Sake Restaurant & Bar

Amabuki Daiginjo- Probably the easiest Sake to drink for Miss FH

Miss food hunter together with her parents were looking for traditional japanese fare but unforuntately, Ajimi was closed on a wednesday night and Miss food hunter thought to detour to the closest @ Eagle street. Though Sake offers more contemporary Jap, we were all really glad we tried!

Friday night @ The Gabba

Rymill sparkling Chard Pinot & Te Whare Ra Sauv blanc to kick start the night !!

We weren't technically at The Gabba but rather near it...We decided on dinner at The Crosstown Eating House as it has indeed been a very long time since our last visit. On our first visit, Crosstown hasn't had the Uptown lounge bar yet on the 2nd floor and so we were excited to see what the new bar may be like....Things have changed a little....you get your menus, cutlery, salt & pepper etc. on the table all ready for you.

Day out @ GC & Burleigh Brew Co.

We planned for a weekend out at Gold Coast as we booked in for a tour at the Burleigh Brewery. We revisited one of our favourite Japanese restaurant- Yuuga at Surfer's for an early lunch before the tour. We like Yuuga for the variety in their bento lunch sets, their reasonable prices, friendly service, restaurant atmosphere and but of course, quality of food.  

GPO Cafe & Bar

After a day touring around Toowoomba, we entered the warmth of GPO for our dinner. The setting was simple, lightings were lovely and very cosy indeed, especially under the blaring flames of  a large hanging heater.

Era Bistro

Cru Bar + Cellar

Before the storms came through today, it was sweltering ~ 35 degrees C heat so we made quick decision on Cru Bar to relax, cool off, chill with some drinks and fill up on some nosh. Today, Miss food hunter finally made it out with Mr food hunter and his 2 brothers, the more the merrier!

Claret House Wine Bar

We are real big fans of Cru Bar at James street but it is typically overcrowded on weekend nights. Claret House has been on our wishlist for sometime now and last evening, we finally made the decision to journey down Teneriffe. Driving past a busy looking Claret in search of a parking spot, we got a tad worried as we had no reservation but fortunately, we scored one of the two comfortable booth seatings indoors! YaY!

Service from start to finish was impeccable. Attentive but not intrusive. The menu was concise, consisting of nibbles, starters, share plates and mains. The wine list was interesting and it was good to see more uncommon varietals offered by the glass. This evening we started with a D'arenberg Chardonnay, Port Phillp Est. Quartier Arneis (simply love!) and completed our mains with a Durvillea Sauv Blanc (more herbaceous than passion fruit this Marlborough SB is) and a Casa Freschi Nebbiolo.

The Tassie Oysters arrived in no time after the wines were served and boy were they fresh, plump, sweet and creamy! The accompanying rasbperry and shallot vinaigrette provided good acid contrast without overpowering. Not sure whether there was any shallot though.



Indeed Freshly Shucked!

This ain't no Levain sourdough but had that good dense bite and spongey crumb nonetheless and toasted just right. Generous slices served here and we reserved the raspberry vinaigrette as a lil' dip.

Toasty Sourdough missing 1 slice-Mouth faster than Camera!

The Grilled King Salmon was the fish of the day and came with crushed new potatos and salsa verde. The presentation albeit the dim lighting was as good a delight to see as it is to eat. The salmon rich with essential omega-3 fatty acids, was so moist and the delicate texture was near that of a confit trout. All the components complemented the oily salmon to a tee- the salsa verde was different, it had somewhat of a gherkin taste and acidity, even the crushed potatos weren't simple, there were caper berries mixed in.

Pretty in Pink!

The South Burnett grain fed Eye Fillet sat atop kipfler potatoes, semi-dried tomatoes, asparagus and pickled onions.  The steak was delicious and everything cooked perfectly.  The jus had a very strong red wine taste which combined with the pickled onions can become a bit much, I think a bit more butter or cream in the jus would have made this a perfect dish for me.   

Impressed on this first visit and A+ on so many aspects that will most definitely guarantee our return visits!  We will have to balance this out with Cru ;)

Claret House Wine Bar

36 Vernon Terrace

Teneriffe

Closed monday

The Chelsea Bistro

Off to The Barracks today for a simple speedy lunch and we were once again lured back to The Chelsea. The last time we visited, this dining precinct only recently opened and we were there for dinner with friends. Unfortunately, we were placed to sit outdoors again and yes i did overhear a few lunch bookings. We would have loved to sit indoors in the elegant saloon like interior...next time remember to make a reservation!

We started with an Asahi dry and a Redbank sparkling. There is a decent selection of wines and this is where they "double-up" as a wine bar alongside a menu of small nibbles/plates.

What great love for turkey and cranberry sandwiches maybe to Miss food hunter is exactly what steak sandwiches are to Mr food hunter. So bingo...a Steak sandwich for him and a Bruschetta for her was on the order. The salad of endive, nectarine, jamon iberico and buffalo ricotta sounded equally tempting!

The steak sandwich consisted of flat mushrooms topped with melted blue cheese, rocket, steak and grilled onions. It was an OK sandwich.  The meat cut was a piece of round steak which is not one of my favourites as it can be a little flavourless and fibrous.  I like the idea of blue cheese on steak but in this combination, it felt overwhelming and monotoned, which simply didn't work for me. What it really needed was a slice of tomato or some relish to give it a bit of acidity.  Sorry if I appear too critical but I DO love a good steak sandwich!

The Bruschetta of fig, stilton, rocket and aged balsamic had an overall clean simple flavour. Personally, the combination is a classic winner. I am not a big eater to start and lately, i am served portions that are pretty small. I love Levain bread and wished that i had slightly thicker slices in the bruschetta. I literally had 2 small slices, one of which was absolutely thin. I swopped one for Mr food hunters top sandwich slice so the meal could be somewhat satisfying. Perhaps also, another half a fig more and non-yellow leaves??

Our feelings are somewhat mixed about The Chelsea. The menu looks exciting, service prompt and attentive but unlike the first visit, this time we left a little less impressed.

The Chelsea Bistro

61 Petrie Terrace

The Barracks

Opens daily

Bar Petite

We have a tendency to hop on a plane or take a short road trip impromptu when we feel like a little adventure. Newcastle was our chosen 4-day budget holiday end of 2010, which included the Hunter Valley region and Port Stephens. Oh and after the splurge at Hunter Valley, it was not anymore a low-cost trip! Yikes!

Before we post a summarised wrap-up of our trip, we would like to mention seperately Bar Petite, a bar cum restaurant in the heart of Newcastle. We planned ahead for this visit on the eve of New Years, so that we could take a comfortable stroll to the foreshore for the fireworks display after.

We were drawn to this place simply by the gallery photos on their website and truly, Bar Petite exudes this old charm of a bygone era, that of colonial french perhaps, as their name suggests and from evident hanging wall pics of Cambodia and Vietnam. Soft lighthing and table lit candles provided the extra cosy factor.

Food and drink orders are taken at the bar and tabs can be taken. Our dishes arrived promptly, they were to start a Chicken Terrine with pistachios, and mains of Asian Poached Chicken and Beef Short Ribs.

The Chicken Terrine with pistachos was a classic combination and it was the chunkiest we've ever eaten. It was moist and subtly seasoned, somewhat peppery. The baby cornichons and crsip croutes were essential but wished we could have more of each to accompany the good-sized terrine.

The Asian Poached Chicken salad consisted of walnuts, grapes, watercress, bean sprouts and zucchini ribbons. The salad was termed 'asian' more so because of its components rather than the overall flavour. One would expect perhaps a burst of sweet, salt, sour and sometimes spice but the dressing was a simple olive/nut oil dressing. The slivers of chicken that formed the base of the salad tower was moist and plentiful and the mild dressing helped the bitterness of the watercress and sweetness of the plump grapes to come through. This was a very textural salad.

The honey glazed Beef Short Ribs came with coconut rice, chinese pak choy and sesame onion rings. The tender ribs were braised in a star anise and cinammon type stock which was great with the coconut rice but the reduced sauce could have been less sweet.

Bar Petite offers a menu that is not solely asian. We would think modern australian is apt to describe their menu. There is a good selection of wines offered by the glass and cocktails too to fill the night!

Bar Petitie
Shop 5 The Royal
5 King street
Newcasle
Opens daily from 11am to late
www.barpetitie.com.au

Bavarian Bier

Wow! We had such a great evening with a few of our dear friends, the eve of Australia day. Fortunately, we booked ahead as the restaurant looked to be swamped of people sitting and standing shoulder to shoulder. Talking turned to par-screaming as we were saturated in a sea of noises....yep even the loud music was drowning in it too! In anycase, it somewhat brought out the feel good holiday mood.

Now onto the food...we ordered a Tuna Nicoise, a Munich Brewer's Platter, a Bavarian Tasting Platter, a Zurich Veal and a side of Bread basket and Sauerkrat. The Pork Knuckle was our friend's first choice but had sold out early in the night and so, she settled for a Roast Pork Belly instead.

The Tuna Nicoise had a nice subtle white vinegar dressing. The garden leaves and vegetables were all fresh and crisp. However, the tuna (first thought to be chicken tenderloins) was not "char-grilled" as stated on the menu. It was also a touch overdone.


Munich Brewers  Platter, Heart Attack on a plate!

The Munich Brewer's Platter is truly a meat lovers heaven.  The chicken schnitzel was full of an indescribable flavour and perfectly cooked.  This was the highlight of the plate and is a definite must try.  There is a good selection of smokey sausages and ham combined with creamy mashed potatoes and crispy onions for texture.  The only short coming of the plate was the crispy crackling pork.  The crackle was stiff and hard with the pork meat underneath not tender enough either.  Ideally when roasting pork, the skin should puff, making it light and 'crackle', while the fat layer underneath melts to keep the meat moist and tender.  This seemed likely the case of wrong cooking temperatures?? Sadly all of our friends who had roast pork on their plates had similar issues.   



Bavarian Tasting Platter, Gentler on the Tummy!

The Bavarian Tasting Platter is essentially the mini version of the Munich Brewer's minus the grilled Kassler.  This would be the ideal choice as the latter, was a real feat to finish.  

The Roast Pork Belly as a 'main' was served with a tasty green apple compote and sauteed potatoes.  Like everyone else though the roast pork had the same letdowns. Our friend also mentioned that the meat layer was a bit thin. Thankfully everything else was alright!

The veal was slightly overcooked, but tasty nonetheless with the accompanying mushroom cream sauce. The rosti was perfectly crisp.

It was the desserts eventually, that gave a nudge up the food expectation laddar. Not perfect but still they were satisfactory sweet-endings...

The Apple Strudel was a delight. Warm crispy layers of pastry and thin slices of tangy apple in between, eaten with vanilla ice-cream...Yum! This is a must order dessert that is not overly sweet. 

Easy to eat, Walnut and Date pudding

Our friend had nothing but praises for the Walnut and Date pudding with honey ice cream. Perfectly cooked, moist with a delicious flavour.  It's nice to get the caramel sauce in a bowl as opposed to some places which serve the pudding drowning in sauce.



Chocolate Delice with summer Berries and toasted Almond ice cream



Death by chocolate sums up very well this dessert!  Our friend who is a real chocolate/dessert fiend struggled to get her way through this supremely decadent dessert. In her opinion, she would have preferred a biscuity base and also more proportionate chocolate layers. Here, the mousse/brulee in between was a little too thick. This is a dessert best shared.

 

As mentioned, it was indeed full-house and service staff were kept very busy on their feet! So this time, we shall forgive the overcooked meats, the hard crackle and the melty ice-creams when served. And hey... there were some highlights to be remembered too! With such an extensive beverage and food menu plus an added bonus of a great interior and atmosphere, why not make Bavarian your next venue for gathering with friends?!

Note from the waiter....fridays and weekends are indeed busy (loud) days so avoid these days if a good conversation with friends is on the agenda.



Bavarian Bier Cafe

Level 1 45 Eagle St Pier

Brisbane

Simpatico Bar Bistro

This was our second visit to Simpatico (pre-flood) but this time it was for a mid-week lunch instead of a friday night dinner. It seems that reservations are essential particularly, for dinner hours as this little Paddo eatery was filling up fast even on a wednesday afternoon!

Simpatico just like Crosstown Eating House and Sardine Tin, embraces a share food concept. There is a concise selection of wines offered by the glass which is updated regularly i.e. good. We enjoyed all the dishes previously and were gearing up for that same tastebud excitement with a different seasonal menu.

We had some italian pane as sides, which was decent in serving and "chewy" the way we like it. Shortly after, the seared scallops arrived. They were 4 plump, juicy, caramelized scallops sitting atop a bed of micro greens and corn. They were cooked beautifully and the only minor gripe we had was the heavy hand of hazelnut dressing. Perhaps, less of the oil dressing or more greens and crab meat??

The duck breast was cooked equally well, moist with a tinge of tender pinkness! It was served with a salad of baby leaves, mango chunks and bean sprouts, drizzled with an asian sweet sauce.

Service was friendly, attentive and efficient...we know this when our water is topped without having to ask. Overall, consistent food standards, an inspiring menu, good wine all in a relaxed atmosphere. And hey, having dinner served at the bar on our previous visit was not BAD either!

Simpatico Bar Bistro Espresso
Cnr Given & Latrobe Terraces
Paddington
Opens lunch & dinner Tues to Sat
Breakfast Sat & Sun