu dishes

BABY ON BOARD: Unfortunately no baby change table in toilets and restaurant seating upstairs is via stairs so keep in mind if you have a pram

DAMAGE: $526.50 for eleven

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Cutlery and menu

Hunky Dory Sauvignon Blanc ($25 charged although $28 on menu)

Chicken liver parfait with red onion marmalade and toast ($12)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Scotch egg with mustard mayo ($5.50 each)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Stuffed zucchini flowers with goat cheese and romesco sauce ($11, 3 pieces)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Freshly shucked oysters with red wine and shallot vinegar ($3.50 each, 2 ordered but 3 provided)

Grilled quail with chorizo, braised peppers and crisp basil ($14)

Roast leg of lamb with mushy peas, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and mint gravy ($25)

Potatoes served on the side

Yorkshire pudding

Cheese plate supplied by Simon Johnson, lavosh chutney and quince paste ($11 charged although $18 on menu)

Apple and rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream ($11)

Eton mess with rhubarb and mint ($11)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Chocolate fondant with vanilia [vanilla] bean ice cream ($11) — good rich chocolate flavour although inside could have been a bit more runny perhaps and more ice cream would have been nice too