Coconut from Cheek by Jowl – laksa leaf ice cream, pomelo, green chilli. Essentially what you get if bubur cha cha, laksa and vanilla had a head-spinningly scorching ménage à trois on a cushion of roasty nuts. 4/5 This was part of an existing $38 3-course lunch menu, and is…
Chilli Crab Txangurro from Catalunya – 120 grams of shredded Alaskan snow crab cooked in spicy tomato sofrito and topped with toasted bread crumbs. Essentially an indulgent chilli crab bonanza in a pot – pure, unadulterated chilli crab goodness sans any distracting pincer, shell or mantou nonsense. The succulent crab…
Aged carnaroli risotto rice, fermented coconut, Thai inspired salad from Bacchanalia’s vegan and vegetarian course menu. Despite possessing not a smidgen of meat, the coconutty and wetly muifan-like risotto had a rich and robust seafood-esque flavour, with an urgent sourness and a piquant gingerly slant. 4.2/5 This was a hosted…
Confit duck leg with five spice caramel, cucumber and waffles from Cheek by Jowl. The decidedly Body Combat-esque and delectably charred duck leg shredded with a most effortless poise, the vivacious and refreshing greens tarted things up Vietnamese-style and the earnestly understated, crispy and buttery waffles launched a warning salvo…
White snapper milanese with salmon roe gribiche, brussels sprouts with tamarind and bacon from Kilo. The breaded fish and egg mayo seemed content to be fluffy cushions for the smoky brussels sprouts and the bacon, so scene-stealingly soft, salty and pork-juicy that it probably committed an offence under Section 378…
Warm Octopus Salad from Kilo – grilled octopus, nam jim, peanut brittle. The nicely charred octopus had a good spring in its step and the shrimpy nam jim had a most sassy and alluring tartness. Elsewhere, the buttery mash served as a marvellous binding agent for bringing together the octopus,…
Naughty Pork & Beans from Kilo – tom yum stewed beans, pork jowl, sour kale chips & chorizo. Whilst the mutant tom yum stewed beans and the kale chips pairing did its Bangkok reenactment with the gusto of the best Chinese Opera pupils from Poi Ching School, the piggies may…
Fisherman’s Mee Sua from Gastrosmiths – seafood medley, homemade scampi bisque, signature-style mee sua. Essentially the mee siam-esque gustatory equivalent of a breathtakingly beautiful and Dior-perfumed blogger who does pilates, eats walnuts and edamame as midday snacks and replies to everything with vapid three word utterances. Notwithstanding, the scallops had…
Argo Goreng Pasta from Argo (frustratingly hidden in plain sight within Adonis Hotel on Purvis Street) – prawn, green pea, tomato sautéed with sambal chilli and spaghetti. While the supply of prawns was blessed and bountiful, the piquant and notably sweet chilli was more Baby than Scary Spice, and the…