Bird Cow Fish, Sydney

500 Crown Street, Surry Hills (formerly)

Early Feb – The first and last time at a much loved Surry Hills local. It was date night, the first time to ourselves for a while. When we heard about Bird Cow Fish closing we changed our plans to give it a go. One of those places reportedly loved by chefs for its non-showy simple cooking, I’d been meaning to go for a while, but as night outs become less frequent it was easier to overlook for flasher (not necessarily better) options.

And so we found ourselves at an early seating on the final Saturday night in the most buzzing of restaurant with a joyful and happy atmosphere. It probably contributed to the two bottle of wine dinner (my parents would be proud). But we were egged on by some truly memorable food, that had me kicking myself for not coming here before. At least these pictures will remind me of 3 dishes (the pastas & chocolate tart) that were as good as I’ve had of their kind. To write any more descriptions around textures and the complimentary, contrasting flavours would be to resort to painful cliches (I’ve done enough of that elsewhere on this blog).

Potato gnocchi with prawn meat sautéed in burnt butter, verjuice, capers & crispy sage

Salt cod ravioli with green olives, lemon, almonds

Slow roast lamb with caponata

Beef Cheek Pie (easy on the sauce, large on the fibrous beef)

To finish:

Cherry mille feuille with mascarpone & pistachio praline

Chocolate Tart

We’ve all been to these kind of restaurants; that have honed good honest cooking. You may dabble with fusion or molecular gastronomy, but you always come back. I haven’t found many of these places in Sydney to be honest, so it’s a bit of shame that this was a one-off meal. Almost unrequited love territory. Damn you regulars who got to dine here for several years. Bird Cow Fish it could have been so good…..But we’ll always have that chocolate tart.

Vue De Monde, Melbourne

www.vuedemonde.com.au

Level 55 Rialto Building, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne

Continuing the brief work/gourmet trip in Melbourne – a ‘working lunch’ at Vue Du Monde. This is certainly a restaurant with a sense of occasion. The views cover the whole of Melbourne. The pictures don’t do it justice, but it’s seriously bright, raising the question whether it’s appropriate to wear sunglasses inside a restaurant. I resist, principally because I don’t own a pair of sunglasses to look stylish in.

Lightness outside, darkness inside – black floor and dark leather tables:

The centrepiece is no doubt to help (re)establish our connection with the ground – lots of chiseled stone and gnarled wood that all play a part in the meal. Someone’s clearly given this a lot of thought.

“Don’t shoot me, I’m only the sommelier”

Unfortunately we don’t have the rest of the afternoon to linger over lunch, I have a 3.30pm flight, so we opt for the a la carte and get a serious move on.

A curious selection of amuses: Oyster, Celeriac, Sunflower seed, Smoked eel, white chocolate, caviar

Interesting little bites. The crisps aren’t going to rock anyone’s world, but the eel, white chocolate and caviar is a spectacular bite, covering most of the range of tastes.

Salt cured venison – blood red. Very good.

Continuing the theatre – Bread & butter:

housemade butter with a nice selection of bread served in a leather bag with hot rocks. Cute.

The meal starts proper with “Melbourne club”

A deconstructed melbourne club sandwich (was not sure if I should have heard of one before). The point of deconstruction, to hero every element and help discover new combination and taste sensation. It was wasted on this dish. Some ho-hum ham, anchovy, cheese crisp, mayonnaise etc. Almost nothing to get excited about. Moving swiftly on….

Lamb sweetbreads, prawn, raisin

A cute dish, compressed prawn served with excellent sweetbread – creamy inside, decent exterior crust. Flowers provided some lightness of touch. A hipster surf & turf. Decent.

My dining colleague went native: Kangaroo, beetroot, chocolate

A palate cleaner before the main: Cucumber sorbet, crushed herbs

One of the most memorable parts of the meal (not a slight on the rest of it). Fresh herbs are doused with dry ice which the diner then crushes. It’s served with a refreshing cucumber sorbet. It’s lovely.

The main is excellent: Wagyu beef, onion, mustard

Hi-grade Tenderloin and Brisket. It’s beautiful – great range of flavours and texture. The saucing is the mildest of horseradish creams with contrast provided by deep fried & blanched onion rings. Not heavy at all. A dish to eat all day.

And so onto dessert. Had just over an hour to make my flight, so this may not have got the attention it deserved:

Beer & Nuts - Passionfruit, licorice, coconut

We split a cheese & pud:

Cheese Trolley! A rarity in Australia - a proper cheese selection (with enthusiastic waiter)

I opt for Pavlova

Yet another deconstructed dish- but this works. fresh & dehydrated strawberries, blueberries with cute chewy meringue and mint. Excellent textures that really add to the taste.

The cheese-plate in all it’s glory with more condiments that you can shake a stick at.

Petit fours- We wolf these down

Memories from an Aussie childhood (I’m led to believe). Honourable mention to the Golden Gaytimes & Penny Jellies.

Not a perfect lunch, but worthy of attention and a second visit. Every plate needs to impress at this level and there was inconsistencies in some of the dishes. But there’s more than enough to generate interest and talk-ability. The view and decor can often distract from the main event and the food with it’s inventiveness ensures the correct attention, but exposes some of the dishes that seem bereft of inspiration (I’m looking at you Melbourne Club). The service was excellent- enthusiastic and relaxed staff who were happy to accommodate. See you soon Vue De Monde.

Jacques Reymond, Melbourne

www.jacquesreymond.com.au

78 Williams Road  Prahran VIC 3181

An opportunistic meal. You’ve got to grab these chances while you can… I was down in Melbourne on a Tuesday to view focus groups in St.Kilda. Groups were to finish at 8.30pm. I faced the prospect of a few drinks and returning to my shitty Ibis hotel (limited hotel options due to the tennis….). Jacques Reymond was only 5mins drive away. It seemed rude not to go. A table for one it was.

Set in a beautiful colonial townhouse, it was buzzier restaurant than I anticipated with chatter emanating from the three dining rooms. Service was gregarious and helpful. I get offered a Jacques Reymond cookbook to read. Nice thought, but it would make me look more tragic than I already am. As it is, I’m reading Adapt – Why Success Always Starts With Failure. It appears a self-help book, but it’s economics (really)…

The meal starts with two boulder sized Gruyere Gougeres

It’s the pre-dinner snack of any refined French restaurant (not sure why). They’re excellent. A glass of Pouilly Fume really helps as well….

There are two menus – a small plate a la carte that dazzles with combination of ingredients. It kinds of blinds you into submission to order the degustation. There’s also some serious pricing anchoring going on to nudge you to order it. After you opt for the unpriced dessert there’s not much price difference. I resist, knowing that I may have to come back here again with Vanessa. So the a la carte it is, sticking to the three courses of your choice.

Bread is fine. Nothing to really get excited about. Of course the butter is good

A ‘surprise’ from the chef: Moreton Bay bug, fresh soba noodles and salicorne

A fat bug served at room temperature complimenting the soba noodles. Pleasant. Not sure if this is a glorified amuse…

The first course (deep breath): grilled scallops and Japanese dressing, King island rock lobster dumpling and quinoa, caramelised sweetbreads with orange and coriander

Contrary to the menu description, there’s only one scallop (a mild annoyance). It’s more noticeable because it’s excellent. The scallop grilled with miso is lovely and the dumpling is also delightful. Sweetbreads are never going to disappoint. The variety of ingredients create the interest.

Next up: pork fillet with kombu and mushrooms, Jerusalem artichokes with hazelnut paste, salad of belly and duck neck, a sauce vin jaune

Cusines du Temps is a descriptor of Jacques Reymond’s culinary ethos, which hardly rings true with a plate straight out of the 80s. But we have foam and a smear, so at least we’re back in 21st century. Sniping aside the pork can’t be faulted – rare and mellow. Something to linger over. The nod to a salad is pretty good with a few shreds of confit pork and duck.

It goes down well with mighty glass of Shiraz. All is good with the world.

The final savoury course  ”young pigeon like a peking duck”, sweet purple garlic sauce, corn and potato galette, exotic mushrooms and beetroot bigarade

Pigeon like duck i guess is through a focus on skin. It doesn’t taste a great deal different to normal pigeon, but again the preparation is excellent. A lot of other components get lost, but galette is a nice change to the norm.

Dessert is the recommended: Seven textures of chocolate

A now dish that is doing the rounds in many forms in restaurants. The ingredients are all good, but all textures taste pretty similar and although very agreeable, there’s not a lot of wow.

Dinner finishes with a double espresso, petit fours and pretty cute churros – the meal is bookend-ed pretty well. Just a shame it’s difficult to scoop up all the chocolate.

It was really only a taster of what Jacques Reymond has to offer, so I only got a sense of what it’s all about. Componently the meal was very good. There is skill in abundance, but it wasn’t the most satisfying of meals. At $150 you want to be satisfied, but I wasn’t. Although advised the plates were entree sized, there was very little to get stuck into. The scale of ingredients well put together is the selling point here, but it was all a little piecemeal, when less is more. Berowra Waters Inn has a similar approach, but in my opinion gets the balance right with only 3 or 4 elements. The degustation looked simpler, so maybe it’s only a fault of the a la carte. So in many parts a fine meal, but perhaps trying a little too hard. My judgement is still out. Might need to go again.

 

 

Waku Ghin, Singapore

www.wakughin.com

10 Bayfront Avenue, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

A business trip to Singapore at the beginning of 2012. It beats having to go back to the office after a very relaxing break in Port Douglas. A tight schedule meant I only had time for one meal and as much as I wanted to do some proper exploring around the hawker centres, it made sense to hit a high-end place. I reason when I come here for an extended time with Vanessa we can do some proper exploring, chilli crab etc

There are a handful of renowned fine dining restaurants that have recently got noticed by international guides with many following the increasingly homogenous trend of molecular, base elements & deconstruction. You can have this French with an Asian twist or Asian with a French twist.

I chose the latter, opting for a simpler style with Waku Ghin. Having dined a couple times at Tetsuyas in Sydney I was keen to see how he had tackled his Singapore venture. Before I get there I had to tackle reservations. Calling from the airport I had a stilted conversation with someone who was asking me to fax a copy of my passport to secure a table….. Apparently a credit card number wouldn’t do, like every other restaurant around the world. A fax, really?! Losing patience I got my hotel to sort it out….

It’s a real destination restaurant being located in the Marina Bay Sands. It’s a sensational building topped off with a suitably extravagant rooftop infinity pool. If you’re looking to be amongst ex-pats this is the place to go.

Being a lure for gamblers, the complex is really confusing, with little sign-posting. But head for the gambling floor with 150+ gaming tables and you’re on the second floor, next to Guy Savoy (next time). It’s still an impressive sight.

The restaurant itself screams sophistication with more slate and grey one can comfortably handle. It only sits 25, with dinners in their own rooms with sleek teppanyaki grills. It’s a table for one tonight, so it’s a little surreal. But there’s wifi and I settle with a Tiger beer and an unsettling ibook about a Facebook psychopath (not recommended).

Anyway, the ingredients for tonight:

The freshest of seafood flown in from around the world (very foodmiles….)

To start: French Royal Oyster with Ginger & Rice Vinegar

Big, clean, meaty. Very well balanced. As good an oyster you’re going to find

Next up: Flan with Hokkaido Salmon Roe

A bit of a classic, but rarely something to get excited about. Flan is eggy and yielding, the salmon roe is excellent with sizeably globules of fishiness.

The signature dish: Marinated Botan Shrimp with Sea Urchin and Oscietre Caviar

Worth the entrance fee alone, this truly is a dish to die for – luxurious and harmonious (reads badly I know). It’s a desert island dish and something I’d happily eat for the rest of my days.

The poor dish that had to follow: Grilled Anago with Foie Gras and Zucchini

Saltwater eel with a distinctively sweet taste paired with the rich liver worked well, though texturally it was a little soft.

The meal took on a new theme with my chef now preparing the remaining savoury dishes in front of me. Conversation was stilted, but I like to think we established a good bond…

First up: Japanese Abalone with Fregola and Tomato

A Mediterranean preparation that doesn’t swamp the subtle flavours. The abalone is delightful, cooked briefly, but extremely tender.

Of to Canada next: Braised Canadian Lobster with Tarragon

Again another stand-out dish – braised in butter finished with more butter, light stock and tarragon.

On to the meat courses – interestingly two beef dishes:

1) Charcoal Grill Fillet of Tasmanian (Cape Grim) Beef

It seems a bit odd to travel thousands of miles to eat beef from where I live. Although I’ve eaten the breed several times, I haven’t found this apparently familiar cut. It is stellar, a depth of meatiness so often missing from beef. The accompanying mustard is also excellent.

2) Ohmi Wagyu Roll from Shiga with Maitake Mushroom, wasabi and citrus soy

The next beef course surprisingly swaps depth of flavour for fatty mellowness. I’m offered three pieces, so it’s not a measly dish. Although it’s considered the pinnacle of beef it doesn’t match the Cape Grim. It’s still pretty stunning though. A quick mention for the fresh wasabi – a revelation with no harshness. And then there’s the deep fried garlic slivers. Why?

The meal takes another twist, winding down from the main courses focusing on cleanness and simplicity – Consomme with Rice & Snapper

Chicken stock with raw snapper and erm…rice. The simplicity is really surprising, but the clarity is very pleasant.

The final savoury course: Somen with Myoga and Junsa

The finest of stretched noodles served cold with light herbs. Again not a dish to expect, but clean, toothsome and worth dwelling over.

Gyokuro

Bringing my time at the teppanyaki grill to the end, the exclusive green tea, served lukewarm with great body and no harshness. I’m no expert of tea, so it’s hard to judge, but it’s something I could get used to in my meditative old age…..

There’s a drawing room with a view to take dessert and there’s two to finish:

Granita of Champagne with Japanese Strawberry

Not necessarily a fan of normally inconsequential granita, it’s refreshing with a good alcoholic hit, compounded with fresh strawberries and a rich jammy liqueur. Not bad at all.

The final dessert: Apricot Three Ways

Perfectly pleasant. well made, but nothing to get excited about. It won’t be making my list of memorable desserts…

To finish: Double Espresso with Petit Fours

and more petit fours…

Waku Ghin is a memorable meal from the location, to the dining experience, but mostly it’s about the ingredients. Because of this it’s a restaurant for the purist. Someone with a in-depth appreciation of food (I’m still learning). It’s a very expensive dining occasion with the money not in the flashiness, but the effort in obtaining the finest of produce and so handled with great sensitivity. Some dishes are truly amazing – the sea urchin and caviar of course. Others require a Japanese recognition of subtlety, which is not for everyone. As a result it’s a restaurant that will polarise opinion especially since it jars against the flashy casino. I’m glad I went. It was an education.

The Ledbury (2), Notting Hill

www.theledbury.com

127 Ledbury Road, London  UK W11 2AQ

Our final meal in the UK before boarding the plane back to Sydney. It was also my birthday. A return trip to The Ledbury was on the cards. They were accommodating enough to accept Nina (they’d probably seen a picture), but we had a kind relative who was happy to take her for the afternoon. It made for a very relaxing few hours together.

I was interested to see how The Ledbury has changed since my last visit 18 months ago. It’s reputation has certainly grown over that time. Unfortunately we didn’t really have enough time to dwell over the tasting menu, so we opt for the A la carte.

We start with a foie tartlet - good, creamy & rich.

The bread rolls as before – bacon brioche (never going to fail) and a decent sourdough.

Drinks-wise I can’t resist a gin & tonic, followed by a decent red. An interesting wine experience. I ask the sommelier to make the decision for us in a rough price range. He just brings his chosen bottle of Chianti and that’s it. No more choice or mention of price. He knows his stuff. It was lovely.

To begin my wife opts for Buffalo Milk Curd with Saint-Nectaire, Truffle Toast and a Broth of Grilled Onions

Not a list of ingredients to inspire, but everything about this dish is perfect from the presentation, to the swoon inducing creaminess, acidity and sweetness and then there’s the fir truffle toast. It is Autumn on a plate and should not be missed. Plate envy

Not that I have anything to complain about: Breast and Leg of Partridge with Chestnuts, Iberian Ham and Chanterelle

Again nailing the autumn theme it’s meaty and foresty with good nutty and woody tastes. A real boys starter.

Despite not always being the greatest fan of truffle, Vanessa wasn’t about to give up her truffle toast. I asked for a slice of my own. It was no trouble.

Two of the best starters we’d had all year had put us in terrific spirits and then a complimentary dish from the kitchen arrived:

Flame Grilled Mackerel with Smoked Eel, Celtic Mustard and Shiso

A house speciality of sorts – the fresh and oily mackeral with a gorgeous crust with more meatiness from the eel bolstering the dish. Shiso provided the balance and freshness. A beautifully simple dish.

And on to the mains – from partridge to Roasted Breast and Confit Legs of Pigeon with Red Leaves and Vegetables, Foie Gras and Plums

Over-dosing a little on the ‘game’ in London, but you don’t get this kind of quality in Australia. The presentation was a car accident, but not in a bad way. Plums and beetroot provided anger against the rare breast strewn across the plate. Little cubes of foie gras were sought out amongst it all.

A side plate of roasted legs and offal on a liquorice skewer made this a seriously hefty main. Delicious.

Vanessa hit pay-dirt again with Native Lobster with Broccoli Stem, Natural Yoghurt and Indian Spices in Brown Butter

Another generous plate of food. I normally consider it a sin to have lobster anything but naturally with butter, but there was a very steady hand here that lifted the dish with indian spices. Very British…. The broccoli were just stem with shavings as the florets. Again a dish that could not be faulted.

And so on to desserts…..I had agreed to order the souffle and tried to change my mind to the banana galette. I was convinced otherwise in front of our waiter….

The passion fruit souffle

As we’d had before sharp and sweet with the cream providing much needed contrast.

A mille-feuille special.

Decent, all about the pastry and pretty fine

And a third dessert – Banana Galette with Salted Caramel,
Passion Fruit and Peanut Oil Parfait. They sympathised with the birthday boy…

banana, salted caramel, peanuts all good.

We finish with some delightful petit fours and of course a double espresso.

Our last meal back in the UK and one of our best. The confidence is clear to see and it comes through in an easy style that creates good bonhomie. It speaks volumes about the staff. The food for the most partis  exceptional. The only critique being the desserts that were unchanged from my previous vist and actually a little pedestrian. But what made a lasting impression was the generosity. You’re spending a fair amount, but it’s the little things that make a difference – truffle toast at no cost, no problem. The dessert that was really wanted. It all adds up to a terrific meal. One of Londons must-go-to restaurants.

Alyn Williams, London

www.westburymayfair.com

Westbury Hotel, Bond Street, London W1S 2YF

Lunch for one in London. Was on the lookout for some place new. Alyn Williams at the Westbury had opened a few days prior with good buzz, having been former head chef at the ambitious Marcus Wareing. It seemed the perfect place to try. Just my paper & I.

It’s not one of the most recognizable of hotels, but perfectly located off Bond Street. The dining room is cosy and inviting with lots of pastels. It’s a lunch time and not too busy. Attentive service is not going to be a problem.

The menu is extremely well priced for a restaurant with potential. The tasting menu has many delights, with no throwaway dishes to be found. The focus is on British regional food. In a conversation with the restaurant manager, he mentions that the success of Great British Menu has fuelled an interest in native food, making it possible to move away from modern French/European as the staple of fine dining. Wow. I guess it’s a price worth paying then to listen to the insufferable Oliver Peyton.

So the tasting menu it is.

Nibbles are the obligatory gougeres – if it works for Alain Ducasse….

A personal selection of bread to fill up on.

A broad selection including lavash, beer bread & caraway seed butter. All are excellent.

The first course: French onion consommé/crab/gruyere/potato wafer

So we’ve regressed back to France, but it’s a doozy. Deconstructed without being detrimental to flavour. Crab is a mixture of brown and white meat and it’s beautiful and subtle.

Next up: Orkney/Mersea/Aquitaine

A riff on the old classic – scallop and peas – no complaints.

To follow: Dorset snails/malt soil/chickweed

A dish of the country and ‘hedgerow’. Earthy and moreish. It’s a novelty to see snails on the menu and not just drenched in garlic. A pleasing imaginative dish.

Moving into the substantial part of the menu: Guernsey bass/watercress/truffle/Barolo

Pan fried and moist with hit of truffle. A watercress puree provided substantial bite. The combinations made the bass a meaty dish fitting with the autumnal/winter menu. Though not sure all the elements were singing from the same hymn sheet.

Next up: Cotswold white chicken/hen of the wood/smoked egg/charred leek

A complimentary dish from the kitchen. I’d chosen the beef as my main, but the chef said it was too good a dish not to miss. I could not argue. Continuing a run of pretty fine chicken dishes in the UK, this was a front runner. Yet what really stood out was the smoked egg yolk – twice cooked and finished in a smoker it was wonderfully gelatinous. The combination of elements made it an excellent dish. It was the highlight of the meal.

The final main: Devon red beef sirloin/red wine/turnip/oxtail/croutons

Again a triumph of English flavours, including the much under-rated turnip. It was mostly about the beef and everything else was a conduit. Good depth of flavour.

Pre-dessert: Crème Catalan/pear granita/pine sugar

I’m not have a good run of palate cleansers and this was a little vague. It contained all the elements, but nothing really stood out. Not something to dwell on.

To finish: Tiramisu/Nutella brioche

A mild interpretation with only a light coffee flavour. Particularly enjoyed the brioche – a novel twist with the hazelnut and chocolate working particularly well. A decent close.

A whopping espresso to finish with chocolate truffles

It was a fine lunch from the pleasant service to the memorable food. It’s a new opening, so the eagerness is clear to see. Meeting Alyn Williams – enthusiastic and personable, you can’t help to wish him all the best of luck with his venture. It’s a far cry from the noticeable pressure of perfection at Marcus Wareing, which had made our meals there good, but not so relaxing. It makes a big difference. Clearly there’s a lot of technique in the food, but I didn’t find it over the top of detracting from the flavours, which is good since the British produce is excellent. It’s terrific value, so it would be rude not to give it a go.

Hedone, London

301 Chiswick High Road, London

2011’s foodie pilgrimage. This was London’s most important restaurant opening and has been covered ad-nausem already. Important because it’s about an ingredient obsessive following his passion to its logical conclusion and showing the restaurant trade how it should be done. The only down-side is that it looks easy and will inevitably lead to a lot of heartbreak as other food obsessives follow suit. I believe it was Anthony Bourdain who said that if you love food, the last thing you should do is open a restaurant because your heart can too easily rule your head. Hedone is probably an exception and it should be an inspiration to many.

It was the first place I booked on my visit to London. Chiswick is a pain to get to, but it had to be done. It also gave me the chance to catch up with a good friend who appreciates the finer things in life. I was glad the opportunity to spend some quality time with him again.

I was only going to have the one chance to dine here and so we chose the tasting menu. It was never going to satisfy my curiosity. It’s the sort of restaurant where it pays to be a regular and have what’s been sourced that day. As well as the nagging sense of not being able to try it all, the tasting menu followed a trajectory that threatened to derail the meal.

We start with ‘jammie dodgers’ – cheese sable & red pepper

Bread is simple, solid & excellent. No funny business.

The amuse: Seaweed Umami Flan – Sweat and earthy. Very good.

The first course: poached oyster in watercress jelly

It was excellent, evoking the south coast. Yet the presentation made the dish hugely underwhelming, making the tiny serving look miserly on such a huge plate. It was actually embarrassing since I’d talked my friend into dining here (i.e. You’ve cycled from Highbury so that you can have 90s nouveau cuisine portions). Great concept, but another oyster can’t hurt and please change the plating.

This continued with the next dish.

A substitution: crab with cauliflower and lemon grass cream

Terrific ingredients, but miniscule on such on huge plate. The combinations essentially worked with the cauliflower balancing the dish. There’s no doubting the quality.

My friend stuck with the Cévennes Onion with Pear Shavings. This is the kind of dish that drives normal people nuts. “You charge me how much for half an onion? Has the world gone crazy etc.” It was worth it: sweet, buttery and refreshing. It speaks volumes how distanced we’ve become from tasting great quality ingredients that dishes like these can be served & appreciated. It’s something that will certainly continue as food production becomes more mechanized. A tomato worth it’s weight in gold, who knows….

For me the meal really got going with turbot, cockles & cavalo nero.

A dish to showcase the king of fishes designed to capture the essence of the sea, with the liquor providing a touch of saltiness. It sounds wanky, but it’s what it evokes. The turbot had an iridescent shine and was amazingly fresh, treated with the lightest of hands.

Then it all got a bit serious:

Silka Deer Royale with foie gras, ceps & cep ravioli.

It was a badass dish, very rich. Hardcore French cookery at its best. The sauce was amazingly dense – a combination of bones, blood and maybe a hint of vinegar. Bizarrely it tasted almost chocolately. (speaks volumes of my frame of reference). Even though the venison, foie gras, and mushrooms were terrifically indulgent, it’s the saucing that will be remembered for its incredible depth. Loved it. Truly memorable.

Another knock-out main – pigeon, salsa verde, smoked potatoes & offal sauce:

Well aged with a pleasing funk. Pigeon was beautiful. Again the saucing was incredible, elevating the dish to a level of quality and interest not often found in normal London dining. A shout out to the smoked potatoes. Glorious.

The previous dishes had turned the meal around, soothed the initial sense of disappointment and we looked forward to desserts.

First dessert – pineapple carpaccio

More of a palate cleanser. It did nothing to excite. We had expected more, but it was certainly a fine rendition of one…Moving swiftly on.

Final dessert – Chocolate Bar

As mentioned all the rage in restaurants at the moment – chocolate upon chocolate. It was excellent and brought the meal to a pleasurable end.

My main disappointment with this meal is based around the frustration that I live in Sydney. With many restaurants the tasting menu gives you all need to know about it – it’s philosophy, it’s renowned techniques and signature dishes. It doesn’t really change. Hedone is seemingly different. It is one of a few restaurants that will reward frequency of visits to aid (re)discovery of the best ingredients and classical food that is for many only found in the darkest and most expensive reaches of France.

It’s not a place for tasting menus – it’s for proper sized portions of the best sourced food. My meal was not perfect, but it’s easy to see how with more visits it could be.

Hand & Flowers, Marlow

www.thehandandflowers.co.uk

26 West St  Marlow, Buckinghamshire SL7 2BP, United Kingdom

In the space of a year we’d gone from 3 close couples to 3 families. A short break in the Cotswolds was the opportunity to meet the new additions that we will hopefully see grow over many years. The break was over too soon with some decent home cooked meals, a memorable walk and drunken charades. Before venturing back to the city for dinner at Hedone, we had time for a pub lunch en route – The Hand & Flowers.

A renowned gastro-pub with the focus well and truly on the ‘gastro’ having being recently handed a 2^nd Michelin star (the only pub to have such an honour)…. It was worthy of a detour and it proved to be an enjoyable meal, let down by its new found status that sets impossible expectations for a pub, which seems to be doing its things without trying to be cheffy. In these circumstances the Michelin Guide does more harm than good and serves to highlight the inconsistencies in its judgments. This is probably due to a lack of education on what star ratings are meant to denote.

There were four of us for lunch (with two babies – accommodated with no fuss). Deep fried whitebait was the amuse served in ‘traditional’ newspaper. Very cute, crunchy and moreish.

Washed down with a nostalgic half-pint of Abbots Ale. Growing up, my father always seemed to have a case of them in the larder and I would sneak one every now and again, even if they were a good few years out of date. It was ale and I was 15. I had no cause to be fussy. It tasted good.

Menu wise with the starters there was little to get excited about in terms of imaginative dishes. We are in the realm of pub food – terrines & moules etc.. Two of us opted for soups and the rest salmon tartare.

The soups were very good – rich, velvety and flavoursome with a couple of nice touches. The pumpkin soup has blue cheese gougeres. My parsley, bacon and eel soup had parmesan tortellini. Certainly satisfying, and a cut above, but nothing to get excited about (see it’s those bloody Michelin expectations).

Salmon Tartare with poppy seed crackers

The salmon tartare served with smoked salmon was fridge cold from being frozen and as we were told had to be left to thaw to be really enjoyed. I’m not sure any diner wants to be told to wait for their food to be edible. Again mildly irksome. I eventually had a taste. Again it was pleasant, but the temperature worked against the subtle flavours.

However, it’s the mains where this pub makes a statement.

Slow Cooked Duck Breast with Savoy Cabbage, Duck Fat Chips and Gravy

My wife had the Great British Menu famed roast duck – beautiful tranches of duck on the obligatory wooden board, served with duck sausage, cabbage & lardons and of course duck fat chips. Truly elevated pub food. No showy technique – just excellent ingredients and very well put together. It could not be faulted in terms of no-bullshit cuisine.

Breast of Suffolk Chicken with Pistachio Crumble, Lovage Poached Turnips, Soft Polenta and Winter Truffle

Two of us opted for the recommended chicken (ordering chicken again at a restaurant….). This was a glorious restaurant dish. A chicken that tasted of the country (i.e. not bland) served with chicken jus and freshly shaved black truffle. Every bite demanded to be savoured. With luscious polenta and an extra side of chips, that single dish was worthy of the (slight) detour.

The last dish was spiced Sea Bream with smoked aubergine and dahl. Indian food with finesse in a pub. nice. It was good.

We finished with three good desserts:

Tonka Bean Panna Cotta, Poached Plums, Honeycomb and Plum Sorbet

Warm Pistachio Sponge Cake with Melon Sorbet and Marzipan

Glazed Cox’s Apple Tart with Blackberry Sorbet

All good desserts each with a little something to get excited about. I particularly liked the pistachio cake – sweet and mildly nutty.

As a pub meal it was excellent, with very few pubs capable of equaling it. Food and cooking was generally terrific in a non-showy, traditional manner. The 2 star recognition is no doubt due to its best-in-class standing, but this will confuse people without proper context. It’s more about Michelin showing it is populist and gets pubs. However if you’re going to recognise the best in pubs, give The Sportsman 2 stars for its unique approach to ingredients.

Go expecting as good a pub meal as you will get, but no showy Michelin tricks. It makes it a fine regional destination, but not necessarily a road trip in its own right.

Dinner at Heston Blumenthal, London

www.dinnerbyheston.com

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London

Back in London, lunch with a best friend and the chance to try out a new opening – Dinner at Heston Blumenthal. It’s been pulling in the crowds and therefore some planning ahead is needed for reservations. It’s certainly a slick money-making operation for all concerned. I get a phone call 5 days before my booking to confirm (5 days!).

I’ve got a lot of time for Heston because works at being unique. He’s carved out a clear positioning for himself with a competitive advantage – cutting edge geeky gastronomy meets old english heritage. And even though he’s more and more on TV, he’s not spreading himself so thin that the food seemingly comes secondary. His mantra is probably “don’t do what Gordon does.” So this brand extension focusing on ‘old english’ really stands outs.

It’s a big hotel restaurant with double the covers I expected. The waiters are young, European and efficient to the detriment of real personality. I’m also not sure if I’m in a concept restaurant or not. We get explained the concept – British dishes ‘resurrected’ from the past, but the only other nod to it is jelly moulds as light shades. It’s not quite gelling together in the cavernous, but striking room.

Oh and the wine list is odd in terms of length & pricing. I’m well used to the concept of relative positioning – using choice & pricing to influence decision-making. It’s practiced heavily in the pricing of wine to encourage purchasing of a more expensive wine. at Dinner there’s a house wine (well priced 20GBP), then the next choice is 60GBP+. So it’s cheap or expensive, not a compromise 45/50GBP choice in sight. Mildly irritating. It encourages us to go cheap and get two bottles. Fuck it and another starter why not….

Enough of that, it’s the food that really matters. It’s good. Not fancy, just really enjoyable.

Lovely crust on the bread. The almost radioactive butter is deliciously rich & creamy with a good slug of salt. I personally can’t understand why anybody would ever eat unsalted butter, even in desserts….

I order the Rice & Flesh with saffron, calves tail & red wine

A beautifully savoury and meaty risotto. It’s a significant portion and ideal to share. The rice has good bite with little explosions of red wine & tail. Creamy & intense.

Meat Fruit:

The signature dish. The marketing men at Mandarin Oriental must be squealing with delight – people are coming here to order a mandarin…. Look I’m not about to order chicken liver parfait at a restaurant, no matter how cute it looks. It’s like ordering a cheese sandwich. Nathan does the honours instead…and it’s really something. Smooth as silk, rich with the mandarin jelly providing the balance. It’s a complete dish. It’s even got greenery. Still not going to break my role, but it’s worth the hype

The extra starter: Salamugundy: Chicken Oysters, Salsify, tongue & horseradish cream

Providing a little bit of balance to proceedings, it’s a decent mellow dish with a pleasing punch from the horseradish – more a man-salad with lots of ingredients to get excited about. But no fireworks

The mains: Black Foot Pork Chop with Spelt & Robert Sauce

A gorgeous hunk of well bred meat, served nice and pink. (if only all pork was served this way). Sauce was full flavoured with mustard and onions without it being cloying or too intense. Interesting accompaniment with the spelt and lardons. Some cabbage on the side did the veg proud.

Chicken cooked with lettuces (c.1670)Spiced celeriac sauce & cabbage

Again another dining no-no, ordering chicken, but it was recommended….The chicken, normally devoid of flavour was sensational with the lightly of spiced purees and flavoursome lettuce (yes, lettuce does have flavour). It was kick-arse, even though sous-vide cooking normally removes textural joy.

On so on to puds:

Chocolate Bar with passion fruit jam and ginger ice cream

Even if Chocolate Bars had not been invented in 1730, I’m sure we would have seen it on the menu. It’s an Alain Ducasse thing and it’s doing the rounds – layered textures of chocolate is no bad thing and this was something to send one into a chocolate coma with ginger ice cream the only thing to rescue the soul. Passion fruit jam was the merest of nods to sweetness, but it was mostly ignored in the face of excess.

Speaking of excess, I went for the final must order cliche: Tipsy Cake with spit roast pineapple

If the chocolate bar was all richness, this dessert was all sugar. If you’re going to go down a certain path then you might as well go hell-for-leather. It was great. The brioche drenched in sweet liqueur with caramelised pineapple. It was a dish that had to finished.

We finish with double espressos, a cut chocolate pot and shortbread.

It was a fine meal with excellent ingredients and cooking. All decent substantial dishes, nothing twee. I guess cooking in the past catered for men first and Heston probably had to work hard to fine some subtle lighter dishes! It’s always good to eat at a place with raison d’etre away from the normal interpretation of modern French. It’s partly why this restaurant has done so well I suppose. I’m not sure I buy the whole concept, but all the good stuff is on the plate where it belongs. That’s why it’s no flash in the pan.

Pied a Terre, London

www.pied-a-terre.co.uk

34 Charlotte Street, London W1T 2NH

A trip back to London in November for my sister’s wedding. The perfect opportunity for my family to meet Nina… and also to check out some new restaurants and some favourites.

Pied a Terre does not fit into either territory having been around several years, the most sophisticated place in media-land. I’d never managed going (probably because I’m not the most sophisticated of people in media-land). A change of chef has recently led to a demotion in michelin status, but with a strong rep, it worth’s checking out.

It’s a walk-in booking and I get a decent spacious table at the back of the restaurant. The dining area is spread over a few small rooms and it has a good clubby feel, tailored towards the kind of lunches that seek to avoid going back to the office. It’s relaxing. The menu has a modern European feel, which essentially means modern interpretation of classics. It’s familiar, interesting and makes you hungry. A good place to be.

I aim for a light lunch and go for the menu-du-jour – a relative bargain at £33.50. Service is formal and they don’t scrimp on the canapes. A worthy mention to the foie-gras mousse. So good to be re-acquainted.

First course: veal carpaccio, autumn mushrooms, onions, parmesan crisp, salsa verde.

A thoroughly decent entree. Not traditional – the veal is seared, but it’s a really pleasant plate. It’s well balanced with decent textures. Honourable mention, surprisingly to the onions

Main course: seared cod with herb crust and roasted beetroots.

Although autumnal it’s a perfect light lunch dish. Excellent cooking with the herb crust providing meatiness of flavours. The baby beetroots are intensely sweet with accompanying ‘reduction’.

To finish – hello cheese trolley.

Mediocre cheese costs an arm and a leg in Australia. Here, excellent unpasteurised (!) cheese from La Fromagerie is a steel. It’s served with homemade crisp bread with poppy seeds (I want one of those trees…), honey and grapes. I’d made a note of the cheeses. I’m sure I’ll discover it in 6 months.

To finish – double espresso with a shed-load of petit fours.

From nougat, bakewell tart, truffle to my favourite, caneles, they all excellent treats.

It brings to close a thoroughly enjoyable lunch. It’s only the fixed lunchtime menu, but the cooking is clearly competent with a good touch of imagination. What’s notable is the genorisity in terms of canapes, cheese and petit fours. Although it doesn’t have a high-profile it’s worth checking out.