est (Sydney)

For our wedding anniversary, we chose to dine at Est. to celebrate the occasion.

We had a couple of mocktails to settle down before the 4-course chefs menu. All the dishes were as pretty as a picture. Spanner crab salad, grilled scallops, venison and passionfruit sorbet were all excellent.

Big thank you for the staff to be very attentive and cater for my wife’s low sodium dietary needs.

Details:

Level 1, Establishment

252 George Street

Sydney

http://merivale.com.au/est

Guillaume at Bennelong (Sydney)

For my birthday, the wife took me to Guillaume at Bennelong inside the Sydney Opera House. Given its pending closure end of year, we would make it our ‘farewell’ visit.

The service was immaculate from the start and the food certainly matched its 3-hat status. The squid ‘pasta’ entrée with sea urchin sauce was intense with seafood flavor. The signature mulloway rouille dish was superb, but the very tender lamb was even better. And you wouldn’t go wrong with the chocolate soufflé or nougat glace for desserts.

Looking forward to its re-opening at another venue!

Details:
Guillaume at Bennelong
Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
http://guillaumeatbennelong.com.au/

Glass Brasserie (Sydney)

We decided to head to the Glass Brasserie at Hilton Sydney for dinner to celebrate a big occasion in the family. We went for the degustation menu and the service was great from start to finish.

My favourite of the night was the blue swimmer crab omelette where the soft omelette complimented with the crunch from the herbs; and sweetness of the crab went well with the miso stock. Overall the meal was nice but should definitely be completed by little things such as a sorbet before desserts as well as some petit fours at the end.

Details:
Glass Brasserie
Hilton Sydney
Level 2, 488 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/

Tai Ping Koon (Hong Kong)

A half day transit in Hong Kong gave me time for a quick dinner. I went to Tai Ping Koon for a true mix of east and west.

The restaurant requires booking well in advance and is reputed for the chicken wings and roast pigeon served in the famous ‘Swiss’ sauce (apparently a misinterpretation with the ‘sweet’ soya sauce in the 1800s). The sauce was well balanced between sweet and savory – perfect for nice big tender chicken wings. Don’t forget to order the extra large soufflé for dessert – just for the presentation even if you don’t have room.

Details:
Tai Ping Koon
19-21 Mau Lam Street,
Yau Ma Tei,
Kowloon,
Hong Kong
http://taipingkoon.com

Quarter Twenty One (Sydney)

I went to Becasse for last year’s Let’s Do Lunch at its old Clarence Street site. Since then it has moved to the new Westfield shopping mall with a more casual Quarter Twenty One spin off. So that’s where we went to for this year’s Let’s Do Lunch.

The slow-cooked short rib of beef was extremely tender; almost melt in your mouth. It was complimented well by the spring vegetable ragout and fondant potato. We shared a raspberry soufflé for dessert which, along with the light humoured service staff, made a satisfying lunch.

Details:
Quarter Twenty One
Westfield Sydney
Level 5, Shop 5018, Cnr Pitt St Mall and Market St 
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.quartertwentyone.com.au/