Silk & Spice (Abu Dhabi)

Other than dining at the buffet while staying at the Sofitel Abu Dhabi, my other ‘go-to’ restaurant was the Silk & Spice Thai restaurant.

I found the dishes serviced at Silk & Spice to be very authentic. The prawn pad thai and salmon red curry were my favorites. From my conversation with the chef, the ice-cream served in the desserts were all homemade – something worth trying if you are still peckish at the end of the meal.

Details:
Silk & Spice
Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche
Corniche Road East Capital Plaza, Abu Dhabi
http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-7507-sofitel-abu-dhabi-corniche/index.shtml#./restaurant.shtml

Cutler & Co. (Melbourne)

My partner visited me while I was in business in Melbourne (thank you). So on the first night we went to Cutler & Co for dinner, and we went for the degustation without considerations.

Dinner had a great progression of flavours. My top 3 dishes were the chicken soup with abalone (very intense broth), smoked and fried duck (great leg meat in a cube), and the dessert (amazing Earl Grey ice-cream).

I didn’t feel stuffed like I would normally after a sampling menu. Maybe I was just craving for more…

Details:
Cutler & Co.
55–57 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy
VIC 3065
http://www.cutlerandco.com.au

Gary Danko (San Francisco)

I took her to Gary Danko on her birthday, as part of our visit to San Francisco. The dining room has a really warm atmosphere which complements the friendly staff.

I loved all my 4 courses. Dungeness crab salad was nice and light with the sweetness of the crab really coming through. Roast Maine lobster was excellent. The best dish was the amazingly tender pork tenderloin. They wouldn’t tell me where to find pork that can be served medium rare – but it was magical.

And what a way to finish with not one, not two, but three macaroon ice-cream sandwiches.

Details:
Restaurant Gary Danko
800 North Point Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
http://www.garydanko.com

Vulcan's (Blackheath Blue Mountains)

We visited Vulcan’s at Blackheath for a Sunday lunch as we heard the legendary chef-owner will be retiring. The dining room was packed on what was the chef’s second last weekend of service.

The highlight for me was the crab soup entrée with red rice. The broth was clean yet packed with seafood flavour. The famous oyster blade was tender and similar in taste to a good beef brisket at Chinatown (maybe the hour long wait for main course dulled our taste buds). The yogurt brulee was our favourite dessert, and it was fun to taste the chequerboard ice-cream.

Details:
Vulcan's
33 Govetts Leap Road 
Blackheath NSW 2785

Crave Sydney Itali-Anna Dessert Degustation at Bather's Pavilion

We rushed to Bather’s Pavilion after work for the one-off Crave Sydney dessert degustation dinner. Bather’s is one of my favourite places to eat and this meal was a special treat. I enjoyed all the starters especially the vanilla panna cotta with little mango caviar giving the sudden burst of sweetness. The ‘main course’ with goat cheese with cannoli and beetroot gave us a break from the sweetness. My favourite was the very smooth chocolate crema cake with a hint of peach from the sorbet.

I will save the citrus crackling bar for later.

Details:
Bathers' Pavilion Restaurant
4 The Esplanade
Balmoral Beach
NSW 2088
http://www.batherspavilion.com.au/
Crave Sydney 2012
http://cravesydney.com/event.php?intid=3299