Simon Food Favourites: Tabou

10 July 2010

Tabou: Truffle Degustation Menu, Surry Hills (27 June 2010)

527 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

http://tabourestaurant.com.au

Truffled-out

So can you have too much of a good thing — most definitely!

Tabou is one of my favourite French restaurants and I was enticed to try their Truffle Degustation event because I've never had real truffle before and only truffle oil. Seven courses with matching wines ($160) was towards my truffle education. Starting with the Truffle grissini, artichoke veloute was a nice way to start the meal. The grissini had subtle hints of truffle flavour and the artichoke veloute was creamy smooth — I always seem to love veloute as an amuse-bouche. Next came the rather rich Morning truffle with NV Gosset ‘Brut Excellence’ Champagne. I loved the champagne but was in two minds about the morning truffle. The crispy pancetta, buttery brioche and soft egg were good but the hollandaise sauce was way too citrus in taste for me which made it quite unpleasant to finish. If it had been less citrus and more light and creamy I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Slices of truffle were evident with a distinctive truffle taste in the dish. The refreshing Jamon and pea risotto was a light dish with subtle truffle taste. I think I would have preferred the jamon to be pan-fried more to a crisp to help add a smokey bacon flavour — or perhaps I just love fried bacon.

Fillet of dory, saute of vegetables, truffle veloute was presented well and one of my favourite dishes of the night. The 2007 Vincent Girardin ‘Cuvée Saint-Vincent’, Chardonnay was smooth and buttery and went well with the dish. I enjoyed the hearty Roast loin of veal, saute of forestiere, morel pomme puree although the shaved baked truffle on top had no discernible truffle taste at all and was mostly for texture and presentation. I probably would have preferred not seeing them as I felt disappointed they provided no taste to the dish. Though there was a nice truffle taste coming from the pomme puree I believe. A substantial and delicious slice of Truffle brie was next although needed more bread to finish. I prefer the classic white baguette as a side bread for cheese so you can fully appreciate the cheese itself — just the way they do in France.

Quite full and finally reaching dessert of Chocolat du truffle tipped our stomachs over the edge for truffle. The presentation and texture of the dessert was nice which had a sort of honeycomb pop rock thing happening to add excitement in the mouth although the chocolate truffle sitting on top was laden with truffle. Oh dear, this was way too overpowering for our whole dining table. I forced myself to eat it but regretted the strong taste. I think this dish would have been fine on it's own without truffle in it. To end some complimentary Honey Truffled friands were provided although by this time we were sadly truffled out — but this didn't stop me eating one. As an extra treat I wanted to try their Créme Brulée ($13) again which is one of my favourite in Sydney. It wasn't part of the menu tonight but they made one up especially for us. Nice caramelised topping and creamy custardy centre although sadly not as much vanilla bean present in this one as I've had before. Helen the restaurant manager generously provided this dish complimentary.

Other French restaurants visited:

• Tabou - Surry Hills, 27 June 2010

• Sel e Poirve - Darlinghurst, 1 Dec 2009

• Tabou - Surry Hills, 9 Oct 2009

• Onde - Darlinghurst, 25 Sept 2009

• Chez Pascale Cuisine Francaise - Sans Souci, 8 July 2009

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Quality French wines, dishes and cheeses, Nice decor downstairs, professional and efficient staff

CONS: Expensive, Truffle in Chocolate Truffle doesn't work for me

MUST TRY: Créme Brulée, French cheeses

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‘The French Truffle is considered the finest of the edible fungi and has a place in gastronomy alongside saffron, caviar, foir gras and the finest of wines. Widely considered as the jewel of French cooking prized for its unique flavour and intoxicating aroma’

Truffle grissini, artichoke veloute

Morning truffle

NV Gosset ‘Brut Excellence’, Champagne

Jamon and pea risotto

2007 Hugel Pinot Blanc, Alsace

2005 Château Saint Christoly, Cru Bourgeois, Cabernet Merlot, Médoc, Bordeaux $13

Fillet of dory, saute of vegetables, truffle veloute

2007 Vincent Girardin ‘Cuvée Saint-Vincent’, Chardonnay, Burgundy

Roast loin of veal, saute of forestiere, morel pomme puree

2009 Domaine Collotte ‘Cuvée De Noble Souche’, Pinot Noir, Burgundy

Truffle brie

Chocolat du truffle

2007 Les Clos De Paulilles, Banyuls Rimage, Roussillion

Complimentary Honey Truffled friands

Créme Brulée $13

Truffle Degustation Menu

$100 for seven courses
$160 with matching wines

Bill

Posters

Downstairs dining

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05 November 2009

Tabou: French, Surry Hills (9 Oct 2009)

527 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

http://tabourestaurant.com.au

Excellent French Cuisine

Tabou has been a long standing French favourite of mine. If I had to recommended a French restaurant in Sydney this would be top of my list. I've always enjoyed their food and the decor and seating will make you feel like you're in a French bistro in Paris — it does for me anyway. Prices aren't cheap but neither is the quality and ingredients so when it's a special occasion I try not to think about the prices and just enjoy and savour the delicious dishes on offer. The Soufflé au Fromage is excellent and if your a cheese fan you'll love it — so much lighter than it looks yet still richly fulfilling. The Nage de Crabe reminds me of a Bouillabaisse. It's broth is so good and I'd happily have a huge bowl of it. I'm a huge fan of crab but not the act of getting to the meat — the messiness of cracking the shell was worth it though.

The combination of ingredients for the Confit Duck Leg is more to my liking than the Onde version and the Steak Frites Salade using Tasmanian Angus sirloin is cooked to medium-rare perfection which comes with a lovely fresh side salad. The Vanilla Créme Brulée is possibly the best one I've had for a long time — you won't want to share and goes well with a nice glass of Muscat de Frontignan Languedoc Avarus. The Assiette au Chocolat looks delightful on the plate and fulfills the chocolate cravings although my number one spot for a chocolate treat at the moment would have to go to the Valrhona Chocolate at Aria.

All the wines were very good and you can definitely tell the difference between a real champagne and a sparkling wine but at $26 a glass it sadly doesn't happen often. A variation of the Bellini with rhubarb instead of peach was a pleasant alternative to the classic. For the meat lovers there's a 1.1 kg Côte de Bœuf for $120 which would be a real treat to share with a couple of people. The service has always been friendly and welcoming and even though they might not always be actually French they definitely know their menu and wines. My preference is dining downstairs which I find has more atmosphere.

Other French restaurants visited:
• Tabou - Surry Hills, 27 June 2010
• Sel e Poirve - Darlinghurst, 1 Dec 2009
• Tabou - Surry Hills, 9 Oct 2009
• Onde - Darlinghurst, 25 Sept 2009
• Chez Pascale Cuisine Francaise - Sans Souci, 8 July 2009