Simon Food Favourites: Wines

Showing posts with label Wines. Show all posts

28 September 2012

est. Moët & Henschke with Lunch Promotion, CBD Sydney (3 Aug 2012)

Level 1, 252 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://merivale.com.au

Fine dining with free wining

est. is one of those three hatted restaurants that seems very expensive unless you’re very rich. Entrees are nearly $40, mains hover around the mid $50 and desserts are all set at $28 but with a ‘Moët & Henschke with Lunch’ special promotion during August I thought it was a great opportunity to hit the a la carte menu. If you ordered two courses at $90 you’d receive two bottles of wine for free but the three courses at $110 with three bottles of wine included sounded like much better value and it was. My ordering strategy was to pick the most expensive dishes which came to $127 which meant I saved already $17. At first I thought we had the choose between Moët or Henschke but was informed during ordering we had a menu of 22 wines to choose from which was fantastic. With a hasty scan of the normal wine menu I applied the same ordering strategy of trying to choose the most expensive wines and ordered the N.V. Moët & Chandon ‘Brut Impérial’ ($145), 2009 Stonier ‘Reserve’ Chardonnay ($95) and 2008 Moulin De La Lagune Cabernet Blend Haut-Médoc ($130). These would have cost $370 but because of the promotion we got them for free — awesomeness. And they were really nice wines, especially the Cabernet Blend.

For entrée I ordered the Salad of spanner crab ($40) which had nice flavours that worked well together but had dish envy when I saw the Moreton Bay bug ($39) which I’d go for in hindsight. The Grilled white scallops ($39) was surprisingly quite a generous serving which I probably would have preferred as well. I was very happy with my main of Rangers valley angus beef fillet ($59) which was tender with good flavour. One of the diners thought it was ‘possibly the best steak they’d ever had’. It was very good although Fix St James also comes to mind for quality steaks as well. The Duck breast ($55) was nicely cooked with crisp skin, a decent portion size and a dish many thought they’d be happy to order next time. Serving sizes were quite generous overall but we managed to find our dessert stomach to push on for a sweet ending. All desserts were nicely presented and it was hard to pick a favourite. They all had dish components that we enjoyed so I’d recommend go with the one that appeals the most to you. Service was professional yet welcoming and down-to-earth. There was one time when we had to prompt service for our red wine with the mains but was no drama. The dining experience was well worth it with the promotion savings.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nicely presented dishes, Quality ingredients and wines, Professional service including table dishes all served at the same time, Nice decor and ambience

CONS: You need to allow at least 2 hrs for a long lunch, Not a fan of the table supports which aren't an issue on the larger round tables near the front windows, Very expensive but promotional deal made it great value

MUST TRY: Moreton Bay bug, Rangers valley angus beef fillet, 2008 moulin de la lagune cabernet blend haut-médoc
VERDICT: Having three bottles of wine included for free made the dining experience very good value considering the quality of dishes, ambience and service — I'd be tempted to go again if repeated

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n.v. moët & chandon ‘brut impérial’, épernay - france ($145, complimentary with deal)

2009 stonier ‘reserve’ chardonnay, mornington peninsula - victoria ($95, complimentary with deal)

WORTH TRYING :-)

2008 moulin de la lagune cabernet blend haut-médoc, bordeaux – france ($130, complimentary with deal)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Selection of promotion wines to choose from — my strategy was just to pick the most expensive ones which ended up being $370 worth

Complimentary bread

Grilled white scallops, pickled pear, winter purslane, foie gras, pedro ximenez - lentil vinaigrette ($39 + extra $10 4g truffle shavings on top)

Moreton Bay bug, cavolo nero, green peas, mini radish, young turnips, bonito flakes ($39)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Salad of spanner crab, jicama, lime, apple jelly, elderflower ajo blanco ($40)

Duck breast, grilled treviso, slow poached quince, duck jamon, fresh walnuts, crisp polenta ($55)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Braised beef cheek, dijon mustard spätzle, fresh peas, trompettes de mort ($56 + extra $10 for truffle butter)

Rangers valley angus beef fillet, young leeks, bone marrow, morel mushrooms, nettle puree ($59)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

That's one serious looking steak knife

Seasonal vegetables ($12)

Caramel poached pear, fennel, toasted hazelnuts, white coffee ice cream ($28)

Valrhona chocolate delice, confit orange puree, almond praline, yuzu ice cream ($28)

Pave of granny smith apples, vanilla cheesecake, rose – earl grey ice cream ($28)

Passionfruit souffle, passionfruit sorbet (20 minutes) ($28)

Petit fours — the est chocolate branded one is my favourite

Take away box available for bread if you simply can't let it go to waste

Bill $562 for five (4 diners x 3 courses, 1 diner x 2 courses) which included $370 worth of wine as part of the promotion

Shavings of truffle available

Nice decor and ambience

I wonder if they'd notice if I 'borrowed' one of these?

3 hats all the way

I was here — reflection shot of self

You know how I love these sort of table supports — NOT!

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01 July 2012

Taste Test: Shottesbrooke Engine Room Shiraz 2010, McLaren Vale, South Australia (29 June 2012)

http://engineroomwines.com

Spiced up engine well-matched

‘We need to determine the sell price for the wine in your goody bag and ultimately how it will fit into our range. Bring your bottle, log in on Monday 2nd July, 3 pm and be part of the Naked buying team.’

At the Naked Wines Australia Media Launch everyone received a bottle of Engine Room Shiraz 2010 from Shottesbrooke McLaren Vale to assess and hopefully provide their feedback to the winemaker Hamish Maguire in the chatroom at 3 pm Monday 2nd July. Predicting that drinking at work during the day would prove challenging I chose to pre-open the bottle the following night and try with their suggested food match of Indian spiced lamb cutlets. The flavours complimented each other very well on the palate which was actually better than just drinking the wine on it's on. For me the robust flavour of the wine was better suited to enjoy with food rather than drinking on its own. I think a bottle would be worth between $15-$20 and the interesting wine label would also make it suitable as a retro-style gift. The alcohol content seemed higher than normal as well. I'm not sure if 14.5% is normal or high but I felt pretty happy after the second glass.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Goes well with Indian spiced lamb cutlets as recommended, No shortage of alcohol in this baby, Interesting and fun wine label

CONS: Didn't enjoy as much just on its own and preferred with food

MUST TRY: Checking on the results of the chatroom

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Engine Room Shiraz 2010 McLaren Vale Shottesbrooke

14.5% alcohol really hit home for effect

Tandoori lamb cutlets with spiced baked potatoes and green beans, Chef Leong

16 March 2012

THE BLOCKS: Pop up restaurant, wine bar and art, Walsh Bay, Sydney (15 Mar 2012)

Pier 2/3, 13 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay NSW 2000

16 March to 5 April, Wed-Fri 4 pm - 11 pm, Sat-Sun 1 - 11 pm

http://www.theblockslive.com

Multi-sensory discovery of wine

“Penfolds and renowned London-based designers Studio Toogood have collaborated to create an ambitious multi-sensory environment dedicated to wine and creativity called THE BLOCKS. Through art and design, THE BLOCKS encourages visitors to discover their palettes using sight, touch and smell before tasting some of the world's greatest wines all matched to distinctive foods.”

Thanks to Tom Hyde from The Royals for inviting me to the launch of THE BLOCKS which will run for 3 weeks in Sydney (16 March to 5 April). I've been told once open trained sommeliers will take visitors on a journey to discover their palate using sight, smell and touch before indulging in Penfolds Bin and Luxury wines, complemented by locally foraged and seasonal tastes designed by Executive Chef Jock Zonfrillo (Magill Estate Restaurant). The launch canapes were quite interesting and I liked how they were presented and served — all single handed eating so you could keep holding onto your glass of wine. The Crab canape was my favourite of the night although a bit more crab meat and a bit less sauce would have been nice. I thought having a bit of pickled cucumber salsa and fresh coriander on top to help cut through the heaviness of the sauce would have possibly made it even better for me. It will be interesting to see what the final seasonal dishes will end up being and how they will be plated and matched to the wines.

I tried the limited range of wines on offer for the launch and they were all quite nice but the lethal tasting Penfolds cocktail was the winner for me. Maybe it's because I'm a gin lover and simply love cocktails but it was also interesting to have a cocktail with wine in it besides sangria. The art was pretty cool but I probably didn't really understand it as much as I should because we didn't have the benefit of a guided tour around the space although I did find out you need to smell the huge wooden sculptures — they smelt good. I probably need revisit to fully appreciate the art and wine journey that's been created and hopefully learn a bit more about Penfolds wines and discover which ones I like the best. I do enjoy a pop up restaurant and bar but it's a shame it won't be on for long. Apparently it's best to make a booking as there's only around 120 seats for the dining experience but you can also try your luck and just turn up I believe as well.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Interesting art and space, Interesting canapes served at launch, Free entry to site (but you pay for wine and food), Sommeliers will guide visitors around the site when open

CONS: Preferable to make a reservation to guarantee a spot, Location is a little bit of a trek, I can't find a menu online to view

MUST TRY: Returning to check out the menu

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