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Sydney Table - May 2006

Sumac Restaurant

May 25th 2006 05:40
Shop 284/ 10 Darling Drv Sydney 2001 - 9281 2700

Hmmm....

What's wrong here? Middle Eastern food is so simple and delicious, why confuse it? What's going on?

On entering Sumac you are struck by the decor. It tries to look like a "fez palace", and it may well be an exact replica; but more likely is it's appealing to what westerners think a fez palace may look like, full of Moroccan stereotypes; and on the shores of Darling Harbour it just looks out of place, awkward and kitsch.


I read about their philosophy from a magazine cut-out on the wall on the way in; something along the lines of "we combine traditional techniques, ideas and flavours, with contemporary and modern ingredients." Which is accompanied by a picture of a falafel cake.

Uh oh.

This doesn't sound that promising. It sounds like fusion, as if the chef is trying to be original when he or she shouldn't be. I've already discussed this trend here. And sure enough, much of the food lands with a thud.

The entrees come...after a significant wait. My calamari stuffed with chorizo and haloumi is tiny, and pretty flavourless. The Moroccan cigars (filo pastry filled with rabbit, almonds, Kalamata olives) are just wrong. They come topped (read 'doused') in icing sugar and cinnamon. I know that this is typical of some Middle Eastern dishes but it just does not work here. Similarly the cauliflower with sultanas is much too sweet. What's wrong with fried cauliflower? That's what we all love, why ruin it? In fact the only decent entree is a watery baked lamb kafta tagine, even though it's a bit diluted.


As for mains, my chicken skewer is pretty good, a bit salty, but decent. Goes well with the spinach potatoes and garlic sauce. And the lamb shoulder and fennel tagine of the day is great, richly flavoured and melt-in-your-mouth tender. But the chicken pizza (yes, pizza. I know, I know!) is extremely forgettable (hummus on a pizza?) and the marinated prawns with saffron pilaf are pretty uninteresting. Both are flavourless and bland.

You can bet we left before desert.

This food is confused and badly flavoured (I mean please, "hazelnut felafel"? Who do you think you're kidding?). Sometimes it's just uninteresting, but other times it can be really bad. The only thing that is in any way redeeming are the tagines. But for these prices don't chance it, go to Zaaffran (9211 8900) upstairs for quality Indian food you won't regret having spent your money on.

(Photos will be up as soon as I get home. I was going to put up photos from their website for the time being, but Cibby's post on copyright freaked me out too much so you'll just have to wait.)
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The Entertainment Book

May 23rd 2006 06:09
The Entertainment Book is a great initiative to raise money for charities, clubs and so on, and provides us discounts on activities around Sydney, especially, for our purposes, restaurants and cafes.

It looks like this.

Let's see what the website has to say: "The Entertainment™ Book is a restaurant and activity guide that provides special 25 to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers from many of the best restaurants, hotels and attractions throughout Australia & New Zealand."

Damn straight.

Now the book is only available from the charities, schools, groups, clubs, and so on (they receive the profits), so you need to get out there and work the phones; find a group you support.

I know for a fact that Sydney Boys High School is selling them, so give them a call.

The reason this is relevant now is that the 2006/7 book is now available, and becomes valid in June. But you can buy it and start using it any time after that too. It costs $60 and is well worth it. For the restaurants you get a card that you give to the restaurant with the bill. You can use one card for two people, but if you're going with four or six people, you can use more then one card so the discount isn't diluted.

In terms of the restaurant discounts, you either get 25% off (up to a certain amount) or a buy one get one free main course deal. There are some seriously good restaurants as well, such as Forty One, Alio, Bathers Pavilion, Billson’s, Omega, and Bistro Moore, as well as more casual places such as The Paddington Inn, The Olympic Hotel, and so on. So it's all good, really. You will make the $60 back in no time, and the rest is gravy; and it makes some usually exclusive restaurants much more accessible.

So get out there; use and abuse The Entertainment Book and card because it's a fantastic deal.
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Bread of France In Transition to 'Boulangerie'

May 19th 2006 00:00
For those who are interested, Bread of France, that fantastic bread shop, is slowly in transition to becoming called Boulangerie. They assure me that nothing's changed apart from the name, the owner and bakers are still there. So not to worry people. In case anyone was.

Bread of France (soon to be Boulangerie):
Office 328a Oxford St Paddington 2021- 9368 0533
Shop (same address) - 9360 0461

Bread of France gets a mention here as a top quality bread shop and patisserie.
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More Photos of CityHouse Vietnamese Restaurant

May 18th 2006 13:23
It's not that I don't like CityHouse; in fact I really like some of their food. It's just that they provide some really photo material.


Like this one. I thought the choice of 'Tsunami' drink was pretty inappropriate.

Although they do make good Viet food. Like this pork and prawn salad; although I much prefer the one at Non La, this one comes with prawn crackers and complimentary tea. And Amy recommends the lemongrass and chilli chicken stir fry. Good times.
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Disturbing Trends in Sydney Restaurants

May 17th 2006 08:31
This is a menu from a semi-prominent, fairly expensive Sydney restaurant which will remain unnamed. Take a moment to read it closely.

How many times did you laugh?

This is evidence of a characteristically excessive side of Sydney cooking. Some chefs have perhaps come to be bored with traditional cooking styles; others may feel that to be noticed they have to be original, that as they can't be the best in a certain style they have to create a new, usually ugly style.

While Australia is a perfect place for fusion type cooking with its multicultural influences, this is simply fusion gone wrong. At best it is delicate combining unnatural flavours. At worst it's disastrous.

But that's only part of the problem. The quest to be original, to find new flavours and combinations, can work well for some, but can easily get out of control.

This menu makes all of these mistakes. And perhaps not as blatantly as I've described, but still to a serious degree. In an attempt to be original, the restaurant is pulled in too many directions at once, and it simply fails at all of them.

Another issue raised here is that of menu descriptions; in an attempt to make a dish sound enticing, the chef will usually lavishly embellish the description of a dish. (Sorry about the alliteration). Taken too far, it can get ugly, and coupled with the confused dishes, leaves the menu soulless.

I'm happy with restaurants using traditional names for techniques and ingredients, such as "bagna cauda" (similar to an Italian mayonnaise with anchovies and garlic) because it adds authenticity and saves crowding the menu with waffling descriptions.

But the first thing that caught my eye in this menu was the "quail baklava". This is just wrong. What the chef is trying to say, I imagine, is quail, or quail pieces, or quail meat, wrapped in filo pastry. Perhaps with a few nuts. But filo and nuts alone do not maketh a baklava; especially when carrying a quail. If they mean filo-wrapped quail, why not say so? Because it sounds more posh, more professional.
A baklava is a nut and sugar mixture sandwiched between layers of filo pastry, with sugar syrup over the top. If the chef was simply adding quail to the nut mixture, then fine, call it a quail baklava, just like a date baklava would add dates; but be warned I'm walking out. In any sense, a quail baklava is wrong, confused, and sounds disgusting.

I also found the "sezchuan pepper parfait with port wine figs and licorice (sic) foam" dessert amusing for a different reason. I can perfectly picture this dish, the description is not the problem. It's just that it too is confused. I understand the addition of salt to desserts, as it appeals to a different taste, and thus creates more harmony. Even curry powder can work. But Sezchuan pepper is different in one key way. It numbs your tastebuds.
Now this is all well and good in hot Sezchuan food, it's part of the appeal. The overwhelming force of spiciness and heat is what makes Sezchuan food so tasty and special. But in a dessert? Desserts work when they're a balance of flavours; gently sweet, sometimes a little bitter or sour, and so on. It's all about harmony. But by numbing your tastebuds it leaves to immune to enjoying this balance. You now lack the finer taste skills to fully appreciate a good dessert. To counteract this, the flavours would have to be over the top and excessive; and have you ever heard of a dessert being good because "the flavour was so overpowering, so much sugar, it was just so sweet, it was fantastic"? Definitely not. If that was the case, I may as well just eat a pile of sugar. Great.
Sezchuan pepper works fantastically with Sezchuan food (surprisingly). It also can work with other savoury dishes, to an extent. But it doesn't work with deserts. As far as an attempt to be original goes, this doesn't rate very highly. Please don't try, it's better for all.

Now perhaps I'm being mean and bitter; I haven't eaten at this restaurant; nor will I while a menu like this is on offer. But as the customer, the food should be appealing to me, in description especially; otherwise I'll never order it. And at $65 for the set menu (not too bad in theory for five courses and fruit; but awful if the food is sub-par) the restaurant should be at least in the ball park for all of its dishes, from its description to the final forkful.
Perhaps it tastes excellent; but even then, the description is misleading, and as it is, I won't order it, so it's a waste. I mean really, quail baklava? Please, don't make me laugh...
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Sandwich Bar at CityHouse Vietnamese

May 16th 2006 11:25
"No more bread"? It looks like this counter has been hit by a serious storm. And I always thought bread was easy to find...
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The Malay-Chinese Takeaway (The Laksa Place)

May 15th 2006 11:26
64 Castlereagh Street Sydney 2000 - 9232 7838

Yes, it's that laksa place. Probably the most famous in Sydney, and was usually accepted as the best around. An underground cafeteria-style room which is usually packed all day, and serves that fantastic soup.

Laska is a Malaysian and Singaporean soup based on a strong curry paste, coconut milk, vermicelli rice noodles, tofu 'puffs' (puffed up fried tofu), and meat, usually chicken or prawns.

The Malay-Chinese Takeaway restaurant is widely regarded as the best place in Sydney for laksa; and yet when I visited, it was pretty average. At 2 pm, the restaurant was eerily empty, with only one or two stragglers. Normally it would be humming all through the day. My chicken laksa comes in literally one or two minutes, and in keeping with the cafeteria-style setup, you collect it from the counter and pick up your utensils on the way.

The soup is technically correct, everything's there, and for seven or eight dollars it's pretty good quality meat and ingredients. But it's bland. And a bit boring. It seems to only have one move; chilli. And even then, it can be a bit underdone, until you almost choke on a pile of curry paste sediment at the bottom of the bowl. It's definitely good, but it gets a bit tiring after a while.

Now I'm not sure what's going on. Have they changed hands recently? The place definitely looks the same; there are no clues on the exterior of the setup. But something's not quite right. I'm confused. I've eaten here before, a long time ago, and remember it to be very good; certainly everyone I know raves about it, but none have come in the last few months or so.

That's not to say the laksa is bad; on the contrary, it's a solid performer, but after the hype I expected something more. Perhaps I don't appreciate what a good laksa is; but I know what I like; and I would definitely prefer the tantanmen from Ichi-ban Boshi.

That said, The Malay-Chinese Takeaway is still worth a visit, especially as they make other things, such as kapitan chicken (kapitan as in "Captain" said with an accent) which seems very popular. It's certainly very good when it's done properly.

The story of how it got its name is a very cute one which I've liked since I was little; as little kids like trivial things:

In 19th Century Malaysia, when it was occupied by the British; a British officer sits down to a meal, and his Malaysian cook brings him a plate of food. The officer looks at it, and asks "What's this?"
And the cook replies "It's chicken, Captain ("Kapitan")."
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Samsun Pizza (Turkish Pide and Kebab Take Away)

May 11th 2006 07:30
462 Cleveland Street Surry Hills (opposide BP) - 9319 4213

From late night alcohol and greasy food adventures, I think most people know their way around a kebab shop pretty well. In that vein, I've found a really tasty pide place, for all of you who are bored with kebabs.
Pide is vuagely similar to a pizza; much more like a calzone, but Turkish. Lots of tasty ingredients wrapped up in bread dough similar to that of Turkish bread.
Samsun Pizza, like many other Turkish take away places, call their pide 'turkish pizza' in case you're confused by the whole 'pide' idea. Definately not to be confused with Samsung, which make much less tasty products (not worth eating your phone).

All the pides are $10, flat rate no matter what you have. And they're well worth it. They come crispy and doughy and, if you've got cheese (you should have), soft and melted. Wonderfully oily and greasy, a little lemon adds some zest and you're set.

Now what to order? Don't go for the smoked salmon, avocado and cheese pide; that should be setting off alarm bells in your head as soon as you read it.
1) Stick to the meat or vegetarian, and
2) Make sure it's the folded-over version rather than the open version.
My favourite is vegetarian with egg and chilli flakes. Go for the chilli, it makes it even more exciting and tasty. The spicy sausage is also great; in fact as long as you avoid obvious sacreligious choices it's all good.

It's not high class food, it's good greasy take away (or you can eat in) which leaves you feeling content, well feed, and satisfied. If you love a good pide, or it sounds like you might, Samsun is a great place to check out.
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Burgerman

May 9th 2006 03:09
Bondi 249 Bondi Road 2026 - 9130 4888
Darlinghurst 116 Surrey Street 2010 - 9361 0268 (I haven't been here so this review may not apply; but my guess is, if they're run by the same people, that they'll be just as good.

Burgerman has been leading the 'burger-revolution' in the last decade. An unasuming shop in Bondi (and I believe there's also one in Darlinghurst) is the original, and easily the superior, of places like Sydney Gourmet Burger or Burgerlicious (although of the two Burgerlicious is better). If you're going to eat a quality burger, don't bother anywhere else than Burgerman. And don't you dare mention Maccas...

Burgerman is a retro style shop, reminiscent of an old milk bar with a tall metal bar/bench, behind which the grill dominates - as it should (photos soon). There are cute little tomato shaped sauce bottles, which you can see in the background of the photo, homemade lemonade, and old Coke posters on the wall.

The burgers use top quality ingerdients including top notch beef. The tomato relish is cooked for some ridiculous amount of time so that it becomes sweet and intense and wonderful. All the bugrers come with lettuce, tomato and tomato relish, on tasty grilled buns (about time you others!). Then you can top your burger with almost anything you want; the oldskool choices of cheese, onion, gherkin, bacon, or beetroot; and the new and funky - horseradish mayo, chilli relish, roasted vegetables, rocket, and so on. You definately want to have at least one original beef burger, but the others are just as good; chicken, fish or lamb fillets (the lamb especially) all paired with individual, perfectly suited components; or vegetarian with grilled vegetables, fetta, and garlic and basil mayo.

The chips are also a must; perfectly cooked, crisp outsides, crunchy and oily, and oh so satisfying. Trust me, you want chips. Order more than you think you'll eat, because they'll end up going without any problem.

All this, with a couple of mates, will set you back no more than $10 each for a burger and tonnes of chips. And you're getting top quality food which is really delicious, instead of that "I'm not thinking about what's in this" Maccas feeling. You won't find burgers done better anywhere.

Photos from here and The Food Pornographer
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Appologies for the Brief Interruption...

May 9th 2006 02:40
Sorry about not posting in the last few days; in the past five days I've had two exams, an oral, two essays, a quiz, and the state titles. So I haven't had the chance to do much at all, not to mention the time to eat out! But that's about to change, because you've all now got my undivided attention! I can just feel your anticipation...
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Where to Take Your Date for Dinner on a Budget

May 2nd 2006 12:58
So you're short on money, but need to impress? Got a hot date, but not enough money for gas in the tank? Well you've come to the right place. Depending on how much you've got to spend, Uncle Ed has an option for you. All is saved, my friends!


The Paddington Inn: The Paddington Inn is a rocking pub/bar/bistro and the perfect place to take a date. Snuggle up in one of the little nooks or out-of-the-way rooms for a great meal. $16-$20 gets you a high quality dinner or lunch with much more effort than you'd find in most other bistros or pubs, so you're sure to look classy. It's also close to the city if you want to continue the night with some partying.

Alio: Alio is a very suave modern Italian restaurant off Cleveland Street in East Redfern. Two courses will set you back roughly $45 a head, or to really impress you cant get the degustation menu, seven courses for $55 a head; but you can only find out about it on the internet, and you'll have to ask for it specifically, they won't offer it to you if you don't mention it. The menu and the degustation menu offer is here. Well worth it.

Deco, in the Civic Hotel (City): Another bistro, about $5 more expensive than The Paddington Inn; mains around $25. Great food in a rather classy room but still with a bit of that pub feel. See the review on Grab Your Fork here.

Burgerman (Bondi; Review soon to come): A burger joint, you say? For a date? Well yeah, but *what* burgers! And for under ten bucks a head! Despite a couple of changes in ownership BM's burgers are still top quality, in a very 70s rollerskate-disco style shop. There are lots of choices for all the new age diets, and the chips are consistently good, especially with the tomato-shaped sauce bottles (you'll see what I mean). If your date's into this, Burgerman is the best place to take them.

North Bondi Italian Food: Wonderful traditional Italian food in a real Trattoria setting right on Bondi Beach. Run by the same people as Icebergs at the other end, NBIF is a fun and friendly place to bring a date, and perfect to precede a romantic stroll along the beach at night. Two courses will set you back around $45, roughly the same as Alio.

Forty One: Now I hesitate at recommending this place for those with already a light pocket; but it really depends on how light. Three Courses at lunch (that's the secret) is $75. But the same three at dinner would be $125. See, you're saving money! I know this won't be for everyone, but it is worth it, at least once. Depends how special the date is...
Go at lunch; it's cheaper, and you can actually see the view, which is why you're here. It's forty-two floors up (don’t ask), in a spectacular observatory style setting, with a panoramic view of the city. For an anniversary or the like, this is a special place. It also makes half decent food...

Restaurant Balzac (Randwick): Restaurant Balzac, usually exclusive because of its price, offers a very attractive deal for those earlier in the night. For $45 a head (as long as you mention when you book), you get two courses, coffee and petit fours; as long as you're out by 7:30 pm. And these are good courses! Mathew Kemp knows what he's doing. It's called the Pre Ritz (movie) menu and for those on a date, it's a good hint for where to go next.

Billingsgate Fish Bistro (Randwick): Billingsgate does a similar deal as Balzac does, as it's owned by the same people. A pre and post Ritz menu is on offer, for less than that of Balzac. Both are good options for the dinner and movie double.

Tetsuya’s: Just kidding.
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