Post exams celebration @ ARIA Brisbane

Dear friends and readers,

I am finally back in blogosphere. The past month has been very hectic with work, study and other commitments. I am glad to announce that I completed my final exams last Friday and have regained my freedom. Hooray!

Since Friday, I have had multiple post-uni celebrations with family and friends, starting with lunch at ARIA right after the exam.

ARIA does lunch 'specials' for $36 for 1 course, $56 for 2 courses and $72 for 3 courses.

Whilst D settled for two courses I was greedy and went for three.  It was a celebration for me after all :)

We started with entree of twice cooked pork belly with apple puree and endive salad and seared scallop served with smoked pork, watercress and almond gazpacho.  Pork belly was very tender and went very well with the apple puree.  Pork and apple, definitely the perfect match. 



Twice-cooked Pork Belly with Apple Puree and Endive Salad

The smokiness of the pork covered the entire scallop dish, but surprisingly tasted good. D wasn't a fan of scallop, but enjoyed the smoky taste of the scallops.



Seared Scallop served with Smoked Pork, Watercress and Almond Gazpacho

For mains, I had the roast lamb cutlet and confit breast with caponata, baby peppers and spinach puree and D had the sirloin steak. The lamb cutlet was really tender and tasty.  However, I find the lamb breast a bit too gamey for me.



Lamb Cutlet and Confit Breast with Caponata, Baby Peppers and Spinach Puree

The steak looked simple, but it was cooked to perfection - medium-rare, just as how we wanted it to be.  The waitstaff brought it out with a selection of sauce: bearnaise, chimichurri, mustard and horseradish.  D asked for the bearnaise and chimichurri.  Personally, I preferred the creaminess of the bearnaise and secretly wished I ordered the steak instead =P



Sirloin Steak

For desserts, we shared the black forest with cherry sorbet, mascarpone and chocolate jelly.  The dish looked more like a deconstructed black forest.  The individual elements looked pretty on the plated, but tasted better when combined together.



Black Forest with Cherry Sorbet, Mascarpone and Chocolate Jelly

To finish off, we were served with a complimentary petit fours.   The theme was 'orange': orange flavoured turkish delight with a really strong blood-orange gel, orange truffle and some-sort of an orange cake.



Petit Fours

I went to ARIA a couple of years ago for dinner and was a bit disappointed.  I must say that this lunch experience has changed my mind about ARIA.  I really enjoyed the food and service (or I could be really tired after a long week and grateful that my exams was over).





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Malt Dining

by D

Every time we start to think we know the restaurant scene in Brisbane, we turn another corner and stumble upon a new one.

We first heard of Malt from an overseas visitor who read about it in one of the tour guide books. Not wanting to miss a good meal we did our own research (96% of urbanspooners 'like it') and waited for an opportunity to celebrate something and try it out for ourselves.

The opportunity came along this week and we booked ourselves in for a Friday night dinner for two. Upon approach, the downstairs bar sounded a little noisy and we were not sure what to expect but all fears were soon put to rest as we were guided upstairs to the aptly named 'attic' where the restaurant resides. You could not hear a whisper from downstairs.

It was hard not to fall in love with this place as first sight - the setting was warm and cozy (mood lighting and old style brick walls) and the waitress exceedingly pleasant and cheerful. We ordered our meals and waited with anticipation.

Shortly after ordering, our waitress appeared with complimentary bread, accompanied by olive oil and balsamic. This is something we've grown to appreciate and (for what little it costs a restaurant) cannot understand why more restaurants do not do the same.

Our entrees soon arrived and the (cheerful) waitress took her time to run through the elements on the plate. We ordered:

- Pan Seared Hervey Bay Scallops, Cauliflower Beignet, Wild Rice Granola, Coriander ($20)
- Slow Cooked Quail Breast, Tart of Confit Quail & Caramelized Fire Roasted Onion, Jerusalem Artichoke Puree ($18)

The scallops were delicious and were without a doubt the sweetest tasting scallops we have ever eaten. Each element complimented the others well and made for an enjoyable well-rounded entree.

The quail was cooked well but like always (with quail) you just wish there was more of it. The tart was a surprise star of the dish and cooked wonderfully. Once again, everthing just worked.

The restaurant was starting to fill up at this stage but the food kept coming. Before too long the mains arrived:

- Seared Rack & Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lame, Aligot, Black Olive, Baby Vegetables ($37)

- Selection of Bangalow Sweet Pork, Carrot Puree, Coffee, Onion Rings & Pine Nuts ($36)

- Roasted Parsnip & Kipfler Potato with Chorizo (side dish) ($9)

Both mains were delicious and had contrasting textures to really bring out the best from each dish. We couldn't help but taste a little of each other's dish and we were both pleasantly suprised at just how well the coffee worked with the pork!

By the time we had finished the mains there was barely room for dessert but we just couldn't resist trying the "Malt Brownie" ($15) served with salted caramel, chocolate textures and peanut brittle. This was a magical dessert and even though the serving was quite generous, you couldn't help but want more. The caramel in particular was a standout and left you scraping away at the plate trying to get every last morsel.

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Sardine Tin

After spending the afternoon walking around the stalls at Regional Flavours @ Southbank, we were famished. We spotted an empty table at Sardine Tin across the road and decided to give it a try.

The setting was simple and rustic. As for the menu, it was quite brief: a small variety of tapas dishes for sharing and a few light meals, suitable for one. They had an open kitchen too, so we could see the chef preparing our dishes.

I ordered Arancini with Tomato and Goats Curd ($12) and Arancini with Bacon and Mushroom ($12). Not only did it look good on the plate, it tasted delicious too. The crumbs were light and crispy and the arancini balls were packed with flavour.

D ordered Wagyu burger with gruyere, cos and tomato chutney ($15). It was cooked perfectly and had a nice balance of flavours. The side serve of mustard did not go to waste in helping us demolish the chips.

We also ordered a pear and rocket salad ($8) to share. It looked a bit ordinary but was light and refreshing.

It was a simple, yet enjoyable lunch. Friends tell us that they regularly change their menu so we will probably visit again some time.


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Quay

When I found out that we were heading to Sydney for my birthday this year, Quay stood out as the must-go restaurant. I have been longing to visit this restaurant ever since I saw the Masterchef episode featuring Quay’s signature dessert. Furthermore, it was recently voted No. 29 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants by S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.

We made a reservation at Quay right after we purchased the airline tickets to Sydney. We were so happy to get a lunch reservation, given that it was only 2 weeks in advance. Since then, I was counting down the days till our visit to Quay.

Quay is located at The Rocks in Sydney Harbour. The view was fantastic and from our seat we even spotted a rainbow over the Sydney Opera House. Can you see it?

Since we travelled all the way to Sydney and it was also my birthday, we decided to order their Tasting Menu. It was an extravagant meal that lasted over 3 ½ hours.

We started with an Amuse-bouche of goat’s curd with an oyster and ginger consommé. The goat’s curd was smooth and silky. The consommé took me by surprise as it was light and not overpowered by oyster or ginger taste.

We then moved on to our 8 courses tasting menu.

1. Sashimi of Corner Inlet rock flathead, Tasmanian trumpeter, salt cured wild oyster cream, black lipped abalone, raw sea cabbage, nasturtiums, warrigals, periwinkles.

2. Congee of Northern Australian mudcrab, fresh palm heart, egg yolk emulsion.

3. Gently poached southern rock lobster, hand caught Tasmanian squid, golden tapioca, lobster velvet.

4. Roasted partridge breast, steam truffle brioche, confit egg yolk, new season white walnuts, fumet of Vin Jaune.

5. Smoked and confit pig cheek, shitake, shaved scallop, Jerusalem artichoke leaves, juniper, bay.

6. Pasture raised milk fed veal poached in smoked bone marrow fat, wild grey ghost mushrooms, raw buckwheat, young orach, parsnip.

7. Guava snow egg.

8. Jersey cream, salted caramel, prunes, walnuts, ethereal sheets.

Latte.

Petits Fours.

If I had to choose a favourite, it would be the Guava Snow Egg. It was a brilliant masterpiece which was constructed to look like an egg. We cracked it in no time and enjoyed the work of art.

It was definitely the best meal I ever had. Every single dish was cooked and served with perfection. The service staff was friendly and attentive. To top it up, the view was amazing. Total bliss!




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